Yun Meiyi blinked her eyes as she looked up at the person. After a moment, she heard him saying.
"Your ankle is sprained. You need to see the doctor as soon as possible to lessen the pain." His voice sounded deep and full of empathy but still lack of humility. Even though his words didn't sound like he was criticizing her or taunting her, still there was a strange feeling as if he was looking down at her pains.
Feeling all confused about it, without her knowing her expression turned into that of sadness as looking away somewhere at a distance, she said, "My pains are none of your concern. Please put me down. I will manage on my own."
As she said that she felt the man's eyes going small at her as if he was intensifying them to read her expressions that she was trying to hide away. She didn't know what his intention was but under his gaze like that, she was feeling her stomach tightening. The feeling was strange and it felt unfair as from the position they were standing, he could see her while to her, his frame still stood against the light.
Under one of the brightest moonlights, where her jade skin was brightening up with an ethereal glow, his features still contained the darkness as if his figure was something created to attract the darkness.
Where darkness scares and made people ugly, for some reason at the moment, Yun Meiyi felt that it only made the man look more attractive. Attractive enough to make it unbearable for her to look at him for long.
Twisting a bit in his arms, she repeated again, this time in a tone of a hurry, "Don't look at me like that. Put me down fast." She said and the next moment, felt the man taking a few steps forward to get near the fountain's edge wall.
Yun Meiyi was unclear about his thoughts; so, to clear it out she was about to ask him again when she suddenly saw him bending forward to put her on the ground, before helping her sit on the edge of the fountain wall.
There was a warmth in his gesture. In the cold weather outside, she could feel it brushing over her very easily. It would be a lie to say that such a sudden thoughtful gesture didn't move her heart because it actually did. If it had been in the past, she would not have thought it but after all that she had suffered today, even the slightest gesture like that was enough to move her heart. Maybe because the soft emotions inside her were taking their last breath before turning cold permanently.
Yun Meiyi coughed, trying to hold back her thoughts. She couldn't let her commit the same mistake again. In the past as well, she has been easy to get moved, that's why she was easy to get fooled the way she had gotten today.
Forgetting the sprain in her ankle, she slightly pressed on the man's shoulders to push him back, before getting up to move away to leave, "Thank you for your concern, but I don't need it. I will go first. Please move away." But the moment she stood, a wince left her lips as she staggered to fall back, closing her eyes in pain.
"Argh!" She grimaced once again but then felt a similar pair of arms wrapping around to hold her from falling. Her eyes shot open and for the first time she saw his face. A face that had a sizzling coldness laced in it. Although the combination together was impossible but looking at his chiseled features, it felt nothing but possible.
This time it was not tough to miss his face. With the shiny lights of the fountain, his fiery golden amber eyes were more prominent to notice, along with a sharp aligned nose and shaped lips. His brows were jutted together in irritation as if he was restraining his worst inside.
"I …" Yun Meiyi fell off at his reaction but she also felt lacking words to retort it. After all, it had been him who had helped her out. Not once, but twice already.
Making her sit again, he bent on his knees in front of her and said, "You are just a human. And humans are bound with emotions and pains that make them weak. Did you really think you would be able to walk away from it as if you don't care?"
Yun Meiyi's brows tugged in a frown. She didn't forget the pain. It was just that when she was up in his arms, not for once did she feel that there was any pain. She almost believed that maybe the sprain was gone when he had pressed it earlier.
In her own thoughts, she forgot the unique choice of his words, as she simply confessed, "I thought it was gone until I stood up to stagger back now. Anyway, you …" Before she could say more, he shushed her before getting his attention back on her foot to check.
Slowly easing the strap, he removed her heels, "Sit straight and brace yourself for the small pain because this is going to hurt." He said and before Yun Meiyi could understand what it meant a sharp bone twist made her flinch. Her hands subconsciously went to grip his shirt, crumpling it into wrinkles.
"You …" She winced and thought to reproach the man for his action but she could no longer say it further.
As if done with his job, the man didn't remain on his knees for long. Standing up to his full height, he put his hand in his pocket and spoke, "You can try it now."
Yun Meiyi took some time to recover from the sharp pain before looking up at him, "Try what? Try to see if my legs are even recoverable or not?"
The man's expression remained poker. Without putting any expression, he said, "Try to see if the pain in your ankle is still there?"
"What do you mean? Of course, the pain is …" Yun Meiyi looked daggers at the man, ready to chide him, but her words paused in the middle when she felt the pain has gradually subsided. Does that mean, he has earlier twisted her intentionally like that to cure the pain? Up until now, she has just seen it happening in the movies. She never thought that it was possible in actuality.
What was this man? An Orthopedist?
She looked at the man and when felt his eyes staying longer at herself, she nodded to say, "Yes, it's better. Thank you." Then bending down, she looked at her heels. Wearing them back, she strapped them on her ankle as she asked, "Have we met before?" This has been the question she has been trying to ask all this while.
She wasn't sure but for some reason, she felt him somewhere familiar in her memories. But no matter how she tried, she just couldn't bring herself to remember him. And the thought of having amnesia was scaring her. She was still unknown to the effect of the poison that she had in her body.