The shopkeeper had already gone far away, and the corridor returned to silence.
Neither of them spoke; they simply stood silently in the warm candlelight streaming into the room, their shadows stretched long and thin.
Sulking, Zhan Xinjia wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve, broke free from his hand, and turned to leave. But after only a couple of steps, her wrist was firmly gripped by Shen Suqing, who had caught up from behind.
Upon receiving the letter, I was filled with a cold laugh.
She turned around, her face mostly covered by a handkerchief, revealing only a pair of clear, bright eyes, as clear as if washed by water.
Her eyes were upturned at the corners, adding a touch of pride and arrogance.
"What are you doing, sir? Do you really want me to serve you?"
Shen Suqing remained silent, but tightened his grip on her hand.
Under the dim light, the young man's long, dark eyelashes obscured the light in his eyes, making them appear even more gloomy.
His gaze was strange, so complex that even though Zhan Xinjia was looking up at him openly, she couldn't decipher it at all.
The warmth of his body emanating from her wrist, and the force he exerted made her wrist bones ache slightly, but no matter how much she struggled, he simply held her tightly, preventing her from leaving him even for a moment.
Zhan Xinjia felt more and more wronged. At this moment, all she wanted was to get far away, go back to the capital, and go home.
What is improper? What is inappropriate for people to be intimate with each other?
Since he's always disliked her, and since anyone can get close to him, why did he treat her so well before—washing her clothes, cooking for her, buying her candy, and teaching her to read and write?
It gave her the illusion that she was special...
Thinking of this, Zhan Xinjia felt a sharp pang of sadness, and she hurriedly lowered her head, refusing to look at him again.
A tear fell like a broken string of pearls. Through her teary eyes, she stared blankly at the tip of her shoe, watching the clear tear wet the surface and spread into a dark flower.
The young man took a deep breath.
He slowly released her wrist.
Just when Zhan Xinjia thought he was finally leaving, a wisp of sky-blue sleeve gently brushed past her eyes, carrying with it the faint scent of paper and ink.
He gently wiped away her tears with his fingertips and sighed softly.
“Ah paper.”
With such helpless yet tender calls, the young man half-squatted down and completely embraced her.
It's like coaxing a child.
"Why are you crying again?"
Zhan Xinjia stopped crying, looked up in bewilderment and surprise, and stared at the person in front of her with teary eyes.
Seeing her surprised expression, Shen Suqing took the crumpled handkerchief from her hand and carefully wiped her face, which was covered in charcoal drawings, all over again.
Then he unfolded the handkerchief.
"Have you forgotten? This is mine."
"!!!"
Upon receiving the letter, Jia choked up.
She remembered that the first time Master Shen took her shopping, she was bored and played in the mud. Later, Master Shen used this handkerchief to wipe her hands clean!
Although he casually threw it into the basket after using it, the thrifty Zhan Xinjia sneaked back to pick it up, washed it, and dried it.
So, did Lord Shen always recognize her and know it was her?
Does that mean her lie can't be hidden anymore?!
Compared to her previous jealousy and grievances, Zhan Xinjia now feels more nervous and flustered about being caught red-handed, and is at a loss for what to do.
She's not some weak, amnesiac orphan; she just didn't stay home obediently. Will Lord Shen still be willing to keep her by his side? Will Lord Shen still be willing to take care of her...?
He must be very disappointed.
Zhan Xinjia looked dejected. She tentatively pinched the corner of his sleeve with her knuckles. Her voice was barely audible.
"Young Master Shen, I'm so sorry..."
It's normal for him to hate her from now on, after all, she's a little liar who cheated people out of food and drinks and freeloaded all that delicious rice from his house...
Shen Suqing was indeed quite angry.
Especially when the little girl hid behind the shopkeeper and preferred to be forcibly dragged away rather than honestly explain things to him.
The man roughly grabbed his delicate young girl's arm, spewing vulgarities. For a moment, Shen Suqing even felt a surge of murderous intent rising within him.
At the same time, his heart sank lower and lower, with a feeling of uncertainty and fear of not being able to reach the bottom.
She was so afraid of him that she would rather go with a bad person than tell the truth.
More than the lies she told, more than her secrets, Shen Suqing was angry that she never cared about her own safety.
I rescued him in the suburbs last time, and I will do it again this time.
“Ah paper.”
Knowing full well that some actions are inappropriate between elders and juniors, and knowing that the feelings in my heart at this moment are too subtle to be expressed.
Reason told him he should sober up, exercise restraint, and stay away.
But the moment he saw her tears fall, Shen Suqing felt his heart clench with pain.
Rather than being calm and rational, he knew very well that he had much more important things to do right now.
The young man placed his palm on her cheek, his thin lips parted slightly, but many words remained unspoken.
Finally, he simply knelt down on one knee and squatted close to her, gently pressing his forehead against hers.
Breaths mingled, body temperature was transferred.
After a long while, she heard a soft sigh from the young man, as if he were talking to himself.
"Good girl."
"Young Master Shen, I did it because I was worried about you!..."
"That's why you became a fortune teller, that's why you became a storyteller?"
"ah??"
I choked on my words upon receiving the letter.
"No, how do you even know this? That shouldn't be the case."
She tapped him with her forehead in annoyance.
Shen Suqing wasn't hurt by the head bump, but seeing her pouting and questioning look made his heart melt as if he were floating in a cloud, and he couldn't help but want to tease her some more.
"There's also the candy vendor at the alley entrance, a female knight-errant who doesn't want to reveal her name passing by, the young guard at the city gate, the village girl picking mushrooms in the wild, the old man fishing by the river, and the woodcutter carrying manure in the mountains..."
"Ah!! How do you really know all of this?"
The letter was torn open.
She had always thought she had disguised herself very well, but she never expected that all the identities she had used in the past few days would be exposed by Lord Shen. How did he know?
Shen Suqing chuckled softly. He stood up, about to say something, when the door on the other side of the corridor was suddenly pushed open.
A clanging sound broke the somewhat ambiguous atmosphere.
Fu Shouan poked his head out and looked in shock at his old colleague—and the pretty young cook in his colleague's arms.
He gasped in horror, grimacing as if he had seen a ghost.
"Brother Shen, you...you!..."
Because of the distance and the fact that Zhan Xinjia was hidden in Shen Suqing's arms, Fu Shouan couldn't see her face clearly, but he was greatly shocked, horrified, and taken aback.
Heaven knows what an upright and unyielding gentleman his brother Shen is! Among all the civil and military officials, who doesn't praise Grand Tutor Shen as practically wickedly righteous? He must be hallucinating! How could he possibly see his brother Shen embracing a young girl so tenderly!
Shen Suqing gently stroked the hair of the little girl in his arms, then glanced indifferently at Fu Shouan.
"how."
"My dear brother Chen, you've fallen from grace! This little girl was just trying to seduce me, but I didn't take the bait while you got hooked? How did she do that? Is she the reincarnation of Confucius? What rare masterpiece did she use to lure you in?"
Shen Suqing: "?"
Zhan Xinjia: "..."
She lowered her head further and further, her toes digging into the ground, as if she wanted to dig through the broken staircase and bury herself in the dirt.
He let out a sound that was almost like a cold laugh as he led the timid Zhan Xinjia toward his room, while Fu Shouan continued to try to dissuade him from behind.
"Hey! Hey Chen, why did you take her back to your room?! Don't do this, buddy, it's illegal!! It's absolutely outrageous! The world is going to the dogs, morality is declining, we're decent people, we can't do this!"
"A respectable person? Oh, I'm not."
After saying this, Shen Suqing closed the door expressionlessly.
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