【15.】

  There's less than a week until Shendong's birthday, and these days an unexpected guest has arrived at home. Shendong hasn't returned yet, and I'm bored out of my mind surfing the internet upstairs. Jiangma heard the doorbell ringing and muttered to herself who it could be while going to open the door.

  I didn't take it to heart, and at home, there were always some strangers coming back, just things that Shen Zhuang bought for me and asked someone to deliver.

  Mother Jiang pushed open the door and came in, her face looking a bit down. I looked at her and asked puzzled: "What's wrong?"

  She hesitated for half a day before saying: "Miss Hu has come to see you, young master..."

  Miss Hu?

  What's wrong with Hu Wei?

  I stood up: "Where is he?"

  "He's still downstairs... This one is no ordinary person either, I can only invite him in and treat him with courtesy."

  Mother Jiang spoke with a somewhat unnatural expression, I knew she was afraid that I would make a fuss and didn't know what to do at the moment.

  I smiled and said: "Wait for me to change clothes and then I'll go downstairs."

  Downstairs, I saw Hu Wei drinking tea in front of her with great ease, as if she were not a guest at all. I admired her in my heart, but didn't show any expression.

  She looked up at me, smiled and said: "This is indeed the residence of a young master, this tea is better than anywhere else by several degrees, even someone like me who doesn't understand tea can't help but drink a few more cups."

  Hu Wei's attitude really didn't make me angry, nor did I have any desire to fight back. I just felt that this person was kind and approachable... or maybe she had a deep city, but I knew I wasn't her opponent. This calm and composed demeanor, this easy-going nature, how could it possibly make me put on the airs of a jealous wife?

  I also laughed: "You also know that person, eating, dressing, using everything must be the best, slightly unhappy and he will sulk, scary!"

  Hú Wèi listened to this and smiled even more deeply, but it didn't make people dislike her. It seemed like we were discussing the most ordinary topic. She put down her teacup on the tea tray, clapped her hands and laughed: "Yes, yes, this little guy is really something, learning his grandfather's stern expression from a young age. People who don't know the inside story are often fooled by him. But I know whether he's really angry or not. Unless it's something serious, I'm not afraid of him. Only when I see that he's truly furious do I apologize."

  I can only laugh...

  And this smile is so awkward compared to the vivid smile on Hu Wei's face at this moment.

  The corners of her mouth could no longer hold up that smile, and a bitter laugh gradually emerged. It turned out that Hu Wei believed in these four words: "Soldiers do not kill with bloodshed."

  As we were talking, there was the sound of a car passing by outside. It must be Shen Duan back, Jiang Ma went to greet him. In just a moment, Shen Duan walked in and sat down beside me, Hu Wei suddenly clasped her hands together, looking a bit tense.

  Yes... No matter how calm she was, she was just a twenty-year-old young woman. When facing the one she loved, she couldn't help but be flustered.

  He seemed to have ignored Hu Wei and only looked at me, slightly frowning: "You've just recovered from your illness, what are you doing wearing so little running into the hall?"

  I knew he was intentionally making things difficult for Hu Wei, but I couldn't let her lose face either, so I said: "Isn't this because friends have come?"

  Shen Dang only seemed to have just seen Hu Wei's appearance, but didn't say any polite words, and instead asked faintly: "How did you end up finding this place?"

  His words were full of dissatisfaction and discontent, which was indeed his style, leaving no room for others to save face.

  Hu Wei seemed to be annoyed as well and asked discontentedly: "I just came to the young master's house for a cup of tea, can't I?"

  "What tea must come to my house to drink?" Shen Zhong walked over, sat down beside me, and put his arm around me.

  This loving appearance did not enrage Hu Wei, she ignored Shen Dong's hand on my waist, and patted Shen Dong's shoulder with one hand, asking: "I said you little devil was eating gunpowder outside, what happened?"

  "Stop messing around."

  "What's wrong with me? Look at you, coming in and sulking with a long face, as if I owed you money. I've been busy running around for your birthday party all day, but it turns out I'm just helping an ingrate!"

  He finally couldn't help but say: "Alright alright, isn't it enough that I owe you?"

  "What's the point of being calculating? It's obvious! I'm also a returnee from a famous overseas university, from a prestigious family. Those who pursue me are at least 90 out of 100, and they spend their youth waiting for just one party with you, wasting their years... tell me..."

