“Still angry?”
Just as Zhu Yan was about to leave, Shen Du suddenly grabbed her wrist, using just enough force to prevent her from moving.
“What are you doing?” Zhu Yan questioned in a lowered voice, struggling continuously. But the more she struggled, the tighter Shen Du’s grip became, until it hurt too much for her to move.
“I’m just asking if you’re still upset about this afternoon?” Shen Du answered Zhu Yan’s question, but she was completely bewildered.
“What anger? I’ve forgotten everything that happened this afternoon. Don’t create trouble out of nothing here.”
As Zhu Yan spoke, the pain in her wrist made her furrow her brow. “Let go quickly, you’re hurting me.”
Hearing Zhu Yan say this, Shen Du slowly released his grip.
As Zhu Yan turned to leave, she suddenly lost her balance and fell backward. Shen Du immediately caught her and carried her towards the room.
“What are you doing!” Zhu Yan exclaimed in shock, struggling and questioning.
If it weren’t so late at night, she would have certainly jumped down from Shen Du’s arms and pointed at his nose, cursing him as a scoundrel.
The corners of Shen Du’s lips curved into a meaningful smile. He glanced at the woman in his arms and replied in a low voice,
“Everyone here is doubting our relationship. If we don’t act more convincingly, they’ll say you’re all talk and no proof, and won’t believe your words.”
Zhu Yan’s lips twitched. At a time like this, Shen Du could still think of such things.
“Put me down quickly. It won’t look good if someone sees us,” Zhu Yan continued to struggle, but Shen Du’s arms tightened even more.
“What’s not good about it? I hope more people see us. This way, our marital harmony will be evident, and you won’t have to explain to everyone.”
Zhu Yan was utterly speechless, not knowing how to retort to Shen Du. This move was indeed preemptive.
She couldn’t help but admire Shen Du’s “foresight.”
Finally, back in the room, Zhu Yan jumped down from Shen Du’s arms like a startled rabbit, retreating far away.
“Alright, alright, the show is over. Now it’s time to sleep.”
Saying this, Zhu Yan pointed to the table and chairs nearby. “The Zhu residence isn’t like the Shen residence. You’ll have to make do with those.”
Shen Du glanced at the table and chairs, furrowed his brow, then looked at the bed behind Zhu Yan and walked straight toward it.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Shen Du patted the mattress and said, “Isn’t there a bed right here? It would be foolish not to sleep on it. If you’re uncomfortable, you can sleep on the table and chairs.”
“This is the Zhu residence!” Zhu Yan’s almond eyes widened as she shouted at Shen Du angrily. “It’s my home, not your territory.”
“I am your husband. For a married couple to share a room, yet the wife makes her husband sleep on a table and chair, is that proper?”
Zhu Yan was speechless again. Discussing marital ethics at a time like this seemed somewhat out of place.
Without waiting for Zhu Yan to respond, Shen Du lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, saying, “There’s still space on the inside. If you’re willing to stay here, sleep on the inside. If not, spending a night outside with the moon isn’t bad either.”
The muscles on Zhu Yan’s face twitched. Was this even human speech?
They both knew how cold the night wind outside was.
Only a fool would choose to go outside and face the cold wind when there was a bed available.
After a quick moment of thought, Zhu Yan ignored Shen Du’s words, kicked off her shoes, and jumped onto the bed. She piled the blanket between them and lay down on the inner side.
“Neither of us can cross the blanket. Even though the bed is rather small, we’ll make do for one night. We should still maintain proper etiquette.”
With that said, Zhu Yan closed her eyes.
Shen Du didn’t say anything more, just turned his head to look at the woman, finding her quite interesting.
The night was indeed a bit chilly, and the two sleeping people unconsciously pulled the blanket over themselves.
When Zhu Yan woke up in the morning, she opened her eyes to find herself nestled in Shen Du’s arms.
They were both fully clothed and Shen Du was sleeping soundly, seemingly unaware of the situation.
Zhu Yan’s eyes widened as she gently lifted the blanket off herself. It would be better to quietly leave before Shen Du noticed, to avoid any awkwardness or accusations of her body being unclean.
She moved slowly, but being a martial artist, Shen Du’s eyes snapped open at her slightest movement.
His large hand suddenly rested on Zhu Yan’s shoulder, pressing the woman back into his embrace. “Where are you going?”
Seeing that Shen Du was awake, Zhu Yan quickly scrambled out of his arms. “Good, you’re awake. Last night was a bit cold, we…”
Shen Du then realized that they had shared a blanket, and had just been embracing each other.
But for some reason, he felt no anger in his heart at this moment and seemed to even miss the feeling from earlier.
Zhu Yan hurriedly explained, but halfway through her explanation, she suddenly realized something was amiss. Why was she explaining when he was the one who had taken advantage of the situation?
She had gotten under the blanket and crossed the boundary, but wasn’t he under the blanket too?
Thinking of this, Zhu Yan’s expression changed from guilt to anger. She pointed at Shen Du’s nose and shouted, “What’s wrong with you? Didn’t we agree not to cross the line? How could you do this?”
Zhu Yan’s sudden change in attitude left Shen Du momentarily confused. Not wanting to dwell on it, he got up and out of bed.
Zhu Yan persisted, feeling that he owed her an explanation for taking advantage of her.
“Explain to me clearly what just happened. Why were we both under the same blanket?”
Just as Zhu Yan finished speaking, the door suddenly opened. Madam Jin walked in carrying water for washing up. Hearing Zhu Yan’s words, Madam Jin glared at her fiercely. How could this girl speak so shamelessly?
“What are you saying? For a woman to speak so shamelessly!” Madam Jin berated Zhu Yan harshly.
Shen Du didn’t offer any explanation for Zhu Yan either, which frustrated her even more.
Her mother didn’t know the situation, but couldn’t he at least say something in explanation?
Shen Du ignored her, finished washing up, and left the room, leaving Zhu Yan alone.
Today, Shen Du seemed different. There was a faint smile on his lips, and he even nodded politely when he saw Zhu Kuo.
After breakfast, everyone gathered together again.
Han Shiyuan’s head hung low, not wanting to revisit old matters.
But now that everyone wanted to help him, he had no choice but to recall those painful memories.
A faint, mind-clearing incense burned in the main hall. As Han Shiyuan spoke, no one made a sound. This was a painful story, not a joke.
When Han Shiyuan finished recounting the events, Zhu Yan and Shen Du exchanged a glance.
What Han Shiyuan knew aligned with what Zhu Yan had investigated and what was recorded in Shen Du’s Internal Guard files. There wasn’t much new information.