The next morning, Le Tong woke up feeling sore all over.
She looked around in a daze; everything her eyes fell upon, from the ceiling to the furnishings around the bed, appeared very unfamiliar.
Le Tong struggled to lift her sore and weak hand to rub her eyes. Her mind slowly kicked into gear, and she finally rembered that the strange bedroom she was in was a guest room at the Yang Family’s house.
And last night, in this unfamiliar bedroom, in a sober state, she had willingly given herself completely to a certain man.
But that man, who had been utterly relentless last night, tossing her around until she was half-dead, was nowhere to be seen now.
"Ji Rui..."
Le Tong was startled by her own hoarse voice and instinctively shut her mouth. The scenes from last night that made her flush and her ears burn flashed rapidly through her mind like a fast-forwarded movie.
Feeling terribly sore, Le Tong couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed. Could that damned man have put on a demon’s face after just one night of pleasure, just like the last ti he was drunk?
The last ti she woke up, she felt pretty much the sa as now, as if her whole body’s bones had been disassembled and reassembled.
Just as Le Tong was cursing soone in her heart, the culprit behind her ordeal suddenly entered with a tray.
Catching sight of Le Tong half-leaning against the headboard, the man imdiately looked worried, "Awake? Feeling uncomfortable? Just lie down for a while longer!"
Le Tong felt terrible, yet the man seed all refreshed, which made her roll her eyes. She gestured towards her throat, indicating it felt parched.
Ji Rui had already walked to the bedside, placed the tray on the nightstand, and leaned over to kiss her lightly.
"I’m sorry, I couldn’t hold back last night..."
The soft apology from the man made it hard for Le Tong to stay angry.
Upon reflection, she felt she bore so responsibility. If she hadn’t kept resisting and made him endure for so long, his usually self-controlled self wouldn’t have acted like an unruly teenager all night.
"What ti is it now..." Hearing her own broken and raspy voice, Le Tong couldn’t help but frown.
Ji Rui kissed her furrowed brow, turned to fetch a bowl of porridge from the tray.
"It’s almost ten. I asked the chef to make so snow pear porridge. Have so."
Le Tong shook her head, trying to get up from the bed.
"Not eating? What do you want then? I’ll go out and get it for you. Just lie down a bit longer," Ji Rui anxiously pressed her down to keep her from moving.
"Brush my teeth..." Le Tong pointed towards the bathroom, too weary to explain Ji Rui’s misunderstanding.
Ji Rui sighed with slight relief but didn’t release her. Instead, he bent down, lifted her up, and before she could resist, carried her carefully to the bathroom and set her down.
His actions of lifting and setting her down made her frown again.
"Do your bones hurt a lot? How about I get so pain relievers for you?" Ji Rui anxiously turned to head out.
After getting up, he imdiately looked things up online and had a fair understanding of her current physical state.
"No need..." Le Tong grabbed his wrist to stop his foolish action.
Had he forgotten he was just a guest? Or was he afraid not enough people knew?
"But aren’t you uncomfortable?" Ji Rui held her lightly with concern, kissing her forehead.
"It’s not that bad..."
At this mont, Le Tong would rather deal with the cold and ruthless version of him from the first ti than face this overly concerned man.
"You’re too nervous!" Although previously very annoyed by his lack of restraint over her all night, Le Tong now felt he was overacting; this level of pain was sothing she could bear.
Little did she know, in Ji Rui’s eyes right now, even if she got pricked by a needle, it would cause him distress. Let alone that he himself was the one who made her voice hoarse and her brow furrow in pain.
"I’m not nervous; you just don’t take care of yourself enough."
Ji Rui handed her a toothbrush with so toothpaste on it—a testant to his understanding of her stubborn nature.
Le Tong silently brushed her teeth.
Perhaps he was right; she indeed didn’t take care of herself enough.
"Don’t do this again in the future!"
Ji Rui wrapped his arms around her waist, carefully resting his face against her hair.
"Hmm?" Le Tong raised an eyebrow at him from the mirror, not quite understanding what he ant by "this".
"In the future, if you’re ever uncomfortable or in pain, you have to tell . No pretending to be strong, understood?"
He knew that what she needed now wasn’t dication, but enough rest.
And since the mont he saw her frown, he had set a ntal boundary for himself—not to cross a certain line in the future, even if he wanted to, for fear she’d be unable to bear it.
Le Tong gave him a side-eye in the mirror, as if to say, "Whose fault is it, really?!"
Ji Rui imdiately nuzzled her face, carefully smiling apologetically, "Yes, yes! It was all my fault last night. I’m the one who made you uncomfortable and hurt you. Do whatever you want to , okay?"
Too lazy to deal with this increasingly thick-skinned man behind her, Le Tong gargled so water and spit out the soapy bubbles.
She silently cursed: Damn, where was that aloof and stylish Mr. Ji from before?!
Ji Rui, not saying a word after Le Tong washed her face, quickly bundled her up and carried her back to the bedroom, returning her to the small living room sofa, before bringing over the porridge to hand to her.
Though she’d been tossed around all night, Le Tong was truly hungry, as it had been a physical ordeal.
As she finished a big bowl of porridge, she finally regained so strength.
"How are Baobao and Nuonuo?"
She knew, of course, that Baobao and Nuonuo would be well taken care of.
Yet as a mother, even knowing others would tend to her children properly, she still felt uneasy.
"Chairman Yang took Baobao and Nuonuo out early this morning, saying he’d show the kids around and bring them back for lunch,"
Ji Rui’s response allowed Le Tong to exhale a sigh of relief.
This arrangent saved her from the awkwardness and embarrassnt of facing the Old Master with nurous questions.
"When are we leaving then?"
Up to this point, Le Tong avoided thinking about any further possibilities.
She just hoped that once the DNA test results were out, she could leave with Baobao and Nuonuo.
Instead of answering her right away, Ji Rui sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her.
"Do you feel like everything is a dream, unreal?"
Le Tong didn’t lift her head, simply gazing down at her fingers.
"Mm..."
"If—I’m just saying if—you really are a child of the Yang Family, would it be sothing you cannot accept?" Ji Rui asked gently.
Since yesterday, when Old Master Yang suggested doing the DNA test, he hadn’t dared to broach the subject of her feelings, and she had purposefully avoided discussing it.
User Comments
0 comments from readers