Chapter 126 What a Year It Has Been (1/2)

Xin Qing wanted to poke him, though she did not have the strength to do even that. Ying Qingcang moved his face closer. ”Want to kiss me?”

”Go... Go away!” Xin Qing glared at him and started coughing. Ying Qingcang did not tease her again after that. ”When you're better, I'll do anything you want! Now you just have to lie down and don't move.”

This was the longest time that Xin Qing had to stay in a hospital. The worst of her wounds was so deep that even her bones were visible through its opening. One of the wounds was found behind her ear, which, according to the doctor, might leave a scar even after plastic surgery. When Zhang Mi found out about it, she urged everyone not to tell Xin Qing no matter what. After all, if the wound was behind her ear, she would never be able to see it anyway.

Ying Qingcang did not care much about it at all. Even if Xin Qing's body was covered in scars, she would still be his. But after being educated by Zhang Mi and Young Master Shen, even he was starting to feel afraid. Women most definitely cared about their appearances, especially a woman as beautiful as Xin Qing. If she ever found out about her scars, she would no doubt be crushed. That was why they had kept Xin Qing in the dark regarding the scar behind her ear.

All her wounds had begun closing up during the past few days. As a result, Xin Qing felt itchy all over. The doctor was worried that she might scratch her wounds, so they had her wearing a white mitten, which was round and shaped like cat claws.

”How did we escape that place?” Xin Qing asked. She had been dying to ask for days. Ying Qingcang had been glowering a lot recently. He was still not allowed to hug Xin Qing. Whenever he touched her, Xin Qing would complain of itchiness. All he could do was holding her hand everyday and give her light kisses. But today, even her hands were wrapped up in those mitts. In response to her question, Ying Qingcang covered Xin Qing's lips viciously and shoved his tongue into her mouth. He sucked forcefully and endlessly until Xin Qing, who was now sporting a red face, was out of breath and started pounding him with her fists.

”After so long and you still don't know how to breath?” Ying Qingcang asked in disappointment. ”When you're better, I'll give you swimming lessons.”

Xin Qing covered her lips which were red and slightly swollen. ”What does swimming have to do with this?”

Ying Qingcang rolled his eyes. ”You'll learn how to breath.” Then, seeing the blush on Xin Qing's face, Ying Qingcang could not help himself and kissed her a few more times. Suddenly, Xin Qing pushed him away. ”Have the scars on my face healed up?” She asked.

”Not yet. Don't touch it.” Ying Qingcang gave her face a sidelong glance. Yesterday, when Xin Qing was asleep, he had secretly checked out the scar behind her ear. The scar was dark-brown in color. It looked as if a worm was living under her skin. Ying Qingcang did not find it ugly. He was just worried that Xin Qing would feel devastated if the scar never faded.

”Find me a mirror!” Xin Qing said, looking at him. She knew that the whip had hit her in the face. When she saw the reddish wounds on her arms, she dared not imagine if that was how her face would look like.

Ying Qingcang hesitated briefly, and then said, ”Just look when they're healed.”

”No.” Xin Qing shook her head. ”I want to look now.”

Ying Qingcang stroke her face. ”Fine,” he said. ”I'll go get a mirror.”

When Xin Qing held the mirror in her hands, she lost the courage to take a peek.

”Do the scars on my face look the same as the ones on my arms?” She asked Ying Qingcang.

Ying Qingcang shook his head. ”They aren't that serious.”

Xin Qing clenched her teeth and slowly raised the mirror. She saw a scar across her left cheek. It was light-red in color. Two more were on her forehead, though the color of those was even lighter. She sighed in relief. It was much better than she expected.

”The ones on your forehead will definitely fade. But I'm not sure if the one on my cheek won't leave a scar.” Lowering the mirror, she asked, ”I've become so ugly, how can you even bring yourself to kiss me?”

Ying Qingcang sighed in relief. Xin Qing did not find out about the one at the back of her ear. Ying Qingcang was not too happy when he heard Xin Qing's remark. ”What's that supposed to mean? It's not like I like you because of your face. I told you, even if you turn into ash, you'll still be my woman.” He hugged her gently and spoke softly, ”Every single scar on your body is a reminder that I hadn't protected you, that I had let you get hurt. It's a reminder that from now on I'll bind you to my side and put a stop to anything that threatens you.”

Xin Qing wanted to cry. But the doctor had told her earlier that tears would affect the healing of her scars, so she held back her tears. She sniffed and raised her head from Ying Qingcang's chest. ”Those are your own words. So you can't abandon me even when I turn into an ugly clown later!”

”Yeah!” Ying Qingcang nodded emphatically and then kissed her forehead.

Only then did Xin Qing feel at peace. Suddenly, she remembered her first question and tugged at his sleeve. ”You still haven't told me how we escaped!”

”I didn't remember much about my childhood, so I called the old man. He told me that they had dug an underground tunnel in order to save me from the house that year. That tunnel is still in good shape even until now.”

”So your people had been hiding in the tunnel?” Xin Qing felt a little bit surprised that everything turned out to be that simple. If William ever found out about this, he would have felt that he had died in vain. ”He... He's dead, right?”

Ying Qingcang nodded. ”He's dead. The two corpses were burnt to crisps.”

”It's really a waste for Dianne to die.” Xin Qing thought about that silly girl. ”She gave her love to that kind of man, and yet in the end, she still paid for it with her life.”

At the thought, Xin Qing felt very lucky indeed. This time, she took the initiative to kiss Ying Qingcang. ”Thank you! For allowing me to give my love to someone worthy of loving.”

”It's good that you know now. If you ever try to run away again, I'll break both of your legs,” Ying Qingcang said in a fierce tone, though his eyes were filled with warmth and tenderness. Xin Qing chuckled and buried her face back into his chest.

The door flew open when Zhang Mi kicked it. ”Say, are you guys done acting all mushy and maudlin? I've been standing at the door for ten minutes.”

”I couldn't stop her. You can kick her out!” Young Master Shen trailed after Zhang Mi, shrugging.

Xin Qing hugged Ying Qingcang, feeling completely unabashed. ”I could act mushy for a lifetime and it still wouldn't be enough!”

”Tsk, tsk... Even you face had gotten thicker after you cheated death.”