Su Zhi had nearly stumbled and hit the windowsill. Yue Chunhan reacted swiftly, one hand cushioning her head, the other wrapping around her waist. Due to momentum, Su Zhi crashed into Yue Chunhan’s embrace, holding him tightly.
Instinctively, Su Zhi wrapped her arms around Yue Chunhan’s waist—slender yet muscular, still bandaged. Where there were no bandages, large expanses of bare, honey-toned skin stretched taut, firm and sculpted under her touch.
Unlike Yue Chunhan’s cool, brooding personality, his body radiated heat. Su Zhi even felt his skin was scalding, making her hands restless. But given their position, she could only cling to his waist to avoid falling.
Their proximity was so close that Su Zhi’s face pressed against Yue Chunhan’s chest. She could even hear the powerful thumping of his heart, so intense.
Yue Chunhan’s arm encircled Su Zhi’s waist—so slender it felt like his large hand could span it entirely, soft and supple as if boneless.
The red polka-dot top Su Zhi wore wasn’t thick. As he held her waist, her warmth seeped through the fabric. This rose, coveted by countless men in the village, had unexpectedly tumbled into his arms.
Su Zhi’s originally fair ears flushed crimson, her neck and the skin below tinged with a rosy hue. She looked up, bewildered, her watery eyes shimmering with ripples as if holding back tears—like she’d been wronged.
Yue Chunhan’s eyes darkened, profound and intense. He caught a whiff of fragrance—from Su Zhi’s hair, her neck, her clothes—a scent that seemed to emanate from her very being.
It was the soap he had bought.
He used the same soap when he bathed, but it never smelled as potent as it did on her.
Held by this soft, seemingly boneless woman, Yue Chunhan—who had never been this close to a woman before—stiffened slightly. Su Zhi’s eyes were hazy with moisture, as if she didn’t know what to do.
In Yue Chunhan’s memory, Su Zhi had always been adept and effortless in matters of love between men and women. This was the first time he had seen her so flustered.
Pressing his thin lips together, he slowly sat upright and released Su Zhi. She scrambled away like a startled rabbit, her cheeks flushed crimson, lips moving as if unsure what to say.
The dim room fell into silence, only the alternating breaths of the two filling the air—an unspoken, prolonged atmosphere of ambiguity enveloping them.
Su Zhi bit her lip, her face burning. She wanted to climb down and find Yue Tiantian to break the awkward tension, but as soon as she lifted her head to speak, she sensed something was wrong.
Yue Chunhan didn’t look well.
His features were tense, his brows slightly furrowed. The face that usually struck fear into the villagers was now contorted with discomfort.
Recalling the muffled grunt Yue Chunhan had made when she crashed into him, Su Zhi hesitated, then cautiously asked, “Are you… are you okay?”
Yue Chunhan’s expression seemed calm, but he was clearly suppressing discomfort, beads of cold sweat even forming on his forehead.
Earlier, when Su Zhi cleaned his wound, Yue Chunhan hadn’t uttered a sound, his face composed. But now he looked visibly uncomfortable. Su Zhi was startled, instantly forgetting her earlier embarrassment. She hurried over, supporting his arm, and asked, “Yue… Yue Chunhan, are you okay? What’s wrong? Where does it hurt…”
Su Zhi remembered that when she crashed into Yue Chunhan, she might have pressed against his body. Instinctively, she glanced at his legs. Sure enough, Yue Chunhan was gripping his left leg—the one with the old injury—tightly, trying to alleviate the pain.
Su Zhi paused.
She remembered Yue Chunhan’s leg from the original novel. It was injured while he was in the military, trying to save someone. Because of this injury, he was forced to retire due to disability.
The original novel described Yue Chunhan’s leg injury as heroic, earning him sympathy and admiration from readers, who praised him as a classic “beautiful, strong, tragic” character.
But Yue Chunhan’s leg had left him with a permanent condition. No matter how wealthy or influential he became later, he could never fully cure it. In later years, many businessmen secretly mocked him as the “crippled entrepreneur.” Of course, anyone who ever ridiculed Yue Chunhan’s leg suffered his ruthless retaliation.
Yue Chunhan was a man of deep thoughts, capable of enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens—a ruthless man with ambition and a vindictive streak. It was no wonder he eventually climbed to great heights, becoming one of the top tycoons in the original story.
Now, looking at Yue Chunhan drenched in sweat, Su Zhi knew he might still be wary and distrustful of her. Yet, thinking of how he would be mocked in the future, she couldn’t bear to stand by.
Su Zhi’s family had practiced medicine for generations. By her time, they could be called a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
Her family had a set of ancestral acupuncture and massage techniques that could unblock the meridians and had excellent therapeutic effects on many injuries.
If Yue Chunhan’s leg injury hadn’t yet reached an irreparable stage, Su Zhi felt she might be able to help.
But was it worth exposing the differences between herself and the original host to treat his leg?
The original Su Zhi didn’t know any acupuncture or massage techniques. Yue Chunhan, with his meticulous mind, was likely already suspicious after the earlier incident with the medicine. If she added more, Su Zhi felt her secret might not stay hidden for long.
But…
Su Zhi bit her lip, looking at Yue Chunhan before her. He was in severe pain. His injured leg hadn’t received proper treatment under rudimentary medical conditions, leaving him with a permanent condition that prevented normal walking. No matter how hard he tried to endure the pain and walk like others, a careful observer could still notice his limp.
Yue Chunhan was a proud man. His leg was a matter of great concern to him. Yet, even sweating profusely from pain, he didn’t want to show vulnerability in front of Su Zhi. Instead, he coldly found an excuse to send her away.
