The sudden intimacy caught Song Wanchu off guard.
The quilt was pulled over their heads, and the darkness amplified their breaths and heartbeats.
The cramped space quickly became hot and humid. Inevitably, Song Wanchu caught a whiff of Liang Yuzhou's scent. It was the refreshing aroma of tea unique to him, mingled with a hint of sweetness that smelled like flour and honey.
It was as if he had just come out of a kitchen where sweet pastries were being steamed.
Despite her racing heart, the blood rushing to her head, and the nervousness that almost silenced her, Song Wanchu still inappropriately thought of that plate of jujube paste cloud cake.
It really was made by his own hands.
When the Chu family came for the Taoist ceremony and prayer, he never showed up. Instead, he was busy making desserts in the kitchen.
Such a proud man would condescend to knead dough and start a fire himself.
Shi Luohan heard no sound from the room and saw the candle still burning. A hint of worry welled up in his heart.
He knocked on the door more urgently. "Wanchu, are you asleep?"
Song Wanchu anxiously tried to push the man on top of her. She wordlessly stared him down with her eyes, but his body was too heavy, pressing on her like a towering mountain.
Her little strength was like a passing breeze in the mountains.
Liang Yuzhou caught her flailing wrists and pinned them beside her ears. "Tell him to go. Otherwise, I don't mind if he comes in and sees what it's like for me and my wife after a long separation!"
His voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable anger. Song Wanchu knew best what he was like when he went crazy. He would say it and do it.
She didn't dare to imagine what would happen if her elder brother came in and caught them in this situation.
Both men were extremely competitive. If they got into a fight on the spot, even the Songhe Taoist Temple would be turned upside down by them.
By then, everyone would know the love - hate entanglement among the three of them.
That was something Song Wanchu couldn't bear.
She glared angrily at Liang Yuzhou, then tried her best to sound exhausted and said to the door, "Elder brother, I'm asleep. I left the candle lit for Nanzhi and Suyue."
"It's so late. Where did they go? You don't even have anyone to serve you!"
The temperature under the quilt was getting higher and higher, and the man's body heat was baking her.
Her body was completely defenseless.
Song Wanchu had to take a deep breath to steady her voice. "I left something in the carriage. I sent them to get it. They should be back soon."
Shi Luohan always felt something was strange, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
But there was no more abnormal noise in the room. Since Wanchu said she was asleep, he didn't think it was appropriate to go in.
With the sound of footsteps fading away, Song Wanchu's wildly beating heart finally calmed down.
Liang Yuzhou lifted the quilt, and finally there was light in their eyes.
"Get off me!" she shouted angrily.
Liang Yuzhou didn't move. Instead, he tightened his grip on her wrists.
In his deep eyes, there was a suppressed desire.
"Humph." Song Wanchu didn't hide her mockery. "I thought that once you put on the Taoist robe, you really saw through the worldly passions. What Gentleman Qingzhou? Liang Yuzhou is still Liang Yuzhou. You still want to do to me what you did before, don't you?"
Forcing himself on her regardless of her will.
She closed her eyes and turned her head away as if resigning herself.
The sarcastic smile on the corner of her mouth deeply stabbed Liang Yuzhou's eyes.
If his image in Wanchu's eyes was no different from a year ago, then all his schemes and waiting in the past year would be in vain.
The pressure on her suddenly eased. Liang Yuzhou got up and smoothed the wrinkles on his Taoist robe.
His expression returned to coldness. He stood upright, looking like an otherworldly immortal untouched by the mortal world.
But Song Wanchu still noticed some changes in him.
He had lost weight, and the lines of his face had become more angular.
He also looked paler and more melancholy than a year ago.
The nobility was still there, but there was an added sense of mystery.
No wonder Chu Yueying, a young girl just awakening to love, was instantly smitten.
He handed the package to Song Wanchu. "I picked it up on the way."
He couldn't say that it was because Taoist Priest Qiu had nothing better to do and insisted on creating an opportunity for him to meet her.
That old Taoist priest always looked like a sage in front of people. Even if he said it, Wanchu might not believe him.
She would even think that he was slandering Taoist Priest Qiu.
Song Wanchu took the package and sneered silently.
Picked it up? It was clearly stolen by you.
Only Liang Yuzhou would come up with such a self - righteous way just to meet her and question why she wanted to marry her elder brother.
In his heart, that sword couldn't sever the affection between them. He still domineeringly regarded her as his own possession.
She sat back on the couch, looking impatient as if to say, "Why don't you leave? Do you want me to see you off?"
Liang Yuzhou knew that his behavior tonight was overstepping in Wanchu's eyes.
He admitted that he had lost control.
Just as he was about to climb out of the window, Wanchu's distant voice came from behind him. "Wait."
Liang Yuzhou turned around.
"I don't care what you're thinking, but please don't play with a sixteen - year - old girl's feelings. You've done this once before, and I won't let Ying'er be hurt by you."
There was a strong warning in Song Wanchu's eyes. "Return the sachet and say something to make Ying'er give up."
The sachet embroidered with peach blossoms after the rain was hidden in Liang Yuzhou's chest.
With it close to his heart, Liang Yuzhou felt that his heart was warm.
He involuntarily placed his hand on his chest in a protective gesture. "I'm not playing with anyone's feelings. She just passed the sachet you embroidered to me. Why can't I accept what my wife gave me?"
He was being a rascal, twisting the concept.
He looked so self - assured and didn't care about anyone else.
Song Wanchu was so angry that she laughed.
"Liang Yuzhou, you're the most selfish and shameless person I've ever met!"
Liang Yuzhou casually lifted his eyelids.
Such verbal attacks couldn't shake him at all.
In fact, he even felt lucky. Wanchu still had intense emotions towards him. Even if it was annoyance or hatred, he still felt comforted.
Wanchu hadn't completely let go of him. In those few meetings at the Chu family, she was covering up and suppressing her true feelings, not wanting to show them to him.
It was better than being completely indifferent to him.
Only when one had completely forgotten would they be calm.
Thinking of this, there was a smile on his cold and handsome face. He climbed out of the window, then turned around and stared into Song Wanchu's eyes.
"I'm selfish, shameless, domineering, and I'll never stop pestering you. I'll do whatever it takes to get you."
He said all the swear words that Song Wanchu could think of in advance. "But Wanchu, I've never wanted to be a gentleman!"
The window closed.
Song Wanchu slumped无力地 on the couch, covering her forehead with one hand. Her mind was in turmoil.
Her eyes were blankly fixed on the flickering candle flame.
If Liang Yuzhou kept pestering her, the peaceful and serene life she wanted would all turn into a bubble.
She had to find a way to make him give up completely.
She lowered her head and untied the sachet she always carried close to her body.
It was embroidered with a lucky concentric knot.
Her elder brother should like it.