A faint glimmer flashed across Captian's eyes, his expression noticeably softer. Seeing him remove his coat and drape it over his arm, I quickly stepped forward, obediently taking the coat from him and hanging it on the nearby rack. "President Anderson, how are you feeling now? Does the wound still hurt?"
Captian unexpectedly glanced at me. Tonight I was uncharacteristically obedient. Usually, even when I behaved, there was always a trace of fear or resentment in my eyes whenever I saw him. But right now, my gaze was full of sweetness, too sweet, too tempting. Or maybe it was fake. He studied me for a moment without speaking.
I returned to stand beside him, my smile still soft and sweet. I had thought it through: I would be stuck in this villa for a long time. If I wanted to survive, I had to behave well, never anger him, and even coax him when necessary. Only then could I live peacefully. But… if he tried to do that to me again, I didn't know if I could maintain this obedient expression.
"Change the dressing." Captian sat on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, the posture of a king on his throne, suffocating to look at.
"Yes, I'll go upstairs and get the medical kit." I immediately understood what he meant he wanted me to change his bandages. I hurried into the room, grabbed the medical kit, and rushed back down.
Swallowing hard, I began unbuttoning his shirt with trembling fingers. Captian lowered his head slightly to make it easier for me. Once I removed it, his pale, sculpted torso suddenly filled my vision, making my cheeks burn. He turned his back toward me, his bandages still stained with blood, the faint smell of iron spreading through the living room.
Looking at the wound, I couldn't help feeling unsettled. It had opened up again, yet he'd gone straight to work as if nothing had happened. I'd met many strong patients before, but never someone so injured who didn't seem to feel pain at all like the wounded person wasn't even him.
"President Anderson, the wound has split. Doesn't it hurt?" I took a deep breath and carefully peeled away the blood-soaked gauze.
Captian didn't even flinch. "It doesn't."
A small wound like this was nothing more than a mosquito bite to him.
I kept silent. After disinfecting the wound, I applied new antiseptic and bandaged it again with quick precision. My movements were gentle. When my fingertips accidentally brushed against his skin, he shivered almost imperceptibly, and a strange tingling seemed to spread across him. His gaze darkened, he suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist.
I froze mid-movement, startled. "President Anderson, what's wrong?"
It took him a moment before he curled his thin lips, his voice cold enough to freeze bone. "You know how to prescribe, diagnose, and bandage wounds. The young lady of the Bailey family had to learn all this too?"
My eyes widened, breath catching. "I…"
"Hm?" That one sound from him was enough to make my soul nearly fly out of my body.
I opened my mouth, but my mind went blank. Why was he asking this out of nowhere? Did he discover something?
What do I do? Panic spread through me, my face gradually draining of color. "No… I just like this kind of thing, so I learned it myself. Yes, self-study!"
"Oh." Captian released my wrist.
I blinked, dazed. Was… that it? He wasn't going to interrogate me further? I stayed wide-eyed maybe he only asked on a whim. My heart was pounding at my throat, but I made sure not to let anything show.
After finishing the bandaging, I carefully helped him put his shirt back on. Captian tilted his chin up, letting me dress him like some tyrannical king from ancient times. Looking at him, I almost wanted to punch him. But of course, I didn't dare.
"President Anderson, it's done." I fastened the last button and packed the antiseptic and bandages back into the kit. Once finished, I headed toward the kitchen to prepare his medicine.
Captian lounged on the sofa, his gaze following my busy figure, something dark and unreadable flickering within it. I had originally intended to add something bitter to the medicine, but if he noticed my little trick… the one who'd suffer would be me. I grit my teeth, no, better not risk it.
The smell of herbal medicine, now exchanged for a strong medicinal antiseptic scent quickly filled the living room. Captian sat cross-legged like royalty, but his brow creased as the sterile, pungent smell drifted into his nose. Clearly, he hated it.
After I finished heating the medicine, I suddenly remembered something. I patted nanny Alley's shoulder and whispered, "Nanny Alley, did you buy the jujube supplements like I asked?"
"I bought them," she said, opening a cabinet. "They're all in here."
Delighted, I grabbed one and slipped it into my pocket before carrying the bowl out. "President Anderson, time to drink your medicine."
Captian lifted his head and downed the entire bowl in one go. Just as he was about to grab the back of my neck and kiss me again, I quickly popped a jujube into his mouth and smiled sweetly. "President Anderson, is the jujube sweet? After this, you can eat one each time you take your medicine, you won't taste the bitterness anymore!"
My smile was innocent, but deep down my eyes were sly like a little fox. I had obviously planned this and pretended it was thoughtful concern. A fox indeed.
Captian stared at me, expression dark. The jujube was sweet but not as sweet as me. After eating it, he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine, murmuring with a low voice, "Very sweet."
I wasn't sure if he meant the jujube… or something else. My fingers tightened nervously, and I looked away, flustered. But then I remembered he still had to take medicine for another two weeks. After that, I planned to play piano for him. I had already told Hezze that after school I'd go to her house to practice, but now that Captian had arranged someone to pick me up after class, if I disappeared, he would definitely punish me.
No, I had to get permission.
"President Anderson, can I discuss something with you?" My hands tightened slightly as hesitation filled my expression.
He raised a brow. "Speak."
I inhaled deeply. "President Anderson… the person I'm closest with in class is Hezze. After school, may I go to her house for a bit? I won't stay late, only until five or six."
The moment I finished speaking, the air in the living room turned unnaturally silent. It had been like a blooming spring earlier, but now it felt like the heart of late winter. My heart instantly lodged itself in my throat.
"Go play?" Captian's eyes sharpened. "Play what?"
His sudden change of expression hit me like a slap, I couldn't react at all.
I stared at his darkening gaze, frozen. Only when the air around us seemed to freeze solid and my heart skipped a beat did I snap back to reality.