Chapter 39 "Xie Chengyan, you are my husband..."
Shen Xi was stunned for a moment, not expecting him to ask such a question. He paused and forgot to respond for a while before slowly opening his eyes.
Their eyes met, and he saw his own reflection clearly in her deep pupils, which even revealed a hint of pity.
Pity.
A feeling that was particularly inappropriate for Xie Chengyan.
The summer breeze swept through the pavilion, like a soft feather brushing against his heart, making Chen Xi feel a little dazed. For a moment, he was unable to move and just stared blankly at him.
Xie Chengyan's long eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyes, and his gaze was fixed squarely into her eyes.
Their eyes met, and he parted his thin lips slightly, slowly uttering a sentence, his voice filled with an unprecedented helplessness.
"If you don't like it and are unwilling, why are you enduring it? Or is it because you're afraid to speak up in front of me?"
Shen Xi was confused as to how he had brought up this topic. Before she could react, she instinctively replied, "I..."
She had only managed to utter one word when it suddenly caught in her throat.
Shen Xi's mind went blank for a moment. Over the years, her ability to read people and read their expressions had made it easy for her to respond to insincerity with deception and lies.
But Xie Chengyan has now voiced that question directly, hitting her sore spot—a question that even she herself cannot accurately answer.
In this situation, Shen Xi was even more at a loss as to what to say to Xie Chengyan.
Taking in her reaction, Xie Chengyan frowned and sighed almost inaudibly.
He then reached out and helped Shen Xi re-tie her loose sash, his movements slow and deliberate, quite serious.
"Xi'er".
After a pause, he spoke again, "Keeping your temper and hiding won't necessarily get you the result you want. At least here, if you don't like something, just say it."
Shen Xi blinked in confusion.
So he got angry just now because of this?
Because she didn't tell him she didn't like it?
The reason for this is rather strange.
But this seemed to be the first time someone had told her that she could say what she hated directly, even if the person she hated was himself.
In the past, when she was with Xie Wenlang, he was much more oblivious to her thoughts and often failed to perceive her intentions, always judging things by his own standards.
If he doesn't like it, then he doesn't like it.
Xie Wenlang never cared whether Shen Xi liked his behavior.
She was used to swallowing her emotions and almost never showed him a cold face.
It was different in front of Xie Chengyan. Perhaps he was too annoying. No matter how hard she tried to hold back, she could still annoy him from time to time and lose her temper.
Even so, does he still want her to say it?
Shen Xi slowly recalled those minor details, remaining silent for a moment, only lowering her head, but her nose felt somewhat sore.
Their gazes, unsure where to rest, inevitably fell upon the sash at their waists.
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment, until Xie Chengyan straightened her clothes and let go of her hand. Only then did Shen Xi realize that she had not yet responded to him.
So he replied softly, "Oh."
Xie Chengyan's cold and stern expression had already softened. He gently wiped away a tear that had spilled from the corner of her eye with his fingertip and frowned, "I'm sorry for scaring you just now."
"If you don't like it, you won't be here anymore."
His voice is clear and refined, yet he often says inappropriate things.
A blush immediately spread across Shen Xi's cheeks, and she shook her head: "It's nothing."
Hearing her say that, Xie Chengyan's expression did not improve.
Again, she simply said "I'm fine," and in the end, she still couldn't open her heart to him.
Sometimes, Xie Chengyan even wished that she would curse him, punch and kick him, and curse him with deep resentment.
This allowed him to use intense hatred to take root in her heart.
That messy entanglement, even if both of them were covered in wounds, was still better than the current indifference of pretending everything was fine.
But it doesn't matter, he can take it slow. He can wait for the long future ahead.
Thinking this, Xie Chengyan took Shen Xi's hand and pulled her up from the chaise lounge. He figured she probably needed some time to calm down, so he kept quiet.
The silence created an atmosphere that felt increasingly distant.
Using the strength he offered, Shen Xi gracefully stood up. After a moment's thought, she suddenly looked up and said quite seriously, "Xie Chengyan, will you listen to everything I say?"
Xie Chengyan, who was bending down to adjust her skirt, paused slightly upon hearing this, seemingly not expecting her to accept his words so quickly.
He looked up and met her gaze: "What do you want to say?"
"From now on, can we please stop mentioning Xie Wenlang between us?"
When Xie Chengyan heard her clear, crisp voice, he was a little surprised. He lifted his eyelids slightly and met her eyes, which were clear and somewhat stubborn, staring straight at him without any attempt to hide her gaze.
