"...I might have sprained a muscle," Tang Li replied.
A sigh seemed to echo in her ears.
Just as Tang Li tried to identify it, her feet left the ground. It wasn’t a princess carry, but rather like a koala hug. The sudden suspension made her instinctively want to grab onto something, and she ended up clinging to Song Baiyan’s broad shoulders, her view completely dominated by the camouflage fatigues the man wore.
Song Baiyan lifted her easily, seemingly without much effort.
Or maybe, it was just that he had strong arms.
The man’s right hand was positioned across her back, his other arm scooped under her legs, lifting her up slightly.
It wasn’t their first time being this close, but it still left her flustered.
Tang Li’s fingers gripped the camouflage fabric on Song Baiyan’s shoulder, and with each breath, she inhaled the increasingly familiar scent of his body.
The sunlight shone on them both, and she noticed the overlapping shadows on the ground. Suddenly unsure of her feelings, she tentatively moved her hands backward, interlocking them at the nape of Song Baiyan’s neck.
Even without holding him tight, she felt an unusual sense of security.
"Is it not uncomfortable being so close?" he asked.
Hearing Song Baiyan’s inquiry, Tang Li gave a light hum in response: "This way I won’t fall."
"This way I won’t fall..."
Between the lines, there was full display of her distrust of him.
To affirm her nervous words, she slightly tightened the arms encircling his neck.
Song Baiyan chuckled inwardly, yet seemed somewhat helpless with her, carrying Tang Li to the military jeep and placing her directly on the hood.
Tang Li consciously let go of her hold.
Song Baiyan knelt on one knee, supporting her right calf with one hand, and gently holding the heel of her sneaker with the other, skillfully twisting her ankle. "Is it here?"
"It’s not there," Tang Li truthfully said.
Sitting on the hood, her fingers lightly gripped the edge of the vehicle’s bonnet.
In her line of sight—
Was the side profile of Song Baiyan squatting down.
The man’s muscular arm, with its healthy wheat-colored skin, contrasted sharply with her delicate white ankle, starkly showcasing the disparity in strength between men and women.
Song Baiyan, now dressed in camouflage fatigues, seemed more approachable than when he wore a suit, no longer stiff and formal. However, when he truly stood before her , Tang Li still felt an invisible pressure, like what the recruit had said: aura and presence are the best proof of a person’s status.
Her right heel, feeling a bit sore, was being gently squeezed by his skilled hands.
Song Baiyan’s calloused palms covered her tender skin, bringing warmth and alleviating the soreness.
Tang Li said, "...It doesn’t seem to hurt anymore."
As the words fell, Song Baiyan released her sprained ankle: "Try walking on it first."
Once her feet were on the ground and she had walked a few steps, she looked back at Song Baiyan with a shallow smile: "It’s really fine now."
Remembering something, Tang Li asked, "Do you know how to massage?"
"Having been a special forces soldier, one generally picks up a bit of it here and there," Song Baiyan said, then shifted the topic to her stumbling: "Usually, you should watch where you’re walking. It’s not just about being grown up, what real adult is as careless as you?"
Tang Li’s cheeks warmed slightly: "That was an accident just now."
...It’s only in front of you that I keep making such silly mistakes, again and again.
She silently added to herself.
Looking up again, she found Song Baiyan watching her, his lips pressed together in a smile, his Adam’s apple prominent, his deep gaze causing her face to grow hotter.
Suddenly, she felt like burrowing into a hole.
Embarrassed, Tang Li offered an excuse: "I just came out for some fresh air."