Chapter 98: No Man Would Tolerate Such a Thing

Chapter 98: Chapter 98: No Man Would Tolerate Such a Thing

His expression darkened. Countless thoughts raced through his mind, and the pressure around him dropped.

...It was a little terrifying.

Cui Lingyao jumped in fright.

’She wanted to call Chen Minrou back and ask her how she could possibly describe Xie Jinbai as sinister and creepy.’

’She should be talking about her own husband!’

"What are you planning to do?"

’From the look of him, he seemed to be considering abducting me.’

Cui Lingyao took half a step back, her brow furrowed. "This is the Shen Family’s estate. I suggest you calm down."

Something she said must have worked. Zhao Shijie’s cool, distant eyes lowered, and he slowly averted his gaze.

His lips thinned into a line. "Come back as soon as you can. Send a letter back to the capital every day. Don’t miss one."

After speaking, he wiped his face again and turned to leave.

Cui Lingyao didn’t stop him. But after a few steps, he paused and glanced back at her. "Do you have any idea how many people are protecting you from the shadows?" he asked faintly.

It was a question, but Zhao Shijie didn’t seem to expect an answer. He left as soon as he’d asked.

Leaving Cui Lingyao standing frozen in place.

’...How many people are protecting me?’

’So, he wasn’t worried about the Shen Family.’

’He was worried about the men Xie Jinbai left behind in the shadows?’

’Is he insane...?’

’If those men weren’t here, would he really have forced me to stay and keep Minmin company?’

She and Chen Minrou were childhood best friends, so naturally, she had known Zhao Shijie for years as well.

The gentle, well-mannered, and refined boy from her memories had somehow turned into a man who wouldn’t hesitate to use his power to crush others.

A belated chill ran down Cui Lingyao’s spine.

During her last mission, she had been born into a prominent family. After meeting Xie Jinbai, she had married him to complete her task. Everything had gone smoothly. Even in this ancient world with its rigid class system, she had never once suffered the hardship of being less powerful than others.

This was the first time she was truly struck by how lowly and weak her current status was.

An orphan girl with no family, no father or brothers, no power, and no influence.

If she didn’t have protection, her own wishes weren’t even worthy of respect in the eyes of the ruling class.

Xie Jinbai loved her and was determined to have her.

Just as Shen Tingyu had said, that day at the Duke Zhao Mansion, Xie Jinbai had seemingly given her a choice, but in reality, she only had one option.

To marry him again.

Sooner or later, she would have no choice but to marry him.

Now, Zhao Shijie was acting the same way.

She had made it crystal clear that she had to go to Pingzhou first to bury her mother and would return as quickly as possible, yet he had completely disregarded her wishes.

The only person who gave him pause was Xie Jinbai.

He even seemed afraid she wouldn’t understand, and for some reason, deliberately pointed it out before he left.

’...Was he trying to make me recognize my place and cling to Xie Jinbai for dear life?’

’Or did he want me to understand what Xie Jinbai’s power truly meant?’

"Why are you standing here all this time?"

A clear male voice sounded beside her. Cui Lingyao snapped back to reality and looked at the man who had appeared before her at some point.

She looked a little dazed. Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes were red and swollen, filled with a sense of helplessness.

Like a frightened deer, trembling with anxiety.

She had been crying.

Shen Tingyu’s breath caught in his chest. He reached out almost subconsciously to grip her shoulders. "What’s wrong? Did they give you a hard time?"

"..." Cui Lingyao was speechless.

She suddenly realized that in all the days since she’d returned to Great Yue, the man before her seemed to be the only one who truly respected her.

He was the first person to discover her true identity.

And the first to help her.

He was the one who had proposed the "marriage of convenience," taking the initiative to help her solve her problems when she had just arrived in an unfamiliar body and a strange new world.

When she had asked to dissolve their engagement after seeing Xie Jinbai, he had agreed without hesitation.

From start to finish, he had respected every one of her decisions.

He never even tried to say a word or two to make her feel guilty.

Even though she could clearly see his reluctance.

What she had once taken for granted, she now realized how precious it was, only after Zhao Shijie had so bluntly reminded her of her own insignificance.

When she remained silent, Shen Tingyu became convinced that she’d been bullied.

’To come to our home and bully someone... that couple from the Zhao Family really has no respect for us.’

"Come!"

The man, who rarely took offense, was now furious. His eyes darkened. "They’re still in the front hall. Whatever they said or did to you, I want you to give it right back to them, detail for detail."

As he spoke, Shen Tingyu wrapped an arm around her shoulder and started to guide her toward the front hall.

Cui Lingyao’s eyelashes fluttered. She shook her head. "No one bullied me."

Looking at the man’s rare display of anger, she explained softly, "You misunderstood. I just had a reunion with Chen Minrou. We hugged and cried for a bit. We grew up together and were very close. She wouldn’t bully me."

Shen Tingyu believed her.

He let out a long sigh of relief. "You scared me."

Cui Lingyao said, "...What was so scary about that?"

His hand was still on her shoulder. They stood facing each other, very close.

Shen Tingyu seemed completely unaware of how intimate the gesture was.

He lowered his gaze and looked intently at the young woman before him. His lips moved, and he said in a hoarse voice, "I thought you had been wronged right under my nose."

’If that were the case, it would mean I was utterly incompetent.’

’No man could tolerate something like that.’

’The feud between me and Zhao Shijie would be set in stone.’

His gaze was too intense.

Cui Lingyao felt her heart flutter, and an indescribable feeling welled up inside her.

It made it hard for her to breathe.

In the modern world, she had never been in a relationship.

At eighteen, just after getting into college, she had been found by the "System."

To save her brother, she had come to Great Yue.

For ten years, her thoughts had been consumed by her brother who couldn’t walk and her mission to go home.

She had never entertained any other thought.

As for what kind of feelings she had for Xie Jinbai, with whom she had been intimate countless times, Cui Lingyao had neither the inclination nor the courage to examine them too closely.

In any case, she had to go home.

Her brother was waiting for the Hundred Diseases Pill to save his legs. She absolutely had to go home.

It was her obsession.

The only romantic relationship she’d ever had was warped by this obsession.

Even now, Cui Lingyao couldn’t tell if she truly felt the love for Xie Jinbai that he accused her of having.

She only knew that she didn’t hate him.

When she completed her mission and decided to go home, she had even felt incredibly guilty toward him—so guilty she didn’t know what to do.

Later, during a one-year "cooling-off period," that guilt was eroded by his hot-and-cold behavior, by his grand ceremony to take a concubine, and by his allowing that concubine to humiliate her.

If it weren’t for the ALS, if she hadn’t returned to Great Yue, she probably would never have thought of Xie Jinbai again in her life.

But she had returned.

This time, as Pei Shuyao, she had met Shen Tingyu.

He was completely different from Xie Jinbai.

During her actual youth, Cui Lingyao had once fantasized about what kind of boyfriend she would have when she went to college.

He would have to be gentle and handsome, tolerant and considerate, respectful of women, and emotionally stable.

Shen Tingyu had all of these qualities.

He was a noble son raised by a top aristocratic family, well-read in poetry and classics, knowledgeable about the past and present, and always composed and proper.

And by a strange twist of fate, she was now engaged to him.

An engagement approved by their elders.

If...