A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 202: On the Edge of the Unattainable, My Heart Itches (7)_1

Chapter 202: On the Edge of the Unattainable, My Heart Itches (7)_1

In the other room.

Shen Jing sat on a stool eating frozen pears while the man squatted at her feet, tending to her injured knee. She was afraid of the pain and could only distract herself by eating the frozen pears, not daring to utter a sound. Sun Qiyan tried to be as gentle as possible, but the sting from the disinfectant was inevitable. He could only watch as she fought back the tears.

Sun Qiyan even wondered if Zhou Luchen were here, whether she would be acting spoiled and dependent, considering he had seen her throw tantrums in front of Zhou Luchen at the teahouse.

"Bear with it a little. If you don’t disinfect it properly, the scarring won’t fade easily," he said.

She nodded.

Sun Qiyan spoke softly to distract her, "Do you like the frozen pear?"

The room’s night light was an old, warm-toned lantern, supposedly to save electricity for the temple. Even through the blurry lighting, she could clearly see the man patiently treating her wound, gently blowing on it to ease the sting.

"Qiyan."

"I’m here," Sun Qiyan replied in a light tone, looking up. Her fragile yet forbearing nature was indeed very endearing.

He wondered what Zhou Luchen, who had secretly watched them from behind, must have been thinking at the time.

"Does it hurt? I’ll be gentler."

Shen Jing shook her head and asked him, "Are you really not busy, wasting time here to keep me company?"

When Sun Qiyan smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkled, showing the fine lines of a mature man. "The restaurant has plenty of staff; business won’t be affected whether I’m there or not."

"You live like an old-fashioned man with seemingly no desires," Shen Jing remarked.

In Sun Qiyan’s calm and trouble-free life, he didn’t seem to have any significant ambitions. He was clearly successful in his career, having built his family’s wealth through his own efforts. He abstained from smoking, drinking, and lechery, and had no bad habits. Family elders, noting his age, began arranging blind dates for him, but he never acquiesced, always insisting there was no rush.

Traditional to the core, even when going on arranged dates, he just went through the motions to appease the elders. That was until his grandfather mentioned, "Do you still remember your Aunt Huang’s granddaughter, the little girl you used to take loquat picking as a child?"

How could he forget? As a child, she only had 20 yuan in her pocket for study guides, yet she still shared 10 yuan with him for a school entrance gift. Feng Jian was stingy with her money; her monthly allowance was just 20 yuan. He wondered how she managed that month, whether she had enough money to inflate her bicycle tires if they went flat. Although he’d heard the Shen Family continuously sent her money, it never seemed to reach her. That night, he ran away from home, found a drunken Feng Jian, and hit him several times on the forehead with his slingshot.

Feng Jian, furious, scolded Shen Jing all night and no longer allowed her to play with him. He was older than her, about to start junior high while she was still in elementary school, and their paths gradually diverged. Slingshotting Feng Jian in the forehead was his most rebellious act in an otherwise rule-abiding life.

After treating the wound, Sun Qiyan cleaned up the mess on the floor and sat in a chair next to her, pouring himself some tea. His voice, softened by the tea he sipped, was gentle. "The tea is aromatic. Being with you is just as pleasant, capable of bringing joy."

It wasn’t that he lacked desires; he just kept them deeply suppressed.

When he said that, Shen Jing lowered her head. "That’s quite a compliment."

It was late at night. The yellowing light, the barely perceptible breathing in the air, a man and a woman alone—no matter how familiar they were, they were both adults. What man could remain calm at such a time? Desire was indeed a tricky thing. Otherwise, what could have kept Zhou Luchen, a playboy accustomed to a sea of admirers, by her side, caring for her for more than a year?

Sun Qiyan didn’t want to linger in her room. He was, after all, just a normal man who hadn’t encountered a girl who truly moved his heart in many years. He suppressed his emotions, set down his teacup, and looked at her with a smile. "I’ll head back now. If your wound hurts, call me."

She hummed in agreement.

