Xu Ruobing held Jiang Lai’s hand tightly, a sour bitterness rising uncontrollably within her.
It surged up her head and rushed to her nose, making her eyes warm.
All the good feelings she had were shattered in that moment, replaced by an overwhelming ache for Jiang Lai.
No wonder Jiang Lai didn’t want her to take off her clothes, always wrapping herself tightly.
If she were to remove her clothes and reveal those countless scars, what kind of atmosphere would linger between them?
But who exactly left those painful marks on Jiang Lai? Xu Ruobing wanted to kill that person right then and there.
She treated Jiang Lai as if she were fragile porcelain, careful not to drop her, holding her so delicately as if afraid she’d dissolve.
Realizing this, Xu Ruobing didn’t rush to extract answers from Jiang Lai’s lips.
If Jiang Lai was willing to tell her, she would. Forcing the matter without her consent would only strain their relationship.
Jiang Lai was full of mysteries.
Xu Ruobing had secretly investigated her, mainly wanting to know who Jiang Lai’s husband was.
But… the results were blank—nothing at all.
Jiang Lai seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, leaving no trace in this World.
Even the ID used for their Contract was newly issued, just in these few days.
During this time, Xu Ruobing glanced through all available information about Jiang Lai.
The only person connected to Jiang Lai was her current housemate—her so-called “younger sister” Chi Yingyu.
Beyond that, she had no other ties.
More importantly, this “younger sister” wasn’t actually her biological sibling.
By age, she could even be considered Jiang Lai’s elder sister.
When they first met, Jiang Lai told her she was already married.
Xu Ruobing had seen the mark left by a ring on Jiang Lai’s ring finger—a mark that still remained visible now.
Gently, Xu Ruobing took Jiang Lai’s left hand and looked at the distinct discoloration on her ring finger.
From start to finish, she never doubted the fact that Jiang Lai was married.
But everything now kept indicating that Jiang Lai was unmarried.
And from their interactions and closeness during this time, Xu Ruobing was certain Jiang Lai had hardly been with anyone else.
Just moments ago, Jiang Lai bit her lip, her expression melting in her eyes, stirring Xu Ruobing’s heart deeply.
Every reaction Jiang Lai had was intense—once she almost squeezed her to suffocation.
Even without crossing the final line, relying on some simple techniques, Xu Ruobing had seen Jiang Lai’s most alluring side.
Scenes like these replayed in her mind like a movie she’d never forget.
Luckily, she hadn’t crossed that last step.
Despite Jiang Lai’s calm and mature appearance full of feminine charm, her body told a different story—she was naive, never having endured such things before.
But those scars on her body—just by looking at the ones that had already faded by half—Xu Ruobing could guess the kinds of torment Jiang Lai had suffered.
Who did this? Why claim to have a family if she was unmarried?
There were too many contradictions.
Xu Ruobing couldn’t make sense of it all and turned her attention to Chi Yingyu.
Chi Yingyu, as the only person connected to Jiang Lai, was the key to unraveling these mysteries and likely the culprit behind Jiang Lai’s scars.
Chi Yingyu’s gaze at Jiang Lai was full of restraint, but deep within her eyes burned a fervent desire and a fiercely suppressed possessiveness.
Even as an outsider, Xu Ruobing could sense it.
Xu Ruobing quickly helped Jiang Lai wash up and had her change into her own clothes.
Then she carried Jiang Lai to another clean bedroom.
The bed in the room they had been in was already ruined, no longer fit for sleeping.
Gently placing Jiang Lai on the bed, Xu Ruobing stared blankly at her peaceful sleeping face, her chest suddenly pounding loudly—especially noticeable in the stillness of the night.
She hurriedly pressed her hand to her chest, took a sip of cool water, and then lay down beside Jiang Lai.
Turning to lie on her side, she quietly watched Jiang Lai’s calm face, finally feeling a sense of relief.
“I will protect you…………..”
Last night was the best sleep Jiang Lai had had in a long time.
When she woke in the morning, she felt completely refreshed, even invigorated.
“What time is it now?”
Jiang Lai propped up her weak body.
Yesterday she had been dazed the whole time; only now could she carefully notice the scent in the room—a faint, refreshing fragrance of begonia flowers, so similar to Xu Ruobing’s own scent.
She glanced at the soft sleepwear she was wearing and recalled how, in a daze yesterday, she had let Xu Ruobing bathe her.
That meant Xu Ruobing must have seen the scars on her body.
Nervous, Jiang Lai got out of bed.
As she swayed, her long hair spilled out from her collar, exuding a mature beauty quite different from her cool, distant face.
When she stepped slowly out of the room in slippers, the scene she saw was completely different from when she entered yesterday.
The once pristine and untouched Living Room and Kitchen were now cluttered with all kinds of things.
Xu Ruobing, already up long before her, was busily running around the kitchen preparing breakfast.
Seeing her so frantic, almost overwhelmed, Jiang Lai couldn’t help but step forward.
“Ruobing, what are you preparing now?”
“I’m making sandwiches and fried eggs……………….”
“Hm?”
If it was just something simple like that, was it necessary to mess the kitchen up this much?
It seemed like there was also a vegetable salad in preparation… but why had so many good ingredients been picked out?
Even the eggs—next to each bowl was some egg mixture.
Some eggs appeared to have been cracked right into the bowls, while others had bits of shell accidentally dropped in and were set aside.
Seeing this, Jiang Lai roughly understood that Xu Ruobing had probably never cooked before.
“Let me help! You put these aside, I’ll quickly wash up and come help.”
Hearing this, Xu Ruobing looked at the mess she had made and realized she was completely out of her depth in cooking.
It had looked so simple on her phone, but in reality, it was a disaster.
Once Xu Ruobing admitted defeat, she stopped what she was doing and began tidying up the kitchen she had messed up.
When Jiang Lai finished washing in the Bathroom and came out, she found Xu Ruobing sitting on a stool by the kitchen, looking exactly like a well-behaved student ready to study.
At this moment, the Xu Ruobing from last night—the one who had nearly driven her to ecstasy with her intoxicating presence—was gone.
Instead, she sat there refined and elegant, every movement proper and graceful, like a noble lady stepped out from a classical painting.
The stark contrast between this and yesterday only made Jiang Lai even more fascinated.
Xu Ruobing was truly perfect to the extreme.
She had prepared everything meticulously.
Jiang Lai had noticed upon entering the Bathroom that there was no Electric Toothbrush of her own.
But just as the thought crossed her mind, she saw a brand new Electric Toothbrush and a Cup for rinsing placed on the Bathroom cabinet.
Both the toothbrush and the Cup had waterproof Name Tags stuck on them, bearing her name.
Had Xu Ruobing really treated her like a kindergartener?
Though Jiang Lai thought this, she couldn’t help but gently rub the waterproof label bearing her name with her fingertips as she brushed.
Xu Ruobing’s handwriting was exquisite, just like her—beautiful in every way.