Chapter 12 The Wounds on the Body

Tang Su covered her mouth to barely suppress a scream, because she saw Ye Tian's body was densely covered with scars—some were long, others dot-shaped, red, purple, a spectrum of colors that marked the age of the scars, and varying shapes that indicated the different causes of injury. The three privileged young masters on the other side were equally stunned; they had seen people get chopped, fights break out, but never such a body, brimming with explosive tendon muscles, just like those of Bruce Lee.

Ye Tian stood there quietly, holding the two halves of the torn work uniform in one hand, silent as an unshakable mountain.

Lin Cheng paused for a moment, then picked up a cup of liquor from the table and drained it in one shot, then said, "The way to drink today's liquor, is not like this..."

With a "bang!" a muffled explosion, everyone turned their heads to see that Ye Tian was holding a bottle of vodka, missing a chunk, in one hand, and his other hand, dripping blood. The sharp edge of the bottle had been forcefully cleaved by his palm. Ye Tian's voice was bell-like, yet solid as a rock, "Young Master Lin, I drank this drink on behalf of Manager Tang. Matters between men should be settled by men, dragging women into this only makes one a coward." After speaking, he looked up and drank. The liquor Lin Cheng had called for was sixty-proof vodka, distilled four times and quite strong, but Ye Tian didn't hesitate for an instant. Tang Su watched the man who had always stood in front of her, his Adam's apple bobbing, and within a moment, he had finished the entire bottle without leaving a drop.

His eyes bloodshot from the alcohol, Ye Tian stood there, his upper body bare and covered with scars, holding the empty bottle in his left hand and his right hand still dripping with blood. "Ding ding ling," bits of glass fell onto the coffee table—those were spat from Ye Tian's mouth, some still stained with blood. "Young Master Lin, does this count for Manager Tang's drink?"

Lin Cheng glanced at Ye Tian and then at Tang Su, who had been shielded behind him, lowered his head and remained silent. Then he gulped down another glass of liquor, picked up the coat thrown on the sofa, put it on, and walked towards Ye Tian, "Kid, you're tough, a real man!"

The three of them left the private room, leaving only Ye Tian and Tang Su behind.

"Why, why did you do this, it's not... not your business at all..." Tang Su's words were accompanied by sobs, looking at Ye Tian's bleeding palm, she was overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness.

Ye Tian picked up the torn pieces of the uniform from the ground and wrapped them around his hand, bandaging his palm while he said, "I couldn't just let a woman take the fall."

In an instant, Tang Su burst into tears.

Even though Ye Tian repeatedly insisted it was just a minor injury, Tang Su insisted on taking him to the hospital. Ye Tian only reluctantly agreed upon knowing that it wouldn't cost him a pay cut. The shirt was from Tang Su's office, a white shirt that she handed to him under Ye Tian's odd look, to which she gave him a hefty smack on the head, "It's my dad's."

It was the same black Toyota car. Tang Su personally opened the car door for Ye Tian, which made him quite embarrassed, but embarrassed as he was, when Tang Su bent over to open the door, the glimpse of white at her chest did not escape Ye Tian's intense gaze, although Tang Su pretended not to notice, her heart still puffed up in anger, wondering how such a manly person could become so lewd in the blink of an eye.

To Ye Tian, this little injury felt no different than a mosquito bite, but Tang Su still took him to the best hospital in the city for treatment. Seeing the charge of over a thousand yuan on the bill made Ye Tian wince—this hospital was robbing him blind, but he immediately felt fortunate that he wasn't the one paying.

"Just now... thank you," Tang Su said, a sense of remorse growing inside her as she looked at Ye Tian's heavily bandaged hand. If it weren't for her calling Ye Tian over that day, none of this would have happened. All in all, it was because of her.

"It's nothing," Ye Tian said indifferently, his thoughts still preoccupied with Old Mr. Liu from Xiahuai Tree Village and the words he had told him, which he still couldn't fully comprehend.

Seeing Ye Tian's attitude, Tang Su just thought he was angry. Her guilt deepened, but she'd always been headstrong and had no idea what to do next, so she could only say "I'm sorry" once more. It wasn't until then that Ye Tian snapped back to reality. Seeing Tang Su's somewhat flushed cheeks, Ye Tian chuckled, "Manager Tang, if you really feel sorry, why not treat me to a late-night snack instead?"

"Where to?"

"There," Ye Tian gestured with his head, "Lamb skewers, you in?"

"...Okay, no... problem." Tang Su was used to solving problems with material means, and if possible, she would have liked to give Ye Tian a sum of money to ease her conscience. But what she didn't expect was that Ye Tian wanted lamb skewers.

There's a barbecue stand right across the hospital. On summer nights, having some cold beer and barbecue is nothing short of delightful, at least for the average person. However, for Tang Su, it's kind of a challenge. Watching Ye Tian devour his food, Tang Su swallowed, but when she saw flies and moths buzzing everywhere, she put down the lamb skewer she had just picked up.

"What's wrong, not to your taste? Want me to order something else for you?"

"No, no, no, go ahead and eat. Just a bit of a stomach discomfort... What's with that look in your eyes?" Tang Su's voice was somewhat guilty as she caught the amusement in Ye Tian's gaze. Knowing she was seen through, she simply nodded, "I can't eat this, it's... dirty." Tang Su pointed toward the flies that were visible everywhere.

"Then just have some drinks." Ye Tian handed her a bottle of juice, "The juice is fine, I checked—it doesn't expire until the day after tomorrow."

"Get lost!" Under the table, Tang Su gave Ye Tian a kick, which he dodged.

"Hey, I want to ask, did it hurt when you smashed that bottle?" Since she couldn't eat, Tang Su had to make conversation.

Ye Tian nodded, "It did hurt, but it was only a momentary thing. Just had to endure it. Why, do you want to try?"

Tang Su rolled her eyes at him, pausing before she asked, "Don't you feel wronged?"

"Wronged about what? I felt great giving them a beating. I never think peacefully resolving a matter is humiliating. Besides, the reality doesn't allow for it. Who were those three? Nobility and rich young masters; each one is a treasured darling at home. Messing with them would be the real trouble for myself."

"Aren't you afraid they'll retaliate against you in private?"

"Of course I'm scared," Ye Tian mumbled with his mouth full of lamb skewers, speaking equivocally, "but even if I'm scared... I have to stand up to it, right? At least I have to shield you completely. Between the two of us, you're the more valuable one. So when weighing one against the other, the choice is clear—sacrifice me, then."