"Do you know who he took that scar for?"
"I don't know."
Wen Tingxue forcefully broke free from her grasp, her eyes cold. "And I don't want to know."
"Tch." Yu Jie scoffed dismissively, casually popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. After chewing it haphazardly for a moment, she said, "Let's make a bet."
"On what?"
Blocked, Wen Tingxue turned her head. Yu Jie stood there, utterly certain. "Yu Wenli will definitely go back injured today. Even if he's being flirtatious with you, he'll still fight for my good sister."
Wen Tingxue didn't know how she got back home. She only knew that she eventually arrived.
"Oh! Little Xue is back?" Aunt Fang, her face filled with anxiety, took off her apron and hurried over.
Wen Tingxue looked up slowly. "What's wrong?"
"The duck is lost!" Aunt Fang slapped her thighs in regret, guiltily saying, "I just took my eyes off it for a moment, and it ran out. I..."
Wen Tingxue went out without even changing her shoes. Aunt Fang quickly changed hers and followed.
"I've searched the house from top to bottom, and it's really not here. I don't know where it went." Aunt Fang was on the verge of tears from worry.
Wen Tingxue clenched her palms, forcing herself to calm down. "Aunt Fang, go ask the property management for the surveillance footage. I'll search the vicinity first."
"Okay!" Aunt Fang seemed to have found her backbone and instantly gained strength.
The search area expanded outwards from the house, but the duck was nowhere to be found. Wen Tingxue felt like she was having a terrible day! Otherwise, why would everyone be bullying her?
When Aunt Fang called, Wen Tingxue was reaching into a flower bed. "Little duck, where are you? Can you quack? Answer me... please..."
Her only response was the whistling night wind.
Wen Tingxue withdrew her hand, leaning against the edge of the flower bed in despair. She casually swiped to answer, forcing her voice to remain steady. "Aunt Fang."
"We checked the surveillance," Aunt Fang said, sniffing. "Still no sign of it. We only know that after it went out, it walked a bit to the right. Then it just plunged into the flower bed. We can't see its subsequent path on the surveillance."
Wen Tingxue raised her hand to wipe her tears, forcing herself to say, "Then I'll search further to the right. Maybe I'll find it."
Aunt Fang said, "I'll go with you."
Wen Tingxue didn't refuse. After hanging up, she sat there quietly and cried for a while. Then, using her soaked sleeves to dry her tears, she continued her search for the duck. To the right was the way out.
Halfway there, Wen Tingxue saw Yu Wenli's car. It was driving in, looking like he had just returned.
—Heh.
Is this what he meant by 'back soon'? Truly fast, considering it's been three or four hours.
Wen Tingxue passed the car without averting her gaze.
"Screech—" A harsh braking sound followed quickly by the heavy thud of a car door slamming shut. Wen Tingxue's tears welled up again uncontrollably as she heard familiar footsteps approaching. Even though she was walking quickly, he had long legs. No matter how fast she walked, he could catch up.
Soon.
"Yiyi." Yu Wenli, suppressing his anger, grabbed her wrist, inadvertently pressing on the wound on her hand that had been scratched by a branch. The pain made her tears fall instantly.
Yu Wenli froze for a moment. He quickly bent down, cupped her face with both hands, and saw it was covered in tear tracks. Especially her eyes, which were swollen. His heart ached like a needle prick, a fine, dense pain.
Before he could speak, Wen Tingxue dodged his hand and continued walking forward.
She smelled it.
She saw it too.
Yu Jie was right. He had gone to fight for Tong Jiayi.
When they had gone to watch a movie for the first time.
Wen Tingxue felt an indescribable grievance. No one knew better than her how much she had looked forward to the movie today. She had waited from Monday to Saturday, finally getting to the movie's start time, only to find she was the only one looking forward to it. How ridiculous.
Was his eye corner not enough? Did he have to injure his wrist too? Didn't he know his hands were meant for playing the guitar?!
She just couldn't understand. She was Chi Zerui's savior, so why was he rushing to save her? Time and time again.
If he liked her so much, if he couldn't let go, why did he provoke her?
The more Wen Tingxue thought about it, the angrier she became. The duck was lost, and the person was about to be lost too. Then she didn't want either. No, the duck wasn't at fault; it still had to be found.
Yu Wenli was afraid of injuring her hand further, so he hesitated to touch her. He could only jog a few steps to block her path.
"Yiyi..."
Wen Tingxue sidestepped, trying to get around him. Yu Wenli's suppressed anger flared slightly. But he still held back his temper, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her into his embrace without another word.
"Yiyi, what's wrong with you? Can you tell me, okay?"
Wen Tingxue didn't want to talk to him. She struggled with all her might to get out of his arms. Yu Wenli had never seen her so stubborn. A trace of temper rose in his voice, which was a little heavier. "Wen Tingxue, can you stop being difficult!"
Wen Tingxue instantly stopped struggling. The air around them seemed to thin. Yu Wenli quickly realized he had hurt her and closed his eyes in regret. "I'm sorry, I..."
"My duck is lost," Wen Tingxue interrupted him, her voice very calm, not looking at him. "Can you let me go find my duck?"
Yu Wenli's heart sank. Numerous possibilities flashed through his mind. But he still didn't know why she was so angry today. After a few seconds of silence, Yu Wenli decisively released her. "I'll help you look."
"Whatever," Wen Tingxue dropped the two words and focused on finding the duck.
Just then, Aunt Fang arrived. Seeing Yu Wenli, she was startled. "Little Wen, you just got back?" She had thought they had returned together.
Yu Wenli asked, "When did Yiyi get back?"
"About half an hour ago," Aunt Fang replied.
Half an hour? Yu Wenli's brows furrowed. Then where had she been before? His calls had been going straight to voicemail. Even when she finally answered, she didn't pick up. Without dwelling on it, he first inquired about the specific circumstances of the duck's disappearance. Then he asked about the duck in the owner's group chat. Soon, Mrs. Xie tagged him: 【Quick, quick! That duck stinks! Get rid of it quickly!】
"Yiyi." Yu Wenli told Aunt Fang to go back first, then walked over to Wen Tingxue and told her about the duck. Upon hearing this, Wen Tingxue immediately wanted to go to the Xie residence.
Yu Wenli said, "Let's take the car, it's faster."
Wen Tingxue refused, but she was afraid the duck would suffer, so she got in the car.
Outside the Xie residence.
Before the car had even stopped, Wen Tingxue wanted to get out. Yu Wenli put his arm around her waist.
"Are you going to the Xie's like this?" he asked in her ear, his voice very soft.
Wen Tingxue was stunned. The driver quickly handed her a mirror. Her face was streaked with white and gray. It was a mess of dust mixed with tear tracks, almost like a painting. Wen Tingxue felt embarrassed. Just as she was about to wipe it with her sleeve, Yu Wenli took out a wet wipe and carefully cleaned her face. His gaze was gentle, his movements patient.
Suddenly, Wen Tingxue saw the scar on his eye corner, not deep nor shallow, and her anger surged. She snatched the wet wipe from him and got out of the car.
Yu Wenli: "......?"