After Becoming a Cannon-Fodder Lackey, I Swore to Protect the Young Lady to the Death - Chapter 17

“This is exactly how you get an infection! Come here, I need to disinfect it…” Lu Jiaoyue’s eyes, usually so calm and composed, were filled with a frantic worry. Her hands even trembled slightly as she struggled to open the bottle of iodine.

“Wait, no… alcohol first…” She had already dipped a cotton swab into the iodine before remembering the proper order, hurrying to open the rubbing alcohol instead.

Li Gangjiao stood there like a statue, her ears still bleeding, her hands hovering awkwardly as if she didn’t know where to put them. She loved the earring, but now she felt a wave of uncertainty about whether she should have even touched it.

“Come here so I can clean the wound,” Lu Jiaoyue said, her voice softening once she had soaked a fresh swab in alcohol and realized Li Gangjiao was still standing there frozen.

Since the piercing was fresh, blood was still oozing from the lobe. Yet, Li Gangjiao seemed to have no sense of pain; aside from a slight furrow of her brow, she showed no discomfort at all.

“This might sting. Just bear with me,” Lu Jiaoyue murmured. She leaned in close, gently removing the blood-stained stud.

Li Gangjiao didn’t make a sound. She just stared at Lu Jiaoyue’s face with intense focus. Jiao Jiao is definitely mad.

Despite her high tolerance, Li Gangjiao was still human. The moment the alcohol-soaked swab touched the raw wound, she instinctively flinched away.

“If we don’t treat this, it’ll get infected and hurt much worse later,” Lu Jiaoyue explained, suppressing her irritation. Perhaps because she was still a bit angry, her touch wasn’t exactly delicate, but Li Gangjiao didn’t dare pull away again.

She’s really, really mad.

Li Gangjiao had zero experience in soothing a significant other. She felt a bizarre mix of guilt and utter helplessness.

“Are you thirsty, Jiao Jiao? Want me to go get you some milk tea?” Li Gangjiao asked the moment she saw Lu Jiaoyue’s expression soften.

“Milk tea first thing in the morning? Are you trying to make me fat?” Even if her anger was fading, Lu Jiaoyue couldn’t resist a sharp retort. She couldn’t help it—seeing Li Gangjiao treat her own body with such reckless disregard made her blood boil.

“Hmm? But Jiao Jiao isn’t fat at all,” Li Gangjiao stammered, her slow brain finally picking up on the danger and trying to compensate.

“Is this how you’ve always pierced your ears?” Lu Jiaoyue asked, her voice tinged with heartbreak once she had finally finished cleaning the wound.

“Uh, pretty much,” Li Gangjiao answered honestly.

Lu Jiaoyue went silent. The atmosphere fell into a strange, heavy stillness. Li Gangjiao, her survival instincts kicking into high gear, put on her most “fawning” smile, but she couldn’t stand the silence.

“Forget it. I can’t really blame you,” Lu Jiaoyue sighed, finally defeated by Li Gangjiao’s “puppy-dog eyes” attack.

In the end, Lu Jiaoyue went to school alone. Li Gangjiao was ordered to stay at the villa, where a doctor had been summoned for a house call.

Li Gangjiao: Whoa. Is this the legendary ‘private doctor’ from those CEO novels?

Sitting in the villa, having finished her gaming session and now enjoying a meal prepared by the housekeeper, Li Gangjiao was genuinely excited to meet this doctor. In romance novels, the male lead’s private doctor is always a brilliant, handsome, and hardworking genius.

…Until a sixty-year-old man in a white coat and glasses walked through the door.

The man didn’t look like a typical senior; he walked with a brisk, energetic pace, and his face wore a warm, practiced smile that radiated years of experience.

Does the ‘villainess’ doctor not get to be on the same level as the male lead’s doctor in this world?!

Regardless, the doctor’s bandaging skills were top-notch. Once the wound was properly dressed, Li Gangjiao even went out of her way to pour him a pot of tea. She was the Eldest Miss’s representative now; being polite was priority number one. If the people she used to fight in the ring saw her now, they’d scream about her being two-faced.

“Thank you.” The doctor smiled kindly and set aside the poorly brewed Oolong tea. Along with the standard wound care supplies, he handed her several packs of medicated patches for bruises.

“Huh?” Li Gangjiao looked at the bruise patches with utter confusion. My ear is pierced, not bruised!

“You look like the type of girl who gets into fights,” the doctor explained as he reached the door. “I have a feeling you’ll be needing these.” He then vanished with lightning speed, not leaving even a shadow behind.

Li Gangjiao: …Can people really just tell?

After playing on her phone all morning, her shoulders felt stiff. When the housekeeper mentioned the villa had a gym, she headed straight there. Truthfully, Li Xi’s body didn’t even meet her “passing” grade. Fighting in this body required pure technique; she couldn’t rely on raw power, which was frustrating for someone used to crushing opponents with sheer strength.

After a quick warm-up, she began a specialized training regimen. She didn’t plan on returning to her previous world’s peak that was too much work but reaching 60% of her former strength would be enough. The casino had high-end gyms, but they were never for people like her. Their muscle and power were earned one punch at a time.

*****

By the time her alarm went off, she realized she had spent the entire day training. She set down the 30kg barbell, grabbed some of Lu Jiaoyue’s clothes from a corner, and headed to the shower. She hadn’t brought her own clothes, so she’d just have to explain it to Jiao Jiao later.

Speaking of which… has she stopped being mad? Is she still upset? Li Gangjiao wondered as she washed, fantasizing about how to win over her girlfriend.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Lu Jiaoyue was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at her phone.

“Jiao Jiao? Did school end early today?” Li Gangjiao guessed she’d only been in the shower for ten minutes. Had the school finally found a conscience?

“I was worried about your wound, so I came back early,” Lu Jiaoyue said, her face etched with exhaustion.

Li Gangjiao walked over with a fawning smile and wrapped her arms around Lu Jiaoyue’s waist. She was about to nuzzle her wet head against her chest when she realized Lu Jiaoyue’s expression was off. The way she was hiding her hands behind her back set off alarm bells in Li Gangjiao’s head.

“Are you thirsty? Auntie Liu made some lamb soup that’s incredible. Want me to go get you a bowl?” Li Gangjiao asked.

Lu Jiaoyue didn’t speak. She only nodded. Her hair was messy, and she was sitting on the bed in a strained, awkward position. She was unnervingly silent.

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