CHAPTER 9

Shen Jingyan’s health had returned to normal, and his hatred value had reached a standstill. No matter how hard Shi Li tried, it remained stuck at 70%.

However, while the hatred value didn’t decrease, his attitude toward her had improved significantly. The most obvious change was that after living in the Shen family estate for so long, she finally had clothes of her own to wear.

She still remembered the moment when several large boxes of clothes were delivered to her tiny, shabby room. She was so touched that she almost cried. Without hesitation, she took off the sack-like pajamas she had been wearing and changed into the newly delivered outfits. Then, she eagerly ran off to find Shen Jingyan to thank him.

Shen Jingyan was sitting at the desk in his study. For once, he wasn’t looking at documents but sketching something in a notebook. Hearing Shi Li’s impassioned words of gratitude, he didn’t even lift his head and said indifferently, “No need to thank me. The clothes were sent by one of Shen Corporation’s partner brands. It would’ve been wasteful to throw them away, so I gave them to you.”

…Oh. Well, his brand’s partners were surprisingly thoughtful—the sizes and styles were all exactly to her taste. Just as Shi Li was thinking that, Shen Jingyan seemed to sense something and looked up at her. She immediately put on a guilty smile.

“…Still, I appreciate it. I feel much more comfortable in these.”

“What, wearing my clothes made you uncomfortable?” Shen Jingyan’s gaze darkened.

Male Lead Hatred Value: 70%

He didn’t seem angry. Shi Li blinked. “Just a little.”

Shen Jingyan let out a cold chuckle but didn’t press the matter.

Seeing that he was focused on his sketchbook again, Shi Li couldn’t help but inch closer, standing on tiptoe and craning her neck to peek. Shen Jingyan frowned slightly and lifted his eyes to glance at her. She quickly straightened up and pretended to admire the scenery outside the window.

“If you want to see, just come over,” Shen Jingyan said casually.

Shi Li immediately beamed. As she walked around the desk to get closer, she said, “I wasn’t really that curious, but if you insist on showing me, I suppose I can take a—wait, are you designing a house?”

She looked at the sketchbook, her eyes flashing with curiosity at the architectural lines on the page.

“Mm. Just a rough draft for now. A professional will refine it later,” Shen Jingyan replied, then glanced at her. “What do you think?”

“It’s… a bit unusual?” Shi Li struggled to find the right words.

Shen Jingyan’s drawing skills weren’t bad. His design, though simple, conveyed his ideas clearly. However, perhaps because it was so clear, she felt a strange discomfort upon seeing it.

The house was a three-story structure with a rigid, boxy shape—nothing too remarkable at first glance. But the lack of windows made it feel oppressive. The interior layout was even stranger. The third floor had everything—bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom—while the first and second floors were completely empty, as if they had no purpose at all.

And the strangest part? Whether it was unfinished or intentional, the entire house had only one elevator and no other means of moving between floors.

“You don’t like it?” Shen Jingyan asked indifferently.

Shi Li hesitated before answering honestly, “I think there aren’t enough windows. It’s too dark.”

At her words, Shen Jingyan’s slender fingers moved, and with a few swift strokes of his pencil, he added a large floor-to-ceiling window on the third floor.

Shi Li hadn’t expected him to be so open to feedback. For a moment, she wasn’t sure how to feel.

“Anything else?” Shen Jingyan asked.

Shi Li cleared her throat. “Uh… there’s no staircase.”

“Not necessary.”

Shi Li: “…Huh?”

“The elevator is enough,” Shen Jingyan stated matter-of-factly.

Shi Li frowned. “But what if there’s a fire? Or a power outage?” Their area was generally stable, so earthquakes or typhoons weren’t a concern, but accidents could still happen.

Shen Jingyan gave her a thoughtful look before adding several small round shapes to the third floor.

Shi Li was curious. “What are those?”

“Fire suppression devices,” he replied.

Shi Li: “…”

Yeah, he really didn’t want a staircase.

For the rest of the afternoon, Shen Jingyan continued refining his design while Shi Li stayed beside him, watching and occasionally offering suggestions. Whether he actually listened to her or not was out of her control.

They ended up spending the entire afternoon in the study over that one sketch. When the final draft was done, Shi Li couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure you want to build a house like this?”

“Why?” Shen Jingyan looked at her.

Shi Li forced an awkward smile. “No offense, don’t take it the wrong way, but… doesn’t it kind of feel like a birdcage?”

It wasn’t that the shape resembled one, but rather the feeling it gave her.

A house with such an irrational design, with no way in or out except for one single elevator—it didn’t feel like a home. It felt like a place meant to keep something trapped inside.

Shen Jingyan stared at the blueprint in silence for a long time before suddenly saying, “It may not necessarily be used.”

“Hm?”

“It’s just a last resort,” he said slowly.

Shi Li didn’t quite understand what he meant, but something about his expression sent a chill down her spine. She shivered slightly and quickly changed the subject. “Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat.”

“Let the kitchen do it.” Shen Jingyan closed the sketchbook and locked it in a drawer as he spoke.

