Li Qiuyue was genuinely startled by the blood-stained bandages on his shoulder.
Seeing Qin Huai remain silent, she even thought he might really be in serious trouble.
She immediately stepped back and said, “Hang in there, I’ll go find a doctor.”
She turned to rush out, but in the next moment, someone pulled her back.
“No need. This injury didn’t fully heal from my last mission. It flared up again by accident. I have special medicine from a doctor,” Qin Huai said, pointing to his military backpack.
He struggled to speak: “The medicine and bandages are in there… could you help me get them?”
Zhaozhao, who had been silently standing by, immediately ran over to try and pull the backpack toward Qin Huai.
He tugged twice with all his strength but couldn’t move it.
Feeling helpless, he looked at Li Qiuyue this softened Qin Huai’s heart slightly.
Following Qin Huai’s instructions, Li Qiuyue took a box out from the compartment of the backpack.
Inside were all sorts of medicines, neatly organized with plenty of medical supplies.
Qin Huai asked her to first cut off the bandages on his body using the scissors inside.
But for some reason, though she usually killed chickens with a single precise strike to the neck, her hand now trembled uncontrollably as she held the scissors.
Li Qiuyue cursed herself silently for being so useless.
From beside her came Qin Huai’s low voice: “Don’t be afraid. If you poke me, it’ll be on me.”
“Pah pah pah, always saying ominous things! How would I poke you?!” Li Qiuyue rolled her eyes.
She said that but then looked at Zhaozhao: “Zhaozhao, close your eyes.”
Without asking questions, the little boy immediately covered his eyes tightly with his tiny hands.
Li Qiuyue took a deep breath, focused, and carefully cut the bandages.
The front bandages fell away easily, but the blood-soaked parts in the back seemed stuck to his flesh.
Even the slightest movement made Qin Huai emit a muffled groan.
His groans grew weaker, and he never turned around, leaving his back completely in Li Qiuyue’s hands.
Swallowing nervously, Li Qiuyue mustered courage and tore off the blood-stained bandages in one go.
Beneath, the wound was a horrifying mess of flesh and blood, like a deep ravine had split open on his back.
Just looking at it made Li Qiuyue’s scalp tingle.
When she shifted her gaze, she saw that the rest of his back was crisscrossed with scars, shocking and painful to behold.
Her chest tightened, a bitter ache rising in her heart.
She slammed the table and muttered angrily: “I knew I couldn’t let Liu Jinhua off so easily! You insisted on not pursuing it what a waste of suffering!”
“You’re still not letting others off?” Qin Huai, sweating from the pain, heard her words and was so angry that he laughed.
Earlier today, when Qin Huai returned from work, he heard someone at the village entrance complaining about Liu Jinhua saying she should check on her daughter because Li Qiuyue had gone to her daughter’s house to settle accounts.
He had been suspicious, and at home, Zhaozhao confirmed that Li Qiuyue hadn’t returned since leaving at noon.
Panic surged. He immediately set his things down and went to find her.
He just happened to see Liu Jinhua in the distance and followed her to Li Erni’s house, arriving just in time to rescue Li Qiuyue.
Recalling the chaos in that yard, he couldn’t imagine how Li Qiuyue had planned to end the day.
Even a fool seeking revenge knows to strike from behind.
This woman, however, was bold and careless, letting everyone know everything.
Was she afraid she’d be unreachable if anyone sought accountability?
Li Qiuyue was about to speak sharply at Qin Huai, but then she noticed that Zhaozhao had somehow cracked open his eyes, peeking at her and Qin Huai.
Alright, fine. For the child’s sake, she would let him off today!
She first spared Liu Jinhua, then spared Qin Huai.
She didn’t want anyone to misunderstand that she was “letting people off”!
Li Qiuyue snorted coldly inwardly but busily applied the medicine and bandages to Qin Huai’s back.
“Could you make it a bit tighter? I still need to go to the town tomorrow for inspections. Too loose is inconvenient,” Qin Huai suggested.
Li Qiuyue was speechless. She wanted to tell him that wrapping it too tight would be bad for the wound but thinking of his responsibilities, she tightened it a bit more.
Standing behind him, her arms occasionally hovered as if to wrap around his chest.
Broad, muscular, clearly defined.
But her mind focused entirely on the task at hand, unaware of where her hands had brushed or touched.
Qin Huai, in front, flushed but didn’t know if it was from pain or frustration.
After dressing him in clean clothes, she helped him sit on the kang (heated bed).
Zhaozhao immediately came forward, holding his hand.
Tears welled in his eyes, struggling to contain his emotions: “Uncle Huhu, I’ll blow on it and it won’t hurt anymore.”
“Hmm… seems like it doesn’t hurt much now,” Qin Huai said, pinching Zhaozhao’s small face.
He gestured for Zhaozhao to climb onto the kang so he could rest while holding him.
Zhaozhao pouted, glanced at his mother, and upon receiving permission, kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the bed.
Lying in Qin Huai’s warm, broad embrace, his unease about the blood gradually dissipated.
He even pondered for a moment before, only Mom would pinch his face. Now Uncle also liked to pinch his face.
What if they ruined his face?
For the first time with both “parents,” he didn’t know how to handle this.
Within a short while, Zhaozhao fell asleep.
Li Qiuyue went to deal with the bloody bandages. When she returned, Qin Huai’s breathing had gradually evened out.
Though the slightly heavy nasal sound still hinted at his lingering pain.
Her disdain for him remained, but her gratitude for him acting like a god guarding her from behind was real.
“Thank you so much today,” she whispered.
As if making a decision, she quickly walked out, unaware that the man on the bed shook his head helplessly after she left.
…
The village barefoot doctor was an elderly man in his sixties, from a family of doctors, previously assigned to the village.
He had both affordable and fast-acting expensive medicines.
Because of Zhaozhao’s health, she often dealt with the old doctor and knew he had painkillers.
She trusted the old doctor.
But Qin Huai’s identity was special. She didn’t know what mission he was on and feared that a careless word could affect him, so she carefully considered her approach.
At the old doctor’s clinic, she saw the white-bearded man at a redwood table, calculating on an abacus. She pretended to be excited:
“Grandpa Zhou, my dad’s back was hit so badly it’s torn open. He’s screaming in pain—please give me some effective pain medicine!”
The doctor paused, squinting suspiciously: “Your dad?”
“Yes! Please save him!” Li Qiuyue nodded emphatically.
First, Qin Huai and her father were both men, so the dosage would likely be similar.
Second, her father was always out working on construction with the “top team,” rarely meeting the reclusive doctor, so there was little risk of being discovered.
Also, the doctor was a good man he wouldn’t expose her even if he realized he’d been deceived.
Li Qiuyue thought through everything carefully.
She didn’t notice the twitch at the corner of the doctor’s mouth under his white beard.
Finally, unable to hold back, he pointed to the person under the counter: “Your dad is hurt then who is this?”