Chapter 52

Yan Zhao slept soundly, with a peaceful sleeping face, enveloped by the gentle moonlight, as if carved from jade.

Shen Yuanting silently got out of bed, barefoot stepping on the cool wooden floor, and left the room.

Wang Zai didn’t want to sleep in the cat’s nest, occupying the queen’s chair every night. Hearing a faint sound, its ears twitched, opened its golden eyes, then closed them, making a purring sound in its throat.

Shen Yuanting sat on the sofa, took a cigarette from the cigarette case, clicked the lighter, and a flame shot out, igniting the cigarette.

Shen Yuanting took a puff of the cigarette, the smoke didn’t go into his lungs, and the pale gray smoke billowed out.

Wang Zai got up to put out the spark in the darkness, and Shen Yuanting held it, touching its head and ears: “Don’t make a fuss.”

Wang Zai meowed, broke free from his hand, and ran away.

Yan Zhao was abruptly awakened, feeling like he was being crushed by Mount Tai, his eyelids heavy as if filled with lead, the little thing in his arms still stepping around.

He mumbled, “Yuanting, control your cat.”

“Mr. Shen, don’t fall asleep.”

“Shen Yuanting?”

Yan Zhao’s arm crossed over, with the warmth still lingering in the quilt.

Yan Zhao opened his eyes, and there was no one beside him.

Did he go to fetch water?

His eyes turned to the side, the light in the washroom was not on, pitch black. Besides the rustling sound of the cat playing in the blanket, there was no other sound in the room.

Wang Zai was still using his cat’s head to nudge him. Yan Zhao picked it up, and pinching its paws: “Kid, you are already an adult cat, stop kneading on me.”

Wang Zai kicked his hind legs.

Yan Zhao carried the cat out of the room, the door to the study was closed, no light seeped through the crack. He went downstairs again, the smell of tobacco scattered in the air, a tall man’s figure shrouded in the gray mist, holding a cigarette between his fingers.

Yan Zhao sat down, Shen Yuanting glanced at Wang Zai: “Did it bother you? Little troublemaker.”

Yan Zhao scratched Wang Zai’s chin: “It’s a hero.”

Wang Zai proudly raised one paw, licking the fur on his belly.

Shen Yuanting chuckled and extinguished the cigarette.

Yan Zhao: “Why did you stop smoking?”

Shen Yuanting: “I’m afraid it will bother you.”

Yan Zhao: “Then you shouldn’t have touched it, now you smell like smoke.”

Shen Yuanting went to open all the French windows, letting in the fresh night breeze mixed with the scent of rain-soaked soil.

Yan Zhao opened the cigarette case, there were still many cigarettes left inside.

It seems he doesn’t smoke often.

After checking, Yan Zhao threw the cigarette case into the trash can satisfactorily and asked, “Do you know now? I went to find Grandma.”

Shen Yuanting: “Hmm.”

Yan Zhao didn’t ask how he knew, whether it was the old lady who told him, or he used another method.

He said, “I asked about your family, I’m sorry…”

Shen Yuanting looked at him: “There’s nothing to apologize for, you want to understand me more, and I’m actually happy about it.”

Yan Zhao: “But you don’t look like that.”

Shen Yuanting’s mouth lifted up, putting on a smile.

Yan Zhao: “Too stiff, not good enough.”

Shen Yuanting: “Then how should I smile?”

Yan Zhao smiled at him, with curved eyebrows and naturally upturned corners of the mouth.

He pressed his index finger on the corner of Shen Yuanting’s mouth, lifting it up.

Yan Zhao: “Like this, just need a happy look in your eyes.”

Shen Yuanting: “I can’t learn that.”

Yan Zhao: “Then watch me.”

Shen Yuanting looked at him, and the other’s black eyes shining brightly even in the night, like black gemstones.

Yan Zhao: “There’s a shadow in your pupils.”

Shen Yuanting: “It’s you.”

So the acted smile became real, Yan Zhao pointed to his own eyes: “Look into my eyes, you’re in there too!”

“Where?” Shen Yuanting held his face, gazing into his eyes.

Yan Zhao blinked slowly, fluttering his eyelashes: “Here, can you see it?”

Shen Yuanting: “It’s too dark, I can’t see.”

Yan Zhao closed his eyes: “Then don’t look.”

Shen Yuanting hugged his waist, his hot breath sprinkling on his face: “Open your eyes.”

Yan Zhao: “I fell asleep.”

Shen Yuanting made a sound of acknowledgment, his hand reaching into his sleeping gown, touching his thin back, and his fingertips tracing his butterfly bones.

Yan Zhao grabbed his hand: “It’s so late… Didn’t we just do it before going to sleep?”

Shen Yuanting’s tone was low: “You’ve lost a lot of weight.”

Yan Zhao suddenly felt ashamed of his shallow thoughts: “I’ve been busier with filming recently.”

Shen Yuanting: “I’ve been taking care of you for so long, you gained a little weight, and now it’s gone again.”

Yan Zhao promised: “I’ll eat more starting tomorrow.”

Shen Yuanting touched his lower back, his long eyelashes drooping, and said with a sense of loneliness: “I don’t want you to go filming.”

Yan Zhao comforted him: “After finishing this film, I will take a month off and accompany you.”

Shen Yuanting raised his eyes, with a hint of barely visible but discernible anticipation in his tone: “To be my secretary Yan?”

Thinking of the absurdity of that night, Yan Zhao felt a subtle tingling at the base of his spine, his face slightly red: “Hmm.”

Shen Yuanting chuckled lightly, brushed aside his bangs, and planted a kiss on his forehead: “No turning back.”

Yan Zhao: “I won’t, I am very trustworthy.”