  "Stop, stop, stop! Don't take credit for this anymore. I owe you one this year, so don't bother next year! You go ahead and date or whatever, I won't interfere!"

  Hu Wei was stunned by his words and remained silent for a while before muttering: "I also volunteered."

  Shen Duan seemed to have not heard, called Jiang Ma over and said that the dinner was made more sumptuous tonight. After instructing her, he said he wanted to go upstairs to change his clothes. I sat stupidly on the sofa, being glared at by Shen Duan several times before reacting, and hurriedly followed him up.

  As soon as he entered the house, he hugged me and leaned in to look at me, with a smile on his face: "Are you jealous?"

  I turned my head away and didn't look at him: "Pfft!"

  He didn't get angry, but instead lowered his head and kissed my neck, kissing more and more forcefully. I vaguely guessed what he was going to do and hurriedly shouted: "Don't leave a hickey!"

  It's better not to mention it, but once mentioned, he becomes even more energetic. Normally, he always manages to leave me with bruises all over my body, so this kind of thing is not difficult for him at all. As I struggled, I don't know how many deep and shallow strawberry marks had already appeared on my neck and collarbone.

  He had made enough noise, one hand supporting my head, kissing my lips.

  It wasn't until a while later that he let me go. I was so embarrassed, my face burning red, even though we had been intimate before, but I still couldn't withstand the teasing of this charming young man.

  He looked at me, burst out laughing: "I still remember when you gave homework to Liu Xian, and in the corridor, I teased you with a few words, and your face turned red with shame. So many years have passed... You haven't changed at all."

  I looked up at him, and his eyes were filled with a deep, unchanging love. My heart warmed, and I hugged him back: "What hasn't changed? You've clearly aged several years."

  He kissed my cheek: "You're getting older, and even older. By the time you realize it, we've already spent a lifetime like this."

  My nose turned sour and I almost shed tears.

  Shen Diao patted my head: "Can't even handle a few words like this? In the future, I still have many sweet nothings to say to you."

  "For a lifetime?"

  "For a lifetime."

  "You promised me." I recited the classic lines from behind, "A lifetime is a lifetime, not a year, a month, a day or an hour less will do."

  "Alright." He took my hand and looked at me gently "I can do it."

  ——————————————————

  Because there were strawberries on my neck and collarbone, I originally wanted to change into a high-necked dress in the dressing room, but Shen Zhuo refused to let me wear it.

  "If you cover it up, you'll waste a thought of mine."

  "What's on your mind?"

  He didn't say a word, puffed up and staring at me. I knew in my heart that he wanted to show off to the one downstairs, but I felt that Hu Wei should know everything she needed to know, no need for us to put on such a show of affection. But how could Shen Zhong not know what was going on in his own heart?

  "If you dare to change your high collar, I will execute you on the spot." With that, he pounced on him.

  I was afraid of him, one hand placed horizontally in front of my chest, the other pushing him: "Okay, okay! Can't I not exchange it? Please spare me."

  So when I appeared with Shen Zhong downstairs, Hu Wei stared at my neck for a moment and lost her mind. I turned my head away in embarrassment, pretending not to see.

  When Mother Jiang brought the dishes, she gave me a meaningful look, probably thinking that I had deliberately exposed this mark, and there was even a hint of approval in her expression.

  I'm wailing in my heart...... Why are all the people around me like this????

  Shen Duan seemed to have not seen all this, serving me dishes and rice as if nothing was wrong, without any awkwardness. The atmosphere at the dinner table was subtle for a while, I wanted to find a topic to talk about, but always felt it wasn't suitable. The speed of eating also slowed down.

  Shen Dang looked at my bowl and plate, leaned over and asked: "Don't you like it?"

  I was confused by his nonsensical sentence and stupidly asked: "Huh?"

  "I said the dishes... aren't delicious? Why are you eating so little?"

  "Not really..." I muttered, taking a big mouthful of food "I had some snacks when I was online this afternoon and they haven't digested yet."

  He heard me say this and asked again: "Is there still a snack?"

  "There's still a bit left... didn't you get sick last week? Didn't eat much."

  "It's all my fault... You've been sick and everything is in disarray. I even forgot to go to the supermarket to buy you some snacks, if you're feeling better, we can go after dinner."

  I smiled with joy: "Good, good."

