Chapter 44 Treating the Face

Chapter 44: Healing the Face

"How... how should I punish you?" The Second Young Master was so captivating that Jian Ru found himself mesmerized.

The Second Young Master pursed his rosy lips and said, "I'll let you look at me, too."

Jian Ru gasped as the Second Young Master lifted him and laid him on the bed.

No sooner had he settled than the Second Young Master reached out. Jian Ru quickly protested, "The bed curtains, the bed curtains..."

The Second Young Master rose and drew the curtains, but the day was bright, and even with them closed, the room didn't dim much.

Jian Ru nervously kicked his legs, only for them to be firmly grasped by the Second Young Master.

Like a snake seized by its neck, no matter how he twisted, Jian Ru couldn't escape the hunter's grasp.

Jian Ru had never experienced anything like this; all the blood in his body rushed to his head.

The Second Young Master looked up at him, his voice hushed, "Xiao Ru, look at me."

Jian Ru lifted his head and saw the Second Young Master's lips, red and moist, his cheeks flushed with a rosy hue, his eyes fixed intently on him, glistening as if with unshed tears.

The sight was so breathtakingly beautiful that Jian Ru couldn't look away, yet his heart ached unbearably. He pulled at the Second Young Master's shoulders, trying to pull him up, but the Second Young Master insisted, refusing to let go.

In just a few moments, Jian Ru reached his climax. For an instant, his head buzzed, and all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat and the rush of blood through his veins.

It wasn't until the Second Young Master leaned in to kiss him that he tasted the salty tang and came back to his senses, pushing him away with muffled protests.

The Second Young Master drew back, but Jian Ru suddenly felt a hollow feeling in his heart. He lifted his head and kissed him again. They kissed for a long while before parting slightly, their lips barely touching, their breaths intertwined.

Jian Ru averted his gaze, turning his face aside slightly. He had lost control earlier and hadn't paid attention to his expression. "Was I... was I ugly just now?" The question of what posture had been seen was merely an excuse; what Jian Ru cared about most had always been this.

The Second Young Master gently nuzzled his cheek with the tip of his nose. "Not ugly."

Jian Ru bit his lip. "Liar, how could I not be ugly?" His eyes reddened. "I've long noticed you're not honest at all. You... you're so mischievous!"

The Second Young Master didn't refute it. He gently touched the scarred side of Jian Ru's face with his fingers, and Jian Ru pulled away slightly in resistance.

The Second Young Master had touched this side of his face before, but never so deliberately.

Seeing Jian Ru's reluctance, the Second Young Master moved his fingers away from his cheek and instead gently stroked Jian Ru's lips, which were slightly deformed by the scars.

Jian Ru looked at him. "Really... really not ugly?"

The Second Young Master said, "Actually, I didn’t notice."

Jian Ru flared up at once. "Then what were you paying attention to?"

The Second Young Master thought for a moment and whispered something in his ear. Jian Ru let out an "ah" and turned to look behind himself, though he couldn't see anything. His face flushed crimson. "You... you're talking nonsense!"

The Second Young Master's face also reddened. "It's true."

Jian Ru glared at him, his face flushed, then flipped over and pinned the Second Young Master to the bed, sitting on his lower abdomen. He grabbed his collar and growled in a low voice, "From now on, you're not allowed to look at whatever you want!"

The Second Young Master's Adam's apple bobbed. "I'll try my best."

The two lay on the bed for a while longer. Jian Ru reached up and touched his uneven cheek. "I... I want to ask Second Sister to look at my face."

The Second Young Master turned to look at him, his expression calm, not particularly excited, as if they were having a casual conversation. "I'll talk to her tonight when she returns from the clinic."

Jian Ru turned to look at him, "Have you been waiting for me to say this all along?"

The Second Young Master admitted without hesitation, "Yeah."

Jian Ru blinked, then rolled over and buried himself in the arms already waiting for him.

...

That evening, Jian Ru sat in Jin Rong's room, with Li Jintong accompanying him.

Jin Rong pressed her fingers into Jian Ru's face, her brows tightly furrowed. Jian Ru felt anxious, and Li Jintong gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Jin Rong looked at Jian Ru and said, "I've told you before, it's very unlikely your face will ever look completely normal again."

Jian Ru's eyelids reddened slightly. He nodded and said, "I never expected it to fully recover."

"That's good," Jin Rong said. "There's one more thing. Because so much time has passed, the shallower scars can be improved with medicinal paste, but for the more severe areas, we'll need to perform surgery—cut the skin so it can heal anew. The process will be very painful. Can you accept that?"

Jian Ru flinched. He had thought it would only require internal and external medicine, never expecting something like this.

