Chapter 23: Don’t Be Afraid

“Do you get injured often?”

Seeing that most of the medicines inside were for bruises and sprains, Tan Qingya’s eyes darkened slightly. She looked up at Zhou Jianghao.

“Sometimes.” Zhou Jianghao averted her gaze from Tan Qingya’s stare and awkwardly changed the subject. “President Tan probably isn’t used to dealing with this stuff. I can handle it myself.”

She didn’t realize that she had slipped back into calling her “President Tan.”

Tan Qingya’s brows furrowed. She was starting to feel a bit unhappy. “Zhou Jianghao, you’re my wife.”

They were wives, after all, yet a single form of address was enough to push her ten thousand miles away.

And she was being far too polite, too.

In the end, they just weren’t familiar enough with each other yet.

They had spent so little time together that every moment they were in the same space felt stiff and awkward.

Tan Qingya made a quick decision. “I’m going to stay here with you for the next few days.”

“What?” Zhou Jianghao froze.

She instinctively glanced back at her not-so-big bed, then at her modest apartment that wasn’t even as large as Tan Qingya’s walk-in closet.

“You’re sure?”

“Of course.”

Tan Qingya nodded casually as she applied the ointment to Zhou Jianghao’s skin.

It made sense. No matter who it was, marrying her would come as a huge shock. As the older one in the relationship, she naturally had to learn to be patient and accommodating.

Having Zhou Jianghao move straight into her place with just a suitcase would probably scare her off. Better to take it slow. Here, in Zhou Jianghao’s own territory, she ought to feel more at ease.

“My place is pretty rundown.” Zhou Jianghao’s mind was a complete fog now. She had entirely forgotten about the awkwardness of Tan Qingya applying medicine to her.

But Tan Qingya’s decisions, once made, were not open to debate. “Even if the conditions are poor, you’ve lived here for years.”

With that, she reached out and gently scraped her fingertip over the bruise on Zhou Jianghao’s knee. Her eyes darkened. “If you can manage it, why can’t I?”

They were wives, weren’t they? Sharing joys and hardships was only natural.

Her touch was feather-light. It didn’t hurt—instead, it sent waves of itchiness radiating out from that small spot.

Zhou Jianghao pulled her leg back a little and fell silent.

She figured Tan Qingya would eventually back off. Staying over tonight was probably inevitable, but with her apartment’s conditions, how could she make things more comfortable for her?

As she pondered this, her foot was suddenly lifted.

“Ah—”

She yelped in surprise. A rare flicker of alarm crossed her usually impassive face. Tan Qingya had grabbed her ankle to lift it, causing Zhou Jianghao to instinctively lean back, bracing her hands on the bed as her eyes widened.

Tan Qingya stared for a few seconds before she couldn’t help but ask, “Did I scare you?”

It was a rhetorical question.

So Tan Qingya didn’t wait for an answer. She lowered her head again and looked at the swollen big toe, wincing on her behalf. “You banged your foot.”

There was a natural elegance in her every movement, making even such a bold action feel perfectly appropriate.

Poised and untainted by any ulterior motives.

Zhou Jianghao’s faint embarrassment began to fade. She nodded. “Yeah.”

The injury on her foot was much trickier to treat. It was a nasty hit—the toenail had torn halfway off, exposing the tender pink flesh beneath, with blood still slowly seeping out.

“We need to go to the hospital.” As she spoke, Tan Qingya glanced at the small wardrobe in the room. “Mind if I borrow some clothes?”

“N-No… I don’t mind.” Zhou Jianghao shook her head, then added after a pause, “We don’t need to go to the hospital. I can handle it myself.”

She reached for the medicine, but her wrist was quickly caught.

“Be good.”

Tan Qingya’s expression was utterly serious.

Zhou Jianghao’s face flushed red in an instant.

She hastily looked away, her ears burning. She had no idea what expression to make or what to say in response to those words, laced with intimacy and indulgence.

Her usually stoic face was now filled with bewilderment and a hint of unmistakable shyness.

But Tan Qingya didn’t notice. Her attention was fixed on the injury to Zhou Jianghao’s foot.

Without letting Zhou Jianghao get out of bed, she quickly rummaged through the wardrobe and picked out something she could wear.

Zhou Jianghao didn’t own anything unworn, but for once, Tan Qingya’s usual germaphobia didn’t flare up. With a calm expression, she slipped into the clothes and bent down toward Zhou Jianghao.

