Bring Him Home

Ou Junsan visibly stiffened. "Watch where you placed your hands."

"Is it because we're not married yet?"

"A man and a woman shouldn't be so close." He removed her hands from his waist.

"Do we have to follow such strict rules?"

Without missing a beat, his response was short and with full certainty, "Of course.

Shen Mohua peeped up at him innocently. "Does this mean I can hold you freely after we marry?"

"..." Ou Junsan frowned. "How can a lady say that so easily?"

"Ah, I didn't know women in the capital don't say such things." Shen Mohua secretly stuck out her tongue. After all, he couldn't see her anyway.

Ou Junsan felt his way around and sat down on the cushion. "What did you wanted to find me for?"

She sat next to him, making sure to keep a distance between them as he requested. It was no problem to compromise. "My father wants to invite you for dinner."

"Will tomorrow evening be alright?"

"Any day is fine as long as he knows it ahead of time."

In that moment, Aunt Xiang entered with cold coconut juice and fresh off the stove fried bananas. She placed the snacks on the table and respectfully went back to her duties.

Shen Mohua munched on the fried bananas and then followed with it refreshing coconut juice. Ou Junsan patiently waited for her to eat. When her mouth was busy, she didn't talk at all. At one point, he leaned onto the soft chair and closed his eyes.

It had been a long day. He reported to the palace in the morning, then stopped by the military training camps. When he returned home, he didn't expect to run into this starving little troublemaker. Even the sounds of the crunchy banana slices became background noise to his ears.

When the food were gone, Shen Mohua finally noticed the sleeping man. She tiptoed to the windows and closed the curtains. There, it was much better when there was no direct sunlight shining on his face.

Even in his sleep, Ou Junsan's face didn't relax. His large frame rested uncomfortably on the chair. To fall sleep while sitting, he must've either been very bored or very tired. Hopefully, it was exhaustion. Or else, how would he spend the upcoming marriage days with her?

With this train of thought on her mind, Shen Mohua walked out with her eyebrows knitted together. She didn't manage to convince herself. It couldn't be of boredom, right?

"Mohua, you're going home?" Aunt Xiang asked when she saw the girl by the garden.

Shen Mohua stopped to reply, "Yes, aunty. Jun fell asleep so I'll be leaving. Thank you for the snacks, they were delicious."

Aunt Xiang smiled, feeling pleased. "In that case, let Little Jie send you home."

---

In the courtyard of the Shen Residence, Shen Fai casually grilled sweet potatoes by a fire as if he was still in the mountains. Shen Mohua ran towards him, feeling excited upon the tempting sweet smell. "A'fai, I want some too!"

Shen Fai held the stick away. "Tell me first, did you go directly to Ou Junsan's residence?"

"Yes," She replied.

He almost dropped the precious potatoes. "Shen Mohua, you did not?!"

"I did!" A beaming smile came on her face. Come to think of it, she was quite proud of herself.

"My innocent sister, you're done for. Women... don't do that here."

Shen Mohua's eyes widened. Oh no, she did something unladylike again. "I-I didn't know."

"Father meant for you do write him a letter of invitation, not go directly to his residence and especially not by yourself. The parents haven't met the son in law and my dear sister has already visited his home..." Shen Fai knocked his head in defeat.

Shen Mohua didn't know how to respond. Ou Junsan also didn't say anything and even directly invited her inside.

Back in her home, the villagers were honest and blunt people. Those who were engaged openly visited the other's home and often seen in public together. No, how could she forget she wasn't home anymore? This was the capital where normal things were not so normal.

Later in bed, she tossed and turned. She took out his family's heirloom and held it close to her chest. All her life, she was free spirited without much importance to etiquettes. Grandmother Shen, in contrast to to other elders, emphasized on treasuring the spontaneous.

Would Ou Junsan's heart be big enough to accept her flaws? A troubled expression came over her face and she pulled the covers up in frustration.

---

Before long, the evening of the next day came.

In the modest dining hall, four people stared at them without restraint. Shen Mohua, who was seated next to Ou Junsan, couldn't stop her eyes from moving from side to side nervously.

Ou Junsan was unaware of the awkward atmosphere. He could hear the silence in the room, indicating no one was eating, but he had no idea why. His chopstick moved up and down, eating dutifully.

Shen Mohua sent a glare to her family members. Although rumors of Commander Ou were common, none of them had seen him before. The horrifying scar and the grim expression on his face made it hard for them to recover.

Intimidating and frightening... The commander's status was also not low, they were afraid to offend him.

Meng Jia's eyes couldn't move. Of course, she had seen portraits of the commander. She looked through the marriage proposal together with her husband. That apparently didn't prepare them enough to see Ou Junsan in the flesh.

Shen Mohua couldn't stand the tension anymore. She meant to kick Shen Fai, to signal him to get their parents out of their trance, but instead accidentally kicked Ou Junsan's feet that was somehow placed in front of hers.

Ou Junsan's feet was suddenly attacked and hit the circular table's leg. The table and everything on it jumped slightly before returning down.

"..." Shen Mohua wanted to slap herself. In her haste, she forgot her strength. Singlehandedly, she almost ruined the dinner!

To his credit, Ou Junsan's face remained unchanged. In fact, his reaction was fast. He managed to control her strength so the food only spilt a little. Then, he continued to eat very normally as if nothing happened.

Shen Liu glanced at his wife with his mouth opened. Meng Jia shrugged and nudged Shen Fai to do something. Finally, Grandma Shen picked up a plump piece of chicken and placed it in the commander's bowl. "Look at those sharp eyebrows and upright face. This old woman gives you her approval. Ou Junsan, you are indeed worthy to be our grandson in law."

Following the elder's example, the rest of the family hurriedly stacked up food on Ou Junsan's bowl. His chopsticks hesitated, not sure what to place in his mouth now.

As soon as dinner was taken away, Shen Mohua dragged him out of the room. She took him to the dark corridors. "Ou Junsan, I'm so sorry. My family is usually not like that."

Ou Junsan took a step away so she wasn't too close. "It's fine."

"I swear, they're really nice. I think they're just not used to seeing you yet."

"I'm used to it."

Shen Mohua broke his rule and grabbed his sleeves. "Give them more time."

"A pretty woman doesn't belong with a disabled man." He shook her hands off.

No, that's not how she wanted him to feel. "That's not true. They like you."

"Retain a proper distance, Shen Mohua."

Her hands didn't reach out again. From the dark, she watched Ou Junsan walked away.