Chapter 26 His heart wasn't sincere enough; he could never truly...
Something must have offended him, because Xie Chengyan's tone instantly turned cold and became increasingly frightening.
This sudden coldness left Shen Xi bewildered. She wasn't in the mood to begin with, and she didn't want to argue with him about such trivial matters. She just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
But Xie Chengyan did not do as she wished.
He seemed to be standing casually a few steps away from her, but for some reason, Shen Xi felt as if she were trapped in an invisible cage. No matter which direction she tried to break free, she could not escape his grasp.
She silently pursed her lips, a hint of displeasure already lurking in her eyes. She tried to resist a few more times, but to no avail. The two remained locked in a stalemate, neither willing to back down.
Finally, Shen Xi could no longer bear it. She suddenly looked up and stared at him, the grievances that had been building up in her eyes overflowing from Xie Chengyan's gaze.
"Xie Chengyan, you're being completely unreasonable!"
Shen Xi almost spoke without thinking, actually calling him by his full name: "One minute you force me to remember my status and call you brother, the next minute you won't let me call you that. Is it fun for you to summon me and dismiss me at will?"
"If you find me an eyesore, then as you said, let's avoid each other and never see each other again, even in life or death. That way, I'll save you from your fickle and unpredictable ways!"
A clear, resounding voice rang out, and the air suddenly froze. Shen Xi herself was also taken aback. She must have been blinded by these successive events recently to act so impulsively.
Now that I've said it, I regret it. That was Xie Chengyan.
The lesson of Shen Wangchen's past is still fresh in her mind. He even intervened to help her. What right does she have to be dissatisfied with him or lose her temper with him?
What is she anyway?
Now that he had overheard her, Shen Xi was powerless to change anything, so she simply gave up and stubbornly turned her head away from him, her lips tightly pursed, looking as if she was ready to be beaten or scolded at will.
But after a long silence, she still didn't see Xie Chengyan's anger.
Even the coldness and solemnity that had surrounded him vanished, leaving only a soft sigh that fell low amidst the light and shadow of the three thousand lanterns, almost dissipating into the night wind.
"I'm sorry, it was my fault, I was being unreasonable."
Shen Xi was stunned; she had never imagined hearing such words from Xie Chengyan.
He had always been aloof and superior. Although he had never deliberately put on airs in front of her, his manners and speech were already tainted by power, so he would never easily bow down to anyone.
She blinked in disbelief, wondering if she was still dreaming, and didn't know how to start the conversation.
Xie Chengyan suppressed some of the coldness in his eyes, but the deep, unyielding coldness in his eyes, though forcibly restrained, still revealed a hint of indifference.
He raised his hand, his long, slender fingertips lightly brushing against the corner of her eye, where a faint redness tinged, perhaps from his anger.
Shen Xi is right; he is unreasonable and fickle, and he can never truly let go of her.
It's because his heart wasn't sincere enough.
Shen Xi felt uncomfortable with his actions and took a half step back, subconsciously avoiding his dangerous and aggressive gaze. She slightly opened her lips, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't know how to start.
She didn't understand how things had gotten so messed up, whether it was with Xie Wenlang or Xie Chengyan.
All of this shouldn't have been like this, but she just couldn't find a reasonable answer, a result that should have been achieved.
While Shen Xi was struggling with her dilemma, Xie Chengyan broke the silence between them.
He lowered his eyes slightly, and in the blink of an eye, when he looked up at Shen Xi again, all his emotions had been suppressed, and he had regained his usual composure, as if the aggressive person from just now was not him at all.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Liang Tuo not far away, and the deputy general Liang understood and stepped forward to hand over the gilded cage he was holding.
Xie Chengyan casually took it, his slender fingers slightly bent, hooking the object between his fingertips. The gold wire cage shimmered with tiny fragments of light under the dim lamplight.
"have a look?"
Since he had offered a way out, Shen Xi didn't stand on ceremony and readily asked, "What is this?"
Xie Chengyan looked down at her: "If it's an apology, it should at least be sincere."
He spoke these words calmly and without changing his expression.
Shen Xi couldn't help but think to herself, "Could it be that he knew in advance that she would definitely lose her temper with him today?"
They can't even make their lies sound plausible.
