He shot to his feet and took a step forward.
Almost by instinct, Fei Jin reached out and gently pulled Song Qingya behind him.
Seeing this, Yang Kai quickly retreated two steps and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. He plastered an ingratiating smile on his face and said hurriedly,
"Fei Village Chief, Doctor Song, I really don't mean any harm! I'm just… so eager to get this settled! Time is of the essence!"
He spoke in a rapid-fire burst, barely pausing to breathe, and a thin layer of sweat had already beaded on his forehead.
Song Qingya peeked out from behind Fei Jin, her gaze still calm as she watched Yang Kai.
In the moment he'd lunged forward, she had inadvertently glimpsed the bandage on his left arm.
"Mr. Yang," she said suddenly, "what exactly happened to your arm?"
Yang Kai froze, then stammered, "This… this is from a few days ago… I took a fall. Slipped on the stairs and hit the corner of a wall."
