The next day.

Yuan Doudou had a dream in which An Rong divorced her and became a live-in son-in-law in the Song family. On the day of her wedding, she was in excruciating pain in her stomach. As the baby was about to be born, no one was by her side. By the time the midwife arrived, she was already on the verge of death.

Yuan Doudou woke up with a start, her clothes soaked with sweat. She breathed a sigh of relief; it was just a dream. She turned her head to look to the side; no one was in bed, and the door was closed.

Angie slept soundly inside.

Yuan Doudou struggled to put on her clothes and shoes, and walked shakily to the front hall. She vaguely heard noises coming from the kitchen. She lifted the curtain and saw An Rong's back. He was lighting the stove.

Thankfully, he didn't leave.

Yuan Doudou refrained from asking him what he had done last night, not because she didn't care, but because she held onto a sliver of hope that perhaps the Princess of Lin'an wouldn't marry An Rong, or that An Rong had a way to resolve the matter.

"An Rong," she called softly.

An Rong didn't turn around. "Dou Dou, you're up so early?"

Yuan Doudou felt something was off. Usually when she got up, An Rong would come up to greet her, hug her, touch her belly, and say hello to the child she had never met.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Yuan Doudou sensed the unease in his voice and stepped forward, still feeling uneasy.

"Don't come any closer, I'm afraid I'll scare you." An Rong turned his head away, afraid that Yuan Doudou would see his face.

Yuan Doudou was anxious, so she moved closer to him, hugged his head, and forced him to turn around, "Let me see."

An Rong had no choice but to turn his face away, knowing he couldn't avoid it.

On his once handsome and fair face, there were several crisscrossing wounds, some deep and some shallow, each one as hideous as an earthworm, making one's hair stand on end.

A scene flashed through Yuan Doudou's mind: An Rong standing in front of Song Lin'an, holding a dagger, slashing his face without hesitation.

Song Lin'an cried out in terror, "No!"

Then, An Rong made another cut.

"Didn't you want to marry me? Do you still want to now?" An Rong, like a madman, slashed again.

Three wounds, blood slowly seeping out, more and more, converging into a river of blood, flowing down his cheeks, neck, into his clothes, and into Song Lin'an's eyes.

She dared not look, covered her face, squatted on the ground, and burst into tears of fright.

"An Rong, I hate you."

Song Lin'an completely broke down. She was not pregnant; she only wanted to use this to force An Rong to divorce Yuan Doudou so that she could become her husband and take over the Song family's business in the future.

What did she do wrong?

An Rong was willing to ruin her stunning beauty just to push her away. You should know that she had seen countless princes and nobles in the capital. None of those so-called young masters could compare to An Rong in appearance or in spirit.

He's just a filthy man she could get with a snap of her fingers.

They were all unworthy of him, only An Rong.

But now, An Rong has disfigured himself, and he is no longer worthy of her.

"Go away, I don't want to see you again."

An Rong smiled coldly. If he had known it would be this easy, he should have slashed his face a few times earlier.

Yuan Doudou burst into tears. How cruel must An Rong have been to humiliate his proud face like this?

"I'm sorry, I scared you." An Rong felt a lot of guilt. He had also thought that doing this would cause the same harm to Dou Dou.

Yuan Doudou shook her head, crying. She wasn't scared, she was just upset.

Under Yuan Doudou's insistence, An Rong compromised and went to Tianming Medical Clinic to find Li Tianlang. This time, instead of worrying about queuing for registration, he directly asked Tian Qi to take them in. Yuan Doudou was anxious and didn't want to waste a moment.

When Li Tianlang saw Dou Dou, he was overjoyed. It had been a while since he last saw her, and Yuan Dou Dou's face had become even rounder and more charming.

"Dr. Li, could you please take a look at An Rong? Is there any way to save her?"

This time, Li Tianlang noticed that Dou Dou was followed by a person wearing a bamboo hat and with his head down, so his face was not visible at all.

Yuan Doudou helped him take off his straw hat, and Li Tianlang finally saw his face clearly, and was so surprised that he was speechless for a moment.

"Why are you injured?" Li Tianlang disliked An Rong, but seeing his disfigured face, he couldn't help but worry.

An Rong admitted, "I cut myself with a knife."

Yuan Doudou suppressed her heartache and looked at him. Even though he was the one who was hurt, he was not flustered or pale at all. He spoke calmly and his eyes remained clear and firm.

For the first time, she felt proud of Anrong.

Li Tianlang stood up and carefully examined his wounds. The deepest one was everted and needed to be stitched up to heal quickly. The other three were shallower and, after applying his special scar-reducing gel, would scab over in less than half a month.

"Tian Qi, prepare the sewing kit."

When Yuan Doudou heard that he needed stitches, she wholeheartedly agreed. She never expected that Li Tianlang was not only skilled in acupuncture but also in stitching. She couldn't help but look at him with new respect.

Forgive her for being blind to his greatness before, and for having many complaints about him.

"Do you need my help?" she asked eagerly.

Li Tianlang was focused on the sewing supplies and didn't even glance at her.

"You'd better go outside and wait."

The stitching process is unsightly, and since Yuan Doudou cares so much about An Rong, having her watch it would only make her heart ache more.

"oh."

Yuan Doudou wanted to stay, but Li Tianlang's attitude was cold, as if he had become a stranger. This is probably the professional quality of a doctor.

She held An Rong's hand and looked at him tenderly: "An Rong, stitching will hurt a lot. If it hurts, just shout it out. I won't laugh at you."

An Rong smiled; she had truly underestimated him.

On the battlefield, he suffered no fewer than ten external injuries, but not a single stitch made him cry out.

"Don't worry about me, just wait outside," An Rong said softly.

After Li Tianlang finished packing his things, he saw the two of them deeply in love, all lovey-dovey and affectionate.

He coughed, and Yuan Doudou then let go of An Rong's hand, blushing as she went out.

"You're really tough on yourself."

After Yuan Doudou left, Li Tianlang dared to speak. He recalled the rumors in town and guessed the reason for An Rong's disfigurement. He had to admit that An Rong, that ruthless man, was truly capable of marrying Yuan Doudou.

An Rong remained silent, his face cold.

"I won't give you any anesthesia, just bear with it."

It wasn't that he was deliberately torturing An Rong; it's just that anesthetics are very expensive, and most people can't afford them, so he didn't want to burden him.

An Rong nodded; he hadn't even considered using anesthesia.

The first needle prick felt like an ant bite, not too painful initially, but the pain intensified afterward. He could endure it without making a sound, but the sweat on his brow betrayed him, and his muscles couldn't stop spasming.

Tian Qi stood to the side, wiping the sweat from their brows with a handkerchief.