I was very happy with Chapter 99.

"That's impossible. I saw him dig a pit by the stream and burn something, making thick smoke. I asked him what he was doing, and he said his goldfish had died and he was cremateing it. If he wasn't burning goldfish, what was he burning?"

The man's voice was low, cold, and devoid of warmth. "You're asking me?"

What did Shi Nianzhi secretly burn behind his back?

Regardless of what was burned, since it was going to be burned anyway, it was something that couldn't be shown to others.

Ah, Shi Nianzhi has secrets too.

Lu Jiunian's thin lips gradually tightened into a straight line, and his gaze grew increasingly cold.

Jiang Kai was also puzzled, "But he seemed to be in a really bad mood. Could it be that he was burning paper money? That's impossible. I heard his parents are still alive. Besides, it smelled like plastic, so it shouldn't be paper money."

Lu Jiunian stared directly at Jiang Kai, his attitude not exactly friendly.

Jiang Kai waved his hand, "Don't look at me like that. I don't know. When I got there, it was all burned to ashes. I didn't see anything but black ash."

Lu Jiunian turned and left.

Jiang Kai seemed to suddenly remember something, and he stretched out his hand, "Hey—, but..."

Lu Jiunian's figure had already returned home.

Jiang Kai didn't want to interfere in other people's family affairs; he had that much sense.

So he quickly took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Lu Jiunian, "But today he inexplicably asked me if I knew Gu Zijian. I think someone might be behind this. Ask him nicely, don't get angry, and definitely don't get violent."

Jiang Kai repeated the last sentence three times, fearing that Lu Jiunian might not be taking it seriously enough.

Lu Jiunian entered the room without even looking at his phone; he went straight to find Shi Nianzhi.

Shi Nianzhi had already washed his hands and was sitting at the dining table eating. He was rather quiet today, and he didn't talk to Aunt Zhang as usual or naively praise how delicious the food was.

When Aunt Zhang was thinking about Shi Nianzhi, it was because she was homesick.

Seeing Lu Jiunian come in, she thought that Shi Nianzhi might be happier to see Lu Jiunian, so she tactfully left, leaving the couple alone.

Shi Nianzhi knew that Lu Jiunian had arrived, but he didn't even look up and continued eating.

Lu Jiunian walked over and grabbed Shi Nianzhi's wrist.

Shi Nianzhi put down his chopsticks and looked up. "I've already washed my hands."

"Jiang Kai said he saw you burning something. Are you hiding something from me?"

"No."

"Then what did you burn?"

"Something I don't want."

I can feel at ease when I think about it.

Lu Jiunian, however, spoke in a deep voice, pressing, "I'm asking what you burned, not for a perfunctory answer!"

"It's just some things we don't want."

"Remember this often!"

The man seemed slightly angry as he yanked Shi Nianzhi up from the chair and shoved her against the wall.

Shi Nianzhi lowered his head and stopped looking at Lu Jiunian. Usually, when he did this, it meant that he didn't want to argue with Lu Jiunian anymore.

Lu Jiunian reached out, grabbed Shi Nianzhi's chin, lifted it up, and pinched it hard. "I'm asking you, what did you burn behind my back? Is that hard to answer?"

Shi Nianzhi was forced to look up. His eyes were half-closed, and he did indeed have an unhappy face.

This was the first time he had acted like this in front of Lu Jiunian, as if he had no emotions and could be manipulated at will.

Seeing Shi Nianzhi like this, Lu Jiunian felt uncertain, and the more uncertain he felt, the more irritable he became.

He slammed the back of Shi Nianzhi's head against the wall, not very hard, just to get Shi Nianzhi to speak.

"say!"

Shi Nianzhi's voice sounded somewhat tired, "You might have something you want to hide from me, why, why can't I hide something from you? Can't I?"

There are many things about me that you simply don't understand! But what about your messy affairs that's worth hiding from me?

"Then I have nothing to say."

Lu Jiunian wanted to completely control him, but wouldn't allow him to control him in the slightest.

So powerful and domineering, it seems there's nothing left to discuss.

Shi Nianzhi reached out and pushed Lu Jiunian.

He was a little annoyed. The monthly exam was coming up soon, and he hadn't even started reviewing yet. He didn't have time to argue with Lu Jiunian. Then he thought that he probably wouldn't get any good grades on the monthly exam anyway.

Compared to the outstanding person in Lu Jiunian's mind, he was really inferior in every way.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His strength suddenly increased, and he pushed Lu Jiunian away.

It even pushed Lu Jiunian so hard that he stumbled.

Lu Jiunian realized what was happening, and his voice suddenly turned cold, "Shi Nianzhi!"

Shi Nianzhi was about to leave.

My wrist was grabbed hard and I was pushed against the wall again, my back throbbing painfully.

Before he could even groan, Lu Jiunian had already grabbed his collar and, with a forceful pull, ripped all the buttons off his pajamas.

The white crystal clasps scattered on the ground, making a crisp sound.

Shi Nianzhi seemed angry; her breathing was somewhat heavy.

The man's gaze fell on Shi Nianzhi's collarbone, which moved with her breath; it was so beautiful.

His eyes darkened instantly.

Lu Jiunian moved closer to Shi Nianzhi, lowered his head slightly, and gently traced his index finger across Shi Nianzhi's collarbone.

Why are you breathing so heavily? Do you like it?

