Chapter 23

The next day, when they were leaving, Shen Chutang returned the little lamb to him and told him the name she had chosen: Yu Le.

Shi Chengyu hadn’t expected her to give it such a serious name. He felt her preciousness towards Yu Le, and his heart warmed. He didn’t want to part ways, but parting was inevitable.

The flight from Beijing to Su City took about three hours. As the plane slowly ascended, Shen Chutang suddenly realized her feelings of loss. Her heart felt empty.

For the entire three hours, she hid in the bed in the lounge. Shen Sichen and the others thought she was asleep, but actually, Shen Chutang was embarrassed to let them see her cry.

When they got off the plane, the Shen family’s car was already parked next to the gangway. When they saw the three of them coming down, the ground crew stepped forward and opened the car doors.

It was almost 9:00 PM when they got home. Chen Musheng had prepared a midnight snack for them. They ate a little, and Shen Chutang went back to her room and made a video call to Shi Chengyu.

As soon as the call connected, Shi Chengyu saw her slightly red eyes. “Why are you crying?”

She had told Chen Musheng that she hadn’t slept well and was rubbing her eyes, but that wasn’t true.

As soon as she heard Shi Chengyu ask, she instantly became aggrieved. “We’re so far apart now…”

Shen Chutang’s voice choked, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes. She wiped them with the back of her hand, but more tears quickly flowed down.

Shi Chengyu’s heart felt as if it had been pricked by something. His throat tightened. “Tangtang…”

“It’s okay, Brother Chengyu. I’m just a little uncomfortable.” Shen Chutang finally wiped her tears dry and asked with a smile, “Do you miss me?”

“Yes.” Shi Chengyu looked at her, crying and laughing, his heart aching. “Tangtang, be good. We’ll see each other soon.”

“Hmm hmm.” Shen Chutang nodded obediently. “I’ll be back in two weeks.”

“Okay.” Shi Chengyu smiled. “I’ll be waiting for Tangtang.”

They chatted for a few more minutes. Shen Chutang burrowed under the covers, but she didn’t hang up the phone. Shi Chengyu listened to her light breathing through the phone until the call ended.

*

Shen Chutang woke up the next day and discovered that her phone was dead. After charging it and sending a message to Shi Chengyu, she went downstairs.

“Mom~” Shen Chutang ran downstairs and threw herself into Chen Musheng’s arms.

“Oh, why are you up so early today, Tangtang?” Chen Musheng said softly, afraid that she hadn’t rested well. When they arrived yesterday, she was listless, as if she was tired from the journey.

“Unlike your two lazy brothers, they haven’t woken up yet.”

Shen Sujing happened to come down the stairs. “Mom, that’s not right. I’m not a lazy brother. I went out for a run at six this morning. I’ve already showered. Don’t ruin my image in front of Tangtang.”

Shen Chutang giggled. “I slept comfortably, so I woke up early.”

“Okay, you two are good kids. Go wait over there. You’ll be able to eat soon.” Chen Musheng urged them to leave the kitchen. The housekeepers were all on vacation. She had just made breakfast for Shen Gengli and sent him off. They two had woken up.

Shen Sujing pushed Shen Chutang out of the kitchen and let her watch TV in the living room. He turned back and went into the kitchen.

Shen Chutang turned on the TV and found an animated film to watch. The doorbell rang. Chen Musheng poked her head out of the kitchen. “Tangtang, go open the door. See if Dad is back.”

“Okay.” Shen Chutang agreed and ran over quickly. She opened the door, but it wasn’t Shen Gengli standing outside.

It had started snowing outside, and there was a thin layer of white on the ground. Shi Chengyu stood at the door, with some snowflakes on his hair and shoulders. When he saw Shen Chutang opening the door, he was clearly startled, then he smiled. “Tangtang.”

“Brother Chengyu!”

Shi Chengyu hugged the person who rushed over and said softly, “Come inside quickly, it’s cold outside.”

Shen Chutang came back to her senses from the huge surprise and pulled him inside. The driver behind them put the things by the entrance of the living room and said respectfully, “Mr. Shi, I’ll leave the things here for now. I’ll go back first. Contact me if you need anything.”

“Okay.” Shi Chengyu nodded slightly and closed the door. His other hand was held by Shen Chutang’s two hands.

“Brother Chengyu, why are your hands so cold?”

Shi Chengyu was about to speak when Chen Musheng’s voice came from the kitchen. “Tangtang, who’s here?”

“Chengyu?” Chen Musheng was also startled when she saw the person standing in the living room.

Shi Chengyu smiled faintly. “Aunt Chen.”

“Brother Chengyu?” Shen Sujing also came out of the kitchen, surprised. “Didn’t you say you were sending a gift to Tangtang?”

Shi Chengyu’s ears turned slightly red. He was sending Shen Chutang a New Year’s gift, but he had come to deliver it himself.

“You’re here just in time. Haven’t you had breakfast yet?” Chen Musheng handed him a towel and then turned to Shen Chutang. “Tangtang, quickly take Chengyu to the living room to rest.”

“Okay.” Shen Chutang happily took his hand and led him to the sofa.

Then she took the towel and wiped the snow off his hair. “Brother Chengyu, can you do magic?”

Shen Chutang was very surprised. She no longer cared about what he called a New Year’s gift. This was already the best gift she had received.

Shi Chengyu felt a little warmer. He looked at Shen Chutang’s serious eyes and was momentarily stunned. “No.” He said. Then he asked with a smile, “Do you want to see?”

Shen Chutang burst out laughing. “Brother Chengyu, have you been frozen silly?”

Shen Chutang reached out and covered his face with both hands. Fortunately, it was a little cold, but not icy. “I’m just kidding.”

Shi Chengyu stared at her blankly. He wanted to hug her, but he held back.

“You two, come over and eat.” Chen Musheng called out from the other side. Shen Chutang took him over, feeling that Shi Chengyu was a little dazed today.

Chen Musheng looked at the two of them sitting opposite each other and realized how quickly time flew by. In the blink of an eye, Shen Chutang had grown so much, and Shi Chengyu was no longer the young boy he used to be.

When he was little, Shi Chengyu was quiet and a little withdrawn. He only liked playing with Tangtang. Who would have thought that they would play together for sixteen years.

Shi Chengyu’s original plan was to go back in the afternoon, but Chen Musheng thought that since he was here, he should stay for a night. It wouldn’t be good to have him travel all day.

Shen Chutang was the happiest. She personally went to tidy up the guest room for Shi Chengyu and even gave him a set of her pink bedding.

Shen Sichen stood at the door with his arms crossed, watching them with a smile. “It’s true what they say. No matter what your status is outside, you have to sleep on pink sheets when you come home.”

“What’s wrong with pink sheets! They’re so pretty.” Shen Chutang retorted with dissatisfaction, then said to Shi Chengyu, “Don’t you think so, Brother Chengyu?”

“Pretty.” Shi Chengyu agreed, sitting on the sofa and watching her busy herself.

Shen Sichen felt a little sour. “You’ve never made my bed for me when you were growing up.”

“You don’t like it.” Shen Chutang snorted. “Brother Chengyu wouldn’t dislike pink sheets.”