Chapter 30: Sleeping and taking her into his arms

The servants were the best at judging the situation and knew that they had something to say, so they all retreated silently when they saw this.

Chen Lianxiu had already stood up, but upon hearing this, he just stood there without moving or saying anything.

After Zhou Linjin and the others left, he asked again, "Will you stay?"

Chen Lianxiu slowly sat down and said, "This is Si Ning Garden. I'm afraid it's not convenient..."

"It's just one night. We have everything we need here." Zhou Linjin's voice was now lowered as he whispered to her, "I want to go back, but Mother and you won't let me."

"But...maybe Madam will misunderstand..."

Zhou Linjin didn't say anything. He followed Shen Lianxiu's voice and walked towards her. He raised his hands and held her face. He was very familiar with her height and posture.

These days, the two of them slept together during lunch break, and he often liked to kiss her on the forehead before falling asleep.

The same is true for Zhou Linjin now.

However, the difference was that this time, he seemed to have locked the direction with just this most ordinary kiss, and then blocked her lips cleanly and neatly.

Chen Lianxiu was completely unprepared. She was startled and almost cried out, but his kiss had already locked her lips tightly, and her cry eventually turned into a soft moan in her throat, adding a touch of charm to the night with flickering candlelight.

Zhou Linjin didn't stop for a long time.

On a rainy night not long ago, he did the same thing, and this time it lasted even longer than before, as if he was a greedy child stealing candy and never wanted to stop.

Chen Lianxiu sometimes felt that she was almost out of breath, but Zhou Linjin seemed to have anticipated this. At such moments, he would relax a little, and when she recovered a little, he would start to intensify again.

This cycle continued over and over again until Chen Lianxiu could no longer stand. Her whole body became as limp as a puddle of water. If Zhou Linjin hadn't been supporting her, she would have collapsed to the ground the next moment.

She still had some sense at first. There were servants waiting outside. Even if she wanted to stay overnight here, she should inform them to go to Zhuoxinzhai to get some things she needed. What's the point of being neither here nor there?

But later on, she could no longer think so much.

How can one control one's emotions when they arise?

It was like having one foot on the shore and the other foot in the river. Even if she was about to fall into the water in the next moment, she was willing to do so.

However, just when the passion was at its peak, the door outside was suddenly opened.

Although the two were staying in the inner room, they were standing in the middle of the room. At this time, the lattice door between the two rooms had not been closed. If someone came in from outside, they could see what they were doing at a glance.

When Chen Lianxiu heard the voice, she finally came back to her senses. She subconsciously pushed away Zhou Linjin who was holding her, and her legs almost went weak and she fell to the ground.

But it was too late. Yang, who had just come in, looked at them and realized that she had come to the wrong place. She blinked and didn't know what to say.

She just knew that Chen Lianxiu had not left yet, so she wanted to come over and ask if the pheasant soup that had just been delivered tasted good. If it was good, she would ask the kitchen to make it again tomorrow. At that time, she saw the servants standing outside, and she just thought that the two of them were talking inside. After all, Chen Lianxiu often came here in the past few days, and there were often only the two of them in the room. She knocked on the door before entering, but they didn't say anything.

I didn't expect her to see this.

Yang was not the kind of serious and rigid elder. Seeing this, she naturally felt embarrassed, but she did not blame them. She just said repeatedly, "I'm going out."

Chen Lianxiu's mind was in a mess. He took a few steps forward and reached the lattice door. He said, "Madam, please come in. I'll go back now."

Yang waved her hand, walked out, and asked someone to close the door.

Chen Lianxiu looked back at Zhou Linjin, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed and annoyed, and said, "It's all your fault."

Zhou Linjin walked over to her side. Although he was interrupted by Yang, his face showed no embarrassment or anger. He just smiled and said, "I will return to Zhuoxinzhai tomorrow. Mother should agree."

"Whatever you want," Shen Lianxiu said softly, and then added, "I'm going back."

Zhou Linjin didn't stop her anymore.

After Chen Lianxiu returned to Zhuoxinzhai, his heart still could not calm down, as if waves were surging towards the shore.

After getting into bed, she could see the soft couch outside vaguely through the bed curtains.

Zhou Linjin used to sleep there.

After he moved back this time...

She didn't know whether she should do that, but she couldn't refuse anymore.

If this is her fate, then she can only do so.

***

On the second day, Yang no longer stopped Zhou Linjin from moving back to Zhuoxinzhai.

After noon, Zhou Yishao brought Zhu'er and Zhou Linjin back.

Zhu'er and Zhou Linjin went out to play, and Zhou Yishao said to Shen Lianxiu, "Mother asked me to tell you that she was right to agree to let Erlang marry you. As long as you two are happy, she will be happy."

The person who agreed to marry was naturally not her but Shen Wuyu, but Yang had always been seeing her. Shen Lianxiu didn't know what to feel for a moment, and just thought that Yang was talking about her, so she lowered her head and responded.

Zhou Yishao didn't know what Yang had seen last night, but she could tell from the look of it. Ever since she returned to the Zhou family, she had been very fond of her sister-in-law. They got along very well, so she jokingly said, "You've been married for several months now. You should hurry up and give me some nephews and nieces."

