Xin Yi wisely shut her mouth and only told him to be careful on the road.
Then she saw the light in the young man’s eyes quickly dim, and his steps halted. Although he kept a cold face and said nothing, he showed no intention of leaving.
It was a bit like sulking with her, or acting spoiled.
In the end, they all went out together.
Lu Yuan had realized that if she didn’t bring Xin Yi along, Shen Ru Jie would go reluctantly with a sour face even if he agreed.
Thus, two carriages set off one after the other toward the destination.
Shen Ru Jie naturally sat next to Xin Yi, while Lu Yuan took her own carriage alone.
A Ying hadn’t come along, so there were only the two of them in the carriage now.
She turned her head away, reached out to lift the curtain adorned with thick tassels, and pretended to look at the scenery outside.
But that gaze stuck to her face the whole time.
Scorching, obsessive, impossible to ignore.
Xin Yi finally couldn’t take it and turned her head, glaring at him in annoyance. “What exactly do you want? You’ve been staring at me the whole way!”
But her voice was soft, and she deliberately lowered it for fear of being overheard by others. Combined with her delicate and graceful features, it didn’t sound like anger but more like coquetry.
The young man’s dark eyes held suppressed, surging emotions. He knew she might get angry, but he still said, “Xin Yi, I want to hold you.”
That face was too handsome; when he said such affectionate words, no girl could resist. For example, Xin Yi felt like she couldn’t keep up the act if she looked at the villain two more times.
On the surface, she still put on a prim and proper look of “Hug what? Don’t you know shame?” But in reality, she was barely stopping herself from sitting on his lap.
Hold on a bit longer, hold on! ‘Lust is a blade on one’s head!!’
Stay clear-headed, Xin Yi!
So she silently recited Daoist scriptures to herself all the way, stubbornly holding out until they got out of the carriage.
When she lifted the curtain, she refused to let him touch her, insisting on getting down herself. But her body betrayed her, and she nearly tripped. In the end, she was still caught and held.
Xin Yi: “…”
Shen Ru Jie set her down and was about to speak to her.
A girl came up to greet them at the entrance of a courtyard not far away. She first smiled and said a few words to Lu Yuan, then looked over at the two of them a bit shyly.
Xin Yi looked over too. The young girl was quite pretty and lively, with two tiger teeth when she smiled.
Lu Yuan must have introduced them earlier, so when their eyes met, she smiled. “Miss Wu.”
Her gaze then swept past her to the young man at her side, blushing and stammering a bit this time. “Shen… Second Young Master Shen.”
Miss Gu’s boudoir name was Gu Si. She had older brothers and sisters and was the youngest at home, clearly raised with great pampering.
A girl like this would be shy at first when facing her crush, but she quickly grew bold once they interacted.
Sure enough, before long, she was circling Shen Ru Jie, chattering nonstop with questions.
Like how to control the horse, how to pull the reins, what to do to turn around and change direction… She was very enthusiastic.
Shen Ru Jie’s expression wasn’t great, and his tone was perfunctory and cold, answering only the most essential questions.
In just a short ten minutes, his brows furrowed about twenty times. Even Xin Yi, resting on the side, couldn’t bear to watch.
The worst part was when Gu Si, looking embarrassed, hiked up her skirt and struggled awkwardly to climb onto the horse’s back—he didn’t even think to offer a hand.
Xin Yi: “…”
Forget it; this clueless-about-romance personality was hopeless. To be honest, if it weren’t for completing the strategy task, she probably wouldn’t approach someone with Shen Ru Jie’s personality either.
The Melodramatic Transmigration System smugly retorted, “It’s not exactly clueless about romance, right? Didn’t he untie your clothes a few nights ago?”
“…”
Over there, Gu Si had just climbed onto the horse’s back when Shen Ru Jie turned and walked away, completely ignoring Lu Yuan’s desperate hints with her eyes.
Unfortunately, just as he was about to head toward Xin Yi, she stood up and went around him to check on the two girls struggling with their horses.
She seemed not to notice the young man’s figure suddenly stiffen.
“Is Miss Gu alright?” Xin Yi walked over and smiled at the girl who couldn’t even hold the reins steadily.
Gu Si was already a bit embarrassed, and now with Xin Yi’s concern, her face flushed even more. She nodded immediately. “I’m fine, Miss Wu. A Yuan is great at riding too; she’ll watch from the side and help control the reins. And… and Second Young Master Shen just taught me. I’ll learn if I take it slow.”
Although she could tell Shen Ru Jie had no interest in her at all—coldly beautiful to the point of being sharp.
She had only glimpsed him from afar across the seats at the poetry gathering that day.
