Chapter 77: In All Other Matters, I Will Yield to You

Xiao Yan nodded. “If that’s the case, I’ll go fetch the young master.”

Shen Nanyuan was startled and hurriedly called out, “It’s so late already, there’s no need to disturb my elder brother.”

“Then, miss, kindly put the chili paste back.” Xiao Yan’s lips curled with a half-smile, half-mockery. “I won’t tell anyone else.”

So he had known all along.

Why was this man so hard to fool?

Feeling a bit disgruntled, Shen Nanyuan looked up and met Xiao Yan's jet-black eyes, which seemed to see right through her thoughts. She grumbled under her breath.

“Fine,” she muttered, turning away. “I’ll put it back right now.”

She was so close to getting it, but once again, she fell short.

She placed the chili paste on the edge of the table, then turned Xiao Yan around and nudged him towards the door. “Shall we go out together?”

Moving quickly and discreetly, she stepped back, grabbed the chili paste and hid it inside her cloak. She went on, “If we leave together, you’ll have nothing to worry about, will you?”

Xiao Yan didn’t look back. His voice, however, turned cold and deliberate, as if to intimidate her. “Miss.”

The tone sent a chill through her heart.

He turned, his slender fingers gripping her wrist through the cloak. His dark eyes locked onto her, cool and dangerous in the night. “I’m not a fool.”

Shen Nanyuan was speechless.

Who would dare call him foolish?

She pouted, then suddenly placed one hand on her hip and lifted her chin. “I want to eat it. I’m the young lady of the house, and what I say goes. Mind your own business!”

Xiao Yan looked down at her defiant display, and for a fleeting moment, a glimmer of amusement flickered in his midnight eyes. He quickly subdued it. Then, before she could react, he snatched the chili paste from her grip and set it back on the table. In the same motion, he bent down and swept her off her feet.

Instinctively, Shen Nanyuan's arm wrapped around his neck. As the ground vanished from under her, she froze, stunned.

A strong, warm hand circled her waist, the other supporting her legs, steady and powerful, carrying her slowly outside.

Her heart pounded like a drum. Dazed, she lifted her gaze to his sharply defined jaw. His chest radiated a comforting warmth, so much so that her cheeks flushed, and her breath caught in her throat, making her fingers tingle with tension.

Nervous energy tingled through her whole body. At a loss, her long lashes trembled, and she could only remain obediently in his arms, letting him carry her through the night.

Xiao Yan's hold tightened fractionally.

That familiar, pleasant scent surrounded him, making every part of him feel unaccountably soft, stirring a desire to hold her even closer.

“Your injury is not yet healed. I forbid you from eating spicy food for your own good, miss. You mustn’t be willful.” His voice was low, deep, and even more magnetic in the quiet of the night.

“I can indulge you in everything else, but not in this. Once you’re well, you may eat as you please, and I won’t interfere.”

Shen Nanyuan lowered her eyes, lips pressed together, lost in thought.

Xiao Yan frowned. “Are you still angry, miss?”

“No,” she replied quickly, “I’m not angry.”

It’s just... why does his tone feel so intimate?

At her words, his tense brow eased a little. “Eating light food will help your wound heal. Once you’re well, you can eat whatever you wish.”

He carried her inside, setting her gently on the soft couch. He leaned in until their eyes were level, his gaze earnest and deep. “Did you hear me, miss?”

Her usually calm heart rippled with countless waves, as if a storm had broken within her. She couldn’t meet his eyes, lowering her head and nodding rapidly.

“Yes, I heard you.”

“That’s good,” he said.

Xiao Yan straightened, looking down at her from above. His hands still seemed to remember the lingering softness of holding her, and he swallowed before speaking. “Rest early, miss. I’ll take my leave.”

Only when the door closed did Shen Nanyuan finally breathe out and lift her eyes to where Xiao Yan had just left. Her heart still pounded wildly.

She pressed her lips together, a strange, unnamable emotion flooding her whole body, making her tremble, unable to calm herself.

The night was long and sleepless.

The next morning, Shen Nanyuan yawned and propped herself on the table with one hand, her head aching.

Perhaps she hadn’t slept well last night. She felt listless, and Qing Ruo watched her with some concern. “What’s wrong, miss?”

“It’s nothing,” she replied, “I just didn’t sleep well.”

Qing Ruo knew her mistress hadn’t slept soundly since her injury and felt a pang of sympathy.

“It’ll get better in a few days. Then you’ll be able to eat what you like and sleep well again.”

Shen Nanyuan nodded slightly and glanced around.

“Where’s Xiao Yan?”

“He’s gone to the young master,” Qing Ruo replied.

He had been staying in the Shaohua Courtyard for days now. Since her injuries had improved, it was time for him to return.

A strange sense of relief settled in Shen Nanyuan’s heart.

Last night’s events still left her in a daze, and her sleeplessness was mostly due to Xiao Yan.

He had changed so much—it unsettled her more than she cared to admit. Since coming here, she had never felt such intense unease and apprehension.

“Did you notice that Xiao Yan has changed a lot lately?” she couldn’t help but ask.

Ever since she was injured, his expression in the carriage had shocked her, and since then, he had become more assertive. Was she just being overly sensitive? Or had she simply grown too accustomed to the old, gentle and obedient Xiao Yan, so that even the slightest change felt unfamiliar?

Qing Ruo shook her head. “No, I haven’t noticed any change in Xiao Yan.”

She thought for a moment, then smiled. “But I can tell he’s very worried about you. That’s nothing unusual—everyone around you is worried, miss.”

Shen Nanyuan pinched her brow, but her worries did not abate.

Today, Meng Chuyue did not come. Instead, Gao Xueluo visited, bringing some pastries. She looked at Shen Nanyuan’s pallor and sighed softly.

“Yuanyuan, you didn’t sleep well last night?”

Shen Nanyuan touched her face, but it was Qing Ruo who replied.

“Miss’s wound is uncomfortable—she hasn’t slept well for days.”

“With such a deep wound, of course you’re not comfortable,” Gao Xueluo said gently. “But you’ll be better soon.”

Shen Nanyuan was too embarrassed to admit her wound no longer hurt as much as before—her sleeplessness had another cause entirely.