After Marrying the Cold and Elegant Beauty, I Fell in Love (GL) - Chapter 8

Shen Yuru put down her pen. Both hands rested on the book, her ten fingers interlaced. Her long, slender fingers were so pale they almost reflected light.

Perhaps because her heart was weak, her entire body was thin, frail, and anemic. Her already fair complexion carried a pallor that seemed to come from years without sunlight, adding a fragile, shattered quality to her beauty.

Shen Yuru had tied her hair into a low ponytail. It was clean and plain, without the slightest embellishment.

But often, the simpler something was, the more it tested the foundation of a beauty’s face.

True beauty lay in the bones, not the skin.

Han Shuangshuang felt that Shen Yuru was exactly this kind of beauty.

Yet although Shen Yuru carried a pale, sickly frailty, those phoenix eyes of hers always looked naturally imposing. When she stared at someone without any emotion, it inexplicably made them feel a trace of pressure.

Han Shuangshuang pursed her lips and pleaded quietly, “Sister Shen, whether you believe it or not, I really do want to study properly. If I don’t study seriously anymore and fail more classes, I’ll have to repeat the year. When that time comes, I’ll still be a freshman, but Sister Shen will already be a senior and out working. Then how am I supposed to properly fulfill the promise I made to my mother and take good care of Sister Shen? I’d feel guilty for the rest of my life.”

Shen Yuru’s index finger trembled slightly.

She felt as though the warmth from touching Han Shuangshuang’s head just now still lingered in her palm.

Han Shuangshuang wore a high ponytail, and she had a lot of hair. Some tiny new strands had grown out around her forehead, a little frizzy and slightly prickly to the touch.

For some reason, Shen Yuru suddenly regretted it a little. Just now, as if moved by some strange impulse, as if bewitched, she had actually nodded and agreed to Han Shuangshuang’s request.

Even now, she still knew very little about Han Shuangshuang.

The Shen family treated her as a puppet to be used in a marriage alliance to consolidate family interests, but she would never willingly let her future life be controlled by others. She would never become like a wooden puppet, firmly controlled by invisible strings.

Shen Yuru suddenly raised those phoenix eyes and stared seriously into Han Shuangshuang’s puppy eyes, beginning to scrutinize her.

Her original plan had been to block water with earth and soldiers with generals—to adapt as the situation came—and find out what Han Shuangshuang’s purpose was in calling her to the lakeside.

She had not expected that ever since yesterday, this Han Shuangshuang would keep appearing in front of her.

Shen Yuru could not be certain whether Han Shuangshuang knew about their future marriage.

The housekeeper had already investigated the information, but there was only a ninety-five percent chance.

As long as she was not one hundred percent certain about something, she would prepare for the possibility of adapting to changes at any moment. Therefore, she could not be sure whether Han Shuangshuang was that five percent variable.

If Han Shuangshuang had been deliberately sent by the Han family to approach her, all so that the later marriage alliance between the two families could proceed normally…

Then she should not get too close to Han Shuangshuang.

Shen Yuru had grown up in a large, wealthy family. Ever since her parents died, she had watched the relatives around her reveal their ugly and greedy faces. She had learned that all warmth on the surface was fake. Filthy intentions were only hidden inside people’s hearts. Only when real benefits appeared would everyone reveal wolf-like faces, tearing at and slandering one another without the slightest regard for blood ties or family affection. In their eyes, those things were nothing.

She had eaten a poisoned apple sent over by her biological aunt, laced with cheap rat poison.

She had witnessed her own maternal uncle deliberately bribe people, trying to fake a car accident scene and send her away.

At first, she had not understood why her own relatives would do such things. She had wanted to expose those ugly faces and let everyone see them. But later, she discovered that everyone else thought the same way. On the surface, they were kind and amiable, but in truth, they all knew exactly what was going on. It was just that no one was willing to stand up and admit it. Gradually, she became numb.

And now, the most important thing was to firmly hold the portion her parents had owned in her own hands.

So Shen Yuru began to be wary of every bit of kindness others showed her, because she knew that behind all those good intentions hid an endless abyss. As long as her heart softened even a little, she would step into empty air and approach a place beyond redemption.

Therefore, ever since her parents died, she no longer started trusting people easily. She became sensitive and suspicious. Only that way could she protect herself and live safely.

