Chapter 128: Keeping Them in the Palm of Your Hand

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The matter in Jingnan had finally come to an end.

By then, three days had already passed.

Lu Yunzhou had driven Shen Chaoxi back to the Shen residence.

Perhaps the torrential rain in Jingnan had stopped and the skies had cleared. Or perhaps the capital had never seen rain at all. The trees were lush and green, yet they could not keep out the blazing sunlight.

Only outside Birch Garden did the dense treetops stretch overhead, overflowing with verdant life.

“Captain, we’ve arrived at the Shen residence.”

Lu Fifteen’s voice suddenly came from the driver’s seat as he stopped the car beneath the shade of the trees.

He turned around.

The man seated in the back raised his eyes. His handsome brows were faintly furrowed, and his gaze settled upon him.

Shen Chaoxi seemed to have fallen asleep against his shoulder.

At the sound of Lu Fifteen’s voice, Lu Yunzhou’s brows drew together ever so slightly, as though displeased.

Sensing the warning hidden in his captain’s eyes, Lu Fifteen paused, his whole body tensing.

Then he saw the young woman asleep against his captain. Her lips were tightly closed, and he immediately fell silent.

Yet Shen Chaoxi woke at that very moment.

Realizing that she had been leaning against the man’s shoulder, her eyes narrowed slightly as she straightened. A large coat still hung over her shoulders.

Lu Yunzhou lowered his gaze. As he watched the girl rise from him, he studied her face, and a gentle light surfaced in his eyes, veiled within their depths.

Unless one looked closely, it would have been impossible to tell that such obscure emotions lay within his gaze. Even Lu Fifteen found himself wondering why their captain had grown increasingly indulgent toward Miss Shen.

Their captain had never been willing to spare anyone more than a glance, let alone show such concern for a young woman. Even if Miss Shen was the granddaughter of his mentor, what of it?

And yet his captain’s current behavior was astonishing. It was almost impossible to imagine that one day he would allow someone to lean against him for the entire journey without reacting in the slightest, without showing any aversion.

Then, just as Lu Fifteen was being silenced by his captain’s warning gaze, he saw their normally aloof and unapproachable captain get out of the car and personally open the door on the right.

Lu Fifteen was utterly dumbfounded.

A breeze suddenly swept past, stirring the loose strands of hair beside the girl’s ear.

Wearing the man’s oversized military coat, Shen Chaoxi stood outside Birch Garden and looked at the man who had brought her home.

Sunlight filtered through the trees and fell across her face. Her skin was luminous and pale, as though it were glowing.

Her eyes were extraordinarily beautiful. Their color was hidden beneath her long lashes, subdued beneath their delicate sweep.

There was a trace of fragility within her calmness—perhaps that was simply the impression she always gave.

Even beneath the scorching sun, her skin seemed steeped in snow, pale and translucent.

When Lu Yunzhou stepped out of the car, he extended his long arm to steady her for a moment. Shen Chaoxi then raised her hand and removed the coat Lu Yunzhou had given her when they left Jingnan.

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She handed it back to him.

“Thank you.”

The scene happened to fall within the gaze of the Shen family’s steward. Standing inside Birch Garden, he had witnessed Shen Chaoxi getting out of the car, and he could not help lifting his brows with a delighted smile.

The old steward secretly rejoiced. Suppressing his excitement, he clapped his hands once, then hurried toward the pavilion.

“Master.”

Beyond the pavilion stretched a lake whose far shore could not be seen. Willow branches swayed in the breeze. At the end of summer, Birch Garden was practically a natural refuge from the heat.

Old Master Shen sat in the pavilion wearing a gray cloth shirt with short sleeves, looking just like an elderly man taking a stroll in the park.

His head bowed, he was studying the chessboard on the stone table with great concentration. Without even raising his eyes, he responded absently,

“Old Mu, don’t rush. Look at this game of mine—it’s reached a critical point.”

“No, Master—it’s the eldest young lady!”

The old steward came running over, his face alight with excitement. The moment he said those words, Old Master Shen looked up from the chessboard. The instant his eyes landed on the steward, his brows furrowed.

“Who did you say?”

“Oh, you heard correctly! It’s the eldest young lady. Master, I just saw Young Master Lu and the eldest young lady return. Young Master Lu had only just brought her to the entrance.”

Upon hearing this, the obsession with the chess game that had filled Old Master Shen’s eyes transformed into unmistakable excitement.

He leaned closer to Steward Mu, as though trying to guess what had happened between the two younger ones in Jingnan.

“Hurry up and tell me—how did it go?”

The old steward was excited as well. He bent down, just about to tell Old Master Shen what had happened, when—

Suddenly.

At that moment, a figure approached from outside the pavilion. A pure and alluring face displayed a teasing smile.

“If Grandfather wants to know so badly, why didn’t you come with me?”

“...”

Old Master Shen, who had been eagerly waiting for the gossip, froze.

“Oh. A-Chao.”

His expression stiffened. He slowly suppressed the excitement on his face and raised his head.

The young woman stood with her arms folded across her chest, a playful glint in her eyes as she stared intently at Old Master Shen in the pavilion.

Old Master Shen smiled. His kindly face could not keep the corners of his mouth from lifting.

“A-Chao, you’re back.”

Shen Chaoxi looked at her grandfather, whose expression was rigid and whose smile was awkwardly forced, clearly attempting to cover something up. She raised a brow.

The next moment, she bent slightly, meeting the amused eyes of Old Master Shen, and asked in a low voice,

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“Having Lu Yunzhou take me to the military district for training—hm, Grandfather, was that your idea?”

Old Master Shen laughed twice.

“Ha-ha.”

Had she discovered it so quickly?

“Well, it’s just that after you returned from the military district this time, your complexion has been poor lately. You really ought to go back there and train a little.”

“Mm. I do need training.”

Shen Chaoxi nodded with great solemnity.

Her eyes curved into crescents.

Old Master Shen felt a chill run down his back.

The breeze blew past, cold and unsettling.

“I think you’re getting on in years too, Grandfather. You can’t spend every day idling around Birch Garden. I’m worried your health won’t hold up and you won’t be able to keep pace. Starting tomorrow, you should train with Yuan as well.”

“Yuan?” Old Master Shen’s expression shifted slightly, and he looked momentarily puzzled. “Has Yuan returned?”

No.

Wasn’t A-Chao still in Jingnan?

How did she know everything happening in the capital so clearly?

Shen Yuan had only just returned to the Shen residence that day.

After thinking it over, Old Master Shen seemed to recall something about training. He hurriedly took his granddaughter’s hand and said,

“A-Chao, your grandfather is in excellent health. I don’t need to train. Look, I’m still strong and vigorous...”

Before he could finish, his granddaughter interrupted him with a smile.

“That’s precisely why you need to exercise, so you can preserve your good health.”

“No, A-Chao. Your grandfather is already in his seventies or eighties. I can’t keep up with the pace of you young people.”

“Hmm?”

Shen Chaoxi smiled, fixing her grandfather with a serious gaze. “Didn’t you just say that you’re still strong and vigorous? And precisely because you’re getting older, you should exercise properly to strengthen your body and maintain your health.”

Old Master Shen: “...”

He had been completely cornered.

It seemed he could not win against her.