Shen Xi hesitated for a moment. She still felt somewhat distant from him, and she didn't know whether she should accept this gift.
Xie Chengyan, however, sensed her thoughts. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly as he said in a deep voice, "You've been calling me 'brother' these past few days, so I can't let you call me that for nothing."
Having said that, without giving her any further hesitation, Xie Chengyan slightly turned his wrist and handed the cage directly to her.
Caught off guard, Shen Xi looked closely and saw that inside the golden cage was clearly a young bird, its thin feathers shivering slightly in the cold.
Shen Xi was stunned for a moment, his face suddenly turned pale, and his fingertips unconsciously clenched his sleeves. He asked in a steady voice, "What are you doing, brother?"
"Apologetic gift."
Shen Xi forcibly looked away, unable to bear looking at the baby bird any longer, and stared intently at Xie Chengyan: "Brother, perhaps you have forgotten that I do not like birds."
Xie Chengyan met her gaze, and their eyes met in mid-air. His eyes were calm, yet he seemed to see through her skin to the depths of her being.
After a long silence, he spoke softly, but his tone was remarkably certain: "You're not afraid of birds at all."
Shen Xi's palms clenched tighter and tighter: "Of course, I know my likes and dislikes best. Why must you make such a hasty judgment, brother?"
Xie Chengyan didn't follow up on her words. Instead, his gaze swept over the quiet little creature in the cage, and he calmly said, "This shrike has only recently hatched and its wings are slightly injured, so it can't fly in the sky for the time being. I was thinking of giving it to you and asking you to take care of it, but since you don't like it, then forget it."
After saying that, he paused briefly and gestured for Liang Tuo to take the cage away: "Release it."
Upon hearing this, Shen Xi stopped him: "Wait, didn't we just say that this shrike is injured? If we release it now, how will it survive?"
"If it dies, that is its fate."
Xie Chengyan remained unmoved, his tone completely calm, still displaying his indifferent demeanor.
Liang Tuo then took the cage as instructed, turned around and walked away step by step into the distance.
As he moved, the golden cage gradually blended into the night. The shrike seemed to be on its last legs, lying motionless in the cage, powerless to resist and accepting its predetermined fate.
Although unwilling, Shen Xi kept her eyes fixed on the shrike, unconsciously clenching her knuckles, her pupils trembling.
Finally, she couldn't help but speak up: "Didn't you say you were giving it to me? Now it's mine, there's no reason for me to take it back, is there?"
She turned to look at him, her eyes clear and bright, with a stubborn determination hidden within them, shimmering in the dim, yellow light of the lamp.
Xie Chengyan met her gaze, stared at her intently for a moment, as if considering her words.
After a while, she turned around and called Liang Tuo back, then put the golden cage back into her hands.
Shen Xi was so focused on the shrike that she didn't notice that Xie Chengyan had turned around to hide his face, and a very faint and fleeting smile had appeared on his lips.
She carefully took it, looked at the motionless shrike in the cage, observed it closely for a while, and couldn't help but worry: "Is it... alright?"
"Still alive for now."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Xi finally noticed the shrike's chest rising and falling slightly, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Xie Chengyan stood with his hands behind his back, taking in her reaction: "How about it? Give it a name?"
Shen Xi was shielding the shrike from the cold wind, holding it securely in his arms. Hearing this suggestion, he paused, then shook his head.
"No, I'll let it go once it's healed. There's no need to name it."
Her voice was very soft, but it carried an undertone.
Xie Chengyan gently rubbed his fingers behind his back, his eyes narrowing slightly, not probing further.
"What's yours is yours to keep."
The long street was bustling, but Shen Xi and Xie Chengyan strolled slowly through it. Neither of them paid any attention to the hustle and bustle around them, as if they were separated from the city by an invisible barrier. They walked aimlessly, but it did not seem out of place. On the contrary, it was quite leisurely.
Shen Xi's tense emotions from just moments ago had completely subsided with Xie Chengyan's actions. She looked up and met his eyes, which remained clear and bright.
Perhaps it was the keenness he had developed from being in a high position for so long that he was always able to accurately grasp her feelings. Whether she was advancing or retreating, or becoming close or distant, he was always the one in control, while she knew very little about him.
