Chapter 42 She was angry. Taking advantage of her feelings for him, she kept chasing after him like that…

Xing Ze took the X-ray film and walked into the ward. He immediately saw Mu Tingyu leaning against the headboard, looking somewhat listless.

When he came in, Mu Tingyu looked up at him, her eyes looking a little different than before.

Xing Ze assumed she was tired, so he walked to the bedside, lowered his eyes, and asked, "Want to sleep?"

Mu Tingyu tilted her head back and looked at him softly, then shook her head.

He placed the X-ray on the bedside table: "The doctor said there was no bone damage."

She breathed a sigh of relief: "Then does that mean we don't need a cast?"

Xing Ze didn't answer, but lifted the ice pack and glanced at her ankle: "You need to put on a medicated plaster. You can't walk for a month."

She hummed in response.

Anyway, it's better than having a cast. If she had one, she probably wouldn't even be able to go upstairs, and she doesn't want to become so clumsy.

Xing Zewei raised his hand slightly, paused in mid-air, and then naturally lowered it back to his side: "The doctor will be here soon, and we can go home after the ointment is applied."

Mu Tingyu instinctively felt that he wanted to touch his own head.

She was somewhat puzzled.

Why not touch it?

Xing Ze asked, "Are there any other injuries on your body?"

"No."

"Does your neck and back hurt? Is there anything else that's uncomfortable?"

Mu Tingyu shook her head: "It doesn't hurt at all."

"Don't hide it from me."

"Does it really not hurt?"

Her gaze fell on his face, filled with inquiry, as if trying to fathom his feelings.

But she failed.

Xing Ze's face showed no emotion, only his eyes were darker than usual.

She was still thinking, why not touch it?

Is it because there are outsiders present?

But he touched her when the nurse was there.

Thinking this, she reached out and grabbed the hem of his shirt.

Mu Tingyu tilted her head back, her eyes slightly upturned, and looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes.

Xing Ze looked down at her.

Although she knew he wouldn't fall for her sweet talk, Mu Tingyu still reached out her paw, gently tugged at his clothes, and looked at him with a smile.

Normally, Xing Ze would definitely ask her, "What's wrong?"

But he shows no sign of saying anything now.

Having no other choice, Mu Tingyu softened her voice and whispered, "Hug me."

Xing Ze tightened his lips and uttered two words: "No hugging."

"......"

Mu Tingyu persisted, putting on a pitiful look: "Give me a hug, really not a hug?... "

Xing Ze reached out and removed her claws from the hem of her clothes.

"......"

Okay, now she can be sure.

This man seems to be angry.

But she thought blankly, he didn't seem that angry just now?

Even though he was angry that she was injured, he still patted her head when he was cleaning her wound. How come after waiting for the X-ray, he won't even let her hug him anymore?

A million little figures shouting "What's going on?" rushed through her mind. She chased them all away and pondered for a while.

I was very obedient just now. I didn't cry out in pain, and I did whatever I was told. I obediently had the X-ray taken and even ate all the noodles.

Why did I make him angry again?

Xing Ze didn't look at her again. He silently adjusted the position of the ice pack for her and then walked towards the door.

Mu Tingyu subconsciously sat up, wanting to ask him where he was going, but saw him stop at the door.

Xing Ze stood at the door of the ward, his tall figure casting a long shadow on the ground. He spoke in a deep voice: "—Yu Li."

The little boy, who had been huddled by the hospital bed and seemed completely invisible, suddenly shuddered and looked at him.

He coldly uttered two words.

"come out."

Mu Tingyu opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to stop him, but Xing Ze's stern gaze made her a little afraid.

Yu Li followed Xing Ze out, trembling slightly.

The young man peeked his head out the door as if watching a good show, then turned back to reassure her, "It's okay, Brother Xing won't beat him up."

"Although he's a fierce person, he's actually quite good to children. All the kids in the village like him."

"......"

But Xing Ze is also angry with her. She's not a child. Will she get beaten up?

Mu Tingyu imagined the scene and shrank back towards the headboard.

