Chapter Three: Rescuing the Handsome Man

Perhaps because he had something to ask for, the man’s voice, originally as cold and sharp as ice, unknowingly softened, as if he had suddenly reined in all the jagged edges surrounding him. Each word he spoke now drifted like petals caressed by a gentle spring breeze—soft, melodious, imbued with an irresistible charm.

Listening to him, Ouyang Xiaoyue’s eyes, clear as autumn waters, flickered briefly with a hint of confusion, like a shooting star flashing across the night sky. Yet this moment of bewilderment was fleeting, vanishing like morning mist under the sun’s warm embrace.

Still, she couldn't fully grasp the deeper meaning behind his words; her heart felt shrouded in a thin veil—vague and elusive. Gently biting her tender lower lip, which trembled slightly like a flower petal swaying in the wind, she revealed the unease and hesitation buried deep within.

She gazed quietly at the unfamiliar man before her, searching for answers within the depths of his profound eyes. But his gaze was like two unfathomable pools, drawing one in yet revealing nothing.

As time slipped by, the air around them grew heavy with tension. After a fierce internal struggle, Ouyang Xiaoyue chose silence. She lowered her eyelids, avoiding the intensity of his burning stare, and unconsciously fiddled with the hem of her clothes, as if to mask the turmoil and confusion inside.

At that moment, the man noticed a subtle, barely perceptible tremor in her otherwise steady expression. The faint curiosity in his eyes deepened, flickering like a flame growing stronger.

Then, his deep, magnetic voice echoed again in Ouyang Xiaoyue’s ear, like the stirring notes of a cello, carrying a charm impossible to resist: “Miss, would you lend me your aid?”

His voice seemed to possess a strange power, piercing her defenses and reaching the very core of her soul.

“...I would,” she whispered after a moment, her eyes as clear as a spring.

Her voice, slightly husky, was like a spring breeze brushing over a tranquil lake, stirring ripples in his long-dormant heart—a feeling he soon dismissed.

He smiled faintly, his tone gentle yet firm, “Miss, give me your hand.”

Then he specified, “Your right hand.”

Ouyang Xiaoyue furrowed her brows slightly, hesitated briefly, then extended her right hand toward him.

Suddenly, a warm sensation radiated from the ring on her finger. The blue halos entwined around the man began to tremble and spin rapidly around him.

After an unknown span of time, the blue halos shattered into countless points of light, sparkling like stars scattered across the night sky. These lights lingered briefly before being absorbed back into the ring.

Blinking in confusion at this sudden change, Ouyang Xiaoyue watched as the man swiftly extended his arm, carrying her figure in a flash to a spot a hundred meters away.

Held tightly by this stranger she had just met, she felt no particular emotions, only quietly lifted her gaze to his deep emerald eyes.

At that moment, a loud rumble echoed from the surrounding mist, and the ground began to collapse rapidly. The place where they stood was fortuitously spared, safe from the sinking earth.

In other words, had the man only cared for his own escape without taking her along, her survival would have been nearly impossible.

“Does it hurt?” The man gently set her down, a rare tenderness flickering in his usually guarded eyes. He studied this young woman before him, battered and bruised yet silent through it all, her resilience striking him with a mix of surprise and admiration.

Ouyang Xiaoyue was momentarily dazed before suddenly realizing he was asking about her injuries with genuine concern.

She slowly lowered her gaze to the bloodstained, tattered fabric of her clothes, then looked back up, meeting his mysterious, profound eyes directly. Her lips pressed lightly together, still silent.

Yet her expression betrayed a strong curiosity about those eyes, as if hidden within them lay secrets waiting quietly to be unraveled.

They stood in prolonged silence, neither breaking the stillness. After an unknown length of time, Ouyang Xiaoyue seemed to make a decision, her voice barely above a whisper: “I’m dying.”

Those words struck like thunder cleaving the sky, the very air around them freezing in shock. Yet astonishingly, her eyes remained calm and serene, as if the “I” she spoke of was not herself, but some stranger unrelated to her.

“That won’t happen,” the man said with a slight raise of his brow and a faint, elusive smile. His gaze softened as it settled on her. For some reason, a peculiar feeling blossomed within him toward this girl, and he did not hesitate to offer his help. After all, if she hadn’t stumbled upon this place by accident, the burdens binding him might never have been lifted.

Yet Ouyang Xiaoyue fell silent once more. Her large, beautiful eyes blinked uncertainly, still unable to fully comprehend the meaning behind his words. She stood there like a startled fawn, unsure how to face the man before her.

“Open your mouth.” Seeing her hesitation, the man said no more, steadying her waist to prevent a fall as he lifted a glowing pill to her lips.

This girl was one of the rare few with whom he felt no discomfort upon contact.

Had anyone else been present, they would have been stunned—this pill was an exceptionally precious eighth-grade elixir!

Ouyang Xiaoyue, unaware of its value, merely glanced at the radiant pill and obediently opened her mouth to swallow it.

Watching her docile manner, the man raised an eyebrow. “Miss, aren’t you afraid I might be giving you poison?” he teased. How could she be so unsuspecting?

Yet from the moment he first saw her, except for fleeting moments, she seemed to lack any sense of caution. Seeing the confusion on her face, he realized she probably didn’t even understand what caution meant.

Suppressing the complex emotions swelling inside, he softly asked, “Does it still hurt?”

Only then did Ouyang Xiaoyue suddenly realize the sharp pain had vanished, and her wounds had miraculously healed.

Surprise flickered across her face—the greatest change in her expression that day.

She abruptly raised her head, gazing straight into the depths of the man’s eyes, feeling an unfamiliar warmth stir within—an emotion she recognized as “liking.”