Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

Unknowingly, Wen Zhi had spent the whole afternoon at Chong Wanyin’s place.

During that time, no one had come to look for her, but she felt uneasy all along.

It wasn’t until after dinner, as Chong Wanyin kept Wen Zhi chatting about family matters, that Wen Zhi couldn’t sit still any longer. She raised her hand, feigned a yawn, and pretended to be tired.

She hadn’t uttered a word about being sleepy or leaving, but she made such an obvious gesture. How could Chong Wanyin not understand? Raising her hand, she called Zhao Qin over, "It’s getting late. Take Zhizhi back to rest."

Wen Zhi immediately said, "Madam, I’m not sleepy yet."

Chong Wanyin laughed softly, "Your eyelids are almost too heavy to lift, yet you say you’re not sleepy? Alright, go back and rest, refresh yourself. You look so pale, you must not have recovered well from the fall into the lake the other day."

Wen Zhi obediently lowered her head and said nothing.

Finally, under Chong Wanyin’s gaze, Wen Zhi followed Zhao Qin and left.

The temperature tonight was not refreshing but rather stuffy. Wen Zhi looked up at the sky; there weren’t many stars, suggesting the weather might not be good the next day.

Zhao Qin escorted Wen Zhi to the entrance of the loft, "Miss Wen Zhi, rest early."

Wen Zhi nodded, standing at the door as she watched Zhao Qin leave.

It was only after Zhao Qin had gone far that Wen Zhi, who had been tense all afternoon, finally began to relax.

She sighed.

Instead of entering the house immediately, she looked up at the lychee tree outside the Noon Gate, wondering: Had Shang Hexing had time to check on this lychee tree?

Did he know she had gone to Chong Wanyin’s?

Without a doubt, he would have known.

This was the Shang family, there was nothing he didn’t know.

But the whole afternoon... he hadn’t sent anyone to urge her to return. Could it be that he had some other matters and had already left the Shang residence?

Forget it, I’ll give him a call later, she thought, turned around, entered the house, and went upstairs.

The inside of the house was pitch dark. As Wen Zhi turned on the light, the nerves that had just relaxed tensed up again the moment she saw the man sitting in the chair.

She leaned against the door, breathing heavily, staring at him.

And under the bright light, Shang Hexing sitting in the chair also quietly looked towards her.

After a long while, he slightly pursed his lips, and when he spoke, his voice was a bit hoarse, "You’re back."

The initial fright Wen Zhi felt upon seeing him, turned to unease once she recognized it was Shang Hexing, and she didn’t speak.

It wasn’t until he spoke first that she timidly responded, "Yes, I’m back."

Shang Hexing was still wearing the same clothes he had worn when he went out, although his coat was off at some point and was now hanging on another cabinet.

He slowly stood up and walked toward Wen Zhi.

Step by step, until he was close.

He was a head taller than her, and his stature naturally conveyed a great sense of oppression. As he approached, the feeling of oppression intensified, making Wen Zhi so nervous that she held her breath.

"Have you had dinner yet?" Shang Hexing stopped about a meter away from her.

Wen Zhi paused for two seconds, then nodded.

"Did you eat there?" Shang Hexing then asked.

Wen Zhi nodded again in response.

A hint of displeasure crossed Shang Hexing’s expression, "Speak."

Wen Zhi slowly lifted her head to look at him, then asked, "How long were you waiting for me?"

Shang Hexing replied, "Not long."

Wen Zhi shook her head, "I don’t believe that."

Shang Hexing stated, "That’s your own thought."

Wen Zhi choked, then stealthily glanced at his expression. After hesitating for a while, she finally managed to ask, "Are you angry?"

During the time they had spent together, the aura he radiated when he was with her was usually relaxed and casual, rarely imposing on her the way it was tonight.

So he must have been angry!

In that moment, Wen Zhi’s mind was racing, and she finally decided to strategically distract him with a movement.

Wen Zhi suddenly leaped forward, tiptoed to hook her arms around Shang Hexing’s neck, and looked up to kiss his face.

Shang Hexing had seen this coming the moment she thought about it, but this time he didn’t let her have her way, lifting his hand to grasp the back of her neck and pulling away a bit, "Explain first."

Wen Zhi didn’t get to kiss him, and seeing his stern face, she immediately became obedient, "I went to see the lady, we talked for a long time, and I also had dinner there. By the way, have you eaten dinner yet?"

Shang Hexing’s gaze was displeased as he glared at her, "Do I look like I’ve eaten?"

"Not really," Wen Zhi freed herself from his hand, "So were you waiting for me to come back?"

Shang Hexing’s hands hung loosely at his sides as he dismissively replied, "I’ve already eaten."

Wen Zhi didn’t quite believe him; his earlier statement clearly implied he hadn’t eaten. It was only after hearing her ask if he’d been waiting for her that he changed his answer.

She glanced at the clock on the wall, noting that it was about ten minutes until seven in the evening.

Had she not feigned a yawn and pretended to be sleepy, she probably would still be kept at Chong Wanyin’s place.

If she had returned any later, would he have kept starving himself?

"Hardly."

A response directly addressing her thoughts came through.

When Wen Zhi looked over, he was turning to walk towards the cabinet.

Wen Zhi immediately followed him, sticking close to his side, and asked in a joking tone, "Can you hear my thoughts?"

Shang Hexing reached for his jacket on the cabinet, responding with three words, "Normal person."

Wen Zhi didn’t catch on, "Huh?"

He turned to look at her, especially seeing her confused expression, he couldn’t help but break into a chuckle, "I mean, a normal person, no special abilities, can’t do mind reading."

Wen Zhi: "..."

"Besides," Shang Hexing looked deeply at her, "Do I need to guess your thoughts? It’s all written on your face. Even if you didn’t come back tonight, I wouldn’t skip dinner. I just thought, wait a bit, in case you hadn’t eaten."

Wen Zhi felt guilty just hearing it, "I’m sorry, I should have called you in advance."

Shang Hexing said, "No need, it’s fine this way. Once, twice, thrice, it’s just a matter of waiting."

Wen Zhi: "..." A coaxed smile instantly solidified at the corners of her mouth...

Shang Hexing draped the jacket over his arm and reached out his hand towards her, "Let’s go."

Wen Zhi looked back, instinctively taking his hand, and then asked, "Where are we going?"

"Back to Qionglou,"

Shang Hexing spoke.

Then he led her to the door, with Chen Jinhai ready with the car waiting.

Wen Zhi hadn’t expected Shang Hexing to suddenly speak of leaving, or perhaps, she hadn’t realized it was time for her to leave today.

In haste, she withdrew her hand and stood still, negotiating with him, "Can we not go tonight?"

After asking this, she felt the atmosphere around them change, becoming somewhat oppressive.

Shang Hexing turned to look at her, "Do you want to stay the night?"

Wen Zhi nodded eagerly, and then immediately fabricated a flimsy excuse, "After all, I’ve lived in the old house for a while, and coming back today felt especially comfortable, so I thought about staying a few more days."

Shang Hexing spoke with an indifferent tone, devoid of emotion, "If you want to stay, then stay."

He indulged her, almost without a stance of his own, showing no irritation. To an onlooker, he would appear very good-natured and easy to get along with. Even Wen Zhi started to believe this more and more, and she even felt that her previous impression of him was mistaken.

He was inherently a gentle person.

Yet this gentle side of him would soon be shattered by Wen Zhi herself.