A Marriage in Name Only? My Stepbrother Won't Let Me Go

Realizing she was thinking about Pei Yan again, Mei Wanying’s expression shifted slightly, a flash of annoyance in her eyes.

She let out a subtle breath, forcing him from her thoughts.

Ling wrapped her arms around her neck. "Mama..."

Stretching out a small hand, she pointed at a tall figure in the distance. The little one’s eyes sparkled. "Daddy..."

Shen Mingji was dressed in a dark brocade robe. Having trained in a military camp, he was tall and sturdy, looking quite different from the refined young masters of other families.

Unable to see his face, Ling had mistaken him for someone else.

Mei Wanying quickly covered the little one’s mouth. "That’s not your daddy. You can’t just call out like that."

Ling frowned. ’But that *is* my daddy.’

She pushed her mama’s hand away and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Daddy!"

Compared to before, Ling’s speech was much clearer now.

You could clearly make out that she was calling for her daddy.

Ling was born prematurely, but Mei Wanying had raised her well, and her voice was much louder than other children her age.

Xue Xingyao and Shen Mingji both turned to look at the sound of the cry.

Shen Mingji glanced left and right but saw no other man.

He instantly broke out in a cold sweat. His head spun, and he felt as if he were about to faint.

Tugging on the sleeve of the person beside him, he whispered to Xue Xingyao, "Who is the Little Princess calling for?"

Xue Xingyao yanked her sleeve back and shot Shen Mingji a look of undisguised schadenfreude.

"You’d better pray to the heavens that a certain someone doesn’t find out about this. Otherwise..."

She huffed. "You’ll be a dead man!"

Pei Yan was intensely possessive, and not just of Ah Yin. If Ling called another man ’Daddy,’ there was no way he would be pleased!

After all, back when Gu Xun had wanted to be a father to Ling, Pei Yan had beaten him until he was injured.

And they were cousins, yet Pei Yan had shown no mercy.

Later, he had even confined Gu Xun to the Capital City, forbidding him from leaving.

Xue Xingyao glanced at Shen Mingji again. "I hope your bones are tough enough to take a beating!"

Shen Mingji wiped his forehead. "The Little Princess clearly misses the Emperor. She’s just calling out for the Emperor. It has nothing to do with me..."

His voice grew weaker and weaker. Shen Mingji truly felt a chill run down his spine.

’It takes a man to know a man,’ he thought. ’If my own child called someone else Daddy, I would definitely not be happy about it.’

And the Little Princess’s father was none other than the Emperor, ruler of all under Heaven!

Shen Mingji was on the verge of breaking out in another cold sweat. ’If I’d known this was going to happen, I would have come later.’

Xue Xingyao huffed again. "Scared now, are you?"

"Terrified!"

Shen Mingji tugged on Xue Xingyao’s sleeve again. "You and Miss Mei are good friends. If it really comes to it, you have to put in a good word for me."

’All this tugging and pulling, how improper!’

Xue Xingyao quickened her pace, putting some distance between herself and Shen Mingji.

She glanced back and glared at him. "Serves you right!"

Shen Mingji was speechless.

’How does any of this serve me right?’

’The Little Princess said it herself; it’s not like I encouraged her to call me that.’

’I’m being completely wronged here!’

Once she got a clear look at Shen Mingji’s face, Ling realized she had made a mistake.

She scratched her head with a small hand, and Mei Wanying was surprised to see a look of embarrassment on the little girl’s face.

"Next time, look carefully before you call out to someone," Mei Wanying gently chided.

Ling nodded emphatically.

She pointed at Shen Mingji, then buried her head in Mei Wanying’s neck and muttered, "Not... Daddy..."

The last time Pei Yan had returned to the Capital City, it hadn’t taken long for Ling to forget him.

’I can’t believe she still remembers what he looks like after they’ve been apart for so long this time.’

Mei Wanying stroked her daughter’s head.

’If Ling wants to see Pei Yan, I’ll find a way to grant her wish.’

’But as for myself... I still don’t want to see him.’

As her thoughts drifted, Xue Xingyao came over and took Ling from Mei Wanying’s arms.

