In truth, she understood in her heart why Shi Che treated her this way.
It was because Shi Che had always liked her elder sister, but in the end, he had no choice but to marry her, which led to Madam having to send her elder sister far away.
So now she couldn't understand why Madam had relented, suggesting to let her elder sister return and replace her, but he refused?
Just now, when she heard him say the word "needless," Ling Chuxia's first reaction was that she must have heard it wrong.
However, Shi Che had indeed said those words, and he had refused Mrs. Shi's proposal.
Even now, Ling Chuxia still couldn't process it, her mind felt like it was tangled in thousands of threads, and no matter how she tried, she just couldn't make sense of it.
Ling Chuxia just looked at Shi Che like this, gradually becoming dazed. When she snapped back to reality, Shi Che was already looking at her, his expression indifferent, his gaze dark, with his black-brown eyes staring steadily at her. There wasn't the slightest warmth in that gaze.
Ling Chuxia's heart suddenly skipped a beat. She didn't know how to place her hands and feet, and only instinctively squeezed out a smile, that well-rehearsed and perfectly appropriate smile.
Shi Che stared at her smiling face, the standard eight-tooth smile, which could be called the most perfect smile. She executed it to perfection, making her delicate face appear even more charming.
But these smiles were as fake as they could get.
He had seen her at her most beautiful, pure, and genuine smile before, that kind of smile from the heart, which was worlds apart from the current superficial one.
Yet, even so, her sudden smile made it seem as if he was brought back to their first meeting, to her playful smile.
Even if the current one was fake, his heart couldn't help but beat with excitement, and a trace of warmth unconsciously appeared in his eyes.
The cold and hard contours of his face slightly softened, no longer as frighteningly expressionless as before, and even the corners of his lips were faintly raised in an imperceptible arc.
It was as if he was infected by Ling Chuxia's smile.
Ling Chuxia was always good at reading people, so she captured even the slightest change in Shi Che's mood. She couldn't help but be taken aback.
She didn't know why Shi Che's mood suddenly improved. Since they got married, aside from their wedding, she hadn't seen him smile again; yet now, he actually smiled?
As his mood shifted, the oppressive atmosphere around them gradually dissipated, and the emotions Ling Chuxia had been suppressing couldn't help but relax a bit.
No matter the reason, if Shi Che was in a good mood, it was ultimately a good thing.
Ling Chuxia had never been able to figure out the issue regarding her elder sister. If it were before, she wouldn't have asked Shi Che even if she died holding it in.
But now, perhaps due to Shi Che's rare joyful mood making her unexpectedly relax, she inexplicably opened her mouth, "Young Master, may I ask you a question?"