No wonder he didn't want to go to the clinic—he was afraid of pain.
She lightened her touch, though that slowed her down. After disinfecting, she applied a thin layer of ointment to the wound. Finally, she was done.
But that long red mark still looked painful to Jian Ran. Impulsively, she leaned down and gently blew on the wound.
Chu Lulin's body stiffened abruptly. His back tensed, and his ears turned bright red.
He slowly turned his head to look at her, his dark, pure eyes swirling with an unidentifiable meaning.
Yet it held a strange, extreme allure.
The air seemed to freeze.
Jian Ran stood frozen, her fingers unconsciously clutching his collar.
His shirt, already pulled to one side, slipped further, revealing half of his shoulder.
It looked exactly like she was taking advantage of him.
At that moment, she wished she could find a hole to crawl into. Would Chu Lulin think she did it on purpose?
"Um, sorry. I have a younger cousin who used to get hurt a lot as a kid. I got into the habit and didn't think. I really didn't mean to."
Chu Lulin swallowed hard, his voice a bit hoarse. "Big Sister doesn't need to explain. I... didn't misunderstand."
Jian Ran blinked and breathed a sigh of relief.
Good, he didn't misunderstand.
But the situation was still awkward. She tried to change the subject calmly.
"When you go back, try to keep the wound dry. Don't get it wet."
No matter how calm she tried to act, she was still flustered. And the more flustered she got, the easier it was to make mistakes. She had been kneeling on the sofa, and her legs had gone numb.
But she didn't pay attention. As soon as she stood up, her body uncontrollably pitched forward toward the corner of the coffee table. Chu Lulin quickly reached out to grab her.
After a moment of chaos...
Chu Lulin was pushed down onto the sofa. Jian Ran's knee was between his legs, one hand braced against the armrest, the other palm pressed flat against his firm chest.
She was practically lying on top of him.
The atmosphere instantly became intensely awkward.
With such a close, ambiguous distance and the awkward position of woman on top, man on bottom, both of their breathing hitched for a moment.
Jian Ran had a quirk: her mind tended to go blank at critical moments, like now.
She stared blankly at Chu Lulin beneath her, and her gaze somehow landed on his lips. Then... she unconsciously pursed her lips.
Actually, there was something she had never said before: lip shapes with a prominent lip bead like his were not only universally considered sexy but also... perfect for kissing.
Author's note: ——————————