He leaned closer and said, "You've taken a shower, you smell so good."

Shi Nianzhi tilted his head slightly. He didn't say anything, but just clenched his fist and pursed his lips.

Lu Jiunian kissed her, but he wasn't satisfied with just that, so he picked Shi Nianzhi up and carried her.

Shi Nianzhi placed his hand on Lu Jiunian's neck, facing him with his face resting on Lu Jiunian's shoulder.

She spoke softly, "Do you like my... or do you like me?"

As Lu Jiunian went upstairs, he turned his head and rubbed his cheek against Shi Nianzhi's soft black hair. "If you behave well, I'll like you."

"Okay. As long as you like everything about me, not just my face or my body, I'll do my best."

Shi Nianzhi looked at Lu Jiunian with an extremely serious expression.

Lu Jiunian smiled knowingly, a hint of mischief in his eyes, and flirted with him, "How do you plan to behave?"

Shi Nianzhi leaned down, pressed the back of Lu Jiunian's head, and kissed him.

......

Despite Lu Jiunian's persistent pleading, he failed to find out what Shi Nianzhi had burned. Instead, he was completely drained by Shi Nianzhi's sudden enthusiasm.

After Lu Jiunian took Shi Nianzhi to shower again, he fell asleep.

Shi Nianzhi lay in Lu Jiunian's arms with her back to him.

He looked at the gray floor-length curtains with clear eyes, the room illuminated by soft light.

Even though there was a man's warm body behind him, Shi Nianzhi still couldn't feel any warmth.

He turned around to face Lu Jiunian, and shrank even closer into Lu Jiunian's warm embrace.

"As long as you like everything about me and don't leave me, I don't care about your past. I will believe whatever you say."

Shi Nianzhi grasped Lu Jiunian's hand and intertwined their fingers.

He tilted his head back, slowly moved closer to Lu Jiunian's lips, and gave her a light, fleeting kiss.

He held Lu Jiunian's hand and placed it against his chest, where he could feel Lu Jiunian's heartbeat, and whispered again:

"Honey, I love you."

"I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

"You don't have to love me the most, but as long as you love me even a little bit, I'll be... very happy."

I am completely satisfied and willing to do so.

......

When Lu Jiunian woke up, there was no one beside her.

The man sat up, checked the time, and saw it was only a little past five.

Where is the person who remembers you?

Could they have run away?

"Remember this often!"

Lu Jiunian called out.

No one responded. He got out of bed, opened the door, and the light from Shi Nianzhi's study shone out in the hallway.

Lu Jiunian walked over quickly and saw Shi Nianzhi sitting at his desk, writing furiously.

"Did the sun rise in the west today?"

The man stood behind Shi Nianzhi and glanced at the questions Shi Nianzhi had copied.

Shi Nianzhi yawned, "This is my first monthly exam since I came to school. I want to do well, no, it's also because I don't want to embarrass you."

Lu Jiunian picked up Shi Nianzhi's review materials and glanced at them. He didn't look at the details much, but he did notice the sentence that was highlighted and bolded at the top.

If there are three long and one short, choose the shortest; if there are three short and one long, choose the longest; if they are both the shortest, choose A; if they are both the longest, choose C; if there are two long and two short, choose B; if they are all different lengths, choose D!

Lu Jiunian sneered, "You also have strategic guessing techniques."

Shi Nianzhi suddenly remembered the trick that Mu Guangcheng had taught him, which was written at the very top of the review materials. Mu Guangcheng probably thought he was mentally challenged, because he had printed it at the very top of every single page, and even made it bold and large.

Shi Nianzhi blushed slightly, snatched the review materials, and guiltily pressed them under the book.

"Go wash up. I'll study for a little longer and then have breakfast. I have to go to school soon."

"If you can't learn it, just muddle along."

For the first time, Lu Jiunian relented on Shi Nianzhi's studies.

For Shi Nianzhi, learning is something that cannot be forced.

Shi Nianzhi: "..."

Has he been given up on? Actually, he could be saved; there might still be hope.

Feeling that there was still hope for him, Shi Nianzhi remained silent for the time being.

Lu Jiunian paused for a moment and then said, "What are you interested in? I'll help you choose a major."

He would think of it but remain silent.

Lu Jiunian's voice was rather helpless, "Agriculture and animal husbandry are not viable. Forget it, we'll see when the time comes."

The man turned and left.

After he finished washing up and came out, he picked up his phone and saw the message Jiang Kai had sent him yesterday.

His face darkened, clearly displeased.

Shi Nianzhi refused to say what he burned yesterday. Could it be something related to Gu Zijian?

Lu Jiunian went downstairs, and before Shi Nianzhi came down, he asked the maid to call Shi Er over.

"Did Gu Yuanyuan approach him yesterday?"

"No this afternoon."

Did he come back yesterday to get anything?

"No."

Lu Jiunian frowned and called Zhang Sao over to ask.

After thinking for a moment, Aunt Zhang immediately said, "Yesterday there was a package from Young Master Shi, a box full of things. Before you came back last night, Young Master Shi took that box out, and I didn't notice it when he came back."

Lu Jiunian waved his hand with a stern face, telling them to leave.

As soon as Shi Nianzhi came downstairs with his schoolbag on his back, Lu Jiunian was already standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking as if he was deliberately waiting for him.