Chapter 84. Come home with me tonight, okay...?

Chapter 84

He Hansheng didn't respond for a long time. Shen Suining frowned, pushed him away, and asked, "He Hansheng, you don't think you did the right thing, do you?"

“No,” He Hansheng immediately denied. After a moment of silence, he admitted, “I have already burned that letter of divorce.”

"And then what? Pretend this never happened?" Shen Suining clearly couldn't accept this solution.

He Hansheng didn't answer her immediately. He took the butterfly hairpin from her hand, carefully wiped away the bloodstains, and put it back in her hair.

He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear with his finger, his touch as gentle as if he were handling a fragile piece of porcelain.

Then he spoke softly: "Ningning, I'm not good at loving people, and my understanding of love is very shallow. I used to think that you were my wife, and I would do my best to satisfy whatever you wanted. You wanted freedom, and I could give that to you too. Even though losing you might make me wish I were dead, I thought that was the best way to love someone."

“But later my mother said I didn’t understand your thoughts and was just blindly following my own ideas. My father-in-law has also reminded me more than once that you are not a woman who needs to be protected and have always had your own opinions. There is no need for me to make decisions for you. Not only is it unnecessary, but it also hurts you. I feel very sorry for this,” He Hansheng said sincerely, holding her hand. “I’m sorry, Ningning, I was too presumptuous.”

“I’m not that sad,” Shen Suining glared at him and retorted, “It’s just that the timing of seeing that letter of divorce was too inconvenient! First, you left me at Master Zhang’s place in Taihang for more than half a month, and after I came back, you avoided me for more than half a month. I hadn’t even seen you, but I saw your letter saying you wanted to separate from me. I was angry and furious! Not sad!”

Shen Suining looked away and snorted: "Besides, I accepted your explanation back then, but you had to pretend to be magnanimous in the end, as if I would despise you after you lost your martial arts. You think so narrow-mindedly of me, of course I'm angry! If you had just said a few kind words to persuade me to stay after your explanation, things wouldn't have come to this."

"I'm sorry," He Hansheng gently pulled her into his arms, "I'm sorry, Ningning, I was too arrogant."

“That’s not arrogance,” Shen Suining exhaled a puff of white air and said incisively, “Ultimately, it’s because you never considered facing this with me. You felt deep down that this was your own business, that you couldn’t protect me anymore, so you didn’t dare keep me around. You never considered other possibilities, such as that I could also protect you.”

He Hansheng gave a soft "hmm" in agreement. His Ningning always managed to hit the nail on the head and speak eloquently to what he was thinking.

“It was my oversight,” he said sincerely. “Now, I have come to my senses. I wonder if Young Master Shen would still be willing to give me this chance to start over?”

Shen Suining pondered for a moment, then looked up at him seriously. “I can give you a chance. But I’m a stubborn person and not easy to coax. You can’t win me back with a few candied hawthorns or a few hairpins. If you really want to keep me here, you’ll have to show some sincerity.”

He Hansheng smiled, released her, took a step back, raised his hands and placed them in front of him, and bowed his head with great solemnity, "I hope that you, Madam, will not hesitate to give me your guidance."

...

The snow in the city had long since melted, but the ice on the moat was still thick, and pedestrians could walk freely on the ice as if on flat ground.

A swing had been hanging under the eaves of a riverside residence sometime during the day. Early in the morning, Shen Suining sat on the swing, gently swaying, staring blankly at the frozen surface of the moat, lost in thought.

After a long while, Shen Sui'an opened the door from inside the house, seemingly unable to bear it any longer, "You've come early today."

His voice was as cold as ever, even impatient, and his beautiful eyes always held a hint of aloofness and world-weariness. Perhaps because he had just woken up, his face still carried the weariness and hostility of someone who hadn't fully woken up.

Shen Suining turned her head to look at him and snorted softly, "I didn't bother you."

The brother and sister have very similar eyes, but Shen Suining is much more lively. Her eyes reveal her love for the world and her heartfelt brightness.

Shen Sui'an stared at her for a moment, the indifference in his eyes fading slightly. He reached out and grabbed the swing ropes, forcing the swing to stop, and the faint creaking sound from the roof beams abruptly ceased.

In an instant, all was silent.

"..."

Shen Suining paused for a moment, chuckled twice, then stood up and walked into the house.

Shen Sui'an closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to go into the house.

Although it was only a temporary stay, the house was fully furnished. Shen Sui'an was a person with severe mysophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. All the tea sets and wine glasses were neatly arranged on the shelves according to color, and the books in the cabinet were neatly arranged. Not only were they classified in the same way, but the size of the books was also almost exactly the same, as if they had been cut with a knife.

Shen Suining was unfazed. She casually pulled a book from the cabinet and started flipping through it. The neatly arranged bookshelf was now empty. She had always enjoyed disrupting the almost perfect living environment that Shen Suian had created for him.

She knelt by the stove, her gaze following Shen Sui'an until he came in and sat down opposite her. Then she casually said, "You have so many shops in the capital, why don't you give me two?"

In the years since leaving Shuyu Manor, Shen Sui'an has traveled around doing business, trading everywhere. At first, he was just doing it for fun, but later his business gradually grew, which is why Madam Shuyu stopped urging him to return to the manor.

However, Shen Suining only recently learned that her eldest brother had shops operating even in the capital, a place their mother had never allowed to set foot in, and that the businesses were doing quite well.

Upon hearing her words, Shen Sui'an did not answer immediately. He simply placed the cooled teapot on the stove, took out two cups, and placed them flat on the small table in front of him. After the water boiled, he poured tea into the cups.

