Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 56: It Hurt More Than Ever Before

　　“…Do I really just pull it out like this?”

　　When she asked, An Jiu's voice was trembling.

　　“Do it.” The man's voice came from in front of her, flat and calm, as if he were just saying, Did you eat yet?

　　An Jiu licked her dry lips and carefully reached for the arrow shaft, gently wrapping her fingers around it.

　　“Then… I’m pulling it out?”

　　“Mm.”

　　Clenching her teeth, An Jiu noticed the cold sweat forming on the man’s temple. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and with a firm tug, yanked the arrow embedded deep in his flesh.

　　Pfft — a soft sound echoed, and blood gushed out instantly.

The man, sitting with his back to her, trembled slightly and let out a muffled grunt.

　　Just as An Jiu was about to sigh in relief, her eyes flew wide open the next second.

　　“This arrow is poisoned!” she blurted out.

　　She still held the short arrow in her hand. The sharp arrowhead glinted coldly, but what caught her attention the most was the faint blue sheen coating its edge.

　　Just one look, and it was obvious this was a lethal poison—such a dark blue hue could never come from an ordinary toxin!

　　An Jiu was instantly overwhelmed with panic. The final boss can’t die here, right? What about my strategy mission? How am I supposed to get home if he dies?!

　　The next moment, Pei Ji shifted slightly. His skin was so pale it made his dark brows and eyes stand out even more, as if painted in bold strokes of ink.

　　His expression remained unchanged—no pain, no panic. In fact, when he looked at An Jiu, there was even a hint of reassurance in his eyes.

　　“Why are you scared? I won’t die,” he said calmly.

　　The girl in front of him looked frozen in place, her pretty peach blossom eyes glimmering with a layer of watery mist, her pupils visibly trembling.

　　It took her a few moments to react to his words. She sniffled and asked, “R-really? You won’t?”

　　“I won’t. This poison can’t kill me.” The man’s dark eyes curved slightly. No matter how deadly the poison, it lost its effect inside his body—because what flowed in him was already the most venomous toxin in existence.

　　After a pause, he added, “Alright. You can go out now.”

　　An Jiu blinked in surprise, instinctively asking, “Go out and do what?”

　　Probably due to excessive blood loss, Pei Ji’s voice carried a trace of weakness as he spoke slowly, “I need to apply medicine to the wound. It’s… inconvenient with you here.”

　　Applying medicine meant taking off clothes. With just the two of them—an unmarried man and woman—it really wasn’t proper by any standard.

　　But when the girl heard this, her brows shot up, and she protested with a look of disapproval: “No way, I’m not leaving! You got hurt because of me—how could I just abandon you? Besides, the wound’s on your back. How are you going to reach it?”

　　Pei Ji was momentarily stunned and hadn’t even answered when An Jiu already marched over boldly to his front, reaching out as she spoke:

　　“Don’t be embarrassed. You’re the patient right now, so forget about the rules. I’ll help you apply the medicine.”

　　Pei Ji: “W-wait—”

　　“Oh, come on, what’s a grown man being shy for?” The girl grumbled as she forcibly tugged at his waistband.

　　Pei Ji happened to be weak at the moment, plus he had to keep up the act of being crippled in front of her, so he had no strength to resist at all.

　　One foot on the edge of the bed and the other firmly on the ground, the girl pressed a hand against the chest of the white-clad young master, pinning him in place. Her other hand worked swiftly at his belt. With pale, nimble fingers, she gave a twist, and the white sash came undone in a flash.

　　As the belt fell, his once-tidy robes fell open, revealing his slender collarbone and a small portion of flawless chest.

　　Pei Ji's face was originally extremely pale, but now his ears turned red because of her.

　　“Y-you stop that! Don’t pull—I’ll do it myself!”

　　His long lashes trembled like leaves in the wind, clearly agitated by her boldness.

　　Such shameless behavior—what had Minister An taught this girl?!

