Chapter 12
She was about to say something to Ling Jingchu when the man stepped aside and stood out.
She stepped out as well. There weren't many luminous pearls in the dark room, and this area was already in the shadows. She didn't have time to look at Ling Jingchu's expression.
She carefully walked to the exit, pressed her ear against the door and listened for a while. When there was no sound, she felt a little relieved.
He pressed a button and came out.
Following closely behind was Ling Jingchu. Seeing Ling Jingchu's calm and unhurried demeanor, she inexplicably felt anxious.
He grabbed his sleeve, pressed his wrist, and dragged him out, muttering under his breath, "Hurry up, are you waiting for them to come back?!"
Ling Jingchu remained silent, his gaze still deep and unfocused, lost in thought.
She clicked her tongue softly and then sighed.
The two left the dark room one after the other. She walked away quickly, and Ling Jingchu followed behind her without saying a word.
Finally, she couldn't help but speak up.
What are you doing here?
Ling Jingchu suddenly raised his eyebrows to look at her: "I have some guesses."
Looking at Ling Jingchu's expression, she finally realized that this taciturn man couldn't get a single thing out of her.
They nodded silently, and then neither of them spoke again.
The two of them walked very fast and in a hurry, so neither of them noticed the dark figure in the alley next to the restaurant.
Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Jiang Yunzheng.
He squinted at the two of them, his voice low and deep: "So it's you two."
Jiang Yunshu kept thinking about the conversation between Jiang Yunzheng and that person the whole way.
"Ling Jingchu, if you were in my shoes, what would you do?"
She didn't turn her head to look at him, and the two walked one after the other, and Ling Jingchu's voice didn't reach them for a long time.
She wasn't in a hurry, and just walked slowly.
"I haven't experienced what Jiang Yunzheng went through, so it's really hard for me to understand those feelings."
After a long while, Ling Jingchu finally spoke in a low voice.
She suddenly turned to look at Ling Jingchu, feeling a mix of emotions she couldn't quite describe. The night air was cool and refreshing, and the breeze made her feel a chill too.
Without saying anything more, he turned his face away and went home.
After lying in bed, her tense nerves gradually relaxed with her breathing, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.
But Ling Jingchu on the other side was different.
He tossed and turned, unable to sleep. His mind seemed to be endlessly provoking him, always bringing up images of the dark room just as his consciousness was about to fade.
Even the person's warm breath seemed to be blowing out of his mind.
It kept him awake all night.
Fortunately, Su Ye didn't have any nerves left when he slept, and when he woke up in the morning, he felt refreshed all over.
"It's not hot anymore, it's so nice to sleep."
"Young Master..."
Ling Jingchu walked out with bruises under his eyes, ignoring Su Ye's astonished expression.
Watching him walk outside, Su Ye finally snapped out of her daze and called out from behind him, "Hey...hey! Young Master!"
"It's your day off today, where are you going?"
Ling Jingchu paused blankly, then laughed as if he were laughing out of anger.
"Yes, it's my day off today. Where should I go?"
The voice was very low, but Su Ye still heard it. He didn't understand why the young master was like this today, so he could only advise him to go back and rest for a while.
After all, his young master looked quite unsettling, a far cry from his usual serious and aloof teacher image.
"Young master...would you like to rest a little longer?"
Ling Jingchu didn't say anything, and with a sullen face, turned around and went back into the house.
Su Ye stepped forward and carefully touched him. Ling Jingchu asked in a very soft voice, "Is anyone still blocking the door today?"
Su Ye shook her head and said no.
After those people left yesterday, the Jiang residence became much quieter.
Ling Jingchu's face was expressionless as he slowly walked into the house. Having not slept all night, he was now feeling somewhat sleepy.
As dawn broke, he squinted at the bed in the inner room, then turned and walked to the small study, picked up a book and began to read.
"...Young master, are you really not going to rest for a while?"
Su Ye stood aside and pondered for a long time before finally asking the question.
Ling Jingchu gently rubbed his temples with his well-defined knuckles, looking extremely tired, but his gaze remained fixed on the book.
"No need."
If they heard correctly yesterday, they will take action today.
Perhaps his mind had been foggy all night, because he couldn't concentrate on any of the words in the book. No matter how patiently he tried, the words just flashed before his eyes and couldn't get into his head.
But he still held the book and slowly turned the pages.
Compared to Ling Jingchu's distress, Jiang Yunshu was much better off.
After returning home yesterday, she fell asleep while thinking about it, without even realizing when she fell asleep.
Jiang Shuyue woke her up in the morning.
Because Lin Yuliu arrived at the mansion early, the two of them began formal instruction as soon as Ayao arrived.
Jiang Shuyue didn't want to hear any of this. She often daydreamed during her teacher's lessons when she was a child, let alone now.
They slipped away openly and honestly.
Seeing that Jiang Yunshu hadn't gotten up yet, he immediately understood why she had arranged for Ayao to stay in the other side courtyard.
Feeling resentful, he gestured for Qing Shuang to be quiet and then lifted the person's bedding.
It's already the beginning of autumn, and the weather isn't as scorching as before, but there's still a faint warmth.
After the blankets were pulled off, Jiang Yunshu felt a refreshing breeze, making her sleep even more comfortable.
I lazily turned over and went back to sleep.
Jiang Shuyue's pupils dilated with anger, and she walked to the bedside and started tickling Jiang Yunshu's ticklish spot again.
