What should I do if I have a falling out with Shen Zhizhou?
Early in the morning, Shu Yi dressed up and sat in the lobby waiting for Shen Zhizhou. After Shen Zhizhou finished washing up, he looked at the meticulously dressed Shu Yi, smiled, and sauntered over to tease her, "Why are you so nervous?"
Shu Yi stiffly turned her head to look at Shen Zhizhou, who was wiping the wetness from his head with a towel, and couldn't help but feel angry: "You just washed your hair and haven't dried it yet?!"
What about her staying up all night working on her makeup, outfit, and gifts? Does that even make her capable of staying up all night...?
"My dad is easy to get along with, it's okay." Shen Zhizhou tried to pat Shuyi's head, but Shuyi dodged it and warned him not to mess up her hair that she had spent two hours combing.
Shen Zhizhou carefully examined Shu Yi. Usually, she dressed like a kindergarten senior, but today she was wearing a white tweed suit, which was quite unusual. Her hair was styled in a princess updo, revealing her beautiful neck with good proportions. She sat on the sofa as tall and dignified as a white swan.
"Where did you get this outfit?" Shen Zhizhou didn't recall Shu Yi having this type of clothing in her elementary school wardrobe.
Shuyi looked into Shen Zhizhou's eyes and honestly replied, "I asked Aunt Goat to knit it for me. I was thinking that if I really opened a real estate agency, I would need to wear some nice clothes, so I asked Aunt Goat to knit me a set. I didn't expect it to come in so handy!"
At this point, Shu Yi couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Luckily, she was smart enough to have made arrangements in advance, otherwise she might have really had to wear her kindergarten uniform from the closet to meet Shen Zhizhou's father.
Shen Zhizhou raised an eyebrow and nodded, then turned and went upstairs to his room. But as he stepped onto the last step, he turned back to Shu Yi on the sofa and said loudly, "You look beautiful today."
Shuyi watched Shen Zhizhou disappear down the stairs, blinking repeatedly as she processed what he had just said. Then, she secretly smiled, but as if afraid of being discovered, she quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching before pursing her lips and covering her flushed cheeks with her hand to cool down her racing heart.
...
The car slowly drove into a green area. A man in a black suit and sunglasses slowly pressed the switch on the elegant iron gate, and the car entered this quiet green area.
As far as the eye can see, there is a lush and vibrant landscape. Although it is already springtime, the temperature is still chilly, yet a large area of plants that do not bloom in this season are growing here.
Seeing Shu Yi's puzzled expression, Shen Zhizhou explained, "My mother loved growing flowers and trees when she was alive, so my father continued to take care of these plants after he inherited her flower field. The plants here have been enchanted, so they never wither."
Shuyi looked at the flower field again, pursed her lips as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent. Shen Zhizhou's mother had meticulously cared for this flower field because of her love for it, and Shen Zhizhou's father had inherited it and kept it thriving because of his desire to preserve it.
But if one disregards societal norms and forcibly detains someone, isn't that tantamount to slowly and painfully torturing them?
The flower field is where you and I once were, but now I am alone in the flower field, and every flower that blooms here is nothing less than a longing and a memory.
Shu Yi glanced at Shen Zhizhou discreetly before quickly looking away, and suddenly understood where Shen Zhizhou's sense of loneliness came from. Back then, when Shen Zhizhou was so young... he must have really wanted his father's company.
After getting out of the car, I followed Shen Zhizhou step by step into the courtyard. Through the layers of branches and vines, I saw a man wearing a black wool coat, thin and bony but with a touch of otherworldly elegance, sipping tea.
As soon as Shen Zhizhou and Shu Yi sat down, Shen Zhizhou's father calmly poured two cups of tea and pushed them in front of them. Shu Yi took them, blew on them to cool them down, and sipped the tea slowly.
"How is it?" Shen Ran looked at Shu Yi with a slight smile, his eyes gentle.
After swallowing the tea, I carefully rubbed it around in my mouth for a moment, searching my mind for good words and phrases, but in the end I could only say dryly, "It tastes pretty good, it has a tea aroma."
Shen Zhizhou chuckled, unable to suppress his laughter. He propped his chin on his hand, his eyes beaming with a relaxed smile. "Yes, I also think it smells like tea. Maybe it's because it's tea leaves."
Shuyi: "..."
Is it really okay to bully her so blatantly? She did prepare before coming, but clearly didn't prepare enough.
Looking calmly at the human and the demon opposite him, he felt as if he were a young man, bickering and playing with his wife Wenyi, innocent and carefree, while on the other side, the emaciated man was crushed into mud, his fate unknown.
The reason Shen Zhizhou wanted to see Shuyi was because he was worried that Shen Zhizhou would become like his former self, naively believing that all demons were like that because he only saw the benevolent side of them, thus opening his inner gates and suffering a lifetime of pain. But now that he had seen Shuyi, Shen Ran felt relieved. If Shuyi was with Shen Zhizhou, he wouldn't be alone and helpless when he left this world one day.
Shen Ran took out a mother-of-pearl inlaid wooden box from the tea table drawer and placed it in front of Shu Yi. Shu Yi raised her eyebrows and carefully looked at Shen Ran. After receiving permission, she opened the wooden box. Inside were a pair of bracelets that looked like jade but were not jade. When the sunlight shone on them, the inside would show a strange light.
"These bracelets can alert each other to potential dangers. My mother and I each had one back then, but now... I'm giving them to you."
Shen Zhizhou took the wooden box, carefully touched the bracelet inside, and frowned in confusion, asking, "Why?"
This was his father's most treasured possession, and now it was being handed over to him. Shen Zhizhou wondered if his father's health was...
