Her words nearly caused Shawn to fall off the bed.

This babe, Joanne, was usually so bright. But why would she turn into such a dimwit whenever things involved matters of the heart?

Brian had followed her all the way here, did she really think that Brian would leave her alone in the same room with himself?

Too young, too simple!

Joanne even had the nerve to ask Brian to leave? "Fuck," Shawn thought, "At this rate, I'm going to lose the privilege to stay in this air-conditioned, wifi-equipped luxurious hospital room."

"Ahem!" In the interest of his luxurious indulgence, Shawn decided to give out the "get out of my premises" speech. "Joanne, we can discuss work-related matters when I'm back at work. Besides, the case had remained unsolved for so many years. It's not like we can solve it in a few hours. I have a bunch of check-ups lined up this afternoon. You really should give me a break."

Coincidentally, the door opened and a young woman who wore a nurse's uniform came in. "Mr. Shawn, you should..."

"It's time for my check-up, isn't it?" Shawn cut the nurse off. "Very well. Let's head over right away."

Any nurse who worked in this prestigious hospital would have more than just professional qualifications. Their ability to be quick on their feet was stellar as well. With a straight face, the nurse came over and helped Shawn up. "Dr. Roberts is ready for you. If you pass your examinations this time, you will be discharged..."

The voices of Shawn and the nurse drifted further and further away. Joanne estimated that Shawn would not be returning for a long while, so she stood up and told Brian, "Let's head home first, then."

Once the words left her mouth, she noticed the dark look on Brian's countenance. He turned around abruptly and stalked out of the room. As he walked, his strides were huge and unhesitating. He had left her inside the room without so much as a backward glance.

In the past, he would grab her hand and then he would lead her out.

Joanne clenched her left hand into a fist. In her heart, she felt a slight and inexplicable disappointment. She strode out in pursuit of Brian and found that he was already inside the elevator. The doors were slowly sliding close.

"Wait for me!"

She ran down the corridor as if she were doing a 100-meter sprint. The gap between the two doors became smaller and smaller, but yet Brian did not seem to have the intention to wait for her at all. Slowly, his tall and strong from vanished from her sight.

"What's the meaning of this?" she thought.

Joanne halted her steps and stood about three or four meters from the elevator. She looked at the elevator doors, which were now gapless and entirely sealed. All of a sudden, she felt disgruntled.

Just when she thought Brian had really abandoned her, the elevator doors slid open. Brian's hand was holding down the button. "Get in!" he ordered.

Slowly, she walked into the elevator. Brian released the button and the elevator made its gradual descent.

Neither of them uttered a word. The silence treatment lasted even after they got out of the elevator. Brian was walking in front due to his long strides. At first, Joanne had jogged to keep up with his pace. But eventually, she was out of breath and had defiantly decided to walk at her own pace. Soon, there was a huge gap between them.

When Brian opened the passenger door, he realized that Joanne had fallen at least ten meters behind. She was walking slowly with her head turned to the side. She refused to look at him.

"Faster," he ordered, frowning.

At a time like this, Joanne somehow became exceptionally obedient. She picked up her pace and slipped into the passenger seat. She slammed the door shut with too much force than necessary.

Brian started the engine wordlessly. Soon, the ONE77 was speeding towards Prime Villas.

Light from the side window transformed into a bunch of fast-moving and straight streamlines, which flew past the window in the reverse direction. Staring at the window made Joanne dizzy, so she shut her eyes and curled into a corner to rest. After a while, she felt the car gradually slow down.

She believed that Brian had slowed down on purpose.

Infuriating!

Back home, Brian got out of the car ahead of Joanne. Joanne hurried after him. "Stop right there!" she yelled.

She jogged over and stood in front of him to block his path. She stared right into his eyes. "Are you angry?"

Brian looked away. "No."

He tried to step around Joanne so that he could keep walking, but Joanne spread her arms wide, once again blocking his path. "Then why aren't you speaking to me?"

They had been living together for the past three months. Even if she had not fully understood him yet, she could at least see from his current behavior that he was unhappy.

Brian's lips curved upwards. She could not tell if his smile was a genuine or mocking one. "Didn't you ask me to leave because you have important matters to discuss with Shawn? What, you still have time to spare for a conversation with me?"

Joanne hesitated. Brian took the opportunity to step around her and headed into the house.

For a moment, Joanne mulled everything over, turning the day's events over in her mind. After repeated confirmation, she finally came to a conclusion.

Smiling, she sprinted after Brian and went to the second floor.

He was about to close the door to his bedroom when she saw him. Joanne hurriedly slipped an arm through the gap of the closing door to block his attempt to fully close it. Brian did not have the heart to slam the door on her hand. He looked at her coldly instead. "Is there a problem?"

Joanne pointed at him. "You have a problem!" she said with a serious face.

That actually made Brian laugh. "Enlighten me, then. What's my problem?"

Joanne stared into his eyes. "You're jealous," she said matter-of-factly.

Brian narrowed his beautiful eyes, which had grown several shades darker. Joanne felt a bit intimidated, though she held firm and refused to back down. "I only have some work stuff to discuss with Shawn. I asked you to leave because, because I was worried that you might be busy. Wouldn't you be angrier if you stay behind to observe my conversation with Shawn?"

Brian smirked. "No, I won't be angry. I'll just toss Shawn out of the goddamn room!"

