Chapter 16: I’m a bit of a social phobic

“Brother, this won’t do! You’re 28, almost 29 in lunar years, next year you’ll be 30! 30!”

Sheng Yu: “…”

Such an annoying lunar age.

“When are you going to find me a sister-in-law? If you stay single any longer, I’ll be too embarrassed to visit Mom and Dad next Qingming Festival!”

“Heh.”

Sheng Yu twitched the corner of his lips, letting out a disdainful sneer. “You worry about yourself first. My business doesn’t need your concern.”

“How can I not worry?! I’m your sister, your only relative in this world!” Sheng Tang said with righteous indignation.

“…”

Sheng Yu felt his temples throbbing, and he had the urge to throw her out.

“Brother, what kind of girl do you like? I’ll introduce you to some, I know a lot of famous ladies, I’ll help you chase them!”

The man’s hand on the steering wheel paused, then he slowly spoke, “I like… gentle and beautiful ones.”

“Gentle and beautiful?” Sheng Tang’s eyes lit up. “There are too many of those.”

“White skin, oval face, eyes…”

With each adjective the man uttered, Qiao Shuyi felt a surge of anxiety in the corner.

What was the difference between this and reciting her ID number digit by digit?

Worried that he might say more and Sheng Tang would catch on, Qiao Shuyi quickly interrupted him, “Wh-why are we here?”

Hearing this, Sheng Tang turned her head to look out the window.

This familiar scene, wasn’t it Liu Yue Bay?

“Brother, why did you drive straight home? Didn’t you say you’d drop Qiao Qiao off first?”

Sheng Yu stepped on the brake, parking the car at the entrance of the Sheng family villa. “Sorry, I forgot.”

Qiao Shuyi pursed her lips, not saying anything.

She felt like he was doing this on purpose.

“You really…”

Sheng Tang muttered in complaint. She was about to ask Qiao Shuyi to stay at the Sheng residence for the night, but unexpectedly, Sheng Yu suddenly opened the car door.

“I’ll drop her off now, you go in first.”

“I…”

Sheng Tang felt something was amiss.

But Sheng Yu didn’t give her time to think. “I haven’t eaten dinner yet, tell Xu Ma to prepare some supper for me, I’ll be back soon.”

“… Alright.”

Sheng Tang got out of the car in a daze, then saw Sheng Yu drive away with Qiao Shuyi.

Why did she still feel something was off?

…

Qiao Shuyi couldn’t believe it. Why had it turned into Sheng Yu driving her home alone?

How did Sheng Tang… get out of the car?

So quiet.

Should she say something?

Just as Qiao Shuyi was lost in thought, the car suddenly stopped.

“Come sit in the front.”

The man’s low voice carried a hint of faint command.

“!”

Qiao Shuyi was slightly taken aback, then dryly laughed, “No need… I’ll just sit in the back.”

“Are you treating me like your driver?”

That’s true…

Qiao Shuyi gritted her teeth, got out of the car, and sat in the passenger seat.

“Seatbelt.”

“… Oh.”

Only after she fastened her seatbelt did Sheng Yu restart the car and head towards Qiao’s house.

Qiao Shuyi clasped her hands together, feeling even more nervous and apprehensive.

She had never been alone with Sheng Yu in such a confined space before…

Neither of them took the initiative to speak, and the atmosphere in the car was eerily quiet.

Qiao Shuyi felt like she could hear her own swallowing sounds.

Just then—

“You seem very nervous?”

Sheng Yu’s voice suddenly broke the silence in the car.

Qiao Shuyi nodded. “A bit.”

“Are you nervous being with me?”

Qiao Shuyi wasn’t good at lying, so she nodded truthfully. “A bit.”

“Are you afraid of me?”

“… Not really.”

Qiao Shuyi didn’t know why she was so nervous in front of Sheng Yu, but she knew in her heart that while she was nervous, she wasn’t afraid.

She attributed this to one reason—

“I’m a bit of a social phobic.”

“Social phobic?”

Sheng Yu chuckled, his voice tinged with amusement. “When you were using the hose on those two tonight, I didn’t see any signs of social phobia.”

“…”

Qiao Shuyi didn’t reply, only feeling her cheeks burn.

Fortunately, Sheng Yu didn’t continue on that topic, instead turning to chat with her about other things.

“You’re not planning to join Qiao’s company for now?”

“It’s not that I’m not planning to, it’s just that I haven’t figured out what I want to do yet… If I haven’t decided by the end of the month, I’ll just go work at Qiao’s.”

Hearing this, Sheng Yu’s eyes flickered, and after a while, he spoke, “Xiao Tang has graduated now, I’m planning to hand over a media company under Sheng Shi to her to manage, if you’re interested, you can try it with her.”

Pausing, Sheng Yu added, “It doesn’t matter if it makes money or not, if it makes money, it’s yours, if it loses money, it’s mine.”

“… Then I’ll think about it?”

Qiao Shuyi turned to look at him, her eyebrows playfully arched, her eyes shining unusually bright in the dim light.

Sheng Yu’s throat moved subtly, and he spoke calmly, “Okay.”

In Qiao Shuyi’s memory, Sheng Tang did indeed take over a media company after graduating in her previous life, but it didn’t go well, she ran away halfway through and left it to someone else.

Qiao Shuyi hadn’t been involved in this industry in her previous life, so she wasn’t sure if she was suited for it…

Not long after, Sheng Yu’s car pulled into Wen Xi Yuan and stopped in front of Qiao’s villa.

“We’re here.”

Sheng Yu got out of the car before her.

Qiao Shuyi unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to open the door, but the next second, the door was opened from the outside.

“Thank you.”

Qiao Shuyi softly thanked him, and was about to get out of the car, but she noticed that the person standing at the door didn’t move at all.

She subconsciously raised her head, her gaze falling on the man’s face, her gentle and beautiful eyes filled with a hint of confusion.

“… Brother Sheng Yu?”

She tentatively spoke, her voice soft and sweet, as if she had taken a bite of something, sweet and silky.

The man leaned against the car door, lowered his head, and stared intently at her.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Qiao Shuyi reached out to hold the car frame, unable to get in or out for a moment.

Just then, the man suddenly bent down, inching closer to her.

Qiao Shuyi unconsciously leaned back, until she could retreat no further.

What was he trying to do…

Looking at the man’s face so close at hand, Qiao Shuyi felt her heart racing, and she couldn’t quite catch her breath.

“Sheng…”

“Qiao Qiao.”

Sheng Yu suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, his eyes holding a glimmer of emotion that Qiao Shuyi couldn’t understand.

She was momentarily stunned.

It seemed like it had been a long time since she had heard Sheng Yu call her that…

In her previous life, after she rejected Sheng Yu’s confession, she began to deliberately avoid and distance herself from him.

Perhaps sensing her change, Sheng Yu’s address for her changed from the original “Qiao Qiao” to “Qiao Miss.”

Extremely polite, yet extremely distant.

He didn’t pester her, but whenever he looked at her, there was a touch of absentmindedness in his eyes.

Years later, hearing Sheng Yu call her that again, Qiao Shuyi couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache, and there was a touch of complexity in her gaze towards him.