Chapter 66
"Shigure?"
The girl looked down at the tablet, her brows slightly furrowed, and seemed to be concentrating on thinking about something, and did not hear any sound.
Lei Yin put down the documents in his hand, stared at her with his icy blue eyes, and called her again calmly, "Shi Yu, are you busy?"
"Huh?" Shi Yu finally came back to his senses, "What's wrong, sir?"
"Ah, you're back? I didn't notice..."
Shi Yu was stunned for a moment, and seemed to realize belatedly that Lei Yin had already finished get off work and was sitting right in front of her.
Since returning, Lei Yin has been sitting on the sofa in front of her for more than twenty minutes. Her absent-mindedness has reached an abnormal level. Lei Yin's gaze lingered on the girl's face for a moment, then he lowered his blue eyes slightly and looked at the tablet in her hand.
"What were you doing just now?"
Shi Yu reflexively tightened the edge of the tablet, a trace of obvious panic between his eyebrows.
"Nothing..." She coughed lightly, as if to hide something, then stood up. "I'm going to the kitchen to see what I can make tonight."
She used this excuse to temporarily avoid Rein's questioning. Rein did not call her again. However, during dinner, the officer took a quick look and realized that the dishes on the table were still prepared by the housekeeping robot.
Shi Yu didn't touch the food in front of her. She held the tablet with a distressed look on her face, looking down from time to time. Lei Yin was silent for a moment and had to remind her: "Shi Yu, concentrate on eating."
The young man's tone was very normal, but the girl seemed frightened. She quickly hid the tablet behind her and looked up at him cautiously.
——As if she was afraid of being discovered by him.
Lei Yin lowered his eyes and didn't give her any more extra glances or attention. Since she showed these emotions, now was not the right time to ask her.
Seeing that after the officer's reminder, Shi Yu continued to concentrate on eating, he seemed to put aside his worries and whispered, "Yes..."
The abnormality of this day seemed to be just the beginning.
In the next few days, Lei Yin would occasionally come home early, and every time he would see Shi Yu rushing in and out of the kitchen door. She seemed to be trying some new dishes, and her cheeks and hair were often covered with flour and butter. When she carried fruits and molds, she would always have one hand free to hold the tablet with the call page lit up on it.
Lei Yin didn't care about her strange behavior. He only asked her if she was busy recently when he was free. Shi Yu was stunned for a moment, then looked at him hesitantly: "Sir..."
She seemed to have something to say to him, but when Lei Yin listened carefully to what was going on, the girl shook her head, swallowed the words, and smiled shyly.
"Nothing, sir. Go on with your work."
There was no negativity in her expression.
Lei Yin knew that even if Shi Yu was hiding something, it would not be a problem for her.
So he did not interfere with the girl's recent actions. Time moved forward little by little. As Rain let the situation develop, Shigure seemed to have noticed his attitude, and gradually let go of his initial worries and stopped hiding.
A few days later, when they were having dinner together, the tablet that Shigure placed beside her suddenly rang. She blinked, nodded apologetically to Rain, then turned around with the tablet, covered her mouth and spoke softly to the other party.
The girl's gentle voice was caught by Rain's keen hearing.
"Mr. Alex..."
"I have something to do now, let's talk later..."
The light-blond officer paused expressionlessly, his eyelids twitching slightly.
The girl seemed to still be concerned about him and ended the call after a few words. She put the tablet back where it was and glanced at him cautiously. Lei Yin narrowed his eyes and looked calm.
"Alex?"
The knife and fork collided with the dishes, making a crisp sound. Lei Yin asked calmly, "What's the matter?"
The girl hesitated and shook her head.
"Nothing, sir."
Her answer was the same as before, but Rain couldn't easily return to his usual calm state of mind. His guardian's intuition made him wary of his colleague's conversation with Shigure.
Rein didn't show it, but with his deliberate attention, he did notice things that he wouldn't have thought about in the past.
When Alex brought pastries from home for the third time and placed them casually on Rain's desk, Rain, who had recently been addicted to the sweets of young girls at home, his first reaction was to refuse.
"No need," Rein said calmly, looking at the documents under his command, "I have no intention of eating for the time being."
"Try it," Alex tapped the surface of the pastry box with his knuckles. "It's salty, not sweet. I know you like salty snacks, so I made it specially."
