The moment the voice escaped her lips, she knew it was bad. She raised her head just in time to meet Qiu Ji’s eyes, which looked as though they were about to spit fire.
The woman slammed her palm down onto the table with a loud bang.
Qiu Wu stood up to run, but before she could move, Qiu Ji in her blind rage grabbed a plate from the table and hurled it directly at her.
“Hiss!” The pure silver plate, propelled by sheer force, slammed heavily into her shoulder, and Qiu Wu let out a muffled groan of pain, clutching at her shoulder.
Qiu Ji had already rushed forward, expertly grabbing her by the collar.
“Do you really think that clinging to the Luo family’s coattails means everything is smooth sailing? Let me tell you, no matter how high you climb, you are nothing more than a pariah from West Luocheng. Once people grow tired of playing with you, they’ll just toss you back into the garbage heap!”
You mean the Qiu family is a garbage heap?
Qiu Wu had heard these words so many times she had grown numb to them, leaving no room for profound sorrow. Instead, an untimely joke popped into her head, and the corners of her mouth twitched.
Adding fuel to the fire.
One of Qiu Ji’s hands yanked at her collar while the other was raised high into the air.
Qiu Wu had only enough time to pull her neck in and close her eyes.
“Stop right there!”
Qiu Qi’s voice rang out. The anticipated pain did not descend, and when Qiu Wu opened her eyes, she saw Qiu Qi marching over in a rage, delivering a swift, decisive slap right across Qiu Ji’s face.
It was a sharp crack, forceful enough to make Qiu Ji loosen her grip on the collar and tumble to the floor, a thin trickle of blood slowly seeping from the corner of her mouth.
Qiu Wu instinctively wanted to help her up. “Are you…” Alright?
Before she could finish the sentence, she was cut off by Qiu Qi’s stern interrogation. “Who gave you permission to bully your younger sister?! Apologize!”
Qiu Wu: ( )
The unfinished words stuck in her throat. She watched as Qiu Ji lifted her head, fixing her with a venomous glare before spitting out syllable by syllable, “I’m sorry.”
She did not hate the mother who had struck her, yet she hated the innocently victimized Qiu Wu all the more.
Qiu Qi turned her head, offering an ingratiating smile. “Xiao Wu, she is ignorant, don’t take it to heart. I promise there won’t be a next time.”
As she spoke, her eyes kept darting nervously toward Qiu Ji, and the hands hanging at her sides trembled slightly.
A mother heartbroken for her daughter, an enduring daughter bearing humiliation.
Only she looked like the villain forcing a mother and daughter to turn against each other.
Suddenly, Qiu Wu lost all desire to explain.
“It’s fine. Miss Luo is looking for me, so I won’t be staying at home this week.” She offered a faint smile.
Rejecting Qiu Qi’s polite offer to have someone drive her, Qiu Wu packed a few simple clothes into a shoulder bag and walked out toward the residential complex while texting Luo Bai back.
Qiu Wu: Alright, I’ll come find you.
Luo Bai replied very quickly: No need, I’ll come pick you up right now.
Half an hour later, the flying vehicle landed slowly beside the street amidst the astonished gazes of the surrounding crowd.
The window rolled down, and Luo Bai, wearing a white uniform without any insignia, said, “Get in.”
Shielding herself with her bag from the gossipy and envious stares of the people around her, Qiu Wu scrambled into the car.
When the vehicle rose more than a dozen meters into the air, many people below were still craning their necks to look up.
This was far more eye-catching than any strangely shaped sports car.
Qiu Wu pinched her burning ears and cast a sideways glance at Luo Bai.
That flawless face remained completely calm, as though she hadn’t noticed anyone else at all.
The injury on her shoulder sent a fresh wave of throbbing pain the moment it brushed against the seat; it seemed to have swollen up. Lowering her eyes, she murmured, “Thank you for coming to pick me up.”
“It’s only right.” Once the vehicle ascended to a safe altitude, Luo Bai turned on the autopilot before looking over at Qiu Wu.
The woman’s head was lowered, her gaze fixed on the strap of her shoulder bag, and the corners of her previously uptight lips had drooped.
Luo Bai felt a sense of perplexity.
Though they had been apart for less than three days, she felt as though Qiu Wu had changed significantly.
She hadn’t smiled at her, nor had she asked any questions.
What perplexed her even more was herself.
From the moment she noticed Qiu Wu’s changes, she found herself completely unable to concentrate.
