Yannis gazed down at her tenderly. “So, what good thing happened? Will you tell me?”

“Hmm… Good thing? What good thing?” Zinnia blinked in confusion.

“Didn’t you just say something good happened today, Zinnia? Would you share it with me?” Knowing that drunk people often forgot what they’d said, Yannis patiently repeated his question.

“Good thing… Hmm… I can’t tell…” Though intoxicated, Zinnia subconsciously resisted sharing the joy bubbling in her heart.

“Can’t you tell me?” Yannis asked patiently.

“Hmm… I can’t… My heart says I can’t tell you.” Zinnia refused, grabbing Yannis’ hand and pressing it against her chest. “It’s not that I won’t tell you; my heart just won’t let me.”

Zinnia spoke with utter seriousness. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell him; it was as if some voice deep inside was forbidding her.

Yannis froze. His warm palm rested gently against her chest, the touch soft and tender.

Today, she wore a light yellow sundress, its silky fabric whisper-thin. Pressed against her heart, through the delicate material, he could feel her heartbeat—a steady, rhythmic pulse beneath his hand.

While he was listening to the steady rhythm of her heartbeat, Yannis’ gaze softened, and a gentle warmth spread through his chest.

Zinnia murmured in a soft, drunken voice, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, Yannis. It’s just… my heart won’t let me. So you can’t be mad at me, okay?”

Before Yannis could respond, the girl’s small, warm figure nestled into his embrace.

Zinnia, feeling weary from sitting, shifted forward and rested her head against his chest. Deep down, she trusted the man before her completely.

“I’m so sleepy.” Zinnia yawned, her beautiful features drooping with exhaustion.

She hadn’t been resting well these days, and after some alcohol and all that commotion, drowsiness finally overtook her.

“Sleep if you’re tired,” Yannis murmured softly, gently stroking her hair.

“Mm-hmm,” Zinnia murmured drowsily, wrapping her arms around Yannis’ waist as she nestled into a comfortable position before obediently closing her eyes.

Feeling her reliance, Yannis lowered his gaze. Zinnia’s delicate face rested against his chest, and her soft pink lips slightly pouted in sleep.

She had already drifted off. The exhausted girl was truly worn out, her breathing deepening into soft murmurs as she slept.

Yannis reached out, his fingertips gently brushing against her cheek. Her face was burning hot.

She couldn’t handle any alcohol at all—not even a sip of white wine.

Her face felt itchy. Zinnia nuzzled her head against Yannis’ clothes and mumbled sleepily, “Yannis, there’s a mosquito…”

When Yannis heard her murmur his name so sweetly, his heart instantly melted into a puddle.

Yannis slipped one strong arm around Zinnia’s waist, the other beneath her knees, and gently lifted her into his arms.

Step by step, he carried her over to the daybed by the window.

After carefully laying Zinnia down on the daybed, Yannis knelt beside her, his gaze falling on her left hand.

He gently took her hand and rested it on his knee. With gentle fingers, he tugged at the edge of the bow to loosen it and then, with careful precision, began unwinding the bandage layer by layer.

As the bandage came off, the transformation of the wound on Zinnia’s palm became startlingly apparent. The innermost layer of gauze was even stained with dark brown bloodstains.

Zinnia couldn’t bear to look at her own bleeding wound, so she ended up treating it in a haphazard way.

The Moon Scar Cream was applied unevenly. Some spots were covered, while others were left bare. The deliberately reopened wound now looked far worse than the original injury.

Yannis’ brows furrowed deeply. A suspicion he dreaded thinking about began to surface within him.

Yet with the truth laid bare before his eyes, his long lashes trembled slightly.

‘Zinnia has always been so careful with her body. Even the slightest bump would have her pouting. She would never have done something so drastic unless she’d discovered something seriously wrong,’ Yannis thought, his heart aching.

Yannis’ lips pressed into a thin, tense line. He found the ointment and new gauze and then carefully redressed her wound.

Zinnia slowly awoke to find that dusk had fallen.

She turned her head and saw Yannis sitting by the daybed. He was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, his laptop resting on his lap.

He must have been working earlier, but exhaustion had overtaken him, and he’d dozed off without even realizing it.

Zinnia thought, ‘If he were awake and tired, he would have closed his laptop before resting.’

Yannis hadn’t been home for days, handling all his work remotely. Only if something truly urgent came up would Toby fly over to see him.

Zinnia looked up at him, her gaze lingering on the dark circles under his eyes.

‘Yannis hasn’t been getting enough rest lately,’ she thought with concern.

With Nathan in trouble and her own health a ticking time bomb, Yannis couldn’t even relax in his sleep.

During the day, he had to coordinate with experts and researchers from the institute, attending meetings and running experiments on cultivating the special seeds.

At night, he burned the midnight oil, working overtime on company affairs.

On top of that, he still had to look after Zinnia. All in all, he was constantly swamped, barely catching a breath.

Jackson was also there, but the weight on his shoulders was even heavier than Yannis’. As the eldest brother, he bore the full weight of the sprawling Lynn family business, with all its responsibilities resting on him, and had to worry about Nathan.

Seeing Nathan lying weak pained Jackson deeply as his older brother. He and Yannis were the only ones Nathan and Zinnia could rely on.

Zinnia’s gaze lingered a bit too long. Yannis opened his eyes to meet her tender, concerned stare. He then asked gently, “Awake? Do you feel better?”

Yannis sat up, setting the laptop from his lap aside. His concerned gaze settled on Zinnia.

As Zinnia propped herself up, a wave of dizziness washed over her—an immediate effect of the blood loss.

For most people, losing about 20 milliliters of blood wouldn’t matter much, but for someone as anemic as Zinnia, even that small amount made a significant difference.

Yannis saw Zinnia press a hand to her forehead, and his eyes darkened with concern as he steadied her with both hands.

He had no idea how much blood she’d lost. But he remembered whenever she had her period, her face would turn deathly pale, her hands and feet ice cold, and she’d be so weak she could barely move.

“Yannis, I’m fine. Just overslept a little.” Zinnia was still completely unaware that Yannis had already discovered what she’d been hiding. She didn’t want him to notice anything unusual about her.

“How did I fall asleep?” Zinnia had absolutely no recollection of dozing off.

Yannis explained gently, “This afternoon, I put a bit of white wine in the sweet soup I made for you.”

Zinnia blinked slowly, still in disbelief. “Wait… I actually got drunk from a soup?”

‘Seriously? I got tipsy from that? Even a bit of wine can knock me out! Just how terrible is my alcohol tolerance, anyway?’ she wondered.

Zinnia had never touched a drop of alcohol before. Nathan had always made sure she stayed strictly away from it.

So she honestly had no idea just how terrible her alcohol tolerance actually was.

It was just a tiny bit of white wine, and Yannis had even boiled it.

‘I’m not just a lightweight; I’m basically a one-sip wonder,’ Zinnia thought. She gave herself a mental round of applause.

Yannis cautioned worriedly, “Zinnia, promise never drink when you’re out, and stay away from anything with even a trace of alcohol.”

Her alcohol tolerance was dangerously low. Just a sip could lead to disastrous consequences. He could absolutely not let her touch alcohol in public.