Chapter 90: Anyway, She Was No Match for Him

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Anyway, She Was No Match for Him

’He is my mission target, after all.’

’A quick look won’t hurt.’

After bracing herself, Cui Lingyao nodded. "Alright, I’ll take a look."

At her words, as if afraid she would go back on her promise, Xie Jinbai moved swiftly. He sat up, his hand going to his sash and untying it in one smooth motion.

Cui Lingyao felt a sudden lightness, and by the time she registered what was happening, he had already stripped off his upper garments.

His upper body was bare, with only the bandage wrapped around his wound barely covering the right side of his chest.

His pants were still on, but the muscles of his waist and abdomen were on full display.

As husband and wife for three years, they had been intimate with each other countless times. Cui Lingyao was, of course, familiar with his body.

Now, she just felt that he had changed a great deal.

Three years ago, at just twenty-one, his body still had the lean build of a youth.

But now, his shoulders and back were much broader, and the muscles of his waist and abdomen were far more defined.

Cui Lingyao glanced at him, found the sight almost blinding, and quickly averted her gaze to his wound.

Xie Jinbai had been staring at her intently. Seeing her look over, he immediately reached to unwrap his bandage. Cui Lingyao hurriedly stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"Letting you see the wound."

His tone made it sound as if he were showing off some medal of honor.

Cui Lingyao was speechless for a moment. "It’s fine. Leave it alone."

"It’s not fine. The dressing needs to be changed every three days. Today’s the day, so it’s the perfect time to show you."

Xie Jinbai insisted.

He unwound all three layers of bandages with ease.

The faint scent of medicine filled the air.

The arrowhead wound wasn’t large. It had been treated well with the finest medicinal herbs, so even in this hot weather, it hadn’t become inflamed or infected. The outer edges were already starting to scab over—a clear sign he was past the life-threatening stage. Still, one could vaguely glimpse the peril of the day he was injured.

She was only human. Faced with such a gruesome wound, Cui Lingyao’s heart couldn’t help but clench.

She pursed her lips, studying it for a moment before lifting her eyes to ask, "How much longer until it’s fully healed?"

Her eyes held genuine concern.

A look like that gave Xie Jinbai an illusion.

He began to think that she must like him, too.

Xie Jinbai’s heart softened. He said cautiously, "The wound is very deep. It will take a long time to heal completely."

It was a puncture wound; it was impossible for it to heal in a short time.

Wanting her to feel even more sorry for him, Xie Jinbai didn’t hide anything. "I’ll need to rest carefully for over half a year," he said directly. "I can’t overexert myself or get too emotional. It’s best if I don’t even use my Inner Strength. Only with proper care can I avoid any future complications."

He paused, then added in a low voice, "Don’t deliberately provoke me anymore."

"..." Cui Lingyao fell silent.

She didn’t make a sound, but Xie Jinbai didn’t mind. He produced a Jade Bottle from somewhere and asked, "Can you help me apply the medicine?"

Cui Lingyao: "..."

"It’s all right if you don’t want to."

Disappointment flickered in Xie Jinbai’s eyes. He lowered his head and prepared to clean the wound and change the dressing himself.

But he’d never done this before. He was clumsy and kept bumping the wound, his movements stiffening before he forced himself to continue.

He looked truly pitiful.

Cui Lingyao knew he was most likely putting on an act to gain her sympathy.

But he was truly committed. While cleaning away the old ointment, his movements tugged at the unhealed parts of the wound, and the recovering injury visibly reddened.

When he touched it again, causing fresh blood to ooze from the wound, Cui Lingyao could no longer watch. She slapped his hand away and said through gritted teeth, "Who told you to change a dressing like that!"

With that, she pulled him off the bed, brought over a basin of fresh water from the washstand in the outer room, and dampened a cotton cloth to clean his wound bit by bit.

Her movements were very gentle.

Very careful.

Xie Jinbai let her tend to him the entire time, watching her without blinking. Ripples spread through the depths of his eyes, deep enough to drown a person.

After cleaning the wound, Cui Lingyao looked up as she prepared to apply the medicine and met his gaze. She instantly realized she’d fallen into his trap and snapped, "I’m surprised the pain isn’t killing you!"

Xie Jinbai just looked at her and smiled, not saying a word.

Seeing him like this, Cui Lingyao inexplicably grew even angrier.

’She’d finally figured it out. Whether this man acted strong or weak...’

’...he always got what he wanted.’

’At the Duke Zhao Mansion, the first time they met after she’d taken over this body, he had used every trick in the book to force her to admit her identity.’

’And tonight, he’d wanted her to change his dressing the moment he walked in.’

’After all that song and dance, she’d still ended up changing it for him.’

’In short, I can’t outplay him.’

’Not with soft tactics, not with hard ones.’

’He’s the one who appears to be taking a humble stance, but in reality, he’s the one who is completely in control.’

’It’s infuriating.’

Cui Lingyao truly hated his calm and composed demeanor, that look of a man who could strategize and control everything.

If anything had ever escaped his control, it was probably her sudden death by drowning.

But even that was only because of the "bug" that was the system.

Without the system, she wouldn’t have died just from falling into the water.

’I’m forever held in the palm of his hand.’

’It’s so infuriating!’

The flicker of pity that had appeared when she saw his wound was instantly snuffed out. Cui Lingyao took a deep breath, tied the bandage in a knot, and said coldly, "Would you please leave now?"

Her expression changed so quickly that it stunned Xie Jinbai for a moment.

"Get out!" Cui Lingyao stood up and went to pull his arm, but he caught her wrist in a reverse grip.

The joy he’d felt just moments ago, thinking she might like him too, vanished without a trace.

Xie Jinbai’s expression turned ugly. "What did I do to provoke you this time?"

’This man is full of nothing but schemes and calculations. If I say one more word to him, I’ll just fall into another one of his traps.’ Cui Lingyao refused to answer, only staring at him. "Are you leaving or not? If you don’t, I will!"

Driven away once again, Xie Jinbai also grew annoyed.

He took a deep breath, his eyes reddening. "Fine. I’ll go."

"Wait!"

Cui Lingyao stopped him. When he turned to look at her, she continued, "Since you agreed to give me time to think, you are not allowed to enter my chambers without my permission. If you come again tomorrow night..."

With reddened eyes, Xie Jinbai stared at her for several breaths, then suddenly smiled. "If I do come again, what will you do?"

’Here we go again.’

Compared to the harmless, docile, and fragile man from moments ago, he was suddenly aggressive.

’So the soft approach didn’t work, and now he’s trying a hard one?’

Their gazes clashed for an instant, and Cui Lingyao smiled as well.

"You’re powerful and influential. There’s indeed nothing I can do to you. Even if you wanted to drag me back to Prince Yu’s Mansion right now, I would be helpless. But, Xie Jinbai, even a cornered rabbit will bite. You should think about what it is you truly want."

’What do I want?’

Xie Jinbai watched her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Is that a threat?"

Cui Lingyao turned her face away. "Interpret it however you like. I want to rest now. I don’t have the energy to analyze your schemes."

"What schemes could I possibly have?"

Xie Jinbai was incredibly sharp; he instantly understood why her mood had soured.

"The wound, at least, isn’t a lie. I’m not made of iron. Do you think I can’t feel pain?"

He frowned. "If trying to win your sympathy counts as a scheme, then let me tell you, you’re the only person in this lifetime who could make me resort to it."