Chapter 60

The upcoming journey felt like years for Shen Yao Xing.

The carriage that once seemed spacious now felt unbearably narrow. She wished she could turn it into a three-bedroom apartment, so she wouldn’t have to endure the young man’s resentful gaze.

Fortunately, he was well-behaved, aside from looking at her with eyes that didn’t hide his inner feelings. He made no other inappropriate moves.

She could barely tolerate it, but couldn’t think of anything else to do. She couldn’t just kick him out of the carriage.

Shen Yao Xing deliberately ignored the infatuation in his eyes, shifting her gaze to the window outside.

Anxiously, they finally reached the second stop, a remote inn.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Shen Yao Xing hurriedly got off, as if something terrifying was chasing her. She quickly entered the inn alone.

Soon, four rooms were arranged. Shen Yao Xing deliberately chose a room farthest from the young man.

Just as she put down her luggage and hadn’t even sat down, the door was pushed open. Bai Sha entered with an eager face, dutifully saying, “Young Miss, let me tidy up for you before you rest.” Shen Yao Xing, who had been in the carriage all day, stretched her muscles and shook her head in refusal, “No need, you’re tired too. Go back and rest early.” “This servant is not tired.”

With that, Bai Sha walked to the bed and started making it, smoothing the covers meticulously, as if performing some great task.

Shen Yao Xing sat to the side, yawning continuously. Finally, when Bai Sha finished tidying up and left, she was about to retire early when the door closed and was immediately pushed open again.

She glared over impatiently, “What are you doing running over here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping!” Meng Xin Yi glanced at the sky outside the window and said innocently, “The sun has just set.” Shen Yao Xing was so tired now that she didn’t care whether the sun had set or not. She closed her eyes and rubbed her brow, her beautiful face showing signs of fatigue. “What is it?”

Meng Xin Yi leisurely walked over and sat down next to the young woman, pouring her a cup of tea.

“What’s the deal with this young master Yin? Didn’t you two already break off the engagement?” Shen Yao Xing smacked her lips tiredly, not even lifting her eyelids, “I don’t know. If you’re really curious, why don’t you go ask him yourself.” The woman was silent for a moment, then hesitantly said, “You… plan to bring him along?” Shen Yao Xing raised her eyes slightly, looking somewhat depressed. She certainly didn’t want to bring him along, but now that he had followed them, what else could she do besides bringing him along?

Perhaps the young woman hadn’t realized it herself, but her attitude was gradually changing.

Her usual aversion to men was no longer as strong as before, lacking that decisiveness.

Shen Yao Xing felt very uncomfortable under the woman’s meaningful gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?” “Nothing, just feeling that… you seem to have grown up?” Unable to resist that beauty after all.

“……”

“That young master Yin is very handsome, I heard he’s not inferior to young master Ming Yue. If such a beauty could be devoted to me, I’d probably laugh in my sleep.” “Oh, then you go ahead and dream to your heart’s content.” No matter how good-looking a person is, if their mind isn’t right.

The dream might not even be finished before he “does” you.

Just as the two were chatting animatedly, there was suddenly a knock on the door outside. Shen Yao Xing instinctively looked over, “Who is it?” The person outside was silent for a moment, sensing that there was an extra person in the room. A trace of displeasure flashed across his delicate brows, and he lowered his eyes, his voice gentle and reserved, “It’s me.” “……” Shen Yao Xing glanced at the woman still sitting there drinking tea, feeling utterly speechless.

What’s going on? Is her room more fragrant or something, that everyone has to take a turn coming here?

Shen Yao Xing leaned back in her chair, her pink lips moving as she called out loudly to the person outside, “I’m sleeping, if you have anything to say, say it tomorrow.” As she spoke, she gestured for the person drinking tea beside her to keep quiet.

Meng Xin Yi looked intrigued; it was rare to see the young woman so afraid of beauty.

Outside the door, Jiang Ming Yue stared intently at the tightly closed door before him, his hand slowly clenching at his side.

His beautiful lips held a faint red as he coldly parted them, “Open the door.” This command sounded like it came from on high, his voice tone icy and devoid of emotion.

For a moment, time seemed to rewind to when they first met. He was just like this – proud and cold, as if nothing in the world could catch his eye.

While Shen Yao Xing was lost in thought, Meng Xin Yi suddenly stood up beside her and said with a half-smile, “If I don’t leave now, I’m afraid I’ll be eaten by the person outside.” With that, she turned and walked towards the door.

As soon as she opened the door, Meng Xin Yi was startled by the young man’s gaze. Those dark, lightless eyes were like a beast lurking in the abyss, without a hint of kindness.

His gaze didn’t linger on her, as if just sweeping past by chance, and went straight to the person inside the room. His eyes held nothing but the young woman’s figure.

That look of disregard for everything else reminded Meng Xin Yi of someone.

Before she could think further, the young man quickly walked past her and entered. The door was closed from the inside.

This action made Meng Xin Yi even more curious about what kind of relationship these two had now.

Seeing the young man close the door without any hesitation, Shen Yao Xing felt her scalp tingle. Fatigue made her unable to hide the expression on her face, her brows full of disgust, “What do you want to do now?”

