Chapter 84 New Neighbor Shen Yun, are you going to break the contract?
When Aunt Wang from next door came looking for him, she was surprised to find that the child was still there. She had assumed that Lin Shutang had already sent him to the government office.
Aunt Wang walked in suspiciously and looked Shen Yan up and down carefully. She wondered whether she should say some things in front of the child.
Just as Shen Yan turned to go inside, Aunt Wang quickly whispered, "Is that child really trying to extort you? Shu Tang, should I report this to the authorities?"
Lin Shutang was taken aback by these words, and was about to chuckle when she heard Chen Yan's light voice coming from behind, "Mother, is it this?"
Shen Yan held up a short piece of wood in his hand and stood at the threshold, looking over.
After Lin Shutang responded softly, Shen Yan slowly walked towards them with a faint smile on his lips, his eyes unexpectedly landing on Aunt Wang's face.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Aunt Wang always felt that that glance seemed to carry a hint of sarcasm.
Aunt Wang was utterly astonished by Shen Yan's address of "Mother," especially since Lin Shutang responded in kind.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that the two indeed looked remarkably alike. The strange thing was that it was too late that day, and she hadn't noticed anything amiss in their similar faces.
When Lin Shutang first came to Maple Tree Village, she was all alone. She thought Lin Shutang was just a widow who had lost her husband, but she never expected that Lin Shutang would have a child!
And now, this child has actually come looking for us.
But the man's family treats the child badly?
Thinking of this, Aunt Wang couldn't help but feel sorry for Lin Shutang, feeling that her life was really hard.
"Shutang, what your aunt said back then..."
She remembered saying that the child was trying to extort money, and wondered if Shutang would feel bad if she heard it.
"Auntie, it's alright." Lin Shutang quickly took her hand and pulled her to sit down when she heard that she felt guilty. "It was my fault for not explaining things clearly. How can you blame your auntie?"
Lin Shutang never expected things to turn out this way; Shen Yun had actually just left Shen Yan here like that.
If it were really given to her, that would be fine, but I'm afraid this person is just stalling for time and is probably still in town right now.
Lin Shutang has never understood Shen Yun, nor does he know what Shen Yun is planning.
But since he didn't show up in front of her on his own initiative, Lin Shutang naturally wouldn't panic and go looking for him. Otherwise, wouldn't she be left to his mercy?
As it turned out, this person was more patient than her, and hadn't been seen for days.
Now that she's seen Aunt Wang, she wouldn't have offered any explanation unless Shen Yan called out to her.
Over the years, she traveled to various prefectures and counties, always wearing her hair in a woman's bun, as she was getting on in years. However, since no man was ever seen at home, she inevitably attracted gossip, and before long, rumors began to circulate that she was a widow.
Lin Shutang thought that, in order to avoid some trouble, he might as well take on the blame.
But now, another child has appeared out of nowhere, and Shen Yun has also come here. Lin Shutang felt a headache coming on just thinking about it, and really didn't know how to tell Aunt Wang.
After all, the matter between her and Shen Jun is not something that can be explained with just a few words.
Seeing that Lin Shutang had no intention of saying more, Aunt Wang didn't press him for details. After all, every family has its own troubles.
She patted her hand, subtly changing the subject, "I came to see you today because another stranger has come to our village and is staying next door. Go and prepare the gifts, and we'll go together to meet the neighbors so we can look after each other in the future."
"When did this happen?" Lin Shutang was somewhat surprised to hear this.
When she first rented this small courtyard, it was in such a remote place that few people cared about it, let alone the tiled house next door that was close to the foot of the mountain.
Lin Shutang had been there for quite some time, and he had seen people following the brokers to look around, but they would only glance at him before waving him away.
It's quite surprising that someone actually moved in.
“I saw them move in with my own eyes just in the last two days. You probably didn’t know because you haven’t been out these past few days,” Aunt Wang said.
Lin Shutang thought for a moment, and realized that she sometimes heard the sound of things being moved next door.
Since that was the case, Lin Shutang went to the kitchen to get some cured meat he had made himself, took two jugs of wine, and followed Aunt Wang. Before leaving, he specifically told Shen Yan to stay in the yard and not to run around.
The two courtyards are not far apart. After climbing a small hill and passing through a few thick maple trees, you can see the dilapidated tile-roofed house.
But perhaps that person made some repairs, and now it looks completely different.
The red maple trees nestled among them gave it a reclusive, elegant feel.
Aunt Wang walked ahead and knocked on the door first. Lin Shutang stood beside her and heard hurried footsteps coming from inside, followed by the creaking sound of the door latch being pulled open.
The courtyard gate was opened from the inside, revealing a handsome young face dressed in neat short clothes; he appeared to be a servant.
When Aunt Wang saw this scene, she was shocked. Could it be that the family living here is a wealthy one?
The things they gave us seem rather meager.
As Aunt Wang was thinking, the servant in front of her greeted her with a smile, "Please come in, you two."
As he spoke, he stepped aside and gestured for them to proceed.
At this rate, we have no choice but to go in.
Aunt Wang took a deep breath, feeling a little nervous, and stepped over the threshold to go inside. Lin Shutang felt something was off, but she could only follow her into the courtyard.
