Mr. Shang, please be passionately in love after marriage.

The words spoken casually carried a distinctly ambiguous tone.

Cen hope pursed her lips and remained silent.

"Ace,"

A detached male voice rang out. Shang Hanzhou had no intention of responding to Cen Ning's seemingly casual remark. He simply gave a cold order: "Get out of here."

Ace stared at him pitifully with her big, dark eyes for half a minute without saying a word.

The next second, he consciously dodged Cen Ning's hand that was reaching for him and obediently walked to the balcony.

Cen Ning's hand suddenly froze awkwardly in mid-air. She bit her lower lip, took a deep breath, and as if nothing had happened, stood up and sighed dejectedly, "It's a pity that Ace has forgotten me after so long."

Cen hope then said, "You guys chat first, I'm going to take a shower."

I got caught in the rain on the way here, and now I feel like I'm soaked through.

Shang Hanzhou gripped her slender wrist, and Cen hope, puzzled, turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?"

Before she could finish her question, Shang Hanzhou's calm and steady voice interrupted, "Cen Ning, it's a good thing that you've recovered and returned to the country. But now, my wife is Cen hope, and there's no possibility between us anymore. I hope you understand that."

"Coming to my and Xixi's bridal chamber so late at night will only cause misunderstandings between us."

"We had no relationship in the past, and we won't have one in the future."

As the last syllable reached her ears, Cen hope blinked, slightly bewildered. This was the first time she had ever heard Shang Hanzhou speak so much at once.

Surprisingly, he was trying to distance himself from Cen Ning.

He didn't want there to be any misunderstanding between them, so he held her hand and didn't let her leave.

A vague, indescribable emotion welled up inside me, a mixture of elation and apprehension.

The color drained from Cen Ning's face as he uttered his first words, and her teeth almost left marks on her lips.

She and Cen hope don't actually look alike.

She looked more like An Suqin, and Cen Xi looked more like Yu Ping. She couldn't even bring herself to say something to comfort herself, such as that Shang Hanzhou had only treated Cen hope as her substitute during this time.

However, Cen Ning quickly calmed down.

She smiled again, her eyes curving into a smile, and looked at Cen hope.

"Xixi, you shouldn't be that petty, right? I didn't mean anything by it, I was just curious, so I came to see you."

"laugh."

A faint laugh spread out, and Shang Hanzhou frowned, his eyes clear and lucid.

He's perfectly normal. Even though he's never been in a relationship, he can tell what Cen Ning means by saying that he's not buying it.

"You've finished reading, you can leave now."

He directly ordered them to leave, his patience already at its limit.

This is his and Cen hope's wedding room.

They simply cannot tolerate an outsider standing in their territory.

This time, Cen Ning's standing figure swayed precariously. She had thought that Shang Hanzhou might respond coldly, but she never expected him to be so resolute.

She gritted her teeth, unable to muster even a smile, and finally left.

Before leaving, he turned back to look at Ace one last time and said calmly, "Ace, I'll come see you again next time."

Ace raised its fluffy head and glanced at her, then lay back down in its original spot.

Ace is a big dog who knows how to bully others. It doesn't like the people Shang Hanzhou doesn't like, and it doesn't show any reluctance towards Cen Ning.

The gates of Jingtang Garden were closed.

Cen Ning left, leaving only a lingering, cool scent of her perfume in the air.

Shang Hanzhou tugged at his shirt collar with one hand and calmly ordered, "Aunt Fang, open the doors and windows."

Cen hope barely said a word throughout the entire process.

He didn't even exchange a glance with Cen Ning.

If it weren't for the lingering scent of Cen Ning's perfume, she would have doubted whether she had actually seen Cen Ning just now.

"Sir, Madam, I'm sorry, I opened the door for that lady earlier."

"Most of the windows in the house are smart and controllable," Aunt Fang said with a guilty tone after opening the window.

She hadn't expected that Shang Hanzhou would dislike the arrival of outsiders so much.

When Cen Ning came over, she said she was Cen hope's older sister, had just returned to the country, and intended to visit. She even asked about Ace in a familiar way. She really thought that Cen Ning had a good relationship with them.

Cen hope then spoke up, "It's alright, it's nothing serious."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Seeing that they didn't pursue the matter, Aunt Fang breathed a sigh of relief and then hurriedly asked, "Madam, have you and your husband eaten yet? I'll go prepare the meal now."

On the way back from Hengsha Village, I didn't eat much. The rain was too heavy at noon today, which made me feel a bit down, so I only ate half a bowl of rice. Now my stomach is really empty.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Aunt Fang."

A smile spread across Cen hope's face.

She then walked to the living room, keeping a distance from Ace who was lying on the balcony.

She's not so afraid of Ace anymore, and can even feed it by herself.

It had been quite a while since Cen hope had seen Ace, and she felt that Ace had gained a little weight. Shang Hanzhou always fed it very well.

She crouched down, hugged her knees, and said, "Ace, why don't you try losing weight?"

Upon hearing the words "diet," Ace immediately stood up on all fours, spun around like she was biting her tail, and looked unhappy on her chubby face.

It! A dog! Was actually criticized for being too fat!

Ace whimpered sadly, which startled Cen hope. She quickly explained, "Don't be angry. I didn't mean to say you're fat. You're just right."

As she spoke, she prepared to rummage through the drawers and cabinets to see if she could find some dog food for Ace to try.

Her face showed no sign of being bothered by Cen Ning's comment that Ace was sent by her.

Shang Hanzhou watched silently as she found dog food for Ace, his high brows slightly raised in a smile. Why didn't she ask a single question?

...Is it because they don't care?

Realizing this, Shang Hanzhou silently swallowed.

"Keep the change, please."

He spoke up, glancing indifferently at Ace's massive figure as it lay down again, and gave the final order: "It is indeed too fat and should lose weight. From now on, it will eat one less meal a day and run more."

Ace: "..."

Is this something a dog can understand?

Can't we listen to its opinion?

Ace was in despair and silently closed her eyes. She had no choice but to obey Shang Hanzhou's orders.

It cried out sadly again, and Cen hope's arm broke out in a fine layer of goosebumps from its cry.

She is the one who wronged Ace.

She asked tentatively, "Are you really going to put it on a diet?"

"Um."

Shang Hanzhou nodded without reservation, even adding, "I've never seen a fatter dog."

Cen hope: "..."

She suddenly didn't know what to say.

Shang Hanzhou genuinely disliked it.

"All right."

She couldn't say anything more, and could only hope that she would see a lithe Ace in a few months.

"Full of it."

A low voice suddenly fell behind her ear, and a broad, warm chest pressed against her back. Shang Hanzhou hugged her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder and neck, the scent of bergamot strongly enveloping their breath.

Cen hope's heart tightened suddenly.

This was the first time, in their bridal chamber at Jingtang Garden, that he had held her so intimately, even when they weren't in bed.

Cen hope inexplicably held her breath, her long eyelashes trembling uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?"

"Ace is a dog that Cen Ning sent over, don't you mind?"

The man's deep, magnetic voice was devoid of any inflection, yet his strong, powerful arms subtly and slowly encircled her soft waist.