Free Web NovelChapter 100: Chapter 100: Trust Improvement Test
The sleeve on Shi Lan’s right arm was done, but the left one kept slipping down.
Yan Huoshui pulled it down again and, step by step, folded and rolled the sleeve up to the same height as the right one.
He seemed to have a touch of OCD. With each fold, he would press the sleeve perfectly flat, ensuring the width of the fold was uniform.
As he reached out to fold it, the pads of his fingers would accidentally brush against Shi Lan’s arm. It tickled, making her shrink back involuntarily.
Yan Huoshui’s eyes showed a hint of apology. "Almost done."
After that, his hands were very careful not to touch her again.
Seeing this, Shi Lan knew it had been unintentional and didn’t think much of it.
However, she found the feeling of his fingers pleasant—or rather, their temperature.
It was a little hot in Prison No. 5, but his hands were cool to the touch, perfect for dispelling the heat.
Soon, he lowered his hands.
Shi Lan tried moving her arm a couple of times. The sleeve didn’t loosen.
"Wow, you’re amazing."
She looked at him in surprise. Yan Huoshui chuckled. "That’s nothing. I can do much more amazing things."
Shi Lan blinked, her round eyes filled with curiosity, but he didn’t elaborate.
Instead, he changed the subject. "Next, we’re going to do a trust test. Are you scared, Lanlan?"
Shi Lan didn’t understand why the word ’scared’ would be involved.
She looked at him strangely. "Is it something scary?"
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He lightly tapped his own red lips, thinking for a moment. "If Lanlan trusts me, it won’t be scary."
His skin was also very fair, and his lips were the color of roses. The contrast made his long, slender fingers look like they were carved from white jade.
Shi Lan couldn’t help but stare for a moment longer. ’Yan Huoshui really is handsome from every angle,’ she thought.
Then again, none of the men in this prison were bad-looking.
If she really had to pick, she couldn’t rank them first or second.
She mused, "So, will I get hurt?"
Yan Huoshui chuckled softly, his slightly deep voice carrying a husky tone as he murmured as if sighing, "Lanlan, how could I ever let you get hurt?"
Hearing this, Shi Lan relaxed. She was quite brave, after all—she’d even remained relatively calm when facing the Insect Clan. As long as she didn’t get hurt, she was fine.
"Alright then, let’s get started."
"What do I need to do?"
This was the first time Shi Lan had ever heard of a "trust-building test," but then again, she’d only ever had one friend, so she’d never needed such things.
She looked at him. To Yan Huoshui, she was like a naive little girl who didn’t know the dangers of the world, gradually wandering into a hungry wolf’s cage—bold and reckless, daring to venture deeper, completely unconcerned that there were far more terrifying things than getting hurt.
Still, he should be happy. Lanlan trusted him quite a lot.
The smile on his lips widened as he said gently, "From now on, just follow my lead, Lanlan."
As he spoke, he stepped into the hot spring pool, one step at a time, right in front of Shi Lan.
He was still wearing his old, worn-out Combat Suit, a slightly tight, blue and white outfit. Like Ye Ming’s, the front was long enough to cover his crotch, and the overall look was clean and sharp.
She recalled that He Hanshi’s military uniform jacket was the same length. It seemed all the male Beastmen on Border Defense Star dressed this way.
’Perhaps the design is meant to keep people’s eyes from focusing on... certain areas,’ she mused.
The sound of splashing water pulled Shi Lan back from her thoughts. She saw Yan Huoshui walk to a spot in the hot spring about a meter from the edge.
The pool was quite deep, and since he was very tall, the water came up to his waist.
The flowing water of the hot spring swirled with white steam, and scattered petals he hadn’t yet cleared away floated on the surface. She couldn’t see the part of him that was underwater, but the section of cloth hanging to his crotch drifted on the water’s surface.
Shi Lan didn’t dare stare, simply looking at his eyes, which were blurred by the steam. She was full of confusion. "What... are you doing?"
Amid the white steam of the hot spring, his smile curled unabashedly.
"Lanlan, do you trust me?"
"Turn your back to me and fall into the pool. I’ll catch you."
Shi Lan’s eyes widened. ’This... this is intense!’
She swallowed. ’He didn’t say we were going to do something like this right off the bat.’
She looked at the seemingly bottomless hot spring, an unavoidable fear creeping into her heart.
"I... I can’t swim."
She explained nervously. Yan Huoshui’s voice grew lower, as if bewitching yet also comforting her. "Don’t be afraid. As long as Lanlan trusts me, I will definitely catch you."
"This is the trust test."
"Really?"
Shi Lan was still hesitant. Yan Huoshui’s voice became firmer. "Of course."
"Okay... You have to catch me."
Shi Lan agonized over it for a long time before finally agreeing.
She had actually seen videos of this kind of thing before, especially in dance training. Every dancer needed enough chemistry and trust to feel safe entrusting their back to someone else.
It really did help build trust.
However, she hadn’t expected Yan Huoshui to choose to do it in the water. This was even more intense than a real fall on solid ground.
Shi Lan still stood hesitating by the edge of the pool. Yan Huoshui sighed inwardly. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he couldn’t bear to force her any further.
Just as he was about to suggest another method, Shi Lan quickly tied up her loose hair, mustered her courage, closed her eyes, and fell backward.
A flicker of a smile crossed Yan Huoshui’s eyes. His hands caught her steadily, not letting even a drop of pool water touch her body.
Shi Lan’s feet were still planted on the edge, while behind her was Yan Huoshui’s broad chest and his strong, powerful hands. Her body was suspended over the water, her heart still pounding violently.
A look of disbelief filled her eyes.
It was disbelief in herself.
She had really, truly fallen back completely on her first try.
Perhaps it was just as Yan Huoshui had said; if she had hesitated even a little, she might have fallen awkwardly into the water.
But she hadn’t.
She had chosen to trust him—more than she’d ever imagined she could.
While Shi Lan was still trying to calm her racing heart, Yan Huoshui, half-holding her and supporting her body from behind, slowly guided her back to the edge.
His movements were very gentle, partly because he was afraid of hurting her, and partly because he didn’t want to splash water on her clothes.
By the time Shi Lan was back at the edge of the pool, her clothes were still completely dry, aside from a little water on her arms where he had held her.
Yan Huoshui saw that she was still in a daze, lost in thought. He couldn’t resist waving a hand in front of her face. A few warm drops of water sprinkled onto Shi Lan’s face. One landed on her eyelashes, while the rest trickled down her cheek and disappeared into the nape of her neck.
Yan Huoshui’s gaze darkened. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he looked away.
Shi Lan snapped back to reality. She blinked, and as the droplet on her eyelashes fell, her blurry vision cleared.
Just then, Yan Huoshui stepped out of the water.
He walked out openly, not at all worried about what Shi Lan might see.
The upper part of his outfit was still mostly dry, but his pants clung tightly to his body. As he walked, the muscles in his legs flexed slightly, outlining his lean, powerful, and slender physique.
And at his crotch, the extended fabric of his tunic stubbornly covered the part it was meant to hide. But now that it was wet, it seemed to vaguely reveal the arc of the iceberg’s tip, adding a certain sensuality to the scene.
Shi Lan didn’t know if it was because it was too hot in here or something else, but her mouth had suddenly gone dry.
She licked her lips unconsciously. ’What a siren,’ she thought.
