Before she had the chance to deal with the note, there was a noise outside the house. Shi Luohan's voice came from the door.
"Are you asleep, Wanchu?"
Song Wanchu tightly clenched the note in her hand and then asked Nanzhi to help her get dressed.
The two met in the small hall outside.
Shi Luohan was wrapped in the cold air. His handsome eyebrows were knitted with deep concern.
"Are you okay, Wanchu?"
Her eyes were calm, but Shi Luohan could feel the sorrow hidden deep in her heart.
As soon as Liang Yuzhou showed up, her mood was disrupted.
He was the only one in the world who could easily affect Wanchu's emotions.
Song Wanchu knew that Brother A didn't really mean what he asked. In the past year, the two of them had never mentioned that name tacitly, as if they were living a peaceful life.
But Liang Yuzhou's appearance had given Brother A a great sense of crisis.
Song Wanchu didn't beat around the bush and directly broke the ice. "Brother A, no matter whether he is the former Liang Yuzhou or the current Taoist Qingzhou, he is already a thing of the past in my heart. I loved him and hated him, but it's all in the past.
I want to live a good life. Let him show up if he wants. No matter what he says or does, it won't change my mind."
She admitted that seeing Liang Yuzhou again had stirred up waves in her heart.
She had once loved him passionately and had been humble for his sake.
When she found out that he had hidden the cause of her father's death for three years, she had also hated him whole - heartedly.
That sword that pierced his chest had cut off their ill - fated relationship.
She would never look back.
The note in her hand had already been crumpled.
"Brother A, let's just go on as usual. An insignificant person is not worth our energy."
Shi Luohan listened quietly. He really wanted to ask, "Do you really think so?"
But such words would make him seem insecure.
He changed his way of saying it. "Wanchu, this past year with you by my side has been very happy for me. Waking up every day and seeing the person I love most, which was once my dream, has now become a normal part of my life. I'm very content."
Song Wanchu gently held his hand. "Brother A, we will always be happy."
Shi Luohan nodded, but deep down, there was still a trace of unwillingness.
He wanted to take their relationship to the next level.
He was very cautious and wanted to take that step, but he was afraid of ruining their current relationship.
If he messed things up, they might not even be able to be siblings anymore.
But Liang Yuzhou's appearance had made his desire to move forward stronger than ever.
He stared at Song Wanchu's serene and beautiful face.
Slowly, he reached out his hand and cupped her tender little face in his palm.
He had done such actions before, out of the elder brother's spoiling and comforting of his younger sister.
But when Shi Luohan's fingers brushed across her lips, Song Wanchu felt something was wrong.
She raised her eyes and saw the suppressed desire in his eyes.
It was the look of a man at a woman, mixed with impulse and desire.
That handsome face was getting closer and closer. His nose touched her cheek.
Song Wanchu's mind went blank in an instant. Her body became stiff, and she didn't know what to do.
Shi Luohan kissed down, gently and carefully, as if testing.
"Brother A!"
Just when their lips were about to touch, Song Wanchu panicked and turned her head away.
Shi Luohan's breath brushed across her cheek, turning from warm to cold.
A flash of hurt quickly passed through Shi Luohan's eyes. Song Wanchu's obvious rejection embarrassed him.
His heart seemed to fall into the bottom of a valley and sink into a dark and bottomless pool.
Song Wanchu was both panicked and a bit guilty. She lowered her head and bit her red lips.
She thought she was being a bit ungrateful.
Everyone thought that Brother A was a good match for her. In her heart, she also admitted that if she was with Brother A, she would be respected, cherished, and held in the palm of his hand.
But in the past year, she had never given Brother A any response.
Brother A had mustered up the courage to take a step, but she had rejected him.
Her mind was in a mess, and the long - buried feelings welled up.
"Brother A, I..."
Shi Luohan pretended as if nothing had happened. He hid his disappointment and frustration in his eyes and smiled gently. "It's okay. I know you're not ready to take that step yet. We'll take it slowly. Don't have any psychological burden."
Song Wanchu felt as if there was a stone in her throat. Her chest was stuffy, and her eyes were sore.
She still couldn't convince herself to fall in love with Brother A.
After six years of feelings for Liang Yuzhou, her heart was already full of holes, and she was physically and mentally exhausted. She didn't know if she still had the ability to love someone again.
If she married Brother A and only enjoyed his one - sided devotion, it would be very unfair to him.
He also deserved to receive a sincere love equally.
Shi Luohan gently hugged her and, as usual, lovingly stroked her head.
"Go to sleep. I'll come again tomorrow."
Song Wanchu stretched out her arms and wrapped them around Shi Luohan's waist as a kind of response.
After Shi Luohan left, she spread out her palm.
The note was already in a mess.
She lit the note and calmly watched it burn to ashes.
...
At night.
Four concubines surrounded Chu Hao'an, serving him tea and water and massaging his shoulders and back.
The place was filled with the sweet voices of the women and their charming looks.
But Chu Hao'an had no appetite.
He had been very satisfied with his four concubines before, thinking that they each had their own charm.
But since he saw Song Wanchu, these four concubines seemed dull and tasteless to him.
Thinking of Song Wanchu's graceful figure and her sweet voice like a warbling oriole when she called him "cousin", it made his bones go weak.
If such a stunning beauty could be under him...
Desire welled up in Chu Hao'an's heart.
"Get out of the way."
He impatiently sent the four concubines away.
His mind was full of Song Wanchu's charming and amorous appearance.
Unable to bear it any longer, he got hot - headed, put on his outer robe, and was about to go out.
When Qian came back from paying respects to Mrs. Chu, she ran into him at the courtyard gate.
"Going out so late. Are you going out drinking with your cronies again?"
Qian scolded him with a straight face. "You're so irresponsible all day long. I've told you many times to go see the old lady more often, say some nice words to flatter her, and leave a good impression on her. Otherwise..."
Chu Hao'an was annoyed by her nagging. "Didn't mother say that you would make sure Aunt's child couldn't be born? Uncle is not willing to take concubines. He will be childless sooner or later. Does it matter whether I show up in front of the old lady or not? Won't the Chu family's property be mine in the future?"
Qian's heart skipped a beat. The red coral she gave to Ning was placed in Ning's room like a precious mascot. Ning really thought it was a blessed item.
Originally, she was worried that the Taoist priest invited by Chu Shangxu to perform a ritual today would detect something.
After sending someone to inquire, she found that Chunhui Hall was calm. The Taoist priest was too young to detect anything.
So Qian was relieved.
Ning had a miscarriage five years ago and had suffered a great loss of vitality. If she couldn't give birth to this child, as she got older, she would completely lose her fertility.
Sooner or later, the Chu family would belong to her and her son.