Chapter 215: Think About It, Aren’t You Being a Little Too Cruel to Me
Chapter 215: Chapter 215: Think About It, Aren’t You Being a Little Too Cruel to Me
This girl had never known hardship. She’d been endlessly pampered by her parents growing up, and marrying him had only steeped her further in a world of wealth and power, leaving her with soft, delicate skin. ’How can she be so good at enduring pain?’
’Her collarbone is broken so cleanly. Can’t she feel it?’
’How dare she not make a single sound, focusing only on someone else!’
The panic and heartache he had suppressed for so long instantly transformed into a fine, simmering rage and boundless, lingering fear upon seeing the gruesome sight.
As his emotions churned, a murderous intent surged, turning Xie Jinbai’s eyes bloodshot.
He glared at her. "This is what you call being ’fine’?"
"..." Cui Lingyao fell silent for a moment before retorting in a low voice, "Compared to my sister-in-law, this really is nothing."
’Look at her, an answer for everything.’
Xie Jinbai laughed in fury, hissing through gritted teeth, "You’d better start taking yourself more seriously. Otherwise, everyone you care about..."
"Xie Jinbai!" Cui Lingyao cut him off in a fury, raising her foot to kick him. "Would it kill you not to threaten people for once!"
"This isn’t a threat,"
Xie Jinbai grabbed her flailing ankle and looked at her, his voice low and cold. "I’m telling you, Cui Lingyao, the next time you dare put yourself in danger to save someone else—I don’t care who it is—I will take their life, and the lives of their entire clan!"
His voice was icy, and his eyes held a bone-chilling cold.
Under his gaze, the fury that filled Cui Lingyao’s chest froze. She was struck speechless, the words dying in her throat.
She felt a pang of guilt. ’After all, she had been a bit too impulsive when she saved her. She had just thrown herself forward, leaving herself little room for error.’
’A slight miscalculation and it would have been far worse than just an injured shoulder.’
’In that instant, she hadn’t given a single thought to what would become of this man if something happened to her.’
At the same time, a sliver of fear crept into Cui Lingyao’s heart.
It was just that the look on his face was far too earnest, and far too terrifying.
’A wife must obey her husband.’
’Xie Anning’s entire clan.’
’That meant the entire Cui Family.’
’He...’
A strange silence fell over the room.
Xie Jinbai glanced at her, released her ankle, and leaned over her. He gripped her shoulder, preparing to set the bone.
He felt through flesh and skin, carefully trying to align the two ends of the broken collarbone.
It was agonizing.
The pain drained the color from Cui Lingyao’s face. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her body instinctively tried to struggle away.
"Hold still! Don’t move,"
Xie Jinbai pinned her to the couch, holding her fast. His tone was flat. "Remember? You brought this on yourself."
’Yes, she had brought this on herself.’
’She had willingly thrown herself in front of that rock.’
’But was that any reason for him to be so cold and sarcastic?’
’She was so hurt, in so much pain. Couldn’t he see that?’
Her husband wasn’t comforting her. He was just being cold. Cui Lingyao felt so wronged she wanted to cry, but she was afraid of inviting more of his scorn.
She fought back tears, gritted her teeth, and stopped struggling.
Her eyes grew red with the effort of holding back her tears.
Feeling humiliated, she simply shut her eyes and fell silent.
Xie Jinbai glanced up at her, his fingers probing as he tried to align the two ends of her broken collarbone.
This was much more difficult than setting a joint in a limb.
Fortunately, he was quite adept at this.
Once he was certain that the broken ends were perfectly aligned under his fingertips, Xie Jinbai’s tense frame relaxed slightly.
He let out a breath, then picked up a few thin bamboo splints to carefully immobilize the bone before wrapping it with gauze.
Throughout the entire procedure, the woman beneath him didn’t make another sound of pain.
Her eyes were closed, her face and lips deathly pale from the pain. A sheen of sweat on her forehead dampened the hair at her temples.
She was a heart-wrenching sight.
Ordinarily, Xie Jinbai wouldn’t have been able to resist pulling her into his arms and comforting her.
But now, he simply stared at her for a moment, his tone still even. "Let the pain be a lesson. The next time you’re about to do something foolish, remember to think before you act."
’He called her act of saving her own sister-in-law "doing something foolish."’
Cui Lingyao was indignant. She opened her eyes and glared at him. "I almost died, and you choose *now* to lecture me?"
"Of course! Of course I know you almost died!"
The image of her throwing herself forward to save someone flashed before his eyes again, and a vein throbbed in Xie Jinbai’s forehead.
He tilted his head back and took a deep breath. "Cui Lingyao, you listen to me. You can be as willful as you like. You can torture me, humiliate me, or try to tame me with your games of carrot and stick—anything is fine. But you must value yourself."
This was his bottom line.
’She could string him along, play with him, torment him by running hot and cold. All of that was fine.’
’Anything at all.’
’But she couldn’t get hurt.’
’She couldn’t be so careless with her own body.’
"..." A lump formed in Cui Lingyao’s throat. She turned her face away and said nothing.
Clearly, she was still brooding over his earlier coldness.
Xie Jinbai still didn’t try to comfort her or explain himself. He just wrapped an arm around her, helped her sit up while carefully avoiding her injury, and began to dress her, one piece of clothing at a time.
"It needs to be immobilized for at least a month. Don’t use this arm at all during that time. You can only start moving it slowly once the bone has mended."
The woman in his arms said nothing.
After tying her sash, Xie Jinbai paused, then reached out to cup her chin and make her meet his gaze. "Don’t be angry with me. You’d do well to listen, unless you want to go through this pain all over again."
Their eyes met.
Whether from enduring the pain or something else, her eyes were glistening and veiled in a thin mist, yet they were filled with unconcealed stubbornness.
Xie Jinbai’s heart softened in an instant. "Feeling wronged?"
’He wanted to comfort her.’
But Cui Lingyao was having none of it. She sneered, "Even if I were to die from the pain, it would be my own business. Do you really need to mock me for it?"
’She was sick of his coldness, his lectures, and his sarcasm.’
’She didn’t need anyone to lecture her.’
’And she couldn’t stand that passive-aggressive look on his face!’
’She’d been in so much pain just now.’
’She’d never suffered the agony of having a bone set in two lifetimes.’
’And he hadn’t shown an ounce of pity, had he? All he did was mock her.’
’So why was he pretending to be concerned now!’
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Cui Lingyao struggled to get up, but an arm clamped around her waist like an iron band.
"If I don’t take care of you, who will?"
Xie Jinbai held her and let out a humorless laugh. "Cui Lingyao, you’d better remember for the rest of your life that you’re the one who came to seduce me with that damned mission of yours, worming your way right into my heart. Otherwise, do you think I enjoy having my heart in my throat for you, unable to find a moment’s peace?"
’Who would want this?’
’If he had a choice, he wouldn’t want this either.’
’Tossing everything else aside, all for one woman.’
’The moment she’s in danger, he’s scared out of his mind, wanting to get on his knees and pray to every god in the heavens to keep her safe.’
’And what about her?’
’What does she do?’
’If she had even the slightest consideration for him, how could she have thrown her own safety to the wind to save someone else?’
"Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw you throw yourself in front of Xie Anning like a human shield? Do you know how scared I was?"
Xie Jinbai gripped her jaw, a grim chill in the depths of his eyes. "Why do you make me suffer that kind of fear again and again? Didn’t you say you liked me? Is this how you like someone? Cui Lingyao, think about it. Aren’t you being a little too cruel to me!"