Jiang Yao stared at her open collar for two seconds, then frowned and looked away.
Xu Changxia thought for a moment, mustered her courage, and gently tugged the hand holding the medicine, subtly exposing her collar right under his eyes. She whispered, “It’s so late at night, I can’t see clearly to apply the medicine…”
Since he had come back on his own, there was no reason to let him leave again.
Jiang Yao’s frown deepened.
Xu Changxia also watched him silently. The moonlight streaming in from outside outlined the contours of his profile with a faint golden edge, making him look almost unrealistically handsome.
In her previous life, she had been somewhat afraid of him.
Because he was serious and rarely smiled, his face always stern, and since they lay together in the dark at night, she had never really looked closely at his face.
Now she could see him clearly.
Jiang Yao had a face that grew on you—almond-shaped eyes with a subtle double eyelid, a straight and high nose bridge. His skin was somewhat tanned from years of training, but it couldn’t overshadow his excellent facial features. Standing nearly 190 centimeters tall, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and slim hips, his proportions were perfect, comparable to an international male model. He was far more handsome than Jiang Chi.
In her previous life, she must have been blind to choose Jiang Chi.
“Is it not okay?” She waited for him for a while, and seeing that he remained silent, she asked again pitifully.
Before she even finished speaking, her eyes were already rimmed with red.
Xu Changxia was a renowned beauty far and wide. Her helpless appearance at this moment was both charming and pitiful.
Jiang Yao stared at her, hesitated for a moment, then simply said bluntly, “I saw everything just now.”
Xu Changxia was stunned upon hearing this.
“Aren’t you going to explain?” Jiang Yao asked in a low voice when she remained silent.
Xu Changxia felt that since she wanted to start over, she must uphold the most basic honesty between husband and wife.
After thinking for a moment, she said, “I didn’t invite him. He came here drunk and started causing a scene on his own. I already made it clear to him yesterday—it’s impossible for us to be together, and he should give up on that idea.”
Jiang Yao stared at her intently, his gaze inscrutable.
He had studied criminal psychology for three years. Xu Changxia’s eyes were frank and open, not like she was lying.
So, her stabbing with the scissors earlier made sense now.
Her attempted suicide by biting her tongue might have been because she wasn’t psychologically ready to accept him yet. In her heart, she hadn’t completely let go of Jiang Chi.
“Then how about this? Tell me what I need to do for you to believe me,” Xu Changxia pondered and said to the silent Jiang Yao. “I’ll do whatever you say.”
“No need,” Jiang Yao took a deep breath and replied softly.
With that, he extended his large hand, covering the exposed fair skin of her neck, and closed the door behind him with his other hand.
Xu Changxia followed him into the room.
“Sit on the sofa,” Jiang Yao pointed to the nearby couch.
Xu Changxia obediently nodded and sat down quietly.
Jiang Yao prepared the disinfectant cotton swabs and turned around, only to be stunned again.
Xu Changxia wasn’t tall, just over 160 centimeters. Standing in front of him, she looked particularly petite, let alone sitting there.
Now curled up into a small ball, her fair and delicate feet resting on the cold floor tiles, even her toes were frozen into a cute shade of pink. She looked somewhat pitiful.
What happened earlier had frightened her badly, and he actually felt somewhat guilty.
Their engagement had been arranged by their parents and matchmakers. They hadn’t even met before. It was normal for her not to want to marry him and to resist doing that.
Especially since she had someone else in her heart.
He was silent for a few seconds, then knelt on one knee before her, placing her cold little feet on his lap. “Open your mouth,” he said.
Xu Changxia obediently opened her mouth at once.
“That won’t do—I can’t see. Stick out your tongue,” Jiang Yao said, looking at her mouth.
Xu Changxia closed her eyes and stuck just the tip of her tongue out.
Jiang Yao’s brow furrowed even deeper.
He stared at her for a few seconds, holding back from speaking, and used the tweezers to stuff a cotton ball into her mouth.
The wound was deep inside, and the tweezers were a bit short. Whether from pain or something else, Xu Changxia retracted her tongue slightly. Jiang Yao followed by probing a little deeper, and his fingertip accidentally brushed against Xu Changxia’s lips.
The moment their temperatures touched, Xu Changxia’s little mouth trembled slightly, as if shocked by electricity.
“Does it hurt?” Jiang Yao asked her.
His voice carried a hint of hoarseness.
“Mhm,” Xu Changxia responded softly.
Jiang Yao looked at her tightly closed eyes—even her eyelashes were trembling faintly now.
For some reason, he recalled how she had trembled earlier after taking off her clothes.
His throat felt a bit dry.
He hesitated for two seconds, withdrew the tweezers, and said, “Forget it. Let’s just go straight to the hospital. My hands are too rough.”
“Don’t.” Before he could put the things down, Xu Changxia grabbed his wrist, looking somewhat anxious.
Jiang Yao was afraid of hurting her—she was so small, and even a little force from him might be enough to crush her bones.
“It hurts. Can you just do something about it first?” Xu Changxia stared at Jiang Yao with pleading eyes and added softly.
With Xu Changxia acting so coquettishly, Jiang Yao felt his whole body tense up again.
He paused for a few seconds and said, “Fine. Let go first.”
“But… what if you leave me alone?” Xu Changxia stammered slightly and asked him quietly.
“I won’t,” Jiang Yao replied calmly.
After saying that, he turned back, picked up the small medicine bottle again, and knelt before Xu Changxia once more.
Xu Changxia released his arm with a mix of doubt and trust.
Jiang Yao didn’t seem as domineering and unreasonable as the rumors suggested. At least from what had happened tonight, she could sense that he knew how to respect others.
Watching him focus intently on applying the medicine, she gathered her courage after a moment of silence and asked, “Then… can you stay tonight?”
Jiang Yao’s hand paused.
Then, he replied indifferently, “Weren’t you very resistant to that? Since you don’t like it, I won’t force you.”
In fact, in her past life, Xu Changxia had been very resistant to marrying Jiang Yao. She didn’t like overly rough men, and she had heard that Jiang Yao had only studied until junior high before directly entering military school.
At the engagement banquet, she had also appeared very unwilling—anyone could tell she was forced into fulfilling the marriage agreement with Jiang Yao.
If she suddenly changed her attitude now and acted too eagerly, it would seem abnormal.
After thinking for a moment, she replied to Jiang Yao, “But if you just leave like this, everyone will be disappointed, right? Jiang Chi will definitely make a big deal out of it, and I won’t be able to explain it to my family…”
Jiang Yao looked up at her, his originally calm eyes now carrying a hint of deeper meaning.
So, she was only keeping him to complete the task.
Xu Changxia met his gaze calmly and said, “Since I agreed to tonight’s arrangements, it means I’m willing. Earlier, I was just a little scared, and when you… it hurt too much… that’s why I accidentally bit my tongue.”
This was Jiang Yao’s first time doing this, and the only bit of experience he had came from his close friend’s advice the day before.
When Xu Changxia said it hurt, she lowered her eyes. Seeing her tearful, aggrieved expression, Jiang Yao couldn’t help but soften.
He remained silent for a long while before setting down the medicine in his hand and asking softly, “Does it really hurt that much?”
“Mhm.” Xu Changxia sniffled lightly, then raised her gaze to look at him with reddened eyes, her voice soft and pleading, “You have to be gentler when you move…”
Jiang Yao felt as though her eyes were capable of bewitching him.