The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat-Chapter 61: Why Don’t We Make a Bet?

The first step of the massage was to undress.

Hua Manman had to help Prince Zhao undress every day, so she already knew the process by heart.

She deftly removed his clothes, layer by layer.

As Hua Manman knelt down, ready to roll up Prince Zhao’s pant leg, he suddenly spoke.

"Just do it like this."

Hua Manman paused.

She frowned. "But the medical texts say it’s best not to massage through fabric. Besides, I need to apply the ointment. I can’t apply the medicine like this."

Li Ji was dressed only in a set of moon-white inner robes, his long, jet-black hair cascading down his back. His thin lips were pressed into a firm line, and his narrow eyes held a hint of gloom.

He remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking.

"If you’re not afraid, then do as you suggest."

’What could be so frightening about simply rolling up a pant leg?’

Only when she rolled up his pant leg and saw the hideous scars on his leg did she finally understand what he meant.

His legs were long, straight, and perfectly muscled—they should have been exceptionally beautiful.

But a severe injury had left them covered in hideous scars.

It was as if a piece of the finest jade had been violently shattered and, though painstakingly glued back together, was still marred by jarring cracks.

Hua Manman was stunned. She didn’t move for a long time.

Li Ji lowered his dark gaze, his eyes meeting hers as he asked.

"They look disgusting, don’t they?"

Hua Manman recalled a time before she had traveled to this world. Her father had beaten her so severely that she was hospitalized, and her grandparents had rushed to see her.

Back then, in the hospital room, when her grandmother saw the ugly injuries covering her body, she had worried she would be repulsed.

But her grandmother had only stroked her hair, her eyes brimming with tears, and said in a trembling voice.

"Don’t be afraid, Manman. Grandpa and Grandma will take you home."

Remembering how she had felt in that moment, Hua Manman’s voice softened instinctively.

"It’s alright. They’ll heal soon."

Someone had once caused her pain, but others had shown her kindness.

That pain may have left an indelible scar on her heart.

But she could also pass that kindness on to others.

Li Ji heard no other thoughts from her heart.

She was genuinely trying to comfort him, with no trace of any other emotion.

A self-deprecating smile played on Li Ji’s lips. "It won’t get better. Even the Imperial Physicians said my leg is incurable."

Hua Manman reached out and ran the soft pad of her finger over his leg, her voice firmer than he had ever heard it.

"It will definitely heal!" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

’Li Ji wanted to laugh at her arrogance. Even the Chief Imperial Doctor was helpless before his injury, so how could she be so certain he would recover? Were her medical skills even greater than the Chief Imperial Doctor’s?’

But when his gaze met her sparkling, beautiful dark eyes, he held his tongue.

He swallowed the mocking words that had risen to his lips.

Li Ji said, his face devoid of expression.

"Don’t give out hope so easily."

He had once placed his hope in many people, only for that hope to turn to despair.

He hated that feeling.

Hua Manman said confidently, "Why don’t we make a bet?

If your leg injury heals completely, I win.

If it doesn’t, you win.

The loser has to grant the winner one request."

Li Ji thought her confident expression was foolish, yet a faint voice in his heart told him—

’Trust her. Just this once.’

’If I’m disappointed again, I’ll never trust anyone ever again.’

And so, on some strange impulse, he agreed.

"Alright."

Hua Manman’s face immediately lit up. "Let’s pinky swear on it!"

She held out her pinky.

With a strange mix of emotions, Li Ji extended his own pinky and hooked it with hers.