Qingyuan lowered his gaze and stared at her in silence.
Shen Zhiyi felt a little guilty under his gaze.
"W-What happened..."
She forced herself to stay upright and said confidently, "Such fine gems are just sitting on the wall anyway, might as well take them back and exchange them for houses and shops in Jiangnan, at least they'll be put to good use..."
Qingyuan interrupted her, "Did I say I agreed to let you return to Jiangnan?"
Shen Zhiyi pouted, "My mermaid silk and necklace are still with Dui'er."
"If we don't return, how can we retrieve our token of love?"
Qingyuan was taken aback.
His dark eyes stared straight at her, his expression deep and unfathomable.
"If you knew it was a token of love, why did you take it off?"
"fraud……"
"You promised me you would never pick them."
His hair fell across his forehead, revealing a hint of hurt.
Shen Zhiyi felt a little reluctant.
"Then, wasn't I afraid you'd find me?"
“Besides…” she thought of something, put her hands on her hips, and regained her confidence, “You never told me that the necklace could track my whereabouts.”
"Since we both cheated each other, we're even."
Qingyuan pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and remained silent.
Shen Zhiyi: "As long as you promise to let me go back to Jiangnan and get the necklace back, I can also promise you that I will never take it off again."
"This time, I keep my word."
Qingyuan looked at her with complicated emotions, his expression darkening.
Why won't you stay with me in the deep sea?
Shen Zhiyi sighed deeply.
"There was no refusal."
"I love money, but I love the process of making money even more."
"I have nowhere to use my skills here!"
“Besides,” she said, hooking her arm around his belt and pulling him toward her, raising her eyebrows. “Now that you’ve become my son-in-law, you should follow my lead. Wherever I go, you go.”
“If you’re afraid I’ll run away, then…” she thought for a moment, then clapped her hands and said, “Then let’s form a pact!”
Qingyuan suddenly looked up, his expression shaken.
"You... are willing to form a bond?!"
"Why not?" Shen Zhiyi shrugged.
Qingyuan grasped her shoulders, leaned down to meet her gaze, and solemnly said, "Do you know that once a bond is formed, one can never change one's mind or betray the bond?"
"If you break the contract, you will die immediately!"
"Not only that, if one of them meets with misfortune, the other will also perish."
Merfolk have a very long lifespan.
Unless they love each other to the extreme, they will not easily make the decision to form a bond.
But he longed to be tied to her.
Shen Zhiyi smiled, her eyes crinkling.
"Only then can you rest assured."
"Besides, once we form a pact, you'll be at a greater disadvantage than I will."
"If you don't mind, why should I hesitate?"
Qingyuan's chest trembled.
My blood was surging through my veins.
His burning love, like steam, instantly blurred his vision.
He leaned down and hugged her tightly.
"good."
His voice was hoarse.
"Then let us form a pact."
"If you want to go back to Jiangnan, I will go with you." He buried his head in her neck, smelling the fragrance from her hair, and felt a sense of destiny.
As long as I'm with her, even if I only have a few decades of life left, it will be enough.
Shen Zhiyi: "That gemstone..."
Qingyuan suddenly picked her up around the waist and carried her to the gemstone wall.
Which one do you want?
Shen Zhiyi's eyes lit up.
"Can you really pry it off?"
Qingyuan did not answer.
He simply held her with one arm, while his other hand reached towards the wall, gripping a fist-sized piece of golden amber, his knuckles digging into it.
"Snap—"
The golden amber was removed intact.
Not a single crack.
Shen Zhiyi was shocked.
She opened her palm, took the gem he offered, and her breathing became lighter.
This quality...
This size...
That's enough to buy half a street in Jiangnan!
Qingyuan lowered his eyes, staring at her excited expression, and felt a lump in his throat.
"Which one do you want?" he indulged.
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyi almost jumped down, pointing at the wall full of gems and ordering without any politeness, "That red one!"
"And that blue one!"
"Ah, and there's that green one too!"
Is this a pearl?
"What's that purple thing?"
She squirmed in his arms like an excited child.
Qingyuan's lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile.
He raised his hand as instructed.
One, two, three... those rare gems that are hard to come by in the human world were easily picked off by him as if they were fruit, and he piled them all into her arms.
Soon, Shen Zhiyi had a full handful of it.
His whole face was glowing.
"Enough, enough..." She finally snapped out of her money-grubbing state, looked at the holes of all sizes on the wall, and chuckled foolishly, "If you keep being so stingy, the wall will collapse."
"Let's keep some."
"If it collapses, we'll rebuild it," Qingyuan said calmly. "The seabed has no shortage of mineral veins."
Shen Zhiyi paused for a moment, then shook her head.
"It would be such a pity to destroy such a beautiful palace."
"Besides, this is your home."
"If you miss this place in the future, we can come back and stay here occasionally."
She'll also take some gems back with her.
hey-hey.
Isn't that wonderful?
If she takes them all back at once, she won't have room to store them all.
Qingyuan was deeply moved.
His heart rippled with emotion, and with a wave of his hand, the gem in Shen Zhiyi's arms vanished instantly.
"Huh?!"
She stared in disbelief at her empty arms.
"Where are all those gems of mine?!"
Qingyuan chuckled, "I'll put it away for Qingqing first."
He lowered his head and kissed her lower lip, saying sweetly, "I'll give it to you when we get back to Jiangnan."
"Now, Qingqing should spend more time with me."
He grasped the back of her neck and pressed his lips and tongue inside.
"Hmm..."
"Why, why not again..."
Despite complaining, Shen Zhiyi instinctively raised her arms and gently hooked them around his neck.
"Qingqing...so good."
Qingyuan sighed, picked her up, and walked towards the jade bed...
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