Chapter 46 A Child Without a Mother: I've Come to Find My Mother to Sleep With, to Share the Same Bed…
As night deepened, Xie Ciyan casually stretched; it was time for him to leave. He certainly didn't want to run into His Highness the Crown Prince with that smeared face.
Ji Wenxuan and the others also left the party.
Before leaving, Xie Ciyan glanced at Lin Yanshu one last time. Lin Yanshu turned back, waved, and smiled sweetly:
"See you next time, Sister Xie."
Xie Ciyan couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth when he saw Lin Yanshu's silly look.
fool.
Mo Langzhuo watched Xie Ciyan's enigmatic smile from the side, and looked over suspiciously.
What is that vixen laughing at now? A sycophantic Central Plains woman, attempting to seduce Ji Wenxuan with a fake smile.
He was right in his thinking, he was indeed seducing people, but he was also wrong.
Xie Ciyan was only unconsciously seducing Lin Yanshu, and had no intention of seducing Ji Wenxuan.
With a livid face, Mo Langzhuo stepped between Ji Wenxuan and Xie Ciyan.
Ji Wenxuan was drawn by Mo Langzhuo's commotion. She turned to look at him and asked:
What are you doing?
Mo Langzhuo felt that Ji Wenxuan was looking at Xie Ciyan through him. Thinking of this, Mo Langzhuo's face darkened, his expression becoming gloomy.
"I didn't do anything. Do you need to tell me where I am?"
Ji Wenxuan was suddenly retorted. She took a step back and looked up at Mo Langzhuo angrily:
"Fine, you can stand, but why are you yelling at me?"
After saying that, Ji Wenxuan got into the carriage without looking back, her face flushed with anger.
Xie Ciyan ignored the bickering couple and returned to Dali Temple.
Lin Yanshu waited alone in the mansion for Li Chengyi to return.
When Li Chengyi returned, it was past dinnertime. It was completely dark.
As soon as he entered the mansion, Lin Yanshu pounced on him, like a fluffy little cat, and snuggled into his arms.
Li Chengyi caught her, cupped Lin Yanshu's frostbitten cheeks, and asked her in a low voice:
Have you eaten?
Lin Yanshu nodded.
Li Chengyi was still concerned about whether Lin Yanshu's memory had been restored, and asked:
"Did anything come to mind when you spent time with them today?"
Lin Yanshu nodded, then shook his head, like a rattle-drum.
"They seem somewhat familiar, but I can't quite place them."
"We played leaf cards together today, and Sister Xie lost the most."
Sister Xie?
Li Chengyi didn't react for a moment, but the next second he realized that the Xie family sister Lin Yanshu mentioned was Xie Ciyan.
She really knows how to address people. Xie Ciyan was a renowned second-place scholar in the imperial examinations back then, and his appearance and personality were quite dashing. Yet she called him "sister."
Li Chengyi was amused by Lin Yanshu's words.
"What are you laughing at, Mother?"
"I'm laughing at how lovable you are."
Lin Yanshu blushed at Li Chengyi's praise, and she lowered her head and shyly rubbed against Li Chengyi's chest.
Li Chengyi, unable to contain himself, grabbed Lin Yanshu by the back of the neck, pulled her away, and said earnestly:
"Don't keep rubbing against my chest."
Lin Yanshu blinked and asked, puzzled:
"Why?"
Li Chengyi didn't know how to tell Lin Yanshu, since he wasn't really her mother, so he could only bite the bullet and say:
"There's no reason why, it just doesn't work."
Lin Yanshu lowered her eyes and gave a dejected "oh." Her mother really didn't like her; she wouldn't even let her share a bed, let alone let her snuggle against her chest.
But Lin Yanshu couldn't lose her temper. She was afraid that if she did, her mother would hate her even more and might even abandon her.
She dared not, and could only swallow it silently.
Li Chengyi hadn't expected Lin Yanshu to have such ulterior motives. As usual, he spent some time with Lin Yanshu before going to bed.
Just as Li Chengyi lay down on the couch, the door was suddenly pushed open with a bang. Li Chengyi sat up and looked towards the doorway.
It's snowing outside.
The snow wasn't heavy, but the wind was strong. No one had anticipated the sudden drop in temperature. Light snowflakes fell on Lin Yanshu's shoulders as she, dressed in a pristine white undergarment and clutching a soft pillow, crawled into Li Chengyi's room.
Lin Yanshu was slender, and the cold wind caused her thin undergarment to flutter, making her shiver. Only then did Li Chengyi realize that the person who had come was Lin Yanshu.
He stood up angrily. "Why is she running around in such cold weather dressed so lightly! She'll get sick again soon."
He strode up to Lin Yanshu, quickly closed the door, shutting out the wind and snow outside. Inside, there was a charcoal fire, making it much warmer than outside. Lin Yanshu sniffed, feeling the warmth of the room.
She clutched the soft pillow tightly to her chest, looking at Li Chengyi with trepidation.
Li Chengyi's face was stern, his aura turning colder as he sternly rebuked:
"Why are you coming here on such a cold day instead of sleeping!"
Lin Yanshu finally mustered up the courage to share a bed with Li Chengyi, only to be questioned so seriously by him.
All the courage she had mustered vanished in an instant. She lowered her head, pursed her lips in embarrassment, and gripped the soft pillow in her hand tighter and tighter.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Li Chengyi sighed. He didn't understand why Lin Yanshu had come over on her own without saying anything. Now she wouldn't even look at him, as if he were bullying her.
Why aren't you saying anything?
