It's just a change of clothes, why avoid it?
The candlelight in the study was about to go out, and the cinnabar ink used to review the documents had not yet dried. The air was filled with the fragrance of ink and a trace of indescribable, forcibly suppressed throbbing.
"It's getting late." Shen Qianyue's voice broke the silence, as cold as usual. She stood up calmly, straightened her plain sleeves, and her movements were smooth and natural, completely suppressing all the fluctuations just now.
Xie Shangjia woke up as if from a dream, and quickly stood up. His hands and feet were a little clumsy, and he responded hesitantly, but his eyes followed her figure involuntarily.
"It's...it's time to go back and rest."
Chen Qianyue picked up Li'er, and the two of them walked out of the study, one in front and the other behind.
It was late at night. The light from the lanterns in the corridor was dim, stretching the shadows into long and slender shapes. The cold night wind blew by, slightly dispelling the heat from Xie Shangjia's face, but it could not dispel the mess in his heart.
As they were about to reach the fork in the road leading to their respective courtyards, he paused, mustered his courage, and his voice was filled with a barely perceptible hint of nervousness and anticipation.
"Tomorrow I want to go to the horse farm on the outskirts of the city to take a walk and relax. Is that okay?"
Shen Qianyue stopped and looked at him sideways. In the dim light, her calm face could not reveal many emotions. Only her eyes seemed particularly deep in the night.
"Yes, just ask the butler to prepare the carriage and horses."
This expected agreement made Xie Shangjia feel inexplicably relieved, and even a slight sense of joy surged in his heart.
He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but Shen Qianyue continued walking towards the bamboo garden where she lived. He subconsciously followed her a few steps.
As he was walking and hesitating about what to say, an idea suddenly struck him!
"I'll take you back. Give me Li'er. I'll hold her."
Shen Qianyue stopped, and in the night, under the moonlight, she smiled faintly.
"I'm already here."
The bamboo shadows danced in the quiet and silent air. Shen Qianyue faced Xie Shangjia, with a step's distance between them. The night wind blew through, bringing with it the rustling sound of bamboo leaves.
Xie Shangjia: "I'll help you take Li'er in."
Shen Qianyue glanced at him, without objection, handed the child to him, and slightly moved aside to make way.
The little one was sleeping soundly with a rosy little face. He carefully held the soft and warm little body in his arms, as if holding a fragile treasure. Li'er smacked her lips in her sleep and unconsciously nudged herself into his arms.
After Xie Shangjia entered the room, he looked around calmly, gently placed her on the small bed covered with a soft quilt, and carefully tucked in the corners of the quilt. During the whole process, he felt Shen Qianyue's eyes on him. He didn't dare to look back and moved more cautiously.
After settling Li'er, Xie Shangjia almost wanted to escape.
Shen Qianyue took a step forward and took his hand. Her movements were not fast. Before Xie Shangjia could react at all, she had stretched out her arms and gently and briefly hugged him.
"See you tomorrow."
The hug ended instantly, as fast as an illusion. There was no lingering, no attachment, and not even much warmth. Her arms simply gently grasped his shoulders and then quickly withdrew, as if she was just brushing away the non-existent dust on his shoulders.
However, for Xie Shangjia, this light touch was like a spark thrown into boiling oil, and the burning sensation of her holding the back of his hand at night was instantly ignited.
"Tomorrow...see you tomorrow." His face suddenly flushed, even his ears were red. He didn't dare to look at Shen Qianyue again. He lowered his head and said vaguely.
Then he walked out of the bamboo garden almost at the same time and stood outside the gate. When the night wind blew, he was surprised to find a thin layer of sweat on his back.
Chen Qianyue stood at the entrance of the bamboo garden, watching him almost flee in panic. The night concealed a very faint, imperceptible ripple in the depths of her eyes.
She gathered her sleeves and turned back to the house. To her, that brief hug was just an insignificant piece on the chessboard tonight.
The next day, the sky was slightly bright, the morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees.
The gate of the bamboo garden was closed, and there was silence inside. However, a tall and slender figure had already stood on the bluestone path outside the gate.
Xie Shangjia was dressed in a dark riding suit, his hair neatly tied up with a jade crown, looking exceptionally dashing. He stood on the stone steps with his hands behind his back, swaying unsteadily, with a childish look that did not match his appearance. From time to time, he looked back at the closed door.
The confusion and excitement brought by the hug last night had not completely subsided, and the anticipation for today's trip to the racecourse was intertwined with it, making him feel uneasy. He didn't even notice the very light footsteps behind him.
A cool hand, scented with morning dew, patted his shoulder gently without warning.
"Ah!" Xie Shangjia was so frightened that his whole body shuddered and he jumped forward like a frightened rabbit. He looked back in shock, patted his chest, his face full of confusion after the shock.
Chen Qianyue was standing not far behind him. She had obviously just gotten up and was casually wearing only a plain brocade morning coat. Her long hair was untied and cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, making her face look even more plain and cold.
When Jinyu came to help her wash up, she told her that Xie Shangjia seemed to be counting the bricks in the bluestone wall at the door and was very anxious.
Shen Qianyue looked at Xie Shangjia's frightened look, and the corners of her lips seemed to bend upwards very slightly. The arc was as shallow as the morning mist and disappeared in a flash.
