When Hu Cuihua swung that shovel, Zheng Yun had his back to her, speaking with the security director. By the time Xiao Xu’s warning cry of “Director Zheng, watch out!” reached him, the shovel in Hu Cuihua’s hand was already about to come crashing down on Zheng Yun’s head.

“Watch out!”

Ling’ai would later often wonder why she had thrown herself forward without a moment’s hesitation. Part of it was pure physical instinct, and part of it was because she could not bear to see him hurt. So she would rather be the one injured herself. Even if it cost her life, she would have no regrets.

Zheng Yun heard Xiao Xu’s cry and swung around — just in time to see a slender figure hurl itself into his arms as the raised shovel came down.

Zheng Yun instinctively pulled the body in his arms aside, but the shovel still caught Ling’ai on the side of her face and came down on her shoulder.

It had all happened too suddenly for Zheng Yun to push Ling’ai away in time, but that one pull had spared her from the worst of it.

“Ling’ai.” Zheng Yun was alarmed, and quickly caught her as she started to crumple. His expression shifted completely. “Are you all right?”

Ling’ai felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and her face. Inside her chest, something seemed to be reverberating in waves. Her mind was still clear, however. She looked up at his anxious expression and shook her head.

Zheng Yun gathered her up at once. “Director, to your home.”

By then, Xiao Xu had already subdued Hu Cuihua, and the two officers from the security station had restrained Wang Laoliu. The director quickly led Zheng Yun to his home and sent his wife to fetch the village’s barefoot doctor.

“How is there so much blood?” The auntie was badly frightened, both distressed and frantic.

After setting Ling’ai down, Zheng Yun found his hands wet with warmth. He checked her shoulder — there was no wound there. So where was this blood coming from…

He gently turned her face to the right. Just below her ear was a long, deep gash — a cut from the sharp edge of the shovel. That was where the blood was flowing from.

There were no words to describe what Zheng Yun felt in that moment. On that fair, smooth face, the wound was so raw and jagged — it was as though the devil were tearing at his heart.

He had been wrong. He should not have let his guard down and brought her along in the first place, and he should not have let his attention slip and given Hu Cuihua an opening.

The wound was deep. Though it was not directly on her face, it would surely leave a scar — marring her face, marking her for the rest of her life with this cruel line.

“Zheng Yun, I’m fine.” Ling’ai saw the complex expression on his face, full of remorse and pain, and could not help but give him a sweet smile. “I really am fine. My shoulder hurts a little, but my bones aren’t broken.”

At a moment like this, she was the one comforting him first. This made the emotions surging through Zheng Yun even more difficult to contain.

He took the cotton pad the auntie handed him and pressed it gently to her wound. His head was lowered, and he did not dare look her in the eye. After a moment, his voice came out low. “This place… will leave a scar.”

Ling’ai startled, and even in her effort to appear calm, a flash of distress crossed her eyes. “It will scar?”

She looked toward the auntie. “Auntie, could you bring me a mirror?”

The auntie’s heart ached. She turned and brought a mirror back.

Ling’ai tried to sit up. Zheng Yun quickly helped her. “Don’t look.”

She said nothing, and held up the mirror to examine her face. Zheng Yun’s hand was still pressed against her wound, and she could see the smear of blood on her fair face.

“It’s not so bad.” She managed a thin smile. “The wound is near my ear. If I let my hair down, it won’t show.”

“I’m sorry.” Zheng Yun said quietly and suddenly, his hand at his side clenching involuntarily.

Ling’ai was taken aback, then shook her head. “This isn’t your fault. I was the one who insisted on coming with you. What happens is mine to bear.”

“You were hurt because of me.” Zheng Yun looked up at her. “I failed to protect you.”

At the word “protect,” something seemed to light up in Ling’ai’s eyes. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she found those two words deeply, strangely stirring.

“Please don’t blame yourself — it really isn’t your fault.” Ling’ai could see his distress and grew anxious on his behalf. “It’s truly all right. Look — if I put my hair down, you can’t even see it.”

“That’s right, you can’t see it at all!” The auntie chimed in at once. “Not one bit.”

Ling’ai smiled at the auntie. “There, even Auntie says so.”

Zheng Yun gave a small nod. “No, you can’t see it.”

At that moment, the village’s barefoot doctor arrived. Zheng Yun rose immediately. “Doctor, please take a careful look at her.”

This doctor was the only person in the village capable of treating injuries. There was still some distance between here and Shun Cheng, so Zheng Yun decided to have the doctor tend to Ling’ai’s wound first.

The barefoot doctor examined Ling’ai’s face and frowned. “The wound is quite deep. I can only stop the bleeding and disinfect it for now. You really must go to a proper hospital.”

“Then just stop the bleeding first.” Zheng Yun’s heart sank at the doctor’s words.

The doctor opened his kit and removed cotton swabs soaked in antiseptic.

As the doctor treated Ling’ai’s wound, Zheng Yun stood nearby throughout. When Ling’ai’s expression showed pain, he would murmur a word of comfort. Perhaps because Zheng Yun was there, Ling’ai felt the wound somehow hurt a little less.

