護花近衛 - 第4172章 很快就好了 - 翰墨軒

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.