Chapter 147
Chapter 147
The dishes had only just been set on the table, and before Ji Hanyi could take a single bite, Rongchun came in and quietly told her that Shen Si had arrived.
Ji Hanyi froze. She truly hadn’t expected Shen Si to come at this hour.
She hurriedly asked Rongchun, “Did Lord Shen say what he was here for?”
Rongchun shook her head, then added in a conspiratorial whisper, “Lord Shen is still waiting outside the gate.”
Ji Hanyi blinked, unable to quite picture Shen Si standing outside waiting for her.
Since he had presumably come to see her, she quickly rose and told her mother and Gu Yan to start eating without her while she went out to take a look.
As soon as she reached the front gate, she saw Shen Si standing beneath the covered walkway outside.
Dressed in black, he cut a tall, slender figure. There was something aloof and aristocratic about him, and his striking face was as impassive as ever. His habitually imposing eyes were fixed on her.
He seemed to form a cold, solitary tableau with the curtain of rain. His dark robes blended into the night, making him look all the more distinguished.
Ji Hanyi looked up at him, her voice soft beneath the patter of rain. “Did Lord Shen come to see me?”
Shen Si glanced past her at Gu Yan, who had followed her out but remained some distance away. He withdrew his gaze and looked at Ji Hanyi again.
Not a trace of a smile remained on Ji Hanyi’s fair face. She had reverted to the same cautious reserve she had always shown in his presence. With his hands clasped behind his back, Shen Si let his gaze settle on the faint dampness along her shoulders.
She held an umbrella, but the wind must have blown some rain beneath it. Droplets clung to her collar and lapels, while a fine mist beaded on her hair. Damp from the rain, she gazed at him with those clear eyes.
Trying to make his tone as amiable as possible, he asked quietly, “Did you eat the pastries I sent this morning?”
Ji Hanyi was surprised that this was the first thing he had come to ask, but she quickly nodded. “Yes, I ate them all.”
Shen Si asked again, “How was the medicine I gave you yesterday compared to the previous one?”
“If it works, I’ll have someone send you more.”
Only a day had passed, so Ji Hanyi had no way of knowing which medicine was better. Besides, her mother had caught a slight chill, making it even harder to judge.
She replied softly, “Thank you for your concern, Lord Shen. It’s still too soon to tell.”
Shen Si gave a quiet murmur of acknowledgment, but said nothing more.
He was trying to think of what else to say. It seemed he truly wasn’t adept at taking the initiative to find topics of conversation with a woman.
After a short pause, he asked, “Have you had dinner?”
Ji Hanyi replied, “I was just about to.”
Shen Si looked at her. “Is that so?”
His gaze made Ji Hanyi feel inexplicably pressured. She nodded, then asked out of courtesy, “What about you, Lord Shen?”
Shen Si pursed his lips. “Not yet.”
Ji Hanyi faltered. Since Shen Si had put it that way, she felt she ought to politely invite him in to eat with them. But there were only three or four simple dishes on the table, and Cousin Yan was there as well. Even setting that aside, Shen Si would surely dislike the food and probably wasn’t accustomed to such fare.
Moreover, all the utensils Shen Si used were reserved exclusively for him. He never used anything that had been used by others.
After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “Would Lord Shen like to come in and have dinner with us?”
Ji Hanyi was only being polite. She knew Shen Si would never actually go inside to eat with them.
To her astonishment, however, Shen Si agreed with a quiet, “Mm.”
Ji Hanyi’s scalp prickled at the sound.
It took her a long moment to recover. She had already extended the invitation and could hardly take it back, so she could only add softly, “The meal is rather plain. I’m afraid it may not be to Lord Shen’s taste.”
Shen Si took one look at her expression. That single glance was enough for him to realize she did not want him to go inside. Her invitation had been nothing more than empty courtesy.
The foot he had just lifted to step inside came to a halt.
He lowered his gaze to Ji Hanyi. “It’s fine. If it would be inconvenient, forget it. I only mentioned it in passing.”
