Chapter 17
Jiang Chong was beaten up and thrown out of Jeju City. Jiang Mian only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he had completely left.
In any case, this trouble has been resolved.
Next, all I need to do is get through these next few months peacefully, and wait for my grandmother to return from the temple. Then I can find a good family to marry into and finally put my aunt's mind at ease. That's the right thing to do.
However, she needed to make her aunt hesitant to arrange her marriage.
The most urgent task is to work on my cousin.
If she could gain her cousin's protection in the Shen family, she would have more freedom and rights in the future.
Jiang Mian lowered her eyes. Even though Shen Ji kept everyone at arm's length, she was determined to win his favor.
What's more, her fingertips twitched, and the image of him setting her bones at the temple that day flashed through her mind. That was the closest she had ever been to him, so close that... she could smell the cool, woody scent of sandalwood on him.
It makes you want to get closer.
*
Qinghui Hall.
Yun Qing had just finished reporting the matter when she looked up and saw that the young master seemed to be lost in thought. These days, the young master often stayed in one place for a long time. Yun Qing thought he was studying Buddhism or scriptures, but he just sat there, sometimes with his brows furrowed, looking troubled and pained.
This state of mind was already evident a few days ago when he was sent to investigate the Fifth Miss's affairs.
A few days ago, the Fifth Miss was blackmailed. The young master was prepared to help her, but after waiting for a long time, the Fifth Miss did not come to ask for help.
Later, when he inquired further, he was surprised to find that the Fifth Miss had handled the matter herself. Although she had borrowed a knife from another person, she was able to escape from danger, which truly surprised him.
However, Yun Qing was even more surprised that the young master actually wanted to take action himself. Thinking of this, he quietly raised his eyes. Over the years, he had never seen the young master care about anyone.
Shen Ji was indeed lost in thought. Jiang Mian hadn't appeared in front of him for quite some time. The sudden disappearance of that lively and playful figure from the past made him feel a little unaccustomed.
When did it start that he would unconsciously linger his gaze on her?
Perhaps it was in the temple that day, when she was terrified but still pretended to be enduring it.
Or perhaps it was during their wedding ceremony that she stood alone outside the crowd, her slender figure exuding loneliness, which instantly filled him with pity.
Or perhaps it was her calling him "cousin" again and again in that sweet, cloying voice.
Like a deliberately seductive little fox, she exudes an innocent yet cunning expression.
He closed his eyes, but her image lingered in his mind.
I opened my eyes, but there was nothing there.
"Cousin!"
Suddenly, a clear voice came from outside the house. Shen Ji looked up and saw that the girl's skirt seemed to be shimmering in the warm sunlight. He glanced at the row of wind chimes hanging under the eaves.
The wind blows, and the bell rings.
The voice is light and clear.
"Fifth Miss." Yun Qing bowed to Jiang Mian and then left.
The room fell silent.
Shen Ji glanced at her indifferently. Today she was wearing a pale yellow dress with a jade pendant hanging from a light green belt. She looked out of place in the winter snow, but rather had a touch of spring's shimmering beauty.
Shen Ji pursed his lips, looked away, coughed lightly, and asked in a soft voice, "What is it?"
Jiang Mian grunted, seemingly racking his brains to strike up a conversation for a while, before suddenly saying, "Recently, I've been reading some books and there's something I don't understand. I'd like to ask my cousin for help."
Shen Ji then noticed that she was holding a scroll of scriptures in her arms.
The light in his eyes dimmed slightly, and he reached out his fingertips to take the book.
Jiang Mian turned to a page, pointed, and her gaze never left his face: "There's one more thing. I want to go to the temple tomorrow to fulfill a vow. Can you come with me, cousin?"
Shen Ji's gaze paused, and the corners of his suppressed lips curled up slightly: "...Okay."
Jiang Mian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had only asked tentatively and was prepared to be rejected, but to her surprise, he actually agreed.
Thinking of this, she became lost in thought.
Why did her cousin agree to her request?
He could have simply refused.
"...Do you understand?"
Jiang Mian was startled, only then realizing that Shen Ji had already finished answering, and she hadn't heard a thing in her mind; in fact, her mind wasn't on it at all.
But she still nodded twice, still in a daze.
Just as he was about to snatch the book, Shen Ji pressed down on a corner with his fingertip: "What were you thinking about just now?"
His eyes were very dark, as if they could see into a person's heart. For a moment, Jiang Mian felt a strange sense of retreat when looked at by such a gaze.
Shen Ji knew she was lost in thought, but he didn't know why. He put the book down and didn't bother to argue. Instead, he repeated it again in a soft, deep voice.
This time, Jiang Mian listened very attentively.
She didn't even realize when she got close to him. After Shen Ji finished speaking, she tilted her head slightly, only to feel an unfamiliar touch on her lips. Her cheek was soft.
very beautiful.
Shen Ji was stunned.
Jiang Mian felt as if her blood had reversed, and she subconsciously took a step back. She bumped into the antique shelf behind her, and several books wobbled precariously. Jiang Mian did not notice, still immersed in the huge shock and astonishment she had just experienced.
The next moment, the sitting man suddenly stood up and leaned closer. Ignoring the pain from the bump on her waist, Jiang Mian raised her watery eyes and looked at him incredulously.
