Father and daughter were chatting intermittently, the scene looking extrely warm. If it weren’t for the many hardships between them, perhaps everything would have indeed been what Su Mu had always dread of. Unfortunately, there were no ifs.
When Su Mu had prepared the dical supplies, Fu Shinian glanced at her without moving. Qiqi, clever as ever, glanced at them both and spoke:
"Fu Shinian, you should take off your clothes so that Su Mu can tend to your wound."
Fu Shinian ca back to his senses, glanced at Qiqi, smiled faintly, and then began to undress.
So ti ago, just after handling Shi Lihua’s matter, he had undressed in front of Su Mu in the sa way. However, Su Mu hadn’t watched him that ti. This ti, she had no choice but to watch because she needed to treat his wounds. Consequently, when she walked behind him, the first thing she saw was not his bloody wound but the scar on his upper shoulder.
A gunshot wound.
A gunshot wound from saving her.
Su Mu’s hands suddenly started shaking, and she vividly recalled the scene Qiao Yu had described to her. He had said that if the police hadn’t arrived tily, perhaps both she and Fu Shinian might have died there. Su Mu knew though that Fu Shinian could have left at that mont. His grandmother was still in the hospital, and he had so many responsibilities, yet still, he had unhesitatingly taken two bullets for her.
Her heart suddenly felt heavy, causing her to forget completely what she was supposed to do next.
Qiqi turned to look at Su Mu, about to speak, but Fu Shinian grabbed her hand, signaling her to not disturb her. Though Qiqi didn’t understand, she remained silent. As her gaze drifted downwards, she inadvertently saw the round scar on Fu Shinian’s abdon and touched it with her small hand:
"Fu Shinian, why do you have a round scar here?"
Fu Shinian smiled slightly:
"It’s nothing, just a naïve mistake from my childhood."
Su Mu, standing behind Fu Shinian, heard their exchange clearly. She knew it wasn’t just so childhood mistake. When they had lived together before, they knew each other’s bodies well. So, Su Mu knew that three years ago, there had been no scars on Fu Shinian’s body. And with Qiqi describing the scar as round, just like the one on his back, it could only an one thing—the other bullet had struck his abdon.
Both shoulder and abdon had been wounded, yet he had acted as if nothing was amiss, baring his cruelty to her and saying those brutal words, making it impossible for Su Mu to notice any differences.
If only Su Mu had been more attentive, more careful, she might have seen Fu Shinian’s forced endurance, his sufferances, and perhaps, their ending might have been different.
If she had known everything, she wouldn’t have distracted Fu Shinian; she would have taken Qiqi far away and waited for him to settle matters before fetching her. They might still have enjoyed such happy family monts, but she hadn’t noticed; she had believed every word Fu Shinian had said.
Actually, it wasn’t that Fu Shinian was an exceptional actor or that he showed no flaws; it had always been that Su Mu had already lost trust in him, as well as confidence in herself. Thus, when he chose to give up and push her away, she subconsciously believed him and fell into a state of self-denial, no longer caring about the details.
Therefore, the reasons for the current situation weren’t just Fu Shinian’s alone.
Perhaps Su Mu had hesitated for too long, and unable to wait for her movent, Fu Shinian turned to look at her, never expecting to see her eyes reddened, though he didn’t think she was crying because of him, regardless of the reason, Fu Shinian’s heart ached unexpectedly.
Even Qiqi was startled and stood up from the sofa:
"Su Mu, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?"
Su Mu snapped back to senses, cald her emotions, and gently wiped her eyes: "It’s nothing, just so discomfort in my eyes."
Although Qiqi was a child, she didn’t believe such a poor lie. She wanted to say sothing but stopped under Fu Shinian’s look, staying silent before quietly returning to her room and closing the door.
With Qiqi gone, only Su Mu and Fu Shinian remained in the large living room, the atmosphere similar to before but now with a shift, less tense and more tender. Fu Shinian felt sentintal and kept quiet, fearing that speaking would break the beauty of the mont.
Soon, Su Mu spoke softly:
"Turn around, I’ll apply the dicine."
"Okay."
Fu Shinian obediently turned around, and Su Mu gently treated his wounds from behind. Unseen by her, Fu Shinian smiled slightly, thinking that if he had known Su Mu would react so strongly to seeing his wounds, perhaps he could have garnered more sympathy from the start, affirming the saying that won are tender-hearted.
He wondered if teaming up with Qiao Yu now to fake so sequelae from the gunshot would work? Amused by his own thoughts, Fu Shinian couldn’t help but laugh, causing Su Mu to pause:
"What are you laughing at?"
"It’s nothing," Fu Shinian spoke lightly, "don’t think too much. The surgery back then was indeed dangerous, and it was very painful after the anesthesia wore off, but so much ti has passed, it’s all fine now, so don’t feel any burden."
Su Mu said nothing, silent even through the finishing of the wound care. Fu Shinian watched her organize the dical kit, feeling uncertain. Had he guessed wrong? Was she not sad because of him? Hesitating whether to say anything, by the ti Su Mu had neatly arranged the dical kit, Fu Shinian thought she would leave imdiately, but she didn’t. She maintained the sa posture long without moving, then quietly asked:
"Why did you take the bullet for ?"
With Su Mu’s question, Fu Shinian beca certain all her emotional fluctuations were indeed because of him, his heart settling as he smiled faintly:
"There’s no special reason. You’re my wife, and it’s my duty to protect you, to prevent you from getting hurt. I made a promise to not let you suffer any harm. Although there were missteps later, I didn’t want to fail you when I could manage."
Su Mu looked up at him:
"Grandmother was still in the hospital at that ti, fighting for her life. Didn’t you think about that?"
"I didn’t. At that ti, I only wanted to prevent you from getting hurt; nothing else mattered. Even if grandmother knew, she would have supported my decision."
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