[System: Warm reminder to Host. Shen Yuru has currently fallen into bad memories. Please interrupt her immediately, Host. Otherwise, Shen Yuru’s blackening value will rebound.]

Han Shuangshuang immediately snapped to attention and stood up.

“Sister Shen already nodded and agreed just now, so you can’t go back on your word.” Han Shuangshuang reached out and grabbed Shen Yuru’s icy hand, forcefully hooking Shen Yuru’s pinkie with her own. “Pinky promise. Now it counts as an agreement.”

Han Shuangshuang lowered herself slightly and leaned close to Shen Yuru’s ear, whispering, “Sister Shen, the library is a place for studying. It’s too quiet here, so it isn’t convenient for Sister Shen to teach me. How about we go somewhere else?”

Without waiting for Shen Yuru to react, Han Shuangshuang had already domineeringly pulled Shen Yuru to her feet.

Han Shuangshuang’s sudden contact and movements interrupted Shen Yuru’s thoughts.

Han Shuangshuang’s palm was very hot, warming the back of Shen Yuru’s hand. Before Shen Yuru could refuse, Han Shuangshuang had already pulled her out of the library.

Shen Yuru’s phoenix eyes held emotions no one could understand.

Since Han Shuangshuang was being so proactive, then she might as well beat her at her own game. This was a perfect chance to properly test whether Han Shuangshuang had been deliberately sent by the Han family to probe her.

Shen Yuru gently pulled away from Han Shuangshuang’s hand, stood still, then said淡淡, “Student Han and I are not in the same major. I’m afraid I won’t be able to help much.”

“How could that be? Sister Shen is number one in the whole school, a proper top student. Even if our majors are different, the methods for studying should still share common ground, right? As long as I receive Sister Shen’s true teachings, I’ll definitely have no problem with my future studies or the courses I failed before. After that, I’ll be able to properly stay by Sister Shen’s side.”

Seeing Han Shuangshuang so persistent, Shen Yuru did not say anything else. She merely raised her brows slightly, as though tacitly agreeing to Han Shuangshuang’s next actions.

Han Shuangshuang found an empty classroom. When Shen Yuru sat down, she even dogleggedly pulled out the chair for her.

Wait, no. She had already held hands with Shen Yuru just now, so why had Shen Yuru’s heart healing progress not increased?

[System: Host, if you want to increase Shen Yuru’s heart healing progress, Shen Yuru’s state of mind must also change. Just now, Shen Yuru’s heart had no ripples and no fluctuations, so no heart healing progress was obtained.]

Han Shuangshuang’s little brain was filled with big question marks. What did it mean that there still had to be ripples in her heart?

Shen Yuru did everything very seriously. The outer corners of those phoenix eyes carried a faint hint of red, adding a touch of vivid color to her pale face. She asked Han Shuangshuang several questions.

However, Han Shuangshuang’s attention was entirely on how to come into contact with Shen Yuru in a way that would increase Shen Yuru’s heart healing progress and make ripples rise in Shen Yuru’s heart.

Han Shuangshuang stared at Shen Yuru’s slender thumb, while her own index finger secretly moved toward it.

Shen Yuru said, “So have you borrowed notes from anyone else? These are all homework-related points, so I’m not too clear on them either.”

Han Shuangshuang said, “Uh… yes, yes.”

Just a tiny bit more, and she would hook it. Only three centimeters left, and she would be able to hook Shen Yuru’s pinkie.

Shen Yuru followed Han Shuangshuang’s long-wandering gaze. The instant Han Shuangshuang was about to succeed, Shen Yuru swiftly withdrew her thumb.

Her voice immediately turned somewhat cold. “It seems Student Han’s mind is not on studying. In that case, there is no need for me to continue explaining.”

Han Shuangshuang was practically about to cry without tears. She had not expected to be discovered even like this.

She had already been very careful and cautious.

Her rusty brain immediately began spinning at high speed, trying to come up with a reasonable and convincing excuse.

Han Shuangshuang immediately sat upright, her expression full of confidence and righteousness. “Not at all, Sister Shen. I wasn’t deliberately trying to do that, and I wasn’t trying to take advantage of Sister Shen either. It’s just that Sister Shen’s fingertips are far too pale. I don’t know if it’s because Sister Shen’s heart is weak, causing insufficient blood supply from the heart and poor return flow at the ends of the capillaries, which makes your finger joints turn white. I only wanted to touch them and see whether the pad of Sister Shen’s pinkie was cold.”

