Nan Gongjin paused for a moment, a sense of unease lingering in his heart.
He tried to withdraw his hand, but found that An Nuan was holding on even tighter. After a long while, he spoke softly, "Nuan Nuan, your body is still weak. I'll clean you up first."
"Right, the doctor will be here soon."
Meeting An Nuan's determined gaze, Nan Gongjin sighed helplessly. "Even if you have something important to tell me, can we postpone it for now?"
"However, once you're better, you can talk for as long as you want."
An Nuan shook her head, her voice weak. "Nan Gongjin, I'm a bit tired now, but there are some things that can't be delayed. They can only be said now."
Nan Gongjin's hand froze. While he was lost in thought, An Nuan had already let go of his hand.
"Nan Gongjin, I don't deserve you. I can't help you with anything by your side. You should leave."
"I can manage on my own."
"Perhaps, Xu Ruowei was right. I'm destined to be alone, lifetime after lifetime."
"My appearance is nothing but a disaster for everyone."
Nan Gongjin gripped the towel tightly. He still placed it in the basin, cleaned it, and then gently tended to An Nuan.
An Nuan finished speaking and lowered her gaze. Her hands, resting by her sides, clenched tightly. At this moment, she didn't know what else to say.
She had said what she needed to say.
There was naturally reluctance in her heart. But even with reluctance, sometimes, one had to make a decision.
Nan Gongjin looked at An Nuan with an intense gaze, his tone exceptionally serious. "An Nuan, look at me."
He didn't know what An Nuan had been through, but the words she was saying to him now suggested that whatever she had experienced was related to him.
An Nuan's hands clenched tightly. She didn't want to look at Nan Gongjin, afraid she wouldn't be able to hold back.
"An Nuan, do you not even have the courage to face me?" Nan Gongjin's voice carried a hint of amusement as he said this.
"An Nuan, you keep saying that you don't have me in your heart and that I should leave you."
"If you truly didn't have me in your heart, then you wouldn't be looking down right now," Nan Gongjin stated incisively.
An Nuan suddenly looked up, her gaze meeting Nan Gongjin's.
She suppressed the tremor in her heart and calmly said, "Nan Gongjin, you're mistaken. I just felt a bit tired, that's why I wasn't looking up."
Nan Gongjin remained silent, a smile on his face.
Facing Nan Gongjin's smile, An Nuan felt a strange unease but didn't show it.
She spoke with a hint of flustered evasion, "Nan Gongjin, you asked me to look up, and I have. If you have something to say, say it."
Nan Gongjin looked at An Nuan and said with utmost sincerity, "An Nuan, were the things you just said your true feelings?"
"An Nuan, I know, none of that was your true heart. You were just worried that you would drag me down because of your circumstances."
Nan Gongjin sensed An Nuan's withdrawal, but he didn't give her the opportunity to retreat. He gently enveloped her hand in his, speaking softly, "Nuan Nuan, your presence has never been a burden."
"Do you know? Your appearance is my salvation."
"In my darkest and most helpless moments, you appeared."
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be who I am today. Do you know that?"
"You made me who I am."
"If it weren't for you, my life would have been utterly meaningless. Do you know that?"
Nan Gongjin gazed at An Nuan affectionately. "Because of you, I am who I am today."
"An Nuan, please don't leave me, okay?"
An Nuan's eyes widened abruptly. She looked at Nan Gongjin in disbelief, unable to shake off the impact of his words for a long time.
An Nuan had never imagined that her place in Nan Gongjin's heart was so significant. For a moment, she even wondered if Nan Gongjin had mistaken her for someone else.
Perhaps she wasn't the person he had been looking for all along?
Just as An Nuan was about to speak, Nan Gongjin said directly, "Nuan Nuan, don't worry. There will never be a mistake about this."
"An Nuan, have you ever considered that perhaps, some things, you've forgotten yourself?"
Seeing Nan Gongjin speak so resolutely, An Nuan found herself momentarily speechless, unable to find any retort.
Meeting Nan Gongjin's intense gaze, An Nuan didn't know what to say for a while.
After a long pause, An Nuan finally spoke, "But even so, I don't want to cause you so much trouble because of me."
"Nan Gongjin, my appearance has brought you too much trouble."
"Even if you don't see it as a problem, I believe it is a significant one."
"Nan Gongjin, I..."
"An Nuan, please don't reject me, okay?"
"Nuan Nuan, do you know? When you agreed to be my girlfriend, I was ecstatic. I wanted to tell the whole world, to let everyone know that you, An Nuan, belonged to me."
Nan Gongjin spoke passionately, even contemplating how he would make An Nuan happy next, already planning out their future.
However, in such a short time, An Nuan had encountered danger, and then what? All his joy was lost again.
"Nuan Nuan, please stop saying these things, can you? Just consider it me begging you, okay?"
He felt a sense of despair, not knowing what he would do if An Nuan refused.
"Mm." An Nuan finally nodded.
An Nuan felt a little selfish. She didn't want to leave Nan Gongjin.
So, she would be selfish this once.
Nan Gongjin's face broke into a smile. The heavy weight on his heart finally lifted.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was overjoyed.
He looked at An Nuan and said firmly, "Nuan Nuan, from now on, please don't say such things again, okay?"
Nan Gongjin spoke softly, his voice tinged with a plea.
He secretly vowed in his heart that from now on, he would never let An Nuan fall into danger again, and certainly not let her feel disheartened.
For this matter, Shen Xizhou deserved to die, but he himself was also at fault.
Nan Gongjin's face was filled with adoring foolishness as he looked at An Nuan, gripping her hand excitedly and saying, "Nuan Nuan, I knew you were the best."
An Nuan didn't know what to say. Faced with the suddenly deeply affectionate Nan Gongjin, she felt utterly defenseless.
"They're here, they're here," Huo Yuxuan's voice arrived before he did. He grumbled, "I say, can't you two be a bit more discreet even when you're being intimate?"
"Nan Gongjin, you too. Your body is strong, so nothing happens to you."
"But you should at least consider An Nuan's health. Her body can't withstand you doing that..."
Huo Yuxuan continued to chatter incessantly.
"Do you know how immoral it is to drag me out of bed in the middle of the night?"
"Let me be clear, I'm here this time, but I wouldn't come again even if you beat me to death."
"I say, Nan Gongjin, you need to take it easy and plan for the long haul."
Just as Huo Yuxuan was about to continue, he was suddenly kicked.
"I say, Nan Gongjin, have you gone too far? I'm here, and you're kicking me? I..."