Chapter 159
Chapter 159
They were still outside, and with Shen Si holding her trapped like this, Ji Hanyi knew all the more that she could not let her thoughts wander.
Yet no matter what she told herself, she could not stop her body’s reaction. Memories of last night rose in her mind again, leaving her too embarrassed to meet Shen Si’s eyes. Even the tip of her nose felt hot, a fine sheen of sweat gathering there.
Shen Si lowered his gaze to Ji Hanyi, whom he had cornered before him. Her head was bowed and her eyes slightly averted. She wore a pink, round-collared top patterned with flowering branches, and a pair of blue kingfisher-feather earrings tipped with pearls adorned her ears today. The earrings swayed lightly against her fair, faintly flushed earlobes. A hazy hint of springtime allure lingered about her fine brows, softened by a quiet purity like threads of drizzle beneath her lowered eyes.
A delicate fragrance drifted from her. At the sight of the faint tooth mark on her full lips and the delicate blush staining her cheeks, Shen Si’s throat tightened. His eyes, however, remained opaque and cool as he asked in a husky voice tinged with sternness, “Have you and Changling been keeping in touch privately?”
Ji Hanyi did not understand why Shen Si had suddenly asked her that. This was only the second time she had met Changling. Afraid to speak too loudly, she raised her head and shook it, answering softly, “No.”
Shen Si narrowed his eyes at her apparent refusal to admit it, and the faintest curve touched his lips.
His phoenix eyes were imposing to begin with. When narrowed like that, they looked rather frightening – at least to Ji Hanyi right then.
Shen Si’s gaze seemed capable of seeing straight through her.
Ji Hanyi was truly intimidated by the look in his eyes. Her cheeks paled slightly, and her shoulders shrank back.
Shen Si paused when he saw how frightened she was. He had always known Ji Hanyi was somewhat afraid of him, but he had not realized she feared him this much.
He had only asked her one question, yet her eyes were already full of panic.
Shen Si pressed his lips together. He did not want to tell her to her face that he already knew about the letters between her and Shen Changling. Otherwise, she might realize he had been secretly keeping tabs on her every move.
Taking a deep breath, Shen Si looked at her and continued, “What did Changling mean just now when he said he would write to you?”
“Have the two of you been exchanging letters in private?”
Ji Hanyi’s mind went blank. So this was why Shen Si had dragged her over here.
She shook her head honestly. “I don’t know what he meant either.”
She then told Shen Si about the letter she had exchanged with Shen Changling last time. “Third Young Master Shen helped me find Imperial Physician Chen’s residence. He also asked where I bought calligraphy and paintings. He said he wanted to give someone a gift and asked what would be appropriate, so I sent him a reply.”
Hearing this, Shen Si studied Ji Hanyi’s face intently. He knew she would not lie to him.
Even so, the sight of Shen Changling tilting his head and leaning close to Ji Hanyi today, followed by Ji Hanyi looking back at him, still made displeasure churn inside him.
For the first time, he had acted on an impulse beyond even his own control and dragged her here.
He did not like her getting close to any man. Not even Shen Changling.
He disliked seeing her smile at other men even more.
Yet he had to conceal those thoughts beneath a righteous pretext. He had dragged her here to interrogate her, but the one who had already been thrown into turmoil was himself.
The long fingers braced beside Ji Hanyi’s face tightened slightly. Shen Si pressed his lips into a thin line, then spoke in a tone that was part warning, part lecture from an elder. “Changling spends all day fooling around outside. He’s still a boy at heart, and he hasn’t settled down in the least.”
“Besides, he has no ambition and is never home. Even if he marries one day, his wife will have a hard time.”
Shen Si gave Ji Hanyi another deep look before adding, “And he’s not very bright.”
Ji Hanyi froze for a moment before realizing what Shen Si meant. Could he possibly think she had feelings for Shen Changling?
Her eyes widened, and she hurriedly explained, “Lord Shen, you’ve misunderstood. I harbor no such feelings whatsoever toward Third Young Master Shen.”
