Though they said they were going to get ice cream, the three still went to a restaurant for the main course first.
Shen Yue had always been more used to eating Chinese food. Tang Yi originally liked things like bread, but after mixing with the Shen family for so long, he actually grew to like eating rice even more.
Si Chengyou was also aware of this. His understanding of Shen Yue was not limited to just her, but also extended to the people around her.
But even so, when choosing a place, Si Chengyou still asked Tang Yi, "Is Chinese food okay?"
Tang Yi felt somewhat confused by Si Chengyou asking for his opinion. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Aren't you angry?"
Angry? Of course he was furious.
But he understood even better why in this life Shen Yue had brought Tang Yi back - it was to prevent Tang Yi from becoming a thorn embedded in Shen Yue's heart that would stand between their relationship forever. What he had to do was not defeat Tang Yi, but to get him to withdraw without causing Shen Yue any trouble afterwards.
He needed to wake Tang Yi up from the nightmare he was trapped in, not get into a war of words with him.
"I'm angry, but you've worked for the Shen family for so many years, and I've also interacted with you for so long. Whether you were bewitched this time or have difficulties to speak of, we can properly discuss it after you're ready to talk."
As he spoke, Si Chengyou let go of Shen Yue's hand that he was holding and walked to Tang Yi's side.
Tang Yi and Si Chengyou were about the same height. Neither needed to raise or lower their heads when facing each other.
Si Chengyou lowered his voice and softly said next to Tang Yi's ear, "Remember to apologize to Yue Yue when you've come to your senses."
Tang Yi originally had a lot to say, but after hearing Si Chengyou say this, he suddenly didn't know what to say.
He belatedly thought of Shen Yichen.
It would be more accurate to say that Shen Yichen was like an older brother to him rather than his boss. He had helped Tang Yi a lot in life and mentally.
There was no need to mention Shen Yue. Shen Yue was the beginning that prevented him from walking back down the road of tragedy. So what was he doing now?
He wanted to possess Shen Yue. Was it really Shen Yue that he wanted to possess?
"Si Chengyou, I want to eat this."
Si Chengyou heard Shen Yue calling him and scurried over, intending to pay for her. But when he was about to pay, he realized that what Shen Yue wanted to eat now was squid kebabs from a roadside stall.
Moreover, this stall had a very familiar sign belonging to Shen Yichen.
Si Chengyou recalled what happened last time when he bought Shen Yue the junk food she liked to eat and consequently got interrogated by Shen Yue's oldest brother for two whole months. He was filled with lingering fear.
Seeing that Shen Yue had already reached out to take a skewer, Si Chengyou grabbed her itchy hand and reminded her, "Yue Yue, you can't eat this. Let's go eat a proper meal, okay?"
Shen Yue struggled a bit, only to find that Si Chengyou had a tight grip and she actually couldn't break free.
Shen Yue, whose mind was already occupied by the roadside stall, had a flash of inspiration. She pointed at Tang Yi beside her and said, "It's not me who wants to eat it, Tang Yi is the one who wants it."
Si Chengyou immediately understood her intention. He turned to look at Tang Yi, who was still standing in place, and waved at him, "Tang Yi, come eat this."
Hearing this out of the blue, Tang Yi's mind hadn't reacted yet but his body had already moved. By the time the boss handed him a skewer of nine squid, he still hadn't realized what was happening.
Shen Yue urged him to hurry up, so Tang Yi followed the other two.
While walking, he took a bite of the squid skewer. It was pretty good. No wonder Shen Yue would always buy it to eat even knowing Shen Yichen would get angry.
Tang Yi recalled that one day when he was happily working in the Shens' office building, he was suddenly taken out by Shen Yichen for some field work. He had thought it was for some important client at first, but when they arrived at the location, Tang Yi realized it was a street filled with food stalls.
And in one of the food stalls, Shen Yue was busy eating up a storm.
The purpose of bringing Tang Yi along was simple. Shen Yichen didn't want Shen Yue to know that he had deliberately come to find her. So he brought his capable assistant Tang Yi and pretended they just happened to pass by here while out on business.
That time, Tang Yi once again directly faced and experienced Shen Yichen's fighting power when it came to his younger siblings.
No wonder the Shen family had so many eccentric people, yet they were all very obedient in front of Shen Yichen.
Thinking of this, the reason why Shen Yue gave him all the squid also became very clear.
After they got some distance away from the stall, Tang Yi took the initiative to hand the remaining squid to Shen Yue and kept one skewer for himself. "Taking one skewer as payment isn't too much, right?"
Shen Yue took the squid from Tang Yi's hand and gave him three more skewers so he had three. She also gave Si Chengyou three and had three left for herself.
Only then did she say, "I bought your portion from the start."
Shen Yue who had lost her wings never said such words to him before.
"Si Chengyou, I want to eat that." While eating, Shen Yue pointed at another stall.
Si Chengyou grasped Shen Yue's outstretched finger in his palm to stop her from pointing. "If you eat too much, you won't have appetite for the meal. The last physical exam showed your protein levels were low. Big brother said it's because I indulge you too much."
The mention of Shen Yichen finally made Shen Yue settle down.
"Then let's eat the meal first."
Tang Yi silently followed behind, eating squid skewers while thinking - if he was the one standing by Shen Yue's side instead of Si Chengyou just now, what would he have done?
He should have directly gone and bought all the things Shen Yue wanted. And if anyone tried to stop Shen Yue from doing what she wanted, he would have dealt with that person.
But could he really deal with Shen Yichen? Should it be said, could he really bring himself to make a move?
The him in the fallen world certainly wouldn't have such dilemmas. No matter who, even himself, he could just say the word and kill them. So the current him was different.
At this moment, perhaps even Shen Yue didn't realize that the first to make Tang Yi calm down from the nightmare wasn't anyone else, but Shen Yichen.
The Chinese restaurant the three went to served authentic Chinese cuisine, and even had many elaborate imperial court dishes.
Si Chengyou didn't just dote on Shen Yue. After noticing Tang Yi seemed a bit more normal, he would also explain the story and origins behind any dish Tang Yi took a liking to.
The intelligent Tang Yi naturally noticed that the dishes Si Chengyou introduced were all dishes that he personally felt the taste was pretty good. If it was a dish he thought was so-so or not to his taste, Si Chengyou wouldn't give an introduction.
Even the drinks Si Chengyou prepared were different for each person.
He prepared chilled fruit juice for Tang Yi, tea for himself, and at Shen Yue's place was water at just the right temperature to drink.
Tang Yi didn't understand the meaning behind this, but just like the fruit juice was Tang Yi's favorite flavor, Si Chengyou's choices for Shen Yue must also have significance.
He really deserved to rank first in Shen Yue's list.
After finishing his fruit juice, Tang Yi looked at Si Chengyou and suddenly spoke. "You're really thoughtful."