Suddenly, another fireworks display lit up the sky, dazzling with color. Shen Xi was momentarily stunned and blurted out the question that had been on her mind: "You still haven't told me why you never celebrate your birthday?"
Xie Chengyan was slightly taken aback, not expecting her to still remember this. He said slowly, "I said I would tell you on my next birthday. Today is not my birthday."
"I know."
Shen Xi then realized that she had spoken out of turn, but at this moment she could only bite the bullet and continue.
Xie Chengyan raised an eyebrow slightly, noticing that she hurriedly looked away from him, and asked, "Then why did you ask?"
"because……"
Chen Xi was speechless.
What else could it be?
She's just bewitched and speaks recklessly; what decent reason could she possibly come up with in a short time?
Xie Chengyan seemed to sense her racking her brains for an excuse, and his slow, deliberate voice rang out again: "Will you tell the truth?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Xi looked up and found that he was staring at her intently, his eyes deep and dark, reflecting a glimmer of light that inexplicably bewitched her.
For some reason, it resembled the eyes in her dream, clear-headed yet lost in a daze.
She cleared her throat somewhat awkwardly: "It's just... a coincidence, so I wanted to know a day in advance."
"Why?"
He kept pressing, and Shen Xi bit her lower lip in annoyance, muttering softly, "Why are there so many whys? You've asked me so many questions, but you won't answer them."
The complaint reached Xie Chengyan's ears clearly. He stared at the continuous fireworks in the night sky and remained silent for a long time.
It wasn't until Shen Xi thought Xie Chengyan disliked others prying into his private affairs that he finally spoke. His slightly cool voice was swept away by the night wind and vanished without a trace, along with the last firework.
His voice was very soft, but Shen Xi heard every single word clearly.
"Perhaps it's because I couldn't hold onto what I wanted."
A very childish statement.
These are words that Xie Chengyan should not have uttered.
It sounded somewhat like an evasive remark, but Shen Xi keenly caught his choice of words: it wasn't "failed to obtain," but rather "failed to keep."
A single word makes all the difference.
Couldn't keep them? What does that mean?
Before she could figure anything out, Xie Chengyan had already casually changed the subject: "Now it's your turn to answer me, why did you want to know a day in advance?"
As fate would have it, the silent one was now Shen Xi. She blinked innocently, clutching the birdcage in her arms, and walked forward with her head down.
Xie Chengyan followed her and asked patiently, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Perhaps sensing that if she didn't answer something today, he would keep pressing her for answers, Chen Xi pondered for a moment before giving an ambiguous reply.
"Because I don't want to tell the truth for the time being, but I also don't want to lie."
After she finished speaking, she nodded seriously, looking very earnest.
Xie Chengyan could tell he was being perfunctory, but he didn't care: "Then tell me next time, when you want to."
After saying that, he paused, then slightly lifted his eyelids: "Or, I could choose not to ask."
Shen Xi's eyes lit up, and she turned around with great surprise.
"You and Wen Lang are not yet married, so don't call me brother anymore."
"What?"
Meeting her puzzled gaze, Xie Chengyan spoke slowly and deliberately, his tone calm yet serious: "Since you don't call me brother, I won't press you about that question. Is that alright?"
*
"Girl? Girl!"
After being called several times by Qingqiu, Shen Xi finally snapped out of her daze, but was still somewhat stunned: "Um, what's wrong?"
But Qingqiu's expression was complicated. He pointed to the hand holding the pen. Shenxi was puzzled and looked down.
The wolf, its hand soaked in ink, remained motionless on the paper for an unknown amount of time. Centered on the spot where she had written, the ink spread in varying shades, obscuring many of the words she had just written.
Shen Xi let out a very soft gasp, then came to her senses. She hurriedly moved the pen away and placed it on the pen rest, carefully examining the paper stained with ink.
This piece of paper is now considered invalid.
"What are you thinking about, young lady? It's rare to see you so lost in thought."
Qingqiu stepped forward, tidying up the mess on the table, and casually asked a question.
Shen Xi paused, her gaze fixed on the ink stain.
Because, just now, she subconsciously thought of Xie Chengyan.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, she nodded in a daze in order to stop him from asking questions, but she still didn't quite understand why he was so fixated on the title of "brother" and why he was so fickle.