Shen Si lowered his head and listened quietly to Ji Hanyi. When she looked up at him, her eyes were clear and full of sincerity, making it seem as though that truly were the case.
And yet she had smiled at Shen Changling several times, while she had never once smiled at him that way.
She had even been staring at Shen Changling in a daze just now. Could it be that, in her eyes, he was not even as handsome as Shen Changling?
Shen Si kept his head bowed, his eyes fixed intently on Ji Hanyi. His stare made her entire body stiffen, leaving her at a loss for what to do.
His gaze dropped to her pale, unblemished neck. He remembered lightly biting her there last night. At the time, he had desperately wanted to bite harder and leave a mark, proof that she belonged to him. But he had restrained himself. She had yet to agree.
If she did agree, he wanted nothing more than to press a deep, forceful kiss there.
At the thought, Shen Si’s eyes darkened. He leaned a little closer, breathing in her soft fragrance as he gazed at her delicate brows. His voice was hoarse when he said, “My Fourth Sister-in-law took it upon herself to invite your Third Younger Sister to today’s poetry gathering. The Shen Family has no such intentions, so don’t read too much into it.”
Ji Hanyi had already wanted to ask Shen Si about this. She had not read anything else into it; she simply had not been able to make sense of the situation.
She raised her head to speak, but when she met Shen Si’s looming gaze, panic fluttered through her heart again. His face was so close to hers that she had nowhere to retreat. All she could do was clutch her cuff tightly and say, “Last time, Old Madam Shen invited my Eldest Maternal Aunt and Third Younger Sister over. Old Madam Shen seemed very fond of my Third Younger Sister.”
Shen Si studied Ji Hanyi’s eyes. There was nothing in them but confusion, without even the slightest hint of jealousy. Bitterness welled in his heart despite himself.
He patiently explained, “My mother mistakenly believed I was interested in your Third Younger Sister, but she realized her mistake after that visit. This time, my Fourth Sister-in-law acted on her own. My mother had no intention of meeting anyone from the Gu Family.”
“My mother will explain everything to your Eldest Maternal Aunt.”
Ji Hanyi finally understood, and everything fell into place. Then she remembered her Third Cousin’s delighted, bashful expression after being invited, and unease crept into her heart.
Just as she was about to ask another question, an older maidservant called out from somewhere ahead, “Miss Ji.”
The voice rapidly drew closer. Ji Hanyi began to panic. The position she and Shen Si were in was far too compromising to let anyone see. She looked up nervously and said in a tiny voice, “Someone is calling for me. My Third Younger Sister must be ready.”
Her voice truly was soft and delicate, like a feather brushing against him. Her warm fragrance drifted over, and Shen Si looked down at her.
He watched her for a long moment. He saw the urgent desire to leave in her eyes, the instinctive way she drew her shoulders back to avoid him, and the subtle distance she kept from him.
The maidservant’s calls came closer and closer from behind him. Shen Si silently looked at Ji Hanyi once more. In truth, he had posted men along this path. No matter how loudly the maidservant called, she would not be able to come over.
But he did not want to frighten Ji Hanyi.
Shen Si slowly straightened. Beads of sweat had formed on the tip of Ji Hanyi’s nose from her nervousness, and he could not bear to indulge his own selfish desire by keeping her trapped in his arms any longer.
In his dreams, he had imagined countless positions – her tense body nestled against him in a secluded corner just like this, her slender pale fingers clutching his shoulders, one fragrant shoulder bared as she moaned softly in his arms. Afraid of being seen, she would press herself even more tightly against him.
Shen Si closed his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing once more. Heat surged through him. Her sweet scent rose from directly before him, and he could not stop a muffled groan from escaping his throat.
Ji Hanyi froze when she heard it. Looking up, she saw Shen Si with his eyes closed and a sheen of sweat across his forehead, as though he were in terrible discomfort. She could not help asking worriedly, “Lord Shen, what’s wrong?”