Chapter 3

The Wei family prepared a semi-detached villa in the suburbs as our marital home. It was so spacious that any one of its bathrooms was larger than the maid’s room I had occupied in the Xu house.

That night, after the guests left, Wei Yuxi stood beneath the broad double staircase and sighed soundlessly.

“What’s wrong?”

He held a polished wenge-wood cane, but only shook his head and remained at the foot of the stairs.

Suddenly, I understood what he could not bring himself to say.

The house was certainly impressive. Its staggered levels and countless steps were meant to give the space dimension. Yet although the Wei family knew a blind man would live here, they had not considered his needs at all.

I tried, “Why don’t you show me around?”

“Show you around?”

He repeated my words. Cold, artificial light flashed across his plain glasses.

“Yes. Such a big house with only two people in it is a little frightening.”

His expression softened. After a moment, he moved his cane aside and took my hand tightly. “All right. Let’s explore it together.”

Hand in hand, we walked both floors several times. He listened quietly whenever I emphasized the position of a step or landing. He truly was hard to dislike.

The villa had plenty of guest rooms, which suited us perfectly. We had no foundation of affection, so sharing a bed was out of the question.

Wei Yuxi wished me good night and entered the master bedroom with his cane. Soon, water rushed through the pipes next door.

I was lying against my headboard scrolling through my phone when something struck the wall with a dull thud.

It sounded like an object hitting the floor.

“Wei Yuxi?”

There was no answer.

A bad feeling rose in me. I took my phone and pushed open the master bedroom door. Water still ran in the bathroom, but from inside came a muffled groan.

“I’m… fine.”

“What happened?”

He went silent again.

I knocked carefully. “Don’t worry. If you’re not decent, I promise I won’t look closely.”

After a long pause, he murmured assent.

I opened the door. He was sitting against the outer rim of the tub, a red mark on his forehead. His shirt was soaked through and clung translucently to his body. He still wore equally drenched shorts.

I glanced once, then quickly looked away as I helped him up.

“I spilled the body wash…”

His distracted murmur and the slippery tile beneath my feet explained the injury.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?”

At my careful concern, he immediately pulled away. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

But through the wet cloth over his shoulder, I could see a broad red bruise across his back. “Your back is hurt too. Let me look.”

“No. There’s really no need…”

His stubborn pride made me impatient. I planted both hands on his shoulders. “Behave.”

“If your arm is badly injured too, it will affect how you use your cane.”

Perhaps I sounded too forceful. Wei Yuxi actually stopped resisting and let me peel away his wet shirt. As expected, his right shoulder and upper arm were already red and swollen.

I hurried downstairs for the first-aid kit. I warmed a cotton swab, applied medicated safflower oil, then used the web of my thumb to massage the injured muscles. My warm breath brushed his neck and back again and again.

Man or not, the posture brought a flush of mingled shame and desire to his pale face, as if a soft brush dipped in diluted rouge had swept from the corners of his eyes to his ears. Still embarrassed, he tried to make conversation.

“Xu Ye, did you study nursing?”

“Call me Little Leaf.”

“Little Leaf, you seem practiced.”

“I used to do this for my mother. She worked with her hands all the time, so she sometimes strained her muscles.”

“Worked with her hands?”

His reflexive question made me realize my mistake. I hurriedly covered it. “Office workers get lumbar strain too, don’t they?”

“Right.”

He asked no more. He sat quietly in the tub and endured my heavy-handed massage. When I finished and left with sweat beading my forehead, he still thanked me softly.

The Xu family’s new son-in-law was strange.

Strangely lovable.

Despite the exhausting day, I went to bed in a good mood. Even some of the humiliation of being forced into marriage had faded.