Lei Yin raised his eyes, glanced at his smiling colleague, and then fixed his gaze on the box of pastries in front of him. This time, he didn't refuse and nodded, taking it: "Thank you."
Seeing that Rain had no intention of opening the pastries for the time being, Alex slowly waved and left his seat. It was not until noon that Rain opened the package. The moment he saw the exquisite appearance of his pastries, the officer's movements suddenly paused.
Lei Yin's good memory allowed him to clearly remember the ingredients used to decorate the pastries that Shi Yu asked him to taste yesterday.
Apart from the fruits and almonds used for decoration, the appearance of the pastries she and Alex made were almost the same, except for the taste. Rein suddenly remembered the tablet that Shi Yu had been holding in her arms these days, which often displayed the call page. He originally thought that she was talking to her friends in the nursing home, but now it seems that his guess needs to be changed, and the answer is about to come out.
Alex has been in frequent contact with her recently.
Even as a guardian, he had no right to interfere with Shi Yu's friendships or who he got close to. Lei Yin warned himself like this, frowning slightly and suppressing the sudden discomfort in his heart.
The officer stared at the pastry for a long time, then silently rewrapped it without touching it.
——After finishing the garden renovation, Shigure thought he could relax a bit, but he unexpectedly learned from Alex, a good guy he just met, that Rain’s birthday is coming soon!
Birthday...
Even if it was just to thank Mr. Rain for taking care of her, Shi Yu had to take it seriously, so she began to discuss urgently with Alex and thought of several plans for celebration.
And when it comes to birthdays, the first thing that comes to mind is a surprise, right? So Shigure and Alex did everything in secret, keeping everything hidden from Rain. They even tried out Rain's favorite cake flavors, with Shigure and Alex trying them once, asking Rain to taste a lot of them before deciding and improving upon them based on his reactions.
As they communicated more, Shigure admired Alex more and more!
Putting aside how good this gentleman's cooking skills are, just by talking to him on the phone, Shi Yu felt like he was gradually becoming addicted - he was such a good chatterbox, and even if they weren't discussing the birthday party, Shi Yu still wanted to hear Alex tell jokes and his past experiences in that light-hearted and humorous tone that was unique to him.
Although his words sometimes made Shi Yu feel a little...embarrassed, she gradually got used to it and became more familiar with Alex.
Thinking about his good relationship with Rain and that they were colleagues, Shigure invited Alex to attend Rain's birthday party in a few days, and he readily agreed.
After several dangerous situations where he was almost asked out, Shi Yu successfully prepared for the birthday party with the help of Alex.
Early in the morning, Shi Yu handed the prepared lunch box to her husband as usual - she had gradually become accustomed to doing these things for Lei Yin. If she forgot one day, she would worry about whether Lei Yin was used to eating in the cafeteria, whether his nutrition was balanced, and whether he was eating well.
After handing over the lunch box, Shi Yu suppressed his excitement, and with a flushed face, he looked up at Lei Yin and said, "Sir, when will you be back today?"
Today is Ryan's birthday. Alex said that they don't usually celebrate birthdays, so as long as he is not informed in advance, Ryan will not notice.
Lei Yin thought for a moment and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, around six or seven o'clock."
Before Shi Yu could answer, he saw the terminal on the light-blond young man's wrist beep. He raised his wrist to take a look, then looked away without any extra emotion.
"Sir," Shigure asked curiously, "Is this a message?"
"It's a text message from my family." Lei Yin adjusted his collar and said calmly, "It's a blessing."
Huh?
Wish, wish... ?
"Really? What day is today?" Shi Yu stuttered and asked in a surprised manner. She thought that Alex had clearly said that they never cared about birthdays, so why did Mr. Rain's family celebrate birthdays in advance...ah, it was normal actually, after all, they were family.
"Nothing, don't worry about it."
Rein didn't seem to want to explain this to her. After asking her to go back and rest for a while, the officer put his neat and polite gloves on the door handle, and then the young man's tall and handsome back paused for a moment.
Under Shi Yu's puzzled gaze, Rein turned slightly and asked, "Shi Yu, do you have time tonight?"
"some!"
Shi Yu didn't think too much and answered quickly.
"So, do you have any ideas or a preferred place?" Rein nodded his chin slightly and said, "I plan to go out for dinner with you tonight."
