Chapter 75

By the time Shen Yao Xing arrived at the Buddhist temple outside the capital, she was drenched in sweat. Although the weather had entered early autumn and the wind carried a hint of coolness, most of her sweat was from anxiety.

She looked up at the temple on the mountain. This Buddhist temple was not as large as those inside the capital, with only an occasional man or two walking down the stone steps after burning incense.

The setting sun shone on the trees surrounding the temple, tinting the withered yellow leaves with a touch of red as they fluttered down onto the high stone steps. A solitary figure swept them aside with a broom.

He swept one step at a time, his profile as calm as ever.

Shen Yao Xing opened her mouth, but her voice seemed stuck in her throat, unable to speak for a moment.

She hadn’t expected to see him right outside the temple, thinking she would have to search for him inside for quite a while before he would agree to see her.

Seeing Song Si Nian in the distance with not a hair less on his head, Shen Yao Xing breathed a sigh of relief. She stood silently for a while before finally walking over: “Big brother……”

The sweeping motion paused. Song Si Nian’s light honey-colored pupils trembled slightly as he slowly raised his head to look at her. His calm demeanor crumbled, his eyes reddening slightly, but as if afraid she would see, he quickly turned his face away.

His voice was so soft it seemed it would scatter in the wind, “Why did you come?”

Shen Yao Xing felt a lump in her throat. Aside from the difficult times he had as a child, as the eldest young master of the Shen family, he had always been waited upon wherever he went. When had he ever needed to do such hard work?

She pressed down the corners of her mouth, her voice muffled: “Big brother, what are you doing? Come back with me quickly.”

She snatched the broom and threw it to the ground, then grabbed his arm to pull him away.

Song Si Nian obediently followed for a couple of steps, then stopped and wouldn’t move forward. His honey-colored eyes focused intently on the young woman, his handsome face very gentle as he asked, “Does Zhao Zhao hate big brother?”

Shen Yao Xing froze, looking back at him. It took her a while to utter a “No”, her hand gripping his arm stiffly, not knowing whether to let go or not.

Although she was shocked by this sudden sentiment and felt some aversion, she didn’t hate him because of it. She could pretend nothing had happened, he was still her big brother, and could continue being the eldest young master at the Shen residence without worry. Why did he need to come to a place like this to sweep floors?

Thinking this, Shen Yao Xing felt her mood lighten a bit. She pulled him again, “Come back with me quickly, you can’t even eat well in this godforsaken place.”

But Song Si Nian suddenly pulled his hand away. His eyes half-lowered, he stood there as straight as a bamboo, rejecting her for the first time. His hands at his sides trembled slightly.

He raised his eyes to look at her, quiet and focused, “I can’t go back with you.”

“Why not?” Shen Yao Xing couldn’t understand. “I can pretend that night never happened, we can be like before. Isn’t life at the Shen residence better than here?”

Song Si Nian shook his head, “After that night, you’ve been avoiding me. I know, but I don’t regret it. I’m just afraid, afraid you’ll despise me, so afraid I don’t know what to do……” So he could only hide in this place.

“I don’t……” I don’t despise you.

He gazed at the young woman, his eyes misting over with a deep bitterness and unwillingness: “Actually, I’ve long thought this day would come. Even without that night, I couldn’t bear to see you daily with other men, so intimate……”

That feeling was truly worse than death.

A clear tear slid from the corner of his eye. Song Si Nian stared at her dazedly, his eyes as soft as water, “Now that I know Zhao Zhao doesn’t resent big brother, big brother is content.”

The implication was that he no longer intended to return with her. He chose to stay here.

Shen Yao Xing’s eyes stung. She didn’t understand why love and romance were so important. They had grown up together as siblings, yet now he wanted to torment himself over something like this.

“But your health isn’t good……”

“I’ve been here for a few days. It’s quiet here, I just need to sweep some fallen leaves and add some incense occasionally. There’s no other heavy work, it won’t harm my health.”

The man’s voice was as gentle as the autumn breeze by her ear, tender yet without a hint of coolness.

Seeing him like this, Shen Yao Xing had no other options. She hung her head dejectedly and mumbled, “Fine then, do as you like…… I’ll come visit you again when I have time.”

With that, she turned to leave with her head down. After just a few steps, she heard him call out to her. Shen Yao Xing turned back.

Song Si Nian’s gaze was extremely soft, his pupils filled with the young woman’s image, “Zhao Zhao, do you believe there’s a next life in this world?”

“Huh?” Shen Yao Xing looked bewildered, not understanding this sudden question.

Song Si Nian’s expression grew even softer, the faintest smile curving his lips: “It’s getting dark, you should head back.”

Shen Yao Xing didn’t think much of it, nodding and continuing down the mountain.

Song Si Nian watched the young woman leave, standing there motionless long after her figure had disappeared. After a long while, he touched the spot where she had grabbed him, murmuring softly: “If there’s a next life……” He would never slack off for even a moment.

……

Shen Yao Xing was surprised to see Jiang Ming Yue waiting at the foot of the mountain when she arrived. “Why are you here?”

Don’t tell her he came to burn incense, she wouldn’t believe this person had such interest, and the timing wasn’t right either.

Jiang Ming Yue stared at her intently, his blood-red eyes filled with intense resentment, so overwhelming it seemed he wanted to devour her whole. His voice was several degrees colder than the thousand-year-old ice on Mount Kunlun: “What are you doing here?”