Ugh, how scary.

The young man sat back down in his chair: "I heard some things from Yu Li. He said he was the one who caused you to fall?"

“Actually, it’s not that,” Mu Tingyu sighed. “I just accidentally stepped into a hole while I was talking. Who knows why there’s such a big hole in the mountains.”

"Yu Li runs up the mountain every day, how could he not know there's a pit here?"

"The child was throwing a tantrum at the time and probably didn't care about anything else."

"Losing his temper?" the young man asked in surprise. "What kind of temper is this kid throwing that makes you chase him all the way into the mountains?"

“He said he had a fight with his parents, didn’t want to study anymore, and wanted to run away from home. I didn’t think he was joking, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.”

Mu Tingyu looked a little embarrassed: "I was too hasty."

“But he’s so young, it would be very dangerous if he really ran away from home.”

After all, she understands this kind of feeling best.

But she was already an adult when she decided to leave, and she had the ability to think independently and earn money. Yu Li is only ten years old now. Once she enters society, what difference is there between her and a lamb waiting to be slaughtered?

If he said those things in anger after arguing with his parents, that would be the best outcome. But the real fear is that he's a man of his own mind and might actually sneak away on his own; who knows what might happen then?

Mu Tingyu could not possibly not stop it.

When she first started living under someone else's roof, she also had the idea of ​​running away from home.

But the outside world is truly terrifying. The person who gives you candy might be a bad person, and the person who smiles at you might also be a bad person. When they look at you, what they see reflected in their eyes isn't you, but money and desire. Such a small child is like an insignificant ant in a crowd, easily crushed by anyone.

She dared not, and knew it wouldn't work.

Therefore, she cannot allow Yu Li to have such thoughts, even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance.

As for falling into the pit, that was purely an accident.

It was already dark by then, and the mountain was deserted, with weeds half a person tall and a thick layer of fallen leaves. She wasn't familiar with the mountain and was in a hurry to catch up with Yu Li, so she accidentally missed a step.

It's fortunate it wasn't a cliff, otherwise she would have really been killed.

It seems that fate still wants to spare her life.

Mu Tingyu was extremely optimistic, believing that his survival meant he was destined for good fortune.

But her optimism didn't last long before she started worrying about a man who was sulking.

To be honest, she really had absolutely no experience in this area.

After much thought, she decided to seek advice from the other man in the room.

"Um, I still don't know your name. How should I address you?"

The young man paused the game: "You can just call me Xiao Jiang."

“Brother Jiang,” Mu Tingyu said sincerely, “I have a question I’d like to ask you.”

The young man was flattered and gestured for her to speak.

"Exactly, do you know Xing Ze is angry?"

"You mean Yu Li? Doesn't everyone with eyes..."

“No,” Mu Tingyu pointed to herself, “to me.”

The young man asked blankly, "Is he angry with you?"

No, I don't think so.

"......"

He said confidently, "How could Brother Xing be angry with you?"

“”

Mu Tingyu felt she couldn't expect too much from a straight man's observational skills, so she simply got straight to the point: "Let's imagine, if he's angry right now, what do you think would be the best way for me to appease him?"

The young man said, "He just acts cute."

Mu Tingyu: "..."

One or two, can't you come up with any new ideas?

Xing Ze really doesn't buy into that.

Didn't you see she just gave a blind man a flirtatious look?

Seeing her complicated expression, the young man asked in confusion, "You've tried it?"

Mu Tingyu nodded.

"How did you spill it?"

"......"

She asked uncertainly, "Tug...tug at his clothes?"

Young man: ?

"Is this what you call being coquettish?"

Mu Tingyu: "..."

Mu Tingyu: "Please enlighten me?"

The young man stopped playing the game, exited the interface, opened a video playback software, quickly typed a few words, and then opened the first video.

Suddenly, a cute background music started playing, followed by an overly sweet voice: "Brother~"

Upon hearing this sudden commotion, Mu Tingyu's face went blank.

The young man seemed unsatisfied, swiped down a few more, and suddenly said, "Hey, this one's good!"