Shi Yu was stunned for a moment.
After a while, she pursed her lips and looked at him, scratching the hair on her cheek in confusion, and asked in a low voice: "Sir, why suddenly...?"
It was Rain's birthday that evening. She had been preparing for this day for a long time. Alex was also coming, and if she went out... all her efforts would be wasted.
The girl's hesitation was clearly reflected in the officer's icy blue eyes. Lei Yin didn't force it. He turned around, opened the door, and said briefly, "Don't worry about it. We'll talk when you get back."
After sending Lei Yin away, Shi Yu was still in a daze.
She seemed to realize that Lei Yin had invited her, perhaps because he wanted to celebrate her birthday with her - but Shi Yu couldn't tell him in advance because he had already prepared everything...
And the tone he used just now was like rejecting Mr. Rein.
This made Shi Yu feel inexplicably guilty.
She didn't rest. Her mind kept replaying the image of Lei Yin's slightly indifferent expression when he received the family's blessings, and the image of him inviting her out for dinner. The more she thought about it, the more she felt she had to make this birthday party a success for Lei Yin. She suppressed the urge to explain immediately, quickly pulled out the ribbons and ornaments for the celebration, and began decorating the hall.
Before leaving get off work, Lei Yin opened the terminal and found the chat page empty.
He watched for a moment, but ultimately did not send any message to the girl. After turning off the terminal, he began to tidy up the documents on his desk.
"What are you doing tonight, Rain?" Alex came over and invited with a smile, "Let's go for a drink?"
Although they don’t celebrate, this is their regular schedule whenever it comes to their birthdays.
Lei Yin was silent for a moment, then he picked up his gloves and the organized documents and stood up. "Sorry, I have an appointment tonight. I'll see you tomorrow night."
"I'll treat you to two meals tomorrow and the day after tomorrow," he said.
Alex agreed with a smile and pretended not to say anything. He left before Ryan and after walking for a while towards home, he turned around at a blind spot and walked towards Ryan's house.
[Sir!] The girl's message anxiously popped up on Alex's terminal [Are you off work already? Where are you?]
[On the way, don't worry.]
[I think Lei Yin might need to pick up some more things. He has plenty of time, don't worry.]
Alex comforted her.
Because there was no extra schedule, Alex arrived earlier than Rain. Shi Yu was anxiously looking at the door. When he saw Alex, he hurriedly pulled him into the house. As if out of habit, Shi Yu whispered "Agree" as he pulled the officer's cuffs.
She was used to removing the restrictions of the monitoring ring when she was with Rain, and she didn't notice that the person she was pulling was another Alpha.
"You can hide here for a while," Shi Yu handed Alex a firework tube and pointed behind the door. "When Mr. Rain comes in, we can press the buttons on the left and right!"
The platinum-haired young man weighed the rather heavy firework tube in his hand. The object that Shi Yu had struggled to lift felt like a toy between his broad, rough knuckles. He smiled at Shi Yu and readily agreed, "Okay, no problem."
An Alpha who graduated from a military academy and has been tempered by repeated actual combat has a perception that is not so low that he cannot detect abnormalities even through a door. Although Alex knows that their ambush will not bring any "surprises" to Rain, it was Shigure's suggestion after all, and she was happy with it, so he just let her have fun.
Shi Yu went to clean up the hall again, and ten minutes later, she and Alex were in their respective positions.
At last they heard the faint, steady march of military boots.
The girl blinked, excitedly put her finger to her lips, and made a "hush" gesture to Alex on the other side. Alex shook his head, squinted his eyes and said nothing.
The footsteps stopped in front of the door.
Shi Yu hugged the firework tube tightly and waited for a while, but there was no sign of the door opening. She poked her head out and moved closer to the door in confusion.
Unexpectedly, the next second, a sharp bell sound suddenly exploded in the air. Shi Yu was frightened and froze for a moment, then stepped back reflexively.
Monitoring ring...!
Shi Yu hadn't thought of this. She and Rein were only separated by a door, and she had unknowingly stepped into the range of the surveillance ring alarm. She didn't have time to say "I agree" in advance.
The girl's mind went blank for a moment, and her small scream was blocked in her throat. Because she was too panicked, she was tripped by something without paying attention. She was pulled up by the person next to her, and she fell into the arms of a man with a strong smell of alcohol.