Shen Suining could see clearly that the water levels in the two cups were almost identical. She felt from the bottom of her heart that being around someone with Shen Suian's obsessive-compulsive disorder was extremely frustrating, and she wished she could smash him to pieces right then and there.

After pushing the teacup in front of Shen Suining, Shen Suian took a booklet from a low cabinet and tossed it to Shen Suining, saying, "Choose one yourself."

Shen Suining rolled her eyes. The tea was too hot for her to argue with, so she took the booklet and opened it. It contained a very detailed list of all of Shen Suian's properties, shops, and locations in the capital, and even the basic profit and loss situation over the past few years was clearly marked.

"Your business in the capital is quite large." Shen Suining was stunned by the list of businesses and profit/loss figures in the register.

However, after turning the page, Shen Suining completely broke down, "The Nine Heavens Beyond the Heavens is also under your name?!?!"

Seeing her surprise, Shen Sui'an couldn't help but frown in disdain, "Otherwise, why do you think Xiao Jiu would help you? Is she just bored?"

“I thought it was Mother from before, she…” Before she could finish speaking, Shen Suining realized something was wrong. Her mother’s last visit to Huadu was more than twenty years ago, and Xiao Jiu was at most eighteen or nineteen years old. It was impossible for her mother to have raised her.

After realizing what was happening, Shen Suining felt a surge of anger. She threw the booklet on the table and made an outrageous demand: "Then I want the Nine Heavens."

Shen Sui'an gave her four words: "Dream on."

"You told me to choose!"

"It's not like you can just pick it and it'll be given to you."

"Shen Sui'an," Shen Suining called him by his full name, her voice filled with anguish, "Do you know how much money it costs me every time I go to the Nine Heavens to see Xiao Jiu! You even make money off your own sister, are you even human?!"

“Even between siblings, accounts should be kept clear,” Shen Sui’an said with a half-smile. “Besides, why you spent so much money, I don’t need to spell it out for you, do I?”

Shen Suining's face flushed red and then turned pale. Finally, unable to contain her anger, she crossed her arms and snorted heavily, "Then give me that bookstore and rouge shop in Linjiangfang."

"Deal." Shen Sui'an readily agreed.

He carefully collected the booklet that Shen Suining had thrown on the table and put it back in the low cabinet. Seeing that Shen Suining still showed no sign of leaving, he asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Regarding the matter Father asked you about," Shen Suining glanced at him, seemingly a little awkward, but finally asked directly, "Is there any possibility that He Hansheng's martial arts can be restored?"

Shen Sui'an said "Oh," and then added, "After going through all this trouble, this is your ultimate goal." He sneered, his tone laced with a hint of disappointment and sarcasm, "Shen Suining, is this all you've got?"

People often say that the Shen family produces romantics, but this has never been the case with the brother and sister. After all, the sister, Shen Suining, is outwardly warm but inwardly cold, while the brother, Shen Suian, is outwardly cold but even colder inside. They are both ruthless.

Hearing this, Shen Suining said impatiently, "Just answer my question, why all the nonsense?"

Shen Sui'an snorted and replied coldly, "That depends on how long he lives."

Shen Suining looked confused and bewildered, as if she didn't understand. Shen Suian patiently explained, "As long as a person is alive, anything is possible."

"..." This was as good as saying nothing. Shen Suining rolled her eyes and ignored him. She only emphasized the matter of the Linjiangfang shop once more before leaving.

As soon as she stepped out of the house, she saw He Hansheng standing in the courtyard waiting for her.

He wore a light blue robe and a gray cloak. Although he looked weaker than before due to the loss of his inner strength, he stood upright and quietly, appearing more dignified and upright than ordinary people. The winter sun shone on him, revealing a touch of the gentleness that was always in his bones.

He Hansheng didn't know how Shen Suining treated others, but he was always very patient with her. Since the two of them had their conversation, he would unexpectedly appear in front of her every day for several days. Even though she never returned to the Yong'an Marquis's residence to spend the night, he would still personally escort her to wherever she wanted to go.

In front of Shen Sui'an, Shen Suining looked rather uncomfortable. She stepped down the stairs and walked up to He Hansheng, coughing lightly, "It's fine if I go somewhere else, but do you think I'd get lost here with my older brother?"

“I just happened to have some free time, so I came over,” He Hansheng said with a gentle smile. He nodded to Shen Suian inside the room, then looked at Shen Suining and said, “Let’s go.”

He Hansheng reached out to take her hand, but Shen Suining naturally refused, dodging his hand and walking away on her own.

This had been the case for the past few days. Although she no longer avoided him, she was still unwilling to get close to him. He Hansheng was not annoyed, chuckled, and followed her into the carriage.

After they were seated in the carriage, He Hansheng said to Jiang Yuchu outside, "Go to the Marquis of Pinghuai's residence."

Jiang Yuchu responded with a "Yes".

Seeing that He Hansheng knew where she was going without even asking, Shen Suining glanced at him, then pulled open the curtain and warned Ling Rui: "If you continue to casually reveal my whereabouts like this, you can go to your hall master to receive your punishment."

Ling Rui chuckled and said she wouldn't dare to do it again, but in her heart she thought that Feng Yu had asked her to do it. Besides, if the young master was really unhappy, he would have done it himself long ago. Why would he be so good-tempered?

After lowering the carriage curtain, Shen Suining, her face stern, was furious. She looked at He Hansheng, who was sitting calmly beside her, and couldn't help but kick him hard.

He Hansheng neither dodged nor got angry. Shen Suining had practiced martial arts for many years and was stronger than the average person. This kick was full of resentment, but he didn't even frown. He just reached out and grabbed her ankle when she kicked him, looked at her gently, and said half pleadingly and half coaxingly, "Ningning, tomorrow is the winter solstice. Come home with me tonight, okay?"