24

Song Tan and Song Jiaojiao don’t know what Shen Yin said to An Yue, but An Yue, who is usually unbeatable in arguments, not only didn’t raise her voice or throw a tantrum on the ground, but her expression also turned serious.

After a while, she turned around and pulled Song Jiaojiao to leave.

“I’m not leaving, I still have things to do.”

Song Jiaojiao hadn’t finished her business and still wanted to negotiate the property rights of this house with Song Tan, but An Yue’s face grew cold, and she sternly said, “Leave.”

Although An Yue doted on Song Jiaojiao, she seemed genuinely angry this time, so Song Jiaojiao reluctantly followed her.

As they left, Song Jiaojiao looked back at Song Tan with reluctance.

Meanwhile, Song Tan looked at An Yue and contemplated.

What did Shen Yin say to An Yue that made her so upset, yet she didn’t resort to insults?

An Yue also glanced at Song Tan, but her expression was hard to comprehend.

She didn’t say anything and simply dragged Song Jiaojiao away.

After they left, Song Tan looked at Shen Yin as she approached, and she finally asked, “What did you say to her?”

To make her so angry, yet she didn’t dare to insult you.

“What do you think I said to her?”

This question stumped Song Tan.

Was this a test to figure out what kind of person he was in her heart?

“You… talked to her reasonably?”

Shen Yin burst into laughter upon hearing her response.

“Do I look like someone who talks reasonably?”

Song Tan blinked in confusion. “If Teacher Shen doesn’t talk reasonably, that would go against professional ethics.”

This remark completely amused Shen Yin.

Shen Yin gave off a gentle vibe, but he didn’t smile often.

His smiles were usually very subtle, making it difficult for people to tell whether he was genuinely happy or just casually cracking a smile.

But just now, his laughter could be described as hearty.

“I may have just used some words that went against professional ethics, which made your Aunt a little bit afraid of me,” Shen Yin said, describing the situation to Song Tan.

Hearing Shen Yin’s description, Song Tan became more interested. “Can you tell me about it?”

Shen Yin looked at her curiously and raised an eyebrow slightly before saying, “I think I won’t tell you.”

To avoid scaring this delicate flower.

Song Tan : “…”

Shen Yin was quite unkind, speaking halfway and not revealing everything.

She should have activated the monitoring function earlier, but it required coins from the system, and she had exchanged most of her task earnings for real-world currency. She was now running low on coins after spending a lot of them last night, and since she didn’t know when 007 would finish self-maintenance, she hesitated to use the system’s functions.

Moreover, she believed that with Shen Yin’s personality, he wouldn’t hide things from her if she asked, right?

But as it turned out, he really didn’t say anything.

Song Tan puffed up her cheeks in frustration.

However, seeing her angry expression, Shen Yin felt even happier.

Normally, Song Tan’s face displayed various expressions, but it always seemed like she wore a mask, lacking a certain liveliness.

But now, watching her get a little angry, he couldn’t help but smile.

“I guess your cousin doesn’t want your help anymore.”

Although Song Tan couldn’t help much in the first place, especially now that An Yue had discovered Song Tan’s plan to take over the old mansion. An Yue probably wouldn’t want Song Jiaojiao to have any contact with Song Tan to prevent Song Tan from persuading Song Jiaojiao to transfer the property rights of the old mansion.

So now, Shen Yin asked Song Tan, “Do you want to go back with me?”

Song Tan’s expression softened slightly.

“Okay.”

When Huo Yanlin got married, it should have been a grand affair.

After all, Huo Yanlin might be the next head of the Huo family, so his marriage should have been a very solemn occasion.

However, Huo Yanlin ordered that it shouldn’t be grandiose.

However, although Huo Yanlin gave such orders, it ultimately concerned the reputation of the Huo family, and it was beyond Huo Yanlin’s control.

So, under the instructions of Old Master Huo, the butler of the Huo family had decorated the whole Huo’s mansion a festive manner. Even the courtyard where Song Tan and Shen Yin lived had to be decorated with celebratory ornaments.

Song Tan sat in the small courtyard reading a book, while outside, the servants of the Huo family were busy with decorations, creating some noise. She stopped reading and walked to the courtyard entrance.

When the Huo family’s servants saw Song Tan, they greeted her but didn’t stop their work.

As for Shen Yin, he didn’t have much presence in the Huo family, and his wife, naturally, was not an important figure either.

The Huo family’s servants were accustomed to playing up and down, but they were quite clever about it, making their actions not too obvious.

Song Tan naturally felt that the attitude of the Huo family’s servants towards her was somewhat perfunctory.

However, it didn’t matter.

She looked at the “喜” character ornaments¹ on the courtyard gate and raised an eyebrow slightly, “Are you hanging so many of these? Won’t it make others think this is the place where the newlyweds will live?”

“It is indeed.”

Song Tan : ?

“Don’t you know? Old Master wants you to move out of here, and this place is going to be the bridal chamber for Young Master Yanlin and his wife.”

Song Tan blinked, she really didn’t know about this.

Before Song Tan could finish her confusion, Uncle Liu came over.

Seeing her looking at the red ornaments on the courtyard gate, he thought she might have heard some news.

“Old Master wants you to move to the South Courtyard.”

