Chapter 164. The Red Panda and Its Keeper 1 And who is Shen Yanxing...?
When did you start to feel a binding force controlling your behavior?
Shen Yanxing thought it must have been during her senior year of high school when she participated in the school band competition. At that time, she met a girl named Xu Shiyue and was pushed by a force to stop the elevator that had already closed its doors.
So when did you start to want to resist this controlling and binding force?
Shen Yanxing thought it was the day he arranged to meet Xu Shiyue at the horse farm to discuss matters.
The most memorable thing for many people that day was that the eldest daughter of the Lu family fell off her out-of-control horse.
But for Shen Yanxing, it was a sight to see Lu Shi'en riding past on horseback.
—This is the most important thing to do when you come to the horse farm.
The little girl was dressed in a neat riding outfit, with black boots tightly wrapping around her legs, and she exuded power as she stepped on the stirrups.
A pure black horse carried her galloping freely across the riding arena, her hair, which was pressed under the protective gear, swinging back and forth with each stroke, looking incredibly dashing.
It seems that horseback riding alone cannot satisfy the joy she desires.
Then, as if showing off her skills, she pulled the reins tight with one hand, and the horse, which was still galloping forward, tilted and stood upright.
Despite being surrounded by greenery, tan still dominated the majority of the racecourse's color.
A bright sun hangs in the monotonous sky, and a pure black horse stands before it, its taut muscles filling the entire scene with power and a sense of oppression.
It was precisely this feeling that brought a little girl into the picture.
She looks young, but she exudes a carefree and unrestrained spirit that far surpasses that of many adults.
The unruly Akhal-Teke horse was tamed by her and was now under her complete control, so unruly that it seemed capable of splitting the sun in two.
She was not startled by the horse's sudden rearing up, nor did she feel any danger; on the contrary, she was pleased.
Beneath the protective gear was a clean, smiling face; her almond-shaped eyes curved upwards like two golden cashews, her smile crisp and cheerful.
That was the young lady of the Lu family, a spoiled and willful child whom everyone described as being pampered.
But in her, Shen Yanxing also saw freedom.
Under the scorching sunlight, Shen Yanxing's gaze was fixed entirely in that direction.
She knew perfectly well that her gaze most wanted to fall on the little girl on horseback, but that inexplicable force once again pulled her and forcibly turned her gaze to Xu Shiyue.
It was as if they were determined to make something happen between them.
Later, Shen Yanxing also learned that this power was indeed meant to make something happen between them.
Xu Shiyue is the protagonist of this world, while she is the other protagonist of this world.
But neither Xu Shiyue nor she were interested in each other.
Despite being forced to create opportunities so many times, they never developed the kind of tacit understanding or magnetic chemistry that protagonists in novels possess.
Actually, it can't be said that they completely lacked the chemistry and chemistry of the main characters.
They all share a special fondness for "Lu".
The winter sunlight streamed through the windows of the high-rise building into the office, bright and warm.
A soft laugh suddenly broke the silence of the office, adding a touch of life to the large, empty space.
The black leather office chair swayed slightly, and the woman's slender legs swayed gently from beneath her sleek, narrow skirt.
Her long, black hair piled up around her face, and her fan-like eyelashes lay quietly before her eyes, as if taking a nap, but not with such focus.
The end of the year is always the busiest time for the company. Last week, the company secured another big order. Shen Yanxing, like Xu Shiyue, had been working non-stop for three days and only managed to steal a short break at noon.
"Buzz buzz buzz—"
Shen Yanxing had only rested for less than ten minutes when his phone rang.
Without hesitation, Shen Yanxing immediately opened his eyes.
The message was sent by Lu Shi'en: "The results of the third phase are complete; we can end it early."
As if feeling that his typing wasn't enough to show off, a little panda with its hands on its hips popped up on Shen Yanxing's screen.
This little thing looks imposing, but its furry body greatly diminishes that imposing presence.
Looking at the somewhat similar appearance, Shen Yanxing's tired eyes curved into a smile as she replied, "As expected of Chief Engineer Lu, impressive."
"This should speed things up for you guys, right? I heard you and Xu Shiyue haven't been home for days," Lu Shi'en continued.
【Hmm.】 Shen Yanxing nodded, showering Lu Shi'en with praise: 【That's why I say you're amazing.】
Lu Shi'en disagreed: "Just talking is no fun, Boss Shen. You have to treat me to something."
She paused, took a bite of her cold hamburger, and continued: "We working people still prefer material rewards."
