Second Marriage

Translator: tarararawr

Editor: Larkspur

Chapter 41 Part 2

She bumped into the small table, and the porcelain behind her crashed into pieces. Her heart was beating wildly at the sudden noise.

“Xiao Youning, you’ve guessed it, so why are you still hiding it?” He closed in on her flustered visage, forcing her to stand on her tiptoes.

He saw that the tip of her nose was sweating, and he didn’t know whether she was nervous or scared. Thus, he reached out to support her by her arms and helped her sit on the small table. With his hands on the edge of the table, he leaned in and looked her in the eyes.

They were so close that he could count her eyelashes and see the emotions reflected in her eyes.

It was obviously the same face, yet it was so unfamiliar. From the corner of the eyes to the tip of the brow, she had never seen such gentless.

“You guessed it, so are you hiding because you’re afraid?” He didn’t think it would be good to ask so directly.

“What are you talking about, Fifth Master?” Xiao Youning was so overwhelmed that she closed her eyes under his passionate gaze. Her lips trembled, and the mole under her eye also trembled.

Ye Shen softly chuckled. He touched the beautiful mark below her eye and gently pressed the warm skin.

“Xiao Youning, I am saying I like you. What are you hiding from?”

He had light calluses on his fingertips. She didn’t know if it was caused by holding a pen or something else. It brushed her skin and made her shudder. She strangely felt numb all over.

She was even more shocked by his direct words that she stopped breathing. Her mind was blank. She couldn’t stop herself and opened her eyes. She looked at him in shock.

When he saw her open her eyes, his smile grew deeper and deeper. His fingers slid down and pressed against her lips. “Even if you are afraid, you have to breathe, okay? Are you going to suffocate yourself?”

When he said that, she really took a breath, and then she choked. She bent over and coughed.

Ye Shen didn’t think that the first time he confessed to her would scare her like this. He had no choice but to pat her on the back. She didn’t realize that she was leaning against his shoulder until she stopped coughing. She knew she should leave, but she was so suddenly dependent on his body.

This person once came forward when she needed help the most. She knew she was annoying when she pestered him, but he was tolerant.

In the end, she knew that she was in the wrong with how things turned out. However, she openly told herself the truth. Just now he said... he likes me.

“I don’t want to hide. It’s because I think it’s impossible…” She leaned her forehead against his shoulder, her voice was hoarse. “I am a divorced woman. According to seniority, you are still my elder. I also used you to retaliate against the Li family. I am so troublesome. How can you like me?”

“So that’s why you kept on pulling back. Even Yuan Guo and Jian Yin could see it. Your heart thinks it’s impossible.” Ye Shen lifted her chin. “Xiao Youning, look at it clearly. Do you think I care about seniority and reputation? I only care about two things: whether I and the person I care about can live a happier life than other people.”

Her mind froze.

“Y-you, did you calculate going against the rules?” It took her a long time to come up with the words to describe this.

Ye Shen laughed. It was something she had never seen him do so freely before. After laughing, he raised a sharp eyebrow, leaned over her and their noses touched. “Yes, so do you want to try to marry such a person? He can let you do whatever you want.”

" "

“Maybe… May I think about it?” Frightened by him, she closed her eyes again and flinched back.

But she did not know when his arm had wrapped around her waist. He formed a restraint on her, and basically did not let her hide. But she at least raised her head and he asked with annoyance, “What do you mean ‘think about it’?”

She closed her eyes and murmured with a blush on her face, “No matter what, a girl should always be modest. Otherwise, what should I do if you think I’m too much?”

Ye Shen was amused by her and pulled her from the table into his arms. “Well, you can think it over now, and when you’re done, I’ll let go.”

“You… this is called coercion…” She listened to the laughter coming from his chest. She also laughed as her eyes curved.

It felt so sudden, but she wasn’t really foolish. How could she have not noticed it? But it was just like he had said: she had finally guessed it, became scared, and was afraid that she was overthinking. It was because her heart was on him.

When Yuan Guo and Jian Yin knocked on the door, Xiao Youning was already sitting in the other room watching the scenery. Ye Shen was sitting in front of a long table with his head down as he was writing something.

There seemed to be nothing inappropriate between them, but Xiao Youning knew what she had just promised. It was like she was still in a dream.

Jian Yin handed Ye Shen a letter, and then looked at Xiao Youning and her maid to the side. He was about to say something but hesitated.

Ye Shen said, “You don’t have to be careful with your words in the future. Speak.”

Jian Yin then said, “The people and goods are all real, but I don’t know if it will be tampered with after it arrives.”

He calmly and confidently said, “They won’t. They will only tamper with it when they are near Datong. Pay attention to it.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Youning felt something was amiss. She shook her fan and asked, “Those people during dinner are martial artists. They are not businessmen at all, right?”

She had seen it during the meal, but it wasn’t on her mind.

Ye Shen originally didn’t want to hide it from her, and replied, “Yes. We may have to break into the bandit’s lair again. Are you afraid?”

He needed to find that thing.

Xiao Youning rolled her eyes. They shone brightly as she asked, “Am I not in a bandit’s lair right now?”

Jian Yin’s eyes widened at her words while Yuan Guo nodded in approval. Ye Shen was delighted by her and said meaningfully, “Mhm… perhaps.”

It was going to be night soon, so perhaps he could really become a bandit? And let her completely become “a strong bandit leader’s wife1”.

Footnotes

压寨夫人 (yāzhàifūrén) – It’s from a story where this phrase is a means to measure the ‘strength’ of a village. If the leader does not marry a wife, then it means his village is too poor or easily conquered.