“Su Zhi, it’s getting late, and Tiantian isn’t back yet. Can you go find her for me?”
Facing Yue Chunhan’s request, Su Zhi refused him for the first time. Not only did she not leave, but she remained silent for a moment before stepping forward, grabbing his hand, and moving it away to reveal the left leg he had been clutching.
This left leg had been pierced by a bullet, the flesh torn and mangled, instantly losing its ability to function. Yue Chunhan had practically dragged this useless leg, forcibly pulling the boy to safety.
But without time or resources for proper treatment, his flesh had rotted and festered. In the original story, Yue Chunhan had steeled himself, using a knife to carve away the rotten flesh and bandaging it crudely himself.
After being discharged due to injury, his left leg would ache on damp, rainy days. Usually, it just seemed slightly lame, but in reality, the slightest misstep could trigger excruciating, heart-piercing pain—like now.
Yue Chunhan’s complexion was poor, even somewhat pale. The suppressed pain covered his face in cold sweat, his pupils dark and unfathomable as he clenched his fists tightly.
Such pain, if endured solely by willpower, could be utterly agonizing. But using painkillers was not only expensive but also risked physical dependency.
Su Zhi took a deep breath and looked up at Yue Chunhan. “Yue Chunhan… my dad once injured his shoulder. I learned a massage technique that’s said to be very effective. Would you like to try it? Maybe it could help your leg injury.”
Yue Chunhan, fighting the pain in his leg, barely managed to lift his head and look down at Su Zhi beside him. He narrowed his eyes, his dark pupils profound.
Su Zhi used to fear and even loathe him, especially his injured leg. When she learned she was forced to marry him, Su Zhi’s beautiful, striking face had been full of disdain as she loudly protested, “How could I marry a cripple? His leg is so disgusting. There’s no way I’d marry him!”
On their wedding day, Su Zhi had tried to escape countless times. Yue Chunhan had turned a blind eye. He never expected Su Zhi to settle down and live honestly with him. They were from two different worlds, and she would never look twice at a cripple like him.
But now, he couldn’t detect a trace of disdain on Su Zhi’s face. Even when he scrutinized her carefully, he found no flaw. No act could feign such genuine expression.
…She even seemed somewhat pained for him.
Emotions churned within Yue Chunhan, his eyes deepening in color as he stared intently at Su Zhi, as if observing some rare species.
“Oh, really.”
He heard his own voice, cold and flat, echoing dryly in the room. Yue Chunhan suddenly grew curious: what exactly did this Su Zhi before him intend to do?
Massage? If massage could be effective, what was the point of the village clinic? He had never heard of any technique that could alleviate the pain from a leg injury.
Su Zhi wasn’t deterred by his cold and indifferent attitude. She calmly looked at Yue Chunhan, pressing him down with her hands. “You’re too tall. Lie down, and I’ll massage it for you.”
Having lived in the village for so long, this was the first time Yue Chunhan had received such a command-like instruction. But looking at Su Zhi’s calm, fair face and her gentle, light-brown eyes, he fell silent for a moment and actually complied with her request, lying down on the kang.
Su Zhi’s warm, slender hands rested on his left leg. Yue Chunhan had initially thought Su Zhi was joking or merely trying to distract him. But when those hands began kneading the muscles of his leg, his body instantly tensed, and his pupils widened slightly.
Su Zhi’s hands appeared delicate and weak, slender and fair—untouched by wind, sun, or labor in the fields.
Yue Chunhan assumed Su Zhi, a spoiled girl who never lifted a finger, would merely go through the motions with little strength before giving up. He never expected that once Su Zhi began, she seemed like a different person, kneading with just the right pressure.
Proper massage techniques could unblock the meridians, and Su Zhi was doing just that. This technique, passed down through generations, had finally met its first practical patient in her hands.
Yue Chunhan’s leg was very stiff. Even though his limp was common knowledge in the village, he still strived to maintain balance while walking, trying not to let others notice his leg issue.
Earlier, when Su Zhi had sprained her ankle due to the peeping incident and Yue Chunhan carried her home, Su Zhi had already noticed this—Yue Chunhan worked hard to keep his balance, not wanting to reveal his uneven gait in front of her.
But walking like this year after year not only offered no benefit to his leg but could also gradually cause problems in his other leg.
The tense muscles in his leg were rigid. Su Zhi used her palms and fingertips to slowly unblock the meridians, kneading the nearly necrotic muscle fibers, trying her best to alleviate his suffering.
Yue Chunhan’s leg was his forbidden zone. If anyone even glanced at it, his face would turn cold, let alone anyone daring to touch it.
Now, this leg that had brought him so much pain was receiving meticulous care—unlike before, when he would endure the pain or pinch himself hard, trying to use other pain to mask the sharp injury from his leg wound.
Su Zhi’s movements were comfortable. Her technique clearly showed practice, the pressure just right. Yue Chunhan soon felt a warmth in his leg, as if soaking in warm water, soothing enough to almost make him forget the original pain.
“Su Zhi.”
Yue Chunhan narrowed his long, narrow eyes and looked at Su Zhi. “You said you learned this technique by massaging your dad’s shoulder?”
Massaging required effort. Su Zhi was already sweating profusely and replied dismissively, “Yes, that’s right.”
Yue Chunhan lay on the kang and suddenly let out a light laugh.
How could someone lie so poorly and so outrageously?
He didn’t press further. Yue Chunhan understood that everyone had secrets they didn’t want to share, especially someone like Su Zhi.
Although he didn’t know why Su Zhi’s temperament had changed so much recently, he had to admit that if Su Zhi kept this personality…