The hand that was handing over the phone was covered in wounds, some of which had scraped skin with dried blood.
"What exactly happened with these injuries? Did you roll down the mountain or what?" she asked. His wounds made her heart skip a beat.
"Just minor injuries, all just superficial wounds," he said lightly, "This is your phone. I found it on the mountain last night, but I accidentally broke it. I’ll buy you a new one later."
"Forget the phone." Mabel Quinn snatched her phone away and put it aside, hastily saying, "Where else are you hurt?"
What she wanted to know most was the extent of his injuries.
Her anxious demeanor seemed to amuse him, and a slight smile curled at the corners of his lips.
"I’m so worried, and you’re still smiling," she said. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novｅlfire.net
"You’re worried about me. Isn’t that worth smiling about?" he replied, "But really, it’s just minor injuries, no need to worry. I’ll be fine in a couple of days."
She bit her lip and suddenly said, "Let me see!"
He hesitated slightly, raising his eyebrows to look at her.
Her fingers were at the buttons of his collar as she repeated, "Let me see." She needed to know how many injuries he had, and only by seeing his body with her own eyes could she be sure.
He stared at her intensely, his dark eyes reflecting her determined look.
"Alright," he agreed.
Then her fingers began to unbutton his clothes.
Even though he was wearing thick winter clothing, his body still showed many bruises from impacts, and the exposed skin had abrasions, scratches, and collision marks. His lips were also cracked, and although the blood had dried by now, it was evident that they had been bitten with intense force.
But what shocked her the most were the noticeable strangulation marks on his fingers and neck.
She could hardly believe her eyes. She knew of his skills, so who could leave such marks on him?
"What’s with these strangulation marks?" she asked urgently. Previously, she hadn’t noticed because of his high-neck attire, and only now did she see them.
"Accidentally strangled myself, it’s not what you think," he said, guessing she would assume someone was trying to harm him.
"Strangled yourself?" She was stunned, "Are you joking? Is something happening that you can’t tell me, so you’re using that as an excuse?"
Kyle Kinston’s eyelids fell gently. What happened was indeed something he couldn’t let her know. He didn’t want her to know how he had been in agony where she dropped her phone, like a beast that had lost all reason, controlled by that pain. The only part of him that wasn’t controlled was the hand holding her phone... no matter how much he was in pain, how irrational he was, he always held tightly onto her phone.
"Remember my hidden ailment?" Kyle said, "Although it usually doesn’t cause much trouble, occasionally it does cause sudden physical pain, so sometimes, I might unconsciously perform some self-harming actions."
Mabel Quinn was startled. She knew about his hidden ailment, and he had always downplayed it, but she hadn’t realized it was this severe.