Chapter 10 Don't Cry When You Lose Face in His Hands

When Qin Man got out of Jiang Xuchi's car, what she saw was not a hospital, but a private clinic located near a villa area.

Jiang Xuchi led her to sit down in the examination room. The nurse at the front desk pushed in a cart, first asking her to sit on the sofa, and then lifted her arm to bandage the wound.

Qin Man slumped stiffly in the soft sofa, her left arm completely immobile. Looking at the nurse's cotton swab soaked in iodine, her face paled even further.

"Qin Man".

Qin Man turned her head and looked over. Jiang Xuchi was sitting next to her in the two-seater sofa. Under the bright incandescent light, Qin Man saw several brown bloodstains on the hem of his snow-white clothes.

A sharp pain in her arm drew her attention back to the nurse's movements.

Jiang Xuchi's phone screen lit up, gesturing for her to look closely.

"Is it these people?"

The screen showed a group photo of them having dinner together, which he had cropped out.

Qin Man remained silent.

Another sharp pain shot through her arm, and the nurse began to bandage it.

Jiang Xuchi said, "You didn't say a word to me? You just let them bully you like this?"

"What's the use of telling you... Ouch..." Qin Man was in so much pain that she couldn't bear it anymore, and she stared at the nurse's hand movements.

The nurse smiled and said, "Chat with your boyfriend a little longer. The wound isn't too deep; it'll be treated soon."

"We're not a couple," Qin Man retorted quickly, repeating the two words, "No," as if afraid the other woman hadn't heard her clearly.

The nurse glanced at Jiang Xuchi, chuckled awkwardly, and didn't respond, focusing on cutting the bandage.

After the wound was bandaged, Qin Man stood up, clutching her arm. With the wound no longer exposed, she felt much better, as if the pain had lessened, or perhaps she had become numb.

She said to Jiang Xuchi, "I'm going home."

"...Thank you for today, but I'm afraid I won't be able to train with you anymore."

Jiang Xuchi remained silent, staring at her wound without any expression on his face.

Qin Man walked out, thankful that Jiang Xuchi had brought her to this private hospital; if they had gone to a large hospital, she would probably still be waiting in line.

Just as I was about to push the door open, a hand reached out from behind and pushed the door open, and I heard his voice: "I'll take you home."

The door was pushed open, and Qin Man saw a black Maybach parked in front of the door with consecutive license plates on the front.

There was only one license plate like this in the city, which once belonged to Qin Man's father, Qin Weiguo. Before leaving, Qin Weiguo secretly put the license plate up for auction and took all the money with him.

Jiang Xuchi knew her family situation very well.

He knew that Qin Weiguo had run away due to debts.

I also know that their family business is in dire straits.

These are the things Qin Man least wants others to know.

Jiang Xuchi can exploit this secret without restraint.

A wave of soreness washed over her bandaged arm. Qin Man reached out and gently touched it, her fingertips catching the smell of medicine.

"...No need." Qin Man's tone was very weak.

"Not far."

Her family has always lived in an old villa area, which is indeed very close to here.

Fortunately, Jiang Xuchi's driver politely opened the car door for her, and Qin Man had no choice but to get in.

Faced with the awkward stretch of time that followed, she couldn't help but try to say something.

“Jiang Xuchi, if you’re going to find another sparring partner, don’t go for Duan Kexin. She’s not good enough. And Xi Yue is even worse than Duan Kexin. It doesn’t matter since you’re the champion, but Pei Shiyu needs a chance to train, you…”

Jiang Xuchi suddenly lifted her injured arm, cradling her wrist in his warm hand, and examined it for a moment. "Does it not hurt anymore?"

Qin Man immediately shut her mouth.

He reached out and squeezed her palm. The unusually soft touch was unbearable for Qin Man, and she pulled her hand away. "What are you doing?"

“No nerves were damaged,” Jiang Xuchi said.

"Don't curse me."

If her nerves were damaged, she would definitely fight Duan Kexin to the death.

"Don't worry, your injury will heal in a week. Don't always look like that."

The injury to her left hand was superficial and wouldn't really affect her mobility, but it was the most serious injury she had ever suffered since childhood, so it's easy to overreact to it.

Qin Man was somewhat annoyed: "It wasn't you who got hurt!"

"I'd rather."

Qin Man was taken aback, then heard him continue, "You've seen how thick-skinned I am."

He was alluding to the time Qin Chen beat him up.

"..." Qin Man chose to remain silent.

Thanks to Jiang Xuchi's interruption, they arrived at Qin Man's house after only a few words of conversation. Jiang Xuchi even kindly escorted her to the gate of the courtyard.

As she opened the door after facial recognition, Jiang Xuchi suddenly asked, "Where's your brother?"

"Him?" Qin Man replied calmly, "He died in New Zealand, right? Now it's just me and my mother relying on each other."

This is a rare instance of Qin Man speaking about herself in a self-deprecating tone.

Perhaps the moon was too round tonight, the wound was too painful, or her brain was filled with water, which is why she could say such things to Jiang Xuchi without any self-respect.

It's ridiculous that she felt a sense of relief the moment she saw Jiang Xuchi today.

...

Qin Man took a day off the next day and didn't go back to class until the third day.

My biggest feeling is that I finally don't have to go to practice with my partner anymore.