"What's the hurry?" Her voice was clear and cool, slightly hoarse, like when one just woke up. However, it was less cold and hard than usual, and had an indescribable lazy charm.
"Li'er hasn't woken up yet."
After she finished speaking, she stopped looking at him, turned around and pushed open the half-closed courtyard door. The sleeves of her morning coat drew an elegant arc in the cool morning breeze, and she walked straight in.
Xie Shangjia was left standing alone outside the door, the shock on his face had not yet faded, and the lazy grace that he had just caught a glimpse of her stirred ripples in his heart again. He stood there stupidly, forgetting how to react for a moment.
The morning breeze blew, bringing the rustling sound of bamboo leaves and also blowing the corners of his black riding clothes.
Shen Qianyue's clear and slightly hoarse voice came from inside the house.
"What are you standing there for? Come in."
Xie Shangjia shuddered and quickly stepped over the high threshold and walked into the warm and fragrant room. The room was filled with a faint soothing aroma. Jinyu was already standing by, holding a lacquer tray for dressing.
Chen Qianyue had already sat down in front of the dressing table, with her morning coat casually draped over the back of the chair. She stood straight with a graceful neck, allowing Jinyu to comb her cascading black hair.
Xie Shangjia was sitting a little further away, but the bedroom was so small that he had no idea where to put his eyes. He had never seen a woman dressing up in the morning so closely before.
The quiet profile, the slightly closed eyelids, and the white neck exposed when the long hair was combed all carried an indescribable sense of everyday privacy, which was different from any scene in his memory and made his heart beat a little disorderly.
At this time, the housekeeper and maid came over with clean clothes, ready to help Shen Qianyue change clothes.
Xie Shangjia stood up subconsciously as if he had been scalded, his voice filled with obvious panic.
"I...I'll go out and wait."
His reaction was too abrupt. The housekeeper and maid holding the clothes paused, then couldn't help but chuckle. Jinyu, who was combing her hair, also pursed her lips and her shoulders trembled slightly.
The housekeeper's maid suppressed her laughter and jokingly said in a clear voice, "It's not the first time that we servants have helped Madam change her clothes. Don't you usually..."
She was halfway through her words when she seemed to realize something and suddenly stopped. She quickly glanced at Shen Qianyue who was sitting upright and lowered her head quickly, but she couldn't stop the mischievous smile on her face.
Although the words were not spoken, the unspoken meaning and the maid's expression of trying to suppress a smile were like a red-hot needle, piercing Xie Shangjia's ears fiercely. A mixture of shame, embarrassment, anger and offense suddenly rushed to his head, burning his cheeks.
He just felt a surge of anger that he had nowhere to vent, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Shameless old man!
A vicious curse exploded in his heart, directed at the "Xie Shangjia before he lost his memory."
That "old man" with a 30-year-old body is so shameless that he even stands by and watches his wife changing clothes. How obscene! Shameless!
Chen Qianyue seemed not to hear the maid's teasing. She continued to sit upright, allowing the maid to untie the laces of her undergarment. Her movements were smooth and natural, without any awkwardness.
Xie Shangjia closed his eyes, turned around, and cursed the "old man" even more fiercely in his heart. At the same time, the pure shame and helplessness of an eighteen-year-old boy facing such a scene completely overwhelmed him. He was like a child who made a mistake and was punished by standing, his ears red and almost bleeding.
The only sounds left in the room were the subtle sound of the jade comb brushing against black hair and the rustling of fabric. The atmosphere was subtle and stagnant.
Until Shen Qianyue's cold and calm voice sounded again, breaking the suffocating silence, and like a basin of ice water, extinguishing the evil fire and embarrassment in Xie Shangjia's heart.
"Just changing clothes, why avoid me?" Her tone was calm, as if she was talking about the weather.
Xie Shangjia stood stiffly, feeling the rustling sound of fabric rubbing against each other very clearly, like a feather scraping across his heart, bringing with it waves of unbearable numbness and itchiness and a deeper sense of shame.
After an unknown amount of time, the tormenting rustling sound finally stopped.
"Okay." Shen Qianyue's voice sounded.
Xie Shangjia felt as if he had been pardoned. He turned around very slowly and saw that Shen Qianyue was already dressed neatly. Her neat lake blue riding suit outlined her slender yet powerful waist. Her long hair was neatly tied into a simple bun and fixed with a plain jade hairpin.
"Daddy!" A small, sleepy but cheerful voice sounded, and Li'er was carried out by another maid. The little girl had already washed up simply, but was still rubbing her eyes sleepily. When she saw Xie Shangjia, she immediately stretched out her little arms for a hug.
Xie Shangjia almost pounced over and hugged Li'er's sweet and soft little body into his arms, his movements as urgent as if he had grabbed a life-saving piece of driftwood.
Li'er giggled and hugged his neck, rubbing her little face against his neck. Holding his daughter's soft body, Xie Shangjia's heart, which was burning with shame and nameless anger, finally calmed down a little, but his ears were still red.
The housekeeper's maid said, "Sir, Madam, the carriage is waiting. Breakfast has been packed into the food box and put in the carriage."
Shen Qianyue's gaze swept calmly over Xie Shangjia, who was holding her daughter. She picked up the horsewhip handed to her by the maid and put it around her wrist with a neat movement.
"Let's go."
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