When Wen Xian was brought downstairs by Shen Lingge, the corner of her eyes still had a trace of red.
He held her hand as he walked towards the dining room, at this time the dining table was already prepared with a sumptuous spread of dishes, the butler silently waiting on the side.
Wen Xian glanced at the dining table, she lowered her voice and asked: “Gege, is this Mr. Chi’s home?”
Shen Lingge took the warm towel and wiped her hands, responded: “This is not Mr. Chi’s home, as for whose home it is I will tell you later, eat first.”
And the butler who had been playing dead in the corner all this time now felt his heartbeat had already soared up to one hundred fifty beats per minute, he watched Shen Lingge grow up, had never seen him bow his head for anyone.
Also had never seen him show such gentle appearance.
Mingcheng’s dishes tend towards sweet flavor, Wen Xian ate a little more than usual, she puffed up her cheeks and glanced at Shen Lingge, he still maintained an unhurried noble and elegant posture.
In the midst of a silence, Wen Xian’s phone message notification sound continuously rang.
Wen Xian put down her chopsticks and glanced at it, sender: Face-paralyzed Little Desk-mate.
[Face-paralyzed Little Desk-mate: Going to be late, stupid woman.]
[Face-paralyzed Little Desk-mate: One minute left.]
[Face-paralyzed Little Desk-mate: ?]
[Face-paralyzed Little Desk-mate: Where are you?]
[Wen Xian: I asked for leave from tonight’s class.]
[Wen Xian: Xiao Gong, are you missing jiejie?]
Over this past week, Wen Xian and her face-paralyzed little desk-mate’s relationship had rapidly advanced, the reason was that one day the little desk-mate’s family driver had something and couldn’t come pick him up on time, so Wen Xian picked him up into her car.
In the car Wen Xian also shared with this cold little face-paralyzed one the sweets that Duoduo prepared for her.
It was also that day Wen Xian found out her little desk-mate’s full name was Gong Yan, specialty was being able to maintain a completely expressionless face for twenty-four hours, hobby was eating sweets.
[Face-paralyzed Little Desk-mate: Didn’t miss you, I miss Duoduo jiejie’s snacks.]
[Wen Xian: Duoduo is jiejie, why am I just stupid woman?]
[Face-paralyzed Little Desk-mate: Of course because you are stupid.]
[Face-paralyzed Little Desk-mate: Class is starting, remember to do homework.]
Shen Lingge unobtrusively glanced at Wen Xian, she didn’t know who she was chatting with, her brows and eyes curved, he lightly coughed to remind her not to overdo it, but she still curved her lips replying to the messages.
Shen Lingge frowned: “Wen Xian, eat properly.”
Wen Xian had just been about to retort to the little face-paralyzed one’s words when she heard Shen Lingge’s words, she unwillingly put away her phone, even glaring at him: “When you ate before you also played with the tablet!”
Shen Lingge said in a low voice: “That was me handling work.”
Wen Xian lifted her chin: “I’m also handling work.”
Just as Shen Lingge was about to say something, suddenly from the restaurant entrance came a burst of hurried footsteps, Duoduo ran to Shen Lingge’s side gasping for breath, completely unable to mind the problem of etiquette.
She lowered her voice urgently and said: “Young master, madam has arrived, already heading towards the dining room.”
Shen Lingge was startled.
If Song Mingxi came, his identity would be impossible to hide.
Shen Lingge’s dark eyes dimmed. He immediately stood up, grabbed the bewildered Wen Xian by the hand, and strode toward the only storage room in the restaurant. Wen Xian stumbled slightly from his pull: “What’s wrong?”
Shen Lingge had no time to answer. He opened the door and pushed Wen Xian inside. His figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye, both he and Wen Xian had disappeared into the storage room.
The moment the storage room door closed, Song Mingxi arrived at the restaurant entrance.
