Chapter 29 Chapter 29

Chapter 29

1

A loud noise suddenly erupted from the study.

The young master started, immediately looking over, panicked.

Lin Chenxin shielded his view and said calmly, "Let me see you out."

"O... okay..."

The young master leaned limply against Lin Chenxin.

The wind chimes started ringing again, their incessant jangling terribly annoying.

Lin Chenxin pretended not to hear, but the young master, terrified, grabbed her arm tightly.

The wind chimes abruptly fell silent.

Lin Chenxin raised an eyebrow.

"Eldest sister-in-law, what are you smiling about?"

Hearing the young master's voice, Lin Chenxin schooled her expression and said flatly, "Was I smiling?"

The young master pressed his lips together tightly.

This Junzi Courtyard was just too bizarre.

There were no guards outside. It was unknown if Ms. Liang had given some order after last time, but since that day, the people outside the gate had grown much more lax.

"Should I call someone to escort you back?"

The young master quickly shook his head. "No need."

If someone saw him coming out of Junzi Courtyard...

He shuddered.

Now that he had a clear head, he realized how reckless it had been to run to Junzi Courtyard.

Not daring to linger any longer, he hurriedly straightened up and said, "You can just see me off here, eldest sister-in-law."

"Alright." Lin Chenxin let go and watched as the young master walked away on unsteady feet.

After he had gone only a short distance, the young master suddenly turned back, his eyes red as he offered a smile.

"Thank you, eldest sister-in-law."

Seeing this smile, Lin Chenxin's heart tightened involuntarily, giving rise to a pang of pity.

She still remembered the clean, sunny youth from their first meeting, carrying a simple, gentle scholarly air.

Now, after only being back for such a short time, he had become this gaunt, wasted figure.

Watching the young master's slender, retreating back, she couldn't help but call out, "Everything will be alright!"

She didn't know how things would get better.

But people always need hope.

The young master was taken aback for a moment, then bloomed into an even more heart-wrenching smile, nodding vigorously at her before walking away with a hunched back.

Lin Chenxin stood at the gate for a long time. She stood there until his figure had vanished from sight, then silently turned and left.

The young master's visit had brought her a formless pressure.

She didn't know what Mr. Chen was in such a hurry about. This urgency was causing the young master immense suffering and simultaneously filling her with unease.

—

Each time she passed through a moon gate, she would look up at the lanterns hanging above it.

Two small, exquisite red lanterns hung on either side—one made by Chen Gujun, one made by her. Their bright red color set against the desolate stone gate added a touch of vibrant, dazzling color to this remote courtyard.

She withdrew her gaze and entered the courtyard gate.

Chen Gujun was standing under the eaves.

Meeting Chen Gujun's gaze, she suddenly froze.

Those dark, inky eyes were fixed intently on her, carrying a hint of obscurity veiled in the shadows.

Yet, as she walked over, that sense of strangeness passed like a fleeting illusion. Chen Gujun's eyes were calm, steady as always.

Walking up the steps, Chen Gujun reached out a hand to her. She glanced at it and placed her own hand in his.

Pushing up her sleeve, sure enough, blood had seeped through the bandage again.

Chen Gujun lowered his eyes, remaining silent.

"I wasn't careful myself. It's fine," she said.

Chen Gujun lifted his gaze to look at her, those profound eyes like a deep pool.

She couldn't help but soften her voice.

"It's really fine."

As the owner of this body, Lin Chenxin had been the first to notice something was amiss.

Under such meticulous care, an ordinary person's wound shouldn't show no signs of healing for several days, especially since it was just a flesh wound.

It had finally begun to scab over, yet the slightest exertion would cause it to split open again. This was clearly not normal no matter how you looked at it.

Chen Gujun didn't speak. He fetched the medicine and carefully re-bandaged her wound.

Lin Chenxin watched Chen Gujun's quiet face intently when she suddenly heard him ask, "You seem quite concerned about him."

She snapped back to attention, taking a moment to realize that the 'him' Chen Gujun referred to was the young master.

"Not really," she said.

As she said this, she leaned in to glance at Chen Gujun.

"The flowers last time were also from him."

"Hmm, what about it?" She fixed her gaze on Chen Gujun's eyes.

"Done."

After Chen Gujun finished applying the bandage, he stood up to leave.

She said with a smile, "Don't you think he resembles you in some ways?"

Chen Gujun paused mid-step, turned to look at her, and tightened his grip on the medicine box.

Her eyes sparkled with the light of her smile.

"But your features probably take more after your mother."

Unlike Mr. Chen's cold, hard edges, Chen Gujun, though also sharply defined, was more refined and handsome, without any harshness.

Chen Gujun's expression stilled, his gaze momentarily distant.

"Is that so," he said.

Seeing his expression, Lin Chenxin's heart gave a lurch, suddenly realizing that Chen Gujun might never have seen his mother.

The air fell silent for a moment.

She walked up to Chen Gujun, looking at him earnestly, her eyes bright and clear.

