Back Then, I Adored You

Wu Hao nodded his head. “I probably just injured myself by accident when I was sleeping at home today.”

“Hang on for a moment. I’ll call for the doctor.” After the nurse spoke, she turned and dashed out of the room. Wu Hao only then realized how hideous the wounds on his shoulder looked, and he wanted to follow the nurse to spare Xu Wennuan from seeing them; however, when the words came to his mouth, he suddenly changed his mind.

She’s no longer the Xu Wennuan who once viewed me as her everything. To make her really see me, she needs to see for herself how seriously injured I am. She needs to be triggered to understand my sacrifice…

The doctor quickly arrived, and Wu Hao removed his shirt in front of Xu Wennuan. When his back was facing the doctor, he secretly glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and, just as he expected, she was staring in horror at his shoulder with her lips pursed tautly. Having known her for 10 years, he knew her many tiny habits. He was well aware that her expression was in reaction to the sympathy she felt for him deep in her heart.

The doctor disinfected his wounds with alcohol, causing Wu Hao to ball up his fists in pain. As the doctor stitched up the lacerations, Wu Hao’s elbow trembled. After his wound was bandaged, the doctor and nurse left, leaving just Xu Wennuan and Wu Hao again in the room.

Wu Hao’s fists remained tightly clenched as if he had yet to recover from the pain of the stitches. He sat rigidly in the chair for a while before he looked up at the pale-faced Xu Wennuan. “I’ll go wash some grapes for you again,” he said as he got up from the chair.

“It’s alright, thanks,” Xu Wennuan replied.

As if he did not hear her speak, Wu Hao opened the cabinet with his uninjured hand, grabbed some grapes, and entered the bathroom. This time when he passed the grapes to Xu Wennuan, she didn’t react like she had before—she accepted them and gently placed the bowl on the table next to her bed.

The room was silent for a few minutes before Xu Wennuan said, “Did you injure your back when you were rescuing me last night?”

Wu Hao pursed his lips and acknowledged her softly before evading questions of how he had rescued her. Jumping to elaborate on other details, he said, “The police have arrested those men. Jiang Qianqian was the mastermind…”

Wu Hao lowered his eyes in guilt. “It’s my fault.”

No wonder. I’ve never had a feud with anyone, so it made no sense that I’d be abducted out of the blue. I was paying the price for Wu Hao’s dissolute ways…

Thankfully, nothing happened to me last night. If something had really happened, I wouldn’t be able to die in peace.

If it weren’t for Wu Hao’s injury, Xu Wennuan might have resented him but, because he had injured himself while trying to rescue her, she didn’t comment further about it.

“I’m sorry,” Wu Hao apologized immediately when he saw her remain silent. He then promised, “Don’t worry. She’ll not bother you anymore in the future.”

While Xu Wennuan did not pursue more information about the abduction, she was not so big-hearted to tell him not to worry about it. After a moment of silence, she replied, “It’s all water under the bridge. Let’s not bring it up anymore.”

Wu Hao nodded his head lightly and did not speak any further.