Shen Lingge turned his head and fixedly glanced at her. He reached out and lightly tapped her slightly warm forehead: “Don’t remember what you said to me yesterday? Didn’t you say you wanted to move back home to live?”
Wen Xian froze.
She immediately shrank into her protective shell like a little turtle. She said in a small voice: “But that place is so big, and you also don’t come back often. If I live there alone, I’ll be scared.”
A trace of softness flashed through Shen Lingge’s eyes. He said in a low voice: “You won’t be scared.”
Wen Xian: ?
If you say I won’t be scared, I won’t be scared?
—
At three o’clock in the afternoon, the car slowly drove into Wen Mountain. After getting out of the car, Shen Lingge walked inside side by side with her.
Five minutes later, Wen Xian finally understood why Shen Lingge had said those four words to her in the car.
She stood blankly in the center of her home’s living room, as the butler—who even though stepping into middle age still had a handsome face—stood in front of her with a smiling expression. He called out gently: “Miss, welcome home.”
As his voice fell.
The surrounding maid young ladies and the young guys all enthusiastically called out: “Miss, welcome home.”
Wen Xian looked at those ten maids as beautiful as flowers and swallowed her saliva. All of them were looking at her with smiling expressions. Each one was as fresh and lovely as the roses in her home’s rose garden.
The kind still carrying morning dew.
Butler, chef, cleaner, florist, gardener, servants, driver, etc., all stood in front of her.
The girls wearing maid uniforms lined up one by one in front of her to introduce themselves. Their faces were flushed pink, and when they looked at her, it seemed there were stars shining in their eyes.
“Miss, I am your stylist. You are more beautiful than roses.”
“Miss, I am your masseuse. You are like a dazzling diamond.”
“Miss, I am your life assistant. Your eyes are clearer than the spring water of Tianshan.” [Tianshan: a famous mountain range in China]
“Miss, I am your private butler. Your skin looks smoother than milk.”
Wen Xian: ……
At this moment, she felt like she was an emperor with three thousand beauties in her harem. The things from the apartment had been moved here, but they couldn’t even fill one corner of the living room. Qiuqiu was running around on the floor like crazy.
Zanzan was also thrown outside onto the lawn to play.
Shen Lingge sat on the sofa with an entirely calm expression. This place had already been cleaned anew. The marble floor was spotless, and the light pouring from the crystal chandelier was shining and bright.
On the living room floor was laid Wen Xian’s favorite carpet. The antiques and decorations that had once been moved away had been filled with new ornaments. In the beautiful vase were inserted tender champagne roses.
Here was just as splendid as four years ago.
Wen Xian turned and made eye contact with Shen Lingge. She leaned in close to him and said in a small voice: “Gege, these people, you found them?”
Shen Lingge: “Mn, there wasn’t a butler team in Licheng that satisfied me. These people just came over from Mingcheng today. You can try it for two days first. If you don’t like it, then change again.”
Wen Xian: ……
What’s with this overbearing CEO tone?
She hesitated: “How about we…”
Shen Lingge expressionlessly stared at her for a while, then suddenly got up and walked upstairs: “I’m going to stay here tonight, you go pick a room for me.”
Wen Xian jogged after Shen Lingge, lowering her voice: “Gege, don’t be so willful.”
Hearing this, Shen Lingge stopped and looked at her. He lowered his long eyelashes and looked at the obviously a little uneasy little girl for a while, then suddenly raised his hand and snapped his fingers next to her ear.
Wen Xian instinctively covered her ears.
Shen Lingge stared fixedly at her, calling in a deep voice: “Wen Xianxian.”
Wen Xian: “… Who are you calling?”
“Woof!”
A crisp dog bark came from outside the door. A small golden retriever, tongue sticking out, ran towards Shen Lingge on short little legs. Its beautiful and glossy fur swayed naturally in the wind.
This little golden retriever only reached Wen Xian’s calf. It pawed at the ground and pounced toward Shen Lingge’s feet.
Shen Lingge squatted down and rubbed its head, then directly picked it up and stuffed it into Wen Xian’s arms. Wen Xian blankly made eye contact with the beautiful dog in her arms. Its lively eyes stared curiously at her.
Shen Lingge stood up, with a faint, almost unnoticeable smile at the corner of his lips. He looked at her and softly said: “It’s called Wen Xianxian, just like you, a pretty little girl.”
Wen Xian’s face instantly flushed red from her ears to her neck.
She hugged the little golden retriever panting in her arms and ran upstairs: “Go upstairs, I’ll pick a room for you!”
Shen Lingge curved his lips into a smile, following behind Wen Xian at a not-too-close, not-too-far distance as he went upstairs.
The maids gathered together in twos and threes, quietly chatting.
“Young Master called us over from Mingcheng just to take care of this Miss. This Miss is really beautiful.”
“If Madam knew, she would definitely be very happy.”
“Shh, that has to be kept secret.”
“Just now Young Master’s expression looked so gentle.”
The butler lightly coughed: “All of you go back to work.”
The maids gathered together with smiling faces and answered: “Yes!”
Other than leaving his personal butler in Mingcheng, Shen Lingge had practically called all the servants from the Shen residence over to Licheng. Now in the entire Shen residence, there was probably only the butler left all alone.
Wen Xian spent a day that felt like a dream. Every place in the Wen house seemed both unfamiliar and familiar to her. When she stepped into the bath and soaked, she thought she would feel a little sentimental.
But things always exceeded her expectations.
