Chapter 53: She Had Never Made Him Hurt Like This

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: She Had Never Made Him Hurt Like This

The girl’s warm breath ghosted across his ear. Her faint, clean scent seemed to detonate at the very tip of his heart.

Shen Tingyu abruptly shot to his feet. The suddenness of his movement startled Cui Lingyao.

"What’s wrong?"

Shen Tingyu’s Adam’s apple bobbed quickly. "...Nothing."

The room was unlit, so Cui Lingyao couldn’t see his expression, but she could clearly hear that his usually clear, gentle voice was now tinged with a certain hoarseness.

She was no naive girl. She quickly realized they had just been too close, too... intimate.

A strange silence fell over the room.

Shen Tingyu had never felt so ill at ease.

He turned his head away and said in a low voice, "I’m sorry. I was out of line."

"..." Cui Lingyao was silent.

He hadn’t done anything. At most, he’d had some amorous thoughts.

’What on earth is he apologizing for?’

’This man... he seems truly innocent.’

His awkwardness was contagious, and Cui Lingyao began to feel a little uncomfortable herself. "You should go. I’m going to sleep."

"...Alright."

Shen Tingyu raised a hand and wiped his face. "I’ll leave right now."

He said he was leaving, but as soon as he turned, he bumped into the folding screen behind him.

The impact wasn’t light, and the screen swayed with a CLATTER. Shen Tingyu’s reflexes weren’t slow, though; he quickly reached out and steadied it.

From the bed, Cui Lingyao lifted her head. "Are you okay? You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?"

She was used to seeing him so calm and composed. Witnessing him this flustered and clumsy was actually a little novel.

"I’m fine," Shen Tingyu said, deeply embarrassed. Without turning back, he added, "Get up and bolt the door."

With that, he walked around the screen and left.

The door closed softly behind him.

Cui Lingyao slid the bolt into place, then fell back onto her bed to sleep.

Outside in the courtyard, Shen Tingyu glanced around. Noticing nothing amiss, he turned and walked away.

Xie Jinbai stared at the retreating figure, calculating in his mind.

’They were alone in the room for less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.’

’Not long.’

’But she allowed him into her room.’

’And they’re preparing to get married.’

’Could she... could she really like him?’

’Maybe there isn’t some other reason like I thought. Maybe she’s simply fallen for someone else.’

’The sincerity she was so stingy with me... she plans to give it to another.’

’Or has she already given it away?’

Li Yong strained his ears, listening for any sound from the room, then quickly stepped forward to ask for instructions. "Miss Pei is asleep inside. Should this subordinate go unbolt the door now?"

"It’s not Miss Pei," Xie Jinbai replied, his answer seemingly unrelated to the question, before falling silent again.

He waited until Shen Tingyu’s figure had been gone for a while before finally speaking. "Tell me, as a man, what do you think of his appeal to women?"

Hearing this, Li Yong immediately said, "A pretty boy like that is naturally no match for..."

The rest of his words died on his lips under his master’s sidelong glance.

Li Yong’s expression tightened, and he quickly changed his tune. "However, young ladies do love a pretty face, especially the noblewomen who’ve grown up in luxury. They adore those pale-faced scholars full of poetry and books. Mr. Shen is exactly that type."

"Oh?"

Xie Jinbai’s tone was flat. "Is that so?"

His voice was so calm it was devoid of any inflection, yet it sent a chill down one’s spine.

As his trusted confidant and personal attendant, Li Yong naturally understood him better than others.

’The master is genuinely considering murder.’

Li Yong’s scalp tingled. He hastily lowered his voice, "This subordinate only heard it from storytellers in teahouses. It’s all just stuff from novels, it can’t be taken seriously."

Everyone knew those stories about noble ladies falling for pale-faced scholars were written by the scholars themselves.

Any man who had actually passed the imperial examinations and earned a title wouldn’t have the time to write such trash.

Xie Jinbai remained silent.

Shen Tingyu was not his political rival.

The two had no deep-seated hatred between them from the past, yet now he wished he could eliminate him and be done with it.

This was the first time he had ever felt such apprehension and loathing toward another man.

Before this, no matter how possessive Xie Jinbai was of the woman he loved, he had never considered any man a true rival for her affection.

After all, his love life had been too smooth.

He met Cui Lingyao at sixteen.

From falling in love to marrying her, everything had gone too smoothly.

She was his wife.

His lawfully wedded, first wife.

’Pledged in life and death, never to be separated.’

Regardless of whether she had ever given him her true heart, when it came to romantic experience, they had only ever had each other.

Even if she didn’t love him, she had never loved anyone else.

But now, it seemed she had.

An unfamiliar, sour, and suffocating ache surged in his chest. The massive wave it created churned inside him, making his heart feel as if it were being torn apart.

The pain was so intense that Xie Jinbai almost doubled over.

In the past, no matter how much he resented her for being cold-hearted, unfeeling, and cruel, he had never tasted this kind of suffering.

’She had never hurt him like this.’

...

「The next day.」

Cui Lingyao woke up and did not smell the familiar scent.

She froze for a moment, then scrambled out of bed.

She meticulously checked the bolts on the door and the windows.

The secret marks she had left were undisturbed.

Xie Jinbai hadn’t come in.

’When did he leave?’

’Does this mean he’s starting to let go of his suspicions?’

’Or is he plotting something else?’

Cui Lingyao’s head ached from thinking. She rubbed her temples and carefully replayed the events of last night.

In the end, she sighed in resignation.

’Somehow, this second mission doesn’t feel any easier than the first.’

’Mainly, I really can’t figure out the Xie Jinbai of three years later.’

’I’m not going to have to sacrifice myself again, am I?’

Zhiqiu knocked and entered.

She was holding a brand-new set of clothes, specially prepared for today’s banquet.

Cui Lingyao was still doing her makeup and putting up her hair when Shen Tingyu arrived to pick her up.

The courtyard was small and had few servants. By the time Cui Lingyao realized someone had come, he was already standing outside her door. His gaze, directed her way, was clear and gentle, his eyes shimmering like water.

And on top of it all, he was blessed with handsome features.

Just one extra glance was enough to make a person drown in them.

Cui Lingyao felt like she was going out on a date and her boyfriend was waiting for her.

’Even though I never even dated back in the modern world.’

During her time with Xie Jinbai, he had never once waited for her by the door like this.

She was still finishing her hair when a noise came from the courtyard entrance.

More guests had arrived.

It was Shen Hanyue and Shen Hanyun, who had arranged to go to the banquet with Cui Lingyao today.

The two sisters were dressed in their finest. The moment they entered, Shen Hanyue saw her brother’s figure and froze for a second.

"Brother? What are you doing here?"

So early in the morning, at this hour.

Standing outside a young lady’s private chamber.

Shen Tingyu said without a change in expression, "Waiting for someone."

’What a "waiting for someone"...’

Hearing this, the person being waited for felt her face grow hot with embarrassment.

But Shen Hanyue’s eyes went wide. "Waiting for who?"

The moment she said it, she realized it was a stupid question.

Only their aunt and their cousin lived in this courtyard.

Their aunt was gravely ill and rarely went out, so there was no need to ask who he was waiting for.

Besides, her brother was standing right outside their cousin’s door.

’Her brother and Yaoyao...?’

Shen Hanyue’s jaw dropped. Shen Hanyun, whose reaction wasn’t as quick as her cousin’s, asked in confusion, "When did Brother and Cousin get so close?"

Just to go to a banquet, he had to come and wait in person?

Shen Tingyu’s lips curved into a slight smile. "Yaoyao will be your sister-in-law in the future."