Chapter 65 “Stay,” Shen Yun said.
The rain suddenly started.
It was sunny and clear this morning.
Pipa sat down by the window again, holding the sleeping Tangyuan in her lap, watching the continuous rain weaving between heaven and earth outside the window.
Sometimes he would think that perhaps the intricate entanglements of fate were just like this vast net woven from raindrops, encompassing everything within it, none of which could escape its reach.
The door behind her clicked open. Pipa thought it was the wind, but when she turned around, she saw an unexpected person.
"Chen Yun?" he blurted out in surprise.
Startled, the cat being held lazily opened its pair of emerald eyes, but upon seeing Chen Yun, its eyes widened instantly. It then jumped off Pipa's lap and disappeared in a flash.
Pipa looked helplessly in the direction Tangyuan had run off to. She didn't know what was wrong with the little guy. Every time he saw Chen Yun, he would run away like a mouse seeing a cat... even though he was a cat himself.
Pipa turned her gaze back to Shen Yun at the doorway and realized that the other person was unusual.
It looked like she had been caught in the rain the whole way; her hair and clothes were all soaked.
Pipa vaguely remembered that today should have been the birthday banquet of the old lady of the Shen family. She heard the news from Lu Qingyao. She heard that the Lu family would all be going, firstly to celebrate the old lady's birthday, and secondly to discuss the marriage between the Lu and Chen families.
"Although I don't particularly like Shen Yun, my sister really likes her. Speaking of which, this time it should be settled soon. Heaven knows how long they've been discussing and deliberating on this matter."
"..."
"If it were me, I wouldn't need any of these tedious rituals. All I need is for the person I love to hold my hand, bow to heaven and earth, bow to my parents, and then bow to each other again, and that would be enough."
As Lu Qingyao spoke, she glanced meaningfully at the boy beside her. Her girlish heart was written all over her face; how could Pipa not see it?
However, the loquat could only pretend not to see it, because it couldn't give the other party any response it wanted.
"What are you thinking about, not saying a word?"
Lu Qingyao leaned closer, narrowed her eyes, and half-jokingly questioned the boy, "You're not jealous because you heard about Shen Yun and my sister, are you?"
"How could this be..."
Pipa looked at Miss Lu, whose expression changed faster than flipping through a book, with a hint of helplessness: "I was just thinking, if Lord Shen were to get married, what would be a good gift to give him?"
Lu Qingyao stared into the boy's eyes for a while, seemingly trying to figure something out. After a moment, she suddenly smiled and waved her hand, saying, "What's the big deal? I'll send it to you later. It'll definitely be presentable."
She paused, then pouted and kept complaining, saying she didn't want to attend that damn birthday banquet.
"It's so noisy, with so many people I know and don't know. When they meet, they just pretend to laugh like idiots. It's so boring. I'd rather stay here with you."
Lu Qingyao sighed, her eyes shining as she looked at the boy, seemingly hoping he would say something. But Pipa said nothing.
Lu Qingyao was a little disappointed, but she quickly cheered up: "See? If no one is paying attention, I might be able to sneak over to see you one day."
Unexpectedly, Lu Qingyao, who said those words, did not come.
Instead, Shen Yun, who was supposed to stay to discuss the wedding, arrived, soaked to the bone and with obvious redness and swelling on her face, as if she had been beaten.
Pipa hasn't known Shenyun for very long.
But this was the first time I had seen Shen Yun injured, and on her face no less.
Based on his understanding of Shen Yun, it was somewhat unbelievable.
However, Pipa didn't ask anything.
First, they welcomed the person into the house, handed them a dry towel, and then provided them with clean clothes to change into.
The clothes were ones that Chen Yun had temporarily changed out of. They were washed and put away in the closet, and I never thought to ask her to take them. I never expected that I would need them one day.
Pipa put down the clean clothes and turned to heat up some ginger tea on the stove.
After waiting a while, he thought it was about time, but when he turned around, he found that Shen Yun had only taken off her black outer garment. Her clean clothes were still neatly folded to the side, untouched.
Pipa paused for a moment, then suddenly realized Shen Yun's obsession with cleanliness.
"I washed these clothes myself; I didn't give them to anyone else, and I didn't mix them with other clothes. I washed them separately several times and then dried them in the sun for a long time, so they won't be unclean—"
"I did not mean that."
Shen Yun suddenly spoke. This was the first time Pipa had heard her speak today. She wondered if it was because she had caught a chill, because her voice sounded a little hoarse.
The loquat then stopped talking.
Shen Yun said she wanted to take a shower.
Pipa said okay, went out and ordered someone to bring hot water over, and then asked Shen Yun if she wanted ginger tea.
"It's freshly cooked," he said.
Shen Yun raised his eyelids slightly, looking somewhat tired, and said, "I don't eat sweet tea."
