Chapter 186 World Eight (Nine)

Shen Yunshan raised his head and saw thick dark clouds rolling in like waves in the sea.

Seeing the rain approaching, Shen Yunshan calmly instructed everyone, "Pick off the palm leaves from the branches to prevent your clothes from getting wet."

Everyone agreed, and Uncle Wang slowed the oxcart. Sisters Shen Liu and Li Dongran plucked small, boat-like palm leaves and placed them on their heads, protecting them from the rain. Shen Yunshan stretched out his long arm and plucked a palm leaf from a branch.

Hearing a distressed groan from beside him, Shen Yunshan turned to look. He saw Baoshan imitating the others, picking up palm leaves. She raised her arm, and her long sleeves slowly fell with her movement, revealing a sliver of dazzlingly white skin.

In this gloomy and dark night, it shines like a pearl.

Her slender, white fingers grasped the base of the lush green palm leaf, attempting to pluck it. However, despite exerting all her strength, the palm leaf remained motionless, securely perched on the branch. Baoshan's face was embarrassment, a vibrant crimson like a ruby. Her delicate, slender eyelashes trembled nervously, and her entire being betrayed a sense of unease.

Although Shen Yunshan is a scholar, he has been following Shen Liushi since he was a child and grew up in the countryside.

Most of the girls I met on a daily basis were healthy and able to take care of the house. Even someone as spoiled as Li Qiuran had some strength.

Which woman is like the precious fan, so weak and soft that she can't even pick a leaf.

Looking at Baoshan, who was at a loss and looked so fragile.

If no one helps her, she will not be able to break off a single palm leaf even if she waits until the end of time.

Shen Yunshan raised his hand and gently pinched off the roots of the palm leaves that had been tangled with the treasure fan for a long time but had not been removed.

The lush green leaves fell into the treasure fan's hands.

"Thank you, cousin Yunshan."

Baoshan thanked him softly.

Shen Yunshan's frown had not yet relaxed, and he was about to teach Baoshan a few words.

With such a fragile body, how will she survive after leaving him and Shen Liushi? After the treasure fan, she needs to take good care of herself.

However, when Shen Yunshan looked at Baoshan, he found that there was a gleam of light in Baoshan's eyes, and he couldn't help but be speechless.

If he hadn't helped Baoshan, would this weak cousin have been driven to tears by a leaf?

Although Shen Yunshan was unwilling to believe it, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart as he saw the treasure fan making things more obvious. He blinked his eyes gently, trying to get rid of the tears in his eyes.

——He is really weak and has a soft personality.

The fan was slender, its palm leaves almost completely obscuring her. The wind blew, and the leaves rustled. The rain fell silently, leaving only dark brown marks the size of beans.

Li Dongran pointed at the rice paper on the ox cart and exclaimed, "Brother Shen's rice paper is about to get wet in the rain!"

Baoshan's beautiful eyes turned slightly. When she bought the rice paper, the bookstore owner tied the rice paper with a straw rope and handed Baoshan a piece of oil paper.

By wrapping them in oil paper, the rice papers are protected from getting wet by rain.

But if this is the case, how can it be proved that she, a lonely and helpless cousin, truly loves Shen Yunshan?

Baoshan took the palm leaves off her bun and placed them on the rice paper.

The raindrops trickled down the veins of the palm leaves, but they never soaked the glutinous rice paper like they had just done.

Shen Yunshan was not happy. He looked at the treasure fan that was soaked by the rain and said in a cold voice, "Nonsense!"

At this time, Uncle Wang had already driven his ox cart away from the palm tree, where was he going to find leaves that were tough enough to shelter him from the wind and rain?

The black hair on her forehead was tightly attached to Baoshan's fair skin.

Her eyes seemed to have been washed by rain, clear and transparent.

Bao Shan shrank back at Shen Yunshan's reproach, her eyes filled with grievance. She softened her voice and timidly said, "Cousin Yunshan... I'm so cold..."

Shen Yunshan glanced at her coldly, unbuttoned his clothes with his fingers, and draped his outer robe over Baoshan.

She felt a warm touch on her arm. Bao Shan turned around and saw Shen Yunshan holding her in his arms, letting her lean against him.

Shen Yunshan looked up at the palm leaf in his palm, which could barely wrap the two of them. He thought to himself: Fortunately, the palm leaf he picked was big enough, otherwise...

Li Dongran, who was sitting opposite, watched Bao Shan and Shen Yunshan snuggling together, holding a leaf together, with a sense of sharing weal and woe.

But it was such an intimate act, and there was nothing wrong with it.

Whether it was Shen Liushi or Li Dongran, an outsider, looking at Shen Yunshan's half-hug without any affection and the gentlemanly demeanor around him, they couldn't blurt out that the two were too close.

If such words were spoken, it would tarnish Shen Yunshan's reputation and maliciously speculate that he was taking the opportunity of hiding from the rain to get close to the treasure fan.

Everyone knows that Shen Yunshan would not do such a thing.

But Li Dongran clenched his fingers and thought to himself: It's just to shelter from the rain, there's no need to get so close.

Even if Shen Yunshan didn't shield the fan from the rain, it wouldn't matter. At most... at most, the fan would get her dress wet. But which peasant girl in the village hadn't been soaked by the rain?

Li Dongran turned around and looked at the rice paper that was protected from the rain by the palm leaves, his expression gloomy.

She thought to herself, could it be because the treasure fan protected Shen Yunshan's rice paper that Shen Yunshan protected her?

Li Dongran moved his fingers slightly, thinking that it was just to block the rain, she could do it too -

The cold wind mixed with raindrops blew in my face, bringing with it a chilling breath.