Her eyes kept wanting to drift toward Qiu Wu’s side, her hands kept wanting to press unrelated buttons, and her mouth opened and closed, wanting to speak yet not knowing what to say, until she finally asked dryly, “Are you feeling unwell?”
Qiu Wu was taken aback; she hadn’t expected Luo Bai to notice her emotional state. Her body reacted faster than her brain, forcing the corners of her mouth upward. “I’m fine, just a little tired.”
“Mm.” Luo Bai’s mind was not settled by this explanation; she still wanted to ask more, yet she couldn’t find a suitable reason. “Then let’s go home first.”
“Okay.” Qiu Wu gazed out the window at the white clouds.
Yet, there was no real home for her here.
“What happened to your shoulder?” An uneasy feeling continued to plague Luo Bai, making her unable to stop herself from looking at Qiu Wu, even while she was in the middle of cooking.
Thus, she quickly noticed something was amiss.
While chopping vegetables, Qiu Wu rubbed her shoulder five times, which far exceeded the normal frequency.
“Huh?” Qiu Wu halted her work, staring blankly at Luo Bai.
“Here.” Certain that something was wrong, Luo Bai walked over and placed her hand on her shoulder.
The woman applied very light pressure, but that patch of skin and flesh was already swollen high, radiating a dull ache.
Unable to help it, Qiu Wu knitted her brows tight, reached out to grab Luo Bai’s wrist, and whispered, “Don’t.”
Luo Bai immediately lifted her hand. “You’re injured?”
Qiu Wu: “Yeah, I accidentally bumped into something earlier. It’s not serious, it didn’t bleed.”
She didn’t want to bring up the Qiu family in front of Luo Bai; whether Luo Bai intervened or not, it would only make her appear all the more pitiful.
“Did you treat the wound?” Luo Bai’s question was answered, yet her mood didn’t feel any lighter.
She noticed that Qiu Wu still hadn’t met her eyes the entire day.
Was this also because of the injury?
“Didn’t have time yet.” Qiu Wu’s hands clenched and relaxed, making her feel quite useless.
She had claimed she wanted to take care of Luo Bai, but the truth was she couldn’t even take care of herself. Voicing those troubles would only bring extra trouble to Luo Bai.
Of course Luo Bai wouldn’t toss her back into the garbage heap the way Qiu Ji had said, but that was because Luo Bai was a good person, not because she herself was worth it.
“Stop cooking for now.” Luo Bai took out her phone and dialed Qiu Rong’s number. “It’s me, Luo Bai. Please bring some medication for bruises and swelling over here.”
Qiu Rong arrived very quickly. When Luo Bai opened the door, the woman looked her up and down. “You’re injured?”
Citing precautions, Luo Cheng had spent the last two days repeatedly cautioning her to keep an eye on Luo Bai and make sure no major issues arose.
Did the Luo family carry some kind of star-crossed cursed gene? Every single one of them ran into trouble the moment they fell in love.
“No, it’s Qiu Wu.” Luo Bai tilted her head toward Qiu Wu, who was seated in a chair.
Qiu Rong looked at the awkward yet well-behaved Qiu Wu and sighed. “Where is Miss Qiu injured?”
With a sense of apprehension, Qiu Wu turned her back. She was wearing a shirt today, so she didn’t need to take it all off; she just unbuttoned it to expose the injured half of her shoulder.
Luo Bai stood behind Qiu Wu, staring at the horrifying purplish-blue bruise on that fair shoulder, her brows knitting tightly.
Qiu Rong raised an eyebrow. “How did you manage this?”
Qiu Wu gripped her clothing tightly. “I accidentally bumped into something.”
Qiu Rong could certainly tell the truth, and right now Qiu Wu could only pin her hopes on the other woman being tactful enough.
Qiu Rong: “That’s quite a heavy bump. Miss Qiu should be more careful in the future.”
Qiu Wu’s shoulder instantly relaxed, while Qiu Rong secretly rolled her eyes.
That lie lacks any technical skill at all, Miss Qiu. That injury clearly looks like it was smashed with a blunt object. Where on earth could you bump yourself to get a bruise that uneven?
Still, she was only a doctor, and she had no mood to meddle in the romantic entanglements of these two.
Qiu Rong reached out and gently touched the bruised area. A sharp pain flared up, causing Qiu Wu to tense her body and let out a tiny, stifled groan.
Luo Bai’s voice sounded from behind her. “Can you be a little lighter?”