To Live Up to This Spring - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

My head was filled with things too shameful to speak of. I was miserable, yet I couldn’t stop remembering them.

Just then, a hand grabbed my arm.

I jumped in fright. When I turned around and saw it was Wei Jin, I let out a breath of relief and forced an awkward smile. “Ah… what a coincidence.”

He frowned impatiently. “Coincidence, my ass. This is my house!”

“What were you thinking about?”

“I called you so many times. Did you not hear me?”

Panicked, I waved my hands. “No, nothing. I wasn’t thinking about anything!”

Yet my gaze followed Pei Lian of its own accord.

He was wearing a deep purple brocade robe with fitted sleeves today, making him look even more noble.

The clothes fit him well, wrapping around his firm muscles without looking overly conspicuous.

Wei Jin tugged at me again. “I’m talking to you!”

I snapped back to my senses. “Hm?”

“What did you say?”

“I said that though our families arranged a betrothal for us when we were children, my heart already belongs to someone else. I came today to break off the engagement, and I hope you won’t cling to me.”

In the pavilion, Pei Lian lifted his teacup.

Even his hands were beautiful, with distinct, elegant knuckles.

That night…

I shook my head hard.

I’m doomed, I’m doomed!

Amitabha…

Wei Jin roared, “Shen Miaozhen!”

I came back to myself again and gave a perfunctory reply. “Oh, oh, I know, I know.”

He refused to let it go. “Repeat what I just said.”

Feeling very guilty, I said, “Is that really necessary?”

Wei Jin seemed to think of something, and suddenly smiled.

“Oh,” he said. “I get it. You’re pretending to be stupid on purpose.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve known each other since we were children, and your mother once did my mother a great kindness. I won’t abandon you.”

“Once Miss Zou enters the household, it wouldn’t be impossible to let you be a respectable concubine.”

Huh?

The corners of my mouth twitched. “Ha-ha. You really know how to joke.”

He rolled his eyes at me, scoffed, and left me with one sentence. “Don’t fail to appreciate my kindness.”

Then he turned and walked away.

I punched at the empty air.

If he had the guts to break off the engagement, he should go say it to the Marchioness. What use was there saying all this to me?

It wasn’t as if my words carried any weight.

I was very familiar with Jing’an Marquis Mansion.

There was a spot in the rear courtyard where many crabapple trees had been planted, and they were just in full bloom now.

Before I knew it, I had wandered over.

Through the blurred shadows of the blossoms, I caught sight of a familiar figure.

Before I could react, that figure slowly turned around, and a pair of eyes looked straight at me.

Being stared at like that made my head spin.

Forcing myself to stay calm, I dipped into a curtsy. “G-General Pei.”

He cupped his hands to me. “Miss Shen.”

Then silence fell between us, with only the rustling of the drooping crabapple blossoms in the wind.

I smoothed my hair and let out a few fake laughs from my throat. “Wh-what a coincidence. To run into you here again today.”

The moment I said it, I regretted it.

Wasn’t I basically making it clear that I had seen him… doing that that night?

I wanted nothing more than to crawl into a crack in the ground.

Pei Lian, however, was perfectly composed.

He said, “It is not a coincidence.”

“I came today for you.”

I went still for a moment, then snapped my head up. “For… for me?”

I backed away several steps and covered my neck. “I-I may have seen you doing that, but you can’t just do that to me!”

“After all, I didn’t mean to see you doing that…”

He seemed about to explain and took a step toward me.

I shouted at him, “Don’t come any closer!”

“I… I am still the daughter of an official family. You… you can’t just kill me as you please!”

“Besides, besides, I am the daughter-in-law of Jing’an Marquis Mansion!”

“This is my territory!”

I straightened my back and put on a fierce expression. “If you dare touch me, I’ll make you regret it!”

Pei Lian fell silent.

After a while, he spoke again. “Miss Shen, you misunderstand.”

“I have no intention of harming you.”

“I came to thank you.”

My mouth fell slightly open. “Huh?”

“Thank me?”

He nodded. “That day, if you had not suddenly appeared, I fear I would not have regained my senses so quickly.”

“It was my fault that you caught a chill.”

I didn’t quite understand what he meant.

But since he had no intention of hurting me, I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh. It was nothing, just a small favor.”

“You don’t need to take it to heart.”

With that, Pei Lian bowed to me.

He said, “It was not nothing.”

“I owe you a debt of gratitude. If there is ever anything you need of me, I will go through fire and water without hesitation.”

I stared at him blankly for a long while.

My clever little brain began spinning rapidly.

I didn’t need him to go through fire and water.

But… there was indeed something I wanted to ask for his help with.

So I said, “Do you mean that?”

“With absolute sincerity.”

“Then marry me.”

He froze.

I added, “I know your family background is quite lofty, and you have military achievements to your name. I am not worthy of you.”

“But you said you wanted to repay my kindness.”

“Then how about we have a fake marriage?”

“Help me break off my engagement with the marquis household. After we marry, we will set a term of three years, during which we will have nothing to do with each other.”

“After three years, we can divorce amicably.”

“What do you think, General Pei?”

Almost without hesitation, Pei Lian said softly, “All right.”