Hearing the obvious teasing in Ji Shuyu’s tone, He Yuan released her and led her to the dining table.
“I can’t let her have another chance to hurt you. I had to resolve this matter completely,” he said, looking at Ji Shuyu with a serious expression.
He Yuan simply felt that since Lin Feifei remained unrepentant even now, letting her out would only lead to more wrongdoing. It was better to send her directly to the Great Northern Wilderness, far away from the island, so she could no longer do anything to Ji Shuyu.
“Actually, I was the one who wrote that report letter,” Ji Shuyu said with a smile, looking at He Yuan. She wanted to see his reaction upon learning this—would he think she was ruthless?
To her surprise, after hearing her words, He Yuan simply nodded gently. “I know. You did the right thing, my dear.”
He Yuan suddenly reached out and pinched her chin.
“I know,” he repeated, a dark light simmering in his eyes. “If I lacked even that much perceptiveness, I’d have lived all these years for nothing. But I don’t mind it.”
Ji Shuyu’s breath caught.
She thought her scheme had been seamless, but he had seen through it all along.
Yet, since he knew, why did he indulge her and even… clean up after her?
“Then… you don’t think I’m vicious?” she asked.
With this move, she had ruined all of Lin Feifei’s prospects.
Although Ji Shuyu felt it was what Lin Feifei deserved for bringing it upon herself, she couldn’t be sure people in this era wouldn’t see her methods as cruel.
He Yuan chuckled. He leaned in, his warm breath brushing against her ear.
“When she harmed you, why did no one call her vicious?” His thumb stroked the soft skin of her jaw as if weighing a precious treasure.
“Shuyu, you can scheme against me, use me, even take my life,” He Yuan said, feeling somewhat displeased as he met Ji Shuyu’s penetrating gaze. “But don’t look at me with such a businesslike calmness, as if you could walk away at any moment.”
Intuition was the most accurate. From the moment He Yuan met Ji Shuyu, he felt she wasn’t the same person she used to be. Apart from her appearance, her personality and her way of handling things were completely different from before.
Yet, He Yuan found himself increasingly unable to break free, feeling that this version of Ji Shuyu was even more captivating.
She exuded an irresistible charm in every way, confident and self-assured in her every move.
The former Ji Shuyu would never have negotiated business deals with others, and her gaze had always lacked confidence.
He Yuan had sent someone to inquire and heard that the Ji family was in chaos because of Ji Shuyu’s actions.
He had his suspicions, but he didn’t dare confirm them.
There were no such things as spirits or monsters in this world, nor anything that couldn’t be explained by science.
He followed his heart, loving her uncontrollably.
Yet, whenever he saw the look in her eyes, he felt that he held no place in her heart.
This feeling was utterly terrible, making He Yuan desperate to get to the bottom of it.
Ji Shuyu’s heart skipped a beat.
It was true—she hadn’t yet adapted, hadn’t fully accepted this as her real life.
That sense of detachment—he had noticed it all along.
She forced herself to stay calm. “Then what do you want me to do? Cry, make a scene, or threaten to hang myself?”
“I want you to be here…” He Yuan grasped her wrist and pressed it against his chest.
The heartbeat beneath his clothes was vigorous and powerful, thumping against her palm.
“Other men’s wives know how to act coy, call their husbands ‘darling,’ and depend on them. But my wife doesn’t.” Emotions she had never clearly seen churned in his eyes.
No matter what happened, she handled everything herself. Sometimes, she didn’t even discuss things with him. He often only found out about things after they were over.
Ji Shuyu’s hand ached from his grip. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
He Yuan gazed into her eyes, his tone suddenly softening with a hint of helpless defeat. “My dear, you can be harsh with me, even quarrelsome—I don’t mind. Just… don’t make me feel like you don’t need me at all.”
As a man, he needed to feel needed to truly feel like her husband.
Now it was Ji Shuyu’s turn to feel somewhat helpless. She hadn’t expected He Yuan, a grown man, to be so sensitive and to overthink things to this extent.
She reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. “How could I not need you? It’s just that some matters, I feel I can handle on my own.”
“You already have so much to do. These things don’t require your involvement.”
He Yuan stroked the back of her head, his gesture resembling both a sigh and contentment. “In the future, if you want to scheme against anyone, tell me. I’ll hand you the knife.”
“Don’t play alone and leave me watching from the sidelines, worrying.”
Just like with the Lin Feifei incident—he only found out later that Ji Shuyu was the one who wrote the report. He also learned that Lin Feifei had even instigated Li Cuihua and Xiao Zhou to target Ji Shuyu.
“Alright, I understand. He Yuan, it’s just… I haven’t fully adapted to this identity yet.”
Her words carried a double meaning: she hadn’t adapted to having someone by her side, nor had she adapted to arriving in this world.
Although she had repeatedly reminded herself to live as Ji Shuyu, she still felt a sense of unreality.
Perhaps He Yuan had sensed this.
“Then it seems I need to try even harder, so my wife doesn’t think I’m just a fake,” He Yuan joked.
Ji Shuyu’s heart skipped a beat—he was indeed a fake, a character from a book.
As the young couple talked, He Yuan began to feel much better.
He told Ji Shuyu that he wasn’t usually the type to be overly sensitive or sentimental. But perhaps the one who loves first, when feeling a lack of response in the relationship, tends to overthink.
Ji Shuyu also felt that she hadn’t been fulfilling her role adequately.
Since she had become Ji Shuyu, she ought to properly adapt to her identity.
It seemed she needed to show He Yuan more of her true self.
After the Lin Feifei matter was resolved, the song and dance troupe quickly recruited new members.
Although the dance troupe required professionalism, the newcomers were beautiful and highly skilled, temporarily filling the vacancies so that performances wouldn’t be affected.
One day, remembering her resolution, Ji Shuyu decided to personally cook a meal and bring it to He Yuan.
He Yuan always had a noon break—sometimes he returned home, other times he didn’t.
Thinking about their intense training schedule, Ji Shuyu specially prepared a braised fish to bring over.
“Hey? Sister-in-law Shuyu, what brings you here?” Zhao Qiang’s eyes lit up when he saw Ji Shuyu.
Today, Ji Shuyu was wearing a beautiful dress. Though it was made of simple cotton without any embellishments, her styling made it look exceptionally lovely.
Her dark hair cascaded loosely, and a lace belt cinched her waist. The slight swell of her abdomen added a maternal glow to her appearance.
“We had a fish at home, so I thought I’d braise it and bring it over for you all. Want to try it?”
This was an exclusive braised fish recipe from the points mall. After cooking it, the aroma alone was almost intoxicating.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qiang felt as if he could already smell the delicious fragrance through the lunch pail.
“Hey, Regimental Commander He just went to get food and mentioned the meal today wasn’t appealing. You two really are in sync! Sister-in-law, please wait here for a moment. I’ll go get him!”
With that, Zhao Qiang rushed off. If he were late, he might miss out on the braised fish.
Ji Shuyu smiled and sat down on a bench. In the distance, she could hear a few men discussing something in English—something about materials science?
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