CH 23.4

Shan Xing still wanted to speak but saw Meng Huan throw the fishing net and turn around. “I’m going back to the courtyard.”

Shan Xing opened his mouth again, but Meng Huan had already stepped back. Only his back was seen, but it inexplicably revealed his agitation.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang—”

Meng Huan’s heart pounded so fast.

In his impression, he wasn’t drugged, but for some reason, his heartbeat was so fast, thumping as if it was about to jump out of his chest.

On the one hand, he suspected that Shan Xing was talking nonsense, but on the other hand, Meng Huan couldn’t help but start thinking: could it be…… he was drugged?

Meng Huan already stopped himself before letting the idea get into his head.

—Hold on.

Impossible: he couldn’t have been drugged! Absolutely impossible!

Only Xu Ruolin had a drug at that time, and Xu Ruolin was the original host’s friend. How could he harm him?

Impossible!

Chanting impossible in his head, Meng Huan headed into the courtyard, back to his bed, and pulled the quilt to the top of his head. He felt his dull heartbeat louden under the quilt until it infinitely enveloped his ears, blocking all other senses.

…… His heart inexplicably became very frustrated.

He had no way to determine whether Xu Ruolin would really not hurt him. This book was full of people currying favor, fighting, and scheming against each other, saying one thing but meaning something else. Why should he trust Xu Ruolin, whom he had only met once?

His heart became tight.

And he remembered Lin Bozhou.

If asked to pick one of the people in this group, he even began willingly choosing him.

Meng Huan loathed this environment without a sense of security.

Not long after lying down, the maid called him to eat, and he came out to dig in the food. His mood finally improved slightly after eating when footsteps sounded on the door.

The little old man, Shan Shu, wearing a hat, said, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

His expression was cold. “Time to learn to read.”

“……”

Meng Huan’s eyes went black.

He closed his eyes and asked in his mind: Is this a nightmare?

Meng Huan was in a particularly bad mood all afternoon.

He didn’t know why he felt a twitching and throbbing in his heart. It was probably because of Shan Xing’s words. In short, his studying condition in the afternoon was bad. Meng Huan originally did not do well in school. Unlike others who could concentrate on their studies, he would be particularly restless when he had something on his mind.

So, Shan Shu’s face was ugly when he left. “Write half a page for one word. I’ll check them tomorrow.”

Meng Huan’s mood couldn’t even be described as bad now.

It was frustrating to the extreme! Incredibly annoyed!

After eating, he began to catch up on his homework.

He wrote word by word with paper and brushes on the table until his wrist hurt. He really wanted to shout: How dare you! I am the princess! How dare you give me so many assignments!

But thinking of Shan Shu’s grave face, Meng Huan was afraid.

…… Lin Bozhou didn’t come today either, and he couldn’t save him from the fire.

…… If Lin Bozhou were here, Shan Shu would not dare to lecture him. Lin Bozhou would not let Shan Shu lecture him, let alone let Shan Shu give him so much homework, but he would lightly send him away and teach Meng Huan to write himself.

…… For some reason, Meng Huan was very confident of this.

Nobody dared to offend Lin Bozhou’s prestige. He was the head of this feudal family, the tip of the power pyramid, and the mob boss in everyone’s heart.

—But!

They were all afraid of Lin Bozhou!

But. Not. A. Single. Person. Feared. His. Wife!

Meng Huan: qwq

Meng Huan let his imaginations run wild while catching up on homework, muttering and thinking confusingly about what Shan Xing said. His mood was thoroughly bad, dipping into the ink crazily as he did the homework.

After some time, the maid at the door said, “Your Highness, it’s haishi.”

Meng Huan seemed to return to the year when the class president rushed him to hand in homework. “Ahhh, I know. You guys sleep first. I will finish writing this soon!”

“Princess……”

The voice was soft and calm.

The oil lamp on the table darkened a bit. Meng Huan braced himself to fiddle with the wick so the light spread more. When he turned back, a tall figure approached the table at some point.

Lin Bozhou’s silky hair had been put down, and he wore a jade-white sleeping robe with an outer cloth draped on his shoulders, appearing lazy. Apparently, he was here to see him before going to bed.

He lowered his eyes to survey the paper on the table, and his eyebrows gently frowned.

An extremely complicated feeling surged in Meng Huan’s heart for a moment.

“Madam is still writing?”

Lin Bozhou sounded like he was extremely disapproving.

…… He was unhappy.

A crying face and five big words flashed through Meng Huan’s mind:

He. Feels. Heartache. For. Me!

Probably after a particularly bad mood in the afternoon, his emotional state became sullen, having to write after eating. Because of Lin Bozhou’s sentence, something in Meng Huan’s heart collapsed and loudly crumbled, flowing out a thousand miles.

He bit his lower lip and said softly, “Well, there are many words to write……”

His voice was soft, and the ending was slightly slurred, pressed in his throat, but one could hear the trill.

Lin Bozhou’s fingers pressing the paper paused, and he lifted his eyes. Meng Huan’s head was lowered, his eyes bright but moist, and he unconsciously pursed his lips; his stance was a bit unnatural.

Feeling aggrieved but also didn’t dare to express it.

After a short silence, Lin Bozhou heard something sink and rush forth in his heart. He walked to Meng Huan’s side and looked down at his small sullen face. “Don’t write it anymore if you can’t finish it. What does it have to do with you?”

Meng Huan: “W-Will be scolded……”

“Scolded by whom?”

The ending tone was dragged out, and the power of being above everyone was self-evident.

Meng Huan didn’t know what to say. He thought Shan Shu was a good person, but the academic task was really heavy, and he couldn’t complete it.

Meng Huan shook his head, not wanting to say bad things about Shan Shu.

Lin Bozhou knew his thoughts and gestured, “Go to sleep.”

Meng Huan dawdled. “No, the word……”

“Don’t write anymore. Tomorrow—” Lin Bozhou’s voice was slightly spirited and held a rare emotion. “This prince will send someone to tell Shan Shu to be more relaxed with you and not so strict.”

Meng Huan’s tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed, and he nodded.

A very faint sigh rang out above him with a shallow airy tone.

Lin Bozhou’s hand reached over, his knuckles long and bony, stroking the side of his face and gently holding his ears.

He said, “Huan Huan, be good and go to bed. Sleeping late is not good for your body.”

When he said this, Meng Huan felt the thin calluses of his slender fingertips brushing past his earlobe, bringing up a fluttering itch like the ripples in his dream the other day.

“Bathump—”

Meng Huan heard his heart beat violently.

——————–

Huan Huan: I-Is it the feeling of love? (small face flushed incredulously)

Huan Huan (hold on): Did you just say sleeping late was bad for your body?