Cheng Zhiwen didn't open her eyes, and said casually, "It's been getting chilly lately; sleeping on the sofa will make you sick."
He paused, then lowered his voice: "The doctor said you can't get sick anymore."
Shen Qing turned to look at him: "Could you give the girl an extra blanket?"
"You are my fiancée now. If we sleep in separate beds, it might not look good if word gets out."
"So, from now on, we'll...sleep together?"
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
Shen Qing believed this.
Since the last time they slept in the same bed on Mid-Autumn Festival four years ago, apart from that scene at the dock, he has never done anything inappropriate to her since they met again.
Shen Qing felt that he must have thought that she and Qi Zhenheng were together, which was why he stopped bothering her.
Although he doesn't follow the rules, he wouldn't stoop to making a move on his friend's "partner".
With that thought in mind, Shen Qing felt relieved.
The silky, warm blankets clung to her skin, and drowsiness quickly washed over her.
While I was half asleep, I heard a loud banging on the door.
Shen Qing woke up with a start.
She sat up, supporting herself on the cushions with both hands, and the silk quilt fell off her body.
She broke out in a cold sweat, her forehead and back soaked with sweat.
If she hadn't known this was the Cheng family's residence, she would have thought it was another group of soldiers coming to arrest her.
Look out the window.
It was all gray and gloomy outside; it was still dark.
The banging on the door continued. Shen Qing nudged Cheng Zhiwen with lingering fear: "Someone's banging on the door."
Cheng Zhiwen sat up and asked sharply towards the door, "Who is it?"
"Reporting to the Second Young Master, this old servant is a nanny from the Madam's courtyard, and I have come to pay my respects to Concubine Zhu."
The old nanny in the lady's courtyard?
Shen Qing's fear subsided, and he asked Cheng Zhiwen in a low voice, "Is she the nanny who serves your wife?"
Cheng Zhiwen turned to look at her: "She's a nanny from my mother's courtyard. I don't have a legal wife."
"oh……"
Cheng Zhiwen threw off the covers and got out of bed, grabbed the bathrobe that was lying at the foot of the bed and put it on, then slipped on her leather slippers and went to open the door.
He opened the door and said to the person standing outside, "Shi Ning hasn't gotten up yet. Go back first and come to pay your respects when he gets up."
"Second Young Master, it's already dawn, Aunt Zhu should get up too! If she doesn't get up soon, people will laugh at us and it will also embarrass Master and Madam!"
Cheng Zhiwen's tall figure blocked the doorway, so Shen Qing couldn't see the old woman's face, but just by hearing her voice, she knew she was no good.
Shen Qing couldn't help but think of Gao Liushi.
When she first arrived at the Gao family, although Madam Gao treated her only so-so, she never sent a nanny to wake her up or disturb her sleep.
That old nanny in the Cheng family is just unbelievable...
Cheng Zhiwen was still negotiating with the old woman: "Shining spent a month on the ship from London to Shanghai. She didn't get much rest and is quite tired. She's in a deep sleep, so we shouldn't disturb her."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.
The old woman persisted, saying loudly, "Second Young Master, you are a noble yang body, while women are yin. Yin energy will damage yang energy. If you and Concubine Zhu lack restraint, your yang body will surely suffer, which will be detrimental to you..."
Shen Qing: "..."
The old woman continued loudly, "Madam said—Second Young Master, you are destined to be the pillar of the Cheng family in the future, and you must not waste too much energy on matters of men and women, lest you ruin your health..."
As he spoke, he craned his neck to look towards the bedroom.
Cheng Zhiwen blocked her view, preventing her from seeing inside.
"Alright, get out, all of you!" he roared. "You've disturbed Shi Ning's rest, see how I deal with you! Get out of here!"
The old woman choked, and her arrogance finally subsided.
He glanced inside reluctantly, snorted, and, with his maid, turned and went down the eaves.
Cheng Zhiwen withdrew her stern gaze, gently closed the door, returned to the bedside, and got back into bed.
Seeing that Shen Qing was only wearing a thin nightgown, he took off his own robe and draped it over her: "It's alright, go to sleep."
Shen Qing looked sullenly at the door: "Is that old woman here to discipline me? After all, I'm your fiancée in name only. She might be going to teach me how to serve you?"
“If we’re talking about serving,” Cheng Zhiwen said with a smile as she lay back down, “I should be the one being disciplined.”
The implication was that he was now serving Shen Qing.
Shen Qing's face flushed, and she quickly slid into the quilt.
After being disturbed like this, she could no longer fall asleep. She lay on her side with her back to Cheng Zhiwen, idly playing with the hem of her pajamas.
Feeling the lightness and softness between her fingertips, she subconsciously said, "The raw silk and weaving technique of these pajamas are quite good. Where did you buy them? I don't remember seeing anything like this in Shanghai."
Behind him, Cheng Zhiwen said calmly, "France."
Shen Qing carefully examined the texture of the pajamas in his hands: "European silk is indeed well made. No wonder you refused to help me export silk six years ago."
"You probably thought I was deliberately targeting you?"
“Can I not think so? I was like a mad dog when I first met you,” Shen Qing mimicked his expression and tone back then. “I didn’t even like you when you were a virgin, let alone now that you’re a widow…”
Their first confrontation was six years ago, yet it feels as vivid as if it happened just yesterday.
"I'm sorry," Cheng Zhiwen said softly.
Shen Qing raised the corners of her lips, pretending to be angry, and said with her back to him, "How can a grown man like you have such a vicious mouth? It's already pitiful enough that I've become a widow, and now you have to make fun of me."
The bed behind me shifted.
Cheng Zhiwen sat up, her gaze falling on her slender back. After looking at it for a while, she lay back down.
He rested his arms behind his head and stared blankly at the bed curtains.
"I didn't mean to humiliate you when I said those things."
Shen Qing turned over to look at him: "Then what was your original intention?"
“We were engaged, but she was forced to break off the engagement. I’m worried that after losing her husband, she will transfer her affections to me again.”
This was pretty much what Shen Qing had guessed.
She was genuinely worried that the original body of her husband would continue to cling to him after he lost his wife.
She curled her lips in a mocking smile and turned her back again: "Your worries were unnecessary. Although she was deeply in love with you, you also hurt her deeply. Even if she becomes a widow, she won't cling to you... On the contrary, she hates you."
As Shen Qing uttered her last words, her eyelashes trembled.
A sense of grievance and hatred surged in her chest, and the original owner's consciousness seemed to awaken within her.
Behind her, Cheng Zhiwen said softly, "Hate me if you want. Someone like me doesn't deserve her love. She deserves a better man to love and protect her. I'm not worthy."
Tears rolled down Shen Qing's cheeks, wetting her pillowcase.
She knew that Cheng Zhiwen's last words were referring to her, not the original owner of this body.
He was subtly telling her—don't have any hope for him, it's impossible for them...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com