My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 72 Part 1

Chapter 72  

Huo Shu faced the person staring fixedly at him. In the darkness, he could only trace the outline of the face. Even though he couldn’t clearly see the expression, he could imagine the unhappy look on Ji Taoyu’s face from the moment that uncertain yet somewhat suspicious question was uttered.  

Huo Shu pulled the blanket over Ji Taoyu’s exposed body and said patiently, “It’s not that I don’t want to.”  

Ji Taoyu frowned, his voice tinged with grievance: “Then why are you like this?”  

“We’ve only been married for a short while. There’s plenty of time ahead.”  

Huo Shu said, “There’s no need to rush.”  

Ji Taoyu was clearly unsatisfied with this answer:  

“I’m not trying to rush. A child isn’t something you can just hurry along. When we were traveling with the merchants, it was inconvenient, so it made sense. But now we’re home, why are you still avoiding it?”  

A flash of lightning outside briefly illuminated Ji Taoyu’s face.  

Huo Shu looked at the faint redness at the corners of his eyes and tightened his brow.  

Ji Taoyu received no response. Never before had Huo Shu’s silence made him feel so angry and helpless.  

Usually, he could calmly guess the meaning behind his silence, but now he was losing his rationality.  

He pressed on: “Have you found your old comrades from the north? Are you planning to return to the Northern Territory someday, and that’s why you don’t want a child to tie you down?”  

Ji Taoyu’s voice was as soft as ever, but his tone was cold, like an ice pick stabbing straight into the heart.  

Huo Shu was stunned. He hadn’t expected Ji Taoyu to think this way.  

For a moment, an indescribable feeling churned inside him. He had never experienced anything like this before—now he truly understood what it meant to have a lump in one’s throat:  

“I’ve never once thought about leaving you.”  

“I’ve told you—wherever you are, that’s home.”  

Ji Taoyu sat quietly, not responding to Huo Shu’s words. Then, suddenly, he started crying silently.  

His eyes couldn’t hold back the tears. He grabbed the blanket and curled back onto the bed, turning his back to Huo Shu.  

Huo Shu watched his trembling shoulders and knew Ji Taoyu was crying.  

But he wouldn’t speak, wouldn’t acknowledge him. This left Huo Shu at a loss—he didn’t know what to say to comfort him.  

Silently, he reached out to hold him, but the moment he touched him, Ji Taoyu resisted fiercely.  

“Don’t touch me.”  

Ji Taoyu pushed Huo Shu away and burrowed deeper into the blanket.  

Huo Shu’s hand froze at the bedside. He had never seen Ji Taoyu lose his temper like this before.  

It left him unsettled, unsure how to respond.  

Ji Taoyu had always been gentle, soft-spoken, considerate, and understanding—so easy to get along with that Huo Shu had never learned how to handle a situation where the ger was angry.  

He felt a mix of frustration and helplessness.  

Ji Taoyu wanted children, he knew that.  

If he told him now that it might not be possible, especially when Ji Taoyu was already upset, he didn’t know if he could bear it.  

“If you don’t like it, I won’t do it again.”  

Huo Shu heard himself say, testing the waters.  

Then he heard Ji Taoyu’s reply: “I won’t sleep with you anymore. Then you won’t have to struggle with it.”  

Huo Shu’s brow tightened. Though he knew Ji Taoyu was speaking out of anger, the words still stung.  

“Then where should I sleep?”  

“Sleep wherever you want.”  

Ji Taoyu said, “And don’t sleep with me tonight.”  

“Should I go back to the Zhao house?”  

“You might as well go back to the Northern Territory.”  

Huo Shu sighed. “It’s raining. I’ll leave tomorrow.”  

Ji Taoyu grew even angrier. He threw a pillow at Huo Shu: “Leave now.”  

Huo Shu caught the pillow. “Now?”  

“Go.”  

There was a rustling sound in the room as Huo Shu got out of bed and pulled on his pants.  

Ji Taoyu sat on the bed, watching his movements, stunned. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his lips pressed tightly together.  

Then, as the door creaked open, Ji Taoyu blurted out: “If you go out now, you’ll wake father and mother!”  

“I’m just going to relieve myself. I’ll be back soon.”  

The bed creaked as Ji Taoyu angrily burrowed back under the covers.  

Huo Shu paused, then didn’t leave. Instead, he returned to the bed and wrapped his arms around Ji Taoyu, who was still facing away.  

The person in his arms struggled for a while, but Huo Shu didn’t let go.  

After a moment, he felt a wet, sharp pain on his wrist.  

Ji Taoyu had bitten him hard. He didn’t know if it drew blood, but the pain was no worse than a scrape.  

He didn’t react, letting Ji Taoyu do as he pleased.  

Fortunately, after biting him, the anger in Ji Taoyu’s heart seemed to subside a little, and he stopped struggling.  

Outside, the rain continued to fall. The room was so quiet that the sound of raindrops pattering on the roof was clearly audible. The thunder had softened, and the lightning was no longer as startling.  

Huo Shu rested his chin on the curve of Ji Taoyu’s neck and whispered, “You know I’m not good with words.”  

“But I really do love you.”  

The next day, as dawn barely broke, Huo Shu got up.  

The person on the bed was still asleep. In the pale morning light, Ji Taoyu’s eyes were still slightly red, like translucent begonia petals soaked in rainwater overnight.  

Huo Shu stood by the bed, watching him for a long time. He knew Ji Taoyu had slept late and lightly the night before.  

He didn’t wake him, dressing as quietly as possible before leaving.  

After the rain, the yard, trees, and grass were still damp. The air carried a cool, watery scent.  

The heavy storm last night meant the farmers would be busy checking their fields. The wind had been strong, so Huo Shu went to the Zhao house—Yuan Huiru lived alone, and the sheds there weren’t very sturdy. He wanted to make sure everything was alright.  

Sure enough, some of the thatch on the roof had been blown loose by the wind.  

Without delay, Huo Shu fetched a ladder and repaired the roof.