Chapter 15: He Hates Disobedient People

Obvious signs of malnutrition.

The next moment, he reached out his hand holding the chopsticks, picked up a piece of braised pork rib, and dropped it directly into her bowl without a word.

He had never been one to meddle in others’ affairs, but this foolish woman inexplicably made him… unable to stop himself from taking care of her.

He thought, perhaps it was because he had never encountered anyone so hopelessly naive that he felt compelled to intervene.

The sudden appearance of the rib in her bowl left Lin Nanxun stunned. She lowered her head, staring at the meat for a long while before finally looking up, blinking her large eyes as she suddenly asked him,

“If I don’t eat it, will you throw me into the lake?” she asked anxiously.

She truly didn’t like eating meat, and if he answered no, then she wouldn’t eat the rib at all.

But—

Before she finished her question, the man who had just tossed the rib coolly continued his dinner, his expression unchanging as he replied,

“Yes.”

Utterly merciless.

“… ” Lin Nanxun pouted in grievance, not doubting his words in the least.

So, in the end, she lowered her head and slowly gnawed at the rib in her bowl.

When she finally finished the piece of rib and was just about to breathe a sigh of relief and return to her vegetables, the man once again lifted his elegant hand, picked up a piece of steamed chicken with his chopsticks, and, as if discarding trash, dropped it precisely into her bowl.

She was too thin; if she kept refusing to eat meat, her health would eventually collapse.

Yet again she stared, then hurriedly looked up at him with a hint of complaint in her gaze.

“People who don’t eat meat die,” the man said, barely glancing at her, his voice cold and indifferent.

“… ” Lin Nanxun put down her chopsticks and looked at him with some displeasure, a trace of rebellion flickering in her heart.

She sat there, refusing to eat, her face written with silent protest. At last, this caught Shen Hanzhi’s attention. He, too, set down his chopsticks, turning toward her with a stern expression.

“I dislike disobedient people,” he said, his brows knitted, his voice icy.

The moment his words fell, Lin Nanxun’s expression changed. She looked at his serious face with a worried glance, then reluctantly pursed her lips.

“I’ll behave…” she murmured, picking up her chopsticks once more and resignedly eating the chicken in her bowl.

Only when she finally yielded did a trace of satisfaction appear on Shen Hanzhi’s face.

…

Not long after dinner, Aunt Xu accompanied Lin Nanxun back to her room to bathe. But Lin Nanxun was shy about bathing in front of someone else, so Aunt Xu had to let her bathe alone. When she came out, Aunt Xu checked briefly and found she’d washed thoroughly, her beautiful face tinged with a rosy flush.

Aunt Xu had assumed her intellect was like that of a child, in constant need of care, but soon realized that aside from her difficulty with conversation, her guileless nature, and a timid heart, she was not so different from anyone else.

In fact, Aunt Xu found that Lin Nanxun, especially with those clear eyes and that warm, genuine smile, was far more endearing than those women who fancied themselves clever.

Aunt Xu stayed with Lin Nanxun in the room for a while, then glanced at the clock and spoke to her.

“Miss Lin, I need to go now. Remember what I told you—don’t wander around tonight, and definitely don’t sneak into sir’s room. Be good and sleep in your own room, all right?”