Chapter 28
Upon arriving at Mingyue Manor, Yun Zhan was immediately dragged by Shi Mingyue to take a bath. The bathhouse at Mingyue Manor was quite different from the usual ones, as it featured flowing sulfur hot springs.
The water in the natural hot spring has been prepared, and dried rose petals are scattered on the surface. The steam glows with a pale golden light under the lamp.
Shi Mingyue squatted down beside the hot spring to test the water temperature. With a gentle stir of her fingertips, the petals rippled outwards.
It's 45 degrees Celsius, so it won't get hot.
Yun Zhan's skin had been frostbitten, so it wasn't suitable to use water that was too hot; this was enough...
Yun Zhan took off his clothes and slowly sank his body into the water.
About twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door of the hot spring room.
"Yun Zhan...may I come in?"
The door to the hot spring room is half frosted glass, and the inside is lit by a dim, warm light, like a spring warmed by moonlight.
The sound of flowing water carries a faint scent of cypress and pomelo, creating a thin mist on the cold winter night.
Shi Mingyue's voice came through the door, so soft it was as if she were afraid of startling the person in the water.
There was a two-second silence inside before Yun Zhan's low reply came: "Okay, sure."
The last syllable of his voice carried a hint of unease, yet he remained polite.
The door was pushed open a crack, and the mist rushed out first, clinging to her eyelashes.
Shi Mingyue held the tray, her fingertips turning white with tension.
She stepped inside, her wooden clogs making two crisp sounds on the floor—like a heartbeat missing a beat.
The spring pool wasn't large; a few pieces of grapefruit peel floated on the surface, and a warm light shone upwards from below.
Steam rose gently from the hot spring, swirling around Yunzhan's shoulders and neck.
She tilted her head slightly, her long, black hair loosely tied into a bun, a few strands of wet hair clinging to her snow-white neck, making her skin appear even more translucent.
The water rippled with soft light, faintly reflecting her shapely shoulders and slender collarbones, as if bathed in the warmth of the hot spring, giving her a faint blush.
Yun Zhan still has a bit of a childlike quality, and she likes to play in the hot spring pool. She raises her hand to gently splash the water, her fingertips glistening, and water droplets slide down her wrist like dewdrops rolling in the morning light.
Her shoulders were straight, her collarbone cast a faint shadow, and her chest rose and fell with her breath.
Water droplets rolled down the skin, gliding over the clear creases between the abs, disappearing into the waistline like a hidden river, suddenly revealed by a corner of its surface.
Shi Mingyue stood there, stunned.
She clutched the sake and bath towel on the tray tightly, her knuckles turning pink.
The mist dampened the stray hairs on her forehead and also reddened the tips of her ears.
She instinctively lowered her eyes, but her eyelashes involuntarily lifted again in the next instant.
My gaze, as if drawn by a magnet, swept across the water's surface, over my shoulder, and past the droplet rolling down to my collarbone—
Then, with a "ding," a water droplet fell into the spring, and also into her heart, splashing up a circle of scalding ripples.
"Yun Zhan... I'll leave the things here."
Her voice was so soft it was almost ethereal. The tray was placed on the stone steps by the pool, and her fingertips touched the water, only to be scalded and pulled back.
Yun Zhan slightly turned his body, and the moisture condensed into tiny glimmers of light on his shoulder blades.
She thanked him softly, her ears turning a rosy hue.
Actually… she was a little shy about letting Shi Mingyue in… As for why she agreed, it was because she subconsciously felt that it wasn't a big deal to let a girl see her…
But Yun Zhan is starting to regret it. She's not just a little shy... she's extremely shy in front of Shi Mingyue.
He undressed before the beautiful woman, whose beauty was as clear as a breeze and as bright as the moon, and she saw his body very carefully.
Yun Zhan hid himself in the water, burying half of his face in it.
Shi Mingyue dared not look again, and as she turned around, her wooden clogs clicked erratically.
But at the door, he couldn't help turning back—
In the mist, Yun Zhan raised his hand to wipe the water droplets from his face, the lines of his arm flashing by in an instant.