She glanced in surprise at the two sets of tableware on the dining table: “Uncle Guan, do we have guests? Where’s Lingge?”
The butler bowed calmly and replied, “Madam, the young master just left not long ago. It seems something urgent came up.”
Song Mingxi’s gaze swept over the water glass Wen Xian had used—there was a faint lipstick mark on it. She immediately lowered her voice to confirm: “Uncle Guan, did Lingge bring his girlfriend back? Is it the one he mentioned to me last time? Is she pretty?”
The butler nodded: “Very pretty. The most beautiful young lady I’ve ever seen.”
Hearing this, Song Mingxi immediately beamed with joy: “Come, come, Uncle Guan, tell me—how do the two of them seem together?”
Meanwhile, inside the storage room.
This was a place for storing tableware. The butler had just restocked a batch of imported tableware in the past two days and hadn’t had time to organize it yet, leaving almost no space for people inside.
It was only after entering that Shen Lingge realized how cramped and narrow the space was.
He had no choice but to squeeze in close to Wen Xian.
No matter how they stood, it felt awkward. In the end, he simply wrapped his arms around her to keep her from moving, while also covering her ears to prevent her from hearing anything she shouldn’t.
Wen Xian was forced to press against Shen Lingge’s warm chest, her cheek resting against the soft fabric of his shirt. She could even hear his steady heartbeat, and above her head was the deep sound of his breathing.
The darkness and the close proximity made Wen Xian a little uneasy. She called out softly: “Gege, we…”
The next second, Shen Lingge’s finger pressed against her lips. His voice was low and hoarse: “Xian Xian, be good. Don’t speak, and don’t move.”
Shen Lingge wasn’t feeling comfortable either at the moment. Wen Xian’s entire body was practically pressed against him, her faint fragrance surrounding him, and her fluffy head kept nuzzling against his chest.
Shen Lingge frowned slightly—her movements were stirring something restless in him.
And yet, this little girl was calling his name so sweetly and intimately. He didn’t even dare look at her again.
Wen Xian pursed her lips. Shyly, silently, she reached out trembling fingers and clutched the hem of his shirt. The moment her fingertips touched the fabric, she truly felt it—
She was being held by him.
She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but it seemed like Shen Lingge’s heartbeat was speeding up, growing louder and louder.
Unable to help herself, Wen Xian leaned a little closer to where his heart was, trying to listen more clearly.
Shen Lingge slightly closed his eyes, extinguishing the flames that were about to ignite in the depths of his gaze. All that scorching, unbearable restlessness was forcibly suppressed by him. In a somewhat flustered motion, he reached out and clasped her hands.
The moment his shirt hem was tightly gripped in her palm, it felt as though his heart had also been lightly yet firmly pinched by her fingertips. Shen Lingge nearly suffocated.
Fortunately, the next second, the storage room door was knocked on.
Duoduo’s voice came through the door: “Miss, sir, you can come out now.”
Shen Lingge released Wen Xian’s hands, hoisted her up with one arm to make space to open the door, and after stepping out, he practically shoved her toward Duoduo before fleeing the dining room like an escape.
Wen Xian: “……”
What… just happened?
Duoduo stifled a laugh—she had seen it. The young master’s face had turned red.
—
After finishing her bath, Wen Xian moved a small low table into her room. She sat cross-legged on the carpet, her weekend homework spread out on the table along with the dessert Duoduo had prepared for her and a single red apple.
Wen Xian frowned, staring at the bright red apple for a long time, unable to bring herself to start writing.
Five minutes later, she set down her pen and sighed wistfully: “Yu, you’re still the more useful one. No matter how I draw, it always turns out as an apple—never a single mistake.”
Yu puffed out its chest proudly in front of her.
Then she turned her gaze to the pencil on the table, lecturing it with a stern face: “You’re a grown-up pencil now. You should learn from your older brother—whatever I draw, it looks exactly like it.”