Li Qiuran sneezed, and Li Dongran's fingers, which were about to touch the palm leaves, suddenly froze in place.

Li Dongran put his palms back in front of his knees and wrinkled the dress, which was not new.

At this moment, Li Dongran felt extremely lost in her heart, because she knew that she could not take off the palm leaves above her head to prove to Shen Yunshan that she also cherished the rice paper.

If my dress got wet, I would definitely be scolded when I returned to the Li family.

Li's mother would sigh and blame him, saying that there were not many clothes at home, and two of the dresses had just been washed, so how could she get any extra for Li Dongran to change.

When they arrived at the village entrance, Li Dongran and her sister jumped off the ox cart.

Li Qiuran ran to the eaves, shaking off the raindrops on his body with disgust, and shouted at Li Dongran, who was still staring blankly at the ox cart, "What are you looking at? Go get some clothes! I'm freezing to death!"

Li Dongran lowered his head and walked into the Li family.

The ox cart stopped in front of the Shen family's door.

Shen Yunshan got off the ox cart first. Baoshan was holding bundles of rice paper in his arms, his body trembling slightly.

Shen Yunshan gave her a light push on the treasured fan before leading her off the ox cart.

Shen Yunshan stretched out his hand and took the rice paper from Baoshan's arms. He opened his thin lips slightly and was about to say something.

There was no rice paper in Baoshan's arms, but the palm leaves that shielded her from the raindrops were still in her arms.

The green palm leaves looked like they had just been fished out of the river, dripping with water and shining with a clear luster.

No matter who puts such a palm leaf in his arms, his clothes will get wet.

The precious fan is no exception.

The transparent water droplets soaked a large area in front of her collar, and even the shape and color of the small clothes inside were faintly revealed.

——It is frosty white, pure and clean.

The delicate and soft figure is covered in a weak posture. Beneath the square inch of cloth, there is white snow and snow-capped peaks.

Even though Shen Yunshan was an inexperienced person, he could vaguely guess that the clothes were not ordinary women's clothes, but were worn close to the skin.

Shen Yunshan, who had always been calm and composed, felt panicked and at a loss for the first time.

He quickly turned aside, trying to forget the sudden glimpse of spring.

But the burning heat at the tip of my ear didn't fade away.

He walked away without saying a word to Baoshan.

This look was unlike Shen Yunshan. Even though he was usually gentle and reserved, his outward appearance was always done with impeccable care.

But there has never been such a disrespectful scene, almost a scene of fleeing in panic.

Shen Liu had just said goodbye to Uncle Wang and asked him to come in and drink a bowl of hot water to get rid of the coldness in his body.

For those who really helped their Shen family, Shen Liushi would not deliberately act in a pretentious manner.

But Uncle Wang just declined and finally drove the ox cart away.

Shen Liu turned around and looked at Bao Shan holding a piece of oil paper in front of her chest, her pretty face full of regret.

"Aunt, the bookstore gave me a piece of oil-paper as a gift, and I just saw it.

If I had seen it earlier, Cousin Yunshan wouldn't have to share the burden with me... and let the rain fall on his shoulders..."

Hearing this, Shen Liushi naturally felt sorry for her son Shen Yunshan. But seeing Baoshan's pale face and delicate demeanor, she couldn't bear to criticize him.

"It's okay. Go back to the house and I'll make you some ginger soup later."

Baoshan nodded slightly and returned to his room with a sad face.

Baoshan and Shen Yunshan's houses are separated by only a wall.

The candlelight flickered as Baoshan took off her dress. The hem of her skirt fluttered down beside her slender, straight legs like fallen leaves.

The bronze mirror reflected Bao Shan's current appearance. She was only wearing underwear, with her soft hair hanging down her shoulders. Her eyebrows and eyes made her look even more delicate and pitiful.

The inner garment was of an extremely traditional style, revealing only a tiny bit of the body.

Even this could make Shen Yunshan panic...

Shen Liushi brought a bowl of steaming ginger soup with an extremely spicy smell.

Shen Yunshan's eyes and brows were calm, as if he had already gotten used to the taste of the ginger soup.

Even though the taste was bad, Shen Yunshan didn't even frown and drank the ginger soup clean.

There was another bowl of ginger soup on the tray.

Shen Liu took back the empty bowl and told Shen Yunshan, "You got caught in the rain today, so go to bed early. I'll send this bowl of ginger soup to your cousin Baoshan."

Shen Yunshan lowered his eyelids and responded softly.

Baoshan took only one sip before her brows furrowed.

"Auntie, it's so hot."

Shen Liushi touched the edge of the bowl and found it was indeed a little warm, so she said, "Drink it while it's hot to dispel the cold. Yunshan just drank it all."

Upon hearing this, Baoshan picked up the porcelain bowl and sipped it, muttering, "Cousin Yunshan is really amazing..."

The lights are on at midnight and the rooster crows at dawn. It is the time for men to study.

The voice of recitation is clear and mellow, each word is distinct and understandable, with an indescribable charm.

As soon as the sky turned pale, Shen Yunshan dressed neatly, held a book in his hand, and read aloud.

When Shen Yunshan was studying, he didn't just sit at the table, shaking his head and reciting various topics.

He would stand up and stand by the window, half reciting and half memorizing.

Sometimes when he encountered confusion, Shen Yunshan would stop and think carefully.

Once you understand everything, continue reciting from the previous point.

Ordinary people would find this boring every day, but Shen Yunshan was different. He loved quietness and reading, so he didn't find these times difficult to endure.

But today is a little different.

Shen Yunshan had just finished reciting the book in his hand when he heard a light cough coming from next door.

Soft and hoarse, with a hint of timidity.