XueQing continued chatting with YiHan as if nothing was wrong. Soon, Aunt Yang knocked on the door and told them lunch was ready. The three then headed down for their meal.
The Bai parents were already seated when the three reached the dining room. At the sight of their youngest son in a good mood, their hearts lightened. They'd yet to see YiHan in person since the whole mess yesterday. They were so uneasy. Now that they finally saw him, the weight on their shoulders were lifted. Only…
Ma instantly spotted the bandages on her little son's neck and hand. She burst into worry once more.
"HanHan, what happened to your hand and neck?" she asked in a whisper. "Are you hurt? Aunt Yang! Aunt Yang! Is Dr Chen still here? HanHan, show them to me. How are the wounds? You were just in your own room. How did you get hurt?"
She tenderly pulled YiHan over to her. Her hands hovered over the bandages. She wanted to check his injuries, yet she didn't dare to. She looked up at the more reliable JingYuan with a questioning glance.
JingYuan: "…" Crap. He totally forgot about that! How should he explain this?
XueQing: "…" Shoot. We're doomed. We haven't talked about an excuse yet!
"Aah, why is the Little Master hurt too? Is it serious? Dr Chen's left already. What do we do now?" gasped Aunt Yang who popped into the room out of nowhere.
As expected, Ma's attention immediately switched to her.
"What happened?" Ma asked. "You knew, Aunt Yang?"
In a flash, Aunt Yang found the first-aid kit. As she looked through it for the appropriate items, she answered, "The Little Master accidentally smashed a bottle before. Mr Mu even came down for a broom and dustpan. Why is he hurt still?"
"Ah, yes. He was so reckless," JingYuan hurriedly answered as if the question was meant for him. "When I came down for the broom, he went and picked the glass shards up from the floor. He got a cut in his hand because of that. Aunt Yang, you can stop looking. HanHan's room has a first-aid kit. I've already helped him clean it up."
Ma believed it. It certainly was something her naughty little boy would do. But…"Then, what's with his neck?"
JingYuan could feel a drop of cold sweat sliding down the back of his head and to his neck.
"He got that from when the bottle smashed. It only scraped his skin, but JingYuan didn't realise back then. He was so worried that he insisted on wrapping it up at once. The sight of it is just so scary," XueQing replied in a brilliant move.
Ma let out a sigh of relief. She then said to her daughter, "Of course a wound needs to be wrapped up. JingYuan did nothing wrong. You're just as careless as ever. So unladylike. Thank goodness we have JingYuan! Who else would dare to marry you?"
YiHan felt pain pierce through his heart. He pursed his lips and silently sat down at the table. XueQing could feel her heart drumming in fear. Oh great mother, for your beloved little son's life, please stop talking.
No way. This had to be resolved fast and soon. Tomorrow…no! This afternoon, she'll go to TianYang and asked him to sign the contract with her immediately! The faster she "shifted her affections", the better!
JingYuan walked over to the chair next to YiHan and sat down. Under the tablecloth, he placed his hand on YiHan's thigh. The heat of his palm radiated through the thin fabric. YiHan's fingers on the table curled inwards. His long eyelashes lowered. The tips of his ears silently flushed red.
XueQing had been sneakily keeping an eye on her brother's face. When she witnessed YiHan's change, she couldn't help but internally gave JingYuan a big thumbs-up. He really was the best at this. Look at those red ears. There's no way YiHan's mind could think about anything else now. How had she never realised the peculiarity of their relationship?
If she knew beforehand there was something weird between them, she'd never have interfered. Great. Now, she's the villain of this whole story. She nearly turned into the great big baddie who split the lovebirds apart. She nearly hurt her own younger brother.
Oh, my adorable little brother, I'm so sorry!
She was sure, once more, this whole switching affections thing was. Extremely. Urgent!
When Aunt Yang placed the food down on the table, she specifically placed the plate of lamb ribs right in front of YiHan.
"Little Master, this was a little rushed today. The marinate might not have really seeped it. Have a taste. What do you think?" she lovingly said.