Li Jintong's brow furrowed too as he looked at his second sister and asked, "Is it possible to avoid surgery?"

Jin Rong glanced at him, "Jian Ru doesn't understand, but you're a doctor. You need to be rational."

Li Jintong fell silent.

Jian Ru gritted his teeth and said, "I accept. I'll do whatever Second Sister says."

Li Jintong clenched his fists.

Jin Rong looked at him and said, "Xiao Ru has more resolve than you."

Li Jintong smiled bitterly, "It hasn't even started yet, and I'm already having regrets."

...

Zhao Pin stood at the entrance of his courtyard. Even with his usually calm temperament, his face darkened upon seeing the old man waiting outside.

The old man, upon seeing him, walked over with a sheepish grin and said in a hushed tone, "I was worried your wife was home, so I didn’t dare call out. I’ve been waiting here."

Zhao Pin closed his eyes briefly and said, "We had a deal: I give you the money, and that's the end of it. No more ties. Why are you coming to my home?"

Hearing this, the old man sighed deeply and said, "I don’t want to trouble you again, but Yanhong is pregnant and needs to rest. She can’t work any job, and once the child is born, we’ll have to raise it. The money's barely enough for the two of us as it is, let alone raising a child!"

Zhao Pin said, "I gave you what I owed you. What does this have to do with me?"

The old man’s expression changed, and he pointed at him, "That child is your own flesh and blood—how can you say it's got nothing to do with you? Listen here, Zhao, you're responsible for Yanhong for life. You owe her that much!"

Zhao Pin finally understood—this father and daughter never intended to settle for a one-time payment.

Zhao Pin turned aside and said, "Just go. Let me think about what to do."

Upon hearing this, the old man’s angry expression instantly shifted to an ingratiating smile. He nodded and bowed, "Master Zhao, I'll leave you be, then."

As he stepped back, he added, "I’ll come again in a week. By then, you can't just put me off like this."

Zhao Pin remained silent. Seeing this, the old man didn’t take offense. After casting an envious glance at the courtyard behind Zhao Pin, he turned and left.

After the man left, Zhao Pin pushed the door open and entered the small courtyard. He walked into the storage room, dug out an old robe and a bundle of tools from the corner, looked them over for a minute, then packed them up and hid them away again.

He sank into a crouch, burying his face in his knees.

After a long while, he finally stood up, brushed off his clothes, head still lowered, and went out.

When he arrived at the Zhao household, it was lunchtime. Elder Zhao and his wife were both at the table, but Zhao Pin's two older brothers were nowhere to be seen—only their families were eating.

Seeing Zhao Pin enter, the wife of his eldest brother stood up and said, "Young master, you're back. Have you eaten? Please join us..."

Before she could finish, her mother-in-law cut her a sharp look. The sister-in-law’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stopped speaking, biting her lip as she sat back down.

Elder Zhao glanced at Zhao Pin and said, "What brings you back today?"

Zhao Pin bowed to him and the elderly Mrs. Zhao, saying, "I have something to discuss with Father."

Mrs. Zhao glanced at her husband beside her. The old master "tsk-ed" and said, "Wait for me in the study first."

Zhao Pin obeyed and went to the study. After waiting for quite some time, Elder Zhao finally ambled in, taking his time.

As soon as the door closed, the old man’s expression darkened. "Couldn’t you have spoken outside? The old lady is going to give me hell again!"

Just as Zhao Pin was about to speak, the old master stepped closer, grabbed his wrist, and urgently asked, "Never mind that for now. How much money you got on you? Give it all to me."

Zhao Pin said, "Didn’t I just give you some silver half a month ago?"

Elder Zhao replied, "That little bit of money isn’t enough for anything. A few trips to the teahouse and it’s gone."

Zhao Pin lowered his eyes. "You know I’ve done everything I can. I have no more money to give."

The old man sneered, "How did I end up with such a stiff son? Back then, when I let you marry into the Li family, what was my goal? Making money is easy—the Li family is wealthy and influential. Just what drips from their fingers would be enough for me."

Zhao Pin raised his eyes to look at him, the whites of his eyes slightly red.

Elder Zhao lowered his head and spat in disgust, "Those Li family members are also out of their minds, running free clinics and spending money on those poor strangers."

Noticing his youngest son’s grief-stricken expression, he quickly changed his tone, putting on a loving demeanor. "Don’t blame your father. I have no choice. Your eldest brother gambles away money outside, and your second brother spends his days in the brothel. Neither of them is reliable. If I can’t rely on you, who else can I turn to?"

"And don’t blame your mother either. She may favor your two older brothers, but after all, they came from her womb. When your real mother came to the house and caused a scene, she was pregnant, and she lost the child because of the distress your real mother caused. Both of us, father and son, owe her!"