Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
An Xiaxia recoiled a little into the blanket and avoided eye contact.
Sheng Yize sighed and wrapped his hand around her hand with the needle in it.
Her hand was very cold and the teenager’s warm palm was so comfortable that she didn’t want to let go.
An Xiaxia sniffled and changed the subject. “Sheng Yize, you know what… I’m not that mean. I don’t go around hitting people. It was just that Jian Xin’er stepped out of line today and I had to do it. Before, she and Ding Yiyi locked me up in the toilet and dumped cold water on me. And, and she locked me up in the lounge so that I couldn’t get to the English class on time…”
The teenage girl’s soft voice was the only sound in the ward.
Sheng Yize listened quietly. Despite his expressionless face, the look in his eyes grew grimmer.
Why had she kept all this from him the whole time?
Had his beloved little fool suffered so much in some corner that he might not know about?
After listening to her lengthy chatter, Sheng Yize’s mouth twitched a little. “Now you’re telling me all these things? Why didn’t you tell me before?”
An Xiaxia looked like a naughty kid who was confessing and lightly drew circles on his palm with a finger, as if she was cajoling him. “I… I didn’t want to hear you call me a dummy and that I couldn’t even take care of such petty things myself.”
Sheng Yize sat there dazed for a moment before saying in a serious tone, “Xiaxia, anything which involves you is never petty.”
Had An Xiaxia told him earlier, no, had he cared about An Xiaxia more, would she have had to go through all of these things?
He berated himself, while she was overwhelmed with consternation.
“No… Sheng Yize, I can’t depend on you all the time. There are things I have to handle myself. See, I fought back, didn’t I… Teehee… Aren’t I a tough girl…”
An Xiaxia smiled sweetly at him and Sheng Yize remained quiet for a moment before raising his hand to rub her head.
She was such a little fool.
She couldn’t have been more foolish.
However, he had to admit that beneath that harmless face, his little fool had a tenacious heart.
“You really are a tough girl,” he said in a low voice after a long moment, then chuckled. “So tough that I fear you’ll beat me up one day.”
“Be nice to me and I promise I won’t do that!” An Xiaxia let out a breath of relief and teased Sheng Yize.
“I will.” He gave her a succinct reply, but his tone had never been so firm.
It was a promise that he had never given another person before. Right here and right now, he made one to An Xiaxia, the only An Xiaxia in this world.
He would do all he could to make An Xiaxia happy. Never would she be put through any grievance again!
He pinched her cheek with his slender fingers. An Xiaxia then rubbed against his palm and closed her eyes in satisfaction again.
Once she shut her eyes, the frightening memory seemed to come back again. The icy water and the endless mocking laughter — it suffocated her.
Her eyelashes quivered, tickling Sheng Yize’s palm.
“What? Can’t sleep?” Sheng Yize sensed her stirring.
An Xiaxia summoned her courage and asked in a tiny voice, “Sheng Yize… Do you think we’re really right for each other? What do you see in me… You’re always saying that I’m a dummy and I know that. You gave me the dress to turn into a princess. But… I’m really not. I’m only Cinderella, and when midnight comes, the pumpkin carriage and the glass slippers vanish, and I’ll be back to my old self again…”
“There is no ‘deserving or not’ in a relationship,” Sheng Yize said in a brooding tone. “Xiaxia, you don’t have to be a princess. All you need to be is yourself. You’re already perfect as you are now.”