Chapter 344 How close does it have to be to be considered truly close?
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly calmed down and said softly, "You haven't rested yet?"
Yuwen Ye looked at her: "We haven't finished talking yet."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's hand, which had been reaching out to push the door open, froze for a moment. She instinctively tried to pull it back, but Yuwen Ye grabbed it. For some reason, his body temperature was so high that her hand even felt a little hot.
She tried to break free, but she had already experienced Yuwen Ye's strength; trying to arm wrestle with him would only be humiliating.
Besides, even if she broke free, where could she go at this point?
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi calmed down, looked up at those eyes that shone brightly even in the dark night, and said calmly, "But I feel that there's nothing left for us to say."
Yuwen Ye's brows furrowed immediately.
He said, "You mean to say that you have nothing more to say to me, is that right?"
Shang Ruyi initially wanted to acquiesce, but after thinking for a moment, she looked up at him and said seriously, "Yes."
"...!"
Yuwen Ye's eyes deepened, and he said in a deep voice, "But I still have something to say."
Shang Ruyi looked up at him: "What are you saying?"
"..."
"You say you have the Empress in your heart, that you care about her, and that you worry about her safety? I already know all of that, there's no need to say anything more."
"As one wishes--"
“Since our relationship is just a transaction, let’s be fair and not involve anything else. I really don’t have the energy to talk about anything else right now—” Shang Ruyi looked at him, a bitter smile on her face, and said calmly, “I really don’t have the energy to talk about anything else.”
"..."
"I'm so tired."
Yuwen Ye gritted his teeth. He had so much to say to her and so much to explain to her, but when he looked down, he saw that her pale face under the moonlight was indeed full of weariness.
Even with all the care she received these past few days, she had still suffered quite a bit. The long journey was not good for a woman who had just had a miscarriage. When she said she was tired, it was a sign of weakness, an attempt to escape, but she was also genuinely exhausted.
Yuwen Ye took a deep breath and finally said, "Okay."
After saying that, he closed the door, took her hand, and led her back to the bedside, helping her lie down.
And he lay down next to her.
Shang Ruyi looked up at him with some unease—she hadn't wanted to share a bed with him in the first place, and had only gone out to hide for so long, but she didn't expect to have to sleep in the same bed with him when she came back. Moreover, after Yuwen Ye released her wrist, he immediately put his arm around her waist and pulled her into his arms.
This situation has occurred before.
During their few brief moments of sharing a bed, he always liked to hold her as she fell asleep. Even when Shang Ruyi was exhausted from his ministrations, feeling as if her bones had been broken, she could still sleep soundly in his warm embrace, which radiated warmth and familiar scent.
But now—
She couldn't accept being so close to him again, especially since it brought back too many memories of responses she didn't want to face.
So she bit her lower lip and struggled for a moment, trying to get out of his arms.
But as soon as she struggled, Yuwen Ye's hands held her even tighter, and the two of them were almost completely pressed together, separated only by their thin clothes.
He closed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "If you move again, I'll let you move as much as you want!"
"...!"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi immediately dared not move.
The room was pitch black, and she couldn't see the person in front of her. She could only feel his breath brushing against her neck, hot and carrying a suppressed aura that made her have no doubt that what he said was true.
Even if she didn't want to recall it, the scene and the person reminded Shang Ruyi of that night when he held her tightly, taking away her breath and heartbeat.
In fact, their first time together was in a temple—
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi's body stiffened.
Feeling the body in his arms stiffen from his words, Yuwen Ye let out a deep breath and whispered in her ear, "I was just scaring you."
"..."
"You're the one who—how could I treat you like this?"
His voice was gentle, even a little weak. Hearing his words, Shang Ruyi felt a pang of sorrow and grievance well up in her heart. Her body was no longer stiff, but she dared not open her eyes again, for fear that hot tears would well up in her eyes.
In the silence, Yuwen Ye said softly, "Shang Ruyi, I actually have a lot to say to you. It's just that there are some things I haven't figured out myself yet."
"..."
"I think you can make me understand."
"..."
"But if you continue like this, then we'll just have to stay like this forever, do you understand?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi leaned against him somewhat blankly, listening to his heartbeat, but her own heartbeat remained flat, as if it had returned to death.
Figure it out? Figure out what?
Someone as smart as him, what is there that he doesn't understand and that I need to help him figure out?
Shang Ruyi felt a tangled mess in her mind, but she didn't want to think about it anymore. Everything between her and this man should be completely severed. So, she closed her eyes tightly, as if this would prevent all the chaotic thoughts about him from entering her mind, and also banish all the memories of joy and pain that this man had brought her from her heart and body.