“The South Courtyard?”

The South Courtyard was probably the most secluded corner of the Huo family’s old estate.

“The scenery is good in the South Courtyard, and it’s quieter. Old Master heard that you need some rest for your health, so Old Master arranged it specially.”

Upon hearing this, Song Tan smiled.

The words sounded nice, but in reality, it was likely a form of punishment for her.

Last time, when she appeared with Su Ran, she almost ruined the marriage between Huo Yanlin and Song Jiaojiao.

The old man naturally wanted to blame her afterwards.

However, just when he wanted to blame her, Song Tan moved to the Song family’s old mansion to live.

During this time, the old master’s anger had not subsided, and this happened.

She and Shen Yin were forced to move.

They were moved to the most remote corner of the Huo family, as a punishment.

Song Tan sighed inwardly.

She didn’t find it surprising at all.

Because in the original plot, a similar plot had occurred.

The only difference was that the situation was somewhat different now.

In the original plot, she was the only one ‘banished to the cold palace².’

The reason was… She was Huo Yanlin’s wife but had not fulfilled her duties as a wife, leading to the exposure of Huo Yanlin’s affair with Su Ran in the media, which became a big joke for the Huo family.

Originally, it should have been Huo Yanlin’s own mistake that brought shame to the proud Huo family.

However, it turned out to be Song Tan’s fault.

Old Master, who has ‘great compassion,’ sent her to the South Courtyard for a while to calm her mind and think about her future.

She went to the South Courtyard and fell ill.

But in the South Courtyard, there was no one to take care of her.

And, whether by coincidence or design, the servants lost the medicine she had prepared, and she almost died in the South Courtyard after falling ill.

Although the system only took her through her original plot in the form of dreams, for her, those events felt just as real.

Even though the plot had changed because she chose Shen Yin instead of Huo Yanlin, the Huo family was still the same Huo family.

They always looked down upon anyone ‘not of their kind.’

Song Tan found it somewhat amusing.

She did indeed laugh.

Upon seeing her expression, Uncle Liu furrowed his brow.

Regarding Song Tan, although physically weak, her character is strong.

Previously, when she was about to deliver the prescription to Old Master, she faced the people in the Huo family head-on.

She offended everyone in that room.

So, a person with such a character, upon knowing that she and her husband were moving out of this courtyard to make room for someone else, should be… very angry, right?

But looking at the way she’s smiling, he’s not sure what her current attitude is.

Uncle Liu is tasked with testing Song Tan. Seeing this, he tentatively asks, “Young Master Shen Yin hasn’t returned yet, do you think we should…”

Should we move now, or wait for Shen Yin to come back and move together?

Song Tan squints slightly and says, “Let’s wait for Shen Yin to come back.”

Let him take a look.

The Huo family is not worth it.

So he can’t stand on the side of the Huo family in the future.

When Shen Yin received the message, he had just finished a big matter.

He looked at the message Uncle Liu sent him, a hint of mocking at the corner of his lips.

The old man is testing him.

Testing whether he is a pushover, like before.

Testing where his bottom line is.

The Huo family is almost over, but there’s still time for these games.

He didn’t reply to Uncle Liu’s message and went back directly.

After all, Song Tan was still at the Huo family.

Before Shen Yin came back, Song Tan didn’t send him a message.

Although Shen Yin has a gentle temperament, these are still his family, and if his family treats him like this, he should be very sad.

They are still on the same side for now; Shen Yin can’t get into trouble.

However, Shen Yin did call her.

On the phone, Shen Yin asked her if she wanted to eat Cha Ji’s roast duck.

Song Tan thought for a moment.

“I want.”

She used to not have a gluttonous personality, but it’s unclear whether it’s due to the scarcity of resources in the post-apocalyptic world, but now she has a strong interest in food.

When she hears about roasted duck, crispy duck skin and tender, juicy duck meat come to mind.

Originally, she had no appetite, but now, she’s hungry.

She wants to eat.

On the other end of the phone, Shen Yin heard her say she wants to eat and chuckled softly.

“Alright, I’ll bring it to you.”

Song Tan was brought back to her senses by his laughter.

Just now, she seemed to say the word ‘I want’ quite naturally.

It’s as if… they are an ordinary couple.

This subtle feeling has appeared more than once.

When she was at her house, she felt this subtle feeling as well.

Only when she raised her eyes to look at the exquisite cage-like Huo family mansion did she slowly come back to her senses.

Now, although she and Shen Yin are married, he is half a Huo family member and has a semi-hostile relationship with her.

She put on a smile again.

“I also want some congee from He Ji’s. Is that okay?”

“Sure, I’ll go get it.”

After hanging up the phone, Song Tan’s smile didn’t disappear, but it took on a somewhat meaningful tone.

After observing Shen Yin for these past few days, it’s highly likely that he’s acting awkward because of his complicated identity.

Although she doesn’t know how deep his feelings are for the Huo family, at least several times, he has stood on her side.

So… what are the chances of him falling out with the Huo family?

Song Tan’s fingers drew a question mark on the tabletop.

It’s unknown.

But it’s worth a try.

¹ lit. meaning = happiness, used for wedding decorations ↩︎

² the palace to banish concubine who committed a crime during Chinese dynasty era ↩︎