Chapter 34

Chapter 34

In the dark room, the curtains were not completely closed, and a ray of bright moonlight leaked in through the gap that was neither too big nor too small.

There was a string tugging at my heart. Occasionally, a sports car would pass by outside the window, and the sound of it speeding was like an arrow on the string being taken away with a "whoosh".

After the noise, there is double silence.

The familiar faint scent of white peach wafted into her nose, coming from him. Shu Yao inexplicably thought that he seemed to have used the new shower gel she had bought.

She lay flat on her back, scratching the bed sheet with her right index finger.

"Are you... asleep?"

Perhaps because he was sleepy, or perhaps because it was too quiet, Chen Ye's voice sounded deeper than usual, with a hint of teasing.

"you guess?"

"..." Shu Yao asked curiously, "Why can't you sleep either?"

"It's my first time sleeping in the same bed with a woman, how can I not be nervous?"

Shu Yao was about to say, I didn't realize you were such a pure-hearted person, when she heard Chen Ye slowly add:

"What if she tries something bad while I'm asleep?"

Shu Yao choked and replied calmly, "Don't worry, she's in a drunken sage state right now and has no interest in men."

Shen Ye turned sideways, about thirty or forty centimeters away from her: "Then let's play a game."

Shu Yao: "What game?"

The quilt made a rustling sound, and with the help of the dim moonlight, Shu Yao saw that he seemed to have raised his hand.

"Play rock-paper-scissors. The loser has to answer the truth."

"Okay." Shu Yao also raised his left hand.

"Rock, paper, scissors." Chen Ye said, "What do you want to do?"

Shu Yao said honestly, "Scissors."

"I play rock, so I win."

Shu Yao was shocked.

She wanted to ask, "Do you rich people need this little electricity bill?" Then she remembered that he had told her before with great emotional intelligence that wealth needs to be accumulated.

To put it in a low EQ way, it probably means being stingy.

She didn't ask.

But he still refused to accept it: "How can this be? I can't even see what happened to you."

Shen Ye naively assured her: "Chinese people don't cheat Chinese people."

"Okay, then ask." Shu Yao gave up struggling, put down his hands, and looked like he was ready to be slaughtered.

She could feel that Shen Ye's gaze fell directly on her face, and he asked a question that surprised Shu Yao.

"Were you scared by me at the entrance of the alley seven years ago?"

The atmosphere seemed to suddenly turn cold, and the smile on Shu Yao's face disappeared.

Chen Ye seemed to be indifferent and said: "If you don't want to say——"

"No." Shu Yao interrupted him.

Shen Ye lay back down again, propped up with one leg, and arched the quilt high with his knee.

He suddenly picked up his phone and fiddled with it for a few seconds before a song suddenly rang out from it: "Are you serious about taking a half step back? That small action can cause so much damage..."

“…”

It's a nice song, but now it sounds a bit funny.

Shu Yao knew he didn't believe it, and also knew what he was referring to: "I took a step back..."

"It's two steps." Shen Ye corrected.

"Well, I took two steps back at that time. It wasn't because I was scared by you, but because... I thought of something."

"What is it?"

Shu Yao has always felt that opening his heart to others, or opening up his childhood scars, is difficult and unnecessary.

Because she firmly believes in the broken window effect, once a window is broken, it is irreparable, and many people will imitate it by breaking other intact windows nearby. Exposing your scars to others is unlikely to heal you, but instead gives others the opportunity to look down on you and imitate the hurt you caused.

Shen Ye, is it worth her gamble?

She hesitated for a moment and didn't elaborate, leaving herself some room for maneuver: "When I was a child, I saw my father beating my mother on rainy days."

Shen Ye was silent for a long time before speaking: "I'm sorry."

"Why say sorry? You are different from him." Shu Yao smiled and raised his hand again. "Let's play rock-paper-scissors. This time I'll play paper."

Shen Ye said: "I'm a stone——"

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a warmth on the back of his hand. Shu Yao's left hand groped and grasped his raised index and middle fingers.

She was like she had caught a bad kid by the pigtails, and her tone was slightly proud: "You are obviously a pair of scissors."

Shen Ye raised his other hand and clenched his fist: “I’m going to use my left hand this time.”

"Then why are you holding the scissors in your right hand?"

Chen Ye said shamelessly: "Ah, for my victory just now."

Shu Yao burst out laughing.

She turned sideways, buried her head in the pillow, and couldn't stop laughing.

After a long pause, she spoke again: "Then let me ask you, you said before that you came back because you wanted something more, so have you got what you wanted now?"

"Not yet." Shen Ye said, "But I think there is hope."

Shu Yao didn't think much about it: "Then I wish you success."

In the third round, Shu Yao asked him in advance which hand he would use, and only raised his hand after confirming that he would use his right hand.

Shu Yao: "I'll use my fists."

Shen Ye: "I'll use scissors."

The two spoke at the same time, Shen Ye clicked his tongue lightly and stretched out his hand.

His hands were large, with long, slender fingers, and he easily took her fist into his palm.

Shu Yao's heart skipped a beat: "What are you doing?"

"I learned this from you." Chen Ye released his hand, as if without any selfish motives at all. "It really is a fist. Okay, then, you win."

Shu Yao felt a burning sensation on the back of his hand.

She was indeed driven by the desire to win and didn't think much about it. Only now did she realize that her behavior was inappropriate.

But anyway, he came back, so let's move on.

