Chapter 11.2 Adapting to His Shoulder

Min Xi pointed at the sofa next to her, “All the gifts there were chosen by my brother for you.” Then she teased Min Ting, “You should just close one eye and put up with him because he looks good, has money, is generous to you, and is responsible to the family.”

Shi Miao laughed at the joke.

Just then, Min Ting came in from the dining room, and heard the last part of the conversation. “Put up with what? Is the color of the packaging wrong?”

Min Xi looked up at her brother, “It’s not the gift I’m talking about, it’s you, the person.”

Min Ting lightly tapped her on the head, not hard enough for her to feel it.

He extended his hand, “Give me the grapes.”

Her brother was trying to peel the grapes for her, but Min Xi held onto the bowl tightly, not handing them over. “No need, I’m going back, I’m a bit tired.” She turned and called for Fu Yanzhou to go home.

She claimed to be tired and, holding a bowl of grapes, grabbed Fu Yanzhou’s hand and left first, not wanting to disturb their private moment.

The large living room suddenly fell silent.

Shi Miao glanced at the stack of orange boxes. “Why did you buy so many?”

Min Ting replied, “It wouldn’t be fair if Min Xi’s birthday wasn’t as grand as hers.”

Min Xi was right, he was exceptionally generous with her.

Min Ting told the butler to take all the gifts to the car. Shi Miao watched him and said, “There’s no place to put them in the hospital duty room. Actually, there is a place, but they’d have to be stacked on the upper bunk. That’s the spot you worked so hard to tidy up. Would you want to mess it up?”

Min Ting: “…”

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Let’s put them in the trunk for now. We’ll bring them to your place on Saturday when I’m off.”

Shi Miao nodded. “Okay.”

Then, the living room fell into silence again.

Min Ting sat opposite her, leaning back on the sofa while handling work emails.

Shi Miao, on the other hand, ate fruit to pass the time. Most of their meetings were like this, and they had grown accustomed to it.

Suddenly, she remembered the unique sound of the lighter and asked, “What brand is your lighter?”

“I didn’t pay attention. It was taken from the club.”

His lighter had been taken by someone, one of those times when they were playing cards, and whoever saw a lighter would just take it without asking. Often, someone would post in the group chat asking for it back, but no one ever responded.

Min Ting stood up, found the lighter, and handed it to her. Instead of going back to his seat across from her, he sat down beside her.

Shi Miao felt the sofa sink a little under his weight, and the air around her grew more intense. The man’s legs naturally crossed, and he focused on his phone screen.

She lightly pressed her fingers and flipped open the lighter, hearing the satisfying “ding” sound again, which was very relaxing.

She checked and found that this lighter cost five figures—about half a month’s salary for her.

After hearing the sound a few more times, Shi Miao placed the lighter on the coffee table. “I’m leaving.”

Min Ting turned his head to look at her. “Won’t you stay a little longer?”

Shi Miao replied, “No, I promised the director I’d be back by 10:30.”

Min Ting put away his phone. “I’ll take you back.” Then he asked, “Do you want me to bring some fruit or snacks?”

“No need, there’s still stuff in the fridge. My mom sends it often.”

Shi Miao grabbed her bag and walked out of the living room first.

As they stepped out of the villa, Min Ting’s driver drove up in his other car, a Bentley, since his Phantom was in for maintenance.

Shi Miao sat in the backseat, waiting for about half a minute before Min Ting got in. He tossed her a blanket.

She didn’t feel the need to thank him again; instead, she just unfolded it and draped it over herself. Forty minutes in the car without sleeping would be a waste. She couldn’t resist checking her phone before falling asleep, even though she hadn’t looked at WeChat the entire evening.

She opened it without much expectation, quickly scanning through. Her father’s chat window still had no new messages, so she locked her screen without any emotion.

Leaning back in her seat, she closed her eyes. The seat wasn’t an independent one, and as she was about to fall asleep, her head kept sliding down. She startled herself awake, which seriously affected the quality of her sleep.

She debated whether or not to lean on his shoulder.

It was hard to ask.

But then she thought, he was her husband now, not just someone she met on a blind date. When he gave her the bracelet, he didn’t hesitate to help her remove the tag.

She opened her eyes and asked, “The backrest is too slippery; can I lean on you while I sleep?”

In the dim car interior, Min Ting turned his head to meet her gaze. Although he was handling work, he replied without hesitation, “Sure.” He didn’t hesitate, knowing that if he did, she would feel awkward.

Without letting her move first, he shifted to the center.

Shi Miao leaned her head over, closing her eyes.

During the ride, she made a couple of small adjustments to her sitting position until she felt comfortable. His white shirt was crisp and firm, giving the fabric a slightly stiff, cold appearance. But when she rested her face on it, it felt soft and delicate.

Her cheek was only separated from his shoulder by the fabric of his shirt, and she could clearly feel his body heat.

They hadn’t even held hands, and yet this closeness felt strange at first. She held her breath for a few minutes, adjusting to the broad shoulder and the masculine scent so close to her nose.

After some time, she instinctively clutched the thin blanket in front of her.

The light from his phone illuminated her face, though not too brightly.

Min Ting closed the page on his phone and pressed the side button, dimming the screen.