Chapter 168 "Wife... I know I was wrong."
They were sitting on the terrace of the inn, preparing to have dinner, but the happy atmosphere at the table slowly cooled down because of Sheng Ran's words.
The beastly husbands' smiles faded, and no one dared to say a word.
The glow suddenly dimmed, and the clouds blocked most of the afterglow, and the candied fruit jar cast a small shadow on the stone table.
Sheng Ran's fingertips pressed against the cold wall of the jar, and her heart sank.
Tu Shanyi felt his wife being pulled out of his grasp, and his outstretched hand froze in mid-air, grabbing nothing.
His Adam's apple rolled twice, and his fox eyes, which were always squinting on ordinary days, were now straight, and even his voice was tense: "Wife, I didn't mean to lie to you."
It was a very clichéd opening remark, and Sheng Ran didn't even have the interest to listen any further.
She took a deep breath and felt her heart throbbing with pain.
Ling Rui was so hungry that he started to play the empty city plan. He just grabbed a piece of vegetable pancake and it was already in front of his mouth. He didn't know whether to eat it or not.
He glanced at Tu Shanyi and his lips curled even more sharply.
They had reminded him at the beginning not to play with his wife's true feelings, and now this situation was entirely his own fault.
"It wasn't intentional? After my wife sent you to the clinic, you disappeared for half a year. When you reappeared, you were dressed more glamorously than the city lord, yet you claimed you were living a miserable life. Do you call that unintentional?"
Yun Ling sat in the corner, his eyes fixed on Sheng Ran's little face. He could feel that his master was very unhappy.
The master said a long time ago that she hated deception and betrayal the most.
Yun Ling twisted a black feather between her fingertips and turned it around twice, then raised her eyes to glance at Tu Shanyi, the coldness in her eyes was even stronger than usual.
But his tone was as flat as ice: "The fox's den is always cunning. It's just a scam. It probably doesn't mean anything in your eyes."
When Tu Shanyi heard this, he clenched his fists in dissatisfaction. He wanted to refute, but he didn't have the confidence.
Huai Jun sat beside Sheng Ran and silently held his wife's hand.
He knows what it feels like to be kept in the dark.
When he went to the mainland as a hostage, everyone kept it a secret from him. They just said they were sending him to play on land and would pick him up the next month.
He believed it and waited obediently in a foreign country.
This wait lasted for more than ten years.
This feeling of bewilderment seemed to be transmitted from Sheng Ran to his heart at this moment.
Pei Xiaoxing frowned and looked between Sheng Ran and Tu Shanyi.
Today is his wife's birthday, and he doesn't want to see such an unpleasant scene.
Pei Xiaoxing said in a deep voice: "My dear wife, listen to him first. Tu Shanyi is not someone who would lie without reason."
His voice was steady, but he did not defend Tu Shanyi - he did not agree with deception, but he also wanted to know the reasons hidden in the past six months.
Tu Shanyi seemed to have grasped the last straw. He took a deep breath and took out a brocade box from his arms.
It was not a pair of precious jewellery, but a stack of warm jade bookmarks, on which was drawn Sheng Ran's current appearance.
Her eyebrows and eyes are clear, with a faint smile on the corners of her mouth, and even the strands of hair on her temples seem lifelike.
The handwriting is clear and meticulously crafted, and it is obvious that it is Tu Shanyi's own work.
"After being beaten by my wife, I did stay in the hospital for half a month."
Tu Shanyi's fingertips gently brushed across the lines on the bookmark, and there was a rare hint of seriousness and helplessness in his tone.
"In our Tushan clan, internal strife is more brutal than on the battlefield. After my father passed away, several uncles were eyeing the position in the family and wanted to tear me apart and eat me whole. If I hadn't taken that opportunity to escape and develop my career in the north, I wouldn't have been able to return to you, let alone survive."
Sheng Ran's eyes fell on the bookmark, but she showed no expression at all.
She remembered that when they first met at Wangchun Teahouse, Tu Shanyi was wearing a brocade robe with a jade button around his waist. He looked like a rich young man, but he pretended to be poor in front of her.
"So during the half year you disappeared, you were building the Jiuyao Chamber of Commerce?" Sheng Ran's voice was very soft, with a hint of sarcasm.
"Yes." Tu Shanyi nodded, his eyes showing even more panic. "I must gain a firm foothold as soon as possible. Sheng Ci and Situ Yu have long wanted to take over Tu Shan's business. If I am still the same playboy who allows himself to be manipulated, I will not be able to protect you or myself."
He paused and added, "I lied to you at Wangchun Teahouse that I was hired by the owner to act because I was afraid you would know my identity."
"By avoiding premature exposure of the Jiuyao Chamber of Commerce, we can avoid premature danger. This is a good thing for both you and me."
Tu Shanyi said as he handed the bookmark to Sheng Ran: "I haven't missed my wife these days."
"Every time I miss you so much, I draw a bookmark. I've drawn so many without realizing it."
Sheng Ran flipped through the books one by one and could feel the tenderness and love that the author had poured into them, but she still kept her mouth straight and remained unmoved.
Zhu Jiuyin quietly moved closer to her and used his body to block the cool wind blowing towards her.
He didn't say anything, but just raised his head and looked at Sheng Ran with his clear golden eyes, which were full of frank worry.
He didn't understand what the calculation was, he only knew that his wife was unhappy, and Tu Shanyi made his wife unhappy.
Sheng Ran's gaze fell on Zhu Jiuyin's hairy head, and her heart softened a little.
The two have similar red hair, but their eyes are completely different.
Zhu Jiuyin's eyes were clean and pure, not polluted by any impurities in the world.
She also knew that not all beastly husbands grew up in a simple environment like Zhu Jiuyin.
As for the others, each of them has a very complicated family background, so their personalities and ways of doing things are naturally different.
She could understand that Tu Shanyi hid the truth from her out of caution, but she just couldn't accept being deceived for so long.
There was so much time and so many opportunities to tell her, but Tu Shanyi said nothing.
"I just want to ask you one thing," Sheng Ran finally spoke, but she took off the bell from her waist, her tone distant. "Is this also part of your plan? Use it to monitor us and make sure everything is under your control."
Tu Shanyi's face paled. He opened his mouth and immediately retorted, "No, my dear wife, even if I am very cunning, how could I have plotted against you?"
Tu Shanyi's voice lowered, a touch of bewilderment tinged with even a hint of grievance he wasn't aware of. "I had a craftsman make this bell specifically for me. It can transmit sound over thousands of miles. I just want to... hear your voice every day, to know you're safe."
Sheng Ran listened silently without saying a word, her eyes clearly showing disbelief.
Tu Shanyi didn't expect that Sheng Ran's trust in him had become so fragile.
At this moment, he was completely panicked.
Because he was born into a fox family with complicated family relationships, he experienced all kinds of intrigues since childhood and learned many ways to protect himself.
The law of survival has long been engraved in his bones: the way to achieve the goal is not important, the result is important.
He felt that deceiving Sheng Ran was the fastest way to get back to her, so he lied without any psychological burden.
However, seeing the strangeness in Sheng Ran's eyes, Tu Shanyi suddenly felt very scared.
"My dear wife... I know I was wrong." His voice trembled, "Please don't... don't do this to me."
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