A chill went down Joanne's spine and she withdrew her shoulders. "Anyway, there's nothing going on between Shawn and I. I wouldn't have married you if there was."

The dark look, which had been slowly dissipating, instantly returned to Brian's face.

The door slammed shut with a loud bang. A startled Joanne jumped as Brian's body disappeared behind the door.

"Weirdo!" Joanne muttered in dissatisfaction. "Shouldn't have bothered explaining anything to you."

She turned around and began heading back to her own room. But after some thought, she changed her mind and went downstairs instead. "Young Madam," Simon said, "lunch is ready."

"Why don't you guys enjoy whatever that's been prepared," Joanne said, rolling up her sleeves. "I'll make both our lunches today. Oh, by the way, Simon. Brian, he... what does he like to eat?"

Simon smiled. "Young Master can't stomach celery and parsley. Other than those, he doesn't have much of a preference."

"Thank you."

Joanne slipped into the kitchen. Before long, she had several dishes whipped up. Now, the only thing missing was Brian himself.

"Young Master might be sleeping," Simon said. "Young Madam, why don't you go wake him? We don't usually dare to disturb him, but if he doesn't come down soon, he'll miss lunch hour."

Brian did seem pretty intimidating when he was upset. But he had already intimidated Joanne just now, so she figured she would not be too scared this time. She nodded and ran upstairs.

His door remained tightly shut. Joanne knocked twice. "Brian."

"..." No response came.

She knocked twice again. "Brian?"

She knocked a few more times, but Brian did not respond to any of them. All of a sudden, Joanne remembered that Brian had gastric problems.

"He didn't have lunch on time. Could it be that his stomach is causing him problems again?" she thought.

The mere thought of Brian's pale and sickly look threw Joanne into a fit of panic. She went to Simon and retrieved a key, which she used to unlock the door to his room. Opening the door, she found that he was indeed lying on the bed.

"Brian!"

She rushed over. Although Brian had covered his forehead with his long forearm, it still could not fully conceal his deep frown.

"Brian, are you unwell?" she asked as she shook him. "Where does it hurt? Is it your stomach?"

The crease in Brian's brow deepened further. Joanne thought she had made the correct guess, which agitated her even more. When she mentioned something about sending him to the hospital, Brian's hand shot up suddenly and grabbed the back of her neck. Soon, she was tugged towards the bed.

She ended up kneeling on the side of the bed with her entire torso sprawled across Brian's body. She could pretty much feel the heartbeat in his chest.

"Shut up!" he said in a tone of annoyance. "You're too noisy."

Unrelenting, Joanne returned to her previous question. "Are you unwell?"

Brian opened his eyes and noticed that the Little Monster's eyes had grown hazy in her anxiety. Those sparkling eyes of hers were staring back at him in panic. He sighed. "I'm fine. I was just taking a nap."

Joanne went blank. "So, did I wake you up?"

"Who else if not you?"

Feeling awkward, Joanne removed Brian's hand from her neck. "Um, well, just assume that I never came by..."

She tried to leave.

Letting her leave was the last thing on Brian's mind. In one movement, he pulled her back. "Why did you call me?"

"Lunch," Joanne said. "I made braised chicken with butter and steamed fish. Do you want to get up and eat?"

For a moment, Brian appraised Joanne, trying to decide if this cordial display was her idea of an apology. Joanne, on the other hand, thought that he was hesitating. She pursed her lips. "If you don't want it, then fine. I'll go down and eat. Oh, right. Now I know why you're not hungry. You're probably full after swallowing all that jealousy."

As expected, Brian's eyes darkened instantly. Deep inside, Joanne was screaming in high alert. Before she could run, Brian dragged her onto the bed and covered the entire length of her body with his own.

Her eyes went wide and she struggled. "Brian, let me go!"

Her palms smacked repeatedly against his broad shoulders, though it was obvious that he was unfazed.

"Just now you refused because we were at the hospital. Now we're at home, why should I let you go?"

Joanne struggled again. "No, we can't. We..."

Brian knew what she was about to say next. What else could it be other than some kind of speech about their not being real husband and wife. It was really starting to get old. He was in no mood to listen to that kind of talk again.

Shutting her up would be the smartest move.

His kiss was even more intense than the one back in the hospital. Her mouth was pried open the moment their lips touched. His tongue twisted and twined around hers. Joanne knew it was pointless to struggle, so she steeled her heart and was prepared to bite him. But before she could follow through, his bone-chilling voice sounded. "Try biting me if you dare!"

Joanne met his dangerous stare and silently decided against biting him. "Perv!" she chided angrily.

Brian smirked. "It's your fault."

He did not wait for Joanne to fully comprehend the meaning behind his words. He claimed her lips once again and began sucking to his heart's content.

The hot, passionate kiss was like a tidal wave, pulling Joanne in. Her resistance and struggles were fruitless and futile, like landing punches into a massive ball of cotton, yet expecting it to hurt. He returned her struggles with movements that were even more possessive.

Brian released Joanne's lips when she was completely out of breath, though his body remained pressing on top of hers.

"I was indeed jealous. Yes, my stomach was filled with jealousy." He seemed to be smiling, but she could not really be sure. "I hope you don't plan on feeding me with jealousy next time."

Annoyed, Joanne asked, "Then what should I be feeding you with?"

"You, of course."