Tang Yanqi stood at the door in her pajamas, one hand grasping the doorknob, the other with two fingers clutching the hem of her clothes. Her brow was furrowed, and the crystal light shone down from above her head. Sheng Jianan could clearly see a sheen of sweat on Tang Yanqi’s forehead.
Her expression was still relatively calm, but it was obvious that she was enduring something. Sheng Jianan quickly reacted, lifted the quilt, and walked to Tang Yanqi in a few steps: "Headache?"
Tang Yanqi was a little surprised. She did have a headache, but how did he know? Could it be that he saw the moment she was hit?
No matter the reason, since Sheng Jianan asked, Tang Yanqi didn’t hesitate and nodded: "A bit."
Sheng Jianan reached out and pressed down on Tang Yanqi’s head, his fingers threading through her hair. When he touched it before, he hadn’t felt anything, but now touching it again, he found a bump among the thick black hair.
When his fingers touched the bump, Tang Yanqi let out a faint sound. The scene of her being hit flashed in Sheng Jianan’s mind, and his brow furrowed, anger surged to his head, and he blurted out: "Been bullied but kept it to yourself, are you a pig?"
Without knowing which word of Sheng Jianan’s triggered Tang Yanqi’s sensitive nerves, her always calm face showed a trace of emotion. Sheng Jianan’s words sounded like he was scolding her, but from another perspective, could she understand it as him caring for her?
Although this might just be her wishful thinking, although it might just be her overthinking, she truly felt cared for.
It’s not only gentle words that count as care. Tang Yanqi’s eyes reddened, and she bit her lips hard, trying not to lose her composure, lowering her head and speaking in a muffled voice: "There were many of them, I couldn’t beat them."
Sheng Jianan’s hand suddenly paused, the anger in his heart seemed to have been frosted over, disappearing instantly. This woman... is this woman acting coy?
Although her tone didn’t quite fit, although her words didn’t quite fit, why did he feel like she was acting coy?
Tang Yanqi was acting coy!
This realization gave Sheng Jianan an inexplicable sense of satisfaction from being depended on.
She couldn’t win, but he could.
Sheng Jianan’s lips lightly curled up, and the mood of elation made his actions become softer unconsciously.
"Come here, let me put some medicine on for you."
His tone was sweetly soft as he said, then, as if realizing something was amiss, he added, not too kindly: "So you don’t take this as an opportunity to complain."
The bump on her head was difficult to treat, so Sheng Jianan almost made a mess of Tang Yanqi’s hair before he finally managed to apply the medicine. Seeing her own messy hair in the mirror, Tang Yanqi’s eyes reddened again, and she quickly tilted her head upward towards the ceiling, stubbornly refusing to let tears fall.
For years, when she was hurt, she tended to it by herself. When she was upset, she endured it alone. No one would care, no one would look after her, no matter how clumsy the care might be.
And now there was someone, even though in Sheng Jianan’s eyes it was not really care or concern, perhaps even just a prank, deliberately messing up her hair. Even so, Tang Yanqi felt the concern, and it was Sheng Jianan’s concern.
She was aware of her status, so she never dared hope for a relationship with Sheng Jianan. She was self-aware, thus carefully hiding her feelings, but despite knowing, often, she would have a tiny bit of greed.