"That’s more like it."
The corner of Adam Jones’s lips curled up in satisfaction as he carried Elly toward the car.
By now, Elly’s foot was in increasing pain, and she had no heart to argue with Adam, allowing him to drive her to the nearby orthopedic hospital.
"It’s not too bad, the bone hasn’t displaced, but the ankle ligament is injured, so you can’t walk for the time being."
The doctor put down the X-ray in his hand and said, then applied a special medicinal plaster over her ankle and wrapped it with several layers of gauze, advising, "After you go back, you can’t walk on it for a week, and the area with the gauze can’t get wet. Come back for a checkup in a week."
"Okay, thank you, Doctor."
Elly had been carried all the way to the doctor’s office by Adam Jones, and their arrival had already drawn many sidelong glances. Now, as they were leaving, she looked directly at Adam and said, "Don’t carry me out again, I still have my pride!"
Adam Jones was taken aback, then let out a light laugh, "What’s so embarrassing about being carried by your own husband?"
She stood in the doctor’s office, grinding her teeth, confronting Adam with the clear attitude that she would not leave until he agreed to her terms.
Adam, finding no way to persuade her, could only raise his hands in surrender, "Fine, fine, fine, I won’t carry you. Are you happy now?"
Only then did Elly satisfactorily retract her gaze. Unable to put weight on her injured foot, she had to hop out, holding onto the wall for support. Yet when she hopped, her left foot vibrated with the movement, causing her to involuntarily furrow her brows in pain.
Adam walked beside her, watching her pale face yet stubbornly refusing to admit defeat, feeling both angry and a bit heartbroken. He decided not to tease her further and said, "If you won’t let me carry you, will you at least let me help you?"
Elly wanted to refuse but knew that without Adam’s help, she couldn’t leave the hospital on her own, so she just nodded her head stiffly.
Adam looked at her stubbornness, approached resignedly, one arm draped over her shoulder and the other supporting her hand, trying to take as much of her weight onto his body to ease the burden on her foot.
Because of the severe pain in her foot, Elly subconsciously leaned on Adam’s body to reduce the weight on her foot.
Adam, helping her, noticed this subconscious movement and glanced at her silently, the corners of his lips curving upwards with a faint smile.
Despite Adam’s support, Elly still struggled heavily to walk. By the time they reached the main door of the University of Science and Technology Orthopedics building, her forehead was already covered with fine beads of sweat.
Suddenly, she felt lighter as Adam swept her up in his arms. She wheeled around to glare at him, "You..."
"There are fewer people here; it’s not embarrassing," Adam said, cutting her off with a look that was both teasing and serious, as he carried her all the way to where the car was parked.
"Be careful not to bump and injure yourself again."
Adam placed her carefully in the back seat of the car, his voice softer and filled with more concern than the cool tone he had used at the beginning.
Elly paused, subconsciously raising her eyes to look at Adam. At that moment, he was helping her with the seatbelt, his perfect profile falling within her line of sight.
His slightly tousled short hair partially obscured his cool eyes and brows, making it hard for Elly to discern his expression. However, observing his profile from such close proximity seemed warmer than what she had seen before.