HBWMA -Chapter 416 The Wall-Climbing Turtle

After returning to Chrysanthemum Garden, Jiang Huashan plunged back into intense brainstorming. No exaggeration—she had used more brainpower in these past few days than in the past several years combined.

Afraid of exhausting herself mentally, she even had Zhang Ru stew a pot of walnut and goji berry chicken soup to “nourish her brain.”

“So… who should I start investigating first?”

The crystal chandelier at the foot of the bed reflected her deeply troubled expression.

Knock, knock—

Suddenly, a strange noise came from the wooden window by the dressing table.

Jiang Huashan thought it was just the wind. She glanced over and didn’t pay much attention.

But the sound outside grew louder and louder. By the time she realized something was wrong, the summer breeze carried in waves of floral fragrance—and a shadow swiftly vaulted over the windowsill and landed inside.

“!”

An assassin?

Jiang Huashan’s brow twitched as she opened her mouth to call for help.

But the shadow had already anticipated her move. With a leap, he reached the bedside and covered her mouth with one hand.

“Don’t shout. It’s me.”

Warm orange light fell into a pair of deep, boundless phoenix eyes. His distinct lashes looked like strands of translucent gold.

“…” Furious, Jiang Huashan grabbed Shen Guiling’s hand and bit down hard.

“Hiss—” Shen Guiling sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

She had expected him to get angry, but instead, a familiar notification chimed in her mind again.

【Congratulations! The ‘Treasure Plot: Heart-Fluttering Arc – Saving the Pitiful One’ has been triggered. Progress: 99.9n9%】

“…”

Pervert!

Suddenly, she couldn’t bring herself to bite any harder.

Jiang Huashan shoved his hand away and opened her mouth to shout again.

Seeing this, Shen Guiling had no choice but to cover her mouth with even more force. “I have something very important to discuss with you. If you alert the others, don’t blame me for not warning you.”

Jiang Huashan’s eyes shifted as she cast him a sidelong glance.

Shen Guiling smiled. “Really. I’m not lying.”

After weighing it for a moment, Jiang Huashan raised her chin slightly. Shen Guiling curved his lips and slowly lifted his fingers one by one.

Now free, Jiang Huashan couldn’t hold back her sarcasm: “Can’t you use the front door like a normal person? What kind of crooked habit is this?”

Shen Guiling replied, “Isn’t climbing through the window more exciting?”

“…” Does he ever stop?

Seeing she was about to explode again, Shen Guiling wisely restrained his smile. He took a small bear-shaped hair tie out of his pocket—it looked almost identical to the one she used to wear.

Jiang Huashan glanced at it, her face full of disdain. “What’s this?”

“A signal device.”

“A signal device?” Her interest was immediately piqued. “What does it do?”

Shen Guiling explained, “If you sense danger, press the bear’s tail. It will activate both location tracking and audio recording.”

Her expression shifted slightly. “Why are you giving me this?”

“Grandfather is going to move against the Zhou and Qiao families. I’m worried someone in the Shen family might take advantage of the chaos to harm you. This will make you safer.”

“I don’t want it.” Jiang Huashan turned her head away and pushed his hand aside.

She had the protagonist’s plot armor—she wouldn’t die no matter what. On top of that, she still had a trump card to save her life. Shen Guiling’s worry was unnecessary.

Shen Guiling lowered his gaze to the small bear in his palm. Just in case she wouldn’t like it, he had custom-made this design based exactly on her previous hair tie.

“Done talking? Then you can leave.” Jiang Huashan yawned, looking completely carefree.

Shen Guiling fell silent for a moment, then withdrew his hand and held the hair tie. He looked up at her, studying her expression.

“Are you angry?”

Jiang Huashan let out a cold laugh. “I’m not. Why would I care about something so trivial?”

Anyway, since they’d already kissed, he wasn’t allowed to make her take responsibility for it again.

Shen Guiling: “So… when I kiss you, you don’t care at all?”

Jiang Huashan’s eyelid twitched. She shot back stubbornly, “What’s there to care about? I’ve kissed so many people—am I supposed to care about every single one?”