Just now, because the servant only opened a crack and Aunt Wang was blocking the doorway, Lin Shutang's view was obstructed. Now that the courtyard gate was no longer blocking her way and no one was in front of her, her view suddenly opened up.
Lin Shutang looked up and saw Shen Yun standing tall and elegant in front of the main house. His white robes rustled in the autumn wind, and red leaves, which seemed to have flown from nowhere, danced wildly in the courtyard.
Lin Shutang happened to bump into those smiling, dark eyes amidst a cluster of bright red maple leaves.
Her heart suddenly started pounding wildly, almost making her want to run away immediately.
"Madam, how have you been?" He walked slowly toward her, his tone intimate.
Aunt Wang was stunned by the sudden appearance of this ethereal person. Heaven knows, in this Maple Tree Village, no, in this area of dozens of miles, in the county town, where in her life had she ever seen such an otherworldly person?
Unexpectedly, the man's next words sent a chill down Aunt Wang's spine.
Husband...wife?
Aunt Wang naturally didn't think the man was calling her, so she turned to look at the woman beside her. She saw that the woman's face was deathly pale, her teeth were biting her lower lip tightly, and she looked grief-stricken and wanted to devour his blood.
"Shen Yun, are you going to break the contract?" Lin Shutang said through gritted teeth.
She had long known that Shen Yun wouldn't leave so easily. As long as Shen Yan was here, she would never feel at ease.
However, she couldn't bring herself to send Chen Yan away.
Unexpectedly, Shen Jun actually bought the courtyard next to hers. Wasn't this a blatant way of telling her that he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon?
Lin Shutang knew Shen Yun's methods all too well; if it were just for a comfortable place, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths.
Even though the journey from the town to Maple Tree Village is not short, for him, taking a horse-drawn carriage back and forth every day is not too much of a hassle.
But to make such a big fuss, letting everyone in Maple Tree Village know that a stranger has come to the village, is clearly an intention to drag things out with her for a long time.
They even wanted to use the villagers' words to put pressure on her.
And now this explicit statement further reveals his despicable intentions, which are crystal clear!
Lin Shutang was so angry that she almost vomited blood. She didn't even care that Aunt Wang was still beside her. Staring at her left cheek, she was burning with shame and anger, or perhaps hatred, and directly questioned her.
To his surprise, Shen Yun remained unmoved and even pretended to ask, "I really don't understand what you're saying, Madam. I wonder which agreement is being broken?"
Lin Shutang stared at him in disbelief, her teeth itching with hatred. If she had known Shen Yun was so shameless, she should have signed the contract back then!
Aunt Wang's eyes darted back and forth between the two men. Now that she was closer, she could see that the man's features were strikingly similar to the child's.
A pair of dark, bright eyes, when they look at people with a smile, inexplicably send chills down one's spine; they truly look like they were carved from the same mold.
Even if Aunt Wang was completely oblivious, she knew she couldn't stay in the courtyard any longer. She quickly handed her things to the servant beside her and prepared to take her leave.
The servant accepted the gift with a smile and saw her out of the courtyard. But as she stepped out the door, he followed her out and then turned around and closed the gate again.
Aunt Wang was still reeling from the shock when she looked at the closed courtyard gate and a sense of unease crept in.
Although she didn't know why Lin Shutang, whom she had always considered a widow, suddenly had a child, and now her husband had come looking for her again, she figured that since the two of them had chosen to separate, there must have been some kind of rift between them.
Now that Lin Shutang is left alone in the courtyard, one can't help but start to worry about him.
But it was ultimately someone else's family matter, and as an outsider, she didn't know much about it, so she shouldn't interfere too much.
He sighed and decided to wait outside the courtyard until Lin Shutang came out so they could go back together.
In the blink of an eye, a boy could be seen standing under a maple tree in the distance, its leaves a fiery red like the morning glow.
When Qi Han looked over, it was startling.
Aunt Wang narrowed her eyes and looked more closely. Who else could it be but the boy born to Shu Tang?
Inside the courtyard, as soon as she heard the gate being closed, Lin Shutang couldn't hold back any longer. She slammed her things on the table and demanded, "Chen Jun, what exactly do you want to do?"
“Shen Yan refuses to come back with me.” Shen Yun, having put away her playful demeanor, seemed to have a headache as she spoke.
Upon hearing this, Lin Shutang sneered through gritted teeth, "With so many tricks up your sleeve, Shen Yun, you still can't take him away?"
The sarcasm in her words was practically a direct insult directed at him. Of all the methods he had used on her, which one wouldn't have worked on a child like Shen Yan?
Shen Yun knew that she was still holding a grudge about the past. His eyebrows drooped and his throat tightened. "When you left, you hadn't signed a divorce agreement with me yet, so we weren't officially separated."
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Author's Note: Here it comes! Sorry for the wait~ [droopy-eared rabbit head]
A new novel has started next door, "In Stone Bridge Town"—Through all the spirits of the Three Realms and the Six Paths of Rebirth, I will find you.
Those who are interested can check it out!
The synopsis is a mess, purely the author's wildly imaginative work with fantasy elements. It's just whatever comes to mind, but it's most likely a melodramatic, wish-fulfillment story about a male ghost whose love interest can't escape even in reincarnation. [Lop-eared rabbit head][Milk tea]
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