As Han Shuangshuang spoke, her back, which had originally been straight as a pine, slowly bent down. Her tone also filled with grievance. She pursed her lips, and her eyes looked pitiful to the extreme.

“Every time, I’m just being kind. Why does Sister Shen always misunderstand me? I’m already this sincere, so why does Sister Shen still not believe me?”

As she spoke, she looked at Shen Yuru with those pitiful puppy eyes.

That appearance made her look exactly like a doggo who had clearly done a good deed yet had still been wrongly blamed.

Shen Yuru sighed, as though she had no choice. She drew out her hand and spread it before Han Shuangshuang.

Han Shuangshuang looked like a doggo that had received a reward, and a smile immediately appeared on her face.

Han Shuangshuang held Shen Yuru’s wrist with one hand. With the other, she bent her index and middle fingers, clamping Shen Yuru’s index finger between them and pulling firmly from the knuckle toward the fingertip.

“Sister Shen, doing this can promote blood circulation in the fingers and improve the condition of cold hands. The weather is so hot right now, yet Sister Shen’s hands are actually this cold.”

As Han Shuangshuang massaged her, she blew warm air toward Shen Yuru’s fingertips.

[System: Warm reminder to Host. Shen Yuru’s heart healing progress has increased by 2%. The current healing progress is 3%.]

Shen Yuru’s expression changed slightly. For some reason, she truly felt a warm sensation in the pads of her fingers.

Her heart condition was not congenital. Rather, after her parents died in a car accident, it had left her with an enormous psychological shadow. The doctor said this was a psychological factor and could not be cured with medicine.

Shen Yuru had not felt what warmth was like in many years.

Outside the classroom, Wu Huimin happened to be going to self-study. Through the classroom door window, she saw Han Shuangshuang and Shen Yuru sitting together rather intimately. From her angle, Han Shuangshuang seemed to be kissing Shen Yuru’s fingertips.

Wu Huimin immediately took out her phone and snapped a few blurry photos. Afterward, she locked the classroom door from the outside.

Heh. Clearly, the two of them had already gotten together, yet they still wanted to affect her and Senior’s relationship.

Shameless.

After doing all this, she left in satisfaction.

Han Shuangshuang studied seriously for the entire afternoon. It felt as though all the strength in her body had been drained away as she collapsed onto the desk.

She had not expected to become so absorbed in studying. Only when her stomach growled did she come back to herself. Unexpectedly, when she lifted her head, the sky outside had already gone dark.

Shen Yuru packed up her things. “We’ll study this much for today. Do the after-class homework. I’ll check it tomorrow.”

Han Shuangshuang smiled very happily, as though an invisible tail behind her was swaying back and forth.

Wonderful. Tomorrow, she would also have a reason to see Shen Yuru.

But when the two of them reached the classroom door, they discovered that both the front and back doors had been locked from the outside.

The sky had turned completely dark. After roughly another half an hour passed, Shen Yuru’s face suddenly turned pale. She clutched her chest, looking somewhat unwell.

As if she could no longer stand, she tilted to the side.

With the last of her consciousness, Shen Yuru held onto the desk.

It had been a long time since she had suffered such a severe attack.

She felt so cold, as though she was about to faint. Breathing was so difficult. Her body was so heavy. So tired, so tired.

Han Shuangshuang immediately caught Shen Yuru with quick eyes and quick hands.

[System: Warning, warning. Shen Yuru’s current physical condition has already deteriorated to a certain degree. Please take this seriously at once. The current Shen Yuru needs a continuous supply of heat and warmth.]

Han Shuangshuang was stunned. What did it mean she needed a continuous supply of heat and warmth?

It was summer right now, and it was not cold. There was no heating either.

Surely she could not hold Shen Yuru all night, right?

[System: Warm reminder to Host. The thickness of clothing may affect the effectiveness of transferring warmth.]

Han Shuangshuang: Ah-ha?

Her four-centimeter chest pads did not need to be counted in that, right?

This was the dignity of the slightly flat-chested!

Author’s Note:

Han Shuangshuang: Doggos fear nothing! ＼(`Δ’)／

Shen Yuru: A doggo that paws at people needs to be dealt with by its master.

Han Shuangshuang: Σ(д|||)