　　Seeing the formerly calm and elegant young man’s face turn red with suppressed anger, his eyes and brows brimming with fury, An Jiu finally relented.

　　“Alright, alright. You do it yourself. Once you’re done, I’ll apply the medicine.”

　　With that, she backed up two steps and gave him space.

　　Pei Ji: “…”

　　His jaw clenched tightly as he stared at the girl who was now blinking innocently at him. His Adam’s apple bobbed once, and he said in a low, hoarse voice, “Turn around.”

　　An Jiu blinked and obediently turned away.

　　Rustling sounds came from behind her—the faint friction of fabric shifting.

　　A smile played on her face as she grumbled under her breath, “Pei Ji, I’m telling you, don’t be so uptight. It’s not like I’m into you. Even if I did see something, so what? We’re clean—we’re not telling anyone. It’s not a big deal.”

　　Suddenly, all sound behind her ceased. Not a single rustle remained.

　　Oblivious, An Jiu kept chattering, “What are you scared of, huh? Afraid I’ll ask you to take responsibility? Please, I’m not that kind of girl—and it’s not like I like you or anything…”

　　She went on and on. After a short silence, the rustling resumed, and things seemed to return to normal.

　　Pei Ji never responded, and An Jiu didn’t think much of it—until she heard a quiet “Alright.”

　　Then, she turned around to look.

　　Pei Ji was half-sitting at the head of the bed, turned sideways toward the wall, exposing his injured shoulder.

　　He had a thin blanket draped over him, covering everything from his chest down tightly, leaving only one shoulder bare.

　　An Jiu: “...”

　　Good grief, why did it feel like he was the innocent maiden here?

　　An Jiu froze for a second, then quickly came back to her senses and stepped forward to the bedside.

　　The man’s skin was white and smooth like jade, but on it was a coin-sized wound. The flesh around it was torn and bloody—evidence of the barbed arrow that had just been yanked out.

　　After the arrow was removed, the bleeding had mostly stopped, and now only a few tiny beads of blood were oozing out.

　　Even so, the wound still looked terrifying. An Jiu couldn’t help but get goosebumps all over.

　　She sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively lowered her voice, whispering, “Pei Ji, um… what should I do now?”

　　From her angle, she could only see the side of his face. His eyes were slightly closed, black hair falling to one side and draping across his chest, covering half his collarbone.

　　His jawline was refined, but his lips were pressed into a faint line, giving off a cold aura that said keep away.

　　Hearing her question, he didn’t open his eyes and responded calmly, “Get some gauze from the medicine box, wet it, and wipe off the blood.”

　　“Okay,” An Jiu nodded quickly and followed his instructions.

　　She found the gauze in the medicine box, but there was no water in the room—clearly, no one had lived here in a while. She had to run outside to the courtyard to find a well and haul up a bucket of water herself.

　　By the time she returned with the damp cloth, a lot of time had passed. Pei Ji was still leaning against the bed, his elegant face pale to the point of translucency.

　　An Jiu felt a little guilty and quickly began to clean the blood around the wound.

　　But after just a couple of wipes, Pei Ji parted his lips slightly, “Use more force.”

　　“But…” She wanted to say that if she scrubbed harder, the barely-coagulated wound might start bleeding again.

　　Before she could finish, the white-robed young man furrowed his brows, his voice icy: “Can’t even handle something this simple?”

　　The moment the words left his mouth, he felt the cloth pause against his shoulder.

　　He realized he’d been too harsh.

　　This spoiled young lady had never taken a scolding in her life—he’d always indulged her and never said a single harsh word.

　　And yet now, he couldn’t seem to control his temper.

　　Maybe it was because her attitude toward him had changed?

　　This woman didn’t have many virtues, but her sense of gratitude was one thing that stood out.

　　Today, because he saved her, she had immediately changed her tune. Usually, he was the one taking care of her, accommodating her—but today, the roles had reversed. Now she was the one taking care of him. It felt like the tables had turned.