Like a sword yet to be drawn, it startled her, causing her heart to race.
They even forgot to close the door quietly.
When the bathroom door was pushed open, a cloud of white steam, carrying the warmth of ginger and rose essential oil, rushed out.
Shi Mingyue waited at the door, holding a celadon soup bowl in her hand, with a thin mist rising from the rim.
"Take a couple of sips first, then soak." Her voice was soft and gentle, as if she were afraid of startling a cat that had just been released from its cage.
The soup was braised pigeon with fish maw; the broth was clear with a few goji berries floating on top, their color a perfect red.
Yun Zhan took it, his fingertips still slightly cool, the heat of the porcelain wall burning through his fingertips all the way to his heart.
She lowered her head and took two sips, the hangover and chill in her throat dispelled, but it couldn't smooth out the wrinkles between her brows.
When Yun Zhan came out of the bath, his bathrobe was embroidered with extremely fine gold irises.
Only a floor lamp was left on in the living room, casting a dim, warm light, like the flames of a fireplace at four in the morning.
Shi Mingyue sat on the sofa, holding the second bowl of soup in both hands, but did not hand it over; instead, she placed it on the coffee table.
The steam from the hot spring had not yet dissipated. Yun Zhan put on a snow-white bathrobe, the belt casually tied, the collar slightly open, and water droplets still clung to her collarbone. She sat on a bench under the eaves, the night breeze blowing, lifting her damp hair and letting it gently cling to her neck, like a cool moon gliding over warm jade.
Shi Mingyue stood three steps away, her fingertips gripping her sleeve, her knuckles turning white.
She glanced up, then quickly looked down, nervously brushing a stray hair behind her ear. Her voice was soft, as if testing the waters, yet also sounding like a joke:
"...Yun Zhan, would you consider dating a girl?"
Her voice trembled at the end, almost swallowed by the wind. She held her breath, as if awaiting a verdict.
Yun Zhan tilted his head, and a drop of water dripped from the end of his wet hair, landing on the wooden steps with a crisp sound.
Do you want to date a girl?
The world is indeed rife with homosexuality, and she had never even met a heterosexual at school.
Yun Zhan was unsure of her sexual orientation, but one thing she was absolutely certain of was that she would never be with a man.
So she looked at Shi Mingyue, her eyes softened by the steam of the hot spring: "Hmm... with girls, that's fine."
A short sentence, like a star thrown into a still lake, creates ripples that spread outwards.
Shi Mingyue's ears instantly burned bright red, and her heart pounded painfully in her chest. She bit her lip, took half a step forward, and spoke in an even lower voice, yet with an unconcealed tremor:
"Then...would you be willing to be the one to be married?"
After asking the question, she barely dared to breathe; her eyelashes trembled violently, like a butterfly about to fall in the wind.
Yun Zhan was slightly taken aback, then his eyes curved into a smile, like moonlight melting in a hot spring.
ah?
Does that mean she has to be the one to receive?
Shi Mingyue's question is very interesting.
Yun Zhan reached out, his fingertips lightly touching Shi Mingyue's taut hand, his voice low and firm:
"That should be fine. I don't really care about that."
In an instant, Shi Mingyue felt a ringing in her ears and her heart pounding so loudly that it seemed as if the entire night sky was resonating.
She hurriedly lowered her eyes, but couldn't hide the smile on her lips, as if countless tiny fireworks were exploding in her veins, burning her eyes.
He took a deep breath of the night air, forced himself to look up, and stared straight into Yun Zhan's eyes.
"Then..." she said in a low but serious voice, "If you were really going to marry a woman, would you be willing to choose a very wealthy family?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, his fingertips unconsciously tightened.
She knew the weight of those words: the Shi family was a thousand-year-old clan, and all their interactions were attended by dignitaries. Their rules were so strict that even New Year's greetings had to be done according to the order of the clan genealogy. She had grown up in the ancestral hall since childhood, and her every move was measured by the eyes of her elders.