Shi Yu opened her eyes wide and gasped softly. Due to the inertia of the impact, her black hair was scattered around the girl's slender waist and shoulder bones, revealing her snow-white neck.
The panic in her heart still lingered, her face suddenly flushed, and the corners of her eyes turned slightly red. Whether it was the touch of the tough and voluptuous chest against the back of her head, or the male arms around her waist that were almost lifting her up, Shi Yu couldn't help but tremble.
The door opened at this moment.
Shi Yu raised her head pitifully. In the arms of another Alpha officer, she seemed to want to express her intention to refuse. She carefully placed her hands on Alex's slender wrist bones at the waist, as if to press him down.
Facing the blond young man's cold and sharp gaze, Shi Yu was about to cry. She called out to him weakly, feeling ashamed for some reason.
"Rain, sir..."
…
The fireworks were not set off.
Shi Yu hid in the bathroom, cool and clear water droplets dripping from her clenched hands. She took a deep breath, washed her face silently, wiped it clean with a towel, and then came out hesitantly and reluctantly.
In the hall, Alex and Rain sat at the dining table respectively. Shigure came to his seat, lowered his head, pulled out the chair and sat down.
The cakes and steaming dishes were placed quietly on the table, and no one touched the fork first.
"Shigure," Receiving Alex's urging glance, Rain paused, put the gloves he had taken off aside, and stared at the girl with his blue eyes quietly, saying, "Thank you for the surprise you prepared for me. It's been hard work."
Shi Yu shook his head and said nothing.
What just happened was still lingering in her mind. The sunlight leaking through the crack in the door illuminated the young man's slender figure and thin golden hair. His expression was stern, and he looked down at her condescendingly like a snow leopard whose territory had been invaded.
Shigure had never seen Rain look so distant and cold.
She knew it was her own carelessness, that Alex had caught her with good intentions, and that it was all an accident... but she—
"Don't look so depressed, be cheerful," Alex said, trying to lighten the mood. He pushed the plate of food brought by the housekeeping robot to Shi Yu, "I just finished cooking the steak you asked me to fry. Try it."
Shi Yu took it and whispered, "Thank you."
The next moment, the room fell silent again.
"Shigure."
Just as Shigure ignored etiquette and poked the steak with her fork, causing the juices to flow out from the veins of the meat, Rain called to her calmly.
"Have you been busy for me these days?"
Shi Yu stopped what he was doing, turned his face away, and nodded gently, a little aggrievedly.
"Thank you, Shigure." Rein said, "I didn't make an appointment in advance... No." The officer paused for a moment, as if thinking about how to express himself.
"I'm sorry to bother you. I like it very much."
He said.
The cake was made to suit Rain's taste, and the dishes were carefully considered by Shi Yu, who carefully observed Rain's preferences and slowly finalized them. He liked salty, oily dishes, and preparing such a table, even asking Alex for help, showed that Shi Yu had put a lot of thought into it.
Because Rein also did a lot for her, Shigure wanted to thank him.
However, even though she received Rain's praise, Shi Yu couldn't feel happy at all... She kept thinking of the look the officer had given her just now, which was so superior, cold and distant, and it hurt Shi Yu a little.
"Mr. Rain," she said with her head down, looking a little listless, "You've helped me a lot, and this is what I should thank you for."
Rein also brought back a small cake.
He came back a little later than Alex and made a special trip to bring this for Shigure. He didn't like sweets, so this cake was obviously prepared for Shigure.
Shi Yu was afraid that the cake would go bad tomorrow, so she had to eat the one he brought back in small bites. As the cream melted in her mouth, Shi Yu suddenly remembered that Lei Yin had invited her to dinner out in the evening, but she hesitantly refused.
Maybe Mr. Rain wanted to come back and celebrate with her at home, so he brought back this cake... Shi Yu thought.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was somewhat dull. Even though Alex would occasionally joke with Rain, Shigure could still sense a subtle weirdness.
——She originally thought that if she asked Alex to come and celebrate together, Mr. Rain would be happy.
However, the look that the young man gave her when she was held in Alex's arms just now, and Rain's expression, which seemed normal but rather cold, both told Shi Yu that she was wrong and self-righteous.
Although Shigure didn't quite understand, Mr. Rain did seem a little angry.
