CHAPTER 22

They were only a meter's distance between them.

The Omega's long and curled lashes made her look even more pitiful.

Ye Chengxing hugged her tightly.

Li Jia reached out and embraced Ye Chengxing in return.

She fulfilled her wish and once again felt the faint scent of the Alpha and the more intimate fragrance of pheromones that belonged to her, like the aroma of oolong tea.

Li Jia gently rested her chin on Ye Chengxing's shoulder, tilting her head slightly, feeling Ye Chengxing's breath and heartbeat.

Beat by beat, connecting with her.

She held her tightly, as if Ye Chengxing would disappear if she let go.

After hearing what Li Jia said just now, Ye Chengxing felt like her heart was breaking. Without hesitation, she directly embraced the other person.

What do you mean by villainess? This is clearly a pitiful and lovable person.

As Ye Chengxing held Li Jia, her feelings of pity grew stronger, and her determination in her mind became firmer—

She would rewrite Li Jia's ending.

Ye Chengxing used her fingertips to gently pat along Li Jia's back, soothingly stroking.

Feeling the Omega's body trembling involuntarily in her arms, Ye Chengxing's voice became even gentler as she spoke, "Li Jia, don't be afraid. I will hold your hand and walk with you on the path ahead. You are not alone."

Though her voice was soft, it carried an exceptional firmness.

Li Jia smelled the fragrance on the Alpha's hair and, taking advantage of this angle where Ye Chengxing couldn't see her expression, she looked at Ye Chengxing with an unabashed gaze.

She thought, what a warm embrace.

It was so warm that it made her want to sink into it completely. Just this one embrace made her feel a hint of longing.

"With sister here, of course, I won't be afraid." Li Jia murmured as she spoke.

In that instant when Ye Chengxing looked at her, she timely raised her head and met Ye Chengxing's gaze, revealing the vulnerability and strength in her eyes without reservation. It was a beauty that carried contradictions and brokenness.

The Omega's rosy lips opened, and she used her physical advantage to the fullest. Under their gaze, Li Jia leaned her head on Ye Chengxing's shoulder again. Her hand, which was wrapped around Ye Chengxing's waist, tightened ever so gently. Her voice, however, became even softer, almost inaudible. "So... sister, you won't leave me, right? You'll stay by my side forever, won't you?"

If there were others present at this moment, they would see a hint of different emotions in the Omega's eyes, a mixture of attachment and possessiveness that far exceeded the ordinary range.

However, there was no one else present now, and Ye Chengxing, who was being embraced by Li Jia, could not see the emotions hidden in the depths of her eyes. All she could hear was Li Jia's tearful tone and her cautious plea for her not to leave.

It was like a rose trapped in glass, easily shattered with the slightest carelessness.

So Ye Chengxing's tone became even more resolute. "Didn't we agree to walk the path ahead together? I will always be by your side."

After Ye Chengxing responded, she couldn't help but feel even more heartbroken.

The current dependence Li Jia had on her was simply because she had received too little love in the past. But it didn't matter, Ye Chengxing would stay by her side until she recovered. However, she wouldn't use these past experiences to demand anything from her. When the time came that Li Jia had everything she needed and no longer needed her, Ye Chengxing would leave on her own. After all, it was estimated that the mission would be almost completed by then.

Although it was still early, the thought of the day when they would eventually part suddenly filled Ye Chengxing's heart with sadness.

But by that time, Li Jia's life should have become a brighter one, right?

If that's the case, then this journey would have been worthwhile for her as well.

Ye Chengxing patted Li Jia's back and smiled. "Alright, if you don't eat now, the nutritious meal I made for you will get cold."

Only then did Li Jia withdraw from Ye Chengxing's embrace.

In her heart, she wasn't very willing to do so, but if she continued like this, Ye Chengxing might notice something. So, despite her reluctance, Li Jia controlled her facial expression and stood up.

She picked up the chopsticks again and started eating the dishes carefully.

All the food in front of her was specially made by Ye Chengxing for her.

The thought of this couldn't help but bring a sense of joy to Li Jia's heart, but while she felt mentally satisfied, her body felt more restrained.

Ye Chengxing reached out and used the public chopsticks to pick up a dish slightly farther away from the Omega. "Try this too, let me know your thoughts on the taste and texture so I can improve it."

Li Jia's gaze followed the dish Ye Chengxing picked up, to the tip of the chopsticks, and then to the hands holding the chopsticks.

Long and beautiful hands, with fingertips as smooth as jade.

Li Jia lowered her eyelashes.

Because they had just embraced for a long time, she once again carried the scent of Ye Chengxing on her body.

But at this moment, she felt that it was not enough.

Li Jia could faintly smell that elusive scent lingering in the air, and suddenly she wanted to indulge in it even more.

The food clearly suited Li Jia's taste. Just as Ye Chengxing was about to ask if she wanted more, the Omega seemed to be scalded and spilled the bowl of soup on herself.

Ye Chengxing felt a tingling in her fingertips at the sight.

To prevent the soup from turning cold, she had intentionally used an intelligent bowl that could maintain the temperature.

Drinking soup at this temperature would warm the stomach, and although it wouldn't be scalding when spilled on the body, it would still be uncomfortable.

