Lu Zhao led her and walked slowly, but Shen Qingyao’s heart was beating rapidly. She took a light breath, wondering if her heart disease was acting up too frequently.
The two of them remained silent. Only the faint sound of their footsteps on the snow could be heard. Shen Qingyao moved her hand that was held by Lu Zhao slightly, then he tightened his grip with greater force. His thumb lightly traced Shen Qingyao’s palm, causing her entire arm to go numb.
Lu Zhao originally intended to take Shen Qingyao to the warm pavilion nearby. However, before they could approach, laughter reached them from a short distance away. Shen Qingyao turned to look and saw several young men and women on the other side of the garden, chatting and laughing.
“Who are they?” Shen Qingyao couldn’t recognize them for a moment. Why was her family’s garden so lively?
Lu Zhao naturally noticed them too. He glanced at Shen Qingyao’s expression and understood. He then said, “Those are your second and third uncle’s children?” Although it was a question, his tone was affirmative.
Shen Qingyao suddenly realized. The three families of the Shen family had already established their own residences. However, as Shen Qingyao’s father Shen Huai held a high position, relatives often visited their Shen’s mansion, seeking favors. Hence, her second and third uncles would bring their children to the mansion under the pretext of visiting, but in reality, it was to gain some benefits.
Today, with Shen Qingyao’s engagement ceremony with the Duke’s mansion, they could also have a chance to meet with the people from the Ducal house. They wouldn’t let this opportunity go.
She knew all this from reading the original plot, but what surprised her was that Lu Zhao actually knew these people. She couldn’t help but turn her head to look at him with a puzzled expression.
Lu Zhao didn’t mind. He met her gaze with a slight smile and casually said, “I heard it from your eldest brother.”
Why would Shen Yushu talk to Lu Zhao about the affairs of their second and third uncles? Shen Qingyao was even more suspicious.
Shen Qingyao was lost in thought, unaware that the group of people had already noticed them. Some of them, including Shen Qingyao’s cousin Shen Fu, lit up at the sight of Lu Zhao.
Shen Fu’s face turned slightly red, and she pretentiously adjusted the silk flower on her head. Then, she elegantly walked over, suddenly exclaiming and lunging forward when she got close to the two.
Shen Qingyao : …Why does this scene look so familiar?
Caught off guard, Shen Qingyao was stunned in place. As the person was about to crash into her, she couldn’t react in time. However, Lu Zhao suddenly pulled her aside with a quick motion, skillfully avoiding the humanoid bomb.
The fake fall turned to a real fall, and Shen Fu fell on the ground.
Shen Fu seemingly hadn’t expected that there would be no one to catch her. She sat on the ground in shock, taking a moment to feel the pain on her knees. Her eyes turned red.
With a lowered head and a pitiful look, she softly said, “Young Master… I…”
Confused by Shen Fu calling out to Lu Zhao, Shen Qingyao felt that something was off. She looked at him, questioning the unfolding situation. What kind of act was this?
Shen Qingyao’s belated reaction made her realize that the person had actually gone for Lu Zhao just now!
Obviously, there are so many good men available!! I certainly don’t want another female rivals!
An alarm bell rang in her mind. Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on Lu Zhao’s hand, and the other hand casually hooked onto Lu Zhao’s arm, as if reminding him not to get involved with other girls.
Lu Zhao turned his head to look at the hand on his sleeve, a faint smile playing on his lips. He lightly tapped the fingers of the hand he held, as if to reassure her. Then, he looked at Shen Fu on the ground and asked, “Miss Shen, are you okay?”
Shen Fu couldn’t withstand his gentle inquiry. For a moment, she forgot the pain, her face turning crimson. Her voice, sharp and thin, sounded as if her throat had been pinched, “I’m fine, thank you, Young Master, for your concern… Could I trouble you to please….” help me up?
Before she could finish her sentence, Lu Zhao interrupted, “Since you’re fine, Miss Shen, please get up quickly. The ground is cold.”
After saying that, he took a step back with Shen Qingyao, making it clear that he had no intention of helping.
“Ah?” Shen Fu was stunned.
“Is Miss Shen unable to stand?” Lu Zhao still had a smile on his face. Shen Qingyao felt that this smile was more fake than any she had ever seen. She pursed her lips, realizing that this actor would perform the same act for anyone.
“Since you can’t stand, please call someone over.” Lu Zhao paused, seeming to think his words were not clear enough. He explained, “Yaoyao is frail, and I don’t like physical contact with other people, so I won’t help you.”
In other words, he told Shen Fu figure it out herself.
[Hahaha! Host! This man is amazing!] The system loudly praised Lu Zhao’s top-notch ability to handle women.
But Shen Qingyao was focused on another sentence : “I don’t like physical contact with other people.”
She looked at the hand he was holding, then at her paw she had placed on his arm. She fell silent. Did she accidentally step on another landmine? She carefully looked above Lu Zhao’s head. Still [6]. She breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, fortunately.
After Lu Zhao finished speaking, regardless of the expressions of the person on the ground, he didn’t spare an extra glance. He turned the tip of his shoe and led Shen Qingyao away.
