The Grey and Russo sisters were rushed to the hospital. Xia Lei volunteered to follow them there. The doctors ran a few checks on the female knights and concluded their diagnostics with a concussion and damage to their internal organs. Their injuries were severe but not life-threatening.
The female knights regain consciousness moments after the doctors had left. Xia Lei went to check on Stella, Theresa and then Rosa before entering Giovanna’s ward.
At this moment, Giovanna’s skull and many parts of her body were wrapped with bandages.
“Are you feeling better?” Xia Lei came to the side of her bed.
“Yeah, but…” Giovanna furrowed her brows and halted her speech.
“What is it? You can tell me anything. There’s no need to be so reserved,” assured Xia Lei.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I mean my words. What’s the matter?” Xia Lei was starting to feel annoyed.
Giovanna swallowed. With a meek voice, she admitted, “Uh… Well… They bandaged my wounds but because of the dressing, I’m a little itchy down there. Can you help me scratch it?”
Xia Lei was stunned.
“Uh, that’s not what you think it is.” Giovanna seemed to catch on to the awkwardness in the air that hinted Xia Lei’s misunderstanding of her words. The woman’s cheeks reddened as she explained, “Please don’t misunderstand me. The ‘down there’ that I’m referring to is not what you think it is, I’m referring to my thighs.”
Xia Lei released a breath that he didn’t know he was holding. “And here I am thinking that I misheard you. Sure, I’ll help you scratch your itch. It is pretty awkward of a request to ask a nurse for.”
Giovanna nodded.
Xia Lei peeled her blanket away. The thick covering had only left her body for two seconds before Xia Lei frantically returned it to its original position. Though Giovanna was referring to her thigh, her bottom half was stark naked.
“Why did you tuck me in again?” Giovanna scowled. “Come on, help me scratch it. The itch is starting to feel unbearable.”
Xia Lei had actually noticed that there were angry red rashes along her thighs. The sight of it was enough proof of how itchy it was.
“Xia, are you not willing to do it?” Giovanna pressed her lips into a thin line. “If you can’t do it, can you please do me a favour and call a nurse over?”
Not willing?
Xia Lei was willing to do almost everything. Giovanna was his knight and was ready to give up her life for him. How could he decline such a simple request to scratch her itch? Plus, it had taken him quite some effort to appease his female knights and they had provided him with a troop of strong-armed fighters in return. Just by that fact alone, the request was not asking for too much.
With that justification in mind, Xia Lei peel away her blanket once more and reached an arm over to scratch at her itch.
It turns out that Giovanna herself hadn’t noticed that she was bottom naked. Perhaps the abundance of dressings around her body and anaesthetics earlier had numbed part of her senses. But for the sake of the situation, it was ideal.
“Xia, congratulations on your wedding,” wished Giovanna. Xia Lei’s hands were gentle as they provided some comfort to her itching legs.
“Thank you.” Xia Lei flashed her a smile.
“How are you faring with your four wives?”
“Uh… What’s the brand of your underwear?” Xia Lei tried to shift the topic.
“Victoria’s Secret, of course. Didn’t you mention that we should try and live a little? That’s why I’m only going to wear the best,” replied Giovanna.
“Ah, that’s good. Life is short. You should remember to treat yourself kindly while keeping to your faith. Women should treat themselves with more kindness,” said Xia Lei, his eyes involuntarily returning onto that mature and alluring spot.
This was his first time discussing underwear fabric with a butt-naked woman.
“Ah, this feels good. Can you move upwards a little?”
Xia Lei heeded her request, hovering his hand upwards cautiously.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the door and soon came the sound of door rapping.
Xia Lei frantically covered Giovanna with her blanket before turning around to face the door. “Come in.”
He didn’t need to use his X-ray vision here. This was a hospital and there was no need for that.
The ward door opened to reveal a woman.
As soon as Xia Lei recognized her, his temples began to throb.
It was Miss Tang Yuyan, the proud daughter of Shudi’s Tang family.
“Is she alright?” Tang Yuyan asked with concern.
Xia Lei replied, “She sustained some injuries but she will be fine. Why are you here?”
“Do I need a reason to be here?”
Xia Lei could only smile wryly. “Of course not. But…”
“I know what you’re trying to say.” Tang Yuyan continued, “You’re trying to remind me that you’re already married and have four pregnant partners, right?”
Xia Lei was rendered speechless, but this was what he was trying to relay to Tang Yuyan in general.
“You can say what you want but it is my freedom to do what I want.” Tang Yuyan studied the man before her. “I don’t have confidence that your marriage will last long. If you can divorce Shentu Tianyin, you can do the same to Fan Fan. I’ll be waiting for that day to arrive.”
