Cohabitation begins

A long leg, heavily cast on, was casually draped over the coffee table. Yu Sheng sank into the spacious, soft sofa as if boneless, like a big cat sunbathing in its own territory.

He still had a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his mouth, the smoke curling upwards, his gaze leisurely following Lu Chenyang as he wandered among the piles of luggage on the floor.

"Hey, I need to iron my clothes before hanging them in the closet, otherwise they'll get wrinkled and look bad."

"Hey, be gentle, don't break my perfume."

"Hey, my books are arranged alphabetically by author's name, don't mix them up."

"Also, put all my toiletries on the sink, in the most convenient place."

Even with his good temper and manners, Lu Chenyang couldn't stand being bossed around by the Second Young Master Yu. He straightened up from a pile of luggage, his temples throbbing as he glared at the leisurely old man on the sofa. An urge to throw the man and the sofa out of the room surged through him.

"Young Master! Can you be quiet for a moment?!...Hey!! Cigarette ash! Don't flick it into my potted plants!"

This morning, following his grandmother's "imperial decree," Lu Chenyang personally brought this "big Buddha" out of Yaoguang Hospital, and then rushed to Shuye Hotel to retrieve Yu Sheng's luggage, which was as tiring as a moving company's. He was busy from eight in the morning until midday.

Pushing wheelchairs, carrying people in and out of vehicles, loading and unloading goods... Yu Sheng enjoyed the "grandpa" treatment without a care in the world, not even bothering to drink a sip of water.

Even his small potted asparagus fern had suffered the same fate, its vibrant green leaves now bearing several scorched yellow marks. Lu Chenyang finally lost his temper, "Yu Sheng!"

"What?" Young Master Yu glanced at the innocent asparagus fern suffering from the plague, his face showing no remorse, and even a hint of self-righteousness. "Your asparagus fern has been infested with small flying insects. I'll help you kill the insects with high temperature. Free service, you're welcome."

Damn it! Lu Chenyang turned around, rubbing his temples, his chest heaving, clearly furious. He took a few deep breaths, suppressing his anger, and said in a weary, resigned voice, "There's an ashtray in the second drawer of the coffee table. Get it yourself."

"No." Yu Sheng stuck out her neck, looking like a rebellious teenager deliberately picking a fight. "You give it to me. I'm injured, you have to take care of me."

"Haven't I served you yet?!" Lu Chenyang looked around at the mountain of luggage that was practically bursting out of the three-bedroom apartment. He didn't even have the strength to clench his fists. He grabbed a towel and threw it at the annoying guy on the sofa. "Yu Sheng! Don't go too far!"

"How am I being unreasonable!" Yu Sheng turned her head, nimbly dodging the towel, and said shamelessly, "I got Grandma's life-saving medicine. Grandma herself said I was her benefactor. So, rounding up, I'm your benefactor too!"

He took one last deep drag of his cigarette, and under Lu Chenyang's almost fiery gaze, defiantly stubbed out the cigarette butt in the potted plant's soil, continuing, "Is this how you treat your savior? Tsk, all my good intentions have been wasted on a dog... a mad dog at that."

Lu Chenyang was so angry that his teeth were grinding together. "Believe it or not, I'll bite you to death like a mad dog!"

"Oh~" Yu Sheng became interested, sat up straight, raised her chin playfully with a smirk, and said, "A mad dog, huh? Then the master will have to train it properly. Otherwise, it will embarrass me when it's taken out."

"..." Lu Chenyang was completely speechless, his mind replaying "Murder is illegal, murder is illegal!!" Resigned, he buried himself in the pile of luggage on the floor and continued to sort it out.

As noon approached, Young Master Yu, nestled on the sofa, began giving orders again, "I'm hungry, cook me some food."

Lu Chenyang, sweating profusely from his work, straightened up, supporting his aching back. He glanced at the time on his wrist and said, "I don't have time to cook. I have a magazine shoot this afternoon. I'll order takeout for you."

The Shuye Hotel was a bit far from Lu Chenyang's house, and the takeout he ordered had lost its original flavor. The discerning young master Yu, with his discerning palate, couldn't stand it and immediately became unhappy. "No! You make it for me!"

Lu Chenyang pursed his lips, looking at the other person's "I'll make a scene if you don't agree" attitude, knowing that arguing further would be a waste of time. Dejected, he washed his hands and walked to the kitchen. Just then, he heard Yu Sheng calling from behind, "I don't eat anything too sour! It has to be spicy! And I don't eat scallions, not a single one."

Lu Chenyang's back visibly paused for a moment, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes wide, muttering under his breath, "Troublesome."