Yun Zhan did not answer immediately. She raised her hand, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and gently slid her fingertips down her earlobe, as if she were deep in thought.
“Whether it’s a wealthy family or elaborate customs,” Yun Zhan’s voice was gentle, yet carried the certainty of a hot spring bath, “If it’s someone I like, I should be willing, provided that she is also good to me and willing to tolerate my little mistakes… After all, I don’t want to live a life of walking on thin ice.”
"In short, the person I'm going to marry is someone I like, and not someone from a prominent family, so I don't have that many worries." Yun Zhan lay on the sofa, casually stretching out his body.
With those words, the huge weight that had been hanging over Shi Mingyue's throat was gently lifted. She looked up, but first her lips curved into a smile: "That would be the best—"
That night, the flowers had all faded, leaving only the slanting shadows of branches. Shi Mingyue mustered her courage and placed her other hand over Yun Zhan's, her palm resting on the back of his fingers—as if confirming, as if cherishing. Yun Zhan didn't pull away, but simply turned slightly to the side, allowing their shadows to overlap even closer in the moonlight.
Shi Mingyue didn't rush to tell Yun Zhan her thoughts right now, afraid of scaring her.
She believed that pursuing someone she truly loved should be a gradual process, and she didn't want to put Yun Zhan in a difficult position; moreover, she didn't want her abrupt confession to cause him any psychological pressure.
She wanted Yun Zhan to feel safe.
Yun Zhan: Hmm… What did Shi Mingyue say in her last sentence? What was good…? I didn’t hear it clearly.
21: She said she wanted to treat you to dinner.
Yun Zhan: Really? I didn't hear that.
21: Ugh, you're so stupid, so incredibly stupid.
The air suddenly became quiet, with only the faint crackling of the lamp wick remaining.
Shi Mingyue looked up at Yun Zhan and silently repeated in her heart, "As long as you are willing to marry me, I can give you the best. You don't have to be afraid of anything."
Marry me
Yun Zhan...
You absolutely must marry me.
The girl's lips slowly curved into a smile. No rush... let's wait a bit longer.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Wen Yuan's voice came through the video intercom: "Miss, Pei Yanxi sent someone to deliver this."
A black insulated box was pushed into the entryway, with a seal on the corner—frostbite repair agent, top-grade warming oral liquid, and a military-grade cell regeneration spray that has not yet been released to the market.
That cell regeneration spray alone is a top-of-the-line product on the market; it's a high-end medical resource that money can't buy.
Shi Mingyue's gaze fell on the box, and her fingertips unconsciously tapped the coffee table, the sound as light as ice crystals.
"Thank you for me."
Shi Mingyue spoke into the walkie-talkie but did not sign for it. Instead, she pushed the box outside the door.
The door closed, and she turned to look at Yun Zhan, her eyes dimming for a moment under the warm light.
“Yun Zhan doesn’t need these. I will give her something better.” Shi Mingyue lowered her eyes and whispered softly.
Her voice was low and firm, as if she were refusing on behalf of Yun Zhan, or as if she were convincing herself.
Shi Mingyue got up and casually dimmed the main light in the living room.
As soon as the warm yellow light faded, the motion-sensor light in the entryway automatically turned on a cool white, like drawing an invisible warning line for the area in front of the door.
She placed her feet on the carpet, snapped the handle of the black insulated box shut with a soft "click"—very soft, but she deliberately pulled it into her palm to cover the sound.
The door was only slightly ajar, just enough to block the view from inside.
The door closed.
Using the faint moonlight reflected in the entryway mirror, Shi Mingyue stuffed the insulated box directly into the bottom of the shoe cabinet.
As she closed the cabinet door, she casually grabbed a disinfectant wipe and used it to remove the lingering cold air and seal residue from the corner of the box.
Shi Mingyue raised her hand to tidy up the stray hairs by her ear, her fingertips still slightly cool from the metal case handle.
The light shone on her face, revealing nothing unusual except for the slight curve of her lips.
After doing all this, I turned the living room lights back up, as if the incident had never happened.
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