In the afternoon.
Liu Yushu was sitting in the yard, lost in a daze. She was on the verge of being driven crazy by worry.
Wu Qing's words kept lingering in her mind, depriving her of sleep.
She had what he wanted, but she... couldn't give it to him. She let out a long sigh in her heart.
After struggling for quite a while, Liu Yushu decided to make things clear to Wu Qing.
When she arrived at the Shanhui Hall, Liu Yushu told Caiqin to prepare a table full of beef. She remembered that he liked beef. After the servants left, she opened the window, sat in front of the table, and waited for Wu Qing to come.
Liu Yushu was both nervous and scared.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of the window closing. She knew it was him. She couldn't help shivering in surprise, which didn't escape Wu Qing's notice.
He sat down beside her. His clear and cold gaze fixed on her face. He got straight to the point, "What's your answer?" His urgent tone left her no room for bargaining.
Liu Yushu was stunned for a moment. She didn't dare to look directly into his eyes. She forced a smile with a stiff neck, "How's your injury? Have you changed the dressing on the wound on your back properly?" She tried to divert the topic. Maybe showing concern for him could soften his mood.
Wu Qing turned around, undid his buttons, and took off his clothes, exposing his back to her. His sudden action left her completely unprepared. She instantly blushed with shame.
Although she had seen his body before, it was still a situation where a single man and a single woman were alone in a room. It was only natural for her to feel nervous and scared.
Liu Yushu was afraid that he would use force. She was so scared that she was on the verge of fainting. Before, when she didn't know his feelings for her, she could talk to him boldly. But now that she knew, she had to choose every word carefully, for fear of angering him.
But Liu Yushu thought that a man who had only met her a few times and had such impure thoughts about her couldn't be a gentleman. He probably came from a bad background, perhaps just a wild brute who had suffered some hardships and was using his martial arts skills to do evil.
How could a just person speak so arrogantly!
The wounds on Wu Qing's back had healed to some extent, but they were not fully recovered. He still needed to change the dressing and apply medicine.
Liu Yushu had prepared the golden sore medicine before she came. She opened the lid and dug out a lump with her slender, fair fingers like scallions. "I'll change the dressing for you. Don't move," she said in a soft and low voice. Her words made his heart skip a beat, as if warm spring water was flowing through his heart. His heart, like a stone under the water, had its hard edges smoothed by this spring water.
Her fingers gently crawled on his back. Her slightly cool fingertips pressed on the wounds, sometimes harder and sometimes softer. He should have felt very painful, but at this moment, he greedily enjoyed the soft touch of her fingers. He even wished that these soft and boneless little paws, like white cotton, could grow on his back.
Thinking about it, his breathing became disordered. "Tell me your answer. I want to know now," he said urgently.
Her hand paused for a moment. Then she asked him timidly in a small voice, "You said you wanted me. Why do you want me?" This question was so embarrassing that she hung her head in shame.
She couldn't directly scold him as a villain, for that would anger him. She had to hold back her shame and say some soft words.
Liu Yushu clearly felt Wu Qing's back stiffen for a moment.
Wu Qing's breathing became more and more rapid. He pursed his lips and said nothing. His Adam's apple rolled up and down violently.
"Is it because I've been kind to you?" she continued to ask. Her eyes fixed on his tense jaw as she tried to guess his intention. Seeing that he didn't say a word, she said in a soft voice again, "You were injured and you helped me. My kindness to you is just my way of showing gratitude. You don't need to take it to heart. We met by chance. You don't need to thank me, and I don't expect your thanks." This sentence clearly defined their relationship, meaning that they owed each other nothing.
She would never live on without her innocence.
Wu Qing suddenly turned around and grabbed her slender wrist with his big hand. She felt that his palm was very hot, as if it would burn her arm. And hotter than his palm was his gaze, which lingered on her pure and fair face.
"Um..." Liu Yushu was so scared that her heart almost stopped beating. She panicked and hung her head, not daring to look at Wu Qing. "Don't act recklessly. Please..." Her voice was choked with sobs. Her wrist held by him ached faintly.
Wu Qing had never had any intimate contact with the opposite sex before. This was his first time.
It was his first time holding a woman's arm. He never knew that a woman's wrist could be so thin, so soft, and so fragrant... One could easily lose their mind if they weren't careful.
No wonder his master had taught him since childhood that if he wanted to master the divine skills and become the number one expert in the world, he must abstain from lust. He used to think it was easy, but now he finally understood how difficult it was.
The fragrant and soft beauty was right in front of him, at his mercy. How could he bear it!
The scale in his heart was tilting bit by bit between becoming the number one expert in the world and the soft and beautiful girl in front of him.
"Are you kind to everyone like this?" he stared at her, with obvious anger in his tone.
Tears glistened in her bright eyes. She secretly glanced at him, then lowered her head again when she saw his sharp gaze. She nodded gently, "Yes."
"..." His hand involuntarily tightened its grip. The pain made her tears fall drop by drop, silently shattering on the lavender skirt corner. She sobbed and pleaded, "Please... don't..." The following words were too embarrassing for her to say.
Reluctantly, Wu Qing let go of her hand. A look of loss welled up in his black eyes.
Liu Yushu let out a sigh of relief. She shrank back her body and didn't dare to say anything more. She thought that it would be better to end it like this today. She didn't dare to stay alone with him any longer.
She got up and was about to leave when, to her surprise, he took a quick step forward. She was so scared that her hand trembled and she knocked over the bowl on the table. The porcelain bowl shattered on the ground with a crisp sound. Immediately, she heard Caiqin outside the room ask, "Miss, are you okay? Do you need the maid to do anything?"
Wu Qing was right in front of her, staring at her. She timidly replied in a low voice, "I'm okay."
The affection in his eyes made her tremble with fear. The next second, she froze like a wooden stake. His hand clamped her neck. Her neck was so white and slender that his one hand could easily hold it. He lowered his voice and threatened her, "Don't be kind to others." Each word was forceful.
Tears flowed down her cheeks and landed on the back of his hand.
"Okay, I promise you," she said in order to save her life. She was both angry and scared. Feeling his other hand climb onto her waist, she was so ashamed and indignant that she couldn't bear it any longer. She pushed him away with all her strength, closed her eyes, and scolded him in a low voice fearfully, "You're a bad guy. You're just a bad guy. What on earth did I do to you that you would repay my kindness with hatred?"
Wu Qing's eyes widened in shock. He let go of his hand and watched helplessly as she fled to the corner. She tightly covered her chest with both hands and stared at him with an unfriendly look.
He could feel that he was being hated by her.
Wu Qing angrily knitted his eyebrows. He pursed his lips unwillingly and flashed in front of her. "I never asked you to help me, nor did I beg you to save me," he said. Seeing that she was about to run away, he panicked and directly locked her two wrists with his big hands. He picked her up and pressed her tightly against the wall. The ambiguous affection in his eyes was like a raging fire, churning and burning. "I want you. It doesn't matter who I am. I want you, and you can't escape."
It was over! Liu Yushu's heart skipped a beat. She trembled all over in fear at his words.