Su Ruiyi maintained her crawling posture, only to be lifted from the floor and onto the bed.
Then she quickly jumped off the bed and picked up the photos scattered on the table, floor, and bed, stuffing them into the drawer. Before Ouyang Chen could reach for the large photo album, she snatched it, closed it, and held it to her chest.
Su Ruiyi asked flusteredly, "Why are you here?"
Ouyang Chen pulled out a chair and sat on it backwards.
He rested one hand on the chair back, supporting his head, and kicked the medicine box at his feet forward with the other foot.
The medicine box slid smoothly to Su Ruiyi's feet.
"Here to report for duty," Ouyang Chen answered casually.
Su Ruiyi picked up the medicine box, sat on the edge of the bed, found a small band-aid inside, and applied it to her wound.
"Oh," Su Ruiyi mimicked Ouyang Chen's indifferent tone.
"Idiot beauty" was a fitting description for Su Ruiyi...
Ouyang Chen stood up, walked to the bedside, and abruptly tore off the band-aid. Su Ruiyi cried out in pain, "What are you doing! I already put it on, why did you tear it off!!!"
Ouyang Chen ignored Su Ruiyi's bristling temper. "Sit further back!"
"I won't!" Su Ruiyi shouted, tilting her head up.
Ouyang Chen grabbed Su Ruiyi by the arm and pulled her back, freeing up just enough space for Su Ruiyi to place her leg on Ouyang Chen's lap. Su Ruiyi had lost all her earlier defiance.
Su Ruiyi: "You... what are you doing?"
Ouyang Chen took out an iodine swab, snapped it in the middle, and the cotton tip filled with iodine. He gently wiped the area of Su Ruiyi's wound.
Su Ruiyi: "Hiss..."
Ouyang Chen: "If it hurts, you should have dealt with it earlier!"
Su Ruiyi: "No one cares anyway..."
Ouyang Chen: "If no one cares, you should care about yourself even more!"
Su Ruiyi took out a garishly patterned band-aid: "Use this one!"
Ouyang Chen: "Take the bigger one. This one is too small, it won't cover it."
Ouyang Chen pointed to a larger, white, square medical dressing in the box.
"It's so ugly," Su Ruiyi said with disdain.
Ouyang Chen glanced at it. "Better than getting infected and rotting."
After treating Su Ruiyi's wound, they sat on the bed, maintaining a moment of silence.
Su Ruiyi gently lifted her leg, slowly retracting the one resting on Ouyang Chen's lap. She then sat up nervously, afraid even the sound of her breathing would disturb the quiet moment.
"Cough cough... Um, thank you," Su Ruiyi said, blushing again.
Ouyang Chen was already getting up. "It's nothing, I'm leaving."
Su Ruiyi panicked. "Ah? Don't go."
"Is there anything else?" Ouyang Chen looked down at her.
"Can I hug you?" Su Ruiyi mumbled softly.
Ouyang Chen stood up, his back to Su Ruiyi, and sighed. "No."
Su Ruiyi quickly stood up and tightly hugged Ouyang Chen from behind.
Ouyang Chen, who had been about to break free, felt the small girl behind him tremble...
She buried her head very low. Even though she tried her best to suppress any sound, Ouyang Chen could still feel Su Ruiyi crying.
Sigh...
Even if Su Ruiyi didn't say it, Ouyang Chen could guess!
When Xu Shuming returned, both mother and daughter were hurt.
The elegant Mrs. Su, with her impeccable composure, acted as if nothing had happened. The lonely Su Ruiyi could only hide in a corner to process her father's violence alone.
The minute was up.
Su Ruiyi sprang away from Ouyang Chen like a coiled spring. She was relieved she hadn't smudged Ouyang Chen's suit...
But when Ouyang Chen turned to look at her, Su Ruiyi stopped him.
She pushed him, urging him to leave quickly. Ouyang Chen didn't look back at her until he had stepped out of the room and closed the door.
"Hurry up and go to the meeting. As the CEO of a company, you can't be running around during a meeting!" Su Ruiyi was still quite assertive.
Before Ouyang Chen could turn back to retort, with a bang, Su Ruiyi's door was shut.
He clenched his fist, wanting to knock again, then relaxed his grip after a moment's thought. Ouyang Chen smiled at the door and left.