Shen Yuanting: “Hmm.”

On the way back to the room, Yan Zhao didn’t want to open his eyes, holding Shen Yuanting’s arm, sticking to him like a little rice cake.

Shen Yuanting: “We’re going up the stairs.”

Yan Zhao stepped up the stairs: “Okay.”

“To the right.”

“Oh.”

At the bedside, Shen Yuanting: “We’re here.”

Yan Zhao leaned forward and pounced into bed, his slippers hooked on his toes, he kicked his legs and the shoes fell off with a snap.

Shen Yuanting helped him straighten his slippers, and he had already pounced into his own position, burying his head in the fluffy swan velvet pillow.

Shen Yuanting turned him over and hugged him in his arms.

Yan Zhao: “Aren’t your arms sore?”

Shen Yuanting: “If they were sore, I would let go.”

Yan Zhao kicked him lightly: “I didn’t ask you to tell the truth!”

Awakened in the middle of the night, Yan Zhao was so tired that as soon as his head touched the pillow, his eyelids couldn’t stay open, and he fell asleep with his eyes closed.

Shen Yuanting stared at him, his eyes slowly scanning his forehead, eyebrows, nose bridge, and lips, repeating every detail and imprinting it in his mind.

The bed sank, Wang Zai jumped up, holding his beloved little fish plush toy.

With both masters present, Wang Zai couldn’t contain the intimate purring in his throat, he found a spot, put down the toy, and hugged it to sleep. Soon, the cat fell asleep, curled up like a shrimp.

Shen Yuanting couldn’t help but smile, but the screen of the phone on the bedside table suddenly lit up, he glanced at it, and his smile gradually faded.

Yu Wei: [Thank you for helping me find the perfume. That formula was discontinued ten years ago, and I was very worried. Also, although I think you will still reject me, we both don’t want to meet often. But I think from a business perspective, working together is the best choice for both of us.]

A flash of pain passed by, Shen Yuanting covered his forehead, waited for it to ease, grabbed his phone, and blocked her.

But when he closed his eyes, Yu Wei’s words echoed in his mind:

“He is still deceived by you. When he sees your true face, he will hate you, right?”

“You better be more ruthless, but don’t repeat Shen Zhuo’s mistakes.”

“Because you have my blood flowing in you, so I know what you are capable of.”

Shen Yuanting hugged Yan Zhao’s hand tighter.

Yan Zhao murmured, placed his hand on Shen Yuanting’s shoulder, lifted his leg up, and clasped his waist.

Wang Zai turned over, exposing its belly, legs up in the air, kicking Mr. Shen’s head.

Shen Yuanting: “…………”

Shen Yuanting moved Yan Zhao’s hand down, raised his phone, removed Yu Wei from the blacklist, and replied: [Stop watching J-country animations. You’re fifty years old and still acting like a teenager. Aren’t you ashamed?]

After sending the message, he tossed the phone aside, placed Yan Zhao’s hand on his shoulder, and the two of them became even closer.

The next day, Yan Zhao woke up to find himself clinging to his man like an octopus.

And it was big.

Yan Zhao: “Don’t you have a sense of shame?”

“If I didn’t, then you would be in trouble.” Shen Yuanting’s fingertips stopped above his tailbone, “I thought you should be more aware of this than me.”

“Deal with it yourself.” Yan Zhao got out of bed, “The bathroom is all yours, please.”

Shen Yuanting: “…”

Wang Zai woke up slowly, yawned, retracted its foot that had kicked its dad several times, didn’t even apologize, jumped out of bed and followed Yan Zhao.

Shen Yuanting instantly felt like a resentful woman left alone.

Yan Zhao went to the kitchen and made shrimp and egg foo young, set the table, toasted some bread, served orange jam, brewed black coffee, prepared a breakfast with a mix of Eastern and Western styles, hummed a song, and returned to the bedroom.

He opened the door to the bathroom, and his man was standing in front of the mirror with white foam around his lips and chin.

Yan Zhao: “Even when you shave, you should close the door. I thought you were up to something.”

Shen Yuanting: “Then why did you open the door?”

Yan Zhao: “I wanted to see if you were using my photos.”

Shen Yuanting: “No, but I have a short video.”

Yan Zhao: “Wow, show me.”

Shen Yuanting: “Find it yourself, the password is 926942.”

Yan Zhao unlocked Shen Yuanting’s phone, happily admired his edited screensaver, and went straight to the point.

In the video, the person had rosy cheeks, tear-filled peach blossom eyes, and a voice like a kitten sobbing: “My little golden man is gone!”

“My savings are gone too!”

“My wine is all gone!”

“The Siamese cat I just ordered is gone too!”

Yan Zhao: “???”

Who the hell is this idiot? And why does it look like a selfie from my angle???

Yan Zhao burst into the bathroom: “When was this taken?”

Shen Yuanting washed his face clean: “The night you drank in front of me for the first time.”

The person in the video has already started singing “My Tears in the West Lake”, Yan Zhao quickly paused the video: “Why did you keep this?”

Shen Yuanting: “….For fun?”

Yan Zhao: “What’s so fun about it?”

Yan Zhao continued to check Shen Yuanting’s phone, and angrily found pictures of him crying while eating spicy food, pictures of him practicing dance moves in sync, pictures of him playing games and teasing his teammates… There were even his own emojis!

Are you my damn anti-fan?! 99% of my embarrassing moments are on your phone!!!

Yan Zhao showed Shen Yuanting the unflattering double-chin sleeping photo: “What do you mean by this?”

Shen Yuanting hesitated: “….Isn’t it cute?”

Yan Zhao: “Delete it! Delete all of them!”