Even though he was reluctant to hear that name come out of her mouth, Xie Chengyan remained calm and simply asked, "Why are you saying that?"
Thinking he was about to get angry again, Shen Xi quickly explained, "Now that we're married, whatever happens will only be between you and me, and has nothing to do with him. I don't like it when an outsider is always standing between us."
She spoke without the slightest hesitation. Xie Chengyan stared at her for a long time, trying to find some flaws, but no matter how he looked at it, it seemed to be the truth.
After a long silence, he lowered his eyes, his slender fingers casually smoothing out the cuffs of Chen Xi's sleeves that had been carelessly rolled up, and said in a low voice, "Xi'er, if you still like him, then don't say such things."
But Chen Xi stared at him intently, took a step closer, and said without looking away, "But Xie Chengyan, you are my husband."
“His relationship with me is a thing of the past. Now that things have come to this, bringing him up again will only create a rift between us.”
When these words were truly heard, Xie Chengyan swallowed hard, his eyes darkening.
Whatever you like or dislike.
Regardless of past lives or future lives, in this life, Shen Xi is destined to be Xie Chengyan's wife. Everyone knows this, and there is no doubt about it.
Even though he knew perfectly well that it didn't matter if she liked Xie Wenlang, he would have a thousand ways to keep her by his side.
But that would be rather dull. To keep her by one's side as an empty doll is far less interesting than to have her lively and vibrant appearance.
But now, she told him with absolute certainty that her relationship with Xie Wenlang was over, and that he was now her husband.
Although Xie Chengyan could still see some signs of lying in her eyes after careful examination, this time, he didn't mind believing her.
The wind on the lake ruffled the stray hairs around Chen Xi's ears, momentarily blurring her vision, so she tilted her head slightly.
The next instant, Xie Chengyan stretched out his long arm, and she fell straight into that familiar embrace, her tall figure shielding her from the cool breeze.
He buried his face in her neck, his arms around her tightly, and replied in a deep voice, "Fine, from now on, he has nothing to do with us."
Shen Xi stiffened almost imperceptibly, let out a muffled groan, and then raised her hand to slowly encircle Xie Chengyan's lean waist, resting her chin lightly on his shoulder.
From a distance, it looks like a tender and intimate embrace.
Unbeknownst to Xie Chengyan, deep within Shen Xi's clear eyes, there was no emotion, only a calm and calculating gaze.
If Xie Wenlang stays away from their affairs from now on, Xie Chengyan will no longer be able to use this as an excuse to make trouble.
In this way, she wouldn't have unknowingly become the sharpest knife in Xie Chengyan's hand, aimed at Xie Wenlang, time and time again.
The two tacitly moved on from the past, neither mentioning the events of that day again, and deliberately avoiding any topics related to Xie Wenlang.
They got along quite well despite living like that in a daze.
July 1st was Shen Xi's birthday.
Before she was married, Xie Wenlang was the one who valued her birthday the most, giving her gifts and hosting banquets without fail, always saying that he wanted her to have a lively celebration every year.
Within the Shen family, apart from Shen Wangchen, who would send her gifts every year without fail to annoy her, the rest of the family members didn't really remember her birthday.
Only Qingqiu would always make her a bowl of longevity noodles on this day, and he would make sure she finished eating them before he would stop.
Apart from that, this day was no different from any other day.
This year, naturally there will be no more invitations from Xie Wenlang.
Shen Xi didn't pay much attention to this day, and got up as usual to wash her face and do her hair.
Sitting in front of the dressing mirror, applying a little makeup, and just as she was about to draw her eyebrows, she heard footsteps coming in from outside the door behind her.
She stopped what she was doing, turned around, and saw Xie Chengyan.
"Husband?"
At this time of day, he should have already left the mansion for the military camp.
Xie Chengyan walked around the screen and entered slowly, carrying a mahogany box in his hand. After a brief look, he noticed that the patterns on it were intricate and exquisite.
He responded softly, walked to Shen Xi's side, and looked down at her unfinished makeup: "Is it just the eyebrows that you need to draw?"
Shen Xi sat on the dressing stool, looking up, wondering why he was asking this, but she nodded subconsciously: "Yes, it will be ready soon."
Xie Chengyan put down the wooden box in his hand: "Let me try?"
Seeing that he was serious and didn't seem to be lying, Shen Xi blinked and teased with a smile: "Husband, these hands are for drawing bows and wielding swords, how did you come up with something like drawing eyebrows?"
