The concern on Cui Ran's face froze instantly, and then a trace of embarrassment at being exposed floated up. Her fair cheeks flushed slightly.
She had indeed overstepped.
The core of that tacit fake marriage agreement was mutual benefit, non - interference, and maintaining a harmonious appearance.
Her question just now carried a hint of curiosity and concern beyond the agreement that she herself hadn't fully realized.
She quickly adjusted her breathing, suppressing that bit of embarrassment deep into the bottom of her heart, and put on an impeccable social mask again.
Then, she quickened her pace slightly and walked side by side with him.
Her voice returned to its previous calmness, even with a bit of self - mocking frankness.
"Mr. Pei is right. It was my slip of the tongue."
She turned her head and gave him a smile that was a bit helpless but sincere enough.
She met his cold side profile with a calm gaze.
"It's just that this injury is really noticeable. If Auntie asks for details later, I need to know what to say so that our'statements' are consistent."
"After all, if our story falls apart, it won't do any good to our 'cooperation', right?"
Her reason was reasonable, pointing out their common interests and risks.
She subtly transformed that bit of "transgression" into concern about the implementation of the agreement.
She put herself in a low - key position but was neither overbearing nor humble, fully showing the delicate thoughts of a family's daughter.
Pei Jiangmu finally turned his head, and his gaze stayed on her face for a brief moment.
There was no emotional fluctuation in his bottomless eyes, only a frozen ink - like darkness.
He saw the fleeting embarrassment in her eyes.
He also saw her quickly recovered calmness and shrewdness based on self - interest.
Good. This was a qualified partner.
"Okay."
A single syllable came out of his throat, which was his recognition of her explanation and his acquiescence to her "cooperation".
But he didn't give any explanation about the wound. He was very secretive about the answer.
This pain, this humiliation, this jealousy and shock that burned his internal organs were only related to one person - Meng Ruozhao.
Others, including the "fiancée" in front of him, didn't even have the qualification to know.
The door of the exclusive treatment room was silently opened by the nurse.
The orthopedic director, wearing a white coat and with a steady demeanor, had been waiting inside.
The environment was so comfortable that it didn't seem like a hospital but more like a high - class reception room, except that the smell of disinfectant in the air was stronger.
Pei Jiangmu sat down expressionlessly and stretched out his injured hand.
When the nurse carefully rolled up his sleeve and exposed his whole hand.
Even Cui Ran, who was used to seeing all kinds of scenes, couldn't hide a real look of surprise in her eyes.
This was definitely not an ordinary scratch!
The knuckles were horribly blue and swollen. The skin was scratched in many places, oozing blood.
The most serious part was where the middle finger and the ring finger connected to the back of the hand. It was bulging high, and the subcutaneous congestion was so thick that it was almost black.
It was obviously a blunt injury caused by a violent impact on a hard object!
The force... it was as if he had hit steel!
The doctor examined it carefully, frowning tightly.
"Mr. Pei, this... was it hit by a heavy object? There may be a slight fracture of the phalanx. We need to take an X - ray to confirm. The soft tissue contusion is very serious. We need to apply ice immediately to reduce the swelling, fix it, and then..."
Pei Jiangmu seemed not to hear the doctor's diagnosis.
His eyes were fixed on his miserable - looking hand.
But his look was blank, as if he had penetrated through the wounds on his flesh.
He seemed to see the crumpled report in the car and Meng Ruozhao's face...
The doctor's process of treating the wound was professional and rapid.
The bone - chilling cold of the ice pack, the stinging pain of the disinfectant, and the restrictive feeling brought by the splint.
These physical pains were just insignificant background noise to his chaotic and boiling heart at the moment.
He remained silent throughout the process, his jawline tightened. Only a thin layer of fine cold sweat on his forehead showed the limit his body was bearing.
Cui Ran sat quietly on the single - person sofa beside, never taking her eyes off Pei Jiangmu.
She watched his suppressed cold sweat, his blank but storm - hidden eyes.
She watched his hand that still showed a sense of powerful strength even when it was fixed and bandaged.
That secret throb beyond the agreement was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, quietly rippling circles in her heart.
This man was like a walking iceberg.
On the surface, he was cold and kept people at a distance, but inside, he burned with a flame that could incinerate everything.
Dangerous, but fatally attractive.
She admired his endurance, his control, and even the pain that might be burning for another person at the moment.
This feeling was complicated and dangerous.
The nurse finally fixed the splint with a bandage and whispered the precautions.
Pei Jiangmu stood up, still moving neatly, as if the hand wrapped like a white torture device didn't belong to him.
He glanced at Cui Ran, his eyes indifferent and expressionless.
Cui Ran immediately gathered her thoughts and got up to follow.
They walked out of the treatment room and back to the cold corridor.
Pei Jiangmu's steps were still steady, but his injured hand was carefully protected at his side.
"About Mrs. Pei."
Cui Ran spoke up at the right time, her voice returning to its business - like calmness.
"I'll say it was accidentally pinched by the heavy safe door in the office."
"This reason is quite common and fits the 'accidental' setting of your work environment. It won't arouse too much suspicion. What do you think?"
Pei Jiangmu paused slightly, turned his head to look at her.
A very faint look of recognition, similar to "not bad, quite smart", flashed in his eyes.
"Fine."
He uttered two words, but his gaze had already passed her and was fixed on the dark night outside the window.
Deep in his eyes, the surging darkness and paranoia that had been briefly suppressed by the medical procedure began to spread like thick fog again.
Ruozhao, the report, the child, preparing for pregnancy...
Each word was like a poisoned dagger, repeatedly stabbing at his just - bandaged wound.
The physical pain was insignificant.
The black hole in his heart was roaring silently, desperately in need of an answer.
An answer that could fill this abyss and support him to continue "possessing".
He wanted to see her.
But he had no reason now.
He was extremely irritable and simply ignored Cui Ran, just striding forward.
There was a small and secluded smoking area outside the side door of the hospital.
The night wind carried the coldness, dispersing the smell of disinfectant but unable to disperse the gloomy low - pressure around Pei Jiangmu.
When he saw the words "smoking area", he stopped instinctively.
Then, with his intact left hand, he took out a cigarette case and a lighter from his suit pocket.
The cold touch of the metal made his chaotic thoughts clear for a moment.
He lit the cigarette with a "snap" and took a deep puff.
Then, he leaned against the cold metal railing obliquely.
The exhaled smoke curled around his pale lips.
It blurred his handsome but sinister side profile, blurred the bottomless gloom and anxiety in his eyes.
It also blocked Cui Ran's hesitant gaze beside him.