Chapter 42: Since When Do People Go Running to Tell on Others?

Huan'ya withdrew her hand and nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "Mm-hmm, it's nothing, really nothing."

She had suffered much heavier injuries than this in the past!

Seeing her perfunctory attitude, Song Tiancheng knitted his brows together, as if wanting to say something.

Yet, when his gaze fell upon the bandage wrapped around her face, a trace of helplessness washed over him.

This girl had endured too many wounds in her past, which was why she treated such a minor injury with utter indifference, yet she was clearly someone who was terribly afraid of pain.

Dropping his gaze for a fleeting moment, Song Tiancheng suddenly raised his voice and called out, "Mother, Huan'ya is hurt!"

"What is it? What happened?"

Huan'ya jerked her head up, looking at Song Tiancheng before her in absolute disbelief.

Yet, meeting the man's calm and steady gaze, her initial righteous indignation instantly dissolved into a guilty conscience.

She had already said it didn't hurt; why on earth did he have to tell on her...

"Where are you hurt?" Mother Song hurried out in a few strides, and her heart softened the moment she saw Huan'ya's aggrieved expression.

"Huan'ya, where are you hurt? Let Auntie take a look."

Before Huan'ya could utter a word, Song Tiancheng spoke up, "Her hand was poked by a awl just now, it's a bit swollen."

Hearing this, Mother Song's brows furrowed tightly. "Where is it swollen? Extend your hand and let me see."

"It's not swollen, just a bit of broken skin," Huan'ya said, looking embarrassed. She was no longer a child; making a fuss over broken skin would surely make Auntie think she was delicate and spoiled.

Mother Song paid no heed to her explanation and directly grasped her wrist. The moment she laid eyes on the wound in the palm of her hand, she instantly sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

"It's swollen up this high! And you had the nerve to say it wasn't!"

Startled by the reprimand, Huan'ya lowered her gaze to look at her palm, only to find herself even more bewildered.

"No, just now... just now it wasn't like this."

The spot where she had been poked merely had a grazed surface a moment ago, but by now it had swollen up directly, the edges bruised black and blue, with beads of blood oozing from the broken skin. It unmistakably looked much more serious than before.

Huan'ya had no idea how this wound could change its appearance like magic, but Mother Song refused to believe her.

Though they had only spent a few days together, Mother Song had already discovered that Huan'ya was overly polite by nature, always keeping things to herself and enduring in silence rather than speaking up.

She said, "Get up first. I'll put some medicine on it for you."

Mother Song's tone was not particularly gentle, leaving Huan'ya feeling rather intimidated, so she could only follow behind Mother Song into the house.

Watching her timid and frightened appearance, the corners of Song Tiancheng's lips twitched upward in a faint smile.

Huan'ya abruptly whipped her head around, but saw nothing. Song Tiancheng's lips were pressed into a tight, flat line, looking nothing at all like someone who had just been smiling.

Did she see things wrong?

Feeling a bit self-conscious, Huan'ya hurried inside upon hearing Mother Song calling her name.

Once she had left, the edges of Song Tiancheng's eyes and brows curved into a gentle smile.

"You still need to be careful next time," Mother Song said while applying the medicine for her.

Huan'ya pressed her lips together. "It really wasn't serious. It was just a broken patch of skin earlier."

"Regardless of whether it's serious or not, you cannot keep it a secret." As she spoke, Mother Song gently pressed down on the swollen area.

"Hiss!"

"Look at you, shaking like this, and you still claim you're fine?"

With tears welling up in her eyes, Huan'ya thought to herself that of course it didn't hurt if nobody pressed on it.

Seeing her looking so pitiful, Mother Song couldn't help letting out a chuckle. She continued to massage the spot gently and said, "There, consider this a lesson! Next time anything happens, no matter how small, you are not allowed to hide it from us, do you hear me?"

Huan'ya nodded with reddened eye rims, finally understanding that both Auntie and Big Brother Tiancheng were showing concern for her rather than finding her a nuisance.

Sniffling softly, Huan'ya replied, "I hear you."

Mother Song chuckled and gently rubbed the top of her head. "All right, run along outside. Let Cheng-zi shell the corn by himself, and you come with me to the kitchen to tend the fire."

Having just been "disciplined," Huan'ya nodded obediently. "Okay."