Chapter 4172 — It Will Be Over Soon

Wei Zhao wanted to explain at once, yet even through the veil he could sense that Huang Xiaotao was at that moment feeling bashful, self-conscious, and a little pleased all at once, and the words died on his lips.

Whatever beauty Huang Xiaotao had once possessed, after her face had been ruined and disfigured, perhaps no man had ever looked at her with any thought in his heart again. And now that he had suddenly treated her so kindly, it was hardly surprising that she had mistaken it for interest on his part. But if he simply spoke the truth outright, would it wound her?

Though he had not had much contact with Huang Xiaotao, and harbored no such thoughts toward her at present, toward this pitiable yet strong and kindhearted girl, any man at all, he supposed, would feel a pang of tender pity, and could never bear to hurt her.

Even at the risk of being misunderstood, Wei Zhao still could not quite bring himself to shatter the lovely notion Huang Xiaotao was holding at this moment. If he said it plainly now, she might put on an air of not caring, but inside she would surely be grieved, and deeply embarrassed as well.

Her face had already been ruined by that piece of garbage Su Zhaohe; Wei Zhao did not want to make her feel small again. Perhaps Huang Xiaotao would not have minded such things to begin with, but if he were the one to sting her, to tear open the scar, then how would he be any different from scum like Su Zhaohe?

"Actually..." Wei Zhao thought for a moment, then said in a most roundabout way, "I have a few close female confidantes..."

"Mm, I heard... you and Shangguan Lan'er are very close..." Huang Xiaotao still kept her head lowered, and said in a small, fidgeting voice, "So... I can't compare with her. Seeing her... I feel ashamed of my own unworthiness..."

"Huh?" Wei Zhao was taken aback again. He had not expected Huang Xiaotao to be paying him such close attention. She should only just have learned that he was the martial artist Ling Yi—and already she knew all this?

Only, from the tone of her words, she did not seem to mind much whether he had female confidantes or not?

Then again, Yunjie Island had preserved its ancient customs all along, and polygamy and the like had always been common enough. For a native-born local like Huang Xiaotao, it seemed only natural not to be resistant to the idea.

What left Wei Zhao helpless was that her reply clearly did not answer his question at all. The point he had been making, she seemed not to have caught in the slightest; instead she had turned it into a comparison between herself and Shangguan Lan'er. Once more he had to sigh at how hard it was to fathom a woman's mind...

"Never mind, let me have a look at your face," Wei Zhao had no choice but to say.

Absurd and laughable as the exchange had been, he could still see that her appearance remained the greatest knot in Huang Xiaotao's heart. If he did not help her untie it, she would go on feeling inferior—especially after seeing a beauty like Shangguan Lan'er, which would only strike at her fragile nerves and remind her of the equally lovely self she had once been.

But if her looks were restored, then Huang Xiaotao would naturally regain her confidence. By then, once she was again the center of everyone's admiration, she would no longer care whether Wei Zhao liked her or not.

"B-better not look..." Huang Xiaotao was startled, and clutching her veil she instinctively took a step back. There was none of the boldness and decisiveness she had shown as the trial squad's leader back at the Hutian Wu Mountains; instead she had grown ever more fidgety and shy.

"Don't be afraid, I'll just take a look," Wei Zhao said reassuringly.

"N-no... don't..." Huang Xiaotao shook her head again and again. She had never wanted anyone to see her ugly appearance, least of all a man like Wei Zhao, for whom she felt a budding fondness. She did not want her image in Wei Zhao's heart to suffer even the slightest blemish—that was something all women had in common.

But Wei Zhao gave her no chance to refuse. Catching her off guard, he stepped forward and pulled off her veil, and then he saw on her face that frightful scar, crawling like a centipede across nearly half of it, and he smiled faintly.

Seeing Wei Zhao smile, Huang Xiaotao's heart lurched with grief. Her eyes reddened and she began to cry.

"You... you really are laughing at me... I knew it... once you saw what I look like... you could never like me again... I really was too full of myself..." Huang Xiaotao sobbed, utterly heartbroken.

Hearing this, Wei Zhao was all the more taken aback, and smiled bitterly to himself. On this matter, Huang Xiaotao was simply too fragile and too sensitive; whatever happened, she could not help but turn it toward thoughts of her own inferiority. It had already become a knot in her heart.

"You really are overthinking it. I won't laugh at you—absolutely not," Wei Zhao assured her with a solemn expression, then paused. "Wait for me a moment."

"Truly?" Huang Xiaotao blinked her tear-washed eyes, yet both hands were pressed desperately over her face, refusing to let Wei Zhao see. But that great centipede-like scar—however she covered it, it was all in vain.

Wei Zhao nodded firmly, then rummaged through the space of his jade pendant and finally brought out a bottle of premium-grade trauma medicine. This was the top-quality premium version procured at the Yu family's auction back in the mundane world; Wu Chengtian had gathered such things up in one go and stuffed them into his hands to bring to Yunjie Island.

He had thought he would never need it, never imagining it would come in useful after all. This medicine had wondrous effects even on old, long-standing injuries—and the key was that it could remove scars.

Of course, with Wei Zhao's abilities, even without this top-grade trauma medicine, the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art alone could restore Huang Xiaotao's looks. But that would require her to be disfigured once more before it could heal and restore her.

For hers was an old injury from years ago, long since healed over, leaving only an ugly, ghastly scar. To simply treat it as it was now would leave no wound to treat at all.

If, in order to restore her looks, she were forcibly disfigured again, it would be excruciatingly painful. Huang Xiaotao herself might not mind doing so, but since there was a better way, Wei Zhao naturally saw no need to make her suffer that again.

"It's all right. It will be over soon," Wei Zhao said, and with his own hands began applying the top-grade trauma medicine to Huang Xiaotao's face. The sensation of that skin-to-skin contact left Huang Xiaotao shocked, astonished, and bashful all at once; she simply went stiff and did not dare move.

Feeling Wei Zhao's warm breath so close at hand, watching his focused expression, Huang Xiaotao knew well that his gesture surely carried no other meaning—yet her heart could not help fluttering wildly, and her mind was again filled with a riot of fancies. She even began to imagine, unable to help herself, how wonderful it would be if time could simply stand still at this moment forever.

A short while later, Wei Zhao finished applying the medicine, yet Huang Xiaotao was still sunk in her reverie, unable to tear herself away—she had not even noticed the top-grade trauma medicine taking effect, only feeling a faint itch upon her face. (The official Q.Q community for this book has opened. On your mobile Q.Q, choose "Discover" - "Interest Communities," search for "The School Beauty's Personal Bodyguard" to join; plot discussions and peripheral events will all be there! You can also add the author Yuren's public WeChat yuren22 and then enter the community.) R1152