When the dishes were served, Yu Sheng immediately became unhappy. The dishes on the table were bland and tasteless, with no spiciness or even a hint of spice. "Didn't I say I love spicy food?"

Lu Chenyang didn't indulge him and sat down to pick up some food, saying, "Eat it or don't, it's up to you."

Seeing that Yu Sheng really didn't touch his chopsticks, he sat there looking like a child who had suffered a great injustice, gazing at him with a mournful expression. Anyone who didn't know better would think he had committed some heinous crime.

Helpless, Lu Chenyang sighed and could only soften his tone, "Young Master! Your leg injury hasn't healed yet, so you can't eat spicy food as it will irritate the wound. I'll definitely make it for you when you're better." As he spoke, he picked up a piece of stir-fried bamboo shoots and placed it in Yu Sheng's bowl, "Be good, don't be fussy, try this."

"Good boy?! Are you really treating me, the Second Young Master Yu, like a three-year-old?!" Yu Sheng angrily poked and prodded the bamboo shoot tip with his chopsticks, only putting it in his mouth after he'd thoroughly mashed it. Hmm? Fresh, tender, and crisp, with the natural sweetness of the ingredient… the taste was surprisingly good!

Despite saying he wouldn't eat, the Second Young Master Yu devoured two bowls of rice and almost finished off the three side dishes. Rubbing his noticeably rounder belly, he still managed to maintain a touch of arrogance on his face, "Ahem... your cooking is alright, so-so, but it's too bland, tasteless."

"It tastes bland, yet you're eating so much. If it really tasted good, you'd probably have chewed up the plate." Lu Chenyang was too lazy to call him out on it, and glanced at his watch. "I really should go."

Lu Chenyang wanted to say that the bowls and chopsticks were left there and he didn't need to worry about them, but then he thought that was pointless. Why would he, the Second Young Master Yu, condescend to wash the dishes?

After Lu Chenyang left, a caregiver took over, and Yu Sheng was helped to lie down on Lu Chenyang's large bed to rest and digest her food. With a different caregiver, Yu Sheng lost the desire to give orders, only giving instructions on packing her luggage before pulling the covers over her head and falling asleep.

When Yu Sheng woke up, the room was dimly lit, and the curtains were drawn tightly. It took him a while to remember where he was. Looking around, he realized Lu Chenyang hadn't returned yet, so he took out his phone and made a call.

The notification sound went off for a long time before the call was answered, and the background noise was a bit loud. "Hello?"

"Officer Lu." Yu Sheng stretched on the bed, her voice hoarse and soft from just waking up, humming, "What time are you coming back? I'm so bored at home by myself."

"Isn't there a caregiver here?"

"Can a caregiver be compared to you?" Even though Lu Chenyang couldn't see, Yu Sheng still rolled her eyes. "You'd better come back and keep me company soon."

"Okay. I'll be back in about three hours."

After hanging up the phone, Yu Sheng used her cast on her leg to sit up, supporting herself on the bed. Lu Chenyang said three hours, so she would definitely see him in three hours.

Lu Chenyang is like a calibrated machine; he does everything in an orderly manner, has an extremely strong sense of time, and seems to have a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Yu Sheng recalled the scene when he first entered his home this morning: a three-bedroom apartment of over 170 square meters, with two bedrooms and a study. It was so tidy it was almost rigid, without a single piece of clutter or excessive decoration. It was so clean that it seemed to have no room for anything, including himself.

It's not as cozy as the "little home" he built on the rooftop of the Shuno Hotel. The Shuno Hotel was co-founded by Yu Sheng and several close friends. After graduating from university, he planned to follow in his mother's footsteps and enter the film industry, but under pressure from his nominal father, Yu Zhengcheng, he was forced to go into business. However, he held firm to his principles and didn't join Dongyao International Bank, instead starting his own business. Now, the hotel chain covers first- and second-tier cities across the country and is named Shuno, meaning freedom.

He had no home, so he reserved a room for himself on the top floor of the Shuno Hotel in Beijing. He designed and decorated it himself, filling it with his favorite items to create a cozy space that he could only dream of.

But he was all alone in the "home." The various expensive and fancy kitchen utensils and tableware in the kitchen were almost never used. Could a hotel rooftop, devoid of warmth and human touch, really be considered a home? In the end, it was just a luxurious empty shell on the hotel rooftop. He kept deceiving himself by saying, "That's home."

Now that he had successfully "usurped" Lu Chenyang's equally desolate "home," Yu Sheng felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Perhaps it was because there was "someone" here, someone he needed most.

It feels so good to have a home.

