Duke Jing's younger sister

Shen Li murmured in a low voice: "...What's the matter?"

He laughed very softly, and his voice became deeper and deeper, "I am no longer your brother. Or, you can call me Brother Hengzhi."

She didn't dare look up at him. She felt her heart pounding like a rapid drum and she almost couldn't breathe.

He actually wanted her to call him by his nickname!

How could she not hear such obvious words?

Apart from elders and friends of the same age, only his wife can call him by his nickname - Hengzhi.

This was telling her that he no longer considered her his sister, and he also hoped that she would no longer consider him her brother, but could even consider him his...wife?

She felt mixed emotions and didn't know whether she was happy or sad.

It was like a peach tree that had been planted for five years and finally bore fruit, but she could only watch the pink fruit hanging high on the branch but could not reach out to pick it.

Firstly, she promised Yang, and secondly, she promised Luo Cheng.

Just one step away.

But it seems that there is always only one step between them.

Everything is irreversible.

He and she have always been connected by coincidences and have no destiny.

Her eyes turned red for no reason, and she even began to blame him in her heart. Why did he speak so late? Why did he deliberately tease her now?

She closed her eyes tightly, tried her best to calm her chaotic mind, and spoke softly,

"Brother, no matter whether my last name is Shen or not, you will always be my brother. This will never change in my life."

Is this another rejection?

Shen Beiqi just smiled and was not discouraged.

After all, it was just the beginning, and he had no intention of turning the situation around now and taking back the heart she had placed on Luo Yan and making it his own.

Conquering cities and seizing territories takes time, let alone the most unpredictable human heart in this world.

"It's okay." His voice was low and hoarse, as if carrying countless charms, "I have plenty of patience."

He loosened his grip on her, turned around and walked towards the alley, took two steps and then stopped, looking back at her, "Are you still not leaving? Zhiyan has been waiting for you in the teahouse for a long time."

Shen Li gradually came to her senses, and hurriedly called Xingping who was hiding in the corner, and followed Shen Beiqi out of the alley.

Yue Yang had already led his men back to the mansion, so Shen Beiqi took a carriage with Shen Li and the others and returned to the Duke's Mansion together.

Shen Zhiyan was bored waiting in the teahouse, so she took Baozhu for a walk, and gained a lot from the walk.

She placed all the things on the small table in the carriage, and the table, which was not big to begin with, was piled up into a small mountain. There were still a few packages that could not fit on the table, so she placed them directly on the carpet.

"Look, these silk threads are of moderate thickness, perfect for making five-color ropes."

Shen Li looked down at the bundles of colorful silk threads and nodded, "Yes, the silk threads from Jixianglou are good, but they are too thin. These are better, a little thicker, so that the five-colored rope will not break easily."

"By the way, you and Luo Cheng talked for so long, what did you talk about?" Shen Zhiyan suddenly asked.

Shen Li was startled and subconsciously looked up at Shen Beiqi.

He was staring at her quietly. His expression was as calm as ever, but there seemed to be a glimmer of inquiry in his eyes.

"Nothing." Shen Li shook her head, feeling a little guilty.

"Hey, what did you say? Why can't you tell me?"

There is nothing I can't tell you, but don't I still have a brother?!

Shen Li cried out silently in her heart. It was obvious that how could Shen Zhiyan treat Shen Beiqi as an outsider?

Admittedly, she had never regarded Shen Beiqi as an outsider, but what could she say?

She said that she asked Luo Cheng to marry her, and then Luo Cheng agreed and would come to propose marriage in three days?

She doesn't have the courage...

"It's nothing, it's just..."

Shen Li thought about it briefly in his mind, and said half-truthfully, "He said that he would come to the Shen Mansion as a guest in three days."

"As a guest?" Shen Zhiyan was a little unconvinced. To be a guest at the Shen Mansion, he needed to avoid her and have a secret conversation in the side room of Changqing Tower?

"I don't believe it, you're always good at coaxing people!" Shen Zhiyan stretched out her hand to tickle her, but she held her hands back and begged for mercy.

"Second sister, what I said is true. If you see him not coming after three days, you will know that what I said is true!"

She did not lie. Luo Cheng said that he would come to propose marriage in three days. Wouldn't he be a guest at the Shen Mansion then?

The scorching gazes coming from the side made Shen Li feel uncomfortable all over. It was uncomfortable to sit up straight and it was uncomfortable to lean against the wall of the car.

She had no choice but to bury her head, pull out five silk threads of different colors, and gently rub them into a five-colored rope with her fingertips.

I tried to do something to distract myself and make myself look less restrained and uncomfortable.

After a while, a five-colored rope was ready. Shen Zhiyan took it from her hand and took a glance at it. "The color is a little darker."

Shen Li looked up and saw that it was indeed a bit deep.

Women wear flower ropes, mostly in bright colors such as pink, red and purple.

But she didn't look at it carefully just now and just picked a few at random, but they were dark colors such as dark green, blue and black.

The already dark color, after being twisted into a flower rope, looks even more solemn and is not at all suitable for the festive atmosphere of the festival.

"I just made it casually, throw it away."

She reached out to take the flower rope in Shen Zhiyan's hand, but someone got there first. Her hand fell into empty air. The next moment, Shen Beiqi pinched the failed flower rope with two fingers and looked at it carefully.

“I like this color very much.”

Shen Li was stunned.

He emphasized the word "like" on purpose. Her eyes flickered slightly, and the heat that she had felt in the alley just now surged up again.

Shen Zhiyan was shocked, as if she had seen a ghost: "Brother likes it? You never wore this in previous years, saying it was a girl's thing!

"Yeah." He looked away, "In previous years it was because I didn't understand the situation, but this year I suddenly wanted to wear it."

He looked at Shen Li intentionally or unintentionally, and every word he said was full of meaning.

Shen Li turned her head and turned her cheek towards the window curtain, but unfortunately the wind blowing in through the gap was hot, making her cheek feel even hotter.

A well-proportioned, white, and sturdy wrist was stretched out in front of her, and the man's voice was as clear as the gurgling water, "Put it on for me."

Shen Li looked out the window through the curtains. She deliberately didn't look at him. "Let your second sister help you."

Shen Beiqi smiled, "She's not free."

Shen Li turned around, only to see Shen Zhiyan rubbing the flower rope in her hands, unable to free her hands for the moment.

She bit her lower lip lightly, and after thinking for a moment, she raised her hand, wrapped the flower rope around his wrist, pinched the two ends with her fingertips, and slowly tied a knot.

The warmth of her fingertips occasionally rubbed against his skin, making him feel a little itchy.

The blue-gray curtains were blown up by the wind, and a few rays of sunlight shone on her fair and delicate cheeks before quickly flying away.

He locked his eyes on her, from her eyebrows to her nose, and then to her rosy thin lips, not missing any details, and examining every inch of her face and eyebrows one by one.

"Okay," she said.

Shen Beiqi raised his right wrist, and a thin, dark-colored five-colored rope was tied tightly on it.

The thin flower rope not only wrapped around his wrists, but also around his heart.