92: Chapter 92 Living Better Than You: The General Male Supporting Character 10

Perhaps to avoid blocking the river, or perhaps for other reasons.

In any case, their brief journey ended before they could leave the city.

"This... seems reasonable. With so many lanterns, it really wouldn't be good if they weren't dealt with."

"No, this was clearly such a romantic thing, but suddenly the filter is gone."

"I'm more curious why Meng Zhu brought Nan Jin here."

"Just thinking about Prince Yu's giant lantern being fished out here makes me want to laugh."

"Nan Jin is completely stunned. This is really quite cruel for those naive young women."

The bullet comments were curious about Meng Zhu's actions. Ever since the two of them leaped into the air, the comments had abandoned Prince Yu and Nan Li to follow closely behind them.

Without giving Nan Jin a chance to lament, Meng Zhu took her hand and walked towards the railing.

Then, he crouched down and gently placed their small paper lantern, painted with bamboo leaves, outside the railing.

That lantern became the only one tonight to break free from its bonds, truly carrying its owner's wishes as it drifted alone into the distance.

Following his actions.

Nan Jin's eyes widened abruptly, her eye sockets quickly reddening, and her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest.

She covered her mouth, threw herself into Meng Zhu's arms, and finally burst into tears.

Meng Zhu patted her back without asking why she was crying.

He simply took an ingot of silver from his robes and bought a small boat from the workers.

Then, he carried Nan Jin onto the boat, letting it drift downstream, quietly watching that lantern floating lonely on the river surface.

The river breeze was cool, brushing against their clothes.

Meng Zhu sat cross-legged at the bow, while Nan Jin leaned against him.

After a long while, she must have cried herself tired; she just held onto Meng Zhu like that, staring blankly at the lantern.

"Nan Jin."

Meng Zhu suddenly spoke, his voice sounding clear and gentle in the quiet night.

"Ever since our wedding night, you have always called me Husband. I want to hear you call me by my name, is that alright?"

Nan Jin slightly regained her senses and turned her head to meet the man's gentle gaze once again.

That gaze, reflecting Nan Jin's face under the moonlight, held an unfathomable depth of affection.

"Meng... Meng Zhu."

The small boat rocked gently, and Meng Zhu stroked her hair.

"What is my wife afraid of?"

His voice was very soft, like a feather brushing against the tip of her heart.

Yet it carried immense penetrating power, reaching straight into the depths of Nan Jin's soul.

Nan Jin's body stiffened slightly.

Meng Zhu seemed not to notice, continuing in that gentle tone to peel open her heart layer by layer.

"When facing me, my wife's nature is too eager to please. You dislike Prime Minister Nan Ling, yet you fear I will make things difficult for him. You clearly dislike your stepsister, yet you do not wish for me to have conflict with Prince Yu. On our wedding night, I asked you to call me Husband, and because you thought I liked it, you have never changed how you address me since..."

He paused slightly, pulling the person in his arms closer, and lowered his head to gaze at her. The moonlight in his eyes turned into a deep, vast lake.

"My wife is so cautious—are you afraid... that you will lose me?"

That last sentence, clearly gentle and soft, was like a heavy hammer, smashing fiercely into Nan Jin's heart.

Having just cried her heart out, the composure and disguise she had been forcing herself to maintain could no longer hold, and they collapsed instantly.

Nan Jin raised her head from his arms, looking at him stubbornly with her red, swollen almond-shaped eyes, tears falling uncontrollably once again.

After a long while, her voice trembled with a sense of desperation.

"Husband... do you like me?"

She asked this question both urgently and softly, as if she had exhausted all her strength.

After asking, she stared fixedly at Meng Zhu's eyes, refusing to miss even the slightest change in his expression.

Meng Zhu's heart tightened abruptly.

Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his hand and used his thumb to wipe away the tear stains on her cheeks.

His movements were gentle to the extreme, and his eyes held solemnity and firmness.

"Nan Jin."

He did not call her "Wife," but instead spoke her name.

"If I did not have feelings for you, I would not have consummated our marriage on our wedding night."

In fact, when he took on this role, it was for Nan Jin.

Seeing Nan Jin's stunning appearance on their wedding night, he had already developed many good feelings for her.

The frank words of affection she spoke while sharing the nuptial wine were like a vow, making him admire Nan Jin endlessly.

This current confession, though simple and direct, was better than any grand vow.

Nan Jin's stubbornness could no longer be maintained; she was crying exceptionally much today.

With a "waa," she threw herself into Meng Zhu's arms again.

Like a lost child who had finally found the way home, this time, her crying was filled with grievances.

"I'm afraid..."

Her voice was intermittent, blurred by tears.

"I'm so afraid... Since we got married, everything has felt too unreal. I'm so afraid this is a dream, and once I wake up, everything will be gone..."

"I'm so afraid... I'm so afraid that you don't actually like me, I'm so afraid because you are such a good person... And I'm even more afraid that one day, you will take back all the kindness you've shown me... take it all away..."

Meng Zhu held her quietly, letting her tears soak his lapels.

He finally understood everything completely.

Her experiences in her past life had already planted the poison of "inferiority" and "insecurity" within this seemingly fragile body.

She had once seen with her own eyes that everyone favored Nan Li, and even he, Meng Zhu, had been part of an "affectionate couple" with Nan Li that everyone envied in their past life.

The resentment buried in her heart and the hatred hidden in her bones had long since changed Nan Jin's heart.

Perhaps if not for Meng Zhu, she would have already become a sharp-tongued, deeply scheming, and unscrupulous villainess in this life.

But it happened to be Meng Zhu.

His cherishing of her and the love on their wedding night made her hide her true nature from the very beginning.

She dared not believe in this sudden happiness, so she greedily wanted to hold onto it.

She used every method to please him, trying hard to disguise herself as the gentle, virtuous, and perfect wife that Meng Zhu might like.

Her caution and humble attempts to please him were precisely because she loved him too deeply and was too afraid of losing him.

"Silly girl."

Meng Zhu sighed softly, lifted her chin, and made her look at him.

His gaze was calm, and his voice carried comfort.

"Because my wife was afraid of losing me, you chose to disguise yourself and wrong yourself. I dare not even imagine how tired you must have been."

He spoke every word clearly and firmly.

"We are already husband and wife; we should be of one heart and one mind. What I want is for my wife to grow old with me and spend the rest of our lives together. I hope... my wife can trust me more, alright?"

Hearing this.

Nan Jin looked at him with teary eyes, bit her lip, and asked one last question.

"Then... what if I am not what you see?"

Her voice was filled with timidity.

"What if... I am a bad woman? Husband... will you hate me? Will you abandon me?"

Hearing this, Meng Zhu suddenly smiled.

That smile, under the cold moonlight, was filled with indulgence and appeared incredibly warm.

"What does that matter? If my wife is gentle and virtuous, I will be mild and refined with you. If my wife is willful and arrogant, I will be reckless and overbearing with you."

He cradled her face, pressed his forehead against hers, their noses touching, and their breaths mingling.

"Since we are husband and wife as one, you are the other half of me, Meng Zhu. Even if my wife were to pierce the sky, I, your husband, would be there in front to hold it up."