Sun Qiyan closed the door. As he turned away, he let out a cold laugh. He knew Zhou Luchen had seen them; he had even intentionally wrapped his arm around her waist.

「The following morning.」

Sun Qiyan noticed that Shen Jing hadn’t woken up on time. She didn’t respond to his knocking, so he took it upon himself to push the door open and enter.

She sat on the edge of the bed, looking aggrieved and remaining silent.

After falling and then soaking her leg in river water, the wound on her knee had become inflamed. The disinfectant given by the Abbot seemed ineffective.

Such a delicate girl; he should have thought of it. Sun Qiyan felt he had made a serious mistake last night by not going down the mountain immediately to buy new medicine for her.

"I’ll take you to the hospital."

Just as he bent down to pick her up, she suddenly clutched her pajamas tightly. Realizing they were too thin, his movements froze. Sun Qiyan reached out and pulled the blanket up to cover her.

He even thought about going next door to find Zhou Luchen, but why should he seek out a man who already had a fiancée?

In the end, Sun Qiyan turned around, took out his phone, and dialed a number. "Find a doctor to come to Longhua Temple. The patient was injured last night and only had disinfectant applied. The wound is inflamed and very painful."

The doctor arrived quickly, re-treated her wound, and applied medication. Sun Qiyan stood by the window, watching her swallow the pills. By evening, after the doctor had given his instructions, he left. Sun Qiyan felt somewhat relieved.

After the doctor left, Sun Qiyan walked to the courtyard gate, inserted the key, and locked it.

Shen Jing leaned against the window, sipping warm water, watching Sun Qiyan’s actions. He seemed to be angry. It was rare to see Sun Qiyan angry; he always maintained a gentle and well-mannered expression.

"What’s this?" she asked.

Sun Qiyan, feeling awkward, touched his nose and turned back, explaining with a light laugh, "Your leg is injured. I was afraid that wildcat might come in and disturb your rest."

Shen Jing pointed to the wall. "The cat can climb over walls and sneak through holes; it never uses the front gate."

Sometimes Sun Qiyan felt he was quite bad at lying. "Is that so?"

Without dwelling on it, Shen Jing turned on the night light, lowered her head, and began to read Buddhist scriptures to calm her mind.

Because the temple had opened its gates during the day to let the doctor in, Zhuang Ming naturally understood what had happened. He looked at the young nobleman who had just woken up for dinner.

"Miss Shen’s knee is inflamed, and the bleeding hasn’t stopped. A doctor came over, and she’s still alive. That’s all I know. When I tried to go over and look, the door to the Eastern Second Pavilion was locked from the inside," Zhuang Ming said, reminding him as he served him soup.

Zhou Luchen looked at the cat on the windowsill. It was always treated to delicacies and expensive cat food; the cat hadn’t gone next door to scrounge for food again.

He suddenly chuckled. "Your girlfriend? Is your name written on a Prayer Lamp, or did she kneel on the thirteen stone steps to pray for your safety? Why do you care about her so much?"

"It’s not written," Zhuang Ming said cautiously, "and she didn’t kneel. But when she gets drunk, she calls me. My number has always been her emergency contact, and perhaps she hasn’t changed it even now."

Indeed. Zhuang Ming had always been Shen Jing’s emergency contact ever since she was with Zhou Luchen. He was assigned to her in case anything happened. As a sign of trust, she set Zhuang Ming as her emergency contact and never remembered to change it. She trusted Zhuang Ming, which meant trusting Zhou Luchen.

After dinner, it was obvious Zhou Luchen was not in the mood to copy scriptures that evening. He even showed his disgust for the cat disturbing him, asking Zhuang Ming to throw it out. Zhuang Ming naturally didn’t say much. The cat lingered reluctantly. Zhuang Ming was a ruthless man; even though he had fed it, he felt no affection for the stray cat.

The stray cat immediately climbed over the wall.

Zhuang Ming looked up at the courtyard across the white wall. It was pitch black; they had probably turned off the lights and gone to rest.