Once the doctor had finished, Zheng Yun paid the consultation fee.

“We’ll return to Shun Cheng now. I have a friend at the hospital there — a specialist in this kind of injury.” Zheng Yun said, “The wound needs to be sutured soon, or there’s a risk of infection.”

“All right.” Ling’ai braced herself against the bed to get up, but the movement pulled at her shoulder wound and she hissed in pain.

Zheng Yun came forward and said quietly, “Don’t push yourself.”

He bent down and picked her up, then strode briskly outside.

She was slender and slight — held in his arms, she weighed no more than a child. Zheng Yun couldn’t help but glance down at her, and Ling’ai happened at that moment to be looking up at him. Their eyes met without warning, and she tumbled into the dark depths of his gaze — like a boundless sea, wave upon wave rolling over her, surrounding her completely.

When Ling’ai realized she had been staring at him for a long while, her face flushed with embarrassment. She quickly buried her head against his chest, not daring to look again.

Xiao Xu was in the back seat keeping watch over the two suspects. Zheng Yun settled Ling’ai in the passenger seat and drove himself.

“Oh, this officer is quite something.” As the car traveled along the road, Hu Cuihua’s mouth did not rest. “He has a delicate young girl protecting him — tsk, tsk, tsk. Weren’t you so impressive when you were solving the case? He can’t even protect himself.”

“You’re a fool, too. Men are all dogs. He’s kind to you now for getting between him and that blow, but the moment he turns around, he’ll forget all about you.”

Ling’ai listened to Hu Cuihua’s words with a sense of disgust but said nothing.

“Shut your mouth.” Xiao Xu snapped, “Enough out of you.”

“I’ve already killed a man — you think I’m afraid to run my mouth?” Hu Cuihua thrust out her belly. “If you’ve got the nerve, give me a kick in the stomach. I’d like to see you…”

Before Hu Cuihua could finish, the car screeched to a sudden stop at the roadside. The force of the halt lurched her forward, and she was only saved from falling by Wang Laoliu grabbing hold of her.

Still reeling from the shock, she felt something cold press against her forehead — a pistol was aimed directly between her eyes. She stared in stunned disbelief and found Zheng Yun’s eyes locked on her, cold as a still, dark pool, threaded through with traces of killing intent.

“Hu Cuihua, you just assaulted a law enforcement officer. I am well within my rights to shoot you on the spot.” Zheng Yun’s voice was glacial. “Under the laws of Shun Cheng, insulting and assaulting an officer carry equivalent charges. Therefore, I can still execute you here and now.”

Facing Zheng Yun’s gaze, Hu Cuihua swallowed, her earlier bravado gone without a trace.

Hu Cuihua said nothing. Zheng Yun continued to stare at her coldly. Ling’ai had the distinct feeling that he truly might, in a moment of impulse, pull the trigger.

She knew what he was angry about. So she quietly tugged at his arm. “Zheng Yun…”

That soft, tentative sound seemed to carry some strange power, and the tension in Zheng Yun gradually eased. For one fleeting instant, he had truly wanted to shoot Hu Cuihua dead.

If not for her, Ling’ai’s face would not bear that scar.

“Director Zheng…” Xiao Xu called out urgently as well. “Calm down.”

In Xiao Xu’s memory, Zheng Yun had always been composed and steady. This was the first time he had ever seen him lose control like this.

Zheng Yun slowly lowered his gun and said in a cold, measured tone: “I don’t want to hear another word from you.”

Hu Cuihua felt the chill recede from her forehead, her body already damp with cold sweat. She had not doubted for a moment that this man would have shot her without hesitation.

The car continued forward. Hu Cuihua pressed her lips together and did not speak another word.

Upon arriving at Shun Cheng, Zheng Yun first delivered the two suspects to the Military Police Division and left them with Xiao Xu for processing. He then drove directly to the hospital.

Director Liu of the surgery department was Zheng Yun’s friend and a renowned specialist in trauma injuries throughout Shun Cheng.

He examined Ling’ai’s wound carefully and his expression was not reassuring. “It’s very deep, and the wound shows signs of infection. Sutures are necessary.”

Sutures meant scarring was inevitable, and Zheng Yun did not bother asking whether it would scar. “Is there any way to make the scarring less noticeable?”

“We don’t currently have that technology domestically, but I’ll do my best. While the scar cannot be removed, it can gradually be improved. With time, it will not look as pronounced as it does now.”

Before Zheng Yun could say anything more, Ling’ai had already taken the words from the doctor with a small smile: “It’s all right, Doctor. Please proceed with the sutures.”

Director Liu found himself looking at this young woman with new respect. She was quite beautiful — delicate, finely drawn features. People who looked like her were usually fiercely protective of their appearance.

He had treated far too many patients with this kind of injury, nearly all of whom had wept themselves senseless. One as composed as she was — that was rare.

He couldn’t help but glance at Zheng Yun again. In his impression, his friend had never shown such anxiety over any young woman before.

—