Сhаpter 306: Тhе Firе Моth Party 38
Сlutсhing the cоppеr whistlе tightlу in his hаnd, Shеn Du’s dаrk eyеs were filled with wounds, yet hе sаid, “Sincе yоu оwе mе first, why didn’t уоu sаvе this lifе for mе? Why…”
At this pоint, hе cоuldn’t help but pаuse.
“Why did уou go tо rерау Раn Chi first?”
Zhu Yan frоwnеd. Pаn Сhi’s lifе now hung bу a thrеаd, and therе wаs no timе to waste. Whеn had she evеr sаid shе wouldn’t rеpay Shеn Du fоr sаving her lifе?
Unаblе tо bеаr seеing Zhu Yаn so hеsitant аnd so foсused оn оthеrs, Shen Du strоdе оvеr, wrappеd an arm around her wаist, and lowerеd his head tо kiss her.
In thе midst оf the kiss, Shеn Du poured all his anger into it, and into the woman before him.
It was he who had pushed her away, and he who had fallen for her first. Yet, in the end, he wanted more—he was greedy, filled with desire. He wanted this woman to love him, to see him as her only one.
They say books hold golden houses and beauties like jade, but books never told him why winning someone’s heart could be so difficult.
It wasn’t until a sharp pain spread across his lips that he snapped awake, releasing her with a wince as the taste of blood filled his mouth.
Before he could even process it, Zhu Yan raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.
Struck by her blow, Shen Du’s face jerked to the side, and he froze in place.
The atmosphere in the room grew tense, as if Shen Du had been turned to stone.
Zhu Yan’s palm tingled with numbness. Seeing the red mark rise on Shen Du’s cheek, she knew she had struck too hard. Biting her lip, she maintained a resolute expression.
Perhaps it was for the best—this way, the two of them could sever their ties completely.
Zhu Yan narrowed her eyes, turned, and walked away.
“Zhu Yan!”
Zhu Yan paused but then continued forward.
She couldn’t soften her heart, couldn’t stop, couldn’t allow it.
“I’ve kept this little pig all this time, hoping one day I could find its owner.”
Zhu Yan’s figure trembled slightly. Clenching her fists, she kept her back to him.
Shen Du hurried forward, pulling a brocade pouch from his chest and taking out the vine-woven pig inside. The pig was lifelike, its two ears originally drooping but now standing upright from years of pressure, giving it a comical appearance.
Shen Du took another step forward. “Are you going to abandon me just like you abandoned this little pig back then?”
His voice trembled, filled with such sorrow that he seemed like a different person—like an innocent woman about to be abandoned by her husband, holding out a token of their past love in hopes of rekindling a shred of his pity.
Shen Du’s dark eyes flickered, his tone pitiful, tinged with endless grievance at the thought of being cast aside.
And the one abandoning him was none other than Zhu Yan, standing right before him.
It felt as if a string in Zhu Yan’s heart had been plucked. Pressing her lips together, she truly felt as though she had committed a grave sin.
The room seemed to be wrapped in delicate threads, entangling the two of them in an intricate web.
After a long moment, Zhu Yan finally found her voice. Her gaze traveled upward from the little pig, finally settling on Shen Du’s eyes, which shimmered with half a pool of grievance.
Their eyes met once again.
Shen Du pursed his lips, looking even more aggrieved, as if he could burst into tears and sing a tragic aria at any moment.
Zhu Yan smiled faintly. “You remember?”
Her voice sounded somewhat unreal, afraid of receiving a negative answer.
Shen Du smiled, his brows softening as he nodded firmly. Only then did Zhu Yan’s anxious heart finally settle.
“Silly, if I didn’t remember, why would I carry it with me?”
With that, he gently shook the little pig in his hand, his expression softening considerably as a faint, rare smile appeared on his face.
Zhu Yan’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. “You were pretending to have amnesia?”So, all this time, she had thought she was the only one still tangled up in the past.
