Right after breakfast, there came a series of rapid footsteps outside the door.
There was more than one person.
Jiang Nuan jumped suddenly, withdrew her hand, and took a few steps towards the door.
Was Qi Sui rescued?
The next second, the door was pushed open.
Qinian rushed in first.
Half of his body was covered in blood. The right arm of his dark combat suit was almost completely dyed red, and there were dried bloodstains on the side of his face. He still carried a hint of unquenched killing intent.
"How is it? Was Qi Sui rescu—"
Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a sudden lightness in her body. Her waist was embraced by a pair of burning arms, and she was lifted off the ground and spun around.
"My brother has been rescued!" Qinian laughed boldly and unrestrainedly.
When he put her back on the ground after the spin, he didn't let go immediately.
The hand on her back was clutching a bit tightly and trembling slightly.
The next second, he buried his face in the crook of her shoulder. It was only for a very short moment, then he lifted his head, a smile on his face. "Did you miss me?"
But the redness at the corners of his eyes hadn't faded away.
She didn't expose him. Instead, she gently patted his shoulder. "Yes, you did a great job."
He was stunned for a moment and then laughed even more boldly. However, the redness at the corners of his eyes became even more obvious.
Qi Sui was half - supported and half - carried in by Jiang Ce.
Qi Sui's face was extremely pale without a hint of color. His lips were chapped, and there were multiple wounds on his body. Fortunately, he was still conscious.
Jiang Ce's combat suit was also torn in several places. He firmly supported all of Qi Sui's weight.
Jiang Nuan's nose twitched. She blinked twice to hold back the emotion.
Qi Sui was still alive. The heart that had been hanging in the air for several days finally settled down a little when she saw Qi Sui.
Jiang Ce and Shen Wu, who came forward, carefully placed Qi Sui on the sofa. Qi Sui leaned into the cushion and let out a breath.
He looked up and just caught sight of Jiang Nuan standing there with red - rimmed eyes.
"You have such a terrible expression," Qi Sui said with a weak smile. "I thought it was you who got hurt."
"Because I was worried about you," Jiang Nuan said as she stepped closer to check his injuries. There were wounds of various depths all over his body.
She felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. It seemed that Qi Sui had suffered a lot in these past few days.
Qi Sui let out a soft laugh, and the corners of his beautiful eyes curved up.
"You're worried about me?" He tilted his head and reached out to tuck the stray hair behind her ear. "Then should I get injured a few more times?"
She slapped his hand away. "Act normal."
Qi Sui coughed weakly. "Okay, I just missed you so much."
Qinian had already fetched the first - aid kit. He squatted in front of Qi Sui, rolled his eyes, and said, "Shut up. Injured people should talk less!"
But his hands moved gently as he carefully helped Qi Sui take off his blood - stained coat, afraid of touching his wounds.
Shen Wu checked Qi Sui's wounds on the side and said indifferently, "It seems we don't need to prepare a memorial service."
Qinian didn't even lift his head. "Your mouth should just rot."
Qi Sui smiled with his eyes curved. "Shen Wu, have you been lonely without someone to argue with in the restricted area for more than a year?"
"No," Shen Wu replied coolly. "I've been scolding Qinian."
"That's different. He doesn't understand," Qi Sui said.
"Damn it. Who's the real brother here?" Qinian grumbled, but his movements of bandaging the wounds remained steady.
Lu Shiyan came in last, with Ye Que following behind him.
The two of them seemed to be in a relatively good state.
However, there was a heavy look of exhaustion in Lu Shiyan's eyes. He should have overused his supernatural ability.
He leaned on the single - seat sofa on the other side, took out a syringe of supernatural ability stabilizer from the first - aid kit, and skillfully injected it into the side of his neck.
After pushing the liquid medicine, he closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa, slowing his breathing and waiting for the medicine to take effect.
Only after making sure that everyone was settled did Jiang Ce let out a sigh of relief and stand up.
The moment he stood up, his body swayed.
Jiang Nuan quickly supported his arm.
What her fingers touched were firm muscle lines. His forearm was thicker than the combined width of her two hands.
"Jiang Ce?" She looked up at him and asked anxiously, "How are you?"
Jiang Ce looked down at her. There was a look of tiredness in his usually smiling eyes.
He didn't answer. Instead, he gently pulled her into his arms.
One hand covered the back of her head, and the other arm wrapped around her shoulders and back.
Jiang Nuan was completely enveloped by his body temperature and aura.
There was still the chill of a snowy day on him, and the smell of gunpowder and blood on his clothes hadn't completely dissipated.
But the hug itself was warm.
"I'm fine," his voice came from above her head. "I'm just a bit exhausted."
Jiang Nuan mumbled in his arms and gently patted his back with both hands. "Then go back to your room and lie down quickly. Don't push yourself."
He said okay, but the hug tightened a little more for a few seconds before he reluctantly let go.
He told Lu Shiyan and then went upstairs to his room to rest.
Chen Ping'an had been busy on the side, pouring water, handing out bandages, and looking for alcohol pads.
