“If someone genuinely intends to hurt me, why should I leave them enough strength to come back and try again?” Bai Yanzhou paused.
Shen Qinglan continued calmly, “If they only want money, that’s one thing.
But if they want my life…” Her eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
“Then they should be prepared to lose theirs first.” Bai Yanzhou looked at her without speaking.
For a moment, it was difficult to see her as an ordinary fourteen-year-old girl who had spent years sheltered by her family.
There was a coldness in her eyes that didn’t match her age.
She spoke without anger or bravado, as though she were simply stating something she had long accepted.
If someone wanted her dead, she would strike first.
No hesitation.
That was what caught Bai Yanzhou’s attention.
He knew enough about Shen Qinglan to know that Shen Yuxing had brought her home when she was seven.
Since then, she had been protected and spoiled by both her father and brother.
Even if the first seven years of her life had been difficult, there was still something unusual about the way she reacted to danger.
Bai Yanzhou studied her for a little longer.
Shen Qinglan noticed.
“What?” “Nothing.” “You’re staring at me.” “I have eyes.” Shen Qinglan fell silent.
Fine.
Now she understood why he had looked so annoyed earlier.
Talking to this man really was enough to give anyone a headache.
Bai Yanzhou finally looked away and picked up his goose leg again.
“Unfortunately, none of that matters.” Shen Qinglan frowned.
“What do you mean?” “That plan of yours.” “What plan?” “The one where you stay missing.” Shen Qinglan immediately straightened.
“What about it?” “It won’t work.” Her expression changed.
“Why?” A trace of amusement appeared in Bai Yanzhou’s eyes.
“Because when I carried you back here, you were covered in blood.” Shen Qinglan stared at him as an unpleasant feeling began to creep over her.
“And?” “Your brother saw you.” Her face stiffened.
Bai Yanzhou continued, looking far too pleased with himself.
“Not only did he see you, but he also took you straight out of my arms.” Shen Qinglan went completely still.
“My brother saw me?” “Very clearly.” She stared at him in silence.
“And then,” Bai Yanzhou added, “he nearly punched me in the face.” That finally got a reaction out of her.
“He what?” “He nearly punched me.” “Why?” Bai Yanzhou gave her a look.
Shen Qinglan thought back to what had happened before she lost consciousness.
Bai Yanzhou had been holding her injured arm, and if he had carried her back to the manor afterward…
She could imagine exactly what Shen Mo’an must have thought when he saw them.
“Oh.” Bai Yanzhou narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t ‘oh’ me.” Shen Qinglan wisely said nothing.
“If my cousin Guan Zhongjin hadn’t stopped him, I might be the one lying in this bed right now.” She looked him up and down.
“You seem fine.” “Thanks to my cousin.” “My brother wouldn’t actually kill you.” “Are you sure?” Shen Qinglan opened her mouth, but no answer came out immediately.
After thinking about her brother’s temper, she finally said, “…Probably.” “Probably?” Bai Yanzhou gave a short laugh.
“That’s very reassuring.” Shen Qinglan rubbed her forehead.
How had she forgotten what Shen Mo’an was like?
When it came to his younger sister, her brother’s idea of being protective had always been somewhat unreasonable.
When she was eleven, she had fallen from a horse.
The horse was sold the very next day.
Another time, a servant had accidentally served her tea that was too hot.
The poor man spent an entire week worrying that Shen Mo’an would throw him out of Green Bamboo Residence.
He hadn’t, but only because Shen Qinglan had stepped in.
And now she had disappeared during a crowded wedding, only to return unconscious, covered in blood, and in the arms of a man Shen Mo’an didn’t know.
Shen Qinglan suddenly felt that Bai Yanzhou was rather lucky to still be sitting here eating roasted goose.
Bai Yanzhou spread his hands.
“So your plan to remain missing ended before it even began.” Shen Qinglan’s shoulders dropped.
So much for that opportunity.
Now that Shen Mo’an knew exactly where she was, there was no chance he would simply let her leave.
She glanced at the door, then at the window.
Sneaking out through the door was probably impossible.
If her brother had already found her, there were almost certainly guards outside.
The window might have been an option if her arm weren’t injured.
Waiting until everyone fell asleep wasn’t much better.
Knowing Shen Mo’an, there was a good chance he would personally stay nearby all night.
As for bribing a servant…
Shen Qinglan looked down at herself.
She didn’t even have a copper coin.
The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became.
Bai Yanzhou watched her quietly.
Judging from the way her expression kept changing, she was clearly going through one escape plan after another.
The door?
Impossible.
The window?
Not with that arm.
Distracting the guards?
Perhaps.
Bai Yanzhou suddenly had another thought.
Surely she wasn’t considering knocking her own brother unconscious.
He looked at her again.
Actually, with this girl, he wasn’t entirely sure.
“Don’t even think about knocking your brother unconscious.” Shen Qinglan’s head snapped up.
“I wasn’t.” “You hesitated.” “I was thinking.” “About knocking him unconscious?” “No!” Bai Yanzhou gave her a doubtful look.
Shen Qinglan glared back, which somehow made him even less convinced.
After finishing the last of his roasted goose, Bai Yanzhou wiped his fingers and walked over to the window.
He sat casually on the windowsill, one leg hanging outside while the other remained bent.
The night breeze stirred the loose strands of his hair as he rested an elbow on his knee and watched Shen Qinglan continue thinking.
Her brows remained furrowed, and her fingers tapped lightly against the blanket.
Bai Yanzhou had seen similar expressions on merchants calculating profits and gamblers deciding whether to risk everything on one final bet.
Seeing the same concentration on a fourteen-year-old girl trying to figure out how to escape her own family was a first.
Then a sudden sound came from somewhere outside.
“Honk!” Shen Qinglan looked toward the window.
Bai Yanzhou glanced outside as well.
Another honk followed.
Shen Qinglan slowly lowered her gaze to the half-eaten goose leg beside her before looking back at him.
“Was that one related to this one?” Bai Yanzhou answered without the slightest change in expression.
“No.” “How do you know?” “I don’t.” Shen Qinglan stared at him.
“Eat it before it gets cold.” For some reason, she couldn’t hold back a laugh.
It was quiet and brief, but it was enough to ease some of the frustration she had been feeling.
A faint smile appeared on Bai Yanzhou’s face as well.
The moment soon passed, and Shen Qinglan looked down again.
Her problem hadn’t gone away.
She still needed to find her biological parents, and before she could do that, she had to find some way around Shen Mo’an.
Bai Yanzhou watched her expression shift from frustration to concentration and back again.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
He was beginning to wonder what kind of trouble this girl was planning next.