"I……"
Cheng Shanshan stared at him.
Her clear, beautiful eyes held a subtle, shimmering light.
The two fell silent, one with an extremely cold expression, the other with a smile on his lips.
Huo Mingchen frowned slightly and sighed softly as he watched Cheng Shanshan remain unmoved by his arrival: "It's been so long, shouldn't you come over and give me a hug?"
"……hug?"
Just one word.
Huo Mingchen didn't give her a chance to refuse, and pulled her directly into his arms. When the faint fragrance of bamboo surrounded her, Cheng Shanshan clearly felt her heartbeat slow down.
Huo Mingchen rested his chin on her head, his voice deep and resonant like a gentle breeze in a secluded valley: "Seeing that you are alright, I am relieved."
"I...of course I'm fine!"
Cheng Shanshan didn't know why, but she felt as nervous as if she had a fawn in her heart.
She disliked this feeling of being out of control, so she quickly pushed him away and created some distance: "Now it's your turn. Why did Bai Jingquan say you were missing?"
She has been feeling vaguely worried ever since she returned yesterday.
Seeing that he's alright, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I just had some things to take care of. When I got back, I found out you had gone back, and I was worried that something might have happened to you, so I came quickly." Huo Mingchen said, looking Cheng Shanshan up and down. "It seems that you've been doing well since you became the eldest sister-in-law of the Ye family."
These words filled Cheng Shanshan with surprise: "How did you know? No, I'm more curious about how you got here. Wasn't the rope already broken?"
"Do you really think that only that guy surnamed Ye knows about the secret passage?" Huo Mingchen's words were laced with sarcasm, or perhaps one could say they were hostile.
After all, when he learned that Cheng Shanshan had been taken to the Ye family, he was so angry that he wanted to rush over and beat them up!
Cheng Shanshan, however, grasped the key point and scrutinized Huo Mingchen in front of her: "Why do I feel like something's off about you?"
Huo Mingchen raised an eyebrow: "Something's not right?"
Cheng Shanshan thought for a moment, but found herself unable to express it.
From the very first time the two met, he seemed unpredictable.
As she gradually became more familiar with him, she had lowered her guard and even developed a sense of trust. But now, thinking about what he did every day, it seemed too strange and mysterious.
It felt like there was a layer of fog between the two of them, making her gradually feel distant.
Wait a minute? Alienation?
Her only "comrade-in-arms" wants to divorce her?
This idea immediately ignited her emotions.
This feeling made her extremely unhappy: "Huo Mingchen, you didn't send me to Ping'an City on purpose, did you?"
"..."
Huo Mingchen's body stiffened.
Then, a hint of worry and guilt appeared on his handsome features: "Shanshan, you have to believe me, I won't hurt you."
"Of course I believe you. Who said you were going to hurt me?" She became more and more unhappy as she spoke, so she stood up on tiptoe and grabbed his collar before continuing, "I know there are some things you can't tell me right now, just like there are some things I can't tell you right now. But even if you can't, can't you pick something you can and talk about it properly?"
She dislikes misunderstandings and even more so, she dislikes all kinds of suspicion.
A direct approach is far better than going around in circles.
Seeing that Huo Mingchen still seemed unsure of where to begin, she frowned and said, "Then I'll ask you questions and you answer them. If you can answer, then say so; if you can't, then apologize. First question: Was sending me here part of your plan?"
She doesn't like feeling told what to do.
If Huo Mingchen said yes, she would really explode.
Fortunately, Huo Mingchen's answer was negative, and he explained, "At the time, I just didn't want you to get hurt again. Although it's dangerous here, it's at least much better than outside."
After considering it for a moment, Cheng Shanshan asked her second question: "You didn't create those living dead, did you?"
"no."
"What does that have to do with you?"
"Irrelevant."
"Did you secretly see what was going on with me, or did you have someone watching me?"
"...all of them."
"So what do you want to do?"
"Feel sorry."
"Then who are you helping and what are you doing?"
"Feel sorry."
"and you……"
Cheng Shanshan suddenly let go of his hand before continuing, "Alright, alright, there's nothing to ask for now. We can talk about it later if there are any problems." Actually, her anger had subsided when she heard the first negative statement.
Everyone has their own things to do. She doesn't need Huo Mingchen to be completely honest with her, but she doesn't want to become his pawn, because that would change the nature of their relationship.
This is not something that can be easily accomplished.
She didn't want to ask about the rest for the time being.
Huo Mingchen looked at Cheng Shanshan with a helpless smile in his eyes: "There's still one most important question you haven't asked."
Cheng Shanshan asked, puzzled, "What?"
"For example... do I miss you?"
"...You can go now."
Cheng Shanshan didn't want to talk to him and turned to walk away.
She had arranged a meeting place with Cheng Shisi, but she was arriving later than the time he had indicated, so she had to get there sooner.
Of course, Huo Mingchen didn't leave; instead, he followed her to find Cheng Shisi, who was anxiously waiting.
The little guy initially beamed with joy upon seeing Cheng Shanshan, exclaiming, "Sister, you're finally..." His smile vanished, replaced by wariness: "Who is this person?"
"Your brother-in-law."
This answer was given by Huo Mingchen.
Cheng Shanshan warned, "Don't talk nonsense with children."
"sister……?"
Cheng Shisi stared wide-eyed.
First came dissatisfaction, then indignation, and finally resentment; his expression seemed to have gone through the cycle of the four seasons in an instant.
Huo Mingchen was very satisfied with his performance: "Do you want to kill me now?"
"yes!"
Cheng Shisi squeezed these words out through gritted teeth.
Huo Mingchen raised an eyebrow in satisfaction: "It's a pity you were born too late. You can't beat me in a fight, and you can't steal from me in a robbery."
"elder sister."
Cheng Shisi's eyes immediately reddened.
He looked at Cheng Shanshan, who was fighting back tears, and asked, "Will you leave me?"
"Of course not." Seeing the little guy's angry expression, Cheng Shanshan quickly hugged him and comforted him: "Don't mind him, he just likes to bully people."
"Um!"
Cheng Shisi nodded emphatically.
She looked just like a wounded little white rabbit.
Of course, when he turned to look at Huo Mingchen, he wasn't so obedient; his eyes and brows were filled with a strong sense of provocation.
This made Huo Mingchen extremely unhappy!
Cheng Shanshan noticed the torchlight in the distance: "Brother Huo, don't you think those are Magistrate Dong's men?"
Huo Mingchen glanced at it and said, "Come on, I'll take you somewhere."
After several twists and turns, the three of them soon arrived at a house, which was overgrown with weeds and looked like they had stumbled upon a…
"Haunted house!"
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