*

The caregiver Lu Chenyang hired was just like him – a tall, imposing man in his thirties, meticulous and methodical, but a man of few words. After tidying up Yu Sheng's luggage and cleaning the guest room as instructed by Lu Chenyang, he knocked on the master bedroom door only after hearing movement there. He helped Yu Sheng into his wheelchair and asked what he wanted for dinner.

But Yu Sheng refused, without giving a reason. He said he wanted to eat Lu Chenyang's cooking. It had nothing to do with the taste.

Three hours later, Lu Chenyang returned home just in time. He handed over the caregiver and carefully inquired about Yu Sheng's condition. He went into the bedroom and found Yu Sheng had slid her wheelchair to the balcony and was intently on the phone. Her expression was unusually focused and calm as she clearly and methodically instructed the person on the other end of the line, "...Um, send the financial statements to my email...The peak tourist season is coming soon, so be prepared for passenger flow...Do I really need to remind you of this? First and second-tier cities are already saturated. What I mentioned in the previous meeting about expanding downwards to third-tier cities can be put on the agenda..."

Lu Chenyang unconsciously stopped in his tracks, completely absorbed in watching. At this moment, Yu Sheng had shed her usual laziness and mischievousness, and her brows revealed a sharp, strategic mind, truly exuding the imposing aura of a business elite.

However, the next second, the "elite" himself broke the atmosphere.

Yu Sheng hung up the phone, turned around and saw Lu Chenyang. Her icy smile instantly blossomed into a bright one, and her cute little tiger teeth popped out from between her lips. "You're back?"

"Hmm." Lu Chenyang paused for a moment, then looked away and pushed Yu Sheng's wheelchair to the living room. His gaze fell on the potted asparagus fern with yellow leaves. He walked over expressionlessly, threw the whole pot into the trash can, out of sight, out of mind.

Dinner was still light, but after dinner, Lu Chenyang added a dessert cake he bought from a dessert shop for Yu Sheng. Naturally, the discerning and picky Second Young Master Yu, with his golden palate, found it utterly repulsive.

Yu Sheng took a small fork and poked around on the small cake, making it look like a beehive.

"Don't waste food if you're not going to eat it." Lu Chenyang couldn't stand seeing him ruin food like this, so he reached out and pulled the tattered little cake in front of him.

"This cake is too sweet, and it tastes like artificial saccharin. It's not tasty at all!" Yu Sheng slammed her fork on the table and, without batting an eye, started ordering people around again. "Bake one for me tomorrow. I want it freshly baked. I don't want these no-name brands."

"No, I don't have time." Lu Chenyang ate the cake, showing no indulgence towards the child.

Yu Sheng snorted irritably, turned her wheelchair, and left.

This child is so hard to raise!

"Where are you going?" Lu Chenyang asked.

"Take a shower!" Yu Sheng stopped her wheelchair at the bathroom door, turned to look at him, and said, "Come here and help me shower."

Lu Chenyang stared at him for a while, feeling that Yu Sheng was doing this on purpose. This person was full of bad intentions and had to be guarded against. "The caregiver has been here all afternoon, why didn't you let the caregiver help you wash?"

"Is it any kind of person who can watch me, the Second Young Master Yu, take a bath?" In other words, it's an honor for me to ask you to help me take a bath, so don't be ungrateful.

Lu Chenyang didn't reply, and got up to leave. Yu Sheng panicked and yelled at him, "Lu Chenyang! Where are you going? I'm injured, aren't you afraid I'll drown in the bathtub?"

Lu Chenyang ignored his wailing and paid him no heed. After a while, he came out of the kitchen with a roll of cling film in his hand. He walked to the wheelchair and naturally knelt down on one knee. He gently lifted Yu Sheng's leg, which was in a cast, and let him step on his bent knee.

"Wrap the plaster up to prevent it from getting wet accidentally." He spoke calmly and moved swiftly, wrapping the plastic wrap around the plaster layer by layer.

Yu Sheng stared blankly down at Lu Chenyang, who was kneeling on one knee. Through the cast, he could almost feel the warmth emanating from the other's palm. His earlier unreasonable arrogance had inexplicably subsided by most, and his voice unconsciously lowered, "...Thank you."

Lu Chenyang raised his head while half-kneeling, his eyebrows slightly raised, his eyes filled with mockery, and snorted, "You can even say 'thank you'? I thought Young Master Yu didn't know that word."

Damn it! The little bit of emotion that had just risen within her vanished instantly. Yu Sheng raised her uninjured leg and kicked Lu Chenyang's knee, saying irritably, "Stop talking nonsense! Carry me inside."