Since that day they parted, she would always think of him inexplicably, sometimes when she woke up from a dream, sometimes when she was lost in thought, her thoughts uncontrollably recalling his words and deeds, deep and unfathomable, hiding some secrets she never knew.
But she had no reason to pry into his private affairs, so she shook her head to shake off these messy thoughts.
"It's nothing, I just suddenly forgot how to write the next sentence, and I'm racking my brains for it."
Shen Xi calmly replied, crumpled the paper in her hand into a ball, and threw it into the brazier without thinking.
Qingqiu was indeed fooled by her reaction. Without asking any further questions, he buried himself in tidying up the books on the table and noticed that several books were still wet with ink and were being laid out to dry. "Is the young lady reciting these medical books from memory again? You have such a good memory. You can write down so many books without missing a single word."
"You'll naturally remember it after seeing it a lot."
Shen Xi smiled and pulled out another book. As she moved, a page tucked inside fluttered to the ground.
Seeing this, Qingqiu bent down and picked it up. After looking at it carefully, she exclaimed in slight surprise, "Huh? The young lady actually kept this prescription."
It was on the winter solstice, outside the Shen residence, that the old stranger gave her the prescription, which she later slipped into her book.
"But this prescription really works. In less than a month, the young lady's knee injury was completely healed. It's just a pity that we don't know who that person was?"
Shen Xi took it from her hand, looked at the words on it carefully, and nodded: "The prescription is indeed effective, and the person is really strange."
After giving a prescription for no apparent reason, he disappeared without a trace, asking for nothing in return and not accepting any money. Is there really such a kind-hearted person?
Shen Xi didn't believe it. After thinking it over and over again without reaching a conclusion, she put the prescription back into the book.
Just then, a young maidservant rushed in from outside in a panic.
"Miss! Someone from the palace has come to summon you to the palace."
The Shen family was not a powerful family, nor had any members of the imperial family ever come from it. How did she, an insignificant girl from the Shen family, catch the eye of a noblewoman in the palace?
As Shen Xi followed the young eunuch who came to the Shen family to pick her up into the palace, she kept pondering.
Shen Guangjun was quite surprised when he heard the news. Before she left, he repeatedly told her to pay attention to etiquette and manners and not to embarrass the Shen family in the palace.
After ruling out all possibilities, if it wasn't the Shen family, then it was probably related to Xie Wenlang. She subconsciously thought of the Fifth Princess.
As we slowly passed through the nine-tiered palace gates, sunlight shone on the red walls and black tiles, making the carved beams and painted rafters appear even more magnificent.
Following the young eunuch, we walked straight towards the inner palace and finally stopped in front of the Cining Palace.
While standing under the corridor waiting for someone to go in and announce his arrival, Shen Xi gazed at the magnificent plaque and gradually formed a guess in his mind.
Sure enough, once she was led inside, the first thing she noticed was a beautiful figure sitting at the head of the table.
It really is Chu Yi.
She was sitting next to an elderly lady with graying hair and a plump figure, chatting intimately.
This must be the Empress Dowager.
Shen Xi greeted the Empress Dowager without changing her expression, and the Empress Dowager nodded slightly: "Raise your head and let me take a good look at you."
Having witnessed the treacherous intrigues of the imperial harem, his voice carried an imposing authority even without anger.
Shen Xi could only obey and slowly raised her head.
The Empress Dowager scrutinized her carefully, then turned to Chu Yi and asked, "Is this the person you were talking about?"
“Yes, Grandmother, it’s rare for me to make such a friend.” Chu Yi glanced at Shen Xi and smiled. “It’s a pity that Father Emperor won’t allow me to leave the palace. Fortunately, Grandmother is willing to help me bring him into the palace.”
The Empress Dowager was quite surprised and pointed at her with her fingertip: "You little rascal, don't try to fool this old woman."
Chu Yi cleverly took the Empress Dowager's hand and gently shook it, saying, "Oh dear, how could that be! I really want her to play with me for a few days."
The Empress Dowager smiled and, upon hearing that Chu Yi had finally found a playmate she wanted, didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she turned to Chen Xi and nodded, "She seems like a good child. How about this, you can stay in the palace for a few days, and you two little girls can get to know each other and play together for a while."