His breath was very close to hers.
She lifted her eyelashes and saw his Adam's apple.
Exquisite and beautiful.
He usually exudes an air of unapproachability.
However, at this moment, he was very close to her.
She held her breath, when suddenly a deep voice came from above her: "That's enough for today."
Her mind went blank, and she looked up blankly. When she saw the two books he was holding, she realized that if he hadn't come closer, those two books would have hit her on the head.
She couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart; she felt as if she were standing on clouds one moment and then accidentally slipping and falling the next. The endless fall seemed to have no end, until suddenly she was caught on a tree branch.
In a limbo, neither here nor there.
Just like how she feels right now.
She didn't even dare to look Shen Ji in the eye, hurriedly said something, and then ran out in a panic.
The wind chimes under the eaves rang out a few more times, then fell silent after a moment.
Shen Ji held the two books, his eyes lowered, lost in thought. The touch was so light, it was like an illusion. If Jiang Mian hadn't suddenly left, he would have thought that nothing had happened.
He didn't... kiss Jiang Mian.
...
How embarrassing!
Back at Birou Courtyard, Jiang Mian buried herself under the covers without looking back. When Yun Ji saw her like this, she touched her forehead with concern and muttered, "She doesn't seem to have a fever."
"My lady, shall I fetch a doctor?"
"Huh?" Jiang Mian wrapped herself in the blanket, only her eyes showing, filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Why is my wife's face so red?
"..."
"I'm fine. I'm going to the temple tomorrow. Please prepare my things."
Yunji, without suspecting anything, confirmed several times that Jiang Mian was not sick, and then went to prepare things for tomorrow.
The windows and doors were tightly shut. Jiang Mian looked up at the bed frame, but the scene from just now kept replaying in her mind.
There was a very light touch on my cheek, as if it were an illusion.
But he was so close to her, his Adam's apple was slightly below his neck, and there seemed to be a small mole on his collarbone, right there in that spot. His robes were very clean, spotless, and in her haste, she had grabbed one of the creases in them.
It seems she... always leaves some kind of mark on him.
The warmth seemed to originate from the bottom of my heart.
She suddenly felt a little scared.
Things seem to be spiraling out of control.
night.
The hour of You (5-7 PM).
The servants in the outer courtyard had already been replaced, and the cats that had been resting under the eaves had fallen asleep. In Qinghui Hall, Shen Ji was still sitting in his study.
His posture remained unchanged.
The book in front of me hasn't changed either.
The person who was always confident in everything suddenly felt a little lost at this moment.
In the past few days, he could clearly feel that he could no longer control his emotions.
Especially after that incident in the afternoon.
Her eyelashes were long and curled, and her cheeks were soft. She seemed to have a big reaction, but it was clearly just an accident, an accident that he wouldn't take to heart.
He wasn't even sure if he had run into Jiang Mian.
In the soft, warm light, the young man unconsciously reached out and touched his lips.
That faint, elusive sensation returned to his mind, and for a fleeting moment, he felt a very slight disappointment.
I want more.
I crave more.
The wind howled, carrying snowflakes that drifted down from the sky. Shen Ji lowered his eyes, got out of bed, and closed the window.
Then she fell asleep as usual.
He seemed to see Jiang Mian in his dream, or more accurately, a little fox about to transform. Snowflakes were falling all around, and she had grown jet-black hair. Her face was innocent and pure, but her eyes seemed to hold a thousand kinds of charm.
His gaze moved downwards, to the snow-white shoulders, the delicate and beautiful collarbones, and the slender fingertips that seemed to be holding their own fur, just covering the area below the collarbones.
However, there was a faint hint of a ravine there.
This only fuels the imagination.
"Cousin, I'm so cold, can you hug me?"
In his dream, Jiang Mian was being affectionate with him.
"Cousin, can I just hug you?"
Looking up, the young woman's captivating expression would stir tenderness in anyone.
However, Shen Ji simply lowered his eyes and sighed softly, "Wishful thinking."
He closed his eyes, unwilling to pay attention to the vibrant spring scenery, but the next moment, the sound approached. He opened his eyes in surprise and suddenly felt a soft and sweet fragrance.
"Cousin, your lips are so soft."
Shen Ji's eyes were filled with deep darkness. He gently raised his hand and finally pulled that frail body into his arms. It was so soft, even more so than he had imagined, that he couldn't bear to push her away.
He even suspected that this was Jiang Mian's true form.
Yu Yue naturally wrapped herself around him. He reached out to push her away, but it felt like a burning sensation. He touched something smooth and soft. The next moment, the last bit of fur on the woman's body disappeared. Everything was as if there were no barriers. He could see everything about Jiang Mian.
The skin below her collarbone, untouched by any covering, is soft and teardrop-shaped like a cloud, making it exceptionally beautiful.
Below was a slender, supple waist, and his fingertips were just above it. Shen Ji dared not think about it; his heart was filled with desire, and he was gradually losing sight of reality and dreams.
Shen Ji did the most absurd thing.
The snow outside stopped, and he opened his dark eyes, a look of bewilderment in them.
After a while, he propped himself up and called out to the outside.
"Yunqing, prepare water."
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