She never expected Shen Du to be just as deeply mired in those memories, unable to move on.
"The Great Pavilion Commander has been putting on quite the act," Zhu Yan gritted her teeth, feeling a sense of being toyed with. "Since you remember now, you might as well return it to me."
Knowing Zhu Yan was bound to be angry, Shen Du quickly tucked the woven vine pig into his embrace.
Zhu Yan clenched her back teeth. "Then, may I ask, Great Pavilion Commander, where does this talk of 'abandonment' come from?"
Shen Du’s flustered expression made it clear he regretted ever uttering those words.
But was it too late for regrets now?
"Are you going to tell me or not?"
Seeing Shen Du trying to dodge the question again, Zhu Yan refused to let it slide. She turned to leave. "If that’s the case, then let’s part ways here."
Shen Du couldn’t bear to let her walk away time and again. He grabbed her hand, unwilling to let go. When she struggled but couldn’t break free, he pulled her onto his lap, his face flushing slightly as he fell silent for a long moment.
Zhu Yan squirmed, trying to get down. "Pan Chi is still waiting for me to rescue him. If you won’t talk, don’t waste my time."
Shen Du huffed in frustration. "Fine, I’ll tell you. After I’m done, you can decide whether to go or not."
Alright, this was exactly what Zhu Yan had been waiting for.
"If you remember all that, why didn’t you bring it up from the start?"
It was precisely because of this that Zhu Yan had been trapped in her thoughts for so long. She had assumed Shen Du didn’t remember, that she was the only one who cared.
Shen Du held her hand in his palm, afraid she might pull away and storm out if she grew displeased.
Zhu Yan felt a bit uncomfortable being held so tightly. She looked up and met Shen Du’s doting gaze, which made her feel as though she were in a dream. She couldn’t help but urge him, "Hurry up and tell me."
Pan Chi was still waiting for her to rescue him, after all.
Shen Du let out a dissatisfied hum but finally spoke. "On our wedding day, I didn’t recognize you as the girl who was kidnapped back then."
"It’s been so long, your appearance has changed quite a bit. You’re not quite the same as I remembered."
He only recalled that little girl with a round face and big eyes. If it weren’t for her, they might not have been able to rescue the other girls.
"Besides, back then, it was just a casual rescue. I didn’t pay much attention to your face." Shen Du thought carefully but couldn’t recall much more. He chuckled self-deprecatingly. "But I do remember your temper—definitely not one to be trifled with."
Back then, after they were rescued, the girls were all frightened and uneasy. Shen Du’s father, Shen Shijie, asked him to weave cattail grass into little animals to cheer them up. Zhu Yan was given a little rabbit, which she adored, but before she could even warm it in her hands, another girl snatched it away and forced her own woven vine pig onto Zhu Yan.
Zhu Yan was too young to fight back. She wanted to throw the pig away, but after glancing at Shen Shijie, she decided against it and went to rest in a corner instead. Shen Du saw this, reached over, took the rabbit back, and returned it to Zhu Yan, but she refused.
"I don’t want something that can be taken from me."
Shen Du still remembered those words to this day. At the time, he thought the little girl sounded rather unlovable, but he didn’t force the issue. Instead, he gave the rabbit to the girl who had fought with Zhu Yan. That girl was overjoyed and sweetly called Shen Du "Brother Shen," but Shen Du remained indifferent.
Seeing Zhu Yan silently and stubbornly wiping away tears in the corner, Shen Du thought for a moment, then gave her the copper whistle his father had specially made for him. He took the woven vine pig from her arms and kept it for himself. To him, both were objects made by his father—there was no distinction of good or bad between them.Not long after, the Shen residence was destroyed and the family property confiscated. This vine-woven piglet was the only object that accompanied Shen Du from the Shen family and the sole memento left to him by his father. He kept it all along, often taking it out to reminisce about his father—it actually had little to do with Zhu Yan.
OpenNovel