Shen Guiling’s fingers curled slightly, and the atmosphere suddenly froze.

Jiang Huashan wasn’t afraid in the slightest. She lifted her chin, her face full of provocation. What was there to be afraid of? It was all just an act anyway.

Shen Guiling looked at her, his gaze roaming across her face without emotion. Noticing the fearless confidence in her eyes, he let out a small laugh. He leaned down, pressing her beneath him, his shadow completely blocking out the overhead light.

“What are you doing?!” Jiang Huashan’s alarm bells instantly went off.

Shen Guiling lowered his gaze. “Since you don’t care, then we might as well…”

His eyes suddenly turned sharp, like hooked blades, pulling her in as he lowered his head to kiss her.

Jiang Huashan’s scalp tingled. Annoyed, she straightened her toes and, ignoring the wooden board still in her other hand, pushed hard against Shen Guiling’s shoulder.

“Shen Guiling!”

Shen Guiling tilted his head. The kiss meant for her lips missed, brushing past the loose strands of hair at her temple instead.

“Seems like you do care after all. You’re this inexperienced—why pretend to be some seasoned player?”

“Inexperienced?” That word struck a nerve. Jiang Huashan lifted her head and bumped it straight into his.

With Shen Guiling’s skills, dealing with her was like teasing a child.

Without effort, he pressed her forehead back down into the pillows, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “My mistake—it’s me who’s inexperienced.”

Seeing that teasing glint in his eyes only annoyed Jiang Huashan more. “Get off.”

Shen Guiling hesitated for a moment, then took her hand and placed the hairband into her palm.

“I know you’re capable on your own, but wouldn’t an extra layer of protection be safer? No matter what you want to do, you have to protect yourself first, right?”

Jiang Huashan hesitated slightly.

Shen Guiling covered her hand with his. “Are you afraid of being implicated with me?”

Her eyelid twitched again. “Who’s afraid?” As long as she had no morals, what did it matter if she got implicated?

Shen Guiling released her hand, his tone gentle. “No need to be afraid—you’re already implicated.”

“…”

Jiang Huashan closed her eyes. Looking at him like this, she knew he still hadn’t figured out who was really in control.

Even though she and Shen Guiling weren’t related by blood, she would still be entered into the family registry in the future. If anything really happened between them, it would be the Shen family losing face.

She couldn’t even be bothered to tell him—if not for her sense of moral boundaries holding her back, she could have had him completely hooked in no time.

Too lazy to keep talking to this “fish,” Jiang Huashan rubbed her forehead and waved her hand. “Hurry up and go. If someone sees you, we won’t be able to explain it.”

Shen Guiling wasn’t afraid, but he knew better than to push her too far. “Be careful. In the Shen family, don’t trust anyone except Shen Jiao.”

Jiang Huashan rolled her eyes. Like I need you to tell me—I don’t even trust you right now.

Seeing her rebellious look, Shen Guiling raised an eyebrow, then turned and climbed out the window.

Jiang Huashan froze. Her bedroom was on the second floor, and the outside wall was covered in climbing roses—there wasn’t even a proper foothold.

Leaving aside how he climbed up in the first place—wasn’t he afraid of falling to his death jumping down like that?!

“Miss.”

Just as she was puzzling over it, Zhang Ru’s voice suddenly came from outside the door.

Jiang Huashan casually shoved the hairband under her pillow. “Come in.”

Zhang Ru pushed the door open. “Miss, this was just delivered by Steward Gao. He said it’s from Young Master Lanxi.”

“Shen Lanxi?” Jiang Huashan looked puzzled. What was going on today? Why was everyone acting so strange?

Zhang Ru handed her the letter. Turning around, she noticed the window under the dressing table was open and immediately went over to close it.

“That’s odd—I clearly remember closing it earlier this evening.”

Jiang Huashan stared at the letter in her hand without even lifting her eyelids. “The wind’s been strong lately. Lock it.”

Who locks a window? Zhang Ru chuckled, not thinking much of it, and secured it with a wooden latch.