The wound was on her back, so Cecilia Ye had no way to tend to it herself; she could only let Fu Zhiyie apply the ointment for her.
As he looked at the reddened skin on her back, Fu Zhiyie's face filled with guilt.
With long, slender fingers, he scooped up some ointment and gently smoothed it across Cecilia Ye's back.
Bit by bit, the cool ointment spread over her skin, soothing the pain considerably.
But recalling what Fu Zhiyie had said—that he was bound to his promise to Vivian Belle, that he would marry her no matter what—Cecilia Ye couldn't help but feel miserable.
Fu Zhiyie paused, noticing how her body trembled slightly. "Did I hurt you?" he asked.
"No," came her nasal, teary reply. Fu Zhiyie gathered her into his arms.
As her clothes slipped downward, Cecilia Ye quickly shielded her chest with her hands.
Still, Fu Zhiyie's gaze was swept by a trace of softness that escaped her hastiness, and he felt a tightness in his throat.
"You're crying and still saying it doesn’t hurt."
Her clothes hung around her waist, leaving Cecilia Ye so embarrassed her face instantly flushed red, the blush coloring even her neck and shoulders a delicate pink.
"Fu Zhiyie, get me a shirt," she whispered, barely daring to move.
Fu Zhiyie glanced down. Cecilia Ye, full of mortification, her big eyes brimming with tears, eyelashes wet, nose pink and delicate—looked just like a bullied little rabbit.
Her tiny hands couldn't even cover everything she tried to hide.
Sensing his gaze, Cecilia Ye refused to lower her hands, burying her face in his chest to hide herself.
"Fu Zhiyie, d-don't look… please… stop bullying me," she pleaded, voice quavering with grievance.
Fu Zhiyie realized he was being a bit of a brute and patted her gently on the head.
"How am I supposed to get your clothes if you're like this?"
"Then d-don’t look," Cecilia Ye hiccupped as she straightened herself up.
Fu Zhiyie looked away and went to the wardrobe, fishing out a loose, lightweight nightgown.
"Put this on. There’s still ointment on your back."
She turned away to change, wiping the tears from her face.
When she looked at Fu Zhiyie again, she noticed a long, bloody scratch cutting across his handsome brow. The blood had already coagulated.
Cecilia Ye couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Does it hurt a lot? Let me put some ointment on it for you."
Fu Zhiyie didn't think much of it—he'd have forgotten the wound if Cecilia Ye hadn’t mentioned it.
He didn’t refuse, handing her the medicine the doctor had prescribed.
Carefully, Cecilia Ye soaked a cotton swab and wiped the dried blood from his face, disinfecting the wound.
With her face so close, her gentle pink lips just inches away, Fu Zhiyie felt an impulse to reach out and touch her.
Once she finished bandaging the wound, Cecilia Ye gently ran her hand over his forehead and said softly, "Don’t upset Grandpa Rivers anymore. If there’s a problem, I’ll talk to him for you."
Fu Zhiyie and his grandfather always clashed—either this or that would set one of them off. But Cecilia Ye knew that deep down, Grandpa Rivers really did care for Fu Zhiyie.
"Mm," Fu Zhiyie replied, worry for his grandfather flickering in his eyes.
Cecilia Ye rubbed her eyes, growing sleepy.
Before long, she had dozed off, curled up under the comforter. Fu Zhiyie sat quietly by her side for a long while.
Later, they went downstairs for dinner. Grandpa Rivers and Grandma Rivers still looked displeased.
After checking on Cecilia Ye, the four of them ate in silence.
When dinner ended, the old man said sternly, "You two are staying here for now. You’re not allowed to go back to the other house."
With that, Grandpa Rivers stormed upstairs, leaving Fu Zhiyie to quietly agree by saying nothing at all.
Their first day back had passed in a mess like this.
*
The next few days, they stayed at the old family home. Fu Zhiyie went to the company during the day, returning to sleep at night.
Vivian Belle didn't dare set foot in the old house, so for once, Cecilia Ye's life was peaceful.
She spent her days accompanying Grandpa Rivers and Grandma Rivers on walks and cooking them delicious meals.
Cecilia Ye’s mood improved, and her injuries slowly healed.
Though she still sometimes heard Vivian Belle’s phone calls to Fu Zhiyie, she forced herself not to care.
Grandpa Rivers still hadn’t said a word about the divorce, and for some reason, Fu Zhiyie never brought it up again either.
One day, Fu Zhiyie came home unusually early. As Cecilia Ye emerged from her shower, she saw him answering a phone call.
