"You..."
Before she could finish her question, Guan Shan was upon her.
He pulled Ji Huan toward him, his other hand gripping her shoulder as he scanned her from head to toe, his brow deeply furrowed.
"Are you hurt."
'His tone was gruff and harsh, but this had to be concern, right?'
A warmth spread through Ji Huan's heart. She shook her head. "No, it's all thanks to Ding. How did you know?"
Guan Shan's thin lips were pressed into a tight line, his gaze fixed on her.
Ji Huan had told him roughly what time she would be home. When she didn't return by then, he had grown uneasy and gone out to look for her.
He'd even prepared excuses in case Ji Huan teased him, like Dabao fussing for her, or that he'd forgotten the braising time for one of the meats...
But on the way, he ran into some villagers returning from watching the commotion at West River Gully. Two of the bolder ones launched into a flurry of gasps and laments the moment they saw him.
