Xu Nuo paused for a moment, then stopped and hiccuped.
The firewood crackled intermittently, and most of the water in the boiler had boiled away.
Time passed by, but Xu Nuo remained silent.
Li Xian lowered his head, his features were not visible, and his body, which was kneeling in front of her, was visibly stiff.
With each passing moment, his heart was torn apart, as if filled with ice, so cold that his eyes and brows turned ashen.
His jaw clenched tightly, and when he loosened it, a thin line of blood flowed down his throat.
He was completely oblivious.
He was waiting for her answer.
After a moment of stunned silence, Xu Nuo was at a loss for what to do.
Li Xian should like Xu Yan, so why would he like her?
Could it be due to the timeline? Just like how Xu Yan liked Luo Chen in the early stages, but only fell in love with Li Xian later.
Xu Nuo's furrowed brows revealed a hint of confusion, but in Li Xian's eyes, it was annoyance and disgust at his earlier offense.
The last glimmer of hope in his eyes vanished suddenly, leaving only a patch of dim ashes.
With firewood burning fiercely under the stove, Li Xian reached out without hesitation, grabbed a pair of firewood shears, and plunged them into his palm, blood instantly gushing out.
Xu Nuo was startled and rushed over to cover the injury on his palm: "Li Xian, are you crazy?"
Li Xian looked up at her, his expression a mixture of remorse and something else. He said, word by word, "I'm sorry, I did something wrong, I deserve to die."
Xu Nuo covered his wound, her voice urgent: "I...I was just spacing out for a moment, why did you hurt yourself? I didn't say I didn't like you, you...ah."
"What did you say?" Li Xian ignored the blood on his hands, lifted the person to his chest, stared intently into her eyes, and slowly focused his gaze on hope.
Xu Nuo hesitated for a moment.
She didn't understand the rules of this world, nor did she know if the ending of the male and female protagonists would change. If not, they would eventually be together, so what was she, Xu Nuo?
Li Xian's first love, ex-girlfriend.
…cannon fodder?
The grip on his arm tightened slightly, and Xu Nuo met his eyes.
My heart skipped a beat.
Forget it, whatever the ending, if Li Xian really likes someone else, then she'll just treat it as a romance with the male lead.
Anyway, Li Xian looks silly, so she's not the one who's going to suffer.
As soon as she sensed something was wrong, she would immediately and gracefully leave.
I will not get entangled with them!
Having figured it out, Xu Nuo poked his stiff cheek with her fingertips, her voice tinged with a hint of coquetry: "You big idiot."
Then she opened her arms, smiled at him, and said in a soft, gentle voice, "Hug me."
The man's eyes burned with desire, as if he wanted to scorch her. His strong body trembled as he covered her, holding her tightly in his arms.
Li Xian rested his chin on the top of her head, the scent of her flowers filling his nostrils. He murmured, "I'm not dreaming, am I?"
Xu Nuo hummed like a cat in his arms: "Hmph, Li Xian, you have to be super good to me, you have to love me super, super pamper me."
Li Xian's eyes filled with a satisfied smile as he gently stroked her back with his large hand, his voice sincere and firm: "Nuonuo, I will be good to you."
lifetime.
…
The kitchen was dimly lit, with a faint fire.
Xu Nuo belatedly realized something and pulled away from his embrace: "Li Xian, your injury."
They had long forgotten about it.
Li Xian put his hands behind his back, brushed her slightly disheveled hair, looked at her steadily, and said softly, "It's okay, it doesn't hurt."
Xu Nuo gave a coquettish snort and pulled his hand away.
A bloody hole appeared on the large palm, with the skin and tendons torn open, looking extremely horrifying. However, perhaps because he had drunk some herbal water beforehand, the bleeding was not much, and it had stopped in a short while.
But the wound was so gruesome that he was afraid of frightening her, so Li Xian folded his hands behind his back, his brows and eyes seemed to be shrouded in an unyielding mist, burning as if he wanted to devour her.
Xu Nuo said in a sweet voice, "Li Xian, why are you staring at me like that?"
Li Xian's eyes sparkled like stars: "I'm afraid you'll run away."
Xu Nuo poked his chest with her slender white fingertips and urged him softly, "Okay, hurry up and bandage your wound."
Li Xian looked at her, hummed in agreement, and then wrapped his arm around her with his uninjured hand, carrying her into the house.
…
The candlelight flickered, and a new blanket was laid out on the old, dark wooden bed.
Xu Nuo sat curled up on the bed, her bare little feet held in his hands and pressed against her waist. Xu Nuo playfully wiggled her toes, and he saw the doting look in his eyes as he helplessly said, "You..."
Xu Nuo chuckled and stopped teasing him, carefully bandaging his wound.
While Xu Nuo was warming himself by the fire, Li Xian went out and brought in some herbs that were originally meant for Xu Nuo, but now they were all applied to his wounds.
When Xu Nuo put the herbs in, she mixed in some herbal water, then wrapped it twice with gauze and tied it up. After bandaging it, she held his palm and said, "Keep it wrapped up for now, so it will heal quickly."
Li Xianneng could feel the wounds easing and healing, and gently stroked her brow with his fingertips.
Then Xu Nuo saw him walk out, and when he came back, he was holding something in his hand.
It emitted a cold light in the candlelight.
Xu Nuo cried, "I don't want to."
Li Xian's eyes held a hint of helplessness, but his tone left no room for doubt: "Nuonuo, the sand and stones need to be picked out, otherwise they will grow into the wound."
Xu Nuo shrank back a little, looking quite aggrieved, her lips turned down, and she looked like she was about to cry: "But picking sand hurts so much."
Li Xian knew she was terribly afraid of pain, so he placed the heated needle on the gauze, walked over, sat down by the bed, and pulled her into his arms.
His rough palms gently cupped her hair, stroking it softly, his voice even lower: "I'll be very gentle. If it hurts, I'll stop, okay?"
Xu Nuo looked into his eyes and pouted, "You promise, if I feel any pain, you have to stop."
His handsome face showed seriousness as he nodded: "Really, I promise."
Xu Nuo nodded and instructed him, "You have to be gentle, okay? I'm afraid of hurting you."
Her delicate yet fearful demeanor melted Li Xian's heart; he wished he could take her place and feel the pain himself.
Li Xian was afraid that Xu Nuo would be even more frightened if she saw it, so he carried her to the back and put her injured leg on his lap.
This position made it seem as if Xu Nuo was sitting on his back, which meant that he could not see the wound and could prevent her from struggling.
His trousers were pulled down to his knees, revealing a slightly red scab.
The wound has closed, but the sand and gravel are hard and will not fall off on their own.
Xu Nuo's voice trembled: "Li Xian, I can only start when I say start, wait a minute, I'm not ready yet."
Li Xian gently blew on her knees and replied, "Okay."
Xu Nuo took a deep breath, then turned his back and gently patted her back: "Nuonuo, don't be afraid, I'll be very gentle."
Xu Nuo pressed her cheek against his back, listening to his steady yet rapid heartbeat, and said with a soft "Mmm," "Okay, I'm ready."
Li Xian pulled her hand over, wrapped it around his chest, and tightened his arms around her arm.
Xu Nuo panicked, and then felt a sharp pain in her knee.
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