Jiang Muhang walked slowly to the bedside, his expression unreadable. “Don’t try to get up, be careful not to strain your wound.” Seeing his wife struggling and trying to rise from the pillows, he quickly moved to stop her, his hands firm but cautious.
Jiang Xuan felt a sudden, sharp pain blooming in her stomach and quickly covered the area with her palm. Back at the banquet, in the middle of that terrifying crisis, she had instinctively pulled Su Yue in front of her to act as a shield. Unexpectedly, despite her efforts to hide, she was the one who ended up getting hurt. When the cold knife actually pierced her flesh, she could hardly believe it was happening; the excruciating, white-hot pain left her with no time to think or even breathe.
Now that her mind was clear and the adrenaline had faded, she realized just how foolish and reckless her actions had been. With so many high-society guests present at such a prestigious event, everyone had probably seen her grabbing Su Yue and using her as a human sacrifice.
Thinking of the social fallout, Jiang Xuan’s already pale face turned an even deathlier shade of white. She was filled with a swirling mix of panic, fear, and a bitter sense of injustice. It was unintentional; in that split second of pure panic, her body had acted faster than her brain could process. She was genuinely, deeply afraid of that man. In her absolute desperation to survive, she had done something incredibly foolish that now threatened her reputation.
“Mu Hang.” Jiang Xuan bit her lip hard, her eyes brimming with a thick layer of tears that threatened to spill over. She reached out with a trembling hand to grasp Jiang Muhang’s hand, which was currently placed casually at his side. “When the accident happened, I was so scared, so… so in my panic, I did something very wrong.”
She looked up at Jiang Muhang, her gaze pleading for a sign of forgiveness. “I made Su Yue take the knife for me. Luckily, Su Yue was luckier than me and wasn’t seriously injured in the end. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t know how to face her, or anyone else, ever again.”
“You made Su Yue take the knife for you?” Jiang Muhang repeated the words slowly. He hadn’t known this specific detail of the struggle until this moment.
“I didn’t mean to do it!” Jiang Xuan cried out, her voice cracking with regret. After all, whether she had forced Su Yue to take the blow or not, the end result was that she was the one lying here wounded. Now, she was haunted by the thought of what the other elite families would think of her character. “I was so scared at the time, I just wanted to grab onto anything nearby to protect myself, Mu Hang. That man’s knife was so incredibly sharp, I was really terrified for my life…”
Jiang Muhang bent down low, looking directly at his pale-faced wife who was desperately trying to justify her survival instincts. He reached out and gently tucked a stray, sweaty strand of hair behind her ear, his voice dropping into a soft, soothing tone. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll have someone deal with that man appropriately. As for Su Yue—in the middle of a life-threatening crisis, as long as you can protect yourself, whatever methods you use are the correct ones. To me, you are more important than anyone else in the world.”
“Mu Hang?” Hearing Jiang Muhang’s cold but protective words, Jiang Xuan’s expression shifted from fear to a deep, overflowing emotion. She felt in that moment that the best thing she had ever done since being reborn was choosing to marry Jiang Muhang.
“However, I’m still worried that Su Yue will resent me. After all, I did such a bad thing to her in front of everyone.” Now that her mind was sharper, she increasingly regretted her clumsy actions at the banquet. She realized she should have just tried to dodge the attack herself; there had been no need to drag Su Yue down with her and ruin her own “kind” image.
“What Su Yue thinks is none of your concern,” Jiang Muhang replied, his voice devoid of any care for the other woman.
“What about Jiang Ci?” Jiang Xuan asked the question hesitantly. Su Yue might be easy to deal with, but Jiang Ci was not someone to be trifled with or ignored, especially now that he had become so overtly protective of Su Yue. He surely knew she had tried to make Su Yue take the blame and the blade, and he would likely be furious.
Jiang Muhang thought of his older brother, and his eyes darkened noticeably. After a long, heavy pause, he replied to Jiang Xuan, “If he blames you, I’ll take the blame on your behalf. Don’t worry about him; just focus on your recovery.”