She thought seriously for a moment and then asked, "Have you...ever thought about divorce during this period?"

"No." Shen Ye asked back, "Have you ever had one?"

"Neither do I." Shu Yao responded before realizing, "You're cheating. You didn't win."

Shen Ye laughed softly twice: "Okay, consider it as an advance."

The childish game lasted for an hour or so.

Shu Yao finally couldn't bear it anymore, and fell into a deep sleep when he was about to ask a question again.

There was already some morning light outside the window.

Shen Ye saw her sleeping face more clearly.

He suddenly felt that everything in front of him became a little unreal, just like it had appeared in his dreams countless times, but when he woke up he found that it was all empty.

He reached out and gingerly touched her face with his index finger.

It’s soft, just like the glutinous rice balls I bought for grandma that day.

He touched it again.

Shu Yao noticed something, frowned and grabbed his fingers.

It was as if a current of heat spread from that finger to the whole body, and finally exploded somewhere.

But he couldn't let his mind wander, Shu Yao suddenly moved and bent his fingers.

"hiss--"

This guy even has self-defense skills in his dreams.

*

At eight or nine o'clock, when Chen Ye woke up because of his biological clock, Shu Yao was still sleeping soundly.

She was lying on her side with her legs curled up and her back slightly arched, looking pitiful for some reason.

Probably because it was hot in the middle of the night, the quilt had been kicked off, and the hem of her short-sleeved pajamas was rolled up, revealing a white and slender waist.

Chen Ye gritted his teeth, grabbed the corner of the quilt and pulled it upwards, covering up the little bit of scenery tightly.

He went to the bathroom to wash up, and when he came downstairs, breakfast had been served.

Grandma sat at the dining table, listening to the news on TV and drinking porridge.

Seeing Shen Ye coming downstairs alone with a quilt in his arms, grandma casually asked, “What’s wrong with the quilt?”

Shen Ye put the quilt on the sofa: “It’s dirty.”

"The quilt is dirty? You..." Grandma glanced upstairs and changed the subject: "Where's Yaoyao?"

Shen Ye opened the lid of the casserole, took the bowl, and served himself porridge: “I slept late last night and haven’t woken up yet.”

"Hmm..." Grandma scooped a spoonful of porridge, fed it to her mouth, paused, and put it down, with an expression as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Shen Ye raised his eyelids: "What do you want to say?"

"I know you've been single for over twenty years, so it's inevitable that you'll be restless... but don't overdo it."

Shen Ye:?

"She's a little girl, and she looks so frail. I heard her when I went upstairs last night. She kept yelling about being uncomfortable and in pain." Grandma touched her forehead, looking a little embarrassed. "She didn't even close the door properly. I couldn't bear to watch. Ouch."

“…” Shen Ye recalled the scene at that time and realized that the conversation was indeed misunderstood.

He smiled and didn't explain, only saying: "Just tell me what you said, don't say it in front of her."

"Nonsense, the little girl is so shy, how can I say that in front of her?" Grandma slapped him on the head, "Did you hear me?"

"I heard it."

Chen Ye drank a mouthful of porridge, which was already half warm. He put the casserole in the insulated box in the kitchen to keep it warm. When he came back, he heard his grandmother ask mysteriously, "Yaoyao is not here. Tell me secretly, is Yaoyao pregnant with my granddaughter?"

"Cough." Shen Ye choked on the porridge and drank a few sips of water before he recovered.

"I was discussing nicknames with your mom the other day. I suggested Little Red Bean, but your mom said Little Puff sounds better. What do you think?"

What red bean puffs, Shen Ye thought, she probably only had mulberry wine and potato chips in her stomach.

Chen Ye put down the cup, opened his legs, put one hand between his legs, and leaned lazily on the back of the chair, as out of tune as ever.

"When a man is able to have children, I will give birth to a child for you immediately."

*

It was already past noon when Shu Yao slowly woke up. The bed next to him was already cold and the quilt was uncovered.

Shu Yao thought Chen Ye had gone to work and didn't care. After washing up, he yawned and went downstairs, but heard a conversation at the stairs.

She stopped and saw that her grandmother was standing at the door talking to Shen Ye. She didn't notice her and probably planned to go out.

Grandma lowered her head to change her shoes while advising Chen Ye: "I have an appointment with your grandma Sun to listen to Kunqu Opera. Isn't it a good time for you to rest? Go out with Yaoyao later! Don't stay at home all day."

Shen Ye turned his back to her, leaning against the shoe cabinet beside him, and spoke politely: "I know, I'll ask Shu Yao where he wants to go later."

Grandma glared at him and said, "Look at you. I've noticed these past few days that you haven't even changed your address to me. Shuyao Shuyao? Calling me wife is killing you. Why don't you learn from your father? Your father calls me wife three hundred times a day. Can't you two even it out?"

Shu Yao secretly sighed inwardly that something was wrong.

There is always a loophole.

It seems that they really haven't considered the issue of name.

The dragging tone of Chen Ye's word "OK" actually made Shu Yao hear a hint of coaxing.

He sent his grandmother out the door, turned around, and when he looked up, his eyes met Shu Yao's motionless face.

Shen Ye leaned against the door panel, turning the phone in his right hand slowly.

"Did you hear everything?"

"Yeah." Shu Yao nodded.

"So where do you want to go--" He tilted his head, with a nonchalant smile on his face, and uttered two words with a slightly rising tone.

"Wife?"