Chapter Twenty-Nine: Schemes and Plots

"Is that any way to talk about your daughter?" Zhou Yun laughed softly.

Yu Wenjing sighed.

"But you know, Xiaxia’s fiery temperament is just like yours." Zhou Yun looked up toward the spot where Luo Yixia had run.

Yu Wenjing smiled in agreement.

"Xiaxia and Chengyi are a good match, really. They get along so well. Our Chengyi’s grown up, but I’ve never seen him treat any girl this kindly before." Zhou Yun’s face lit up with a relieved smile.

Meanwhile, Luo Yixia rushed upstairs in a hurry.

She found Song Chengyi standing before her bookshelf in her room, leafing through something.

Oh dear... Luo Yixia felt utterly distraught. Her entire life's secrets were on that shelf—years of diaries, though she only wrote sporadically, sometimes every few months, sometimes years apart.

"Don’t touch my things." Luo Yixia darted in front of Song Chengyi, blocking the bookshelf.

She saw him holding a romance novel and immediately snatched it away.

Song Chengyi couldn’t help but laugh at the little girl guarding her bookshelf as if it were a treasure.

"Is there something here you don’t want anyone to see? Why won’t you let me look?" Song Chengyi smiled, teasing.

Luo Yixia shook her head furiously, like a rattling drum. "No."

"Then why not? Are you afraid I’ll tease you for reading these silly books?" Song Chengyi raised his eyebrows, gesturing to the novel Luo Yixia had just taken from him.

"Watch your words! What do you mean, 'silly books'? It’s a romance novel, all right?" Luo Yixia held her chin high, retorting fearlessly.

"Is that so? 'Back to the Qing Dynasty as a Beggar'—so this is your taste?" Song Chengyi grinned.

To Luo Yixia, his smile seemed full of mockery.

"What’s wrong with that? Romance comes in all genres. I like it—is that not allowed?"

"So that’s how it is." Song Chengyi nodded with a knowing look.

Luo Yixia put the book back on the shelf and said, "It’s rude to touch other people’s things without permission. Didn’t you know?"

Song Chengyi nodded thoughtfully, as if conceding her point.

But then, unexpectedly, he broke into a brazen grin. "Is there really a line between yours and mine between husband and wife?"

Luo Yixia felt as though her heart had been pierced...

"You... you..." But she couldn’t find words to refute him.

"I’ve never gone into your room to rummage through your things," she finally managed, voice strained.

"Oh? So you’re blaming me for not inviting you into my room, or for not coming into yours sooner?" Song Chengyi stepped closer to Luo Yixia.

As he approached, Luo Yixia had no choice but to retreat step by step.

She ended up pressed against the bookshelf, and Song Chengyi leaned in, one arm braced beside her.

Meeting his gaze at such close distance, Luo Yixia swallowed nervously.

"Hmm? Why so quiet now?" Song Chengyi continued to provoke her.

Suppressing the flutter in her heart, Luo Yixia muttered, a little confused, "You’re so close—are you trying to make me commit a crime?"

"Hmm?" Song Chengyi frowned, seemingly puzzled by her words.

Luo Yixia stared at his teasing smile and the youthful arrogance of his grin, her eyes fixed on his lips.

She thought, You brought this on yourself—don’t blame me if you end up crying.

With that, she rose on tiptoe, intent on "ambushing" Song Chengyi.

But just then, Song Chengyi spun away. "The design of your room is so tacky, really unattractive."

Standing several meters away, he eyed the space critically. Luo Yixia was convinced he was doing it on purpose.