A moment later, Jiang Yunshu started laughing in a distorted way on the bed, and was awakened by her own laughter before she even opened her eyes.
Through her blurry vision, she saw Jiang Shuyue. It took her a while to remember that Jiang Shuyue had slept in A Yao's room yesterday.
It wasn't just a fantasy of hers.
"You sleep so soundly, while that teacher disturbs my peaceful dreams so early in the morning!"
Jiang Shuyue complained for a while, but her heart finally settled down.
"Master Lin has arrived already?" she asked in a hoarse voice.
Jiang Shuyue launched into another long rant, and Jiang Yunshu finally got up amidst her nagging.
“Jiang Yunshu, that Baili Chuan came by last night.” At this point, Jiang Shuyue leaned closer, her expression disdainful. “I heard he doesn’t have any wives or concubines yet, so he might have some strange quirks. You’d better be careful.”
She added in a low voice, "The way he treats Ayao always gives me the creeps."
After saying that, she glanced at Jiang Yunshu's dark face and said, "I kicked him out yesterday. He's obviously no good!"
"His eyes were even more sinister than Ling Jingchu's, like a wolf eyeing its prey—absolutely terrifying!"
Her heart sank even further. Baili Chuan was a menace to the household, yet she couldn't get rid of him.
Feeling so frustrated, she even pulled out two strands of her own hair.
I felt even more depressed.
Jiang Shuyue stayed in her room for a while before going to the front hall for dinner.
After washing up, she went to A Yao's courtyard with some concern, only to find the two of them, one big and one small, sitting upright with their backs straight, reading from their books.
Lin Yuliu was wearing a dark robe today, her hair was simply tied up, and she was holding a book in her hand, slowly reading the contents of the book.
As for Ayao, with her hair tied in two buns, she was supporting her head with one hand and tapping her brow with a pen in the other, looking as if she was full of worries.
"Miss Jiang."
Master Lin saw her and nodded to her.
When Ayao saw her arrive, her dim eyes lit up.
"Master Lin, you've worked so hard. Have you had breakfast yet? I heard from Shuyue that you arrived early."
Lin Yuliu suddenly looked at her, a strange look flashing in her eyes, but it disappeared quickly. Before she could even process it, Lin Yuliu laughed.
"Thank you for your concern, Miss Jiang. I always start this early. I forgot that Ayao hasn't had breakfast yet. She can rest for a while."
She waved her hand hurriedly, and Ayao jumped up happily, bowed to Lin Yuliu, and went out joyfully.
As he reached the door, he winked at her, as if thanking her for saving his life...
She couldn't help but smile, then looked at Lin Yuliu.
"Master Lin, I've heard that Yunzhou pastries are exceptional?"
Lin Yuliu looked somewhat wistful at her words, but a smile appeared on her lips: "Yes, the pastries in Yunzhou are very delicious. I loved the 'Chain Flower Cloud Dream' pastries when I was young, and my father would buy them for me all the time."
As if she wanted to say something more, Lin Yuliu paused again, and in the end just smiled.
He looked up at her and said, "Miss Jiang, you should try our Yunzhou pastries sometime."
She pursed her lips and nodded, but inwardly cursed herself several times.
He must have lost his mind, bringing up someone's sad story so early in the morning. He forced a smile and went out feeling a bit embarrassed.
If she stayed any longer, she really didn't know what she would say.
Ayao, who had already arrived, was engrossed in eating her porridge when she saw her and smiled again.
"Mother!"
She smiled and walked over to sit next to Ayao.
"Where is everyone?"
There was no one at the table except Jiang Shuyue, and only she and Ayao.
Her parents never ate breakfast with them because they got up early, while Jiang Yunshu was still asleep.
What puzzled her was that Ling Jingchu was nowhere to be found.
As far as she knew, wasn't Ling Jingchu supposed to be off today?
Jiang Shuyue swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking slowly, "I don't know. I haven't seen Su Ye either. Maybe she hasn't gotten up yet."
She didn't ask any more questions, and the scene from yesterday inexplicably surfaced in her mind. Ling Jingchu was a weak scholar, so it was understandable.
I guess I was just tired.
As she thought about it, she remembered Jiang Yunzheng's words from last night, and her heart sank.
After finishing her meal in two bites, Ayao walked back with heavy steps.
As she walked past her, she saw that Ayao was holding a plate of jujube blossom pastries.
As soon as her gaze drifted over, A-Yao turned her face as if sensing something, and smiled as she held up the jujube blossom pastry: "Mother, may I give this to Master Lin?"
Ayao blinked her beautiful eyes, smiled and nodded: "Of course, I'm happy that Ayao knows how to share."
Ayao smiled shyly, and her heavy steps became much lighter as she turned around.
"Good morning, Miss Jiang." Before she even arrived, her voice already made Jiang Shuyue roll her eyes.
Stepping into the room, I saw Jiang Shuyue sitting at the table, her smile gentle: "Miss Shuyue is here too. It was Li Chuan who was rude."
As he said this, he didn't pay attention to Jiang Shuyue's reply and sat down on his own, eating breakfast with a calm expression.
Jiang Shuyue didn't give him a friendly look either. She turned her face away from him, ate a couple of bites, and left.
Just as Jiang Yunshu was about to leave after taking a couple of bites, Baili Chuan suddenly asked a question.
"Miss Jiang, she didn't seem to be in the house last night."
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