Chapter 150
Chapter 150
Inside a guest room at Fahua Temple, Ji Hanyi sat propped against the headboard in her underrobe, her head lowered over a book.
It was a copy of Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra that she had obtained from the temple. She had only read two pages and had no real desire to continue. Her heart was simply restless, and she wanted to calm herself down.
She would set out again tomorrow, traveling an uncertain road to a world she had never before set foot in. Of course she felt uneasy.
She was not truly as confident and prepared as she had made herself seem in front of her mother.
After all, she would have to rely entirely on herself from now on, and the unknown was frightening.
The candle beside her flickered gently. Ji Hanyi read another page. It was already late at night, and all was silent save for the unceasing patter of the heavy rain outside.
As the rain drummed against the paper window, it somehow soothed her restless heart.
Ji Hanyi closed the book and placed it by her pillow. Just as she was about to sleep, she suddenly noticed the faint silhouette of someone standing outside the door.
The figure was tall and slender, wavering between illusion and reality in the flickering candlelight.
Ji Hanyi’s heart leaped into her throat. It was not impossible for a thief to have slipped into the temple.
Her gaze swept around the room in search of a suitable weapon. Just as she was about to demand the stranger’s identity, the shadow moved, and a low voice reached her through the curtain of rain.
“It’s me.”
The voice was deep and cool, one Ji Hanyi knew well.
It was Shen Si.
Her taut nerves loosened almost instantly. As her fear slowly ebbed away, her body actually swayed.
She let out a long breath. Though she did not understand why Shen Si had come at this hour, knowing it was him outside the door dispelled all her other worries.
She wore only a white underrobe, and she had never dared appear improper before someone as solemn and upright as Shen Si. She answered softly, asking him to wait while she hurried to dress properly.
There was no time to comb her loose hair, nor was there a bronze mirror in the room. She could only twist it into a loose knot with a plain hairpin before hurrying to open the door.
The instant the door opened, wind and rain surged outside, and the gale blew a spray of heavy rain into the room.
Yet not a drop touched Ji Hanyi. Shen Si’s tall frame blocked it all.
The cold wind tugged at her loosely pinned hair. Strands swept across her eyes and brushed her lips, but she had no time to fix them. She merely stared up at Shen Si, her almond-shaped eyes wide.
He was dressed entirely in black, his clothes soaked through by the rain. His hair, always arranged with meticulous care beneath his crown, was dripping wet, and rainwater covered his handsome, aristocratic face.
Even those dark eyes that had always been so distant were now fixed intently on her.
The sight sent a tremor through Ji Hanyi’s heart. Coming back to her senses, she hurriedly asked, “Lord Shen, what happened?”
Shen Si silently regarded Ji Hanyi as she stood before him. Fine strands of hair fluttered around her delicate, unadorned face. Firelight shimmered in her clear eyes, unable to conceal her astonishment.
He suddenly remembered the portrait she had drawn for him. Every stroke had been neat and painstaking. He could imagine her sitting at the table, carefully laying down each line, those beautiful eyes fixed on the painting – yet she had made it only for their parting.
Shen Si’s throat bobbed. He lowered his gaze to Ji Hanyi. Despite his bedraggled state, his voice remained steady.
“May I come inside to speak?”
Only then did Ji Hanyi belatedly realize that they were still standing at the door. She quickly stepped aside to let Shen Si in, then closed the door behind him to keep out the wind and rain.
The side room in the temple was small and sparsely furnished. There was hardly anything inside, and even the chair creaked beneath Shen Si’s tall, broad frame.
A trail of water stretched from the doorway to his feet, and droplets continued to fall from the hem of his black robes.
Ji Hanyi fetched a dry towel and handed it to Shen Si. Looking at him with concern, she said, “I’ll go ask someone to bring Lord Shen a change of clothes.”
But just as she was about to walk past him, Shen Si seized her wrist.
His fingers were so cold that Ji Hanyi could not help shivering. She turned back in confusion and met his upturned gaze. Powerful emotions churned in those sharply tapered eyes, rooting her to the spot.
Shen Si quickly released her. Pressing his lips together, he said, “Let’s finish our conversation first.”
Ji Hanyi studied his expression. She could neither make sense of his current mood nor fathom his intentions, yet she instinctively obeyed him. Still, she asked worriedly, “But you’re soaking wet.”
Shen Si lowered his eyes. The candlelight illuminated half his face. Though he was drenched from head to toe, his composure and elegance remained undiminished, making him appear no different from the same cool and distant Lord Shen he had always been.
“Don’t worry,” Shen Si said quietly. “It is nothing serious.”
Then he raised his eyes to Ji Hanyi once more. “There is something I wish to tell you.”
Ji Hanyi stared at him blankly. She could not imagine what could possibly be so important that Shen Si had come to her in this state. But those wise, unfathomable eyes were fixed on her, and before she realized it, she had nodded. “All right.”
Ji Hanyi sat down on the chair beside him. With her head lowered, she watched the puddle beneath Shen Si’s black boots slowly spread. Her fingers rested tensely on her knees, gently pinching the edge of her sleeve.
She thought she could smell alcohol on him.
Had he been drinking…?
Her thoughts were such a mess that she failed to catch Shen Si’s first words. She murmured a vague response, only belatedly realizing what he had said. Looking up at him, she asked, “What did you say, Lord Shen?”
Ji Hanyi was certain she must have misheard because she had not been paying attention. That had to be it. A trace of embarrassment still lingered on her face.
Then Shen Si’s impossible-to-ignore gaze settled on her, and her heart abruptly tightened.
Watching the shock and confusion fill her eyes, Shen Si’s fingertips twitched. He pressed his lips together once more before saying softly, “Hanyi, marry me. Become my wife.”
Ji Hanyi’s almond-shaped eyes widened. This time, she was certain she had heard him correctly.
She could not process it. She had never dared entertain such thoughts about Shen Si. More than that, the difference in their status was as vast as heaven and earth, and she had already been divorced once. Even if she agreed, how could a family like the Shen Family possibly accept her?
She understood even less why Shen Si would suddenly say such a thing to her.
Besides, he seemed to have been drinking. She could not help wondering whether his words were nothing more than drunken ramblings.
Yet Shen Si remained seated upright before her, with not the slightest hint of intoxication on his face. Nothing in his eyes suggested he was joking either.
Ji Hanyi sat frozen, unable to think of any way to respond.
Only after a long silence did she finally find her voice.
“Why…?”