The black car sped along the highway, a blur against the passing scenery, as Su Yue lay in Jiang Ci’s arms on the back seat, her body wracked with sobs. A searing pain consumed her face, a constant reminder of the brutal injury she had sustained. Though she couldn’t see it, she knew her face was severely damaged, the burning sensation a cruel confirmation. Tears streamed from her red-rimmed eyes.
“Jiang Ci, I’m going to be disfigured!” she cried, her voice raw with agony. The tears, hot and relentless, traced paths down her wounded cheek, each drop igniting a fresh wave of pain. She longed to touch the throbbing wound, but fear of infection held her back, leaving her to grapple with the terrifying image of her ruined face. The thought of her impending ugliness fueled her cries, making them even more ferocious.
Jiang Ci’s thin lips were pressed into a grim line, his embrace tightening around her. His dark eyes, was like a fathomless pools, held a chilling question: “Su Yue, who asked you to block me?”
Through a veil of tears, Su Yue lifted her head, her gaze meeting his. “I… that person picked up the wine bottle, I thought he was going to hit you…” The words tumbled out, a desperate explanation for her impulsive act. Jiang Ci’s cold, questioning demeanor twisted the knife of her pain, leaving her feeling utterly wronged.
His jawline hardened, his face a mask of ice. “Did I want you to help me block it?”
A jolt of pain, a bell ringing in her head like an impending explosion, signaled an “Anger value: 50.”
Su Yue’s red eyes widened in disbelief. “I saved you, but you got angry instead? If I had known, I would have known…” Her hands, weak and trembling, clutched at his collar. Her uninjured cheek, still delicate and unmarred, pressed against his black suit, the hard buttons digging into her tender skin. Every inch of her body ached. Known what? Not to have flown over? she wondered. Anyway, one side of her face was already ruined; what did a little more matter? Regret for her impulsiveness gnawed at her.
Hot tears splattered onto the back of Jiang Ci’s hand. His brows furrowed into a terrifyingly gloomy expression, yet his grip on her tightened even further.
Later, when Su Yue finally saw her reflection, the doctor had already tended to the sulfuric acid burns on her cheeks and neck. What greeted her in the mirror was a horrifying sight. Several small patches of skin on her once snow-white cheeks were blackened, but even more devastating were the two thumb-sized scars in the center of her cheeks. The doctor’s words echoed in her mind: there would leave scars, even with skin grafting. And even then, it was unlikely to achieve the original texture or color of her undamaged skin.
She hurled the mirror away, a choked sob escaping her lips. “I’m disfigured.” The words were a raw wound, ripped from her soul. When she had first transmigrated, seeing the original body, black and fat, hadn’t saddened her; black could be whitened, fat could be lost. But this—this was different. Disfigurement. Especially when contrasted with the other side of her face, still flawlessly white, making the scars even more grotesque. How could Su Yue not feel utterly devastated?
Overwhelmed by sorrow, she couldn’t care less about Jiang Ci’s anger or her throbbing headache. She bit her lip, her eyes red and brimming. The injustice of it all consumed her. She was a woman who cared about her appearance, and yesterday she had been beautiful. Today, she was ugly. The more she thought about it, the deeper her sadness, the tears falling like rain.
“Just so sad?” Jiang Ci’s voice, low and laced with a frown, cut through her soft weeping. He sat beside the hospital bed, observing her.
“How can you not be sad? A girl’s face is the most important thing.” Su Yue lifted her red eyes to him. If he were disfigured, wouldn’t he feel the same?
“If you didn’t save me, it would be fine.” Jiang Ci’s voice remained low. “Are you regretting it now?”
Su Yue seized a white pillow and threw it at him. “Why are you such a hateful man? You have no sympathy or gratitude at all. I saved you, but you’re still angry.” Her eyes blazed with annoyance as she glared at him. “I don’t regret it, even if there’s a second time, I’ll still save you when I see you in danger.”
She then collapsed onto the hospital bed, pulling the sheets over her head. Her headache raged, and her chest felt heavy with indignation. She wanted nothing to do with this “dog man.”
“Angry value: 0.”
Under the quilt, Su Yue blinked in astonishment. She pursed her lips. Even if Jiang Ci was relieved, she certainly wasn’t happy.
“Stupid!” Jiang Ci snorted after a moment.
Su Yue, fuming, closed her eyes, refusing to respond.
Time slipped by, and Su Yue awoke to the aroma of food. She had planned to eat at the banquet, but instead, she had become the spectacle. Now, hunger gnawed at her.