Chu Yi smiled and handed a pastry to the Empress Dowager. Before Shen Xi could even speak, she said, "That's wonderful! Thank you, Grandmother!"
The Empress Dowager took a bite of pastry from Chu Yi's hand, her gaze full of doting affection.
Only then did Chu Yi seem to remember Shen Xi, and asked very considerately, "Xi'er, have you been neglecting your other matters by staying with me in the palace these past few days?"
The sound of "Xi'er" made Chen Xi shudder. She could tell that Chu Yi's smile was hiding a knife, but she had no choice but to bow her head when she was under someone else's roof.
She forced a polite smile and replied, "Of course not. It's just that my family doesn't know why I've come to the palace this time, so they're worried. Perhaps I should go back home first and tell my parents."
Chu Yi raised an eyebrow, her smile deepening: "Why go through all that trouble? Just send a palace maid. You can settle down here and spend this time getting to know each other better."
One sentence sealed off Shen Xi's escape route, and she could only maintain a smile: "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."
Chu Yi was in high spirits at being able to keep Shen Xi in the palace and immediately suggested, "I haven't moved around in the palace for a long time. The sun has been shining brightly these days, perfect for horseback riding. Why don't we go to the hunting grounds later?"
Shen Xi politely declined, saying, "Your Highness, I am not skilled in horsemanship..."
Before she could finish speaking, Chu Yi waved her hand to interrupt, saying, "It's alright, I'll teach you. You'll get it with a little practice."
The Empress Dowager paused in her tea-drinking, disapprovingly saying, "No, the envoys from the Northern Barbarians are negotiating peace with our dynasty and are currently at the hunting grounds. You shouldn't go and join the fun. Let's do it another day."
Chu Yi refused: "Grandmother, the hunting grounds are so big. I'll find a corner to play by myself. I won't be in front of them. Just let me go!"
"Royal Grandmother~"
Seeing that the Empress Dowager did not agree, Chu Yi clung to her arm and acted coquettishly, tilting her head and rubbing against her, persistently pleading and begging.
It wasn't until the Empress Dowager was driven to desperation by this little devil that she reluctantly nodded.
The hunting grounds.
The northern barbarians value martial prowess, and this peace talk specifically proposed to make friends through martial arts. Right now, the northern barbarian envoys and officials of this dynasty are gathered at the hunting grounds, watching the archery competition between the two dynasties.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Liang Tuo quietly approached Xie Chengyan and whispered in his ear, "General, the Fifth Princess has summoned Miss Shen to the palace."
A whooshing sound rang out as an arrow struck the bullseye, drawing cheers from all around.
Xie Chengyan's gaze lingered on the arrow in the center of the target, and he clapped his hands casually: "She'll have to suffer a bit before she understands. Don't make any rash moves, just keep a close eye on her."
Liang Tuo bowed his head: "Yes."
Meanwhile, Chu Yi had already led Shen Xi into the hunting grounds.
She certainly wouldn't go to the peace talks; she deliberately went through a side door, separated from the other side by a dense forest, so as not to disturb each other.
At Chu Yi's instruction, a palace maid brought over a horse. Without much hesitation, she mounted it and then raised an eyebrow: "Miss Chen, why are you standing there? If you don't get on the horse, how am I supposed to teach you?"
Shen Xi made no move. She knew that this Fifth Prince must have many ways to torment her, and now that she was alone in the deep palace, she had to be extra careful.
How could Chu Yi let her have her way? She took a few steps on her horse and said, "You can't not even know how to ride a horse, can you? But I heard Lang say that he specially arranged for someone to teach you horsemanship. Or are you unwilling to give me this face?"
Xie Wenlang was truly forthcoming with his knowledge, and Shen Xi sighed softly in frustration.
But then he thought, given Chu Yi's personality, she would never give up until she got her revenge today, and if the stalemate continued, who knows what other tricks she might have up her sleeve.
It's better to let her be for now and go with the flow.
Having figured this out, when Shen Xi looked up again, her face was already showing a gentle expression: "Your Highness is joking. This humble woman will mount her horse now."
She took the reins from the palace servant. She was only half-baked, having only ridden the Zhuiyun horse under Xie Chengyan, and it was a gentle colt.
But she wouldn't have any good intentions towards Chu Yi.