Li Jia seemed to furrow her brows for a moment, but it was only for a second. She quickly reached out to catch the bowl and apologized in a flustered manner, "Sister, I'm sorry, I didn't hold it properly and spilled the soup..."

Ye Chengxing hurriedly interrupted, "What spilled soup? Li Jia, did it burn you?"

Without waiting for Li Jia to respond, she stepped forward and lifted up the portion of clothing that had been splashed with soup, rinsing it with the nearby cold water.

After rinsing it a few times, Ye Chengxing breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the skin in that area was not significantly affected.

Seeing Li Jia reaching out to assist with the bowl, Ye Chengxing called Xiaobai over and said, "I'll have Xiaobai take care of it. It's just spilled soup, as long as you're okay. These things are not as important as you."

After saying that, she checked the other parts of Li Jia's body, mainly in the vicinity of her thigh where the spill had occurred. Now that it had been rinsed several times with cold water, the skin had a thin layer of redness.

Li Jia already had very fair skin, so the slight redness became even more noticeable.

Although it wasn't a big deal, Ye Chengxing felt her heart tighten at the sight.

As if sensing her emotions, the Omega, who had been drenched in soup, turned around and started comforting her, "Sister, it's okay. I don't feel anything."

The more Li Jia said this, the more Ye Chengxing felt distressed.

"But..." Li Jia paused.

Ye Chengxing immediately looked at her nervously, "Are you feeling a bit uncomfortable? Shall I get you some medicine?"

In reality, if it were an injury of this degree on herself, Ye Chengxing would probably just rinse it with cold water and continue with her work, without paying it much attention.

But for some reason, she felt extremely anxious when facing Li Jia.

Upon hearing Ye Chengxing's words, Li Jia's eyelashes fluttered. It seemed like she was about to curl her lips, but she quickly held back, to the point that even if someone were to see, they would think they were mistaken, "No... I just suddenly thought that I might need to take a bath."

As she spoke, she lowered her eyes and glanced down.

Although it was boiled soup, it still contained oil, and the feeling of it splashing on the skin and being rinsed with cold water made it even more uncomfortable.

Li Jia didn't finish her sentence, and it took Ye Chengxing a second to react. She belatedly looked at Li Jia's palm, which was still wrapped in gauze.

Under the gauze was the medicine Ye Chengxing had applied to Omega before she went out.

Noticing Ye Chengxing's gaze on the gauze in her palm, Li Jia finally let her gaze follow and, at the same time, spoke softly, "Sister... I may need your help to take a bath."

Her voice was very soft, with a tone of uneasiness and difficulty in speaking up.

Help Li Jia... take a bath?

Ye Chengxing was stunned for a second once again.

But in that second, Li Jia lowered her eyes again, her voice becoming even softer, "Is it too much trouble for you, sister? It's okay, I can just wipe myself."

Hearing Li Jia's low voice, Ye Chengxing finally reacted and said with difficulty, "It's not a trouble."

She looked at the vulnerable Li Jia and suddenly felt ashamed of her fleeting thoughts.

Li Jia just needed her help to take a bath because she was uncomfortable from the spilled soup. Yet, her first thought was that it might not be appropriate for her to help her bathe. She should know that Li Jia was still a patient, someone with both internal and external injuries.

She had already suffered a lot in the early stages, and now, right in front of her eyes, she could still get injured. It meant that she hadn't taken good care of her.

Now that Li Jia simply wanted her to help her take a bath. What was there to worry about?

Or was she not open-minded enough? She should be more open-minded in the future.

In front of a doctor, all patients should be treated equally.

With these thoughts in mind, Ye Chengxing adjusted her expression and said, "Why would it be a trouble? It's something I should do."

.......

Although she managed to maintain a calm tone when accepting the request, once they entered the bathroom, Ye Chengxing started feeling uncomfortable.

...It's fine, I can just close my eyes.

She thought to herself, trying to delude herself.

The bathroom space wasn't really small, but Ye Chengxing felt strangely cramped inside it, especially when she thought about being in the same room with Li Jia, and it felt even more confined.

But she had already agreed, and besides, Li Jia did have an injury on her palm and couldn't wash herself. It didn't seem like a big problem for Ye Chengxing to help out.

However, she still felt strange all over her body.

It was as if she had never considered the villa bathroom to be small before, but now it felt incredibly cramped.

"Sister, I'll start undressing now."

The Omega's clear voice came from behind, and Ye Chengxing, who was still facing away, instinctively responded to Li Jia's words, "Then go ahead and undress."

As the words fell, Ye Chengxing couldn't help but feel that something was off, but after thinking for a moment, the literal meaning of the words in the context was indeed correct. She shook her head, trying to dismiss all the jumbled thoughts.

Right now, all she had to do was help a patient with an injured palm that couldn't touch water take a bath.

However, after thinking this way, Ye Chengxing inexplicably felt that the word "patient" was too cold and unfamiliar when applied to Li Jia.

So silently in her heart, Ye Chengxing replaced the word "patient" with Li Jia's name and adjusted the sentence structure. She repeated it to herself and finally found it more pleasing to the ear.

BACK | TABLE OF CONTENTS | NEXT