As one arm wrapped around Zhou Jianghao’s waist, her shoulder was gently pushed back, creating a bit of distance.

“What is it?” Tan Qingya asked.

“I can walk on my own.” Zhou Jianghao had regained her composure. Her tone was cool again, though the red tips of her ears betrayed her.

“With that toenail half hanging off?” Tan Qingya raised a brow, her gaze steady and intense.

Zhou Jianghao fell silent.

She got the sense that Tan Qingya was a little angry.

Cautiously, she glanced up, peeking for just a few seconds. Before she could look away, Tan Qingya suddenly sighed. “I work out year-round—I’ve got plenty of strength. Don’t be afraid.”

“…”

That wasn’t what she meant.

But Tan Qingya seemed insistent. There was no point in arguing, so Zhou Jianghao simply gave a small nod of acquiescence. “Okay.”

Tan Qingya bent down toward her again.

Zhou Jianghao couldn’t help holding her breath. Her usually steady heart pounded with unprecedented force and speed.

A sudden sense of weightlessness hit her as Tan Qingya scooped her up in a princess carry. Zhou Jianghao went rigid in her arms. With every breath, she was enveloped in Tan Qingya’s scent.

Even though Tan Qingya was wearing her clothes right now, that unique aura of hers was as impossible to ignore as ever.

It wasn’t off-putting. If anything, it brought an inexplicable sense of security.

But they were on the sixth floor, and Tan Qingya was wearing high heels.

The realization hit her out of nowhere, and she stiffened further, squirming a bit. “I…”

Before she could finish, she felt Tan Qingya suddenly squat down halfway while holding her. Now she was sitting on Tan Qingya’s lap, half-draped over her long limbs in an awkward perch.

They were pressed very close together.

She could feel the softness of Tan Qingya’s chest flush against her, along with the occasional hot breath grazing her face or neck.

The air felt thin.

She could barely breathe.

Zhou Jianghao pressed her lips together, struggling to maintain her outward calm.

It wasn’t until a pair of stylish high heels appeared before her eyes that Zhou Jianghao snapped back to reality. In truth, only a few seconds had passed, but it felt like an eternity.

“Grab those for me.”

“…Okay.”

With one stiff hand, she picked up the high heels. The other clutched at her own clothes. Every step Tan Qingya took down the stairs filled her with dread.

She was afraid they would both tumble down.

Afraid some sharp object on the ground would cut Tan Qingya’s delicate feet.

Fortunately, they made it without incident.

Tan Qingya kept a pair of driving slippers in her car. After settling Zhou Jianghao into the passenger seat, she carefully wiped the dirt from her soles with a wet wipe and slipped on the slippers.

As she put the wipe away, she noticed the gift she had prepared for Zhou Jianghao still sitting in the car.

She pulled it out and handed it over. “The souvenir from my last business trip.”

The car glided smoothly along the road.

Zhou Jianghao carefully opened the exquisite box. The moment she saw what was inside, she frowned.

It was a gorgeous necklace.

Expensive, at first glance.

But thoroughly impractical for her. She had no occasions to wear it, no outfits that would suit it.

“Don’t like it?”

Catching Zhou Jianghao’s reaction out of the corner of her eye, Tan Qingya glanced at the necklace.

It was a beautiful piece—plenty of people coveted it. She had gone to great lengths to have Chen Chen bid it for her.

Zhou Jianghao said, “I like it… but it’s not right for me.”

Whether that “like” was genuine politeness was debatable, but it really didn’t suit Zhou Jianghao. There was truth to that.

She hadn’t thought it through.

Neither she nor Chen Chen had realized that Zhou Jianghao was nothing like the women in their circles.

Something so flashy and impractical would only burden her.

“It was thoughtless of me,” Tan Qingya admitted. “You can play with it for now. I’ll pick out something new later.”

After a pause, she added softly, “Or you can give it back to me for safekeeping. We can keep it at home and you can wear it whenever the occasion arises.”

The necklace was clearly valuable. Holding onto it might make Zhou Jianghao uneasy, but leaving it at home would probably put her more at ease.

Sure enough, Zhou Jianghao visibly relaxed. She closed the box and set it back down, her tone lighter with relief. “Okay.”

It was like she’d offloaded a hot potato.