Chapter 98 The Scar He slowly reached out and gently pulled her into his arms...
"sorry."
At the Prince of Jin's residence, Qi Jingxuan lowered his head, placed his hands on his knees, and apologized with a face full of remorse.
"I forgot that my parents-in-law had moved. I thought... I thought you were going to enter the palace..."
The Shen family's new residence was on the same street as Physician Zhou's. As a physician, Physician Zhou not only had to take his daily shifts but also had to be prepared to enter the palace at any time, so he naturally lived near the imperial city.
When Qi Jingxuan found out that Shen Yan had gone in the direction of the capital, he assumed that she was going to enter the palace and did not remember that the Shen family had moved.
"If I enter the palace, you can treat me like this. So, if I don't do what you want in the future, will you bring me back and lock me up in the palace, forbidding me from leaving?"
Shen Yan said angrily.
"No, no," Qi Jingxuan hurriedly waved his hands, looking anxious. "I... I was afraid you would ask for a divorce agreement. I just don't want a divorce, not that I want to lock you up."
"Does not wanting a divorce mean you can do whatever you want, without considering my feelings at all?"
Seeing that she was truly angry, Qi Jingxuan became even more flustered: "No, I..."
He really didn't know how to explain, so he could only continue apologizing: "I'm sorry, Aci, I really didn't mean it. I just... I just acted impulsively, I don't know how..."
At the time, he only wanted to take Shen Yan away as quickly as possible, as far away from the palace as possible, without thinking much about anything else. Looking back now, he also felt that it was indeed inappropriate. How could he just pick someone up and carry her away in the street like that? Anyone who didn't know better would think he was abducting a woman.
"I promise I'll never do it again, Aci, how can you forgive me? How can you forgive me?"
As Qi Jingxuan spoke, he sat down next to Shen Yan and tugged at her sleeve, begging for mercy.
Shen Yan was mainly annoyed because she had been so embarrassed on the street earlier; everything else was just an excuse. Seeing that he apologized and her anger had subsided somewhat, and noticing the dark circles under his eyes and that one of his buttons was askew, she knew that he had just woken up and run out to look for her, so she wasn't so angry anymore.
She stared at him with a stern face, about to say something, when she heard a rumbling sound coming from Qi Jingxuan's stomach.
"I haven't eaten."
She asked.
Qi Jingxuan nodded, and Shen Yan didn't mention what had happened on the street earlier. She then instructed her maid to bring some food from the kitchen.
It was nearly noon, so Shen Yan decided to have lunch with them.
Qi Jingxuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Shen Yan seemed less angry. He wanted to say some nice things to coax her, but he hadn't slept much all night and was even more sleepy after eating. He had only said a few words when his eyelids started to droop.
Seeing that he was clearly exhausted but still trying to stay awake, Shen Yan was both amused and exasperated, and told him to go take a nap. Qi Jingxuan, however, refused, afraid that he would wake up to find Shen Yan gone again.
"When have I failed to keep my promises to you?"
Shen Yan said.
Qi Jingxuan thought for a moment and then shook his head.
"Since I promised I wouldn't sneak away while you're sleeping, I won't. What are you worried about?"
As she spoke, Shen Yan pushed Qi Jingxuan to the side of the daybed and pressed him down to sit: "Go to sleep. We'll talk about it after you wake up."
Qi Jingxuan lay down, but his body remained ramrod straight, never relaxing, his eyes fixed on Shen Yan. Wherever Shen Yan went, his gaze followed. If Shen Yan approached the door, he would straighten his upper body, ready to follow at any moment. Only when Shen Yan sat down on the edge of the daybed with a book, showing no intention of leaving, did his eyelids finally close.
With the soft rustling of turning pages, Qi Jingxuan gradually fell asleep. Shen Yan turned her head to look at his sleeping face, and then remembered the handkerchief she had seen that morning.
She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively reached out and gently touched along Qi Jingxuan's hairline. Sure enough, she found a scar on the upper left side of his forehead.
The scar is quite old, probably from an injury to the scalp that stopped growing hair. Fortunately, the scar isn't large, and you can't notice it unless you specifically part the surrounding hair.
Shen Yan lightly touched the scar with her fingertips for a moment, then slowly withdrew her hand.
She looked at that familiar face again, trying to superimpose it onto the face in her memory. But so much time had passed, and her memory was somewhat hazy; she couldn't discern any resemblance. But the scar and the handkerchief spoke for themselves.