Today is Rain's birthday. No matter what doubts he had, Shigure cheered up, tried hard to adjust himself back to normal, and chatted with the two officers.
More than an hour later, the lights in the hall dimmed, and the remaining cream was limp on the plate. Shi Yu really couldn't eat any more. She covered her forehead with her hands, feeling a little dizzy, and said to the two officers who were still eating, "I'm full. I'm going to rest first..."
The girl's face looked normal, though her eyes looked a bit tired, so no one suspected anything. After explaining everything to them, Shigure found a spot nearby and reclined on the sofa to rest.
The girl's cheeks were red and hot, and she seemed to be sleepy. She changed from leaning to lying down, and lay lazily on the pillow, as soft as a boneless cat.
Faintly hearing a familiar male voice coming from afar, Shi Yu struggled a bit and tried to prop himself up to sit up. With watery eyes, he looked over there blankly, then pursed his lips and smiled.
"gentlemen……"
A soft, coquettish voice floated out of her throat, but I didn't know who she was calling.
When the two officers saw this look, Rain and Alex had different expressions.
"What do I feel?" Alex touched his chin and carefully observed the dizzy Shi Yu not far away. "Is she drunk?"
Then he quickly denied it, his eyes still fixed on her, "No, she didn't drink."
Lei Yin stood up and stopped within the range allowed by the monitoring ring. He half-knelt down and looked at the girl at eye level.
"Shigure," he said, "Are you feeling okay? Do you want to go get some rest?"
The young man's ice-blue eyes looked into the girl's confused eyes. Shi Yu shook her head, pursed her pink lips and then opened them again, her breathing became a little rapid, as if she had a lot to say to him.
"Mr. Rain," Shi Yu opened his dark eyes and looked at him with a dazed smile, "Happy birthday! I prepared a lot of delicious food for you today. I hope you...will like it!"
"The food is delicious," Rain affirmed, "I like it very much."
"Don't be unhappy," she emphasized.
"No, I'm very happy."
Lei Yin asked and answered her questions rigorously.
"Today..." At this point, the dizzy Shi Yu hesitated and glanced at him cautiously, "I accidentally caused a little accident, please don't be angry with me."
"That's not a wrong thing," Lei Yin said, closing his blue eyes slightly. "Don't think too much about it."
"There was red wine in the steak," Alex seemed to have figured out the reason and came over to remind Rain with a hint of amusement. "It wasn't much, just for seasoning. I didn't expect her to..."
Shi Yu had a very low tolerance for alcohol, and it had been like this before. She even passed out after eating two or three chocolate bars with liqueur fillings. However, she was completely unaware that she was drunk at this moment, and was trying to continue talking to Rein in a daze.
"Let her rest," Alex sighed when he saw Shi Yu's expression, "She's worked hard today."
Lei Yin remained silent. He kept a distance from the girl. With a slight movement of his wrist, the cold iron monitoring ring firmly pressed down the officer's arm that was about to be raised.
The officer motioned for Alex to pick up the blankets folded beside the sofa and stand up. "Cover her up so she doesn't get cold."
The drunk girl never wanted to remove the monitoring ring, and Rein was unwilling to induce her to say that. For them, it was not a good thing for certain things to become habits.
The thoughts that occasionally occurred to him were becoming increasingly uncontrollable, and Rayne needed to curb them in time.
He allowed another tall, dangerous Alpha to approach her, perhaps even Rain himself didn't notice. His extremely dark eyes sank, with a slight aggression, paying attention to Alex's every move.
Alex had no choice but to do as he was told. He quickly covered Shi Yu with a blanket and raised his hands to show his innocence.
"Okay, I didn't move."
"...Mr. Alex."
As the blanket fell on the girl's small shoulders, Alex had just finished speaking when Shigure, like a clinging cat, tugged at his clothes, unable to reach his hand, and nagging, "I'm sorry to bother you today. When it's your birthday, I'll also prepare a cake and a birthday party for you..."
Alex was startled, then looked at Rein with a smile. His colleague stood at a distance, watching them calmly.
The platinum-blonde young man didn't worry much. He reached out and rubbed her hair, then smiled and said, "Okay, I'll wait."
The author has something to say:
The adoption chapter...seems like it's time to end.
Finally I realized how tiring it is to share so much QAQ Everyone really wants to write about it——
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