"I didn't drive, you'll have to take me home," Chang Zhiyuan insisted stubbornly.
Shu Yi was speechless. She was hungry too, so she opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat. What could she do? The man in front of her was her boss; she couldn't just abandon him there.
"Get out and sit in the passenger seat. I'll drive," Chang Zhiyuan said.
Shu Yi obediently followed his instructions. She was indeed exhausted and hungry, thinking of going home to cook some noodles to tide herself over.
But to her surprise, Chang Zhiyuan parked the car in front of a private cuisine restaurant.
"Let's get out. Since you haven't had dinner, we can eat a little here," Chang Zhiyuan opened the passenger door for Shu Yi.
This was unexpected for Shu Yi. She followed Chang Zhiyuan inside, and since he was a regular, the manager recognized him immediately.
"Mr. Chang, shall we take the private room upstairs?" the manager asked.
Chang Zhiyuan nodded and inquired, "Is Chen Siming here?"
Chen Siming had just entered from the door when he heard Chang Zhiyuan call his name. "Here, bro. It's been a while since you last came."
Chang Zhiyuan calculated the days and realized it had indeed been several days. "That's because I found a new place to freeload, and the food there is even better than yours."
Shu Yi nodded in agreement. Indeed, Shen Yin's cooking was fantastic.
Chen Siming noticed Shu Yi standing beside them, a famous celebrity. So Chang had found a new girlfriend. Running a media company was really great.
Before Chen Siming could wonder where Chang Zhiyuan had been eating food better than his private cuisine, he was already eager to gossip about Chang Zhiyuan's new girlfriend.
"You two go to the private room on the far left upstairs. It's late, so there aren't many people, and no paparazzi around," Chang Zhiyuan said to Shu Yi.
Shu Yi didn't act coy and went upstairs. It seemed Chang Zhiyuan was a regular here, with his own private room.
"Bro, you changed again?" Chen Siming's gossip-loving heart had reached its peak.
"What do you mean 'changed again'? The previous ones don't count. I'm a virgin! This time, I'm serious. Watch your words and looks from now on. The way you looked at me earlier, you were just short of blurting out, 'What the hell is going on?'" Chang Zhiyuan said disdainfully.
"What the hell! What the hell! Bro, really? You're a virgin? I don't believe it. If you're a virgin, then everyone in this world must be a virgin," Chen Siming looked doubtful.
"What's wrong with that?" Chang Zhiyuan said proudly, with an expression that said, 'I'm a virgin, and I'm proud of it.' His reputation was just a result of circumstances. In reality, he was pure.
After saying that, Chang Zhiyuan went upstairs, leaving Chen Siming in shock. How could this be possible? If it was true, he felt he could believe that the Chinese national soccer team could win.
When Shen Yin arrived at Qinghe Street, she was once again amazed by the beautiful environment. If someone asked her what summer meant, she would say summer was the brilliant starry sky, the flickering fireflies in the winding streams, the gentle breeze sweeping across the creek beside the small houses on Qinghe Street.
"I went to the hospital today," Shen Yin began.
"How's Dad?" Xu Xiuhe asked, carrying Zhengzheng from the back seat.
"Still very weak." She had searched online for information about her father's surgery. It had been done relatively early, and the cancer cells had already been removed, so as long as the cancer didn't recur, he would not be in danger of losing his life.
So what she needed to do was nourish her father's body and improve his immunity by preparing medicinal cuisine for him.
Xu Xiuhe was carrying the sleeping Zhengzheng. "Why don't you take him upstairs and give him a bath? We went to the hospital this afternoon, so he should get cleaned up," Shen Yin suggested.
Xu Xiuhe carried Zhengzheng upstairs, with Shen Yin following behind. He took off his shoes and carried Zhengzheng into the bathroom without being told. Shen Yin tidied up the living room and soon heard Zhengzheng's whining.
"What's wrong?" Shen Yin entered the bathroom.
She found Xu Xiuhe's white shirt was soaked, clinging to his body, with an innocent expression on his face. Zhengzheng was still asleep in the baby bathtub, but he seemed even more restless than when awake, tossing and turning. His body was coated with bath gel, slippery like a little mud eel. Xu Xiuhe was squatting by the tub, at a complete loss.
This scene amused Shen Yin again. She squatted down and said, "Use one hand to support him and the other to wipe his body with a towel." Shen Yin soaked the towel in water, wrung it out, and gently wiped Zhengzheng's back.
Xu Xiuhe helped, and they finally managed to bathe Zhengzheng.
"You go ahead and shower. I'll take him out to sleep," Shen Yin said, carrying the dried Zhengzheng and dressing him in his pajamas. But Zhengzheng showed no reaction, still sleeping soundly.
Shen Yin bent down and kissed Zhengzheng's forehead, calling him a "little lazy bug."
But when she turned around, she found Xu Xiuhe had come out of the bathroom shirtless. If Zhengzheng hadn't been asleep, she might have screamed. What was he playing at, shirtless like that?
Shen Yin covered her eyes and said, "Why did you come out without your shirt on?"
Xu Xiuhe didn't understand her overreaction. Was his physique that scary? He looked down but saw nothing unusual. He worked out regularly and maintained a decent figure—slim when clothed but muscular when shirtless, with just a hint of abs, not too prominent.
"I didn't bring my pajamas," Xu Xiuhe walked over to the walk-in closet.
Shen Yin opened her eyes a crack and saw no one in the bedroom, assuming Xu Xiuhe had gone back into the bathroom. But then he came straight out of the closet and stood right in front of her. "What's wrong? Don't you like it? Do you like it or not? Have I gotten fat or thin? Tell me what you prefer, and I'll change."
Shen Yin backed away a little, caught off guard by his words. She knew this era was more open, with shirtless men on TV, but having a real person standing right in front of her, asking if she liked it or not, was quite a shock.
"No need to change. Just right," Shen Yin turned her back to Xu Xiuhe.
Satisfied with her answer, Xu Xiuhe smiled slightly before returning to the bathroom.
Shen Yin patted her face, reassuring herself, "It's fine, it's normal. He's just shirtless, not pantless."
After her shower, Shen Yin found Zhengzheng sleeping at the edge of the bed, and Xu Xiuhe was staring at her intently, leaving a space next to him for her.
Shen Yin didn't want to go over, so she said, "Move over a bit. You're about to push Zhengzheng off the bed."
Xu Xiuhe shifted inward, and Shen Yin bent down to scoot Zhengzheng further in before lying down beside him on her side.
She thought they could just turn off the lights and sleep, but Xu Xiuhe picked up Zhengzheng and placed him on his other side. Then he lay in the middle, even putting his arm around Shen Yin's waist and pulling her closer. "Move in, or you might fall off," he said.
Shen Yin tensed up. "I think we're moving too fast."