She smiled. "If we don’t take our seats soon, Mother will get anxious."

Mei Wanying rubbed her wrists and glanced at the man who didn’t dare approach. "What’s going on with him?"

What she really wanted to ask was why Shen Mingji was always visiting the Xue Family. She had already run into him several times in just a short while...

How would Xue Xingyao know what Shen Mingji was thinking? "Maybe... he’s trying to atone for Chen Shujing?"

Mei Wanying shook her head. "I don’t think so."

The last time she was at the Xue Family estate, she’d run into Shen Mingji. He had been with Little Brother Xue, and the two of them were fervently cursing out Chen Shujing.

’If he really wanted to atone on Chen Shujing’s behalf, shouldn’t he be putting in a good word for him, trying to get the Xue Family to forgive him?’

’Most importantly, Shen Mingji’s attitude toward Ah Yao is strange.’

’There are proprieties to be observed between men and women. If he didn’t have other intentions, he should know to keep a respectful distance.’

’Mei Wanying couldn’t say this out loud. She decided to observe for a while longer before bringing it up with her dear friend.’

’Best not to cause an embarrassing misunderstanding.’

Mei Wanying glanced again at the man in the distance. He stood there stiffly, his expression a mixture of conflict and helplessness.

’He’s a simple person, all his emotions plain on his face—not like Pei Yan or Chen Shujing.’

’After dealing with so many complicated people, Mei Wanying found his simplicity rather refreshing.’

’It wasn’t so exhausting to be around someone like him.’

The only complication was that he was Shen Mingxiao’s younger brother, and Shen Mingxiao was the woman Chen Shujing loved.

Miss Shen hadn’t done anything to hurt Ah Yao, but with that connection between them, it was bound to be awkward.

Recalling that her own love life was a tangled mess, Mei Wanying reined in her thoughts.

Ling was only a little over a year old, but she was a sturdy child and heavy to hold.

Worried that Xue Xingyao would get tired, Mei Wanying told her to put Ling down. "Let her walk on her own."

"Alright."

Xue Xingyao put Ling down and bent over to take her small hand. "Auntie will hold on to you. Watch your step now, don’t fall..."

She instructed her carefully, her tone and expression both gentle.

This was the scene that greeted Chen Shujing when he arrived, weary and dust-covered from his journey.

For a moment, he was in a daze, feeling as though his and Xue Xingyao’s child were still alive.

’She was always a pure-hearted woman,’ he thought. ’As a mother, she would have doted on her child.’

Chen Shujing stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed on Xue Xingyao.

His heart suddenly began to race, sending ripples through him.

’If that child were still here...’

Before Chen Shujing could finish the thought, he was interrupted by Shen Mingji.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

At his words, Xue Xingyao looked up toward the main gate, and Mei Wanying turned to look as well.

Even little Ling, in her innocence, twisted her small body to follow the gazes of her mama and her auntie.

When she saw who it was, the smile on Xue Xingyao’s face vanished, the upturned corners of her lips slowly straightening.

She asked the same question as Shen Mingji, "What are you doing here?"

As they stood there together, Chen Shujing felt like an outsider.

Meeting Xue Xingyao’s calm, distant gaze, Chen Shujing’s heart clenched, and he suddenly found he couldn’t meet her eyes.

The speech he had prepared vanished from his mind.

All he could do was lamely ask Shen Mingji in return, "What are *you* doing here?"

’He’s Xiaoxiao’s little brother,’ he reasoned. ’Ah Yao minds Xiaoxiao so much, she would never have invited Ah Ji of her own accord.’

’So... Ah Ji must have come here on his own.’

’What business could he have with Ah Yao?’

’Is he trying to stir up trouble again?’

Shen Mingji had an unruly streak, and out of consideration for his youth, Chen Shujing had tirelessly cleaned up his messes, never holding any of it against him.

Now, however, he just found him to be incredibly thoughtless.

Without waiting for Shen Mingji to answer, Chen Shujing’s brow furrowed as he snapped, "Get back to your military camp! This is no place for you!"