Chapter 30 Chapter 30

Chapter 30

1

As Lin Chenxin left Junzi Courtyard, she also looked up at the sky.

Summer in City H was always scorching, but the sky above the Chen residence often seemed cloaked in gloom.

She looked away and had only gone a few steps when she noticed servants watching her.

"It's been a long time since I paid my respects to Madam. I almost forgot the way. If you're not too busy, could you please show me the way?"

She asked with a smile.

Several people immediately lowered their eyes and respectfully said, "Young Mistress, just go straight ahead."

Lin Chenxin's smile vanished and she strode forward.

But she did not go to see Ms. Liang; instead, she met with the middle-aged woman.

She handed the pastries she was holding to the other woman and said calmly, "I've come to pay my respects to Madam."

After saying this, she turned and left without pausing.

Deep down, she still felt somewhat dissatisfied with Ms. Liang's actions.

Since Ms. Liang wanted her to continue investigating the matter, she should have the sense to clear the path behind her and not expect her to follow the pace they desired.

The middle-aged woman didn't even have time to say a word before Lin Chenxin disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

She frowned, looking in the direction Lin Chenxin had left.

Not long after, Ms. Liang emerged from the other side.

She glanced at what the middle-aged woman was holding and said indifferently, "Return the food box to Junzi Courtyard in an hour. Take out the pastries inside."

The middle-aged woman lowered her head and replied, "Yes."

Ms. Liang turned around, with her back to the middle-aged woman, and said, "You've been with me for so many years. You are the person I trust most here."

Hearing these words, the middle-aged woman shuddered and sharply looked at Ms. Liang's back.

"Yes," she replied, her voice catching. "I will never act foolishly again."

Ms. Liang turned her head to look at the sky blanketed in dark clouds, her gaze cold and gloomy.

No one knew when the Chen family's skies would clear.

—

Lin Chenxin avoided the servants on the path and, after turning a few corners, saw the independent courtyard.

The closer she got to that nameless courtyard, the fewer people she encountered.

By the time she reached the courtyard gate, there wasn't a single servant in sight.

It was unclear whether Ms. Liang had intervened or if this place was simply seldom visited.

If it was the latter, it was quite thought-provoking.

She stepped inside, where both sides were lined with colorful flowers.

Last time, she had only glanced briefly; now she noticed the exceptional delicacy of the artificial flowers along the path.

If she hadn't grown flowers in her own home before, at a glance it was hard to tell they were fake.

She walked along the gravel path, passed a small bridge and rockery, went straight onto the covered walkway, and pushed open a door.

This room wasn't locked. Standing at the doorway, she could see it was unusually clean. Apart from no one living there and a slightly stuffy smell, there were almost no signs of neglect; it seemed someone cleaned it regularly.

The room was bright, with a window facing the pond. Opening it revealed a pond full of lotus flowers.

Beside the pond stood a willow tree, though it lacked lush green branches. Under the overcast sky, it still held a desolate beauty.

The more Lin Chenxin looked, the more she felt that someone had put great care into this courtyard. Every detail revealed affection and nostalgia for its former mistress.

But that person was gone. The current efforts were merely for the living to console themselves.

Lin Chenxin's gaze was exceptionally calm. She looked around and her eyes fell on the dressing table, where the jewelry remained, each piece of considerable value.

But aside from some women's items, there were hardly any other belongings.

She then walked to the small table by the window. Books and drawing paper were placed on it. The books were old; opening them revealed beautiful annotations and reflections written in fountain pen.

Pulling open the drawer, she found neatly arranged drawing paper. The most frequently drawn subjects were the pond and willow tree outside the window.

She was momentarily lost in thought.

Through these objects, she could almost envision a woman, as pure and lovely as a lotus emerging from water, sitting here quietly gazing out the window, her eyes filled with longing and contemplation.

After a while, she snapped back to reality and neatly returned everything to its place.

Then she looked at other parts of the room: the empty vase on the table, the potted plants on the windowsill, and the decorations made of strung shells and beads hanging from the door curtain.

The more she saw, the clearer the image of Chen Gujun's mother became in her mind.

She must have been a woman who deeply loved life and was remarkably skillful and clever.

A faint sense of melancholy suddenly arose in Lin Chenxin's heart.

Chen Gujun was truly very much like his mother.

Even without growing up in a healthy, normal environment, Chen Gujun had still become an elegant gentleman of outstanding demeanor, cultivated and refined.

Yet his mother never got to see the man he grew into.

And he, too, could not form a clear picture of his mother in his mind.

Lin Chenxin let out a sigh, then quickly frowned again.

She hadn't found anything here related to Chen Gujun either.

It was impossible that all traces of Chen Gujun had been erased.

After all, he existed in reality.

But if they hadn't been erased, then they had been deliberately cleared away.

Thinking this, she walked out of the room and looked toward another room next door.

The room was locked.

A thought stirred within her.

Just as she thought.

Touching the cold, hard lock, a shadow crossed her eyes.

Just as she was thinking about how to get this lock off, a sudden clap of thunder echoed overhead. The sky, already thick with dark clouds, instantly darkened further.

The unsettling thunderclap made her heart race. She immediately grew alert and turned to leave.

She had barely left the Nameless Courtyard when a torrential downpour began outside.

She hurried under the eaves, but she was already fairly damp.

Not sure where she was, she didn't dare just push open a door. She could only stand beneath the corridor. The wind, mixed with icy rain, lashed against her, sending an immediate, bone-deep chill through her.

"I should have listened to Chen Gujun," she sighed.

She had hoped to wait for a passing servant to escort her back.

But after waiting for quite some time, there wasn't a servant in sight.

Meanwhile, her rain-soaked clothes clung to her, making her chillier by the minute.