Seeing through Shen Zhizhou's thoughts, Shen Ran raised his hand and pressed it down in the air to reassure him, "It's just that I'm getting old and I think it's better to hand this over to you young people as soon as possible. Don't overthink it." As if still not at ease, Shen Ran added, "Whether it's a demon or a human, sometimes what the eyes see is not necessarily the truth, and sometimes hardship can be a deadly weapon."
He stood up, patted Shen Zhizhou on the shoulder, and said that he was getting old and needed to rest, and suggested that Shen Zhizhou take Shuyi for a walk around the neighborhood.
Shen Zhizhou took Shuyi to the flower field, the two walking leisurely, one in front of the other.
Looking at the garden full of rare and exotic flowers and plants, Shu Yi felt as if a stone was stuck in her heart, neither able to get out nor stay inside.
Walking absentmindedly, she bumped into Shen Zhizhou's back and realized that he had been staring at her with a half-smile for a long time. Shu Yi looked away and glanced at the flower field beside her.
"What's wrong? Did I put pressure on you? Don't worry, I didn't mean it that way." As if he understood something, Shen Zhizhou clenched the wooden box in his pocket.
Shuyi didn't take the wooden box. Instead, she waited until Shen Ran had completely left and then gave it to Shen Zhizhou, asking him to keep it safe. Sensing Shuyi's refusal, Shen Zhizhou simply put the wooden box into his pocket without saying a word.
"It's getting dark, let's go back. Tell the old man." Shen Zhizhou turned away and left. Shuyi followed behind, unsure how to express her thoughts, and could only tug at her hair in silent regret.
It seems Shen Zhizhou has misunderstood something...
As if he had anticipated Shen Zhizhou's return to say goodbye, he sat calmly in his old spot and handed Shen Zhizhou the things he had prepared in advance, saying slowly, "I won't be going to Ji Yao's birthday party. This is a birthday gift for her. Please give it to her for me."
Shen Zhizhou nodded and said okay, then after a long silence, asked, "Is there anything else... you want to say to me?"
Shen Ran remained silent for a moment before shaking his head. Shen Zhizhou nodded and wanted to take Shu Yi's hand to leave, but at the moment of touching her, he remembered something and tried to pull his hand back, but Shu Yi held it tightly. She pulled him to Shen Ran, bowed, and said obediently, "Uncle Shen, we're leaving now. We wish you good health! We'll come to see you again when we have the chance."
A hint of a smile appeared in Chen Ran's eyes as he nodded: "I'm very happy to have come with Xiao Zhou."
Watching Shuyi and Shen Zhizhou's departing figures, Shen Ran's forced composure suddenly relaxed. He covered his lips tightly with a handkerchief, and when he removed it, it was stained with bright red blood.
When he got home, he saw Ji Yao sitting in the living room, seemingly lost in thought. Shen Zhizhou sighed, put on a relaxed smile, and went over to squat down in front of Ji Yao, acting coquettishly and charmingly.
Ji Yao snapped out of her daze and touched Shen Zhizhou's cheek. Shen Zhizhou nestled in Ji Yao's hand and rubbed against it. Ji Yao said softly, "Are you hungry? I made your favorite yam and pork rib soup. Go and try it."
"Then I'm in for a treat today." Shen Zhizhou led Ji Yao to a seat and invited Shu Yi to eat with them. Seeing that Ji Yao didn't object, Shu Yi cleverly went to the kitchen to get a bowl.
Ji Yao ladled a bowl of soup for Shen Zhizhou and Shu Yi each, telling them to drink more soup to nourish their bodies in the dry weather. She also put a piece of braised pork rib in Shen Zhizhou's bowl, telling him to eat more and gain weight.
"You've already eaten a lot. If you keep eating like this, you'll turn into a pig." Shen Zhizhou finished the last sip of soup in his bowl and smiled at Ji Yao.
Seeing that Shen Zhizhou had finished his soup, Ji Yao put several more pieces of food into his bowl, her tone as loving as if she were her own son: "No matter what, you are the best to your sister Ji."
Shen Zhizhou paused in his hand holding the ribs, swallowed the sourness in his nose, and hummed in agreement.
From childhood to adulthood, Ji Yao was the only person who truly stayed with me the longest. Since my mother passed away, Ji Yao has been the only one who would hold me and sing nursery rhymes after I had nightmares.
Shen Zhizhou took out the gift his father had given him from his pocket, held it in both hands, and knelt down in front of Ji Yao. "This is a birthday gift my father asked me to bring you. He said it's to wish Sister Ji that her beauty remains as it was in her prime, that she never loses her youth, and that she grows better year by year... Sister Ji, you know that Dad's health isn't good..."
Shen Zhizhou didn't continue speaking. Since his mother's death, his father had locked himself up and never left the green area on the mountain again, drawing a line in the sand to firmly guard what he had once known.
It's the same every year, so Ji Yao didn't react much this year. She smiled and patted Shen Zhizhou's stray hairs, then accepted the gift: "Give my regards to your father."
The corners of her lips maintained their upward curve, but her gaze swept over Shuyi with an ambiguous meaning. In just a second, Shuyi's intuition still detected it.
Ji Yao... seems to dislike her even more now?
After dinner, Shuyi insisted on cleaning up. Ji Yao was also feeling tired, so she lazily yawned and gently told Shuyi to finish cleaning up and then go to bed early. But as soon as she turned around, her eyes turned cold.
Holding the gift from Shen Ran, Ji Yao went straight into the room and pressed an inconspicuous protrusion on an antique vase, revealing a hidden compartment on the back of the bed.
Ji Yao walked over and casually placed the gift she had just received inside. She stared at it expressionlessly for a long time before closing the hidden compartment.
The hidden compartment slowly closed, revealing a neat row of stacked gifts inside.
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