The man saw it from behind and doubled up. Stooping in front of her, he wanted to lift her up.
But she refused to get up, and she even used her hair to conceal her face.
Her face was burning so hot and bright that even her ears seemed to be on fire.
"Don"t worry about me. You go ahead!"
She was feeling so awkward that she did not know if she could live through another minute.
The man"s voice sounded above her head. "It"s embarra.s.sing, no?"
"Eh… eh…"
It was so embarra.s.sing that she did not know where to put her face.
"Come, get up." He held her by her arm.
"I can"t, my foot hurts."
He dipped his head for a closer look when he heard her soft, murmuring voice.
One of her arms had a superficial scratch, and she had a big hematoma at one of her ankles. It looked especially prominent on her fair skin.
Knitting his brows, he patiently held her up. "I"ll help you up first."
Gosh.
It was not just her ankle but her knee as well.
It was a terrible fall just now. Even he had felt the pain as he watched her from behind.
Her eyes were red and rimmed with tears of pain and vexation. She tried to push him along.
"You go first. You don"t have to suffer the same embarra.s.sment as me."
"This is not your first time embarra.s.sing yourself."
Saying that, he turned around and flipped his back toward her.
He then caught her arms across his shoulders and, in the next second, lifted her by her delicate waist so he could carry her on his back.
His action was completed in one single move.
She could feel herself being lifted up high off the ground.
She seemed to recall him telling her that he was 188 centimeters tall. In comparison, her height was only 165 centimeters, which made her feel like a midget beside him.
As he carried her, he thought to himself, She"s too light. I better fatten her up.
"If you"re feeling embarra.s.sed, just bury your head on my back and don"t look up."
Yan Nian: "Right."
She really dipped her head low on his back. As he walked, she tried to sniffle her nose, concerned that she might dirty his clean s.h.i.+rt with her nasal mucus.
She had to admit that his shoulders felt broad and stable.
His back was firm, and so were his muscles.
His scapula bones were protruding so much that it rubbed her nose red.
Thank goodness he smelled good. The light, minty fragrance on him that mingled with a slight antiseptic smell was refres.h.i.+ng enough to make her forgive his protruding bones.
"Don"t wear a short skirt next time."
A stuffy voice had trailed from the man in front.
She lifted one of her eyes slightly to have a look. From her angle, she could only see his clean-cut nape at the back. Not a single speck of dust could be seen.
"I"m wearing a long skirt today, actually."
"That was why I told you not to wear a short one."
What she was wearing beneath the skirt would have been exposed when she fell, if not for her long skirt.
Moreover, the fabric of her skirt was fairly thick and able to withstand the friction with the floor as she fell. If not, she would have suffered more bruises not just on her knee and ankle.
She seemed to catch his subtleties finally and nodded her head in acquiescence. "Understood."
She displayed a rare moment of meekness and refrained from displaying her usual feisty behavior. Her obliging mannerism was like that of a small parrot as she placed her two tender hands on his shoulders. It was hard to tell if her sweaty palms were due to the hot weather or something else.
Looking sideways, she could see the pedestrians sizing them up. Some had an ambiguous look while the rest was laughing at her expense.
She wanted to snap at them, "What are you staring at? Have you not seen a handsome couple before where the man carries the woman? I"m gonna dig out your eyeb.a.l.l.s if you"re going to stare further."
Out of the blue, she recalled that someone had piggybacked her in the same manner in the past.
That was more than a decade ago, and she couldn"t remember how that person looked anymore.
Still, it triggered many happy memories of her high school days, and she broke out into a crystalline, gay chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?"
Oh, right. I"m still on Jiang Beiyuan"s back.
"Nothing much. I just recalled that you are the second person who piggybacked me."
"Who"s the first?"
"No one significant… it was a senior."