Chapter 140: Cooling Off or Staying Angry

Gu Yan stared blankly at Shen Yanhui, then sat up with a start: "You're crazy!"

This was the second floor, and there was a gap of over a meter between the two balconies; if one were to miss their footing...

She dared not think about it.

"Not crazy."

Shen Yanhui walked up to her, crouched down, and braced his hands on either side of her body.

Gu Yan glared at him, her eyes beginning to turn red again: "What if you had fallen? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

He reached out, his thumb brushing across the corner of her eye: "Worried about me?"

Gu Yan turned her face away: "Who's worried about you? I... I was afraid that if you fell, I'd have to call an ambulance!"

She shrank backward, moving further away from the foot of the bed, and curled up into a ball while clutching the quilt.

"Stay away from me." Her tone was stiff.

Shen Yanhui sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to pull her, but she dodged him. He said helplessly: "Still angry?"

Gu Yan turned her face away and didn't speak.

Actually, she wasn't that angry anymore; her emotions always flared up quickly and subsided just as fast.

Besides, thinking about it calmly, what he said wasn't wrong. If anything, she was the one being a bit unreasonable.

But she wouldn't admit it.

He looked at her profile and was silent for a few seconds: "Yanyan."

She ignored him.

He called out again: "Yanyan."

She still ignored him.

He suddenly reached out and scooped her, quilt and all, into his arms.

Gu Yan struggled a little: "Let go of me!"

He didn't let go, but instead held her even tighter: "No."

Gu Yan couldn't break free and could only glare at him.

He looked at her too.

The two of them stared at each other like that for a few seconds.

Gu Yan suddenly spoke, her voice muffled: "You chose to help your friend, I chose to help my friend, there's nothing left for us to say."

Shen Yanhui felt wronged: "Where did I help my friend?"

Gu Yan was stunned for a moment: "You... you spoke up for Zhou Wei."

"I spoke up for him?" He looked at her, "What did I say?"

Gu Yan thought about it.

He said Zhou Wei would find out sooner or later, said hiding someone wouldn't solve the problem, said Zhou Wei not investigating was a gesture of respect...

It seemed... he really hadn't said anything biased toward Zhou Wei.

But she was still very angry.

"Anyway, you just aren't on my side."

He looked at her, his gaze very deep.

"If I wasn't on your side, why would I jump across the balcony in the middle of the night?"

Gu Yan was choked up by this and retorted: "It's not like I told you to come."

Yet he said: "If I didn't come, would I leave you to sulk by yourself and be even angrier tomorrow?"

Gu Yan: "..."

He looked at her stubborn expression and the corners of his mouth curved upward.

"Yanyan."

"What."

"I know you mean well."

Gu Yan was stunned for a moment and turned her head to look at him.

He raised his hand and tucked a stray lock of hair by her cheek behind her ear: "Fang Qinru is your friend; it's only right that you protect her."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yan's eyes began to turn red again: "Then why did you scold me..."

"It was my fault." Shen Yanhui sighed, "Can you forgive me?"

Gu Yan had been prepared to continue arguing with him, but his immediate admission of fault caught her off guard.

She had always been one to yield to soft tactics rather than hard ones, and because of this, she really couldn't stay angry anymore.

Mostly, it had just been a case of one word leading to another...

She pursed her lips and said softly: "Actually, I know what you said makes sense. Otherwise, I wouldn't have promised you earlier not to get too involved."

Shen Yanhui kissed the top of her head and said softly: "Mm."

"But..."

She paused.

"But whenever I think of how Sister Fang looked that night, I just can't help myself."

Shen Yanhui didn't speak, just gently patted her back.

Gu Yan continued: "You didn't see it; she was crying so hard her makeup was ruined, her eyes were red, and her whole body was shaking. I've known her for so long, and I've never seen her like that."

Her voice was muffled.

"She's usually such a gentle and dignified person, always steady in everything she does. Seeing her like that that night, I felt incredibly distressed."

Shen Yanhui lowered his head to look at her.

"So you just rushed over."

"Yeah." Gu Yan nodded, "I didn't think that much at the time, I just felt I couldn't let her stay there alone."

She raised her head and looked at him.

"I know you're right, hiding her away won't solve the problem. She has to face Zhou Wei sooner or later, and she has to make a choice sooner or later. But..."

She bit her lip.

"But I just don't want her to be treated like that again. At least until she has thought it through herself, I don't want Zhou Wei to get near her."

Shen Yanhui looked at her, his gaze very deep.

"Then what if she thinks it through herself and decides to go back?"