Jiang Ming Yue pretended not to see the young woman’s impatience. He removed the light gauze from his face and stood beside her, looking down at her. His tone was no longer cold, mixed with a hint of anticipation that made one’s heart itch, “There’s a town not far from here. I heard it’s quite lively these days. Why don’t we go there tomorrow and stay for a day?”

The young man emphasized “you and I,” meaning not to bring Bai Sha and the others.

Shen Yao Xing almost reflexively refused, using the excuse of not having time: “No, we have to continue our journey tomorrow.”

The smile at the corners of Jiang Ming Yue’s lips faded a little. His pitch-black pupils reflected the young woman’s resistant expression, and a familiar feeling of oppression welled up in his chest. His hand under his wide sleeve clenched even tighter.

For some reason, under the young man’s silent gaze, Shen Yao Xing felt a bit guilty. Her fingers unconsciously picked at the armrest, her gaze wandering.

“Then, let’s go now. We can set off again tomorrow when they catch up.” Jiang Ming Yue’s voice was slightly hoarse as he stared intently at her face, not missing any possible change in her expression.

Even if it was just a little, as long as she showed even the slightest softening, he would be satisfied and wouldn’t force her anymore.

To his surprise, the young woman refused even faster than before, “No, it’s already dark. Where would we go?”

Shen Yao Xing frowned, feeling that he was being somewhat unreasonable.

Jiang Ming Yue’s face completely cooled. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly, staring at her with a deep chill in his gaze, “Shen Yao Xing, don’t think that just because I have feelings for you, you can take advantage and do whatever you want.”

This was the first time the young man had called her full name. Shen Yao Xing was stunned for a moment, feeling increasingly that this person was incomprehensible.

“Get it straight, it’s not like I asked you to like me. Why should I agree to these unreasonable things!”

The young woman tilted her head back, her face indignant, the disgust in her eyes particularly glaring. Jiang Ming Yue felt as if a sharp blade had slashed across his heart. The pain made his face turn pale, and he quickly averted his gaze from her.

The room was dim, and Shen Yao Xing didn’t notice the young man’s unusual state. After speaking, she muttered, “Besides, no one said that just because you like me, I have to like you……”

The air suddenly fell silent.

The young man’s rigid body was backlit by the candlelight, half of his face shrouded in shadow.

Jiang Ming Yue had never imagined that he would come to this day, where the heart he had carefully offered up would be so carelessly trampled upon, making him feel utterly wretched.

After a long silence, his thin lips trembled, his voice hoarse: “Do you know, if you were with me, I could give you anything you want in the future……”

The young man’s low, hoarse voice carried a hint of a choke. His slender figure appeared frail and vulnerable in the dim candlelight.

Each word was exceptionally sincere, as if making a promise to her.

Shen Yao Xing’s heart stirred slightly, and she couldn’t help but glance at him. When she met those weak eyes, her fingers suddenly gripped the armrest of the wooden chair tightly, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

She pressed hard on the armrest and finally turned her face away, advising, “I don’t want anything, and you don’t need to be like this. It’s not worth it at all.”

Especially for someone like her, it was even less worth it.

The room fell silent again. Soon, she heard the sound of the young man leaving. Shen Yao Xing turned her head to look at the empty room and finally let out a sigh of relief.

She had already made it so clear, he should have given up, right?

Obviously, the young woman’s thoughts were still too naive, and she had underestimated the extent to which the young man would go to achieve his goals.

The next day, not even half a day into their journey, the horses suddenly began vomiting and having diarrhea, eventually dying right on the road.

Everyone got off the carriage. Shen Yao Xing looked at the lifeless stallion on the ground, her eye twitching and her temple throbbing slightly.

“Strange, how could this happen? This horse was personally selected by the master, it was a strong and good horse. And it was fine yesterday. Could there have been a problem with the hay at the inn?” Bai Sha frowned, looking questioningly at the young woman.

Shen Yao Xing rubbed her forehead and let out a contemplative sound. She raised her eyes to look at the young man standing under a tree not far away. His indifferent brows and eyes were all aloof, his clothes fluttering in the wind, that detached appearance as if all this had nothing to do with him.

But Shen Yao Xing just felt that this matter definitely had something to do with him!

With no choice, the group without a carriage could only go to the nearest town to buy another one. But as luck would have it, every inn’s carriages had been rented out and wouldn’t be available until early the next morning.

Sometimes when people are unlucky, even drinking water can get stuck between their teeth.

They had no choice but to find an inn to stay for the night and set off again the next day when they had a carriage.

When they checked in, the innkeeper gave each of them a mask, some in the shape of monkeys and some in the shape of rabbits. Shen Yao Xing took the monkey-faced mask and turned it over, examining it curiously, “Innkeeper, what are these for?”

Before the innkeeper could answer, Bai Sha behind her excitedly interjected, “This servant knows! Today is the August Festival!”

“Oh, that’s right.” The innkeeper smiled, “Everyone who stays at our inn these two days gets a mask. It’s lively outside at night, there might even be fireworks to watch.”

So that’s it, Shen Yao Xing nodded, catching a glimpse of the young man asking the innkeeper for a mask identical to hers.