Chapter 163
Wen Jiafei sat in the shop for almost half an hour before Wen Yue came out from the back kitchen. She had already changed back into her own clothes. Seeing Wen Jiafei, she was surprised. “Xiao Fei, why are you here?”
The proprietress settled the bill for the last customer of the current period. She smiled and said, “Jiafei is truly a filial child. He’s been waiting for you for a long time. Afraid of disturbing your work, he didn’t say anything.”
Moreover, ever since Wen Jiafei sat there, cookie sales for the past half hour had increased significantly. The proprietress laughed. “You can come over and sit in the shop whenever you’re free in the future. Because of you, Auntie’s business has improved a lot. At the end of the month, Auntie will give you a big red envelope.”
Wen Jiafei pulled the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile devoid of much emotion. “Okay, thank you, Auntie.”
The proprietress waved her hand. “No thanks needed, no thanks needed.”
Wen Yue picked up her bag and took Wen Jiafei’s arm. “Let’s go, son.”
Wen Yue looked completely recovered. When she first came back, her face was skin and bones, but now one could see she looked healthy and had put on some weight.
Infected by his mother, Wen Jiafei smiled a little too. “What are we eating tonight?”
Wen Yue thought for a moment. “How about a homemade hotpot? I saw a recipe for homemade hotpot online today. It looks very fragrant and warm.”
Wen Jiafei had no objections. Wen Yue said, “But we still have to go to the supermarket to buy some vegetables and things.”
Wen Jiafei agreed. Wen Yue added, “By the way, what about Xiao Yu? Do you want to ask him if he wants to come?”
Wen Jiafei pressed his thin lips together and said gently, “Mom, today is Friday. Shen Shuyu has already gone home.”
Wen Yue patted the back of his hand. “Oh! It’s Friday already. Mom’s been so busy working these past two days I got confused.”
Wen Jiafei continued to smile gently, then heard Wen Yue say, “Then ask Little Li later? He’s home alone; having him over would make things livelier.”
Thinking of the backs of Shen Shuyu and Shen Xili leaving side by side that afternoon, Wen Jiafei hummed in agreement. “I’ll ask him later.”
The mother and son walked toward the supermarket, chatting idly. Wen Yue was in a good mood and added some household essentials. After paying and carrying the bags, ready to go home, Wen Yue said, “Wait for me outside for a moment. I forgot to buy vinegar; we’re out of vinegar at home.”
Wen Jiafei nodded. “Okay, take your time.”
Holding bags in both hands, he stood at the supermarket entrance, unconsciously staring blankly across the street. Pedestrians came and went around him, making him look particularly lonely at this moment.
Just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, he noticed out of the corner of his eye a man wearing a mask and hat standing by a tree across the street, a camera hanging around his neck. His Alpha intuition told him that person was a bit strange.
Just as he wanted to observe more carefully, Wen Yue came out with the vinegar. She said, “Let’s go, son.”
Wen Jiafei came back to his senses. “Mn.”
After responding, he looked across the street again, only to see the man just getting into a taxi. Wen Jiafei withdrew his gaze. He must have overthought it.
Shen Shuyu and Shen Xili were silent the whole way. The car slowly drove to the entrance of the Shen family villa. Before getting out, Shen Shuyu saw Mother Shen standing on the second-floor balcony of the villa, watching.
Shen Shuyu withdrew his gaze, pretending he hadn’t seen anything. After the car stopped steadily, he pushed open the door and got out. Looking up again, Mother Shen’s figure was no longer there.
He understood in his heart. After waiting for Shen Xili to get out of the car and walk to his side, he said, “Let’s go.”
Shen Xili hummed a response. The two walked toward the villa. Before Shen Shuyu could reach out to unlock it with his fingerprint, the villa door opened automatically from the inside.
Behind the door was Mother Shen, who had just been on the second-floor balcony.
She was wearing her newest qipao. Her eyes were still a bit red upon seeing the two standing at the door, but she quickly composed herself, a smile appearing on her face. “You’re back.”
Shen Shuyu smiled back. “Mom.”
Mother Shen’s eyes grew redder. “Ai.”
After responding, she looked at Shen Xili with some expectation. Shen Xili simply said politely, “Auntie, sorry to intrude.”
Although Mother Shen was a bit disappointed, she had promised Shen Yisi and Father Shen to be optimistic. After all, Shen Xili being willing to come back for a meal was already a good start.
Mother Shen said, “You two come in quickly, it’s cold outside.”