Sure enough, this horse was not in a good mood. The moment Chen Xi stepped into the stirrup and got on, it uncooperatively raised its front hooves and suddenly darted away.
This was exactly what Shen Xi had expected. She had taken precautions and tried to find a safe place to fall off the horse. But in the middle of the movement, her foot was suddenly caught in the stirrup, dragging her on the horse for hundreds of steps.
Shen Xi clenched her teeth tightly.
I only intended to fake a fall, but I never expected to actually get myself involved.
Seeing that things were about to get out of control, she hurriedly tried a few times, then suddenly pulled hard and managed to pull her foot out. She rolled down and into the grass, looking quite disheveled.
As a result, his arm was scraped when he fell, and more seriously, the foot that had been caught in the stirrup seemed to be twisted, with a dull pain in his ankle.
Shen Xi endured the pain and moved around a bit; thankfully, no bones were broken.
A cold wind blew by, and a layer of cold sweat had already seeped out on her back.
None of the palace servants dared to step forward, keeping their heads down and ignoring the situation.
Only Chu Yi rode up, leisurely approaching her, sitting on his horse, and looking down at her condescendingly: "It seems you really aren't good at horsemanship. Did it hurt if you fell?"
Shen Xi raised her head: "Your Highness, please forgive my ignorance. If I have offended you in any way, may I ask you to speak frankly?"
Chu Yi sneered and rode her horse around Shen Xi: "You're quite the straightforward one. But I told you before to stay away from Wen Lang, but you don't seem to have taken it to heart."
After a pause, Chu Yi reined in her horse: "Then I will say it again, as long as you let Wen Lang go, I will let you go."
Upon hearing this, Shen Xi remained calm and composed, saying, "Your Highness, between him and me, there is no question of letting go or not."
"Stop lying to me." Chu Yi snorted coldly, casually flicking her riding whip. "I've inquired and found out that you two are engaged. If you're willing to break off the engagement, I'll reward you handsomely."
Chu Yi's gaze swept over Shen Xi's head again, and she became somewhat impatient. It was all her good father's fault, to say the least.
Earlier, she went to ask her father, the emperor, to issue a decree to grant her the marriage, but he insisted that Xie Wenlang was already engaged and that it was not good to break up someone's marriage, for fear of chilling the hearts of loyal ministers.
If her father had agreed back then, why would she, a princess, have wasted her time and energy arguing with Chen Xi?
Unexpectedly, Shen Xi remained unmoved by reason, and asked, "Since you are breaking off the engagement, why did Your Highness come to me instead of Xie Wenlang?"
Chu Yi panicked on the spot and said directly, "Are you stupid? How could I possibly act like a bad person in front of him?"
Therefore, the only option is to be the villain in front of her.
Shen Xi lowered his eyes and subtly shifted his focus: "Your Highness, the Shen family is a humble and insignificant family. This marriage has never been decided by the Shen family. We are of lowly status and have little influence. How dare we sway the decision of the Duke's Mansion?"
Chu Yi, however, did not believe it: "Marriage is always a matter of mutual consent. If you break off the engagement, can he force you to marry him?"
But as soon as she finished speaking, Chu Yi herself fell into doubt. In her opinion, Xie Wenlang liked Shen Xi so much that he might actually do it.
Then, the tone shifted abruptly: "So, you're saying you're not going to listen to me?"
Shen Xi did not answer, but remained silent.
Chu Yi sneered and looked away from her: "Then you can stay in the palace these days. As for Wen Lang, don't even think about seeing him again."
Having said that, Chu Yi spurred his horse and turned to leave.
Shen Xi stared at the sullen figure as she turned away, her eyes narrowing slightly. She couldn't let Xie Wenlang go until she found another way out.
When she came to her senses, she tried to stand up, but before her legs could straighten, a sharp pain shot through her and she fell back down.
As he fell, Shen Xi instinctively braced himself with his palms to absorb the force, but accidentally aggravated the abrasion on his palms, causing him to gasp involuntarily.
The pain stimulated her, and for some reason, she felt somewhat aggrieved.
She carefully brushed away the dust and quietly tucked her swollen and painful ankle back into her dress.
The next instant, the sunlight in front of them was suddenly blocked by a shadow.
"Who taught you to hide your injuries when you're so badly hurt?"
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