He loosened his clothes and picked up the wooden hairpin that had slipped from his hair onto the pillow, examining it carefully. A sweet smile spread across his face. He had always wanted to look at this wooden hairpin closely, and today she had actually given it to him—something he never dared to imagine.
Suddenly, one side of the bed curtain was lifted. “Brother, she’s gone. Are you okay?”
Su Xi was startled by the sound, the wooden hairpin slipping from his hand. He quickly picked it up, meeting Xiao Lian’s worried face and shaking his head. “I’m fine, Xiao Lian. Don’t worry.”
“I don’t believe you,” Xiao Lian said. After how loudly he cried out last night, how could he be fine? He must be saying this to avoid worrying him.
“I really am fine,” Su Xi insisted.
Xiao Lian furrowed his brow, leaning over to lift the bedding and gasped. As usual, it was covered in bruises and bite marks. How could he possibly be fine? He looked at Su Xi, whose face was still flushed.
Su Xi blushed, shivering from the cold. He quickly pulled the bedding over himself. “Xiao Lian, don’t worry. I’m really okay.” At this moment, he didn’t know how to explain it to Xiao Lian.
“You’re not okay at all,” Xiao Lian’s eyes reddened. He sat at the bed’s edge, holding Su Xi’s wrist. “If you’re in pain, I won’t let her in the door again.”
“Xiao Lian!”
Xiao Lian turned away, aggrieved.
“I just don’t want her to hurt you anymore.”
Sighing, Su Xi clasped Xiao Lian’s hand, his expression softening. “I know you care about me. But Xiao Lian, she was the one who saved you, saved us.”
“I know,” Xiao Lian lowered his head.
“Do you remember how you used to faint, and how she carried you to the medical hall? The first time I received a client was because of your illness. Despite my efforts, your condition didn’t improve, and out of despair, she sent someone to treat you. She was just a one-night benefactor, yet she continued to help us, risking her reputation as the master of the Jin family by associating with a male prostitute. How could I not be touched?”