He jumped up from the chair opposite the bed, then excitedly came over and showed her the screen on his phone.

The picture shows a cute girl with curly hair, wearing pink and delicate makeup, and her lip gloss is shiny and bright.

Beside her was a tall man wearing a white shirt, with only one arm showing.

In the video, the girl cheerfully says to the camera, "Family members, today I'm going to teach you how to act cute and charming towards your boyfriend if he's angry, so he can forgive you instantly!"

Mu Tingyu: "..."

The expression on her face was indescribable.

The video continued, and the girl in the video hugged the arm of the person next to her, tilted her head back, blinked her big, curled-eye-eyes, pouted slightly, and said in an adorably sweet voice, "Baby, I didn't mean it~ Please forgive me~ I know you're the best, please~"

Her voice trailed off long and softly, like melted maltose, so sweet it was almost sticky.

She gently shook the man's arm as she continued, "...Baby~ if you don't forgive me~ I won't eat today..."

With a click, the video abruptly ended.

The young man blinked as he looked at the still-present finger on the screen, the one that had pressed pause.

"What's wrong? Is it not good?"

Mu Tingyu withdrew her hand and said blankly, "...Why don't we just let him stay angry?"

"Oh, is it really not good? I think it's great, isn't it cute?" The young man scratched his head. "Shall I help you look again?"

"No, no need," Mu Tingyu said with difficulty. "I can't do this kind of thing."

The young man seemed quite disappointed: "Okay then, actually I was really curious to see how Brother Xing would react, you're so cute..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

—There seemed to be an undeniable gaze fixed on his back like a laser beam, radiating an extremely dangerous aura.

The gaze came from behind him, from the doorway, from—

He abruptly stopped talking, then slowly turned his head toward the doorway.

Xing Ze had finished his lecture sometime earlier and was now standing under the light with his arms crossed, asking expressionlessly, "What are you doing?"

The young man jumped three feet high, scrambled back to his chair, and said with an embarrassed smile, "N-nothing."

Xing Ze turned his gaze to the hospital bed, where Mu Tingyu leaned against the headboard, looking completely innocent.

He didn't say anything more, stepped aside to let the door open, and the doctor in the white coat walked in.

The doctor, carrying a dozen tubes of ointment and a roll of bandages, walked to the bedside and asked, "How are you? Has the ice pack helped?"

"Much better," Mu Tingyu nodded, her voice loud and clear. "Doctor, I feel like I could get out of bed and walk 10,000 steps right now!"

The doctor rolled his eyes at her, his voice carrying the distinctive accent of the local dialect: "You think everything's fine just because you didn't break any bones? Your ligaments are badly injured, don't take it lightly! You still want to walk? No way, go back and use crutches! I get annoyed by young people like you who love to show off! If you don't take good care of yourself now, you'll regret it when you're old and have rheumatism and bone pain!"

Talking nonsense is an old habit of his. Mu Tingyu shrank back after being scolded and obediently replied, "Okay."

As the doctor continued rambling on, he tore off the ointment, moved the ice pack off her foot, and made as if to apply it, but suddenly paused as if remembering something.

He straightened up and said to Xing Ze, who was standing to the side, "Young man, you come here."

Mu Tingyu stared blankly as the two switched positions. The doctor pointed to her ankle from a distance, vaguely circled a spot, and told Xing Ze, "Apply it here."

Xing Ze nodded, bent down, grabbed her ankle with one hand, gently pressed a finger against her bone, and applied the ointment to the area below the bone with the other hand, then meticulously smoothed out the edges.

"Alright, now wrap the bandage tightly. Do you know how to wrap a bandage?"

Xing Ze hummed in agreement.

The doctor watched his movements and nodded: "Yes, like that, wrap it tighter."

After a while, he said again, "Tighter."

Xing Ze lowered his eyes and pulled the bandage on his hand a little tighter.

The doctor said, "Okay, that's fine, bandage it up. Change it once a day from now on."

Mu Tingyu stared intently at Xing Ze's movements, preparing to learn the essentials so that it would be easier for her to change her dressing later.

