The Hanlin Academy is solemn and dignified, with sunlight falling on the bluestone road.
One could hear a pin drop in the carriage. Through the window with the curtains drawn, Song Lingzhi saw He Ming walking down the stage step by step. He was tall and slender, with the sunlight falling on the corners of his warm eyes.
Qiuyan looked up in surprise and thought carefully, but she couldn't think of anything unusual about Song Lingzhi.
She smiled softly and said, "After all, Master is very careful. I didn't notice it."
He Ming smiled and said, "I hope I am just overthinking it."
The eight-treasure carriage with emerald canopy and pearl tassels stood quietly in front of the Hanlin Academy. Song Lingzhi's pupils suddenly tightened and his gaze abruptly fell on Shen Yan.
Shen Yan was calm and composed, his robe was loose, exuding a casual and natural look.
He nonchalantly twirled the jade ring on his finger, without a trace of smile in his eyes.
"I heard that the number one scholar once fell down a mountain and injured his head, so he can't remember some things."
Shen Yan spoke softly and slowly lifted Song Lingzhi's chin with his fingers.
"If he saw me and you together, would he think of..."
Shen Yan lowered his head, his thin lips brushed past Song Lingzhi's ear.
"Thinking back to our wedding night, it was not him but me who married Zhizhi in the wedding ceremony?"
His voice was deep and hoarse, like the reflection of a dead vine or old tree in an ancient well, gloomy and terrifying.
The silk handkerchief in his hand was crumpled into a ball, and Song Lingzhi's heart tightened: "You..."
She was still leaning against the car wall, the soft sunlight shining through the gaps and falling on her fingertips, but Song Lingzhi could not feel any warmth at all.
The footsteps are getting closer.
Seeing that He Ming was about to approach the carriage, Song Lingzhi acted decisively and grabbed a corner of the curtain.
Prepare to get off.
She absolutely couldn't let He Ming see Shen Yan in the car.
Shen Yan calmly grasped that slender white wrist, and the moment their skin touched, he trembled in fear.
He Ming's footsteps came closer and closer. Through a curtain, Song Lingzhi could vaguely see the other person's shadow on the curtain.
She was anxious and worried that the noise in the car would attract He Ming's attention.
Song Lingzhi said in a low voice: "-Let go."
Shen Yan remained unmoved.
Those ink-black eyes were indifferent and calm.
Shen Yan's eyes did not blink, his dark pupils reflecting the figure of Song Lingzhi.
"Shen Yan, let go..." Song Lingzhi's voice was low and hoarse, her almond-shaped eyes were misty, and her long crow-feather eyelashes fluttered, stained with tears.
The sunlight shines on the wrist, and faint finger marks can be seen.
Shen Yan lowered his eyes and glanced lightly at Song Lingzhi's wrist.
His eyes paused, dark and unclear.
Song Lingzhi was born with a fair complexion, and her body would easily turn bruises from the slightest bumps or scrapes.
Now that Shen Yan was holding her wrist like this, red fingerprints had already appeared on it.
Shen Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and subconsciously relaxed them a little.
A faint red mark fell in Shen Yan's dark eyes, as dazzling as a blazing flame.
"… let go."
Song Lingzhi called out again, his voice hoarse, sobbing. Crystal tears slid down from the corners of Song Lingzhi's eyes and fell on the back of Shen Yan's hand.
The water meandered and slid down the back of Shen Yan's hand to the ground.
Shen Yan raised his eyes, his pair of deep black eyes were dark and deep, and his long and narrow eyelashes blocked the ups and downs in his eyes.
—He let go of Song Lingzhi.