With this promise dangling in front of him, Rui Ye seemed to have received a boost of motivation as he resumed carving with twice the amount of vigor and concentration. Yet the more he wanted it to be done sooner, the more prone he became to clumsiness, and he ended up cutting his fingers twice in the span of half an hour.
"Ouch." When he winced for the third time, Song Zhuyu decided he'd had enough.
"Alright," he declared, plucking the knife out of Rui Ye's hand with an exasperated sigh. "You're not touching this again today."
"B–But…" Rui Ye snapped his head up in shock. "What about the promise?"
"Huh? Of course, you can just forget about it." Song Zhuyu sneered. "You still expect to fulfill it with your hands in such a state?"
"Noooo!" Rui Ye cried out desperately, lunging forward in an attempt to reclaim the knife. But Song Zhuyu held it out of his reach, cautioning, "Hey, hey, don't move around like that—urgh!"
