The last note abruptly ended in ambiguity.

Shu Yi continued to use her slender fingers to cover his mouth.

Mimicking his previous nagging manner, Shu Yi earnestly said, "Zhang Youye, have you forgotten that we've already registered our marriage? Besides, I won't be able to live alone anymore, so don't worry about being a father to me."

A single word awakened me from my dream.

He took her fingertips in his hand, brought them close to his lips, and gently kissed them. Zhang Youye scratched his head and smiled apologetically.

"As soon as I came in, I was thinking about whether your place was safe. I almost forgot that you are already my wife."

Shaking her head helplessly, Shu Yi got up and gestured for him to wander around the room. She went to her father's bedroom.

He took the locked wooden box from his father's bedside table.

The wooden box is exquisitely crafted from sandalwood of excellent quality. I wonder what complex process the maker used, because even today you can still smell the faint sandalwood fragrance.

As I gently stroked the surface of the wooden box with my fingertips, perhaps it was the image of my father lingering in my mind once again.

Filled with endless longing, Shu Yi smiled bitterly, then carried the wooden box back to the living room.

Shu Yi handed the wooden box to Zhang Youye and, seeing his surprised expression, asked him a question out of curiosity.

"You don't have this box at home either, do you?"

"Not only that, but my family also keeps the marriage contract between our two families in a wooden box. My father has always treasured it."

After calmly explaining her curiosity, Zhang Youye stretched out his long, slender fingers and carefully examined the small gold lock on the wooden box. Suddenly, he chuckled.

"No wonder the old man said he couldn't find it before, it turns out that our dad took it away."

At the end of his sentence, he turned to look at Shu Yi: "Have you looked inside? Did you bring the key?"

Shu Yi shook her head and explained.

“I don’t have the key. I’ve only seen the things in here once when I was very young, when I found them when my dad wasn’t home. Later, when my dad found out that I had taken them out, he hid the wooden box.”

“I found this box when I was sorting through his belongings after he passed away. I didn’t expect he had put a lock on it. Because it was my dad’s keepsake, I couldn’t bear to damage it, so I kept it in my dad’s bedside table.”

"Do you remember what's inside?" Zhang Youye asked, continuing to fidget with the wooden box in his hand.

"I remember there was nothing there except a piece of paper without any writing on it. At the time, I wondered why a piece of paper needed to be put in such a pretty little box."

Shu Yi suddenly moved closer to him and asked mysteriously, "Is there any way to open it? Do you think my dad might have put something else inside?"

After putting down the wooden box, Zhang Youye looked around.

Noticing a row of clothes racks hanging on the balcony outside the living room, Zhang Youye got up and went to the balcony.

Soon, among a pile of wooden hangers, I found a wire hanger that could be bent into any shape.

He peeled back the outer layer of the clothes hanger and gestured for Shuyi, who was beside him, to find the toolbox in the house.

Finding the toolbox in the kitchen, Shuyi took out the pliers he needed and handed them to him. Seeing how well he handled them, her tone was more joyful than shocked.

"You're going to use a wire to pry open the keyhole? You actually know how to do that? That's amazing."

Zhang Youye nodded calmly, then raised an eyebrow.

As he used pliers to bend the wire into a shape suitable for inserting it into the keyhole, he lazily glanced at her sideways.

“Your husband is very capable. Even without the Zhang family, do you believe I can support you just by using my lock-picking skills?”

Seeing his smug expression, Shu Yi took advantage of the situation and continued to flatter him.

"I believe it, I believe it, how could I not believe it?"

"Zhang Suowang, you're so skilled, you can pick all the locks in Jingnan. But remember to file a police report first, so you don't end up being arrested by the police as a lock-picking thief."

"Here, take this."

After saying that, he handed the pliers to Shu Yi. Zhang Youye's mood brightened even more after being flattered by his wife.

Zhang Youye proudly waved the fine wire he had prepared in front of her, then raised his chin at her in a showy manner.

"Watch out, the lock-picking master will only demonstrate once. Once this opportunity is gone, it's gone forever."

His triumphant tone was cut short by the sound of a wire being inserted into the keyhole, before Shu Yi could even understand what he was doing.

With a "click," Zhang Youye easily opened the small gold lock that secured the wooden box.

Judging from this skill level, one couldn't possibly be this proficient without more than a decade of work experience.

"Zhang Youye," Shu Yi suddenly called his name.

His dark pupils suddenly contracted because of his familiar operation. He took his hand and pursed his lips for a long time. After hesitating for a while, Shu Yi finally persuaded him earnestly.

"How about we just turn ourselves in?"

"I reckon he'll only get a few years in prison. Don't worry, I'll wait for you. We really shouldn't do anything illegal. How could the young master be doing something like breaking and entering?"

What does this woman take him for?

He hooked his arm around her fair neck and pulled her into his arms with ease, then poked the forehead of the person in his arms.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I only learned a few tricks from my roommates when I was in the juvenile detention center because I was bored. Your husband hasn't done anything illegal, why would I turn myself in? Do you want to live the life of a widow?"

A soft "pfft" escaped from my arms, followed by a long string of light laughter.

Before Zhang Youye could open his mouth, Shu Yi, who was being held in his arms, began to sob, "Okay, okay, I don't want to live like a widow. Let me go, I can't breathe."

The man with a wicked grin inexplicably released her neck. She caught the surging desire in his deep eyes and pushed away his handsome face that was slowly approaching her. Shu Yi cleared her throat.

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