The SUV lurched forward the second Chenghai slammed it into gear.
One of his hands stayed tight on the wheel while the other shoved the gear shift hard enough that the vehicle jumped over the curb to avoid hitting two of the abandoned cars blocking the hotel entrance.
In the back seat, Yuche tightened his hold on Rouxi automatically when the SUV bounced over the broken pavement. The vines wrapped around her body reacted immediately, tightening around both of them before slowly settling again once the movement stopped.
"Sorry," Chenghai muttered without thinking.
Lingyun snorted beside Yuche. "Did you just apologize to the plants?"
"Oh fuck off," he grunted in response. "You would say sorry too if you pissed off her plants."
"Her plants love me," replied Lingyun. He held his fingers out toward the smallest vine wrapped around Rouxi's neck. It snapped at him in response, black venom dripping down onto the leather seats between them.
