But he temporarily suppressed his question and grasped her wrist again. “Let me see your injury.”
Meng Jinyue tried several times to pull her wrist back but couldn’t free it.
It seemed he wouldn’t relent until he had examined it.
They had agreed to forget everything that happened tonight. Just looking at the injury shouldn’t lead to any complications, right?
Like a blank sheet of paper, her thoughts were all written on her face. Xie Yunye naturally understood what she was thinking.
“Third Miss, you touched me too. Applying medicine for you is hardly any different. I promised to forget tonight’s events, and I won’t go back on my word.”
Meng Jinyue bit her cherry-red lips, realizing it was difficult to change this man’s mind, and could only compromise. “Alright.”
Xie Yunye rolled up her sleeve and froze in place.
Her skin was as fair as jade, perhaps making even minor abrasions appear glaringly obvious. How much more so this large patch of red, which looked truly alarming.
She had said the injury wasn’t serious, and since her complexion appeared normal, he had believed her.
“And this is what you call ‘nothing’?”
When Xie Yunye was angry, his face would instinctively turn cold, making him look quite intimidating.
Meng Jinyue shrank back in fear. “Compared to your injury, it really isn’t too severe.”
Xie Yunye also realized his tone had frightened her.
“Sorry.”
“I know you don’t want to be involved with me, and you don’t want to betray your second sister. But even so, you shouldn’t take your own health lightly.”
As he spoke, Xie Yunye firmly grasped her wrist, preparing to apply the medicine.
Meng Jinyue instinctively closed her eyes.
She had expected him to be rough, but his touch was surprisingly gentle, inexplicably conveying a sense of tenderness.
“I know my limits.”
Seeing her open her eyes, Xie Yunye looked at her and spoke.
Meng Jinyue met his deep, dark gaze directly and quickly closed her eyes again.
In the past, aside from his younger sister, Xie Yunye had no fondness for timid, fearful women and even more so despised such men, considering them unfit for great responsibilities.
But now, looking at the timid Meng Jinyue, he found her somewhat adorable in his heart.
“Is it done?”
Meng Jinyue asked in a trembling voice.
Xie Yunye shook his head. “Not yet.”
In truth, the bandaging was nearly finished, but Xie Yunye felt reluctant to let go.
“Is it done?”
Only after Meng Jinyue asked again did Xie Yunye finally release her.
He instructed, “Don’t let your arm get wet these next few days.”
Meng Jinyue nodded, then looked at him. “When can you leave?”
Xie Yunye: “I can leave tomorrow.”
“During the day? Wouldn’t that be too conspicuous?”
Xie Yunye smiled. “You can call A Zhi over to see you. I’ll disguise myself as her guard and leave that way.”
Seeing her still frowning with her snow-white face, Xie Yunye knew she was still worried.
“Don’t worry, they don’t know I’m the one they’re after. I wore a mask during the theft.”
Only then did Meng Jinyue breathe a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
After saying this, Meng Jinyue quickly regretted it and added, “I… I’m not worried about you. It’s just that you’re A Zhi’s brother, and I don’t want anything to happen to her family.”
Xie Yunye’s laughter echoed in the darkness. He was tall and imposing, but his voice was pleasant. “I know.”
“You take the bed. You’re injured.”
Xie Yunye looked at her. “What about you?”
Meng Jinyue froze.
Xie Yunye then realized she hadn’t considered herself at all.
Xie Yunye said, “You sleep on the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Seeing her lips part as if she wanted to say something, Xie Yunye cut her off directly, making the final decision: “That’s settled.”
In the darkness, only the sound of their breathing remained.
Meng Jinyue buried her head completely under the covers, regretting why she had let Xie Yunye stay in her room.
She could have just gone to Qiu Zhi and Qiu Ning’s room earlier, but it was too late to bring it up now.
“Are you trying to suffocate yourself?”
Xie Yunye sat up. As a martial artist, his vision and hearing were excellent, even in the dark.
So naturally, he could see that she had been hiding under the covers for a long time and could hear her faint, regretful sigh.
Xie Yunye guessed that she must have realized belatedly that she shouldn’t have let him stay in the room.
“Since you can’t sleep, let’s talk,” Xie Yunye said.
“Huh?” Meng Jinyue was stunned.
She seemed not to understand why he suddenly wanted to chat with her, but she instinctively refused.
“I… I’ll fall asleep soon.”
But with another person in the room, how could she possibly sleep?
Meng Jinyue could only pretend to be asleep.
Xie Yunye naturally noticed it too. When she turned over for the eighth time, he spoke again.
“Stop pretending!”
Exposed, Meng Jinyue’s voice betrayed her guilt: “H-how did you know?”
Xie Yunye chuckled: “It’s obvious.”
“And I can’t sleep either. I happen to have something to ask you.”
Meng Jinyue checked the favorability value. After spending the evening together, Xie Yunye’s favorability had risen a bit more, now reaching fifty.
It was faster than she had expected.
“W-what do you want to ask? I won’t tell you anything about A Zhi.”
Xie Yunye shook his head: “Not about A Zhi.”
He already knew everything about his younger sister.
“You still haven’t answered why you’re so skilled at bandaging wounds?”
Xie Yunye had wanted to ask earlier, but she had avoided the question at the time, and her expression had seemed somewhat off.
“I learned it when I was young.”
“It can’t just be from when you were young.”
“If you don’t tell me…” Xie Yunye deliberately put on a stern face to scare her.
It was the first time he had tried to intimidate a woman, and it worked surprisingly well.
“I’ll tell you!”