Shen Yao Xing was in a very bad mood at the moment and didn’t notice his unusual behavior. Even if she had noticed, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it. She waved her hand perfunctorily, “Just came to take a look around, let’s go back.”

Jiang Ming Yue stood there like an ice sculpture, letting the young woman walk past him. He clenched his fists tightly, the jealousy and hatred in his eyes gradually twisting.

The two walked one in front of the other, neither speaking again. Their elongated shadows on the ground seemed separated by an insurmountable chasm, making the trailing shadow increasingly distorted and frenzied.

Back at the Shen residence, Shen Yao Xing flopped onto the bed without even taking off her shoes, half her body hanging off the edge. She had planned to rest for a while before taking a bath, but ended up dozing off in that position.

When she woke up the next day, Shen Yao Xing found that her outer clothes had been removed, her shoes taken off, and the blanket tucked around her nicely. She knew without thinking that Qing Shu must have come in last night.

Having slept so early for once, Shen Yao Xing felt refreshed upon waking. Her first order of business was to have Qing Shu prepare water for a bath. After bathing, she went to have breakfast.

She had just finished a bowl of porridge while sitting at the stone table under a tree in the courtyard when she saw Hei Sha rushing in. Shen Yao Xing glanced at her, unhurriedly eating a meat bun, “What’s the rush so early in the morning?”

Hei Sha cupped her hands, “Young… young miss, the… the madam…”

“My mother is looking for me?” Shen Yao Xing interrupted her labored speech.

“Ye… yes…”

“Wait a bit, let me finish eating.”

Hei Sha closed her mouth, but after a moment couldn’t help stuttering again: “The… the madam seems… seems ve… very un… unhappy…”

Unhappy?

Shen Yao Xing stuffed the whole meat bun into her mouth, dusted off her hands and got up to leave. Hei Sha followed behind her, continuing to stutter.

When they reached the study, sure enough, Shen Yao Xing’s mother’s face was black. Shen Yao Xing scratched her head, puzzled.

“Today, people came from Young Master Ming Yue’s side, saying they want to postpone the wedding date.” Mother Shen looked at her with a deep gaze, her voice solemn: “Did you do something to displease him?”

Shen Yao Xing looked completely bewildered: “No, I didn’t.”

“Go tell Young Master Ming Yue yourself then. The wedding date cannot be postponed no matter what. Otherwise, we’d have to wait another year to choose an auspicious date.”

“…Oh.”

So Shen Yao Xing trotted off to the Yin residence, completely forgetting how she had neglected him yesterday. She sat in the guest hall waiting until she was about to grow mold, but still hadn’t seen anyone.

“Where is your young master?” she asked a servant standing nearby.

The servant bowed his head respectfully and replied, “Miss Shen, please wait a little longer.”

How much longer could she wait when she was already growing mold? Shen Yao Xing was just about to stand up and say she’d go look for him herself when she hadn’t even finished speaking, she saw the young man’s slender figure appear in the doorway. He walked towards her with his back to the sun, shadows covering half his face, looking as cold and emotionless as when they first met.

He looked down at her condescendingly, a hint of mockery at the corner of his lips, “What business do you have with me?”

Shen Yao Xing felt a bit dazed, as if time had suddenly been pulled back to the scene of their first meeting. Ignoring the sudden bitterness in her heart, she opened her mouth: “Mother said… why did you suddenly postpone the date of our wedding?”

Jiang Ming Yue raised his hand to tuck a few strands of dark hair that had fallen on his face behind his ear, the movement natural yet with a hint of coquetry. His brow was cold and uncaring, “I wanted to postpone it, so I did.”

“Oh…” Shen Yao Xing was at a loss for words.

Jiang Ming Yue looked at her indifferently, “Is there anything else?”

“No…”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the young man turned to leave without hesitation. For some unknown reason, Shen Yao Xing called out to stop him: “Wait.”

Jiang Ming Yue paused slightly, and when he looked at her again, there was obvious impatience in his eyes. His voice was even colder than before, “What is it?”

Shen Yao Xing didn’t know that a person could change so much overnight. Just yesterday he had been clinging to her, not letting her leave, but today it was as if she were a plague he couldn’t avoid fast enough.

“Are… are you unhappy about something?” At this moment, Shen Yao Xing seemed a bit shy.

“Not at all.”

“Oh…” Her voice was downcast.

“Miss Shen, please make yourself at home. Ming Yue has other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”

Jiang Ming Yue turned and left without further ado, as if looking at her for one more moment would be a waste of time.

Shen Yao Xing stood alone in the guest hall, suddenly feeling at a loss.

Had he suddenly realized that being with her wasn’t worth it? Then why not just cancel the engagement altogether? Or was he angry with her? But what had she done wrong?

Shen Yao Xing hung her head, “floating” back to the Shen residence with a gloomy aura.

Author’s note: In the protagonist’s heart, the ranking is: Family ties → Friendship → Romantic love

So even at this point, big brother still ranks higher than the male lead in the protagonist’s heart. The male lead has probably realized this too, which is truly pitiful for him.

Thank you to the little angels who cast villain tickets or watered with nutrient solution for me during the period from 2020-08-19 02:34:01 to 2020-08-20 22:50:55~

Thanks to the little angel who cast landmines: 45387425 1;

Thanks to the little angels who watered nutrient solution: Luo Luo An 14 bottles; Apricot Blossom Shadow 5 bottles; Aurora 4 bottles; Daoist Brother 2 bottles; 45387425 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!