Xie Chengyan ignored her teasing, but instead lowered his eyes, picked up a snail-shaped inkstone from her makeup box, and slowly gestured it in front of Shen Xi's eyebrows.
Then he slowly spoke up: "If Xi'er wishes, I can teach you how to draw a bow and wield a sword."
Shen Xi tilted her head and actually thought seriously about the scene of Xie Chengyan teaching her personally, then shook her head: "I am not as good as the soldiers under my husband's command. It would probably take a lot of effort for him to teach me."
"Don't move."
While she was thinking, Xie Chengyan leaned closer, resting against the dressing table, and surrounded her in front of him.
With one hand, he pressed down on her swaying head, gently lifted her chin with his pinky finger, and with the other hand, he began to draw on her eyebrows with a spiral-shaped inkstone.
His expression was focused, his gaze fixed on Shen Xi's eyebrows, carrying a hint of gentleness.
Shen Xi's chin was lifted by him, forcing her to look up. Because drawing eyebrows was a delicate task, Xie Chengyan couldn't help but move closer, and right in front of her was his magnified handsome eyebrows and eyes.
Xie Chengyan's aura clung tightly to her. The two had been spending a lot of time together these days, and Shen Xi had become very familiar with it. She even felt at ease when surrounded by this aura.
She gazed at him silently, their breaths mingling. The room fell silent for a moment, save for the chirping of birds from the greenery by the window.
Shen Xi suddenly felt a little embarrassed and couldn't help but speak softly to break the silence between them.
"Why didn't you go to the military camp today, my husband?"
"No, I'm taking the day off and staying home."
Shen Xi frowned: "Is there something important?"
Xie Chengyan stopped what he was doing and looked into her eyes, which unconsciously showed a hint of worry.
He gently smoothed the furrow in her brow with his fingertips: "Don't worry, it's important, but not troublesome."
Seeing that he looked calm and not in a hurry, and even had the leisure to draw her eyebrows, Shen Xi felt a little relieved and let him continue.
Xie Chengyan was unfamiliar with the delicate task of drawing eyebrows for a woman for the first time, but after years of martial arts training, his hands, which had been holding knives and guns for a long time, were quite steady.
At least, it was more stable than when Shen Xi first learned to draw her eyebrows.
It was already broad daylight, and sunlight slanted in through the window, gently enveloping the two of them.
As the light and shadow shifted, a small shadow was cast between Xie Chengyan's eyebrows and eyes, making his eyes appear even more deep and alluring.
He was focused on drawing Shen Xi's eyebrows and didn't notice anything amiss.
But this scene happened right in front of Shen Xi. Her heart skipped a beat, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she quietly looked away.
With her eyelids lowered, her restless gaze fell on the cloud pattern on his clothes. She lightly brushed her eyebrows with snail-shell ink, but unlike her usual skillful brushwork, it seemed somewhat haphazard.
Before today, Shen Xi would have found it hard to imagine that Xie Chengyan would actually take the initiative to do something like drawing her eyebrows.
Thinking of this, Shen Xi's eyebrows curved into a smile, and she chuckled to herself.
This smile, which moved her face, was naturally noticed by Xie Chengyan, who was focused on her eyebrows.
His gaze swept over her smiling face without making a sound, and the corners of his lips followed suit, curving upwards in a barely perceptible arc.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Chengyan finally straightened up, stepped back a little to create some distance, and began to seriously examine his masterpiece.
After a moment, under Shen Xi's expectant gaze, he nodded and concluded: "Very beautiful."
Shen Xi's eyes lit up, and she raised an eyebrow slightly: "Really?"
Xie Chengyan put down the snail-shaped ink in his hand, his tone firm and unwavering: "It's true."
But Shen Xi was still half-believing and half-doubting. She pushed aside Xie Chengyan, who was blocking her way, and looked at herself in the mirror.
Upon seeing the eyebrows drawn by Xie Chengyan, Shen Xi took a deep breath and barely managed to hold it in.
Xie Chengyan, oblivious to everything, nodded again and said with satisfaction, "It is indeed beautiful."
Shen Xi pursed her lips, and after a long while, looked at him with a serious expression: "Xie Chengyan, didn't you say before that I could say anything in front of you?"
What do you want to say?
Xie Chengyan climbed up to her from behind, placing his hands on the dressing table and encircling her in front of him.
Their gazes met in the mirror. His eyes were like a spring of melting winter snow, retaining their cold nature, calm yet with a touch of gentleness.