The ward light was on. Jiang Ci, still in his black suit, sat quietly beside the hospital bed, his eyes closed, his handsome brows furrowed with fatigue, his pale lips pursed. As soon as she stirred, Jiang Ci spoke: “You’re awake. Get up and eat.”
Su Yue saw several lunchboxes on the bedside table. “Did you have someone buy it?”
“Mm.”
Truly famished, Su Yue didn’t pretend otherwise. She sat up, opened a lunchbox, and a tempting aroma wafted out. A small box contained mango cake, unmistakably Jiang Ci’s.
She took a careful bite of the meal. As she tried to chew, the wound on her face flared with pain. She gasped, tears welling in her eyes. Could she not even eat? Her face throbbed, and the thought of those ugly scars extinguished her appetite. Her mood plummeted once more.
“Pain in the face?” Jiang Ci asked, hearing her gasp. He paused in eating his mango cake.
“Well.” Su Yue put down her chopsticks, losing all desire to eat.
Jiang Ci pulled out his phone and made a call. Soon after, the ward door opened, and Su Yue watched in surprise as several men in black suits, carrying white bags, entered. They quickly placed the bags on the table and departed.
“It’s all…” Su Yue opened one of the bags. Inside was a bowl of shiitake mushroom and lean meat porridge. She opened another—fish fillet porridge with sesame oil. The bags were filled with various flavors of porridge.
“You don’t need to chew the porridge, it won’t pull on the wound. Just eat it,” Jiang Ci said casually, finishing his last bite of mango cake.
“There’s so much, I can’t finish it,” Su Yue blinked.
“I didn’t tell you to finishall of this,” Jiang Ci leaned back lazily in his chair.
Su Yue pursed her lips and didn’t refuse. She ate the bowl of shiitake mushroom and lean meat porridge nearest to her. The ingredients had been finely chopped, and the porridge was fragrant and glutinous, requiring no chewing. She was careful as she ate, and though there was a dull ache on her face, it wasn’t excruciating.
After finishing the bowl, Su Yue realized Jiang Ci had sent so many different porridges so she could choose her favorite flavor. He couldn’t ask directly, so he showed it in his arrogant way.
After washing up, when Su Yue returned to bed, Jiang Ci was still sitting beside her. “Go back. I’ll be discharged tomorrow.” The doctor had already prescribed medicine; she just needed to wait for the wound to recover before deciding if surgery was needed.
Jiang Ci had taken off his suit jacket, now only in a white shirt with sleeves rolled up, revealing his strong arms. At Su Yue’s words, he lazily lifted his eyelids. “Are you sure you want me to go back and leave you alone in the ward?” He raised an eyebrow. “Many patients have died in wards. Aren’t you afraid at night?”
A chill ran down Su Yue’s spine. She glared at him, furious. “You are so annoying! I’ve never seen anyone so hateful. My face is disfigured, and you’re still bullying me!” Su Yue wasn’t typically fearful, but when alone, she was terrified of the dark and ghosts, her mind prone to wild imaginings. Jiang Ci’s words, though meant to tease, had struck a nerve.
She kicked off her slippers, stormed back to the bed, lifted the sheets, and lay down, no longer asking him to leave.
Jiang Ci chuckled softly, the clear, sweet sound echoing in the quiet ward, further irritating Su Yue. He stood, lifted her sheet, and lay down beside her. “Su Yue, you are so timid.” He reached out, pulling her close from behind, burying his face in her neck. “I will help you find the best skin doctor,” he whispered, his hot breath caressing her ear.
Su Yue’s eyes fluttered open. Jiang Ci’s large hand was wrapped around her waist, his body was like a warm presence behind her. The indignant annoyance she had felt moments ago vanished like smoke.
“The best doctor can’t make me as white as before,” Su Yue said glumly.
Jiang Ci inhaled her increasingly pleasant milky scent. He closed his eyes, letting her fragrance envelop him. “If it can’t be cured, we’ll keep curing it.” His hot breath tickled her ear. “Besides, no matter how ugly you are, my eyes can’t see anymore. What are you worried about? I won’t want you just because you’re even uglier.”
Su Yue pursed her lips, the annoyance that had dissipated now rising again. “Jiang Ci, If you are not good at coaxing people then don’t do it ? I beg you to stop talking.”
Jiang Ci snorted, tightening his embrace. “Sleep!”
The next morning, the sky outside the window was fully bright, the sun shining brilliantly, and green trees swayed gently in the breeze. Su Yue remembered her facial injury from yesterday. She tentatively touched the wound with her fingertips. It didn’t seem to hurt anymore? She wanted to get up and go to the bathroom to look in the mirror, but Jiang Ci held her tightly.
