Su Wan stiffened but then a familiar cool scent of forest rain cocooned around her and she relaxed. She twirled around and grinned at Lin Rui who was standing behind her " Ah Rui! Why did you follow me here?"
"It's nothing, I brought something for you but I couldn't give it to you at dinner so" Lin Rui wanted to show the great haul he has brought for Su Wan but he was smart and observant, he noticed the claw marks on his brothers body when he arrived and knew it was somewhat related to Su Wan's second uncle, Shen Zizhen so he didn't dare to give it to Su Wan while they were eating, and he knew with those two uncles guarding Su Wan, he wouldn't be able to sneak in her room at night either so he could only follow her in here.
" You brought something for me?" Su Wan blinked her slightly limpid eyes and glanced at Lin Rui with a bit of confusion and excitement " What did you buy and why didn't you give it to me earlier? Didn't I come to visit you so many times before?"
Lin Rui chuckled at her childlike excitement and took out a delicate wooden box that was carefully wrapped in a soft velvety cloth and handed it to Su Wan " you indeed came to visit me a lot but I didn't get my hands on this little beauty till this morning that's why I couldn't give it to you before"
Su Wan took the box and carefully unfastened the string that was wrapped around it, the box wasn't big just the size of her palm but the design drawn on it was exceptionally beautiful. Golden strings like sea waves lined the seams and in the centre was a golden hook that was snapped at place, she looked at Lin Rui asking him silently what exactly he brought but the latter casually shrugged and motioned her to open it.
It was easier for Lin Rui to say something like that but Su Wan felt a sort of psychological pressure the box looked expensive surely the thing inside must be something really precious, thus she snapped the lock open very carefully. The second she lifted the lid of the box, a silver glow twinkled, surprised she opened the box. Inside lied a single pearl with such a lustrous shine that Su Wan had to blink before she realized that she wasn't imagining it, the pearl was indeed shining like a little moon in her hand " isn't this illuminating pearl? Where did you get it from?"
As far as she knew no commoners could afford this little pearl that shone like a torchlight in the dark, only the rich madams and ladies with a formal title could buy this and if the price alone wasn't a problem, it was extremely rare and was really hard to find in the small market in the town.
Lin Rui's eyes filled with satisfaction when he saw that Su Wan's eyes were glued to the pearl. He was really upset with himself because he couldn't find time for Su Wan in his busy schedule. He knew that his wife missed him even though she never said anything and only came to look for him once in a while and was fairly understanding of his situation. But the more understanding she was the more guilty and infuriated Lin Rui became with himself. But there was nothing he could do, this was the path he chose for himself – but that doesn't mean that he didn't miss Su Wan, he missed everything about her, sometimes he wanted to skip classes to meet her but then he would remember the trust Su Wan placed in him.
She wanted him to work hard and become an official, he couldn't let her down but he could at least show how much he missed her every time he came to see her right?
" My roommate's father is a merchant and usually go on long journeys. This time when his father returned he came with quite a novel things and Qian Hongxin asked me if I wanted to buy this pearl for you and the pearl was so beautiful that with just one glance I knew that it will really suit you, so I brought it at once" idling rubbing he head he gently added " I just wanted to make it up to you, I know that you will never complain about my absence in your life but-" he cupped her face and gave her slight peck " but I still want you to know that I love you and I will always love you even if we aren't together every day, alright?"
Su Wan flushed at his heartfelt words, she knew that her husbands loved her but it felt really weird when they such things out of the blue and then all the butterflies in her stomach would flutter and dance a happy dance, it felt weird but the good kind of weird. She snorted and then lightly slapped Lin Rui's arms with a blush decorating her face " you jester! I don't even know what to say to you, just a few months in the academy and you already learned how to flirt with me huh?"
Lin Rui's smile widened sensing that his wife was getting shy, it was rare to see her blush like this "What's the matter, I only flirt with you"
Su Wan felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she gave a delicate sniff " Its good that you think like that because I would hate scratching that pretty face of yours"
Lin Rui chuckled. " Alright, I will stop teasing you" he pinched her cheek and nipped at her bottom lip " but that's not the only reason why I brought this for you, I will have to stay in the prefectural city for quite some time and I know that your birthday is coming soon…. I wanted to wish you an illuminating future just like this lustrous pearl, It might be impossible for me to do that if I am miles away from you that's why I will wish you a happy birthday in advance, Wan Wan."