She didn’t need to guess to know it was Vivian Belle again.
Fu Zhiyie’s impatience was obvious; after a few words, his expression turned urgent.
He hung up, grabbed his suit jacket, brushed past Cecilia Ye, and hurried out the door.
She stood stunned, wanting to ask what was wrong, but Fu Zhiyie was already far away.
It was as if she were invisible, utterly ignored by him.
The sound of a car engine revved up outside; rushing to the window, she watched as the car sped off through the gates.
She had never seen such anxiety or worry on Fu Zhiyie’s face—only Vivian Belle could make him like that.
A cold draft slipped in through the window and Cecilia Ye shivered.
She knew Vivian Belle was the only one in Fu Zhiyie's heart, but she couldn’t stop herself from feeling jealous, from feeling hurt.
Elsewhere, Fu Zhiyie had arrived at the hospital.
He pushed open the ward door to find Vivian Belle lying in bed, her wrist swaddled thickly in gauze.
Beside her, Mrs. Bai was crying.
Seeing Fu Zhiyie, Mrs. Bai clutched his hand, wailing even louder.
"Mr. Fu, how can you treat our Zhi Zhi like this? Back then, she got stabbed because of you and now she can never have children again!"
Mrs. Bai dabbed her tears, her heavy foundation streaked and smeared.
Fu Zhiyie frowned at her, unmoved, and quietly withdrew his hand.
Mrs. Bai only cried harder. "It wasn't our Zhi Zhi who begged to marry you. You promised you'd marry her! Our poor girl’s kept herself pure for you all these years abroad, never even dated anyone else. Now you’re being fickle and won’t marry her after all this time. You’ve pushed our Zhi Zhi to the edge! If I hadn’t found her in time today—"
"We’d have lost her for good!"
Vivian Belle’s eyes were red as she bit her lip, tears falling freely down her cheeks. One look at her would tug at anyone’s heartstrings.
"Zhiyie, please don’t listen to my mother. I was just a little sad and—somehow I ended up cutting my wrist."
Fu Zhiyie’s brow furrowed in concern, but he still reached out to wipe her tears away.
"I’ve been staying at the old house these days, you know that. Grandpa Rivers just needs more time. It’s not that I don’t want to marry you."
Vivian Belle nodded, tears dribbling onto the sheets. "I know. I just miss you so much sometimes I can't control myself. And since I can’t have children anymore… If you don’t want to marry me, I’d understand."
"Don’t you dare say that," Mrs. Bai interjected with a sob. "You only ended up like this because of Fu Zhiyie."
She squeezed onto the bed, her large frame jostling others for space, prompting Fu Zhiyie to take a step back.
Vivian Belle shot her mother a speechless look.
"Mom, I want something to eat. Can you go buy me some food?"
Recognizing her daughter's cue, Mrs. Bai immediately nodded.
"Of course, of course! I’ll go home and cook for you. You two chat, okay?"
She waddled out, and the room finally quieted down.
Fu Zhiyie took a seat by the bed. He did feel indebted to Vivian Belle—for a woman to lose the ability to have children was a tragedy.
"I have to go back. I’ll have someone come and look after you soon."
Vivian Belle looked at him, stunned—as if even her suicide attempt couldn’t keep Fu Zhiyie by her side.
"Ah Zhiyie, can you stay with me tonight? Just for one night—I’m scared, afraid I might hurt myself again if I'm left alone."
She looked so fragile and pitiful that Fu Zhiyie, staring at her, finally relented.
"Alright, I won’t leave. You sleep."
*
That night at dinner, Grandpa Rivers’s face soured when he realized Fu Zhiyie was absent.
"Cecilia, where did Fu Zhiyie go today?"
Cecilia Ye lowered her gaze and answered softly, "Grandpa Rivers, Zhiyie had work to do today. He just came home and then had to rush out again."
Grandpa Rivers grunted. "Always busy. The company has plenty of people; it doesn’t fall apart without him!"
Grandma Rivers tugged gently at his arm. "Leave it be. Talk to him about it tomorrow. For now, let’s finish eating—all that fuss is making our Cecilia hungry."
Cecilia Ye smiled faintly and lowered her head to eat.
She was getting quite good at covering for her own husband sneaking off to meet his secret first love.
She’d thought Fu Zhiyie was only going out for a while, but he didn’t return all night.
Cecilia Ye bundled herself up in bed with Zoey Zhang. "It’s fine, right, Zoey Zhang? Since he’s not coming back, you get to sleep with me tonight."