After the two entered the house, Shen Shuyu saw Father Shen sitting on the sofa. Although he was holding a newspaper, it was obvious his attention had been on the door the whole time.
Shen Shuyu and Shen Xili walked in. Shen Shuyu said, “Dad, I’m back.”
Father Shen pretended to just come back to his senses. “Xiao Yu is back.”
He then looked at Shen Xili.
Shen Xili said, “Hello, Uncle.”
“Hello.” Father Shen nodded. “Sit.”
Shen Xili sat down. Shen Shuyu didn’t sit but asked, “Where’s my brother? Hasn’t he returned yet?”
“He’s making a phone call upstairs,” Father Shen said.
Shen Shuyu said smoothly, “Then I’ll go upstairs to call him down for dinner.”
He considerately left the space to Shen Xili and Father Shen and Mother Shen.
He went upstairs step by step.
Shen Xili sat on the sofa. Mother Shen personally brought a fruit platter. She said, “Mom… no, Auntie, Auntie doesn’t know what you like to eat, so I just casually had them prepare some. If there’s anything you want to eat, you can tell Auntie, and Auntie will have them prepare it immediately.”
“Thank you, Auntie. I’m not a picky eater,” Shen Xili said gently.
Hearing this, Mother Shen’s eyes couldn’t help but redden again. She turned her face away, no longer looking at Shen Xili. After a moment, she turned back with a smile. “I heard from Yisi that you’re in the Reserve Army. Is the training tiring? Is it bitter? You shouldn’t get injured, right?”
Shen Xili replied, “It’s normal for it to be bitter and tiring. Injuries are unavoidable too, but nothing major. Please rest assured.”
Father Shen praised, “Not bad. A man suffering a little hardship is nothing. Moreover, if you want to become a Great General, the current hardships are nothing. There will be more difficulties and obstacles in the future. I hope that when the time comes, you can also easily say that these are nothing major.”
Shen Xili hummed. “Thank you for your teaching, Uncle. Xili will keep it in mind.”
Father Shen sighed and put his arm around Mother Shen’s shoulder. “We asked you to come today just because it’s the weekend. You and Xiao Yu have been tired all week, so have a simple meal to replenish yourselves. You don’t need to feel too much pressure.”
Shen Xili looked up at the Shen parents. His face could be said to combine all the advantages of the two; one look and you could tell they were a family. He raised his eyebrows slightly. “Okay.”
But despite this, he had no intention of returning to the Shen family.
Shen Shuyu dawdled upstairs for a while. Calculating that the three downstairs should have chatted enough, he went to the study to call Shen Yisi.
The study door wasn’t closed. Just as he raised his hand to knock twice to signal he was coming in, he heard Shen Yisi’s deep voice from inside: “…Chairman Chi, I call you Chairman Chi because my Shen family understands manners, but I also hope you recognize reality. Understanding manners doesn’t mean we’re pushovers.”
“Like? I think he likes my Xiao Yu’s pheromones. I haven’t seen a hint of liking Xiao Yu in your son. We’re all thousand-year-old foxes, so stop playing ghost stories here.”
“Xiao Yu has his own choices. An arranged marriage is impossible. There’s no need for you to waste effort on this.”
Chairman Chi?
Arranged marriage?
Me?
Shen Shuyu caught the keywords. The Chi family wanted to arrange a marriage with them?!
Why?
If not for this phone call, he would have almost forgotten that Chi Yanxun was looking for an Omega with a 90% match rate.
But out of the blue, what did it have to do with him?
“Who?”
Shen Shuyu was called back to his senses. He pushed open the door. “Brother, time to eat.”
Seeing him, Shen Yisi’s expression froze unnaturally for a moment, then immediately revealed a gentle smile. “So it’s Xiao Yu. When did you get back? Are you tired?”
Shen Shuyu said, “Just got back, not tired.”
He walked in. “By the way, Brother, you just mentioned arranged marriage, and the Chi family. What’s going on?”
Shen Yisi sat in the office chair, leaning back. “You heard it all?”
Shen Shuyu gestured a tiny bit. “A little bit. It seems the Chi family wants to arrange a marriage with me? Is it Chi Yanxun?”
Shen Yisi looked at Shen Shuyu’s face and finally nodded. “It’s him. But Xiao Yu, Brother won’t joke about your life-long happiness. Chi Yanxun is not a person worth entrusting your life to. Don’t think about it.”
“Brother, I didn’t think much about it. I just wanted to ask what exactly is going on?” Shen Shuyu couldn’t understand. “Why does this Chi Yanxun suddenly want to arrange a marriage with me out of the blue?”
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