Shi Li nodded at his words and lingered by his side, continuing their conversation. When it was about time for dinner, she followed him to the dining room. Lately, Shen Jingyan rarely asked her to cook, but he also hadn’t told her to go back to the staff cafeteria. So, she shamelessly ate with him instead. Strangely enough, he allowed it.

During dinner, Shi Li kept sneaking glances at Shen Jingyan. The more she looked, the more puzzled she felt. Their relationship had clearly improved. They could even sit at the same table to eat now. Yet, for some reason, his hatred value remained stuck at 70%, refusing to budge.

…Could it be that she needed to provoke him in a new way?

Just as Shi Li was contemplating whether to stir up trouble, construction suddenly began on the empty land at the deepest part of the Shen estate. Curious, she ran over to take a look and then came back to ask Shen Jingyan, “Is the house they’re building now the one we designed together?”

“We designed together?” Shen Jingyan repeated.

Shi Li nodded earnestly. “Of course. I contributed to the design too.”

As soon as she finished speaking—

Male Lead Hatred Value: 69%

Shi Li: “!!!”

After days of no movement, the hatred value had suddenly dropped by one point?!

Shocked, Shi Li carefully recalled what she had just said. Testing her theory, she cautiously continued, “I didn’t expect the house to be built so soon. I’m actually quite happy. It feels like an accomplishment.”

Male Lead Hatred Value: 68%

Shi Li: “!!!”

She had no idea why the hatred value was decreasing, but for her, this was undoubtedly a great thing. Holding back her excitement, she began praising the house enthusiastically. As she continued, the hatred value kept dropping.

Shi Li, now in high spirits, was about to keep going when Shen Jingyan suddenly asked, “Since you think it’s so great, would you like to live there?”

“Of course!” Shi Li nodded immediately. That bizarre, impractical house was being built in the most remote part of the Shen estate, surrounded entirely by woods. Most importantly, it was a ten-minute walk just to reach the front gate. There was no way she actually wanted to live there.

Male Lead Hatred Value: 65%

…But if the hatred value kept dropping at this rate, she figured staying there for a few days wouldn’t be the worst idea.

She just didn’t understand why it was decreasing so quickly.

With a puzzled expression, Shi Li looked at Shen Jingyan’s unreadable face. She had a feeling that things weren’t as simple as they seemed, but with no clear reason to ask, she could only suppress her curiosity.

Once the hatred value dropped to 65%, it stagnated again. Shi Li had no choice but to continue brainstorming ways to make it decline faster.

During another lunch, Shi Li sat beside Shen Jingyan, eating while listening to him discuss work with the butler. Every now and then, she sneakily added vegetables to his bowl.

Shen Jingyan appeared focused on his conversation, but every time Shi Li placed a vegetable he didn’t like into his bowl, he would, without expression, put it right back into hers. Shi Li had no choice but to eat it herself.

The butler pretended not to notice their overly familiar interaction. He methodically reported work matters, then hurriedly found an excuse to leave, unwilling to continue witnessing their blatant display of affection.

However, halfway out the door, he suddenly turned back. “One more thing. Mr. Zhou’s project was a great success. He came by personally today and invited you to his celebration banquet. You weren’t available at the time, so he asked me to pass along the invitation. How should I respond?”

Shi Li’s hand paused mid-movement. This situation felt oddly familiar.

Before she could recall why, she heard Shen Jingyan say calmly, “Since he invited me, I’ll go.”

“Understood.” The butler nodded and left.

Shi Li frowned at her rice, her movements slowing as she ate. After a long moment, it suddenly hit her—wasn’t this Mr. Zhou the male lead of this story?!

Shen Jingyan, an eighteenth-tier supporting character in this novel, rarely appeared except when serving as a temporary plot device to assist the male lead out of trouble. The only time he had a significant role was at the very celebration banquet they had just discussed.

After receiving financial support from Shen Jingyan, the male lead achieved great success in a business venture, but in doing so, he also offended some powerful underground figures. Those people planned to target him right after the banquet. However, thanks to his protagonist’s plot armor, he managed to escape unscathed—while Shen Jingyan, caught in the crossfire, suffered serious injuries and was completely removed from the story afterward.

Since Shi Li had always assumed she’d reduce Shen Jingyan’s hatred value to zero before the original plot could unfold, she hadn’t worried too much about the storyline. She never expected things to drag on for this long, letting the plot catch up to them.

She hesitantly glanced at Shen Jingyan, unsure if she should persuade him not to attend.

Her conflicted expression was too obvious. Shen Jingyan’s gaze cooled slightly. “If you have something to say, say it.”

“…It’s nothing, really. It’s just about the banquet,” Shi Li laughed dryly. “Your health hasn’t been great lately, so I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go.”

Shen Jingyan looked at her, his expression unreadable.

Feeling pressured but determined, Shi Li pressed on, “Besides, at an event like this, people will definitely try to toast you. Drinking too much would be bad for your health, but refusing to drink could be awkward for business relationships. Wouldn’t it be better to just skip it and avoid the hassle altogether?”

“If you want me to take you with me, just say it directly,” Shen Jingyan interrupted mockingly. “No need to beat around the bush.”

Shi Li: “…” I’m not, I didn’t, don’t misunderstand me!