She stirred, and a low, hoarse voice rumbled from the man behind her: “Awake?”
“Morning, let go of your hands, I want to wash…” Before she could finish, she was shocked by something hard pressing against her from behind. Su Yue flushed, trying to push away Jiang Ci’s arm. “Don’t stick so close to me.”
Jiang Ci didn’t release her. He laughed, his voice hoarse. “Su Yue, what are you afraid of? This is a normal physiological state for a man. It’s a new day, do you understand?”
“Jiang Ci, shut up!” Su Yue covered her ears, her face aflame. She didn’t want to know anything about his “ugly thing.”
Finally managing to free herself from Jiang Ci’s grip, Su Yue stumbled into the bathroom, her hair disheveled. She stared at herself in the mirror, feeling utterly hideous. She didn’t know if it was because Jiang Ci had been angry yesterday and then calmed down, but her complexion had turned white again. The right side of her face was fair and delicate, milky white and tender, so tempting that one might want to pinch it. Against this backdrop, the scarred side contrasted starkly; the black and red marks and the two thumb-sized scars in the middle became even more unsightly. When her fingertips touched them, the scars felt slightly hard, as if they were scabbing over. So ugly.
Su Yue sniffed sadly, leaning closer to the mirror, carefully observing the wound. Yesterday, she had counted five small black and red scars from the splashed sulfuric acid, in addition to the large central one. Now, one seemed to be missing—the smallest scar on the upper left. And upon closer inspection, the others also seemed to have shrunk.
Su Yue was stunned. Incredulously, she touched the skin on the right side of her face, which felt smoother and more delicate. Could it be that because Jiang Ci’s anger had subsided yesterday, her skin had whitened again, and now her scars were also disappearing because of him? The thought sparked a glimmer of hope in her eyes. She should have realized it. Otherwise, her wound wouldn’t have stopped hurting overnight.
Upon discharge from the hospital, Su Yue felt much better. Holding Jiang Ci’s hand, her earlier anger, which had made her teeth itch, had completely vanished. “Let’s go, Jiang Ci! We’ll go back, and I’ll make you a big mango cake, with lots of mangoes!”
Jiang Ci, holding her hand with one and his suit jacket with the other, heard the relaxed tone in her voice. He twitched the corners of his mouth, sneering. “Do you have a fever?” How could someone who had been so miserable now laugh so loudly?
Su Yue, in a beautiful mood, didn’t care about his poisonous remarks. “Didn’t you hear the doctor just now? He said my wound will heal quickly, and there might be no scars.”
Jiang Ci lowered his head, responding casually, “Oh.” From his perspective, it didn’t matter whether Su Yue’s scar healed or not; he couldn’t see it anyway. But she seemed very concerned about it. “Su Yue, I want to kiss you. Can I have a kiss?” He wasn’t in a hurry to go back for mango cake; he longed more to kiss her soft lips, perhaps even taste her tongue.
Su Yue froze for a moment, her face heating up. She whispered, “Can you not speak so directly?”
Jiang Ci raised his eyebrows, a sneer playing on his lips. “Do you want to hear it more gently?” His thin lips twitched. “Su Yue, I want to taste the flavor in your mouth.”
“Jiang Ci, shut up!”
Back at the Jiang residence, Su Yue and Jiang Ci were about to return to Xiaoyanglou when they encountered Jiang Xuan and Jiang Haoyan emerging from the villa. The little boy’s eyes were red, as if he had been crying.
“What happened?” Su Yue asked aloud.
“Dad,” Xiao Haohao cried, hugging the coriander, and ran toward them on his short legs.
Jiang Xuan was momentarily stunned. “Su Yue, you’re back? Your face…” She looked at Su Yue, who was wearing a mask. The mask obscured her face, but several black and red scars marred Su Yue’s white neck, appearing more severe. Jiang Xuan’s eyes held sympathy, and she discreetly averted her gaze. “I’ve checked the information,” she thoughtfully reminded Su Yue, “during the recovery period of a facial wound, it’s best not to eat soy sauce, black vinegar, or anything like that. Otherwise, melanin will settle.” She had seen how serious and terrifying Su Yue’s scars had been yesterday; even if the wound healed, it would still leave a mark.
Su Yue nodded. “Well, I know. What happened to the child? Did he cry?”
Jiang Xuan narrowed her eyes. “He just got into a fight with the second uncle’s child.” She added apologetically, “I was upstairs, and when I found out, the two children were already fighting.”
Su Yue squatted down, her eyes level with Xiao Haohao’s. Her tone was calm. “Are you injured?”
Xiao Haohao gasped, raising his head to look at Jiang Ci without a sound.