Because of this, Xi Yue cried and howled beside Qin Man for a long time early in the morning, making the whole class aware that her left arm was injured.

Even when she went to get water after class, Xi Yue would come over and help her get the cup.

Qin Man made excuses for a long time before finally getting him to shut up.

After school, Qin Man slowly walked out the door and saw two people across the street.

People came and went around him, and Jiang Xuchi's figure briefly appeared among the crowd. Duan Kexin stood opposite him.

Qin Man slowed her pace. She saw Duan Kexin's chest heaving, her face upturned, a look of humiliated anger on her face, because she dared not say anything and could only suppress it, turning her face a liverish color.

Qin Man wondered if she was just as ridiculous when facing Jiang Xuchi.

A few seconds later, Duan Kexin disappeared. Jiang Xuchi played with his phone for a while, then looked up and met Qin Man's gaze.

Qin Man stopped in her tracks, and a message popped up on her phone.

Jiang Xuchi walked up to her and said, "Let's go."

Jiang Xuchi took her to change her dressing at the same private clinic.

This time, it was the same nurse as the day before yesterday. She gave Qin Man a quick treatment of her wound, and in less than five minutes, Qin Man was standing outside the clinic.

As dusk settled, the evening breeze, carrying the warmth of the setting sun and a faint smell of smoke, blew against my face.

Jiang Xuchi stood by the trash can outside the house. When he saw Qin Man come out, he put out his cigarette.

"Get in the car."

He only said that, and Qin Man didn't move.

"Am I being very obedient?" Qin Man asked.

This opening remark seemed like a harbinger of an impending storm, and Jiang Xuchi calmly observed her.

"Am I a good girl?" Qin Man asked again.

Jiang Xuchi: "What do you want to say?"

Qin Man showed him the message Duan Kexin had sent her.

Duan Kexin: [I heard you're Jiang Xuchi's dog?]

Qin Man: [?]

Duan Kexin: [He said, "You have to consider the owner before you beat a dog, hahaha!"]

Duan Kexin: [I asked your classmates, and they said you're following Jiang Xuchi around like a shadow now, no one's as attentive as you. What's going on, Qin Man? You weren't like this before.]

Then Duan Kexin sent me a screenshot with the note: Jiang Xuchi's bitch.

It seems that Jiang Xuchi said something to anger Duan Kexin today, and then turned around and came to Qin Man to vent his anger. His intentions were too obvious, so Qin Man immediately blocked him.

Jiang Xuchi glanced at the contents, her expression remaining indifferent, showing no sign of how aggrieved she was at that moment.

She had considered having a good talk with Jiang Xuchi, or trying to reach an agreement, but he had such a fatal weakness over her that she had no right to bargain with him.

But in the past few days, she suddenly felt that there were some things she could talk to Jiang Xuchi about.

But the moment Duan Kexin sent the message, she realized that Jiang Xuchi's actions towards her had no other purpose than to better give her orders.

How could there be such a bad person?

Qin Man looked up and said, "If it's something from the past, then I apologize. Now you've gotten your revenge. As you can see, I'm keeping a low profile in class. I won't have any contact with you in the future, and I will never offend you again."

“I’ve always been like this since I was a child. You’re not the only person I’ve offended. I don’t know why you keep holding a grudge and seek revenge. You should hold my brother accountable.”

After Qin Man finished speaking, her heart pounded, and she didn't even dare to look Jiang Xuchi in the eye.

This is already the limit she can tolerate; she doesn't even want to think about it getting any worse.

Jiang Xuchi remained silent.

The silence fueled her fear; her palms sweated, and she grew increasingly uncertain.

"Now you've lost all respect for me and for the rest of my life. Jiang Xuchi, I think you should be satisfied now."

Qin Man didn't know what to say.

For Qin Man, saving face is her bottom line. She can lose a competition or do poorly on a test, but she absolutely cannot allow herself to be ridiculed.

Qin Man took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and said gently, "Can we stop here?"

After saying that, Qin Man was so nervous that she couldn't even feel the soreness in her wound.

She thought now was the best time to bring it up, since everything had gone as he wished.

Jiang Xuchi stared into her eyes and suddenly took a step forward.

Qin Man took the opportunity to step back.

"I'm not the only one?"

He went a step further, and Qin Man landed with a thud, her back slamming into the lamppost.

The light overhead flickered twice, emitting a slight buzzing sound.

"Is this the end of it?"

Jiang Xuchi pinned her against the streetlight and slowly reached out to loosen her school uniform tie. The slippery fabric loosened under his gentle tug and wrapped around his fingertips.

Qin Man subconsciously held her breath, as if her throat was being choked, unable to make a sound.

"That's just the way I am. I can remember some things for a lifetime. It doesn't matter if you're one more person. How could it end so easily?"

Qin Man's eyes welled up with tears.

Jiang Xuchi wiped her tears with the bow tie in his hand and chuckled softly, "Why are you crying? You never used to cry."

The silk bow tie brushed against her cheek, leaving it icy cold. Under his gaze, Qin Man's heart sank lower and lower, as if falling into an abyss, making her dizzy.

"Don't get close to that kid Jiang Xuchi. He has a complicated background and is very cunning. You'll regret it if you fall into his trap."

That night, Qin Man suddenly recalled what Qin Chen had told her a long time ago.

Even though it's been so long that the images are blurry, I remember every single word clearly.