The moment Li Wu was thrown from the horse, she felt herself flying through the air.
She was done for.
This time, she might actually die young.
Terrified, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Yet Jiang Xun, who could have simply stood by and watched, caught her at that very moment.
She landed safely in his arms.
“It’s all right now.”
The man’s deep, pleasant voice fell softly against her ear, carrying a soothing warmth.
After the sudden fright, Li Wu’s mind had gone completely blank.
“It’s all right. Don’t be afraid.”
Jiang Xun’s words pulled her back from the edge of that blankness.
Realizing that she was still alive, Li Wu timidly opened her eyes.
She met the man’s dark eyes.
Her entire body went weak.
“I’m not dead?”
He lowered his eyes to look at her and said gently, “The eldest daughter of the Li family is destined to live to a hundred.”
Her voice trembled slightly and sounded as though she was about to cry. “Is that a curse or a blessing?”
Seeing her lower her guard, a trace of tenderness surfaced in Jiang Xun’s eyes.
“A blessing.”
Li Wu nearly burst into tears. In a small voice, she asked, “I’ve treated you so badly. Why did you save me?”
Jiang Xun paused and gently set her down before quietly answering, “I don’t know.”
Li Wu sniffled, just about to say thank you, when the System issued a cold warning.
[System: Warning! Host, please watch your words!]
The “thank you” she had been about to say was forcibly swallowed back.
In the end, all that remained was a vicious remark.
“You must have deliberately let go because you wanted to kill me.”
Apparently, Jiang Xun hadn’t expected Li Wu to suddenly say something like that.
He froze for a moment, a trace of confusion appearing in his eyes.
But instead of defending himself, he chose to apologize. “I’m sorry. It was my negligence that frightened you.”
Good grief.
Why was he suddenly being so gentle?
Li Wu couldn’t hold herself together anymore and burst into tears.
She would rather Jiang Xun argue with her like before. That way, she could continue being vicious with a clear conscience.
But the gentler he was, the more guilty she felt.
“Jiang Xun, don’t think that… sob… don’t think that just because you saved me, I’ll let you go.”
She wiped away her tears as she cried. “This young lady won’t go soft on you… You’re my… my dog…”
She was terrible.
So vicious.
Li Wu didn’t want to be a bad person anymore.
She crouched on the ground, wrapped her arms around her knees, and buried her face against them. Like a child who had been wronged, she cried with tears streaming down her face.
Even as she cried, she continued muttering threats.
“I’ll lock you up… sob… I’ll torture you mercilessly… I’ll make you wish you were dead…”
Watching this scene, Jiang Xun found it rather amusing.
He knelt beside her on one knee, took out a tissue, and silently wiped away her tears.
“Don’t cry.”
But the young lady only cried harder, sobbing as though she had suffered an enormous shock and an even greater grievance.
His voice grew even gentler. “Don’t cry, okay?”
Li Wu looked up at him and wondered how he could be so gentle.
She couldn’t take it anymore and burst into loud sobs again.
“Shut up! I won’t allow you to… to be so gentle! You poor beggar from the slums… sob… I hate you.”
He had already run out of tissues.
Looking at the young lady, who seemed to be made of water and simply wouldn’t stop crying, he could only sigh softly.
In the end, as though afraid of offending her, he carefully reached out and gently wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes with his fingertip.
“Don’t hate me, okay?”
“Wah… no! I hate you the most, the most, the most…”
Jiang Xun was at a loss.
He opened his arms and pulled her into his embrace.
“Then hate me.”
This was the second time the young lady had cried.
This time, she was clearly even more emotional and cried for much longer.
Jiang Xun guessed that the young lady was hiding many, many things in her heart that she had no way of telling him.
She could only use strange behavior to draw his attention.
He didn’t know what to do.
Perhaps he needed to find a solution as soon as possible.
Jiang Xun held her even tighter.
The young lady’s body trembled violently.
Poor little thing.
His shoulder gradually became damp as well.
They were the young lady’s tears.
Her tears were like an invisible hand, fiercely clutching at his heart and causing a sharp, unbearable ache.
Jiang Xun thought that he didn’t want to see her cry.
He would rather the young lady remain as arrogant and haughty as ever.
But what could he do to keep the young lady from crying?
Jiang Xun didn’t know.
All he could do was hold her tightly.
No one knew how long she cried.
At last, she finally stopped.
It had been an emotional release, and her feelings had finally settled down.
The process might be difficult, but no matter what, she had to persevere.
She had to stay alive.
She also wanted to return everything belonging to the Li family to Jiang Xun as soon as possible.
With time, the two of them would gradually get better.
Li Wu lifted her head from his arms, her expression somewhat embarrassed.
She hurriedly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and stiffly threatened him.
“You’re not allowed to tell anyone what happened today. Otherwise, I’ll cut out your tongue.”
Jiang Xun couldn’t help laughing.
The way the young lady stubbornly refused to admit her feelings was truly adorable.
“Okay.”
He readily agreed. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“I don’t want that stinky horse anymore, either. It tried to kill me just now.”
She stood up and glared angrily at Ah Xun, who was kicking at stones in the distance. “Stupid horse, stupid horse. I’m going to slaughter you and put you in a hot pot.”
Jiang Xun paused, knowing that she was only speaking out of anger.
“It just isn’t familiar with you yet. Perhaps you can spend some time getting to know each other.”
With that, Jiang Xun led the horse over to Li Wu by its reins.
Li Wu was so frightened that she took several steps backward and hurriedly waved her hands.
“I don’t want to ride anymore.”
Not only had she embarrassed herself just now, she had almost lost her life as well.
She was genuinely afraid of this horse now.
But Jiang Xun held out his hand toward her. “Try.”
His gaze was deep and steady, yet there was also a clean, gentle strength within it.
It seemed to say that with him there, she had nothing to fear.
Li Wu wanted to run, but his gaze held her in place.
Seeing that Li Wu was no longer resisting, he wrapped both arms around her waist and lifted her up.
Li Wu took the opportunity to settle onto the horse’s back.
She could only grip the reins tightly, afraid that she would fall again.
This time, Jiang Xun didn’t let go. He watched her reaction while holding the horse firmly by the reins and slowly walking it along the track.
The horse was incredibly docile now, as though it had been thoroughly trained.
Li Wu lowered her head to look at Jiang Xun. He was walking very slowly.
“Give it a chance and let it get familiar with you, while you get to know it again as well. Perhaps you’ll have a different experience.”
Li Wu was slightly stunned, feeling that there was more to his words than met the eye.
Jiang Xun seemed to notice her silence and suddenly turned his head to look at her.
“How about now? Isn’t it a little less frightening?”
“I’m not afraid at all.”
Jiang Xun couldn’t help laughing. “Of course. The eldest daughter of the Li family isn’t afraid of anything.”