Chapter 22 A Passion Arises on a Snowy Night...
Hui Xue, who was acting as the coachman, was the first to see him. She hurriedly raised her hand to rub her eyes, and after confirming that it was not a hallucination, she excitedly turned around and called out to the curtain, "Your Highness, it's Young Master Shang."
Inside the carriage, Yan Yize was sitting lazily, holding a tea tray in one hand and a tea lid in the other. Steam was rising from the teacup, the mist rising and quickly disappearing. She was casually stirring the tea in the cup with the lid in her hand when she heard the words coming from outside the curtain, and she paused.
Yan Yize lowered her eyes, lost in thought. A few seconds later, she put down the covered bowl in her hand, turned to the side, and lifted a corner of the curtain with her slender fingers. Through that gap, she saw the figure standing under the door.
The snow was falling heavily, and the swirling snowflakes obscured her vision, but she still recognized him as Shang Xu. She stared at the figure in a daze, not even noticing that the carriage had stopped, until the sound of the snow brought her back to her senses.
"Your Highness, we have arrived."
Yan Yize suddenly came to his senses, lowered the curtain to cover the now clearly visible figure, and responded softly, "Hmm."
After lowering the curtain, Yan Yize did not get up to leave. Instead, he lowered his eyes and stared intently at the white mist rising from the low table, lost in thought. It was late at night and freezing cold. Why was he waiting here?
After thinking for a long time without finding an answer, Yan Yize was not bothered. The person was right in front of her, and she would know once she saw him. She straightened her clothes and slowly got up and got off the carriage.
From the moment Shang Xu heard the sound of horses' hooves, he held his breath in tension, focusing all his attention on the dark road. As the sound of hooves drew closer, a magnificent carriage came into his view, getting closer and clearer. His heartbeat went from being barely audible to pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of his chest at any moment.
Under his gaze, the carriage slowly came to a stop, and a cool and noble figure stepped out. His already disordered heart became even more disoriented the moment he saw her.
Shang Xu's mind went blank. He completely forgot what to do and stared blankly at her graceful figure. His frantic heartbeat affected his thoughts. He tried desperately to recall the words he had prepared earlier, but he couldn't remember them at all.
After getting off the carriage, Yan Yize walked over with an umbrella. Snow had fallen all over the ground in front of the mansion gate, and snow had also accumulated on the heads of the two majestic stone lions. The unique snow hats looked quite charming.
The place should have been pitch black, but now it was lit by a faint light. Amidst the swirling snow, Shang Xu held an umbrella in one hand and a lantern in the other. When he saw her, his eyes lit up noticeably, like twinkling stars. The light was faint but not to be ignored.
Even though they were some distance apart, Yan Yize seemed to be infected by his smile, and the corners of his lips involuntarily lifted slightly, and his eyebrows were also touched with a smile.
She had returned home late countless times before, but this was the first time someone was waiting for her. She had crossed that cold threshold a thousand times, but under the dim light, it seemed to have gained warmth. For the first time, she felt something different. A sudden thought surfaced in her mind: it seemed that having a husband wouldn't be so bad.
Yan Yize stopped, holding an umbrella in her hand. The snow fell softly and drifted in the wind. She watched him walk towards her step by step. In her eyes was his slender figure. Her empty heart was filled with an unknown emotion. A strange feeling enveloped her, but she did not dislike it.
Shang Xu, holding an umbrella, stopped in front of her, his eyes sparkling, a faint smile on his lips, like a gentle breeze. "Your Highness, you're back."
Yan Yize nodded, staring intently at him, then smiled and reached out to brush the snowflakes from his hair. "Have you been waiting long?"
The moment she raised her hand, the shadow of the past struck him. Shang Xu's pupils contracted sharply, and images of being beaten in the past flashed before his eyes. He froze, until her hand landed on his hair and gently brushed away the snowflakes. Only then did he realize that he had been overthinking things.
His tense body relaxed, Shang Xu secretly exhaled, and slowly shook his head, "It didn't take long."
Yan Yize took in his reaction, felt a pang of pain in her heart, followed by a surge of heartache. She silently withdrew her hand and suddenly asked, "Did you think I was going to hit you?"
She asked the question simply to find out the answer, without any intention of blaming him. She had seen him being beaten before, and seeing his subconscious reaction now, she realized that it might not have been the first time.
Yan Yize always believed in the principle of "no regrets once a move is made," but at this moment, she regretted it, regretting that she had so easily let go of the person who had hurt her that day.
Upon hearing this, Shang Xu's relaxed nerves tensed up again. He didn't think she was going to hit him; he just had a phobia of that action. It was obviously not a good thing for her to think that way. He didn't want their relationship, which had just eased, to drop to a freezing point again. He racked his brains, trying to figure out how to answer.
After some deliberation, he shook his head vigorously, denying her statement, "No."
"How could His Highness possibly hit me?"
Yan Yize looked at him without saying a word, clearly not believing his words. But seeing the snow on his body, she suddenly couldn't bear to press him for answers. Whether it was true or not, she would never lay a hand on him.
"I won't lay a hand on you." She looked at him and said each word clearly, as if making a promise or a guarantee. Her voice was firm and convinced.
"I know."
Shang Xu nodded vigorously. They hadn't known each other for long, but he was inexplicably convinced that she was a good person. However, he couldn't tell her the truth, since being beaten was not something worth mentioning.
"Let's go back to the manor."
Shang Xu glanced at her, made sure she wasn't angry, and nodded obediently, "Okay."
Both of them tacitly ignored the little incident that had just occurred.
Yan Yize, holding an umbrella, walked beside him and casually asked, "Why were you waiting for me?"
Her face remained calm and composed, but her hand holding the umbrella unconsciously clenched, revealing her nervousness. Yan Yize paused for a moment, momentarily lost in thought, because she hadn't felt this emotion since she became powerful.
Shang Xu secretly glanced up at her, calmed his racing heart, and replied nervously, "Can't we wait?"
She glanced at him sideways, but instead of answering directly, she said, "Your injury has just healed, so you shouldn't stand for too long."
This was a polite refusal. Shang Xu understood her meaning and felt a pang of disappointment, but he still wanted to try. "The injury is healed. Standing for a while will be fine."
"I came back late."
The repeated rejections had already made her attitude clear. Shang Xu moved his lips, but dared not say anything more, and nodded dejectedly, "I understand."
"It won't happen again next time."
Yan Yize turned his head and saw his disappointment. Suddenly, his refusal was not so strong. "Whatever."
Things took a turn for the better. The disappointment in Shang Xu's eyes vanished, and he looked at her with bright eyes, smiling slightly. "Thank you, Your Highness."
Meeting the elation in his eyes, Yan Yize's heart skipped a beat, and he once again felt a long-lost emotion.
A note from the author:
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