Shen Yan suddenly smiled, feeling that fate was truly wondrous; after all the twists and turns, they had still met again.
She sat by the bed for a while, originally just to let Qi Jingxuan get some rest, but she hadn't slept well last night either. Now, listening to Qi Jingxuan's even breathing, she gradually became sleepy as well.
She intended to lie down on the bed for a while, but just as she was about to get up, she found that Qi Jingxuan had grabbed the hem of her clothes at some point.
Shen Yan tried to pull the clothes out of Qi Jingxuan's hands, but as soon as she made a move, the sleeping man's eyelids twitched, as if he was about to wake up at any moment.
Shen Yan quickly sat back down, and only tried to pull out his clothes again after he had fallen asleep again. However, no matter how gently she tried, Qi Jingxuan seemed to be able to feel her movements.
Left with no other choice, she could only sit and continue reading, but there was no support on the daybed, and sitting for a long time was quite tiring.
Shen Yan looked left and right, then reached out and grabbed a pillow. She lay on her side, intending to close her eyes and take a short nap, but before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
In his hazy dream, Qi Jingxuan saw Shen Yan leave the palace with a divorce agreement. No matter how much he begged, she refused to stay and turned away without hesitation. He tried his best to chase after her, but he couldn't catch up and could only watch helplessly as she walked further and further away.
Qi Jingxuan suddenly woke up with a start, opened his eyes and subconsciously searched for Shen Yan's whereabouts, only to find that her figure... was right in front of him.
She lay on the daybed with her back to him, a pillow crookedly pressing against her in front of her. She had probably been leaning against the pillow before, but as she fell asleep, her body tilted backward, pushing the pillow out and leaving her lying directly on the bed.
Although the two were already married, apart from that time at the Cheng'an Marquis's residence, Qi Jingxuan had never been this close to her before.
He looked at her back, which was so close to his, hesitated for a long time, and finally slowly reached out and gently pulled her into his arms.
His forehead gently touched her hair as he murmured, "Aci, how can I keep you?"
…………
When Shen Yan woke up, she felt a warm breath in front of her.
She opened her eyes half-asleep and realized that she was in Qi Jingxuan's arms, and the faint warmth she felt was Qi Jingxuan's breath.
She hurriedly got up and saw that the pillow she used to lean on had fallen to the ground at some point. She knew that she must have slipped off the pillow and lay down on the daybed after falling asleep.
But how...how did she end up in Qi Jingxuan's arms?
Qi Jingxuan woke up because of her movement. After a moment of confusion, his face turned slightly red, and he scratched his head awkwardly.
Before he fell asleep again, he clearly remembered that Aci had her back to him; when did they become face to face?
The sudden intimacy made them both a little embarrassed, but Shen Yan stood up first and said, "It's time to get up, otherwise we won't be able to sleep tonight."
Qi Jingxuan said "Oh," and hurriedly got up, but then didn't know what to do.
He pretended to tidy up the bed, coughed a few times, and then moved closer to Shen Yan, asking her what she wanted to eat for dinner.
Shen Yan thought for a moment and said, "Let's eat out."
Qi Jingxuan got a little nervous when he heard the word "out," but when he remembered that Shen Yan had said they were going out to eat, and that it would be the two of them eating together, he relaxed and said, "Okay, Aci, where would you like to eat at Sibaozhai, Bafangke, or somewhere else?"
Shen Yan replied, "Xu's Noodle Shop."
Xu Ji Noodle Shop
Qi Jingxuan knew this place; it was a noodle shop that Shen Yan had eaten at when she came to Beijing as a child. After the two met, Shen Yan had taken him there a few times, but he thought the taste was just average and nothing special.
Shen Yan only had a slight fondness for it because she had eaten it when she was young, and she would go there occasionally, not often. Today, she probably thought of it again and decided to go out to eat.
Qi Jingxuan didn't care what he ate and was about to agree when he suddenly remembered the place where he had met Shen Yan earlier that day—wasn't it in front of Xu's Noodle Shop?
Was Aci on her way to the noodle shop when... he carried her away?
Seeing the teasing look on Shen Yan's face, Qi Jingxuan knew he had guessed correctly. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Yes, I'll definitely eat. Let's go eat now!"
After saying that, he pulled Shen Yan away, determined to have this meal of noodles today no matter what.
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