Gu Yan was stunned for a moment.

"Then..."

She thought about it.

"That's her own business. If she wants to go back, I'll even take her back myself."

Shen Yanhui curled the corners of his mouth: "Mm."

Gu Yan continued: "I won't go look for her for the next few days, let her think it through by herself. However... if she takes the initiative to find me, I will definitely go."

"Mm, good girl."

The top of her head was kissed again, and Gu Yan was unhappy again: "I just washed my hair yesterday."

Shen Yanhui chuckled, his kiss landing on her face, then on her lips.

Gu Yan dodged left and right: "Don't kiss me, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Shen Yanhui stopped.

"Although I didn't do well in this matter, you weren't much better either."

"Mm?" Shen Yanhui made a gesture of listening intently.

"You were so calm when you started lecturing me, I couldn't take it in at all when I was angry."

He laughed lowly: "Then what do you want to hear?"

She thought about it: "You should just say, my wife is right. Then wait until my anger has faded, and then lecture me."

Shen Yanhui: "Okay."

Gu Yan was satisfied and nestled into his arms.

After a few seconds, he looked down at her: "Go take a bath?"

Gu Yan nodded, and then she was picked up horizontally.

"Shen Yanhui!"

"Mm."

"I can walk by myself—"

"I know."

He was already carrying her toward the bathroom.

The bathtub was filled with water, and steam was rising. He tested the water temperature, turned around, and looked at her: "Do you need my help?"

Gu Yan glared at him: "No, get out quickly."

He curled the corners of his mouth and obediently retreated.

The door closed.

Gu Yan took off her clothes and slowly sat into the bathtub. The warm water wrapped around her body, and the fatigue melted away bit by bit. She leaned against the edge of the tub, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

After showering and coming out, Shen Yanhui was already lying on the bed.

He was wearing a dark gray silk pajama set, leaning against the headboard with a book in his hand, and looked up when he heard movement: "Are you done washing?"

Gu Yan looked at him and suddenly frowned.

She walked over, stood by the bed, and looked down at him: "Shen Yanhui."

"Mm?"

"I suddenly feel something isn't right."

He put down the book and looked at her: "What isn't right?"

Gu Yan thought for a moment and organized her words: "We had a fight, right?"

"Mm."

"You made me angry, right?"

"Mm."

"Then you climbed over the balcony to coax me, right?"

"Mm."

Gu Yan pointed at herself, then pointed at him, incredulously: "And then I just forgave you like this? And even let you lie on my bed?"

Shen Yanhui looked at her with a smile in his eyes: "Seems so."

Gu Yan's frown deepened: "This is too fast. My anger hasn't even fully faded yet."

He sat up and reached out to pull her.

"Don't move." Gu Yan dodged backward.

He withdrew his hand, looked at her, and asked: "Then what should we do?"

Gu Yan thought about it and said: "I feel like I got over my anger too easily, it makes me look like I have no principles."

Shen Yanhui: "Then what do you want?"

Gu Yan crossed her arms and lifted her chin: "I've decided to keep being angry."

Shen Yanhui raised an eyebrow: "Still angry?"

"Mm." She nodded, "That didn't count just now; I was being coaxed by you. I'm starting to be angry all over again now."

Watching her serious expression, the smile in his eyes deepened: "Fine. Then you continue being angry, and I'll cooperate."

Gu Yan nodded with satisfaction: "That's more like it."

Shen Yanhui asked: "What do you need me to do?"

She cleared her throat and said: "First, you sleep in the study tonight."

"That won't do."

"Why won't it do?"

"Climbing over the balcony is too tiring," he said, "Pick another one."

Gu Yan was choked with anger: "Then why didn't you mind the fatigue when you climbed over just now?"

He curved his lips: "I was afraid you'd be angry just now, so I couldn't be bothered with the fatigue."

Gu Yan was speechless. She glared at him, wanting to scold him a few times, but didn't know what to scold him with. Finally, she reached out, pulled the quilt away, hauled him up from the bed, and pushed him toward the outside.

"Out, out, out!"

He cooperated by letting her push him toward the doorway, not resisting at all.

"What about the second thing?" he asked.

"There is no second thing! Do the first thing first and then we'll talk!"

Pushing him to the doorway, she pulled the door open and shoved him out.

"You are not allowed to climb over the balcony to get in tonight!"

Shen Yanhui stood outside the door, braced against it, and asked with a smile: "Then what if I miss you?"

"Then you can just keep missing me!"

With a "Clap!", the door closed before his eyes.

Gu Yan finally felt comfortable.