Tsk.

Standing under the eaves, she couldn't help but hug herself and began observing her surroundings.

This didn't look like a residential area.

Although there was a long, winding corridor, towering walls rose on either side. What was behind her wasn't a room, but an exceptionally tall and wide gate.

Looking closer, it looked something like the main gate of an old imperial or noble compound, though on a much smaller scale.

Typically, beyond such a main gate, one wouldn't find the formal courtyard immediately; there should be a second inner gate.

This piqued Lin Chenxin's curiosity. She had never seen such a strange place within the Chen Estate before.

She took a step back, braving the wind and rain to look up, and suddenly her eyes widened in shock.

She saw dense, thick branches weighing down on the roof. Perhaps because they were too lush and green, in the heavy rain they resembled a massive, imposing mountain, looming with a dark, oppressive weight.

She immediately retreated under the eaves, gulping for air.

In that instant, the immense pressure nearly suffocated her.

She'd been wary before when seeing those luxuriant branches from the Junzi Courtyard. Now, being closer, their looming presence was even more suffocating.

However...

A light sparked in her eyes.

Did this mean she was getting closer to the ancestral hall?

Just as this thought crossed her mind, she suddenly saw a tall, lean figure appear in the hazy rain ahead, standing motionless under a black umbrella.

Her heart skipped a beat. All thoughts in her mind instantly cleared, leaving her mind blank.

She watched as Chen Gujun, holding the umbrella, made his way slowly toward her through the rain.

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. She could only stare fixedly at Chen Gujun's figure.

At this moment, she couldn't put a name to what she was feeling.

She only felt her heart hammering unusually loudly in her chest.

Without another thought, she immediately ran down the steps. But before the cold rain could reach her, Chen Gujun's umbrella was already over her head.

Their eyes met. Chen Gujun's gaze was calm as he raised a hand to wipe a raindrop from her cheek.

She looked up at his unusual face, her eyes shining brightly.

"How did you get here?"

She asked the obvious question, yet her heart couldn't stop racing, a mix of disbelief, delight, joy, and all the fluttering feelings of a crush.

"To get you."

Hearing this answer, a smile spread across her face.

She took another step closer to Chen Gujun, until she was almost against his chest.

"It's so cold," she said, her eyes never leaving his.

Chen Gujun's eyelashes lowered slightly. The next moment, he took the coat from his arm and wrapped it around Lin Chenxin.

She smiled, her eyes curving, still staring intently at Chen Gujun. "It's still so cold."

Meeting her gaze, Chen Gujun's eyelashes lifted slightly as he looked at her deeply.

Then, his arm slid around her and pulled her close.

Clutching Chen Gujun's clothes, she buried her face in his chest, unable to suppress her laughter.

Chen Gujun glanced down at her, his fingers on her shoulder tightening a little more.

The black umbrella shielded them from the pouring rain overhead. The two figures, leaning close together, gradually faded into the distance within the rain mist.

A passing servant halted mid-step, rubbing their eyes vigorously as if startled.

She... she thought she saw the young master.

But how could that be?

The young master never left the Junzi Courtyard.

Unsure if her eyes had deceived her, that head of white hair had already blended into the rain mist, and the faint sound of chains was drowned out by the clamor of the rain.

—

Lin Chenxin sat on a stool, taking small sips of ginger soup.

Chen Gujun stood behind her, gently drying her hair.

The tightly closed door shut out the cold rain outside. Even in the dim, lightless room, there was a faint sense of...

Lin Chenxin finished the last sip of ginger soup and held up the empty bowl for Chen Gujun to see.

Chen Gujun glanced at her face, which seemed to ask for credit, took the bowl, and pulled the blanket draped over her a little higher.

Lin Chenxin sighed contentedly and leaned back against Chen Gujun.

"You'll stay here with me, right?"

He didn't speak.

Lin Chenxin began chattering without pause: "In the past, when it rained and thundered, my parents would worry that I was scared. They would even sit by my bed and keep me company while I slept..."

As she spoke, she closed her eyes, her voice softening, clearly drowsy.

Chen Gujun's lashes dipped slightly as he let go of the strand of her hair he'd been holding.

"Mm, sleep," he responded softly.

A faint smile touched Lin Chenxin's lips as she surrendered to the rising drowsiness.

Her head tilted, and she was about to slump forward from against him, but a hand cupped her face just in time.

The coolness of his hand made Lin Chenxin instinctively flinch, but instead of pulling away, she seemed to nuzzle against it.

Chen Gujun's eyelashes lowered again. His dark, terrifying fingernails twitched slightly, and his pale fingertip couldn't help but brush against Lin Chenxin's lips.

The soft lips, warm with her breath against his hand, seemed to burn him. He withdrew his fingertip as if scalded, but the hand cradling Lin Chenxin's face remained.

He looked down, his eyes shimmering with emotion.

He still remembered their first meeting, when Lin Chenxin had been so frightened, her eyes wide with stubbornness and fear. Now, she could sleep against him, completely unguarded.

Outside, the sound of rain gradually softened, pitter-pattering on the roof.

His gaze softened as he watched Lin Chenxin for a long time.

Feeling the weight in his hand, it was as if he held the entire world.

How could he bear to...

He closed his eyes, concealing the darkness within them.

The fading rain outside seemed like a soft sigh. He lifted his gaze slightly, his pitch-black eyes staring directly at the door.

Through the door, piercing the dark, rainy night, his gaze landed on the locked door of the Nameless Courtyard.

With a *click*, the rusted lock abruptly snapped open.

He calmly withdrew his gaze, his eyes deep and profound as they rested on Lin Chenxin's face.

And the white hair behind him instantly lost its luster, turning dull and lifeless.