Wen Xian looked at Yu: “Come on, demonstrate for your little brother what it means to draw an apple.”
Yu smugly floated into the air, casually sketching a few strokes in the void. When it was done, it even flew up to Wen Xian’s face and planted its hands on its hips. The next second, an apple identical to the one on the table materialized midair.
Neither of them noticed the slightly ajar door had been pushed open.
Wen Xian reflexively reached out and caught the apple before it could fall. Just as she was about to bring it to her lips, she sensed something was off and instinctively glanced toward the door.
Shen Lingge stood at the doorway, his gaze dark and unreadable as he watched her. In his left hand was a glass of milk, in his right a fruit platter. It was impossible to tell how long he had been standing there, observing her.
Wen Xian: “………”
Yu: “………”
Yu immediately flopped over, playing dead as if nothing had happened.
Wen Xian met Shen Lingge’s eyes awkwardly, her voice guilty: “Gege, you didn’t even call out when you came in…”
Shen Lingge stared at her for a moment before stepping forward. He bent down, placed the milk and fruit platter on the table, then studied her silently. Wen Xian blinked back at him with an innocent expression.
After a beat of silence, Shen Lingge sighed helplessly and reached out to ruffle her hair. “You’re getting more and more careless. If it hadn’t been me who saw you but Duoduo instead—what would you have done?”
Wen Xian pressed her lips together and mumbled in a tiny voice: “I remember closing the door…”
Shen Lingge raised an eyebrow: “I called out to you at the door. You just didn’t hear me.”
Wen Xian: “……”
At this moment, Shen Lingge finally understood why Wen Xian had said, on the day they first met, that she had created him. Her hand could paint all things—she was like a forgotten miracle of the world.
Shen Lingge averted his gaze to the pencil lying stiffly on the table, pretending to be dead. He asked, “Can I use it to draw something?”
Wen Xian shook her head honestly: “No.”
No one but her could use Yu to draw anything. Xu Chuwei had once tried writing with Yu, but in her hands, it was as if the pencil had run out of ink—she couldn’t produce a single stroke.
Shen Lingge was an exception. Wen Xian felt this was a privilege Yu had granted him.
Suddenly, for some reason, Shen Lingge remembered the potato-faced stick figure Wen Xian had drawn of him—the one she had proudly declared to be a masterpiece and lifelike.
A bad premonition rose in his chest: “What exactly did you draw me as that day?”
Wen Xian blinked, picked up the pencil, and deftly sketched a potato-man on the paper: one circle, three lines, one vertical stroke, one left-falling stroke, one right-falling stroke—
When she finished, she beamed with pride: “Gege, look! This is how I drew you. The moment I finished, you appeared. This was the man I drew for my—”
She abruptly cut herself off, her bright, watery eyes fixed on him as she swallowed back the words boyfriend.
Shen Lingge’s temple twitched. He glanced down at the hideous little figure on the paper and finally couldn’t hold back: “What on earth were you thinking that day?”
Wen Xian muttered under her breath: “I was drunk that day. How would I know what I was thinking?”
Shen Lingge flicked her forehead lightly and said sternly, “No more playing. Eat some fruit and focus on your homework. Don’t you remember it’s due Monday night?”
Wen Xian drooped like a wilted little plant, sighing dejectedly: “I know, I’ll do my homework properly.”
Seeing her obedient agreement, Shen Lingge closed the door and left.
As he turned to walk back to his room, the words she had sobbed into his ear on that rainy night echoed relentlessly in his mind—
“You have to stay by my side forever.”
“You have to take me to see Mom and Dad.”
“You have to love me properly. You can’t like anyone else.”
“Can you love Xian Xian forever?”
Shen Lingge came to an abrupt halt, his entire body stiffening. The sharp line of his jaw tensed, his molars clenching faintly. He could no longer deceive himself with the excuse that he only saw Wen Xian as a little sister.
He shut his eyes in defeat.
He was done for.