Chen Lianxiu didn't say anything. Zhou Yishao knew that she was shy, so he didn't force her. He just teased her and then stopped.

Chen Lianxiu and Zhou Yishao walked inside hand in hand, only to see Zhu'er sitting on the bed in the inner room, and Zhou Linjin sitting on a stool opposite her. The two were playing with a small ball, tossing it back and forth.

Although Zhou Linjin couldn't see, he was able to catch the ball accurately six or seven times out of ten. The remaining times, the ball rolled out and Zhu'er climbed down and picked it up by herself.

Chen Lianxiu stood aside and watched for a while, carefully observing how Zhou Linjin caught the ball. After watching for a long time, she still couldn't figure it out, so she had to give up. Maybe some people have good hearing, but if it were her, she probably wouldn't be able to catch a single one.

Zhu'er was a child after all. After playing for a while and climbing up and down, she soon became tired. She hugged the ball, fell on the bed, rubbed her eyes and fell asleep.

Zhou Yishao wanted to carry her to sleep somewhere else, but Chen Lianxiu stopped her: "Moving her will wake her up. Children will cry if they don't sleep well. Let her sleep here."

As he said that, he pulled the quilt over Zhu'er.

Zhou Linjin also agreed with what Shen Lianxiu said. He came over and pinched Zhu'er's little hand, then went out to the study, leaving Zhou Yishao and Shen Lianxiu here.

When Zhou Linjin left, Zhou Yishao couldn't help laughing.

Chen Lianxiu thought her laughter was inexplicable. Before she could ask Zhou Yishao, she heard Zhou Yishao laughing uncontrollably and covering his mouth as he said to her, "I've got something to say. It's a good thing to have a child sleeping in your bed. It's said that this way you can get pregnant quickly. Some families in the market even specifically look for young boys and girls to have sex with when they get married. Zhu'er is a girl, so why don't you have a daughter first? I think Erlang also prefers daughters, just like my father loved me more back then."

Chen Lianxiu's face suddenly turned hot. She was afraid that Zhou Yishao would notice, so she quickly covered it with her palms. However, this only made it more obvious, and made Zhou Yishao laugh even harder.

Zhou Yishao refused to let her go and said, "You didn't say a word. Could it be that you favor boys over girls and don't like our Zhu'er sleeping here?"

"No, how could I..." Chen Lianxiu was also anxious, and said hurriedly, "The last time we went to Baoguang Temple, Zhu'er told us that she wished for us to give birth to a little sister for her, and I also..."

She couldn't continue talking here, and Zhou Yishao couldn't help laughing and hung on Shen Lianxiu's shoulders.

…

Zhu'er slept until sunset and woke up. Zhou Yishao didn't want to keep her in Zhuoxinzhai any longer, so the mother and daughter went back immediately.

Chen Lianxiu and Zhou Linjin had dinner as usual, and then took a bath and washed up.

Chen Lianxiu's movements were slower. After she came out of the shower, she saw from two doors away that the candlelight in the inner room seemed to be brighter.

She usually goes to bed early, so it doesn't matter to her whether Zhou Linjin lights candles or not. Therefore, she doesn't like to light many candles indoors. Usually one or two candlesticks are enough, which makes it easier for her to fall asleep.

After entering the inner room, Chen Lianxiu lowered the curtain at the lattice door, only to see Zhou Linjin still sitting at the desk, with a few slender fingers supporting the side of his face, wondering what he was thinking.

Chen Lianxiu walked over quietly and moved the candlestick away from in front of him. She looked at Zhou Linjin but couldn't see him. Unexpectedly, Zhou Linjin raised his eyes. Although his eyes were still dull, it was obvious that he was looking at her.

"My dear, I'm afraid you'll burn your eyes if we get too close." Chen Lianxiu thought for a moment, but couldn't help asking, "How did you find the right direction?"

Zhou Linjin smiled. They say that beauties become more beautiful the more you look at them under a lamp. In fact, Zhou Linjin was no less beautiful at this moment. He said, "You have the scent of sandalwood on you. You can smell it when you get closer."

Chen Lianxiu glanced around and asked again, "Why did they light so many candles in there today? I'll go put them out."

As she said this, she was about to go over.

Zhou Linjin stood up, pulled her back, and said, "I gave in."

"You don't need so much." Chen Lianxiu was very surprised. "How can I sleep at night if it's so bright?"

She was mumbling, but Zhou Linjin walked towards the bed.

"Asleep." he said.

Chen Lianxiu hesitated and almost took a step back. When she came to her senses, her heart suddenly began to beat like a drum.

She followed him closely, but didn't get very close to him until she stopped in front of the bed curtains. Seeing Zhou Linjin sitting on the edge of the bed, she hesitantly called out, "My dear..."

Zhou Linjin didn't say anything. There was a hint of a smile on his face, but it didn't look frivolous.

Chen Lianxiu took another step forward, and Zhou Linjin stretched out his hand and brought her into his arms.