Chapter 85: The Different Him

Gu Yan yawned; she had slightly overestimated her own stamina.

Emerging from the studio, she hung almost entirely on Shen Yanhui, her voice soft and languid: "Shen Yanhui, let's go back... I can't walk anymore."

Shen Yanhui held her waist, his other hand gently rubbing her sore muscles: "So delicate?"

"It's all your fault..." Gu Yan muttered softly, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder.

Shen Yanhui chuckled lowly: "I'm truly afraid I might break you..."

But the voice was too soft, and Gu Yan did not hear it clearly.

"What did you say?" She looked up.

"Nothing." Shen Yanhui changed the subject, "Then we'll head straight back to the manor."

When the car drove back to the manor, the rain had already begun to fall.

Chang Su was waiting at the entrance with an umbrella, his expression somewhat grave. Seeing Shen Yanhui get out of the car, he stepped forward quickly and lowered his voice: "Sir, there is news."

Gu Yan was very tactful and waved her hand: "You go ahead and get busy, I'll play by myself."

Shen Yanhui nodded: "Don't run around, I'll come find you in a while."

Gu Yan watched him follow Chang Su toward the study, then turned and walked toward the garden.

Pei Wanjun was having dinner in the glass conservatory.

She remained quiet; a maid was serving dishes nearby, and she moved her chopsticks occasionally, her eyes still vacant.

Gu Yan sat down opposite her, and the maid immediately added a set of tableware.

The meal was eaten in silence.

Gu Yan observed Pei Wanjun while she ate. Her movements were elegant but mechanical, as if she were completing some kind of program. The gauze on her left wrist had been replaced with a smaller dressing, its edges clean and neat.

After the meal, Gu Yan sat with her in the conservatory for a while.

It was called keeping her company, but in reality, they were each doing their own thing. Pei Wanjun was reading an old collection of poetry, and Gu Yan was playing on her phone.

A message from Lin Wei popped up at this moment: 【Quick, look at the Jingcheng Haomen Shunu Jiaoliu Qun! It's hilarious!】

Gu Yan tapped it open.

The group was in the middle of a heated discussion about... her.

To be precise, they were discussing the painter Yan.

A young lady studying at the Jingzhou Academy of Fine Arts said excitedly that the school had invited Yan to share her experiences with them, and she was a little fan of Yan. Someone asked who Yan was, and she enthusiastically provided some background information.

Then Zhou Shuyao appeared.

She expressed that she was also very interested and asked if she could go listen as well.

That young lady immediately said she could help get a ticket.

What followed was a group of people jumping on the bandwagon, praising Yan as if she were peerless in heaven and on earth.

Gu Yan: "..."

She called Lin Wei: "Is everyone this free?"

"What else?" Lin Wei laughed, "But I'm genuinely curious, what kind of expression would Zhou Shuyao have if she knew you were Yan? Would she turn from a fan into a hater on the spot?"

Gu Yan was speechless.

But she suddenly remembered something: "Hey, Lin Wei... could you talk to Professor Chen? I might not be able to make it in person, can it be changed to online?"

"?" Lin Wei was stunned, "Why can't you make it?"

"I'm in Paris."

"???" Lin Wei's voice went up an octave, "You ran off to Paris again?"

Gu Yan explained briefly.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds, then Lin Wei's gritted-teeth voice came through: "Heh, being fed dog food again."

As soon as she finished speaking, a rustling sound came from over there, along with a young man's clingy voice: "Sister..."

Gu Yan was alert: "Lin Wei?"

Next, she heard ear-reddening kissing sounds, and Lin Wei's intermittent gasps: "Don't... don't kiss anymore..."

The call was hung up.

Gu Yan sneered: "Crashed and burned, you scumbag."

Half an hour later, Lin Wei sent a message: 【Professor Chen agreed, it's changed to online. You owe me a favor!】

Gu Yan replied with a smiley face and sent another: 【Got it, go enjoy your night of passion.】

Lin Wei: 【.】

Outside the window, the rain was getting heavier.

She got up to say goodbye to Pei Wanjun, but Pei Wanjun didn't react, merely turning a page of poetry gently.

