Chapter 16: Questioning Her
In this era, entertainment was no longer limited to going to the courtyard to listen to gossip or drink tea. There was no longer a need to write letters when contacting people, where it would take at least three to five days or as long as a few months to receive a response. The distance between people seemed to have become very wide, but a small screen could convey their longing.
Yuan Shu suddenly thought of the words in "The Tale of Two Cities", which she had just watched two days ago: "This is the best era."
As for the worst era, she had yet to discover it.
Unlike Yuan Shu, who was very attentive, Shi Bin, who was beside her, was restless.
"Should I leave?" Shi Bin thought.
He wasn"t used to interacting with Yuan Shu. In the past, when the two of them didn"t get along, he could slam the door and leave, but now, this reason didn"t seem to be enough.
"Should I say goodbye and go straight to my room?" Shi Bin thought as he looked at Yuan Shu.
Shi Bin had never sized up Yuan Shu seriously, or rather, judged her in a rational way. In the past, this woman had always caused chaos in the family, so he naturally felt that she was unruly and unreasonable. She seemed mean and emotionless, like a chihuahua without a brain.
The current Yuan Shu was wearing a white dress. Her hair was tied up simply with a wooden hairpin, but two strands hung down from her temples. Her eyebrows were willowy, and her figure was graceful. As she sat upright on the sofa, the sunlight shone on her, making her look like she was covered in a thin veil.
Shi Bin was stunned. At this moment, Yuan Shu looked like the heiress of a prominent family.
The two of them sat there and watched the television drama for the entire morning. They only came back to their senses when the servant came over to ask what they wanted to eat for lunch.
As Yuan Shu thought of the exotic fruits in television dramas, she suddenly wanted to eat them. "Just prepare some fruits for me. I"m not that hungry. You can ask Fourth Young Master what he wants to eat."
"Huh?" Shi Bin had been distracted and only looked up when he heard himself called out. "Just cook whatever is planned. The nutritionist is more reliable than me." Shi Bin stretched lazily and said, "Cook some meat. The male lead of the television drama is dressed too plainly. He"s like cabbage stewed with tofu. He ruins my appet.i.te."
Yuan Shu looked at the television again when she heard him say that. It happened to be the male lead"s scene.
The man was dressed in white. His long black hair was tied with a crown, while his eyes looked cold and fierce. He looked like an otherworldly immortal.
But if not for his handsome face, he would indeed be as plain as cabbage.
Lunch was prepared very quickly. There were four dishes, soup, and a plate of fruits. Three of the dishes were meat dishes.
Yuan Shu wasn"t picky about food, but after observing for a few days, the maid realized that she liked spicy dishes more. However, compared to fruits, her affinity for spicy dishes was really not worth mentioning.
Shi Bin watched helplessly as Yuan Shu finished the entire plate of fruits and instructed the maid to wash some more cherries. Such exotic fruits and vegetables could only be provided by the royal family in her era. If not for the emperor"s reward, she wouldn"t be able to eat them.
This era was the best. She could eat whatever she wanted.
At three in the afternoon, Tan Jing arrived with his secretary.
On the way here, Tan Jing fantasized about how the Shi family would welcome him. Tan Zhao said that only Shi Bin and Yuan Shu were left in the Shi family, so there wasn"t even a reliable head of the family.
Tan Jing thought that Madam Shi would wait for him at the entrance of the villa in advance. However, he never expected that when he entered, Yuan Shu was still sitting on the sofa and reading. She didn"t even get up.
"Madam, Second Young Master Tan is here." Li Yue brought Tan Jing to the living room and greeted Yuan Shu.
"Madam." Tan Jing greeted her politely and looked at the sofa.
Shi Bin, who was rumored to be at odds with Madam Shi, was currently leaning against the sofa and playing with his phone. He was extremely quiet. On the other side of the sofa, Yuan Shu was reading a book with her head lowered. The two of them didn"t communicate, but the atmosphere between them was surprisingly harmonious.
When Yuan Shu heard the sound, she calmly placed the bookmark between the pages and placed the book down properly before slowly getting up.
"Mr. Tan." Yuan Shu greeted him.
When Tan Jing was free, his greatest joy was listening to radio dramas. In his words, different voices had different stories. When Yuan Shu greeted him, Tan Jing felt his scalp go numb all the way to his feet.