Because the maid sisters filed in through the entrance of the luxurious bathroom one after another, each person holding a small bamboo basket. Wen Xian was very sure she saw flower petals and essential oils inside, as well as a huge pile of skincare products.
A faint fragrance floated into her nose, elegant and fresh.
Wen Xian: “……”
Her life assistant Duoduo sighed: “Miss, this kind of water doesn’t match your skin. Tomorrow let’s soak in a milk bath, or a red wine bath is also fine. Which one do you like?”
Wen Xian couldn’t feel happy at all. She felt like she was about to go bankrupt.
Wen Xian blinked her eyes. Water droplets hung on her thick eyelashes, swaying and about to fall. She honestly said: “Duoduo, we can’t afford such expensive formulas, I haven’t found a job yet.”
When these words fell, Duoduo and the maids behind her all laughed.
Duoduo gently wiped away the water droplets on Wen Xian’s forehead. She chuckled softly: “Miss, you’re really cute, but you don’t need to worry about these things. These, young… sir will handle all of it.”
Wen Xian pressed her lips together, not saying anything.
For the first time, she had this kind of thought—Shen Lingge didn’t seem like someone she had created. It was as if he… as if he had originally existed in this world, as if he was incomparably familiar with the rules of this world.
In the room next to Wen Xian’s.
Shen Lingge was lying in the bathtub with his eyes closed. Beside his hand was placed a glass of red wine, the bathtub full of soap bubbles, just like that day when he had appeared by Wen Xian’s side.
Unlike the lively atmosphere in Wen Xian’s bathroom, he was alone in his bathroom. He preferred quiet places.
…
When Wen Xian lay back down in her own room again, she was still a little dazed. But when Qiuqiu once again snuggled sticky and clingy against her side, she felt as if nothing had changed.
Shen Lingge and Qiuqiu, and Yu—they were all still by her side.
Now there was also Wen Xianxian.
For Wen Xian, after losing Xu Chuwei, her life once again underwent earth-shaking changes.
It had been a very, very long time since she had felt so at ease. What Shen Lingge brought her wasn’t just simple security; he made her feel that from now on, her life had a place to return to.
She turned sideways and glanced at the photo of her parents with gentle expressions, curved her lips and softly said: “Good night, Dad, Mom.”
—
The next day, Wen Xian was not woken up by the maid sister’s gentle voice, but by the constant vibration of her phone. Half-asleep, she picked up the call.
The female voice on the other end was gentle and pleasant: “Hello, may I ask if this is Miss Wen Xian? I’m the recruitment manager from Benoy. I saw your résumé. When would you be available to come for an interview?”
Wen Xian was still a little muddled. She didn’t expect to receive Benoy’s call so soon: “Tomorrow morning, is that okay?”
After agreeing on the time, Wen Xian snuggled against her soft pillow a little longer, then took a deep breath and jumped up from the bed. She was going to tell Shen Lingge that she was about to go for an interview!
One minute later.
Wen Xian ran downstairs barefoot with a da-da-da sound. Wen Xianxian flapped its short legs following behind her, Qiuqiu had already run ahead. Behind Wen Xianxian, there was still a maid chasing and shouting:
“Miss, you’re not wearing shoes!”
Shen Lingge happened to be coming back from his morning run. His breathing wasn’t the slightest bit disordered, only a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
He hadn’t even stepped into the entrance hall when he heard the maid calling out.
The next second, a soft little girl crashed into his arms. She tilted her face up to look at him, with a bit of joy on her face. She said cheerfully: “Gege, I’m going for an interview tomorrow!”
Shen Lingge lowered his eyes and stared at her bare little feet for a while. Suddenly, he bent down and carried her up sideways in his arms.
The maid behind Wen Xian let out a small surprised cry.
But Wen Xian seemed already used to it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kept murmuring in a low voice: “What should I wear tomorrow that would be suitable? I’ve never been to such a big company for an interview before.”
Shen Lingge carried her toward the sofa: “Going to Shen Group for the interview?”
Wen Xian shook her head: “Shen Group hasn’t called me yet. It’s that Port City company.”
Shen Lingge had just wanted to ask how Shen Group hadn’t called yet, when he remembered what he had instructed his assistant—to have them call Wen Xian after nine o’clock, so they wouldn’t wake her up.
But in the end, she was still woken up.
He held her and sat down on the sofa.
The maid nearby quickly walked over to put slippers on Wen Xian’s feet.
Wen Xian tugged on the corner of Shen Lingge’s clothes and asked: “Gege, when are you going back?”
Shen Lingge had originally planned to return to Mingcheng after helping her move, but now he couldn’t feel at ease with her going out alone to look for work, so he thought he would wait until she officially joined Shen Group before going back.
Thinking of this, Shen Lingge lightly sighed again. The workplace wasn’t as simple as imagined. If she received special treatment, there was a high probability she would face exclusion, and he couldn’t explain her identity yet.
Perhaps, for her, Shen Group wasn’t the best choice.
Shen Lingge sat down beside Wen Xian. He asked seriously: “Xian Xian, is there something you want to do yourself? Besides work.”
Wen Xian didn’t quite understand why Shen Lingge was asking this. She tested, saying: “Maybe in the future… I could be a painter?”
Yu: “……?”
Shen Lingge was slightly stunned. During the time he had been living at Wen Xian’s house, he had never found out that she could paint. In her apartment, he hadn’t seen any items related to painting either.
She only had that one pen.
After thinking for a moment, he replied: “Then after breakfast, draw a painting for me to see?”
Wen Xian nodded excitedly: “Okay, okay!”
At this moment, Shen Lingge had no idea what he was about to face.