"Yes, aside from your eyes and nose, the rest of you likely resembles your mother more. For instance, your eyebrows are dark and long, with the delicate elegance of an ink-wash sketch. Your lips are neither too thin nor too full, with a graceful curve—beautiful whether you're smiling or not. And your face, with its distinct contours and smooth lines, is exceptionally refined."

Finally, she lightly tapped the corner of Chen Gujun's mouth and said with a smile, "When you smile, there's a faint dimple here. It's especially lovely."

Meeting Chen Gujun's gaze, she smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons.

"Your mother must have been a stunning beauty with extraordinary grace and charm."

Chen Gujun looked at the light in Lin Chenxin's eyes and reached out to grasp her fingertips.

It seemed as if, through Lin Chenxin's eyes, he could see a woman with a blurred face yet a lovely, radiant smile.

Lin Chenxin couldn't help but feel a pang of tenderness and sorrow.

Chen Gujun was also born of a mother.

He wasn't born like this.

Nor was he a monster raised by heaven and earth.

She said softly, "She must have been very young when she gave birth to you."

Chen Gujun snapped out of his reverie, still holding Lin Chenxin's hand.

"She was twenty-two the year she gave birth to me."

The ancestral tablet bore the years of her birth and death.

Lin Chenxin jolted in shock.

—"The mistress of this courtyard was also only twenty-two when she gave birth."

She remembered the strange smile on Ms. Liang's face at that moment, and a suffocating feeling suddenly overwhelmed her chest.

"She..."

She grabbed Chen Gujun's arm, struggling to catch her breath.

Chen Gujun watched Lin Chenxin in silence.

His deep gaze seemed to know everything, yet nothing at all—like a bottomless well.

Lin Chenxin clutched Chen Gujun's clothes tightly, suddenly lowering her head.

Her eyes widened, fixed intently on the ground.

She now understood Ms. Liang's purpose in telling her these things!

Ms. Liang wanted her to dig up everything about Chen Gujun.

And Chen Gujun's story was directly tied to the Chen family's secrets.

It had to be said, Ms. Liang had indeed seized her lifeline.

As long as she cared even a little about Chen Gujun, she couldn't help but be concerned about the Chen family's secrets.

Of course, if she didn't care about Chen Gujun, it wouldn't matter.

As long as she didn't want to die, she couldn't hide in this courtyard and await her doom.

And she couldn't possibly not care about Chen Gujun.

Because she was willing to bleed for him.

The corners of her lips curled into a smile, but her eyes were icy and piercing.

Ms. Liang was far more cunning than Mr. Chen.

Just as Lin Chenxin was about to tear through Chen Gujun's clothes, her hands trembling uncontrollably from the extreme tension, a steady hand suddenly grasped her arm.

She froze, looking up at Chen Gujun.

Chen Gujun was silently watching her, his gaze as calm and steady as ever.

After a brief silence, she closed her eyes and let out a soft chuckle, lowering her head to bury her face in Chen Gujun's chest.

Her slender frame seemed so small before the tall Chen Gujun.

Chen Gujun stiffened, his chest pounding with a clear, powerful heartbeat.

Lin Chenxin's body heat seemed to penetrate his skin like a furnace, searing into his heart.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he looked down at the half of Lin Chenxin's face, her eyes closed against his chest.

Through the thin fabric, he could even feel her breathing against his chest.

He raised his stiff arm, pausing mid-air. After a long moment, he could no longer suppress the emotions in his heart and wrapped his arms around Lin Chenxin's body with restrained intensity.

Unlike him.

Lin Chenxin had resilient skin, a warm body temperature, and a scent strikingly similar to sunlight.

Chen Gujun closed his eyes, unable to resist tightening his embrace.

Lin Chenxin opened her eyes, her gaze deep and unfathomable as she stared ahead.

Having thought it through, she probably understood why Ms. Liang wanted her to do this.

Only someone who also has a soft spot knows how to get a handle on people.

Feeling Chen Gujun's embrace, she closed her eyes again, breathing in his cold, faint scent. In that moment, she drew a faint sense of peace from him.

—

Early the next morning, Lin Chenxin stood before the mirror, making sure she looked well-rested and alert. Carrying a box of pastries, she stepped out.

"I'm heading out."

She called out toward the study.

As she turned to leave, the study door creaked open.

"It's windy out; you should put on more layers," Chen Gujun said, looking at her.

She glanced at her clothes—long sleeves and pants—and didn't see any issue.

"I'm not cold."

Chen Gujun reached out, gently brushing her cheek, his fingertips pinching the collar of her shirt.

"It's too thin."

Lin Chenxin's gaze followed his movement; those sharp nails were mere millimeters from her throat, yet she felt no fear. Instead, she looked at him with a smile.

"I'll be back soon, don't worry."

As she spoke, she gave his fingers a squeeze, letting him feel how warm she was.

Then, without waiting for his reaction, she gave a wave and broke into a jog.

She looked like she was genuinely worried he'd haul her back inside to bundle up.

Chen Gujun's hand hung in the air. He watched Lin Chenxin's retreating figure and sighed softly.

A moment later, he lifted his gaze to the sky, shrouded in dark clouds.