Hearing this, Ji Hanyi felt certain she must have said the wrong thing just now.
Ji Hanyi watched Shen Si turn to leave. He had returned that night and even asked about her mother’s medicine, yet she had made him think she did not want him to stay for dinner. Guilt welled up inside her, and without thinking, she reached out and caught hold of Shen Si’s sleeve.
“Lord Shen…”
Shen Si stopped. His gaze swept over the fingertips clutching his sleeve before he lowered his eyes, silently waiting for her to continue.
Ji Hanyi’s voice was very soft in the night. When she noticed his gaze, she hurriedly released him. “If you don’t mind, Lord Shen…”
Shen Si looked at Ji Hanyi. Her soft murmur made his chest tighten. The instant she tugged on his sleeve, his heart began racing for her once again.
– – –
The atmosphere at the table was unbearably awkward.
The small square table had one person seated on each side, with only three dishes set out between them. The silence was so thick it seemed almost frozen. Shen Si alone remained entirely composed.
Even Wen’an, who stood off to the side, felt so awkward he could have dug a hole with his toes.
Ji Hanyi gripped her chopsticks and stole a glance at Shen Si from the corner of her eye. His commanding presence made him seem completely out of place in this modest room.
Perhaps it was because Shen Si had been born into an illustrious family and raised in luxury. He carried an innate air of refinement and nobility, and the few light, simple dishes on the table looked especially incongruous before him.
Madam Gu had only met Shen Si two or three times, and that had been many years ago. In the blink of an eye, everything had changed.
She was equally ill at ease. The food on the table was clearly nothing like what Shen Si usually ate, so she cautiously asked from time to time whether it suited his taste and even offered to have the kitchen prepare more dishes.
Though Shen Si was the guest, he sat among them with all the ease of the master of the house. At last, he said, “Everything is delicious.”
Everyone around the table relaxed slightly without even realizing it.
Gu Yan glanced at Shen Si every now and then. He knew perfectly well that a man of Shen Si’s status would never show up here merely on a whim. He had to have some purpose.
After dinner, Shen Si showed no intention of leaving immediately. He sat in the small front parlor, sipping tea as he watched Ji Hanyi and Gu Yan speaking by the doorway.
The rain outside still showed no sign of stopping. A cold wind carried fine droplets beneath the eaves, stirring the hem of Ji Hanyi’s skirt.
She was dressed in patterned satin with a standing collar, pink blossoms scattered over a blue ground. Standing slightly sideways, she revealed a graceful, upright figure, as well as clear eyes beneath her cloud-dark hair.
Those eyes seemed to hold no romantic affection for Gu Yan standing before her.
Ji Hanyi naturally sensed Shen Si’s gaze and felt the pressure of it keenly. She said she would see Gu Yan to the gate.
Gu Yan quickly glanced at Shen Si, then nodded. He fetched an umbrella from beneath the veranda, opened it for Ji Hanyi, and handed it to her.
Ji Hanyi accepted it naturally, and the two walked toward the gate, one behind the other.
Ji Hanyi had come to see Gu Yan off because she wanted to speak to him alone.
After what had happened today, Xie Jin clearly knew that she had already moved out. Ji Hanyi did not know how she had found out, but guessed that Xie Jin had probably visited the Gu Residence.
To be safe, Ji Hanyi quietly told Gu Yan about running into Xie Jin that day.
She then said, “Cousin, please tell Grandmother, Eldest Maternal Aunt, and Second Maternal Aunt when you return. If anyone from the Xie Family comes to call or tries to find out where I am, they must not reveal where I’m living now.”
Seeing how serious Ji Hanyi looked, Gu Yan understood what she meant. He gave her a reassuring look and said softly, “Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone from the Xie Family find out where you are.”
Ji Hanyi breathed a sigh of relief.
After seeing Gu Yan off, Ji Hanyi had only just turned around when she saw Shen Si standing beneath a black umbrella in the curtain of rain, watching her.