  Because I just recovered from a serious illness, for many days they didn't let me eat spicy food. My mouth, which is used to eating spicy food as if it's my lifeblood, has become tasteless. Today he said that, and I had already planned to buy more spicy food to eat.

  He seemed to have figured out what I was thinking, and with a serious face, said: "No salty or spicy food allowed."

  "Huh?"

  He gave me a glance, and I wanted to say something, but he glared back at me, so I obediently picked up the dish in front of me.

  Hu Wei said at this time: "Right, when are you going up the mountain to take a look? The arrangements there are almost complete."

  "Let's do it another day... Liu Jia, you eat the green vegetables."

  Not discussing business matters... sigh.

  I secretly picked up the green vegetables from his plate and ate them with tears streaming down my face.

  Hu Wei looked at us two and smiled: "Another day, let the young master take you to the mountain to have a look. You should like it too."

  It's as if we didn't meet that day at all.

  But since she said so, I couldn't let her down. A mouthful of vegetables stuck in my throat was quite uncomfortable, and I had to force a smile and say: "Great. Hearing you say that makes me look forward to it even more."

  "Hurry up and let the young master take you there." Hu Wei said, seemingly careless "Ordinary people can't find that place, if I don't let the young master bring you, I'm afraid you'll get lost."

  ……

  Alright, I'm not one of you high-society people... I keep quiet, I eat my meal.

  It was probably my expression of tasting wax that finally moved Shen Zhuo. He sighed and said to me, "If you don't want to eat, then just don't eat."

  I immediately put down my chopsticks, as if waiting for him to say that. Shen Zhong looked at me with a mixture of laughter and tears, but his eyes were full of doting affection.

  After dinner, Hu Wei seemed to have something else to say, but Shen Zhong had already changed his clothes and asked Hu Wei casually: "Anything else?"

  He didn't even wait for a response and said: "I'm going out shopping with Liu Jia. Whatever it is, let's talk about it another day."

  Hu Wei stood there, pitiful and lovely, even I couldn't help but want to protect her a little, just feeling that such a delicate beauty standing there was already a picturesque scene.

  Just then, Hu Wei finally spoke up and shouted out Shen Zhong's name.

  "Older brother..."

  I heard Shen Yao mention before that Shen Zhong is the fifth in his family, so some people also call him Fifth Young Master.

  Shen Duan's expression finally changed as he shouted, no longer as impatient as before. He looked at Hu Wei and said, "I'll have the driver take you back."

  I thought Hu Wei would say something else, but she just lowered her head and responded softly: "Okay."

  Alas...

  I wish I were air at that moment, and then I would have avoided that embarrassment.

  This Hu Wei... is indeed different from others.

  Shen Diao, although he appears to be so noble and unapproachable in the eyes of outsiders, is actually a person who values relationships deeply. He has said that there are very few people in this world who can be considered his friends, as many people only associate with him because of his family background. That's why he attaches such importance to Beizi, and also to Hu Wei's term "Fifth Brother".

  When Hu Wei left, she didn't even look back at Shen Zhong with the reluctance I had imagined. This kind of person... is strong when needed and weak when needed. For a moment, it made me unclear what kind of person she was. And what's different from others is that she doesn't put pressure on me.

  But that doesn't mean I want to consider this person as a friend. Maybe it's because I'm overly cautious, but I always feel that Hu Wei is not as simple as she appears to be.

  Shen Duan sat on the sofa, looking extremely tired. I walked over and sat down beside him: "What's wrong?"

  "...... Many people around me have changed, they were not like this before. When did it start, that we had to use our minds to guard against the people closest to us?"

  I knew he saw through Hu Wei's intentions just like I did. I didn't know what to comfort him with, so I could only hold his hand tightly.

  "As people grow up, they will inevitably face this day. You are more aware of these things than I am, so how can you not see through them now?"

  He wrapped his arms around me: "I'm just afraid that one day I won't be able to protect you."

  "How could it be..." My face was pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

  Shen Duan patted me: "Of course not... Come on, let's go to the supermarket."

  I stared at him: "Can I buy spicy beef jerky?"

  He strode out of the door with big steps, without even looking at me: "No way."

  "I also took a few steps forward: 'Where is that spicy potato chip flavor?'"

  "It's no good."

  "What about the spicy hamburger?"

  "Don't say spicy!"