Lin Yanshu pursed her lips tightly, biting her lower lip until it turned white. Li Chengyi frowned in displeasure at her like this, reached out and pinched Lin Yanshu's chin, forcing her to look up at him. He increased the pressure, making Lin Yanshu stop biting herself.
"I'm asking you a question, why aren't you saying a word?"
Lin Yanshu dug her fingertips into her palm, her eyes filled with tears, and with a nasal voice, she said in a wronged tone:
"I've come to sleep with my mother, to share the same bed and pillow."
Li Chengyi abruptly released his grip, raising an eyebrow in surprise. He should have been used to Lin Yanshu's occasional startling remarks. But every time he heard Lin Yanshu say something like this, he was still somewhat frightened, clearly indicating that he wasn't mentally prepared enough.
"Can't."
A rejection she expected. Lin Yanshu lowered her head in grievance and began to sob softly. Sure enough, her mother didn't like her and didn't want to share a bed with her.
If you don't want to share a bed with yourself today, then you won't want to see yourself tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow you won't want to hear your own voice. And the day after that... you'll throw yourself away.
She was about to become a motherless child. Thinking of this, Lin Yanshu became even more distressed, and tears streamed down her face like pearls, soaking the marble floor.
Li Chengyi didn't expect that his words would make Lin Yanshu burst into tears. Are all children these days so fragile?
He bent down to Lin Yanshu's face, looking at Lin Yanshu's red and swollen eyes, which were pitiful to look at.
Lin Yanshu turned her head away awkwardly, not wanting Li Chengyi to see her.
Li Chengyi was completely bewildered; he genuinely had no idea what was going on. Lin Yanshu inexplicably ran over, wanting to sleep with him, and then inexplicably started crying.
"Why are you crying? You look awful crying."
Lin Yanshu sniffed and explained:
"You won't let me sleep with you."
Li Chengyi couldn't believe it. Was it because of this? They had always slept in separate rooms. Why would Lin Yanshu suddenly be upset about this?
His body reacted before his mind, and Li Chengyi, as always, coaxed Lin Yanshu:
"What's there to cry about? We've never been sleeping together, have we?"
"Just because it has always been this way, does that mean it's right?"
Li Chengyi was stumped by Lin Yanshu's question. Lin Yanshu continued, venting her emotions:
“Other people’s mothers would coax their children, kiss and hug them, and share a bed with them. But my mother doesn’t do that at all, and she even scolds me.”
Li Chengyi laughed at Lin Yanshu's words. Who told her that?
Although a mother might treat her child that way, the problem is that he is not Lin Yanshu's mother. He was just mistaken for her mother by Lin Yanshu. Besides, how could a man with evil intentions really do those things?
He could only patiently explain, or rather, ramble on and on:
“Every mother is different, and they treat their children differently, understand? Yanshu.”
Lin Yanshu shook her head. She didn't understand, nor did she want to understand, why others had things she didn't. She just wanted to be like everyone else.
“I don’t understand, and I don’t want to understand. So why can other people’s mothers do it, but you can’t?”
Li Chengyi felt helpless. If he told Lin Yanshu that he was not her mother, he felt he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, no, for the next few days.
It might even lead to the tragedy of a child running away from home. He couldn't help but wonder, are seven or eight-year-old children really this unreasonable?
"Then what do you want?"
Lin Yanshu sensed a softening in Li Chengyi's tone and knew things were looking up. Clutching a soft pillow, she darted to the couch and sat down, her eyes bright as she looked at Li Chengyi, and said:
"Sharing a bed and pillows."
Li Chengyi was truly at his wit's end with Lin Yanshu. He moved closer, stood there, and looked down at her:
"Okay. But Yan Shu has to be obedient."
Lin Yanshu nodded heavily.
Li Chengyi had another quilt delivered. One for him, and one for Lin Yanshu.
Lin Yanshu lay on the inside, patted the empty space beside her, and said with a smile:
"Mother, lie down!"
Li Chengyi stared at Lin Yanshu's fingertips pressed on the bedding, red with a hint of pink. He didn't know what he was thinking, so he awkwardly turned his head away.
Who could bear to see their beloved lying smiling on their couch, inviting them to join them?
Li Chengyi made an excuse:
"I'm not sleepy, you go to sleep first."
Lin Yanshu looked at him suspiciously. When she arrived, Li Chengyi was already lying in bed, but Li Chengyi showed no intention of getting into bed. Instead, he went to the small table in the room and started reading.
Lin Yanshu couldn't stop him from reading, so she could only lie awkwardly on the bed, hugging her soft pillow, watching Li Chengyi read.
Li Chengyi couldn't concentrate on the book at all; he could only pretend to be engrossed, turning page after page. In reality, he didn't pay attention to what was written on it at all. He was just thinking about why Lin Yanshu was still watching him and why she wasn't asleep yet.
After an unknown period of stalemate, Li Chengyi looked up and saw that Lin Yanshu had closed her eyes and was breathing evenly.
He gently put down the book in his hand, tiptoed to the side of the bed, lowered his eyes to look at Lin Yanshu, whose sleeping face was peaceful, his brows relaxed, and who was curled up on the bed, hugging a soft pillow.
Li Chengyi looked at her sleeping face and chuckled softly for no apparent reason.
That's what it's like to like someone. You simply stare at them and always feel that they are special and adorable in every way. Your heart starts to flutter uncontrollably.
Li Chengyi tiptoed onto the couch and lay down. He had barely settled in when Lin Yanshu opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright, devoid of any grogginess from just waking up.
She clung to him, sticking close to his side.
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