However, just as she closed her eyes, desperately trying to convince herself to fall asleep and forget everything around her, Yuwen Ye kept his eyes open.
In the darkness, his eyes shone like stars.
Looking at the blurry, gentle silhouette before him, he couldn't help but reach out, wanting to touch her. But his fingers, barely a hair's breadth away from her, felt the trembling of someone facing a formidable enemy. He remained silent for a long time before finally slowly lowering his hand.
The two of them, nestled together in the quiet of the night, fell asleep, though separated by a thousand miles.
|
Perhaps it was because she was really too tired, or perhaps it was because she finally saw Shen Wuzheng yesterday and felt relieved, or perhaps there were some reasons that she herself did not want to face. In any case, Shang Ruyi slept very well that night.
When I woke up, it was already daylight.
When she opened her eyes, she was still a little groggy and her vision was blurry. She saw a familiar, tall figure standing by the bed, leaning down to look at her.
Then, my vision gradually became clear.
That handsome face immediately came into view; it was none other than Yuwen Ye, who had held her and slept with her all night!
He had gotten up at some point, his clothes neatly arranged.
Shang Ruyi sat up abruptly from the bed.
"you--"
She wanted to say something, but didn't know how. After all, the two of them had just spent the night in each other's arms, and it seemed that neither intimate words nor cold words could be uttered at this moment.
Seeing that she was clearly flustered and even subconsciously moved further into the bed to avoid him, Yuwen Ye's expression darkened again.
He sighed softly, then said, "Awake?"
"……Um."
Shang Ruyi subconsciously tidied her slightly messy hair and hurriedly got out of bed. Yuwen Ye pointed to the foot of the bed and said, "Tu She'er just brought over some clean clothes, which I've put here for you. Change your clothes first, then wash up, and then go to the dining hall for dinner."
"...Oh, okay."
Shang Ruyi nodded.
Last night, because of him, she was dragged to bed without even taking off her coat. Now that her clothes are crumpled up like pickled vegetables, she can no longer wear them. So, she hurriedly took them off and went to get new clothes.
But as soon as I walked over, I discovered that there was a pair of earrings on the neatly folded clothes.
Upon closer inspection, it was the very one she had taken down last night and given to the monk.
"Huh?"
Shang Ruyi was stunned for a moment, then immediately turned to look at Yuwen Ye: "This is—"
Yuwen Ye sat to one side, not looking at her, but calmly gazing out the window. It was another beautiful day, the sun shining brightly outside, but it couldn't penetrate the room, so his eyes also seemed dim. He said softly, "It was delivered by the abbot of the temple early this morning."
"Why?"
"He discovered that his apprentice had taken your things, felt it was inappropriate, so he returned them."
"But I—"
Shang Ruyi hesitated. After all, she had begged the child to give it away last night, so it wasn't exactly stolen. If the abbot returned the earring, wouldn't the child be punished?
Looking back at her somewhat troubled expression, Yuwen Ye said calmly, "I gave them extra money so they could treat that kind boy well."
"oh……"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi immediately felt relieved.
Yuwen Ye paused for a moment before saying, "From now on, don't give away your personal belongings casually."
Shang Ruyi frowned and said, "But this isn't exactly something you can wear close to your body."
Moreover, in such a chaotic world, many people don't have enough money to travel and have to pawn their jewelry or even their antique paintings and calligraphy to survive. She was just giving away a pair of her own earrings, and it was an offering to a nun. It was nothing special.
Yuwen Ye glanced at her and said, "How much closer does it have to be to be considered intimate?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback by what he said.
For some reason, she felt that Yuwen Ye's words seemed to have a hidden meaning, and there was a clear hint of dissatisfaction in his tone. But she didn't understand; these earrings weren't given to her by her mother-in-law, Guan Yunmu, but rather were part of her dowry. What did it do to him that she was giving something away to a monk?
Sensing that Shang Ruyi seemed somewhat displeased, Yuwen Ye let out a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Go wash up quickly, and then we'll go to the dining hall together."
"Um."
Shang Ruyi didn't say much. She walked to the wooden shelf next to her, where a basin of hot water was placed. Without Tu She'er to serve her, and not wanting to be bossy in the temple, she bent down to scoop up the water and wash her face.
But just as a handful of water splashed onto her face, she suddenly jolted awake—
How did Yuwen Ye know about Shan Tong'er?
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