Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

Since getting married, Yun Shuyao has never stayed out overnight alone.

Xiao Fang sat in the empty dining room, with two sets of bowls and chopsticks in front of him.

Looking at the untouched bowl and chopsticks across from him, he suddenly realized that the stifling feeling he had been experiencing these past few days had a clear and serious consequence.

His wife was telling him that this time, she was really angry.

Hot Spring Village.

When the housekeeper came to announce her arrival, Shu Yao was curled up in her room, staring blankly at the old locust tree outside the window.

"Miss, the young master has arrived."

The butler spoke in a low voice outside the door, his tone revealing a hint of anticipation for a good show.

"The son-in-law is having tea in the front hall. Would you like to invite him in, or..."

"Let him wait."

The butler paused, probably because he had never met his young mistress before, and spoke of his son-in-law in such a tone.

But he quickly responded and withdrew.

Shu Yao didn't move, but her ears betrayed her, involuntarily listening to the sounds coming from the corridor.

The footsteps were heavier than usual, no longer as unrestrained and arrogant as before.

The door wasn't locked.

When Xiao Fang pushed the door open, the setting sun was streaming in through the window and falling on him.

The tall man had taken off his official robes and was wearing only a bright red long gown, with a neatly tied waistband. He stood as straight as a knife that had just been tempered.

Yun Shuyao glanced at it and then looked away.

That knife isn't rusted, that's good.

But she was still angry.

"They're here."

Yun Shuyao's tone was even more indifferent than when she said "I'm back" that day.

Xiao Fang ignored this meaningless remark and walked directly in front of her.

Before she could react, he bent down, wrapped one arm around her back, and slipped the other hand under her knees.

They lifted her off the small couch by the window.

"Xiao Fang!"

Yun Shuyao instinctively reached out to support his shoulder, her palm striking him with considerable force, but he didn't budge.

Xiao Fang sat down on the small couch with Yun Shuyao in his arms, placing her steadily on his lap.

The two arms tightened immediately, trapping her in an area with nowhere to escape.

Yun Shuyao placed her hands on his chest, ready to push him away at any moment.

But she suddenly felt a slightly raised scar under her palm, through the fabric.

Her hand froze.

"You touched it?"

Xiao Fang looked down at her, his tone softer than ever before.

Yun Shuyao remained silent.

Xiao Fang, however, grasped her hand and pressed it to the left side of his heart.

Instead of looking through her clothes, I guided her fingers to slip them inside the gap between the overlapping fabric.

Her fingertips touched the new scars, one, two, and a third.

The longest line runs diagonally across the chest from below the collarbone, extending all the way to the left rib.

The new flesh was uneven and trembled slightly under her fingertips.

"This dish is just an inch away from the heart."

The imperial physician said, "If it had been any more skewed, I probably wouldn't have survived."

Xiao Fang spoke in a steady voice, as if he were talking about someone else's affairs.

"These two are penetrating wounds, with scars on both the front and back. Would you like to see the ones on your back?"

Yun Shuyao's eyes reddened, and she tried to pull her hand back, but Xiao Fang wouldn't let her.

"I didn't dare let you see it that day."

His warm, large palm covered the back of her hand, gathering her trembling fingers against his chest.

"It's because the scabs haven't formed yet, and I'm afraid you'll cry if you see it."

"What gives you the right to make this decision for me?"

Yun Shuyao's voice shattered as soon as it came out.

It wasn't anger, but tears she'd been holding back for a month. Finally, they found an outlet.

"Xiao Fang, what makes you think that by shouldering everything alone, you're doing me a favor?"

Yun Shuyao gripped his clothes so tightly that her fingers turned white.

"I am your wife. You are injured. I shouldn't be the last person to know."

Do you know, that night when I smelled the medicine on you and tried to touch you, but you dodged away—"

Yun Shuyao couldn't continue speaking.

Tears fell onto the back of his hand; they were scalding hot.

Xiao Fang watched the tear slide down the back of his hand, feeling the newly healed scar ache from the inside out.

He could face swords and spears, court infighting, and the more than one hundred assassins sent by the Wing King.

But he couldn't face this, he couldn't face his wife's tears.

And he was the one who started those tears, that's a fact.

"Yao Yao".

Xiao Fang used his thumb to wipe her face, but as soon as he wiped away a drop, another drop fell, and he couldn't wipe it all away.

He simply stopped wiping her face, pressed his wife's face into the crook of his neck, and tightened his arms around her.

Let her have a good cry.

"you're right."

Xiao Fang buried his face in her hair, his voice deep as if squeezed from the depths of his chest.

"I'm used to being alone. When I was hurt before, I would just hide away and lick my wounds until I got through it."

But now I have you…”

His arms tightened even more.

"I haven't learned how to let you share my burden yet."

Shu Yao cried for a while before gradually stopping.

Tears soaked a large patch of Xiao Fang's clothes. When she looked up, the tip of her nose was red and her eyes were still watery.

But the menacing aura that threatened to push someone out the door was gone.

"Then why don't you learn?"

Yun Shuyao's voice was hoarse from crying, but her tone remained stubborn.

"I studied."

Xiao Fang lowered his head, his forehead touching hers, his voice as solemn as if he were making a military pledge before the emperor.

"From now on, I will tell you everything: where the injury is, how serious the injury is, and how it was treated."

Yun Shuyao was still a little annoyed by his obedient attitude.

"You are no longer allowed to sleep in the study."

"I'm never sleeping again."

Xiao Fang replied without the slightest hesitation, his voice growing softer and softer.

"Don't hide from me anymore."

"I'll never hide again."

Xiao placed it on her pouting little lips and gently pecked it.

"Now let me see the wound on your back."

Xiao Fang was stunned for a moment, then resignedly let go of her and turned around.

The long robe was taken off, the inner garment was unbuttoned, revealing the entire back.

Shu Yao stopped breathing.

She already knew what was going on when she touched the scar on his chest.

But when I saw his back with my own eyes, I still gasped.

A long, slanted cut ran from the left shoulder blade down to the right side of the waist.

Although it has healed, the new skin is still a pale pink, and the stitches are faintly visible.

Scattered around were scratches of varying sizes, some faded, others still reddish.

Yun Shuyao's fingertips gently landed on his shoulder blade, slowly tracing the edge of the longest scar.

The pressure was light, like caressing a broken piece of porcelain.

"Does it hurt?"

Yun Shuyao choked up again.

The healed wound wouldn't hurt, but when she asked, Xiao Fang felt something throbbing violently beneath the scar.

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

Xiao Fang turned his head and looked into her eyes at very close range, his voice a little hoarse.

"Do you want to verify it yourself?"

Yun Shuyao still had tears on her eyelashes, but upon hearing this, she raised the corner of her eye to look at him.

That look in his eyes was from crying, from being angry, from feeling wronged for a month, and finally from coming back to life.

She removed her hand from Xiao Fang's back and gave the man a light push.

"I was talking about checking on the injury, what are you thinking?"

"I want to prove it to you."

Xiao Fang caught the hand she pushed towards him and leaned down to kiss her fingertips.

Then kiss the back of her hand, followed by kissing the corners of her eyes, which were red from crying.

Each touch was as light as a confession, but Xiao Fang's gaze was not one of confession.

That's the kind of gaze only prisoners who have been neglected for a month can receive when they finally get a pardon.

"That night."

Xiao Fang's lips slid from the corner of her eye to her ear, his breath low and hot, carrying a pent-up heat.

"When you reached out to undress me, I was thinking..."