The doctor, who was standing idly to the side, asked her again, "After you got injured, did you walk with this injured foot?"

"ah?"

Mu Tingyu was taken aback by the question.

I didn't walk, but when I was climbing up, I lost my balance and my right foot hit the ground hard.

"I knew it!" The doctor, looking at her expression with an air of experience, pointed at her from a distance. "You always try to be brave! It wasn't even this serious to begin with; you might not even need crutches. Now look what's happened—you'll have to recover for dozens of days longer!"

He then pointed to Xing Ze beside him: "After we go back, this foot can't touch the ground even once, understand? Just tell him what to do!"

Xing Ze bent down and carefully wrapped the bandage around her neck without even looking up.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Mu Tingyu lowered her voice several octaves in response, sounding exceptionally obedient: "Okay."

The doctor waved his hand: "Alright, go home now that it's bandaged up."

He put his hands in his pockets, turned around, and left the ward.

The room suddenly fell silent. The young man stopped playing games and quietly curled up in his chair, becoming invisible.

Xing Ze wrapped her ankles like a radish, then tore off the tape, preparing to stick the end on.

He stood beside the hospital bed, leaning slightly forward. The muscles of his arms and back were hidden beneath his black clothes, and the lines of his shoulders and neck were clearly defined.

Mu Tingyu's gaze swept over him, and she felt a little itchy, so she couldn't help but move her legs.

With this movement, the tightly wrapped bandages loosened again.

Xing Ze, who was about to stick the tape on, thought to himself: "..."

One of the culprits: "..."

"I was wrong," she said sincerely, admitting her mistake.

Xing Ze reached out and slapped her calf without any hesitation.

She let out a "whoosh".

He hadn't used much force, so it didn't hurt at all, but Mu Tingyu still pretended to be aggrieved, her voice soft: "Why are you bullying the wounded?"

Xing Ze didn't answer, but tightened the bandage again and then firmly stuck the tape on.

He straightened up, looked at her, and spoke in a deep voice.

"Aren't you very good at enduring pain?"

"Can't you even bear this little bit of pain?"

Only one light was on in the ward, shining a pale white light on Xing Ze's profile, highlighting his sharp features.

Mu Tingyu was taken aback by his fierce tone.

A slight sound rang out, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the young man quietly slip out of the ward and very considerately close the door behind him.

"......"

The ward was quiet, with only the two of them, one sitting and one standing.

Xing Ze's gaze fell on her face as if it were a tangible object, as if waiting for her to speak.

Mu Tingyu shifted her gaze somewhat awkwardly: "Ali, where's Ali? Why didn't he come in? Did you scold him?"

"I've already cursed him." Xing Zewei raised his chin slightly. "Don't change the subject."

"......"

Mu Tingyu looked pitiful and asked, "So you're going to scold me too?"

Xing Ze asked, "What did you do wrong that I should scold you?"

Mu Tingyu keenly sensed the anger in his words.

But she didn't know what she had done wrong, nor did she know why he was angry.

Remembering what the nurse had said, she grasped at a straw and quickly said, "I'll be careful next time and won't get hurt again! This was an accident!"

Xing Ze glanced at her: "Anything else?"

"Anything else? And also... will you message me wherever I go next time?..."

"Oh right!" she exclaimed, as if remembering something. "Where's my phone?!"

"It's in my pocket."

"Is it...is it still alive?" Mu Tingyu reached out a paw to rummage through his pocket. "Let me see."

Xing Ze took a step back: "Dead."

Mu Tingyu missed her chance, but then he brought the topic back: "Anything else?"

Why are there still more?

Mu Tingyu really couldn't think of anything, but she wanted to look at him, so she had no choice but to tilt her head up and meet his deep gaze.

She said pitifully, "I really don't know."

Xing Ze lowered his eyes and asked her, "How long after you fell did it take me to get here?"

"Huh?" Mu Tingyu thought for a moment, "I'm not sure, my phone is broken, maybe, maybe it's been ten or twenty minutes?"