Hearing this, Jiang Xuan was moved to tears once again. Jiang Muhang eventually left the room in the early hours of the morning. After the sound of the door closing echoed through the room, Jiang Xuan slowly opened her eyes, the warmth in them replaced by a cold light. She picked up her phone and dialed a specific number.
“Jiang Xuan, you shouldn’t be calling me at a time like this,” the call was answered instantly, the voice on the other end sounding tense.
“Song Nianyue, you almost killed me.” Jiang Xuan’s voice was usually gentle and sweet, but at this moment, she was so angry she was gritting her teeth. “We agreed that the person you hired was only supposed to slash Su Yue’s face. Why did that man start stabbing people like a madman? He wasn’t just trying to disfigure her; he clearly wanted to kill her.”
Originally, she and Song Nianyue had planned to ruin Su Yue’s face so she would be forced to retreat from the entertainment industry . She hadn’t expected Song Nianyue to be so ruthless as to try and take Su Yue’s life outright.
“Do you know that at the banquet, the man stabbed me, not Su Yue?” Jiang Xuan felt that even with her legendary good temper, she couldn’t remain gentle and calm now that she had almost died. “Song Nianyue, could it be that the person you hired was a fake, and you actually wanted to harm me? Otherwise, why did that man keep coming after me and stabbing me?”
Could it be that when Song Nianyue approached her for cooperation, it was all a ruse, and Song Nianyue was actually targeting her from the start?
On the Song family’s side, Song Nianyue had been the first to see the news reports about the banquet chaos and had learned that the person seriously injured was Jiang Xuan. She was also genuinely surprised. “That man has a bit of a mental illness.”
“Mental illness?” Jiang Xuan was taken aback by the revelation.
“Yes, he was forced into bankruptcy by Jiang Ci some time ago, and he went completely insane. The person I told him to deal with was Su Yue, but given his mental state, it’s hard to say when he might lose control.” Song Nianyue replied. This failure made it very difficult to find another chance to get rid of Su Yue.
Jiang Xuan recalled the banquet vividly—the man had kept chasing her, and only when she shouted Su Yue’s name did he shift his target. At that moment, she had known the man was Song Nianyue’s hire. Now, hearing the explanation, she realized the man had confused her with Su Yue because they were wearing Gaoding [High-end, custom-made haute couture dresses] of the same color.
“What do we do now? I’m the one who was stabbed, and that man has been taken away by the police.” Jiang Xuan was panicking. She regretted cooperating with Song Nianyue; she had only managed to get herself stabbed.
“Even if there’s an investigation, it doesn’t matter. That man is clinically mentally ill and his hatred for Jiang Ci is public knowledge. His motive is obvious to everyone. No one will suspect you or me, especially since the world thinks the man wanted to stab you and you are the tragic victim.” Song Nianyue’s biggest fear was a deep investigation by Jiang Ci. However, she felt at ease knowing the man’s grudge against the Jiang family was a perfect cover.
“Our cooperation ends here. As for Su Yue, I only wanted to ruin her looks. If you want to take her life, I won’t be involved in your business anymore,” Jiang Xuan said resolutely.
“Jiang Xuan, although you’ve always presented yourself as a kind and positive person to the public, if you were truly that innocent, you wouldn’t have agreed to my plan that day. Since you plotted against her, don’t call me heartless.” Song Nianyue mocked her.
Those words felt like a second stab to the heart. Jiang Xuan felt as if her innermost, darkest thoughts had been pierced. Her pale face flushed with a mixture of deep shame and burning anger.
The next day weather was beautiful ; the warm winter sun shone down on the snowdrifts outside, reflecting a dazzling, brilliant light into the room.
When Su Yue woke up, she felt a cool, strange sensation on her body. Through her thin, hazy pajamas, she looked down and saw that her hem had been lifted up, and Jiang Ci’s head was positioned very close to her waist.
