The room was unlit. In the dimness lingered the faint scent of medicine and the stuffy heaviness of windows long kept shut.
By the weak light spilling in from the hallway, Jiang Mian saw the floor was a complete mess—shattered teacups, books swept to the ground, and an overturned enamel washbasin.
And at the end of the chaos, in the shadow by the window, stood a wheelchair.
The man seated in it had his back to the light. He was tall but looked gaunt.
He wore a thin army‑green shirt, sleeves rolled up. The muscles in his exposed arms were taut, veins bulging across the back of his hands—clear signs of barely restrained rage.
At the sound of footsteps, Huo Jingchuan spun his wheelchair around.
It was an exceptionally handsome yet sinister face.
Sharp brows, a high nose bridge—but those deep-set eyes were bloodshot, his gaze like that of a wounded, cornered lone wolf: vicious, violent, and carrying the madness of someone ready to destroy everything.
“Who let you in?”
His voice rasped like sandpaper scraping stone, cold to the bone.“Didn’t I tell you to get out? Take your things and go back to the countryside! I don’t need a woman—least of all some stranger coming here to pity me!”
If it were any ordinary girl, facing such a ferocious “Huo Yama,” she’d have been scared stiff and run out crying.
Jiang Mian was “scared” too.
Her slender body shuddered violently, and the small bundle in her hands slipped and fell to the floor with a thud.
She bit down hard on her lower lip. In the dim light, her palm-sized face was pale as paper, tears instantly welling in her eyes, trembling but not falling—pitiful beyond measure.
“J‑Jingchuan… brother…”
Her voice was barely above a whisper, quivering—yet she didn’t turn to flee.
Instead, she drew in a deep breath as if summoning every ounce of courage she had, then walked toward the man radiating killing intent, step by stiff step.
Huo Jingchuan’s brows knotted tightly, disgust undisguised.“Can’t understand human language? I told you to get out!”
When Jiang Mian reached the wheelchair, her legs suddenly gave way.
Thump.
She knelt straight down on the floor beside his legs.
She looked up at him, her almond-shaped eyes brimming with devotion, dependence—and even a trace of heartache.
She reached out with two pale, delicate hands and carefully clutched the hem of his clothes resting on his knees, as if it were the only lifeline she had in the world.
“I won’t leave.”
Her voice trembled with sobs, soft and sweet, yet stubborn enough to tug at the heart.“Brother Jingchuan, I know you’re suffering. I know you don’t want to drag me down. But since I married you, I never planned on leaving.”
“You’re a hero—you were injured for the country. My sister despises you, but I don’t. My parents forced me to marry you, but in my heart… I was willing.”
As she spoke, tears finally slid down her cheeks, dripping onto the back of Huo Jingchuan’s hand—burning hot.
“Even if you hit me or scold me, I’ll stay. Alive, I’m a member of the Huo family. Dead, I’m a Huo ghost. I’ll take care of you for a lifetime… until the day you personally drive me away.”
Huo Jingchuan stared at the woman before him.
She cried like pear blossoms in the rain, hands trembling as they clutched his clothes—clearly terrified of him, yet stubbornly refusing to leave.
An inexplicable irritation surged in his chest, mixed with something he couldn’t name.
He’d heard plenty of mockery and fake sympathy in the compound. This was the first time someone had been yelled at like this—yet still shamelessly insisted on staying to care for him.
Was she an idiot?
Just as Huo Jingchuan was about to open his mouth and drive her away with even crueler words—
A wildly abrupt, cheerful, borderline hooliganish voice suddenly barged into his mind without warning:
[Holy hell, kneeling hurts! This floor is rock-hard—doesn’t the Huo family have money for a carpet?!]
[Why are you yelling? Got louder in you? Best if you just throw me out already!]
Huo Jingchuan froze, his eyes turning razor-sharp.
Who… was talking?
Then the voice came again, filled with maddening eagerness and greed:
[Hurry up and kick me out! Please, brother! If you throw me out, I can rightfully move into the guest room next door!]
[I took a peek earlier—the guest room faces south, it’s big and breezy, and that bed looks soft as hell!]
[Most importantly! There’s an unopened can of malted milk powder on the dresser! Malted milk powder! I swear I smelled the sweetness! I’ve been starving all day—if I get into that room, I’m finishing the whole can tonight!]
[Get lost, get lost, get lost! Who wants to squeeze into a room with you, gloomy Yama King? I want my malted milk powder!]
Huo Jingchuan: “……???”
He jerked his head down, staring hard at the woman before him—still tear-streaked, eyes full of devotion, looking so fragile she seemed unable to survive on her own.
She was still sobbing softly:“Brother Jingchuan… please don’t send me away. I want to stay with you…”
But the voice in his head was screaming at full volume:
[Come on, Huo Yama! Where’s your temper? Your rage? Swing the wheelchair and smash me with it! Smash me out the door and I’m free!]