The rest was hearing Lu Yuan complain about his rotten personality. She hadn’t expected him to be so hard to approach.
Gu Si felt a bit dejected, wondering if she should keep throwing herself at someone so cold.
After all, she was a girl too; she couldn’t be too forward.
But after thinking it over, she silently encouraged herself: It doesn’t matter.
Anyway, aside from Xin Yi, Shen Ru Jie seemed that way to everyone present; it wasn’t targeted just at her.
Perhaps because of the heavy dew from last night, the ground was slightly damp underfoot, and the wind carried the fresh scent of green grass.
Xin Yi encouraged her in a gentle tone. “You’re amazing. Being this brave your first time is already impressive.”
Gu Si was stunned. She hadn’t expected the warmest words of care today to come from Xin Yi.
The woman stood there, slightly tilting up her small face, her black hair like flowing water, her hairpins simple and plain, like a wandering immortal stepped out of a painting.
So beautiful, so beautiful! So gentle, so gentle!!
And her smile was so captivating, those eyes like autumn waters full of tender affection, like misty towers after rain.
Gu Si’s heart suddenly pounded. It beat even faster than when she was with Shen Ru Jie earlier.
She thought she vaguely understood why Shen Ru Jie liked Miss Wu so much. If it were her, she’d like her too.
Xin Yi chatted with Gu Si for a bit, then found an excuse to leave the group and give them space.
With nothing to do, she asked Gu Si’s maid for two handfuls of fish food and hid in the pavilion to feed the fish. This had become a new pastime she’d discovered lately; undisturbed, she could do it for half an hour.
The system asked in confusion, “Host just left like that? You’re really going to let them develop feelings?”
But Xin Yi remained calm upon hearing this, curling her lips in a light smile. “They won’t. At most, Shen Ru Jie will sulk with a cold face, thinking I don’t care about him or that I want to matchmake them to escape his entanglement.”
That was exactly how she acted: utterly indifferent, not jealous at all, as if she welcomed this marriage.
She leisurely scattered the fish food in her hand and roughly calculated the time.
In a betting tone, she said to the system, “Wanna bet? He’ll come find me to confront me any moment now. That string is already at its limit.”
The system wasn’t sure whether to believe her because the young man did seem really angry. When the host left earlier, he hadn’t followed like usual and hadn’t even lifted his eyes to look at her coldly.
So it was a bit doubtful.
But not long after, Shen Ru Jie really came.
Xin Yi saw him approaching, her watery eyes widening slightly in surprise. “Why is A Jie here? Weren’t you supposed to seriously teach Miss Gu to ride?”
She frowned as if disapproving, putting on the air of a gentle senior admonishing him. “You can’t always have a cold face like that, especially not get impatient with a girl. Otherwise, no girl will dare like you in the future.”
“Does Xin Yi like me then?”
The young man’s brows were cold, and he tugged his lips in slight mockery. “I obey Xin Yi in everything and behave perfectly. But you’re still so eager to get rid of me, aren’t you?”
Faced with his accusation, Xin Yi’s eyes rimmed red too. “I just want what’s best for you. Miss Gu… she’s a good girl.”
This was sincere.
But so was her intent to provoke him further.
Shen Ru Jie got even angrier and stepped close, grabbing her wrist.
He was the one being presumptuous and rude, yet he acted as if he’d suffered a great grievance. “Doesn’t Xin Yi know what kind of girl I like? Or are you pretending not to know, trying to push me toward another woman!”
Xin Yi struggled but couldn’t break free, feeling both shy and panicked. “What exactly are you doing, A Jie? I’m your sister-in-law. Even if I’ve divorced your brother, I was once your sister-in-law!”
She bit her lip, her eyes red at the corners, looking fragile. “A Jie, I’m your sister-in-law. We can’t do this.”
The young man was so angered by her that he laughed, pressing even closer.
He no longer pretended to be obedient like before; his dark eyes held a wicked smile. “So in the end, you still can’t forget Shen Gui? Does brother know I’ve kissed you? Does he know I’ve touched you? Not just that day in the teahouse, but on that bed in your room… Xin Yi, only husbands and wives can kiss like that.”
“Don’t say it!”
The woman in front of him looked panicked and ashamed, on the verge of tears. “Don’t say it, A Jie. Please don’t say it.”
Shen Ru Jie’s chest burned with jealousy as he watched her pained struggle, unwilling to recall or admit it.
His reason had burned away, especially seeing her tearfully wrench free from his hold and tremble as she retreated a few steps, trying to run out of the pavilion.
But she hadn’t gone far down the steps before her arm was grabbed again, and she was firmly pinned against the cold stone wall of the rockery.
