Chapter 2: Accident and Tenderness - More Than a Gentleman

To get to the dining room, one had to pass through a long glass corridor.

Both sides were planted with various rare plants. When the courtyard lights shone on them, the shadows were dappled, like a flowing painting.

Catherine hugged the rosewood box tightly, following behind William.

She walked very slowly, her eyes not enough to take it all in. Being an architecture student, she saw at a glance that the design of this corridor was extraordinary. That curvature, and the combination of glass and steel structure, possessed both modern and classical beauty; it was simply superb.

"So beautiful..." she exclaimed inwardly, gaining a new understanding of this Mr. Sterling's taste.

"That was remodeled from Tadao Ando's early sketches."

William, walking in front, seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and suddenly spoke.

His voice echoed in the empty corridor, carrying a bit of magnetism, sounding so good it could make one's ears pregnant.

Catherine raised her head in surprise. "No wonder... the light and shadow processing is absolutely amazing."

Before she finished speaking, her gaze was attracted by a modern sculpture at the end of the corridor. It was a twisted metal geometric body, reflecting light coldly under the illumination.

She looked a bit entranced, didn't watch her step, and tripped hard over a raised pressure strip at the edge of the carpet.

"Ah!"

In the instant she lost her balance, the world spun.

Catherine's first reaction was not to hold the wall, nor to protect herself, but to hug the box in her arms tightly, curling her whole person into a ball, wanting to use her body as a meat cushion.

"Can't break... must not break..." This was the only thought in her mind.

A muffled "thud".

Her knee hit heavily on the hard marble floor.

Pain!

Piercing pain rushed through her whole body like an electric current. Catherine sucked in a cold breath from the pain, and tears welled up instantly.

But she didn't care about the pain; she looked down at the box in her arms immediately.

Her fingers tremblingly touched the surface of the box. Confirming it was intact, without even a scratch, she let out a long sigh of relief, collapsing on the ground as if exhausted.

"What are you doing!"

An urgent roar suddenly sounded, carrying obvious anger.

William rushed in front of her almost instantly. He squatted down, his brows knitted into a knot, fire burning in his eyes.

"Why look at that broken box instead of yourself after falling?"

Catherine was stunned by his roar, looking up timidly, tears still in her eyes: "This is Song porcelain... very expensive..."

"No matter how expensive, it's an inanimate object; people are living."

William interrupted her grumpily. Although his tone was fierce, it made Catherine's heart inexplicably skip a beat.

His gaze fell on her knee.

The creamy white cashmere pants had been dyed red by blood. Against that pure white background, it appeared particularly glaring, looking painful.

William's face sank instantly, a trace of annoyance flashing in his eyes—he shouldn't have brought her this way.

"Don't move."

He reached out his hand, gently rolling up her pant leg.

A large patch of skin was scraped off the knee, bloody and messy, with beads of blood oozing out.

Catherine shrank back from the pain, instinctively wanting to hide.

"Bear with it." William's voice, though still deep, was obviously much softer, carrying a hint of imperceptible comfort.

He looked up to gauge the distance. It was still some way from the main house; letting her walk by herself was definitely out of the question.

"Can you walk?" he asked. Although it was a question, his tone already had a decision.

Catherine tried to move her leg, but the piercing pain made her face turn pale. She shook her head, biting her lip, looking exactly like a wronged kitten.

"Seems... not really."

William sighed, a hint of coolness in his helplessness.

"Hold onto me."

He extended his arm, offering it to her, his movement gentlemanly yet radiating a sense of detachment.

Catherine paused for a moment, hesitatingly reached out, and lightly placed her hand on his firm forearm.

Through the dark grey cashmere sweater, she could feel the taut and powerful muscle lines underneath.

"Thank you," she whispered, and borrowing his strength, struggled to stand up.

William made no extra moves, simply steadying her arm and matching her slow pace as they walked towards the living room.

Although it was just arm contact, that faint scent of cedarwood inevitably drilled into her nose, mixing with his unique cool aura, causing Catherine's heartbeat to inexplicably quicken a few beats.

Back in the living room, William helped her sit on the sofa. His movements weren't exactly gentle, but one couldn't pick any faults either.

The doctor came very quickly.

When treating the wound, as the alcohol cotton ball wiped over the cut, Catherine trembled all over with pain, biting her lip tightly to stop herself from crying out.

A warm, large hand suddenly covered her eyes.

The palm was dry and warm, carrying a reassuring power, instantly blocking out all fear.

"Don't look."

William's voice sounded in her ear, deep and gentle. "If it hurts, shout it out; no one will laugh at you."

Catherine's tears finally couldn't help falling.

Not because of the pain, but because of this sudden tenderness.

Leaving home to study at a young age, she was used to being strong, used to enduring, used to swallowing all grievances into her stomach. No one had ever told her that pain could be shouted out, and that there was someone who would feel sorry for her.

After the wound was bandaged, Catherine looked at her knee wrapped like a dumpling, a bit worried.

"Mr. Sterling, these pants..."

The originally exquisite cashmere pants had been cut open with a large slit, stained with blood, looking really messy.

William took a look and turned to make a phone call.

"Send a set of women's clothes over, size..." He glanced at Catherine's slender figure and accurately reported a string of numbers.

Catherine looked at him in surprise. He could actually tell her size at a glance?

While waiting for the clothes, dinner was also delivered to the living room.

Because Catherine's legs were inconvenient, William specifically had the dining table set up on the coffee table in front of the fireplace.

It was a sumptuous and exquisite dinner.

Perfectly pan-fried lamb chops, black truffle risotto emitting an enticing aroma, and an exquisite dessert—raspberry chocolate balls.

Catherine was indeed starving.

Although a bit reserved, tempted by the delicious food, she still ate with relish. The way she ate was very focused, her cheeks puffing out, exactly like a little hamster eating.

William held a glass of red wine, barely moving his utensils, just watching her quietly.

The slight irritability generated by that Song porcelain had miraculously disappeared at this moment. Watching her eat was actually more satisfying than eating himself. This quiet warmth was something he hadn't experienced in this empty manor for a long time.

Only the last raspberry chocolate ball was left on the plate.

Catherine just wanted to extend her fork when she suddenly felt William staring at the plate.

She froze for a moment, thinking he wanted to eat it too.

But... this ball had already been touched by her fork.

"Um... Mr. Sterling, do you want to eat it?"

Catherine asked a bit embarrassedly, her voice soft and sticky. "If you don't mind..."

Before she finished speaking, William had already leaned forward slightly.

He didn't use a fork but directly lowered his head and took the chocolate ball into his mouth from Catherine's hand.

The warm breath brushed over Catherine's fingertips, stirring up a burst of numbing tremors that went straight to her heart.

She widened her eyes, frozen in place, her brain instantly crashing.

He... he actually...

Is this an indirect kiss?

William savored the dessert in his mouth leisurely, his deep gaze locked on her eyes, the corner of his mouth hooking up into a playful smile.

"Tastes good."

He looked at Catherine's earlobe, which was red enough to bleed, the smile in his eyes deepening, his voice husky and charming.

"Very sweet."

Not knowing if he was talking about the chocolate or implying something else.

Catherine only felt her heart beating like a drum, the rhythm completely lost in this ambiguous air.