Page 3 of The Scholar's Improper Wife

“Yes.”

“So you decided to sneak into a courtesan house. Alone. In disguise.”

When he put it like that, it did sound more foolish than it had felt. “I know it was reckless, but I didn’t know what else to do! It’s not as if I can just ask someone to—to—” She stumbled over the words. “—to demonstrate courtship for me!”

Silence fell again, but this time it felt different. Charged with something she didn’t understand. He stared intently at her with his eyes, those lidded peach blossom eyes that fooled you into thinking he was harmless until you felt the full lethal force of it on you. Then, unexpectedly, his expression shifted from anger to something she couldn’t quite read.

“You could,” he said finally.

She blinked. “What?”

“You could ask someone.” His eyes locked onto hers, making her squirm slightly. That familiar glint—part scheming, partplayful— simmered beneath the surface of his anger. “You could ask me.”

Her heart did something complicated in her chest. “Ask you to...?”

“Research with you.” He said it so calmly, as if he were suggesting they study classical texts instead of—of whatever this was. “You need to understand romance, courtship, intimate scenarios. You need a partner for that. And who better than an old friend? Someone you trust. Someone who understands discretion.”

“You’re not serious.”

“I’m completely serious.” He stepped closer, and she instinctively took a step back to look up at him. “Because if I don’t help you, you’ll do something like this again. You’ll take another reckless risk. And next time I might not be there to stop disaster.”

“I wouldn’t—”

“You would.” It wasn’t a question. He knew her too well. “So here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to write your huabens and compete with your rival. And I’m going to help you research whatever scenes you need. Properly. Safely.”

She stared at him, shocked into speechlessness. Gu Ting-zhi, son of the Shen Clan School’s headmaster, her childhood snot-sharing friend since she was a baby, was offering to help her research romance novels. It was absurd. Impossible. Completely inappropriate.

It was also, she realized with a sinking feeling, exactly what she needed.

“Why would you help me with this?” she asked suspiciously. “Are you going to blackmail me about it?”

“Because you’re going to be reckless whether I help or not. At least this way I can limit the damage.” His lips curved slightly—not quite a smile, but close. The first break in his anger. “I’drather be your research partner than watch you destroy your reputation trying to gather materials alone.”

“This is... this is absurd.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “But so is your sneaking into courtesan houses in ludicrous male disguises. At least my version of absurdity keeps you safe.”

She wanted to argue, wanted to refuse on principle—accepting help from Gu Ting-zhi meant owing him, meant more ammunition for his endless teasing. But he was right, infuriatingly right, as he always was. She did need help. And she did trust him, even when he was being insufferable.

“So you’re really going to help me?”

“I’m going to regret this,” he flicked his finger on her forehead softly. “But yes. I’m going to help you.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence, but it was different now. Less suffocating. Almost comfortable.

As she walked behind him, watching the set of his shoulders gradually relax now that the immediate crisis had passed, Yun-si wondered what exactly she’d just agreed to.

And why, despite her better judgment, her heart was racing just a little too fast.

Chapter 2

There was a lilt to Yun-si’s walk as she crossed the huge garden to the wall that separated the Shen Residence from the Shen Clan School. The little wooden door in the garden wall creaked softly as she pushed it open. Sunlight dappled the familiar path leading to the school, the scent of autumn chrysanthemums filling the air.

The school’s main entrance faced the street, and that was what all the other students used. This little door belonged to her and her siblings alone. She had always liked that about it.

A bubble of warmth rose in her chest.Research, she told herself firmly, stepping through the threshold worn smooth by countless childhood dashes.Just research. A partner makes it efficient.The image of Ting-zhi’s exasperated face in the alleyway flashed, replaced by his outrageous, no,sensiblesuggestion.

She had a research partner now. An official one. Someone who’d promised to help her understand romance for her writing.