“What’s the point of this?” Xia Lei sighed audibly. “I’m not worth the wait.”
“I was not worth the sacrifice. I was not worth what you did on Dawang mountain. Why did you do that for me? If you didn’t love me or liked me, why would you treat me with such kindness? My life is yours and everything about me belongs to you. Do you get what I’m trying to say?” Tang Yuyan stared intently at Xia Lei. Her eyes were fiery, brimming with expression.
Xia Lei explained, “I saved you because we were comrades. You would have done the same for me, right?”
Tang Yuyan huffed. “That’s not how it works. For starters, I have never seen you as a comrade. You offered me such kindness and I insist that you must take responsibility.”
Xia Lei smiled bitterly. To reason with women was futile.
“What are you both talking about?” Giovanna glanced between them curiously. With her level of Chinese, she could not understand a single thing they said.
Xia Lei assured her, “It’s nothing, just lie down and get some rest.”
Giovanna nodded obediently and stayed silent.
“Yuyan, let me ask you something.” Xia Lei looked at Tang Yuyan straight in the eye. “Were you the one who planned for that heckler to appear during me and Fan Fan’s wedding?”
There was a moment of hesitation before Tang Yuyan bit the bullet. “Yes, it was me.”
“Why?” Xia Lei had expected her to stay mum so it had occurred as a surprise for her to admit it so quickly. Not to mention, her confessions were rather straightforward.
“When Fan Fan snatched you away from me, did she apologize? No, she did nothing. What she did was over the line so how could some minor disturbances during her wedding amount to anything?” Tang Yuyan justified it with a straight face.
Xia Lei shook his head in disbelief. A spoiled child was always one. Tang Yuyan had her own way of handling things and her actions were sometimes extremely unconventional and hard to accept.
“You can hit me and you can yell at me all you want but not her,” said Tang Yuyan.
Xia Lei sighed again. “That’s enough, I’m not going to deal with this now. If this is why you’re here, consider the issue solved. Go back, I know you’re busy with work.”
“What exactly did I do wrong for you to treat me this way?” Tears were starting to gather in Tang Yuyan’s eyes.
She had a point. What had she done wrong?
She was just doing her best to pursue her own happiness. What was so wrong about that?”
“You did nothing wrong but…” He paused, considering the weight of his words. “It’s just that you’re part of the Tang family and I don’t wish to be a part of that world. Do you understand?”
“Of course I do, I’m not a dumb child.” Tang Yuyan glared at Xia Lei. There was an extended silence before she spoke up, “You mean that as long as I leave the family, you would want me?”
“Uh…” Xia Lei didn’t think it was going to turn out this was.
“Do you mean it?”
“I… Yuyan, just calm down already.”
“I am calm.” Tang Yuyan pointed a finger at him. “Just you wait!”
To leave the Tang family would mean for someone like Tang Yuyan to die and get reincarnated again. It would be extremely difficult for her to achieve. But what if she managed to do that? What was he supposed to do when that happens?
That was another problem.
This problem was enough to have Xia Lei suffer from a gigantic migraine.
“Enough, let’s talk about serious matters,” said Tang Yuyan.
Took her a long time.
Xia Lei offered her a sheepish smile. “This whole incident is nothing complicated. The FA Organization and the Hattori clan joined forces to kill me. The Americans provided them with intel and were the main mastermind behind the scenes. However, everyone involved had died and this is as much as I can tell you.”
It was true that he had only this much to tell Tang Yuyan. There were some minor details but he decided to keep it from her. This would be the perfect time to tell Tang Yuyan about the CIA’s informant base in Jingdu but Xia Lei was certain that Tang Yuyan would uproot the base within an hour after learning of its existence. That would undoubtedly affect his subsequent plan.
“Is there really nothing else that you wish to tell me?” Tang Yuyan was obviously displeased with his answer.
Xia Lei nodded. “Yeah, this is what I have for now.”
“Very well, I’ll be leaving then.” Tang Yuyan turned for the exit.
Xia Lei watched her leave.
Before she walked out of the door, Tang Yuyan abruptly whipped her head around. “Xia Lei.”
“Yes?”
“I wish you an early divorce!” chimed Tang Yuyan.
The door to the ward clicked shut behind her. It was only then that Giovanna voiced her doubts. “Xia, what were you both talking about earlier?”
“It’s nothing much, just some private matters,” answered Xia Lei.
Giovanna snickered slightly. “I’m a woman too. I can tell that her love for you runs deep.”
Xia Lei huffed a ghost of a laugh. “Just rest and focus on recovering. There’s no need to mind insignificant things like this.”
“Okay.” Giovanna paused for a moment and lifted a chin to look at him. “Actually, can you scratch my itch again?”
Xia Lei sighed and got to work.
