Aurora's laughter rang out brightly, full of mischief, but it stopped halfway. Her smile stiffened as reality caught up with her. She stared down at the man beneath her, eyes slowly widening, then flicked her gaze to where her hands had landed.
Her palms were pressed firmly against his chest.
For a heartbeat, her mind went blank.
What was this situation?
The unexpected warmth beneath his hands sent a shock through Shen Yu. His thoughts scattered, and his eyes filled with disbelief. For the first time in his life, his words came out unevenly. "You… you're a woman?"
He snapped back to his senses and hurriedly pulled his hands away.
But Aurora was just as slow to react.
With the sudden loss of support, her body tipped forward uncontrollably. Before either of them could stop it, her face crashed down, lips brushing against the thin, bearded lips beneath her.
"Oof!"
A dull sound followed as their faces collided.
Both of them groaned at the same time.
Shen Yu froze completely. His eyes widened, shock written clearly across his face, as if lightning had struck him from above. His entire body went stiff, and in the next instant, his consciousness slipped away.
He fainted.
Aurora sat up slowly, her expression dark as storm clouds. She rubbed her face, the coarse beard having scraped her skin, and then touched her lips, wincing slightly.
"I haven't even taken advantage of you," she muttered. "And you're the one who faints?"
She glanced down at the man lying motionless on the ground and sighed deeply, feeling both amused and helpless.
Earlier, she had deliberately taken the detoxifying herbs in a concentrated way, forcing the poison to react and spit out blood.
The effect had been violent, but effective. She had wanted to lure out whoever was watching her from the shadows. When she heard Shen Yu's voice, she decided on a whim to tease him and test his reaction.
What she had not expected was to be the one caught in the chaos.
Not only had she ended up in an awkward tangle, but the person who supposedly "lost out" had actually fainted on the spot.
Speechless, Aurora sat cross-legged beside him and reached out to check his condition. His breathing was steady, his pulse strong. Clearly, he had only fainted from shock.
Her gaze lingered.
Although his beard covered most of his face, what little could be seen was enough. Sharp sword-like brows, a high and straight nose, firm features carved with a cold edge, and thin lips hidden beneath the beard. Even lying unconscious, he radiated a restrained strength that was hard to ignore.
Her eyes drifted downward without much thought, tracing the lines of his broad shoulders, strong torso, and long legs. She nodded subconsciously.
"Well," she thought, "this figure really is impressive. The kind that doesn't need looking at closely to know what's underneath."
The urge to confirm her guess almost made her reach out.
At that moment, a cold voice rang out.
"What are you doing?"
Aurora froze.
Shen Yu had opened his eyes.
He stared at her with dark, sharp eyes, then quickly pushed himself up and stepped back, widening the distance between them. His expression was guarded, brows tightly furrowed.
When he had woken up, the first thing he saw was her sitting beside him, eyes roaming far too freely.
Even if there was no obvious malice in her gaze, it was still deeply unsettling.
Her hand, which had been stretching forward, stopped midair. Aurora scratched her head awkwardly and laughed. "Brother-in-law, I wasn't doing anything."
Inside, however, she sighed in regret.
What a shame. He woke up too fast. She had almost confirmed her guess.
Shen Yu's gaze lingered on her smile for a brief moment. It was bright, unguarded, carrying a strange confidence that did not match her current miserable appearance.
For some reason, his mind betrayed him, replaying the unexpected softness beneath his hands earlier, and that brief, absurd collision of lips.
His expression darkened instantly.
Fortunately, the thick beard hid whatever change passed over his face.
He said nothing. Turning away, he resumed walking.
Aurora blinked, then quickly followed. After a few steps, she tilted her head and spoke casually, as if the awkwardness from earlier had never existed. "Brother-in-law, don't you think we're quite fated? We keep meeting like this. Since that's the case, why be so distant?"
Shen Yu ignored her completely.
She did not seem bothered.
In a place like Fengyue Forest, following someone stronger was the sensible choice. Alone, she could manage, but danger lurked everywhere. With him around, at the very least, the beasts would think twice.
So she followed him openly.
He walked, she walked.
He stopped, she stopped.
The difference was that Aurora looked relaxed, even curious, while the cold aura around Shen Yu grew heavier with every step. The air around him seemed to drop several degrees. Finally, he could no longer endure it.
He stopped abruptly and turned to look at her, brows tightly knit. "Why are you always following me?"
He truly did not understand.
He was not someone people approached lightly. Strangers usually kept their distance, instinctively stepping back three paces when they saw him. Even those he had driven away repeatedly would not shamelessly cling on.
Yet this woman followed him like a shadow.
"Because you're the only person I know," Aurora replied without hesitation, as if it were the most natural answer in the world. Her eyes curved slightly, a hint of slyness flashing through them, though her expression remained serious. "And because you gave me silver. I decided then that you're a good person."
Shen Yu felt a pulse throb at his temple.
His lips pressed into a hard line, jaw tightening. He shot her a deep, unreadable look, then turned away again without another word.
If he had known that tossing a piece of broken silver would bring him such trouble, he would have kept it on him no matter what. He had not even thought about it at the time. There had simply been a piece of silver at his waist, and a dirty little beggar in front of him. He had thrown it away without care.
Who could have guessed it would turn into this?
As Aurora followed him deeper into the forest, the excitement in her eyes grew harder to hide. She looked around, sensing the subtle changes in the surroundings, and asked lightly, "Brother-in-law, I heard there are many fierce beasts deeper inside. Is that true?"
She had not expected an answer.
Yet his cold, indifferent voice came back almost immediately. "Since you know, you should leave while you still can."
Aurora smiled. "Brother-in-law, I'm only here to gather some medicine. I won't cause you any trouble."
She had already checked her pulse earlier. After forcing the poison out with blood, it was mostly resolved. With another round of detoxification tonight, she would be fine.
Her original plan had been simple. Cure the poison, leave Fengyue, and disappear.
But then she met this man again.
Since fate had placed him here, why not take advantage of it?
She had only wandered the outer edge of the inner circle before. Now, following him deeper inside, her heart stirred with anticipation. Dangerous places often hid rare herbs. The more perilous the land, the greater the chance of finding precious medicine.
If she could obtain an elixir, even better. If she could not use it, she could sell it.
More importantly, her face.
Sun Xiao had destroyed it thoroughly. Even Aurora herself found the reflection unbearable. She could not possibly live the rest of her life like this.
If she was going to wear this body, she would restore it.
After all, walking around with a ruined face was an insult to her own standards.