Clutching the bronze whistle tightly, Shen Du’s dark eyes were filled with pain, but he said, “Since you owe me first, why not give this life to me? Why…”
He paused briefly,
“Why repay Pan Chi first?”
Zhu Yan frowned. Pan Chi’s life was hanging by a thread; there was no time to waste. When had she said she wouldn’t repay his life-saving kindness?
Unable to bear Zhu Yan’s hesitation and her single-minded concern for others, Shen Du strode over, wrapped his arm around her waist, and lowered his head to kiss her.
Shen Du poured all his anger into this kiss, and into the woman before him.
It was he who had pushed her away, and he who had fallen for her first. But in the end, he wanted more. He was greedy, he had desires, he wanted this woman to love him, to see him as her only one.
They say there are golden houses and beauties in books, but the books never told him why winning someone’s heart could be so difficult.
Only when he felt a sharp pain on his lips did he snap back to reality. He released her in pain, tasting blood in his mouth.
Before he could process what had happened, Zhu Yan raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.
The slap turned Shen Du’s face sharply to one side, leaving him stunned in place.
The atmosphere in the room grew tense, with Shen Du seemingly petrified.
Zhu Yan’s palm tingled. Seeing the red mark forming on Shen Du’s face, she knew she had hit him hard. She bit her lip but maintained a resolute expression.
Perhaps it was better this way, to sever all ties between them.
Zhu Yan narrowed her eyes and turned to leave.
“Zhu Yan!”
Zhu Yan paused, then continued walking.
She couldn’t soften her heart, couldn’t stop, she mustn’t.
“I’ve kept this little pig all along, waiting for the day I could find its owner.”
Zhu Yan’s figure wavered, her hands clenched into fists as she stood with her back to him.
Shen Du quickly stepped forward, taking out a brocade pouch from his bosom. He removed a woven bamboo pig from the inside. The pig looked lifelike, its originally drooping ears now standing upright due to years of compression, giving it a comical appearance.
Shen Du took another step forward: “Are you going to abandon me like you abandoned the little pig?”
His tone trembled slightly, filled with such sorrow that he seemed like a different person. He sounded like an innocent wife about to be abandoned by her husband, bringing out an old token of their love in hopes of rekindling a shred of affection.
Shen Du’s dark eyes flickered, his voice pitiful, tinged with the endless grievance of one about to be abandoned.
And the one abandoning him was Zhu Yan, standing before him.
Something seemed to stir in Zhu Yan’s heart. She pressed her lips together, truly feeling as if she had committed some terrible sin.
The room seemed filled with fine, entangling threads, wrapping around the two of them.
After a long moment, Zhu Yan finally found her voice. Her gaze traveled from the little pig up to Shen Du’s eyes, brimming with grievance.
Their eyes met once again.
Shen Du pouted, seeming even more aggrieved, as if he might burst into tears and perform a scene from an opera at any moment.
Zhu Yan smiled gently: “You remember?”
Her voice was somewhat uncertain, afraid of receiving a negative answer.
Shen Du smiled, his eyebrows softening as he nodded affirmatively. Only then did Zhu Yan’s anxious heart finally settle.
“Silly girl, if I didn’t remember these things, how could I have kept it with me?”
As he spoke, he gently shook the little pig in his hand, his expression softening considerably, revealing a faint but rare smile.
Zhu Yan’s delicate brows furrowed: “You were pretending to have amnesia?”
So, all this time, she had thought she was the only one still dwelling on the past.
She hadn’t expected that Shen Du was also immersed in memories, unable to move on.
“It must have been difficult for the Grand Coordinator to pretend,” Zhu Yan said through gritted teeth, feeling as if she had been toyed with. “Since you remember, you might as well return it to me.”
Knowing Zhu Yan must be angry, Shen Du quickly tucked the woven bamboo pig back into his bosom.
Zhu Yan clenched her jaw: “Then where does the Grand Coordinator get the idea of ‘abandonment’?”
Shen Du’s embarrassed expression showed that he regretted his words.
But wasn’t it too late for regret now?
“Are you going to explain or not?”
Seeing that Shen Du was about to evade the question again, Zhu Yan wouldn’t let him off. She turned to leave: “If that’s the case, then farewell.”
How could Shen Du let her leave again? He caught her hand, unwilling to let go. Seeing that she couldn’t break free, he pulled her onto his lap. His face flushed slightly, and he remained silent for a while.
Zhu Yan twisted, trying to get down: “Pan Chi is still waiting for me to save him. If you won’t speak, don’t waste my time when I could be saving him.”
Shen Du felt frustrated: “Fine, I’ll tell you. After I’ve explained, then you can decide whether to go or not.”
Well, this was exactly what Zhu Yan had been waiting for.
“Since you remember those things, why didn’t you mention them from the beginning?”
It was because of this that Zhu Yan had been trapped in uncertainty for so long. She had thought Shen Du didn’t remember, that she was the only one who cared.
Shen Du held her hand in his palm, afraid she might break free and rush out the door if he displeased her.
Zhu Yan felt uncomfortable being held so tightly. She looked up to see Shen Du’s doting gaze, feeling as if she were in a dream. She couldn’t help but urge, “Hurry up and speak.”
Pan Chi was still waiting for her to save him.
Shen Du let out a dissatisfied hum but finally spoke: “On our wedding day, I didn’t recognize you as the girl who had been kidnapped years ago.”
“It’s been so long, and your appearance has changed a lot. You’re different from my memory.”
He only remembered that little girl with round cheeks and big eyes. If it weren’t for that girl, they wouldn’t have been able to rescue all those girls.
“Moreover, at that time, it was just a casual rescue. I didn’t pay much attention to your appearance,” Shen Du thought carefully, still unable to remember more. He self-deprecatingly added, “But I do remember your temper. You were certainly not one to be trifled with.”
At that time, they had just been rescued. The girls were all frightened and uneasy. Shen Du’s father, Shen Shijie, had asked Shen Du to make various small animals out of reeds to amuse the girls. Zhu Yan had received a little rabbit, which she loved very much. But before it had even warmed in her hands, another girl snatched it away and forcefully gave Zhu Yan her woven bamboo pig instead.
Zhu Yan was too young to fight back. She wanted to throw away the pig but glanced at Shen Shijie and ultimately didn’t. She took it to rest in a corner. Shen Du saw this scene and went over to take back the rabbit for Zhu Yan, but she refused.
“I don’t want something that can be snatched away.”
Shen Du still remembered those words. At the time, he thought this little girl was quite unlovable for saying such things, but he didn’t force her. So he gave the rabbit to the girl who had fought with Zhu Yan. That girl was overjoyed and sweetly called Shen Du “Brother Shen,” but Shen Du’s reaction was indifferent.
Shen Du saw Zhu Yan quietly but stubbornly wiping away tears in the corner. After some thought, he gave Zhu Yan the bronze whistle that his father had specially made for him, and took the woven bamboo pig from Zhu Yan’s arms for himself. To him, they were both items made by his father, with no particular difference in value.
Later, the Shen family was destroyed and their property was confiscated. This woven bamboo pig became the only companion Shen Du had from his family, the only item left to him by his father. He kept it always, often taking it out to reminisce about his father. It had little to do with Zhu Yan.