She struggled in utter humiliation, but then heard footsteps approaching—Gu Si’s little maid looking for her.
Shen Ru Jie leaned close to her stiff, trembling body and met her pleading eyes with a gentle smile. “Beg me?”
His tone carried a threat, utterly wicked. “If Xin Yi doesn’t beg me, she’ll see us entangled.”
Xin Yi looked at him in disbelief, her black lashes trembling nonstop, so angry a tear fell.
But with the footsteps drawing nearer, her heart nearly drowned in anxiety. Finally, she had to yield. “Please…”
The rest of her words were abruptly blocked at her lips, turning into soft whimpers.
Her body was also drawn into the young man’s strong arms, gently turned to the other side of the rockery.
The little maid searched the pavilion but saw no sign of Miss Wu. Though puzzled, she left.
Thinking there were other scenic spots on the estate for strolling and assuming Miss Wu had gone to relax after feeding the fish, she didn’t linger and turned to leave the pavilion.
Meanwhile, behind the hidden rockery, Xin Yi had been kissed until she lost all clarity. At first, she tried to push him away with her pale hands.
But soon, her watery eyes grew dazed amid whimpers, her body going limp in his arms. All she could hear was the ambiguous sound of water.
…
When Lu Yuan and the others saw Shen Ru Jie again half an hour later, his expression was no longer so icy, and the hostility between his brows had melted away considerably.
But there was something extremely odd: his lip seemed split, making his already red thin lips even more alluringly gorgeous.
Lu Yuan was about to ask if he’d seen Xin Yi when the young man spoke first. “Xin Yi suddenly felt unwell and has gone to rest in the carriage. She asked me to bid farewell to you two on her behalf and promises to visit and apologize another day.”
His tone still wasn’t gentle, but one could hear the faint amusement, as if Xin Yi weren’t unwell as he said but recovering from a great illness.
This made Lu Yuan unable to help glancing at him a few more times. But since he’d said so, she prioritized Miss Wu’s health and didn’t press to keep him.
Before he left, she said a few caring words, reminding him to take good care of Miss Wu.
Days passed one by one, and the New Year was approaching.
The Capital City was festooned with lanterns and red silk everywhere. No matter the hour, the streets bustled with activity.
Shen Ru Jie had moved back into her room.
Though they still slept separated by a screen, Xin Yi’s attitude had softened.
Specifically, when he held her, she obediently didn’t struggle.
Sometimes, if he pressed too hard, she could be pinned on the desk or bed for a kiss. Over time, Shen Ru Jie’s kissing skills improved by leaps and bounds. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, she even dazedly thought amid moans: Just do it.
Making him take cold baths every time—who was she tormenting, A Jie or herself?
During this time, Shen Gui asked to meet her four times, and she refused all four. But she didn’t do nothing either.
Every time a servant from the marquis manor came, she would have him take a letter back. On it, she wrote some heartbroken, lovesick lines.
At first, it was “Hearing you have two minds, I come to sever our ties.” Later, it was “Fair face not yet aged but favor severed first, leaning on the incense cage until dawn.”
In any case, she was just stringing him along, giving him a sliver of hope so that he would wildly fantasize in the dead of night when sleep eluded him.
The more he imagined, the harder it became for him to forget Xin Yi, this “ex-wife” of his.
He would think that she still loved him, that her feelings ran deep, but that a woman’s pride kept her from yielding easily.
Finally, this day arrived, and Xin Yi felt the timing was ripe.
The servant from the marquis manor came looking for her again, but this time, he was not inviting her to the manor. It seemed that after multiple rejections, Shen Gui had finally learned his lesson.
Instead, he invited Xin Yi to a teahouse for tea.
The Melodramatic Transmigration System reminded her, “Don’t go, host. Shen Gui plans to drug you.”
Xin Yi sat before the mirror, appraising her delicate and beautiful face. She let out a soft, satisfied hum of laughter. “Of course I’m going. Why else would I have fished him along for so long? It’s not like I have nothing better to do.”
Fortunately, after waiting so patiently, that fool Shen Gui had finally made his move.
Before leaving the residence, she specially instructed A Ying, “Once A Jie returns, have him go to the private room at Drunken Immortal Tower and wait for me. Just say I want to try their new pastries.”
A Ying nodded obediently. She gazed at the woman’s face—more exquisite than a lotus flower by threefold—and at her petite Guanyin statue-like attire. Especially the plain robes, unbound black hair, and the single dot of cinnabar at her brow.
Then, somewhat hesitantly, she said, “Miss, do you really not need this servant to accompany you?”
She pulled her cloak tighter around herself and chuckled softly. “No need.”