CHAPTER 301: CHAPTER 301; SHE FELT IT....

She felt it. The tremor in his chest, the break in his tone. A crack in the walls he built around himself.

And through her hysterical sobs, a thought pierced through her thoughts, sharp, and calculated.

*So this is what makes you bend, Ting Cheng.*

Her act deepened, more gasps, more trembling, her fingers clutching his shirt as though she would shatter without him.

And he held her tighter, caged by his own fear, not realizing he was stepping into hers.

Tang Fei’s chest rose and fell in rapid, shallow bursts, her lips parting as though she couldn’t catch enough air. Her fingers clawed at her throat, her eyes wide and glassy.

"I.... I can’t...." Her voice hitched, breaking into gasps. "I can’t breathe..." Her body trembled violently, every sound a knife meant to slice into his control.

For the first time, Huo Ting Cheng’s composure cracked. His hands, always steady, trembled as he caught her wrists and pulled them from her throat, his breath sharp and uneven.

"Fei’er!" His voice thundered, but it was not the commanding roar of a master; it was frayed and a desperate call, "Enough... stop this! Just breathe!"

Her lashes fluttered, her lips paling as her breath grew harsher, sharper, as if she were drowning in invisible water. Her body sagged in his arms, limp, her head rolling against his shoulder.

"Tang Fei!" The sound of her name was ripped from him, raw, a plea more than a call. His hand cupped her cheek, shaking it lightly, his thumb brushing against her cold skin. His control, his careful mask, shattered in pieces around her as panic clawed at him.

"Huo Qi, call the doctor immediately... Now!"

"I will give you anything," he rasped, his forehead pressing to hers as though closeness alone could anchor her back. "Just stop this, Fei’er. Whatever you want, anything. Just breathe for me!"

Her body quivered in his arms, fragile, almost breakable. She let out a choking sob, dragging in an erratic breath that made his chest seize with terror. His hold on her tightened as though he could will life back into her lungs by sheer force of will.

"I can’t lose you," he whispered fiercely, the admission torn from deep within him, unplanned, unguarded. His eyes, usually cold steel, now burned wild with fear. "Do you hear me? You can’t leave me."

She felt his grip shaking, his breath uneven, his composure shattered, and deep in her hysteria, she knew. She had found the only chain strong enough to bind him: his fear of losing her.

Her gasps softened, deliberately uneven, but enough to give him hope, enough to keep him trapped. Slowly, her trembling fingers curled tighter into his shirt, clutching him like salvation.

And Huo Ting Cheng, so unshakable to the world, broke completely, holding her as if he would never let go.

His entire body shuddered with the weight of a terror he had never known.

Huo Ting Cheng, who had stared down boardrooms of vultures, enemies with knives at his back, and blood-stained betrayals without blinking, was unraveling, undone by the faint, stuttering breaths of the woman in his arms.

Her lashes brushed his cheek when he leaned closer, his lips hovering just above hers, as though willing his own air into her lungs if it came to that. His voice was hoarse, a low growl laced with a plea.

"Fei’er... I swear... I will never cage you again. Just don’t leave me. Don’t...." His words broke, choking against the knot in his throat.

Tang Fei’s fingers, weak but deliberate, fisted tighter into his shirt, dragging him closer as though she were drowning and he was her last anchor. Her breaths steadied slightly, uneven on purpose, a weapon she had sharpened with every gasp.

And it worked.

He clung to her like a man clinging to the edge of a cliff. His grip was no longer suffocating, no longer a cage, it was desperate, trembling, and almost reverent.

"Tell me what you want," he demanded, his voice fraying at the edges, harsh because it was the only way he knew how to mask his terror.

His forehead pressed hard against hers, his breath hot and uneven against her lips. "Tell me, Fei’er, and it’s yours. Whatever it is. I will give it to you."

Her lashes fluttered, her lips parting as if to form words but instead releasing another soft, ragged gasp. His hand slid from her cheek down to her chest, feeling the frantic flutter of her heart. His thumb traced against her skin in a touch so tender it betrayed everything he fought to keep hidden.

He couldn’t lose her. Not her.

The realization was like chains snapping around his own neck. He had bound her with power, with fear, with dominance. But now she had bound him, tighter, crueler, without even lifting a finger.

Tang Fei knew it. She could feel the tremor in his chest, the helplessness in his grasp. His fear was hers now. His leash.

And in her fragile, trembling breaths, she smiled faintly against his collar, hidden where he could not see.

She had won.

Tang Fei let the sobs taper off slowly, her body still trembling against him as though it was fragile, and breakable. Her breathing evened out, but she didn’t move away, burrowing closer into Huo Ting Cheng’s chest as if he were the only thing keeping her alive.

His arms were locked around her, rigid at first, then softening when he realized she wasn’t fighting anymore.

His jaw clenched, the sharp line of his cheek pressed against her hair. His chest still heaved unevenly, betraying the storm inside him.

Tang Fei’s lashes were wet against her flushed skin. She sniffled, her lips brushing against the fabric of his shirt as she whispered faintly, "Don’t... don’t let go of me..."

"Mn." The sound rumbled low in his throat. Just one syllable, hoarse and raw, but the way his arms tightened said everything.

For a long moment, the room was silent but for the rhythm of her breaths syncing with his unsteady ones. She tilted her head, cheek grazing against the heat of his chest, her fingers curling into his shirt possessively.