"Half an hour," Xing Ze said.

Mu Tingyu looked somewhat bewildered, and followed up with his question, "Really? It's been that long?"

“For such a long time,” he said slowly, “did you sit still and wait for me?”

"......"

Mu Tingyu understood.

"Well, it was actually an accident," she said, scratching her cheek. "I was trying to see if I could climb up, but I didn't have the strength and failed. My right foot just hit the ground. It wasn't as serious as the doctor said."

“Besides, there’s no bone broken yet,” she said ingratiatingly, reaching out to tug at his sleeve. “It’s just a minor injury; I’ll recover quickly.”

Xing Ze grabbed her wrist: "Why are you climbing up?"

Mu Tingyu opened her mouth, looking somewhat embarrassed.

To be honest, she had never thought about why before he asked that question.

She just didn't want to rely on others. If she could do it herself, she would do it herself. If he never came, was she just going to stay in the pit and wait to die? That would seem too foolish.

But she subconsciously felt that she couldn't tell Xing Ze these things.

But Xing Ze seemed to see right through her, asking precisely, "Because you felt I couldn't come to save you?"

Mu Tingyu shook the hem of her clothes helplessly: "No, I already asked Ali to come find you."

"Then why don't you sit properly?"

Xing Ze's expression was cold, as if he could no longer suppress his anger: "I just went to get the X-ray film."

"The doctor said your ligament tear was severe, and there was a very high possibility of secondary trauma. You almost broke your bone."

He seemed to want to hold back, but his next sentence was filled with obvious anger.

"—You're clearly injured, in so much pain you can barely stand on one leg, why can't you behave and keep moving around?"

Mu Tingyu was stunned.

This was the first time Xing Ze had ever lost his temper with her.

He already had a fierce look, and when he looked at people with his brows down, he could scare even a child to tears. Now, with such a heavy tone, the sense of oppression was overwhelming.

Mu Tingyu looked at him and slowly blinked.

Xing Ze looked at the scratches on her fair cheeks and forced a cold voice: "Speak."

Mu Tingyu tilted her head back and stretched out her arms to him: "...Hug me."

Xing Ze paused for a moment, then said fiercely, "What hugging?!"

"You did something wrong and you still want a hug?"

"Give me a hug."

"No hugging."

Mu Tingyu lowered her hand dejectedly, her eyes drooping slightly.

"Okay, then I won't hug you."

"......"

He suppressed his anger: "Was I wrong?"

The girl's voice was low but clear: "No."

"......"

Xing Ze was so angry his heart ached.

他真想去弹她的脑门、想去重重地捏她的脸、或者干脆揍她屁股，反正给她一点教训受，让她知道自己错了，而不是作出这样一副没心没肺的样子，反过来气他。

But she was covered in injuries, and just one look at her was enough to break his heart, let alone teach her a lesson.

And even if she hadn't been injured, he knew he simply couldn't bring himself to be cruel.

That little rascal, he knows perfectly well what's going on, but he's just taking advantage of his feelings for her to go and provoke her.

It's one thing for her to be a troublemaker, but she doesn't take care of her body at all. Last time she had menstrual cramps, she sat in the stairwell and stayed up all night in the cold. This time, she injured her foot but still tried to struggle upwards. Instead of admitting her mistake, she just wanted to stomp on his already broken heart.

Little did she know that his heart was already hanging under the guillotine the moment he couldn't get through on the phone.

As he rushed out to find people, as he knocked on the door of each villager's house, and as he received an answer he didn't want, the feeling of being bound by chains tightened inch by inch, until his heart began to fester and he could no longer breathe.

Only when the flashlight shone on her did his festering heart rip out of him, falling off the cliff with his girl and shattering into pieces.

How could he not be angry?

He gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Mu Tingyu..."

Suddenly, his voice stopped.

Mu Tingyu raised her head, her eyes red-rimmed.

In the blink of an eye, a tear the size of a bean rolled down her cheek and shattered on the clean white hospital bed with a soft thud.

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Author's Note: Still a short, chubby chapter~ I've burned out (lying down).