Pipa nodded: "I know, there's no sugar in the ginger tea."
Then, without waiting for Shen Yun's reply, he turned around and went to the outer room to pour a bowl of hot ginger tea. He then put it in Shen Yun's hand and whispered, "Be careful, it's hot."
The pungent steam rose, and some color returned to the pale face, making the scars on her face seem less shocking.
The kitchen staff were very efficient; soon, buckets of hot water were carried in, filling the room with steaming smoke.
Seeing that the hot water and everything else were ready, Pipa picked up the empty teacup.
"Just let me know if you need anything," he said. "I'll be waiting outside."
After he finished speaking, he was about to leave when Shen Yun called him back.
"etc."
Hearing Chen Yun's voice, Pipa turned her head in confusion and met those deep black eyes.
"Is there anything else?" he asked.
“Stay,” Shen Yun said.
Pipa was even more puzzled: "What are you doing?"
Shen Yun blinked his dark eyes: "Scrub my back."
Pipa thought for a moment and said, "Then should I take the bowl out first?"
This time, Shen Yun had no objections.
When Pipa returned to the inner room, Chen Yun was already in the bathtub. The red hair ribbon was untied and placed on the screen, and her long, ink-black hair was spread out over her shoulders. The steam blurred her already extremely beautiful features, making her look exceptionally gorgeous.
If it weren't for the clearly visible Adam's apple, one might easily mistake it for something else at first glance.
So, Pipa glanced at it and quickly looked away.
Even when his mind was perfectly clear, that face still reminded him of Senior Sister Yingxue, making him feel that he should not look at it.
Just then, Shen Yun suddenly said, "Come a little closer."
Seeing that Pipa was standing still and showed no intention of going over, Shen Yun seemed to find it somewhat amusing: "Do you think you're a monkey? Standing so far away and scrubbing my back?"
Pipa then remembered why she had stayed.
So he took the cloth and walked over, going around to Chen Yun's back.
Men's and women's backs are different, especially after she could no longer see the face, Pipa felt much more at ease.
But looking at the distinct scars on his back, he suddenly didn't know where to begin.
Until Shen Yun spoke again: "What are you standing there for?"
"The wound on your back..."
"These are all old injuries from a long time ago, don't worry about them."
Pipa gave an "oh," and unconsciously softened his movements. After a short while, he felt the other person's body tremble slightly.
With his back turned, he couldn't see Shen Yun's expression and initially thought it was his imagination.
Later, seeing that Shen Yun's shoulders were shaking more and more frequently, Pipa finally couldn't help but stop.
"Are you alright?" Pipa asked anxiously.
"What could possibly be wrong with me?" Shen Yun asked as usual, his voice sounding muffled, perhaps because he had his head down.
"So what were you just now—"
"Who taught you to be so weak? Those two rubs are like tickling an itch."
"So that's how it is. So he was trying not to laugh," Pipa thought.
After answering Pipa's question, Shen Yun paused, then suddenly said, "Never mind, you can go out now."
Pipa felt a bit taken aback, just as suddenly as when Shen Yun had asked him to stay. He hesitated for a moment: "Or, should I try again?"
Pipa had no prior experience scrubbing people's backs, so he thought he could try applying more pressure this time.
But Shen Yun refused.
He explained that he didn't actually want to rub his back that much; he was just too tired and wanted to talk to someone so he wouldn't fall asleep in the hot water.
Pipa nodded in understanding.
He thought that Shen Yun didn't need to explain to him, but as usual, he said nothing.
Pipa walked to the outside of the screen and soon heard the sound of rushing water coming from the inner room. She knew that Chen Yun had gotten out of the water, followed by the rustling sound of clothes being put on.
Aren't you going to ask me why I came here?
A deep, low voice suddenly came from behind the screen.
Pipa was indeed a little curious about this, but only a tiny bit.
However, since Shen Yun had asked this question, he naturally followed suit and asked, "Why?"
There was no immediate reply. After a while, a deep and quiet voice finally rang out: "...Actually, I don't know why either."
That's strange.
Pipa thought that this vague expression was nothing like the usual deep and resonant tone.
However, this is something that has nothing to do with me.
"Maybe--"
Hearing the voice suddenly become clear, Pipa turned her head and saw Shen Yun, who had come out from behind the screen. He was wearing a clean outer robe and his hair was dripping wet.
Seeing this, Pipa immediately took a dry cloth and went over to help Chen Yun wrap her wet hair and dry it.
Shen Yun lowered her head following Pi Pa's movement, her dark eyes staring at the boy's face for a long time.
"What's wrong?" Pipa felt a little uncomfortable being stared at.
"No." Shen Yun paused, a gentle smile curving her lips without her even realizing it. "I just wanted to see you."
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