Ye Que was sitting in the corner of the sofa. There was a very deep wound on his right forearm, which had cut through his combat suit and the flesh, and blood was oozing out. Jiangjiang was lying quietly at his feet.
He was trying to use his left hand to cut the sleeve stuck to the wound.
This scene lasted for a while. The scissors opened and closed, opened and closed again.
Chen Ping'an, standing two steps away with a stack of bandages in his hand, finally couldn't help but say, "Brother Ye Que, or maybe I..."
"No need."
Chen Ping'an stepped back.
A few seconds later, Ye Que finally made the first cut.
The sleeve was slit open by about two centimeters.
At this rate, the wound would probably heal on its own before the bandaging was finished.
Qinian beside him couldn't stand it anymore. "Are you cutting clothes or doing handicrafts?"
Ye Que ignored him.
Jiang Nuan sighed and walked over to take the scissors from his hand. "Alright, let me do it. Sit still and don't move."
Ye Que placed his arm on the armrest and turned it to a position that was convenient for her to operate. He was extremely obedient.
Chen Ping'an silently gave this performance a score in his heart.
It was at the level of an award - winning actor.
*
Jiang Nuan used the scissors to cut the fabric from the cuff upwards.
After the fabric was separated, the wound beneath was exposed.
Although it wasn't a bone - deep wound, it still looked quite terrifying.
She used an alcohol pad to clean the bloodstains around the wound.
Ye Que didn't make a sound throughout the process. His arm was steadily placed there, allowing her to handle it without even a single tremor.
Just as Jiang Nuan was lowering her head to wrap the gauze around, her shoulder sank.
Ye Que leaned his head against her and pressed it against the skin of her neck. His breath fell on her skin, and he also relaxed a bit of his weight onto her.
Jiang Nuan didn't push him away. She tried to wrap the gauze around as gently as possible.
Just then, Jiang Nuan felt a pair of eyes on her.
Lu Shiyan opened his eyes.
That intense gaze bore down on her, and the muscles on Jiang Nuan's back tensed up.
Those eyes just quietly stared at her, but it made her scalp tingle.
But Lu Shiyan didn't say a word.
The next second, he closed his eyes again.
Jiang Nuan sped up the process of wrapping the gauze. She fixed the end with medical tape. "Okay."
"Yeah," Ye Que's muffled voice came from the crook of Jiang Nuan's neck, and he didn't seem to have any intention of lifting his head.
She patted his back, trying to coax Ye Que, who was reluctant to leave. "Get up first. I need to go wash my hands."
Ye Que finally straightened up, his movements reluctant.
"What about me?" Qinian raised his hand over there. "I'm injured too! You're just bandaging him and not me. You're being biased."
Jiang Nuan glanced at the blood on him. "Is that your blood or someone else's?"
Qinian looked down at himself. "Well... most of it is someone else's."
"Then go take a shower."
"No, I really have an injury here!" He rolled up his sleeve to show her the abrasion on his elbow, which was red and inflamed.
Jiang Nuan took a look. "Just put a Band - Aid on it."
"The difference in your attitude towards me and Ye Que is way too big!"
"Ye Que's wound is oozing blood, and yours doesn't even have a single drop of blood on it."
"So what if it's oozing blood? I can make mine bleed too!"
"Shut up," Qi Sui's voice was very weak, but the hint of disgust was still palpable. "You're embarrassing yourself."
Qinian turned to glare at his elder brother. "You're an injured person. Can you just lie still quietly?"
"The injured person doesn't want to hear you acting coquettishly."
"Who the hell is acting coquettishly?!"
"Every single word of yours," Shen Wu added casually. He was sitting beside Lu Shiyan, who was closing his eyes to rest, handling the affairs on the terminal without even raising his head.
Qinian was so angry that he bared his teeth.
Jiang Nuan watched this scene and couldn't help but laugh.
Then she rummaged out the Band - Aid and threw it to Qinian. "Put it on yourself."
"Nuannuan, I want you to put it on for me," Qinian tilted his head and looked at her. "You can't be biased. You have to treat us equally!"
In the end, Jiang Nuan washed her hands and put the Band - Aid on Qinian.
"Thank you, Nuannuan~" Qinian dragged out the last word and held up his elbow with the Band - Aid on it, looking at it again and again.
Finally, everyone was settled in their own ways.
The injured were resting, and those who had been causing a ruckus had also quieted down.
The only sounds left in the living room were the soft rustling of Chen Ping'an cleaning up the medical waste and the howling of the snowstorm outside the window.
Jiang Nuan sat on the single - person sofa and leaned back.
The moment her back touched the backrest of the sofa, she heard all the sounds in this room.
Qinian was whispering something to Qi Sui, and Qi Sui gently stroked Qinian's hair.
Ye Que's steady breathing could be heard. Jiangjiang jumped onto Ye Que's lap, curled up, and closed her eyes.
These were all sounds made by living people.
As long as everyone was alive, it was better than anything.
"Jiang Nuan."
Jiang Nuan turned her head.
Lu Shiyan had opened his eyes. The exhaustion in those eyes had faded a bit, and he was looking at her.
"Come with me."
