Qin Jiujiu suspected Xie Jing intended to strangle her this way.
Then she saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes. He stared at her face for a long time, and suddenly the strength around her waist loosened, allowing her to move freely.
She quickly got up, tidied her appearance, and then said to Xie Jing, "Why are you here?"
Fearing that Xie Jing might misunderstand her as having followed him, she added, "I got lost and ended up here. Then I saw someone lying here and came to take a look, only to see it was you, and injured at that!"
Qin Jiujiu looked at Xie Jing's wounds, which prompted him to look at her chest as well.
"Since you see I'm injured, why aren't you coming to help me?"
His entitled demand for her assistance was infuriating, but who could she blame? He was a demon, and she was a frail woman with no strength to even tie a chicken!
She quickly reached out to help him, a fawning, subservient smile on her face.
Qin Jiujiu expected Xie Jing to question her about yesterday's events. To her surprise, he didn't mention a word about it even after they returned to the City Lord's mansion.
Upon their return, they went straight to Bai Qianluo's room, where the Saint Physician was just examining her.
Xie Yun stood nearby, his gaze fixed entirely on Bai Qianluo.
Seeing Qin Jiujiu return safely, he finally showed some emotion. The anxiety on his face was replaced by a touch of joy. He clasped her shoulders with both hands, carefully inspecting her from head to toe to ensure she wasn't injured, although Liu Jin had already informed him of Qin Jiujiu's safety.
Xie Jing watched Qin Jiujiu from the side, finding the hand on her shoulder extremely irritating. He felt an urge to pull her into his embrace, to prevent anyone else from touching her.
From the moment she disappeared last night until now, he had realized something: Qin Jiujiu was not someone he could easily let go of. He wanted to keep her by his side, never to leave!
Xie Yun's gesture was actually unintentional. After checking Qin Jiujiu and finding her unharmed, he relaxed and turned his attention back to Bai Qianluo.
However, in Xie Jing's eyes, it held a different meaning.
Recalling how Qin Jiujiu had clung to him before, Xie Jing felt inexplicably agitated and his mind was in disarray.
He couldn't quite grasp it, but he inexplicably walked between Xie Yun and Qin Jiujiu, completely shielding Qin Jiujiu with his body, feeling a little more at ease.
Qin Jiujiu clearly felt someone else's presence beside her. Turning her head, she met Xie Jing's gaze.
Why was he looking at her? Could he suspect her of being involved in Bai Qianluo's injury? After all, the villainous female supporting character was always the true culprit behind the heroine's suffering.
Qin Jiujiu felt a pang of shame. She subtly shifted a little to the side, putting more distance between herself and Xie Jing, seeking some peace.
Jiang Yan withdrew his hands after finishing the acupuncture on Bai Qianluo. He put the acupuncture kit back into its case, then stood up and said, "I'll prescribe some medicine for Miss Bai. Take this prescription to buy the herbs and immediately prepare a decoction for her. If her fever breaks tonight, she'll be fine!"
After speaking, he walked to the side and began to write the prescription.
Qin Jiujiu moved to Jiang Yan's side. As he finished writing, she reached out to take it, but it was snatched away.
She had originally thought that Xie Yun needed to be by Bai Qianluo's side at this moment, so she would handle the task of buying and brewing the medicine herself!
Who would have thought Xie Jing would intercept her, saying, "I'll escort Young Master Jiang."
He politely saw Jiang Yan out. However, once they were outside, his gentle demeanor vanished. Jiang Yan, unfamiliar with Xie Jing, didn't notice anything amiss. He merely gave a few instructions on precautions and left.
Qin Jiujiu used an excuse to leave, leaving Xie Yun and Bai Qianluo alone in the room. This was their time alone, and she, the glaringly obvious third wheel, should depart.
As she stepped out, she saw Xie Jing holding the prescription, his eyes fixed on it, reading intently.
Does the villain know medicine too?
When it came to Bai Qianluo's affairs, Xie Jing was the most concerned. Naturally, he wouldn't entrust the task of fetching medicine to her, the villainous female supporting character.
Though she understood the reasoning, a pang of discomfort struck her.
Ignoring the sense of loss, she steelied herself and walked to Xie Jing's side.
Seeing Qin Jiujiu approach, Xie Jing then folded the prescription and placed it inside his clothes, near his chest.
"Second Young Master Xie, I'll go with you to get the medicine!"
"Alright!"
Unexpectedly, Xie Jing didn't refuse. She had offered politely, assuming he would refuse, fearing she might secretly administer poison to Bai Qianluo. She hadn't expected him to agree so readily.
Caught off guard, she began to say, "In that case, I'll go and..." change clothes!
Before she could finish, she realized her mistake and immediately fell silent.
Xie Jing calmly turned his head, looking at Qin Jiujiu's suddenly widened pupils and her closed mouth. As if he had anticipated this, he adjusted his posture and met her gaze as she looked away.
Qin Jiujiu had no choice but to continue, "First change my clothes, then go out! But it will trouble Second Young Master Xie to wait for me, so perhaps you should go first?"
To her surprise, he replied again, "It's alright! Miss Qin, please go back and change. I'll wait at the entrance."
Since he had said so, Qin Jiujiu truly couldn't refuse anymore, nor did she dare to make Xie Jing wait. She finally said to him, "Actually, it's fine if I don't change... Let's go!"
She took the lead, and Xie Jing followed without further comment, leaving the room.
Buying the medicine, brewing the medicine, Xie Jing never said much. He simply acted as an observer, watching her from the side.
Qin Jiujiu felt that he was monitoring her, constantly afraid she would harm Bai Qianluo.
But wasn't his gaze a little too intense? It was difficult to ignore such scrutiny!
If anyone else stared at her like that, she would have retorted, "What are you looking at? Haven't you seen a beautiful woman before?"
However, with Xie Jing, the words changed as they reached her lips.
"Second Young Master Xie, it must be very tiring for you to have to accompany me..."
She couldn't help it and gave him a sarcastic remark.
Xie Jing merely gave her a deep look. She couldn't discern the meaning behind his gaze. Since the words had already been spoken, Qin Jiujiu chose to pretend he hadn't noticed her veiled sarcasm and continued to stare at the medicine cauldron as if nothing had happened.
In recent days, the city had been in a state of panic due to Bai Yuanzheng's death.
Wei Ting had been investigating the case, but the murderer seemed to have vanished, leaving no trace.
Qin Jiujiu didn't know what had gotten into Xie Jing. Before, she could barely catch a glimpse of him, but these past few days, no matter what she did, he was always lingering around her.
Bai Qianluo's health greatly improved, and her relationship with Xie Yun naturally grew deeper. Jiang Chu visited the City Lord's mansion daily to see Bai Qianluo, and thus, as in the original story, Jiang Yan and Bai Qianluo's interactions also became closer.
The beginnings of a love triangle were becoming apparent. If Xie Jing, with his secret admiration, were added, it would become a love quadrangle.
This time, something seemed to have gone wrong. Liu Jin was not involved. She was not in the mansion day after day, reportedly pursuing the killer.