Chapter 41
After dinner, Huo Youqiao began to change Ye Zhi’s dressing.
Sitting close to each other again, Ye Zhi felt unsure of where to put his hands and feet. The warmth on his cheeks seemed impossible to dissipate. He suspected that even his ears might be turning red, but there was nothing he could do about it. He avoided the other’s gaze and tried not to show any inappropriate behavior.
But when the scent of wood leaves entered his nostrils, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
His heartbeat quickened.
“It might sting a bit, bear with it,” Huo Youqiao said earnestly, his expression completely normal, as if it were the most natural thing. He reached out, and Ye Zhi’s forehead was bandaged with gauze, held in place with medical tape. Instead of tearing it off directly, Huo Youqiao used his fingertip to rub the end of the tape a few times, causing it to roll up slightly. Then, he pinched it with his fingers and slowly peeled it off.
His body temperature was high, and his fingers were warm. Ye Zhi desperately suppressed the shiver running through his body, his gaze inadvertently focusing on the other’s Adam’s apple.
Huo Youqiao was handsome, with smooth jawline and a long neck. His Adam’s apple seemed a bit larger than that of an average man, protruding with a sexy curve. When it moved slightly, Ye Zhi couldn’t help but swallow nervously, his face flushed with embarrassment.
“Does it hurt?”
As the man spoke, his Adam’s apple rolled again. Ye Zhi was mesmerized for a moment, then quickly came back to his senses, feeling both embarrassed and ashamed, and a huge sense of guilt surged in his heart. “Not… not really…”
When the gauze was completely removed, it should have hurt, but he didn’t feel anything at all. The scent of wood leaves seemed to have a numbing effect, making his mind chaotic and his heart intoxicated. Huo Youqiao seemed unaware, using a cotton swab to clean the wound for him, wiping away the bloodstains. He reassured, “It’s recovering well. It should scab over in a few days.”
“Thank you.”
After applying the ointment, the coolness eased the pain. Huo Youqiao’s hands were steady, and he quickly changed the dressing for him, then re-bandaged it.
Flattening the medical tape against the skin, his hot hands moved away from Ye Zhi, who was still feeling a bit dazed.
“Don’t touch the wound when you shower. I’ll change the dressing for you every day, and you can remove the gauze once it’s scabbed over.” After tidying up the medicine box and throwing away the used items, Huo Youqiao washed his hands before coming out again. “Rest well at home. I’m going to work.”
Ye Zhi stood up and subconsciously walked him to the entrance. Watching the man bow his head to change his shoes, Ye Zhi couldn’t help but say, “Actually, I can do it myself… You’re so busy, you don’t need to take time out to help me with these little things…”
“It’s not a little thing.” Huo Youqiao finished changing his shoes and stood up straight again, towering over Ye Zhi. His imposing presence made Ye Zhi feel even smaller. “I have a lunch break at noon, so it doesn’t delay me.”
Their eyes met for a moment, and Ye Zhi almost immediately looked away, his heart in turmoil like a thousand frogs jumping around. When he saw Huo Youqiao was about to leave, he couldn’t help but call out, “Wait…”
Huo Youqiao waited.
Ye Zhi was extremely nervous and whispered, “Your… your tie is crooked…” He had just noticed this, and he had wanted to reach out and straighten it for the other person earlier, but he felt it was inappropriate, so he held back.
Suddenly, he couldn’t hold back.
Huo Youqiao looked down. “Where?”
“I… let me fix it for you.” Ye Zhi took a step forward, reaching out to the other’s neck to straighten the crooked tie. Huo Youqiao didn’t refuse and stood still, letting Ye Zhi adjust it. After his pale hand left, Huo Youqiao whispered, “Thank you.”
“No need to be polite…” Ye Zhi was so nervous that he broke out in a cold sweat. It wasn’t until Huo Youqiao opened the door and left that he realized his behavior just now was really inappropriate.
Helping another man straighten his tie was really both abrupt and ambiguous.
That should have been the duty of a wife.
But besides nervousness, there was also a hint of uncontrollable joy in his heart.