So what if other people know about my pain and discomfort?
Shen Qi remained silent. She pushed Ye Linhan’s hand away in disgust, then spoke in a hoarse voice, “Leave me alone. I want to stay here for a while.”
Ye Linhan did not get angry with her despite being pushed away. Instead, he flashed a smile at her, then he moved forward and took a seat beside her. Just like her, he leant against the tree.
“If I leave you alone, no one will be there when you need a shoulder to lean on.”
Ye Linhan continued to console her, “When you’re sad, being alone is the worst way to deal with it, because you’ll have all the time in the world to think about it. But if there’s someone by your side that you can talk to, you’ll forget the reasons why you’re sad.”
His voice turned sad as he spoke. Shen Qi turned her head and looked at him blankly. “Did you get this sad before?”
Upon hearing that, Ye Linhan turned around and met with her gaze. “See, what I said is true. You now care about my story, don’t you?”
Shen Qi choked, because it was true.
Looking at Ye Linhan who was right in front of her, Shen Qi turned around and wiped away her tears with her hands, then sniffed.
“We’re not the same. I’m fine with being alone.”
Only she could heal her own pain. She did not require anyone’s help.
Ye Linhan continued, “You’re the one who’ll suffer if you keep on being so stubborn. Moxuan is not a heartless man. Have you ever thought about showing your weakness to him? Maybe he’ll feel sorry for you. When he feels sorry for you, he wouldn’t let you cry alone, right?”
I don’t need him to feel sorry for me, and you know nothing about Ye Moxuan and I, Shen Qi thought.
Upon seeing that she remained silent, Ye Linhan looked up at the night sky, and never spoke again.
After a long while, he suddenly grabbed Shen Qi’s fair and thin wrist. Shen Qi was shocked by his action, and tried to pull her hand back out of instinct.
“I know you have suffered a lot since you married Moxuan. From now on, you can see me whenever you feel sad.”
“Linhan…” Shen Qi withdrew her hand and turned her back on Ye Linhan, looking at the ground blankly. Ye Linhan’s soft yet powerful hand made her feel lost.
Xiao Su and Ye Moxuan, who were not far away, took everything in.
Xiao Su could feel the atmosphere change. He wanted to speak for Shen Qi, but he could not come up with a good explanation for what they saw, so he chose to remain silent.
Ye Moxuan looked silently at the two figures before his eyes. Moonlight penetrated the gaps between the tree’s leaves onto them, and it seemed as though they were covered in a layer of warm moonlight. From a distance, they looked like a match made in heaven.
Ye Moxuan took in everything they did earlier. When he saw Ye Linhan gently wipe the tears from the corners of Shen Qi’s eyes, he could not control himself anymore and was about to move forward. It was Xiao Su who stopped him and tried hard to calm him down. “No, don’t go over there!”
Ye Moxuan did not know when his feelings for Shen Qi had first changed. He could not bear to see Shen Qi cry, for he would be terribly upset by the sight of her crying.
But now, witnessing how she cried in front of another man, Ye Moxuan felt an extreme discomfort in his heart—it was more upsetting than seeing her cry in front of him.
Her eyes were all red before she ran away, obviously hurt by Ye Moxuan’s words.
“Do you want me to cheat on you so badly? I will grant your wish!”
She will grant my wish? So she came to find Ye Linhan?
When Ye Moxuan was obsessed with his thoughts, Ye Linhan on the other side stood up suddenly, then he bent over and reached out to Shen Qi. “The ground is cold. Don’t sit on it for too long. Let’s get up.”
Shen Qi sat there motionless, obviously not bothered with Ye Linhan.
Ye Moxuan felt much better at her lack of reaction, but the next moment Ye Linhan said, “Insects are most active at night. If you don’t get up now they might crawl onto your body.”
His words triggered Shen Qi. A sense of anxiety flashed in her eyes as she looked around her surroundings. Ye Linhan found it really cute that Shen Qi could be fooled so easily.
“Why haven’t you got up already?”
After he finished, he did not wait any longer as he reached out and held her thin arms, then he lifted her up.
After Shen Qi stood up, she quickly checked whether there were any insects on her body.
“Stop looking. Insects will really crawl onto us if we stay any longer. Let’s go. I’ll send you back.”
“Thanks Linhan… I’m sorry.” After Shen Qi came to her senses, she felt really embarrassed that she cried so badly in front of him. Then she remembered the same situation happened in the morning, when she suddenly cried in front of Ye Linhan when they were having a meal.
It was not her intention to cry in front of him, but a gentle man like Ye Linhan had the capability to remove all her defenses and disguises, making her heart vulnerable. And in just one hit, he could make Shen Qi pour her heart out.
They decided to go back. It was dark all round. Ye Linhan held her arm all along as he was afraid that Shen Qi might hit something unexpectedly.
Shen Qi kept on looking at the ground as she was really upset.
Ye Linhan stopped suddenly.
Shen Qi was puzzled by his sudden halt, then she raised her head and was greeted by the sight of two familiar figures who were blocking their way.
Looking at the familiar face, Ye Moxuan’s nasty words flashed her mind. She subconsciously bit her lower lip and refused to look at Ye Moxuan. She did not move away from Ye Linhan either.
Ye Moxuan squinted, danger gleaming in his eyes.
“Moxuan?” Ye Linhan was surprised by the emergence of Ye Moxuan. His gaze was dodgy as he thought for a moment, then said, “I bumped into Shen Qi here by chance. I was about to send her back. Now that you’re here, she shall leave with you then.”
Ye Linhan knew Ye Moxuan’s limits, and he would not overstep those limits.
Ye Moxuan gave an icy gaze to Ye Linhan.
“Why are you always by my wife’s side? What are your motives?”
Even though Ye Linhan knew the boundaries well, Ye Moxuan did not intend to go easy on him tonight.
“The grass is always greener on the other side, right? So you’re doing all you can to take her away from me?” Ye Moxuan sneered, giving his brother a fierce gaze.
Ye Linhan was stunned for a while, then smiled.
“You got me wrong, Moxuan. I bumped into Shen Qi by chance. We’re a family now, so there was no way I could ignore her when I saw her crying. It’s really late now; you guys should go back and rest.”
The atmosphere of the situation was intense.
“I should have known that you inherited these traits from your mother. You’re just like her. The grass is always greener on the other side. You’ll do all you can to take away the possessions of others.”
Ye Linhan’s gentle face distorted at the mention of his mother, but he managed to put on a poker face in a short moment. Still, he clenched his fists.
“Please don’t go too far with your words. I don’t have the intentions that you spoke about. If I really wanted to take Shen Qi away from you, why would I arrange for your wedding in the first place?”