Returning to the master bedroom, Shen Yanhui had not yet returned.

Gu Yan was exhausted and fell asleep the moment she touched the bed.

In the middle of the night, she was jolted awake by a thunderclap.

Opening her eyes, the other side of the bed was empty; Shen Yanhui still hadn't returned. Outside the window, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, and raindrops pelted the glass, making one's heart flutter with anxiety.

She rubbed her eyes, threw on a coat, and got out of bed.

The hallway lights were dim, and the sounds of rain, wind, and thunder intertwined, casting a gloomy atmosphere over this ancient manor.

The study downstairs had its lights on.

Gu Yan walked over without a second thought.

The door was left ajar.

She saw Shen Yanhui standing with his back to the door, the light casting a long shadow on him.

On the floor lay a bound foreign man, bruised and swollen, pleading in garbled French.

Then, Shen Yanhui raised his foot and kicked that person hard in the abdomen.

A dull thud of impact.

The man let out a pained grunt.

Shen Yanhui looked at him coldly, his face devoid of any expression. That kind of sinister, icy aura was something Gu Yan had never seen before.

She stood frozen at the doorway.

For a moment, she almost doubted she had ever truly known him.

It was at this moment that Shen Yanhui turned his head.

Seeing Gu Yan at the doorway, his brows furrowed, and he instructed Chang Su beside him: "Continue the interrogation."

He walked out of the study and closed the door, cutting off the sounds from inside.

"Why did you come down?" He walked up to Gu Yan, his voice having returned to its usual gentleness, "Were you woken up by the thunder?"

Gu Yan was still a bit dazed, looking up at him.

The sinister aura on his body had been completely reined in, as if that scene just now had been nothing but her hallucination.

"Mm." She responded in a low voice, "You weren't there, so I came to find you."

Shen Yanhui reached out, intending to pull her into his arms.

Gu Yan, however, subconsciously flinched.

It was a very slight movement, but Shen Yanhui noticed it.

The aura around him instantly turned cold.

Gu Yan thought to herself that this was bad, so she acted spoiled, taking the initiative to step forward and hug his waist, rubbing her face against his chest: "Hold me, it's a bit cold."

Shen Yanhui was silent for a few seconds.

Then he bent down and scooped her up horizontally.

"Back to the room," he said, his voice very calm.

But Gu Yan could feel that the arms holding her were tightened very firmly.

Returning to the master bedroom, Shen Yanhui placed her on the bed, went to the bathroom himself to wring out a hot towel, and returned to wipe her face.

His movements were very gentle.

But neither of them spoke.

The thunder outside the window gradually faded away, leaving only the sound of pattering rain.

"Shen Yanhui." Gu Yan struggled for a long while before finally speaking, her voice very small, "That person just now..."

Shen Yanhui paused and said in a low voice: "He sent two photos to my mother, causing her to lose control of her emotions and commit suicide."

Gu Yan froze.

She remembered the scars on Pei Wanjun's wrists and the wound slashed across the side of Shen Yanhui's neck.

"Why did he do that? Does he have a grudge against you?"

Shen Yanhui did not answer.

He simply placed the hot towel on the bedside table, then lay down beside her and pulled her into his embrace.

"Sleep," he said, "I will handle these matters."

Gu Yan was in his arms, but she could not sleep.

In her mind, she kept replaying that scene from just now—Shen Yanhui's icy expression as he kicked that man.

Such a strange version of him.

Such a... terrifying version of him.

Yet when he carried her back to the room, wiped her face, and whispered "Sleep," he had turned back into the Shen Yanhui she was familiar with.

She turned over to face Shen Yanhui and reached out to hug his waist. It wasn't enough, so she kept burrowing into his embrace, pressing even closer.

She kept moving around, wanting to find a position that was both comfortable and allowed her to hold him tightly.

Suddenly, her hand was pressed down.

The man lowered his head to bite her ear, his scorching breath surrounding her: "Stop moving."

Gu Yan: "..."

She was truly speechless!

She had kindly wanted to comfort him and hug him, but look at what was on his mind!

Like a dog biting Lu Dongbin, he didn't recognize a good heart.