Jin Ye recovered his color after a moment, loosening his grip on his abdomen and turning to look at Su Ding. "I'm fine."
He then took her hand again.
Firmly.
Su Ding didn't pull away this time. Instead, she looked at him with concern, "Did I hurt you?"
She hadn't controlled her strength earlier.
A smile curved Jin Ye's lips. He was pleased by her worry and said softly, "Let's go."
He pulled her along towards the small attic. Su Ding let him lead, her brow furrowed in thought. After a long moment, she finally whispered, "I'm sorry."
She had only wanted to push him away, not to cause him pain.
"Then can I go up and rest for a bit later?"
Jin Ye asked in a low voice, his clear tone laced with a hint of teasing, a sensation that tickled her heart.
Su Ding glared at him, her brows knitted. "Aren't you afraid I'll hit you again?"
"You want to hit me again?" Jin Ye raised an eyebrow, his tone filled with gentle indulgence.
Su Ding let out a soft hmph, ignoring him.
As they walked, she couldn't help but sneak glances at Jin Ye's complexion and his abdomen, worried about his condition.
Jin Ye noticed all of this, and his mood lifted.
Soon, they reached the bottom of the small attic.
Jin Ye naturally pulled Su Ding to open the door. "You must be tired from walking. Let's rest."
Su Ding gave him a cool look, seeing through his little ploy.
She decided to treat the man as if he were invisible, going in to wash up without paying him any mind.
When she came out, the man was gone.
"Where did he go?"
Su Ding wondered, closing the door and heading into the bedroom upstairs.
As soon as she pushed the door open, she saw Jin Ye leaning against the bed, his eyes half-closed, seemingly asleep.
Deep dark circles were evident under his eyes, and his face showed clear signs of exhaustion, which hadn't been apparent during their conversation earlier but were now all visible as he rested with his eyes closed.
Su Ding tiptoed closer.
The warm yellow lamplight cast shadows on his sharply defined face, his long eyelashes creating silhouettes beneath his eyelids.
She let out a soft sigh and nudged him, "Take off your clothes before you sleep."
Jin Ye was a light sleeper. He opened his drowsy eyes and, after a moment of daze, reached out to take Su Ding's hand.
"Are you done washing?"
Su Ding looked at him, and for a fleeting moment, she saw Xiao Xi. The father and son were so alike.
She nodded and took a half-step back. "If you're tired, just go to sleep."
She knew that with Jin Ye's arrival in the southern territory, work from Jiangcheng would be promptly transmitted to him for handling, and it was indeed very arduous.
"Together."
Jin Ye's voice was hoarse, and Su Ding detected a hint of a spoiled tone in it.
Su Ding shook her head, trying to clear her mind, and said calmly, "You sleep. I'll go to the guest room."
Unexpectedly, the man held her hand tightly.
"You're not allowed to leave."
With that, Jin Ye stood up, his tall figure instantly looming over her. He turned and closed the door.
The light was switched off with a click.
The room was plunged into darkness. Su Ding had a bad feeling, fumbling in the dark. She was swept into his arms at the waist and then unceremoniously tossed onto the bed.
The soft mattress made her body bounce a few times.
Immediately, Jin Ye pressed down on her, his voice husky as he said, "Sleep."
Su Ding's breathing became uneven. She closed her eyes and replied, "Mmm."
Jin Ye rolled off her, wrapping his strong, hard, and warm arms around her waist from behind...
In the middle of the night, Su Ding was fast asleep.
Jin Ye released her and lifted the covers to get up. Su Ding was startled awake, her brows furrowed. "What are you doing?"
"The toilet."
After Jin Ye left the warmth of the bed, Su Ding turned over and tried to go back to sleep.
Suddenly, she heard a thud from the bathroom, followed by a muffled groan from the man.
"Jin Ye!"
Su Ding quickly jumped out of bed and went over, only to find Jin Ye clutching his abdomen, his face contorted in pain.
She quickly helped him up and onto the bed.
"Let me see."
It looked like he had slipped and bumped himself while going to the toilet.
Su Ding crouched in front of him, reaching out her fair, slender hand to roll up his shirt, but the man stopped her.
"It's nothing."
Jin Ye reached out to pull her up, but Su Ding stubbornly pushed his hand away.
She frowned. "Let me see."
Saying this, she forcibly grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up, revealing a shocking scar!
The scar extended from his ribs to his flank.
It looked like it had only recently scabbed over, but it had now broken open, with streaks of blood seeping out.
"How did you get this?"
Su Ding's eyes widened in horror, and her heart skipped a beat.
She abruptly stood up and hurried out of the room, quickly returning with a first-aid kit.
Seeing her grave expression, Jin Ye felt a sense of satisfaction from being cherished and cared for.
"Speak, how did you get hurt like this?"
Su Ding picked up a cotton swab to clean the blood, her voice cold and tinged with anger.
Jin Ye lifted the hem of his shirt, exposing his abdomen to her, and said in a low voice, "I was in a car accident before."
A car accident?
Su Ding's fingertips trembled, and her heart ached even more. "When was this?"
Jin Ye remained silent, his gaze falling on the woman crouching before him. "It's fine, it's in the past."
"Why did the car accident happen?"
Su Ding looked at the scar so close to her, feeling as if she were in pain herself.
Jin Ye was unwilling to answer, giving a perfunctory reply, "An accident."
"You," Su Ding's voice trailed off, her voice cracking slightly, and her eyes felt a sting.
She took a deep breath, gently wrapping the split scar with gauze, a nameless sadness welling up within her.
She imagined that Jin Ye must have spent some time in the hospital.
Perhaps he had even faced a life-threatening situation.
Thinking of this, she felt even more heartache. After a long pause, she said in a muffled voice, "Be careful in the future."
"Okay, I understand."
Jin Ye watched her, her head bowed, her shoulders rising and falling with her breaths.
While he enjoyed seeing her care about him, he hated to see her unhappy. He said softly, "Alright, let's go to bed."
Su Ding ignored him, trying to compose herself.
"Do you know that your current posture is very suggestive?"
Suddenly, Jin Ye's deep voice echoed, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
Su Ding looked up, a little confused. "What?"
Jin Ye didn't speak, his dark eyes subtly gesturing from her face down to his own groin...
She was crouching between his legs, looking up at him.
He looked down at her, his ambiguous gaze fixed on her lips.
"The way you are is like you're giving me..."
Before Jin Ye could finish his sentence, Su Ding shot up and quickly covered his mouth.
At the same time, her cheeks flushed crimson as she glared at him. "How dare you say that?"