“What are you doing?” Because they were so close, his warm breath brushed against her bare skin, feeling hot, tingling, and incredibly ticklish. Su Yue reached out with a flush to try and pull her hem back down to cover herself.
“Don’t move, I’m going to apply medicine for you in a moment.” Jiang Ci’s clear, magnetic voice carried a hint of early-morning sleepiness. Because his head was bowed, Su Yue couldn’t see the exact expression on his face.
“Then hurry up and just apply the medicine.” The room was warm, but being stared at by Jiang Ci in this position made her feel intensely embarrassed.
Jiang Ci smiled slightly, a low sound. “Okay, let’s disinfect first, then we apply the medicine.”
“No…” Su Yue had just started to refuse when her soft waist felt a damp sensation. Ah, this man again. Last night in the dark alleyway, he had pinned her down in the driver’s seat of the car, shamelessly kissing her waist and licking her wounds, claiming it was a way to “disinfect” them.
Last night, it had been dark and dimly lit, so she could barely tolerate the intimacy. But now, in broad daylight, the warm winter sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making the room extremely bright. In such light, even the fine, downy hairs on her skin were visible. How could she not be shy?
“Jiang Ci!”
Suddenly, Su Yue’s whole body tensed up, letting out a soft, broken gasp. A dampness spread across her lower abdomen, a tingling sensation causing her toes, which were hidden under the covers, to involuntarily curl in pleasure and surprise.
“Tsk, what a strong reaction you have!”
Jiang Ci’s dark eyes deepened with desire. Looking at her snow-white, soft belly, he found it incredibly adorable; every inch of her skin was like smooth, delicate white jade, and her little belly button was cute beyond words. He gently blew a breath of air on her belly button, and her skin shrank back, her belly button pulling inward. Jiang Ci licked his lips, his thin lips moving without any hesitation toward her skin again.
When it finally came time to actually apply the medicine, Su Yue’s face was a vivid crimson, and her dark eyes were filled with misty tears. She glared at Jiang Ci, who was now finally holding a cotton swab, and said irritably, “Go wash your mouth out later.”
“Are you disgusted with yourself?” A faint milky scent lingered on his tongue. Jiang Ci raised an eyebrow, looking smug. He dipped the cotton swab in the medicinal liquid and applied it to the wound on her side. The wound on her slender waist was about the length of a finger, but fortunately, it wasn’t deep; it was just a surface scratch. However, because Su Yue’s skin was so fair, the red scar stood out starkly against her snow-white waist.
Perhaps because he wasn’t experienced at performing medical tasks, Jiang Ci’s movements were a little awkward and clumsy, but he used very light, careful pressure. “If it hurts at all, just tell me.”
The medicine felt cool and soothing on the raw wound. “It doesn’t hurt.” Su Yue looked at his serious and handsome profile and began to complain about the previous night. “Yesterday, Jiang Xuan pulled me to take a knife for her, and that’s how I got scratched. If I hadn’t dodged quickly, I’d probably be lying in a hospital bed right now.” Yesterday, Jiang Xuan had clearly meant for Su Yue to die in her place.
Jiang Ci casually tossed the used cotton swab aside, his dark eyes becoming calm and cold. “Hmm, I’ll get my revenge for you.”
Later, Jiang Ci had his subordinates pull the hotel’s surveillance footage.
On the high-definition screen, he watched the scene repeatedly. He watched from the moment the man appeared, to the moment Su Yue was grabbed by Jiang Xuan to be used as a shield, and then to the moment Su Yue was grazed by the blade. Watching the knife pierce toward Su Yue over and over, Jiang Ci’s face became like ice, his eyes dark and menacing. He looked as if he wanted to personally cripple both the man’s hands and Jiang Xuan’s hands.
He cherished her so dearly, always comforting and protecting her in his own way; how could he possibly allow anyone else to lay a finger on her?
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