Chapter Fifty-Four: Not Familiar How Can It Be

  Not wanting to startle himself too much, he deliberately slowed down his footsteps, letting Xue Lengyu hear his arrival.

  As expected, the sound of footsteps was heard, and Xue Lengyu raised his head. He thought it was just the Wang Fu guards making their rounds, but instead he saw a familiar figure approaching slowly.

  Tonight, the moon is cloudless and its light is exceptionally bright, illuminating the earth. Under the moonlight, the faces that were once distant are now clearly visible. The contours are still clear and the expression is calm, but in Xue Lengyu's eyes, there is no longer a ripple.

  Xue Lengyu simply raised her head and took a glance, then lowered it again, still hugging her knees with both hands, not intending to make a sound.

  At the very beginning, if he had stood up for her, even just to argue on her behalf, Xue Lengyu would have looked at him differently. But now, it's too late, and even if he were to go in there and give those reasons, it would be pointless. He has already struggled through his own life-and-death ordeal.

  At this moment, Xue Lengyu was really unable to feel any gratitude towards Shuli. Most importantly, she had thoroughly seen through something that she should have known all along - in the Wang Manor, there would be no one who could stand on her side. And at that moment, she had actually naively thought that Shuli would confront Li Mu for her sake, which was really somewhat ignorant of the heights and depths of the situation.

  Xue Lengyu didn't make a sound, but Shu Li lightly sighed and walked to her side, squatting down. His voice was warmer than ever: "Are you blaming me?"

  Xue Lengyu didn't raise her head, her voice still rational and clear: "Shu Daren is being overly cautious, the night is cold and windy, sir should return to rest early. Tomorrow morning, I will return to Fengyuan myself."

  What's wrong with her? What qualifications does she have to be angry at Shu Li? Shu Li is under Li Mu, and there's no reason for him to help her.

  Xue Lengyu was clear that Li Mu had let her off tonight and probably wouldn't bother her again in the future. Her own plans could still proceed, and when the time came, she would take the money and leave, having nothing more to do with the Wang Manor. Therefore, she didn't particularly want to get involved with Shu Li either.

  Good feelings can be strangled in the cradle. If indulged, perhaps one day it will be oneself who gets strangled. Since Shu Li is not someone who can protect himself fully at critical moments, emotions that should be suppressed cannot be allowed to swell even a little bit.

  She heard the absolute coldness and strangeness in Xue Lengyu's words, a hint of melancholy in her distant eyes. But she saw that the button on her collar, which had been undone by Li Mu, was still open, and she couldn't help but reach out her hand.

  At the moment when Shu's fingers touched Xue Lengyu, she felt a slight tremble, and then she didn't move again, letting him fasten the button. She said in a low voice: "Thank you, Lord Shu."

  Actually, this button wasn't what Xue Lengyu was concerned about. Let alone that two were undone, even if the entire row on her neck was unbuttoned, it would only be a matter of seeing the suspenders inside, and for a girl who usually only wore suspenders in the summer, it really wasn't anything. But to Shu Li, this might have been considered disheveled.

  Shu Li reached out to lift Xue Leng Yu's face, then pulled back, thinking for a moment before unbuttoning his own outer robe and covering her with it: "It's cold outside."

  He wasn't good at expressing himself and wouldn't say anything sweet, but at this moment, even if he felt like he should say something, under Xue Lengyu's distant attitude, he didn't know how to start.

  The night of June was indeed a bit chilly. As a martial artist, he didn't mind. Xue Lengyu, a frail woman, might catch a cold if she sat like this for the whole night.

  Xue Lengyu raised her head, and Shu Li was very surprised to see no tears on her face. Instead, she had a calm expression with sparkling eyes.

  Xue Lengyu leaned her head against the tree trunk, took a long breath in, and then exhaled: "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Shu, I'm really fine."

  The faintly bitter voice had a hint of sadness: "Is this all you have to say to me?"

  "What else should there be?" Xue Lengyu said: "It's still Lord Shu who saved me, what reward is needed?"

  Xue Lengyu saw Shu Li's distant gaze, calm and unruffled. How could she not understand Shu Li's heart, yet how could she give a response?

  "Do you have to be so distant from me?" Shu Li crouched in front of Xue Leng Yu, the distance between them was only a foot. At this moment, he felt that the distance between them was farther than ever.

  The woman who ate biscuits calmly under his gaze, the woman who sat in front of his horse with her head down and blushing, the woman who stretched out her hand to seek help from him, all overlapped and transformed into this cold and serene face before him.

  Xue Lengyu didn't refuse the unusual clothes, and on this deep and dewy night, it was indeed a bit chilly. She wrapped the clothes tightly around her and didn't want to say anything cutting or sarcastic, only saying lightly: "Not unfamiliar, what can be done?"

  Shu Li was speechless with anger, wanting to explain her difficulties to her, but she opened her mouth and didn't know how to start.

  Xue Lengyu thought of herself in the last moment, she had also frankly said that in this Wangfu, she was the only one who gave her a good impression. But he pushed her away without hesitation, pushing a woman into such a situation, no matter what the reason was, how could it be justified.

  "I have my own difficulties." The aloof and distant person who never liked to explain anything finally said a sentence. Then he sat down beside Xue Lengyu, leaning his head against the tree trunk, gazing up at the bright moon in the gap between the branches.

  Xue Lengyu rubbed her brow, thinking she would burst into tears. But for some reason, sitting in this deserted corner, she found herself unable to cry. Instead, she felt an unexpected calmness within, without a single ripple of emotion.

  Is it true that after experiencing great ups and downs, one's heart can be as calm as still water?

  Shu Li said he had difficulties, Xue Lengyu didn't know what was on his mind, but in the end, he pushed open the door and interrupted Li Mu's affairs. He was afraid that this was the most off-track thing he had done in his life. As for himself, he was afraid that he had been a bit too serious.

  His seriousness might be a great happiness for some people, something to be grateful for. But for herself, such faint emotions were not enough to elicit a corresponding response.

  She couldn't expect people from ancient times to live up to her own standards, and Xue Lengyu naturally understood this. But how could she just let go of the knot in her heart?

  He glanced sideways at the somewhat bewildered expression, and Xue Lengyu couldn't help but soften his heart towards this cold and ruthless man who was humbling himself: "You don't have to be like that with me."

  "I never thought I'd be so against you." Xuli's bitter smile: "I've never disobeyed the king's orders, but now, for a woman... I don't understand myself either, why am I doing this?"

  Even if he appears to be cold and unfeeling, Shu Li is still just an ordinary person. Once his heart is moved, how can he control himself? Even if he could force himself to stay in the house, he would struggle through just one night. But he fears that after tonight, it will be too late for regrets.

  If I have time, there will be another chapter tonight. Tomorrow's update might be later because I'll be working overtime until very late.