　　Pei Ji knew deep down that her opinion of him hadn’t actually changed—just like she said earlier.

　　She didn’t like him. Wouldn’t ever like him.

　　To her, he was just her savior. Nothing more.

　　With that in mind, Pei Ji finally let go of his reservations, sitting still and calmly allowing the young miss to continue tending to his wounds.

　　So what if he was harsh? She didn’t like him anyway. A little more harshness—what difference would it make?

　　The hand on his back began to press harder. Waves of searing pain tore through him. The wound must’ve reopened—he could feel a warm liquid trickling from the source of the pain, sliding down his spine and soaking into the fabric beneath him.

　　Pei Ji was no stranger to pain; he’d long since grown used to the agony of poison flaring up in his body. Compared to that, this level of pain wasn’t hard to endure. In fact, the sharp stabs of pain actually helped distract him from the heavy suffocation in his chest.

　　His eyes fluttered slightly shut, and the harsh tension between his brows gradually eased.

　　Then suddenly, he felt something—one drop, two drops—fall onto his shoulder. Warm, soft, like water.

　　At the same time, the girl’s breathing grew slightly hurried.

　　At first, Pei Ji didn’t register what it was.

　　But he was quick-witted. In the blink of an eye, he guessed where that warm liquid had come from.

　　And in that instant, his mind went completely blank.

　　The warmth that touched his shoulder suddenly seemed to scorch like fire, searing deep into his heart and leaving behind marks he couldn’t ignore.

　　The white-robed young man abruptly opened his eyes and turned his head.

　　The girl stood beside the bed, head slightly bowed, one hand gripping the gauze, the other wiping messily at her face.

　　Her small, thin shoulders trembled. A crystalline teardrop clung to the tip of her delicate chin, trembling as if about to fall.

　　Startled by Pei Ji’s sudden movement, her wiping hand froze mid-air. She instinctively looked up.

　　Those beautiful peach blossom eyes were brimming with tears, glowing like stars reflected on the surface of a lake.

　　Her eyes were red, and so was the tip of her dainty nose. Her teeth bit into her red lips, and she didn’t make a single sound.

　　Pei Ji had seen An Jiu cry before—more than once, in fact.

　　She’d cried when he pricked her with a needle, cried when she bumped into things on her own.

　　Once, a pickpocket stole her coin pouch on the street, and she burst into tears right there in public, furious and heartbroken.

　　Every time she cried, it was loud and chaotic—wailing, throwing a fit, like a spoiled child who had to make sure the whole world knew just how wronged she felt.

　　This time, she didn’t make a sound—she cried in utter silence, her tears falling quietly and gently.

　　Yet somehow, it hurt more than all the times before.

　　Pei Ji’s gaze suddenly darkened. He couldn’t help himself—his hand reached out on its own, and his slender fingertips brushed the corner of her reddened eye, gently wiping away a shimmering tear.

　　It clearly wasn’t hot, yet his fingers curled instinctively, as if he’d been burned.

　　The girl seemed startled by his sudden gesture and stood there frozen, stunned, forgetting to move away.

　　“…Why are you crying?”

　　He stared at her deeply, lips pressed in a thin line, looking vaguely flustered as he said in a low voice, “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that just now. I was wrong. I’m sorry… don’t cry anymore, okay?”

　　That last syllable slipped out in a low, husky whisper—like someone had taken a feather and lightly traced it along the rim of her ear.

　　Both of her delicate, pretty ears quietly flushed a deep red at the tips.

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T/N: Today, the stars have aligned… and I, your merciful translator, have TIME.

So yes—two chapters. Because An Jiu is crying, and I know you all must be dying to find out why. So as your ever-dedicated translator (who just so happens to have free time), I’ve detected this as a major cliffhanger.

But tomorrow? Nope. I’m going back to being your evil translator. Hehe.

Savor your double dose while it lasts.

—Your temporarily benevolent, soon-to-be diabolical translator~ 😈

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