Shen Fu was left sitting alone on the ground, dumbfounded.
Wasn’t Young Master Lu known for his gentle temperament? Why didn’t she feel even half of it!
In her ears, there was the undisguised ridicule of several people watching the show in secret. Shen Fu’s face turned black, staring resentfully at Shen Qingyao’s receding figure. It must be because Shen Qingyao secretly obstructed him by holding Lu Zhao’s hand! Shen Fu silently attributed this account to Shen Qingyao.
“Shen.Qing.yao…!”
Shen Qingyao was very wronged. Although she didn’t want Lu Zhao to get involved with Shen Fu, she really wanted to help just now. It’s just that before she could act, she was stopped by Lu Zhao’s words. If she went now, wouldn’t she be slapping White Moonlight’s face?
Later, with another interruption, she completely forgot about this idea. Now her mind was full of the phrase “I don’t like physical contact with other people.”
“System.” Shen Qingyao summoned her system.
[Host! You’re making good progress! White Moonlight seems to be giving you a very special treatment!” The system saw the two holding hands and was very excited, quickly praising Shen Qingyao.
However, Shen Qingyao didn’t feel particularly happy. She frowned and asked, “He just said he doesn’t like to be touched by other people?”
System : [Yes! So you see…] he’s giving you special treatments…
“He was implying that I’m not human just now?” Shen Qingyao’s internal voice heightened. If Lu Zhao wanted to act, he should focus on the acting itself, not make fun of his co-star.
[…] Somewhat speechless, the system was speechless for three seconds, unable to understand the girl’s thought process. It slyly said, [Host, you should thank us.]
Shen Qingyao wondered, “What do I have to thank you for?”
The system added, [Thank us for assigning you a partner. Otherwise, with your straight girl personality, you would be single forever!]
“…Well, thank you then?”
[…You’re welcome.]
The straightforward girl took a few seconds to react, then realized that even after the two left Shen Fu’s line of sight, she was still maintaining the posture of holding Lu Zhao’s arm.
Her mental radar started buzzing. Was she still jumping around in White Moonlight’s minefield?
Shen Qingyao lowered her head with mixed feelings, then slowly let go of the paw she had on Lu Zhao’s arm. It was still possible to pretend that nothing had happened! Shen Qingyao hurriedly tried to salvage the situation.
Just as she was about to slowly withdraw the hand that was held, Lu Zhao looked over.
There was some confusion in his beautiful eyes, causing Shen Qingyao to stop her movement.
“He’s trying too hard! Does pretending to be affectionate require such realism? Clearly, he doesn’t like it, yet he acts puzzled. What’s the point?” Shen Qingyao complained to the system in her mind, but for some reason, the usually talkative system remained silent.
Perhaps it was struck by her earlier straight girl statement.
“What’s wrong? We haven’t arrived yet.” There was still some distance to the warm pavilion, but Lu Zhao didn’t stop her from letting go, just gently inquiring.
Shen Qingyao hesitated for a moment and finally said cautiously, “Elder Brother Lu Zhao, don’t you… dislike being touched by other people?”
Lu Zhao was stunned, not expecting her to be concerned about this. After a while, he laughed, and the laughter grew louder, not a fake smile, but a genuine and joyful one.
Shen Qingyao stared in amazement, unable to understand what she had said that was so funny to him. However, she couldn’t deny that Lu Zhao looked really good when he laughed, like countless lights flying by, becoming the only color in this snowy landscape.
When Lu Zhao finally laughed enough, he stopped and stared at her with a burning gaze. While his hand was indeed released, he didn’t put it back to his side. Instead, he turned it, placing the slender hand on Shen Qingyao’s head. Feeling her head being rubbed a few times, she heard him say softly, “I don’t like other people touching me, that’s true.”
When Shen Qingyao wanted to complain in her heart again, she heard him continue, “But Yaoyao is not other people.”
Bang. Shen Qingyao’s lifted heart dropped, but she couldn’t calm down. Who could withstand looking at such a handsome face and hearing such a seductive phrase!
Damn! This is too much! Shen Qingyao screamed in her heart, this sentence directly left her at a loss, leaving only a face as red as a tomato.
[*Ding*] A subtle system prompt sounded in Shen Qingyao’s ear.
With a red face, she looked up and calmed down.
Only to see that the value that had been quiet all day changed from [6] to [7].
“Let me be someone else.” Shen Qingyao thought expressionlessly. She would rather become someone else than see any number other than [6] at this moment, thank you.
She sneered dryly in her heart. She almost fell to Lu Zhao’s evil, thinking that this person might have a little bit of genuine feelings towards her.
But the fact proved otherwise. Indeed, nature of flirting in men is the same. Clearly, they dislike the girl deep down, but it doesn’t stop them from flirting with her…
She can’t act with him, she conceded defeat!
rokumi’s note : Sorry, I suddenly got so busy irl and couldn’t spare enough time to translate in the past week (and I didn’t have stocked chapters). To make it up, I’ll post double updates this week.