Shen Xi looked at Xie Chengyan in the mirror. Lately, she had become increasingly bold in front of him.
Now, when facing him, I can mutter without hesitation, "So ugly."
She wrinkled her nose, her fingertips tracing her eyebrows, making no attempt to hide her dissatisfaction: "Xie Chengyan, your hands aren't suited for this. The eyebrows you drew look really strange."
Listening to her reproachful complaints, Xie Chengyan lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the corners of her lips that were pressed down with dissatisfaction. Under the light of the daylight, her whole person looked exceptionally vivid.
He couldn't help but chuckle softly: "Really? Xi'er looks good no matter what."
Shen Xi turned around and glared at him, then pushed him away: "It's obviously ugly, I don't want to go out and see people with these eyebrows."
Xie Chengyan took her wrist and said, "If Xi'er doesn't like it, then let me practice more in the future. As time goes by, I'll become more skilled and it will naturally look better."
Shen Xi was amused by his self-righteous attitude: "No way! If you use my eyebrows as practice, doesn't that mean I'll have to look at these ugly eyebrows on my face for a long time to come?"
"You'd better agree quickly, and don't use me as a practice subject."
She approached him with a threatening air, stubbornly waiting for Xie Chengyan to nod.
Xie Chengyan pondered for a moment, looked at her seriously, and gave his answer with great solemnity.
"Not ugly."
Shen Xi exclaimed in disbelief, "Thank you, Cheng Yan!"
Seeing that she was about to get angry, Xie Chengyan finally gave in to Shen Xi and promised not to try it on her face again. Only then did she stop, get up and remove the eyebrows from her face, and redo her makeup herself.
During this time, Xie Chengyan sat leaning to the side, leisurely admiring the beauty as she dressed up. Her appearance was exquisite and truly pleasing to the eye.
He had originally planned to help her out, but after trying twice, Shen Xi forbade him from getting close to her dressing table again.
After all the commotion, it took Shen Xi twice as long as usual to get ready.
When it came to the final step, Shen Xi took out her usual pair of earrings from the jewelry box and was about to put them on.
But just then, she noticed in the mirror that Xie Chengyan suddenly got up and walked to her side.
Xie Chengyan gently pressed her hand and took the earrings from her.
Shen Xi looked around in confusion: "What's wrong?"
Xie Chengyan pushed the wooden box that had been placed aside toward her, glanced at it briefly, and then noticed that the top of the box was adorned with a piece of agate, its red color almost dripping.
"What's this?"
Shen Xi looked at him with curiosity, somewhat puzzled.
Xie Chengyan, however, kept it a secret, smiling as he said, "You'll know once you open it."
Shen Xi raised an eyebrow and hesitantly opened the wooden box, only to find a complete set of jewelry inside: gold hairpins, pearl hairpins, earrings, and jade rings, all complete.
A closer look reveals that the materials used are of high quality, the workmanship is exquisite, and a great deal of thought has been put into it.
"this……"
Before she could ask, Xie Chengyan gazed intently at her and placed a kiss on her forehead: "Xi'er, happy birthday."
"You actually gave me a birthday present?"
Shen Xi paused for a moment, clearly somewhat surprised.
These days, although the two of them get along well, it's more like they're each taking what they need, far from being able to open up to each other.
But his actions today, whether it was the birthday gift or his sudden idea to draw his eyebrows, had a different meaning.
Xie Chengyan was equally puzzled by her surprise, his eyebrows slightly lowered: "You are my wife, it is only right that I celebrate your birthday, why are you surprised?"
Shen Xi realized that her question had made them seem too distant, so she quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Because I had heard that you never celebrate your birthday, I assumed that you wouldn't care about anyone's birthday. So, I was a little surprised."
Upon hearing this, a hint of something obscure seemed to flash in Xie Chengyan's eyes, but it was only for a moment before he lowered his gaze, concealing those inappropriate emotions.
He reached into the wooden box and took out a pair of earrings inlaid with white jade and gold filigree.
Xie Chengyan lowered his eyes, pinched the small earlobe with his fingertips, and put it on her earlobe by hand.
His voice was deep, concealing something else: "Xi'er, that's different."
The warm fingertips of his hand gently kneaded her earlobe, creating a stark contrast with the coolness of his earring, making the atmosphere momentarily awkward. Shen Xi swallowed softly.
Following his words unconsciously, she asked, "What's different?"
"What is the meaning of this humble gift? Two bright pearls in my ears."
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