This hint could hardly be called a hint at all. Shen Yanxing thought for a moment, then invited, "[Shall I take you out for New Year's Eve? Didn't you mention last month that a new ski resort has opened in Northeast China? How about going there?]"
"Sorry, I'm a bit busy with my New Year's Eve schedule." Lu Shi'en raised an eyebrow smugly, her boastful tone even more pronounced than before. "Also, the lady at that new ski resort is going to take me there for New Year's Eve."
Upon seeing the word "older sister," Shen Yanxing paused for a moment.
But how could she believe that Lu Shizhen would forgo the chance to be alone with Xu Shiyue and bring along another burden? With a skeptical look, she asked, "Is it just you?"
[...]
Lu Shien immediately stopped biting into his hamburger, a hint of anger appearing on his face.
This Shen Yanxing always manages to expose her when she's feeling smug.
Slightly exasperated, Lu Shi'en's keyboard clicked rapidly: 【Our family! No way!】
Shen Yanxing looked at the two exclamation marks that popped up in the chat box, his smile deepening: 【Okay.】
They had spent so much time together that when Lu Shi'en saw the message Shen Yanxing sent her, the image of Shen Yanxing always smiling gently at her at times like this immediately came to mind.
So Lu Shien raised his hand and threw Shen Yanxing a "I'll hit you" emoji.
Then, without waiting for the other party's agreement, she arbitrarily issued the young lady's order: "Shen Yanxing, you owe me a meal. I want to eat the roast goose from that tea restaurant on Yanxi Road!"
Perhaps tired from typing, Shen Yanxing put the phone to her mouth and sent Lu Shi'en a voice message: "Okay, I'll treat you when you come back after New Year's."
The electric current eased his fatigue, and Shen Yanxing's voice sounded gentle and soft.
The phone's earpiece was pressed against Lu Shi'en's ear, and for a moment it felt like a warm breeze was blowing, instantly making Lu Shi'en, who was exhausted, happy again.
She knew that the place she had just mentioned was not easy to book, and Shen Yanxing always kept his promises to her.
With that in mind, Lu Shi'en opened the calendar on his phone.
The calendar for that month was the first thing that caught her eye, and she had drawn a large circle around the date on the 30th.
That day was the day their whole family was going to visit the snow mountain scenic area.
Shen Yanxing had just made an appointment with her as well.
Sunlight streamed through the restaurant's glass and fell onto the dining table, but the refracted light was blocked by the little girl's slightly lowered eyes.
For some reason, the feeling of excitement that once filled Lu Shien's heart did not resurface this time; instead, there was a somewhat indistinct sense of regret.
When Shen Yanxing said he would take her skiing in the snow, she felt a surge of excitement, thinking that it would be fun to go out with him.
Actually, it would be nice if they could take Shen Yanxing on their New Year's trip next week.
But why bring Shen Yanxing along?
Xu Shiyue is her sister's fiancée, so who is Shen Yanxing's fiancée?
Lu Shize?
"Bang!"
The dull thud of a hamburger hitting a plate echoed in the sparsely populated restaurant, and Lu Shi'en inexplicably felt a surge of anger again.
She glanced at the message Lu Shize had just sent her and chose to ignore it.
The cleaning lady, who witnessed all of this, glanced cautiously at Lu Shi'en from behind, and then slowly pushed her mop over.
This little girl is good in every way, except that she is too unpredictable and often overreacts to emotions she doesn't understand.
Just now, Lu Shien didn't know whether she was happy because she had made a date with the restaurant she wanted to go to.
She was still happy to have dinner with Shen Yanxing, who had agreed to meet her.
I really don't know what kind of person could handle her.
.
Early on the 30th, the sun pushed through the clouds and peeked out.
The snow that fell a couple of days ago piled up on both sides of the road, and the sunlight made the whole city, which was covered in ice and snow, look bright and sunny.
The black Mercedes-Benz discreetly drove out of the airport road, its trunk filled with luggage labeled with baggage tags.
Lu Shize drove with a serious expression, while Lu Shi'en, sitting in the back, propped her little face up and looked expectantly at the snow-capped mountains getting closer and closer outside the window: "This is the most complete New Year's Eve our family has ever had!"
“Yes, Zhenzhen is here, Aze is here, and Xiao En doesn’t have to be busy with the competition. There’s no company business in October either. It’s perfect.” Cheng Meiyan excitedly adjusted the camera in her hand, her expectant look exactly the same as Lu Shien’s.
Upon hearing Cheng Meiyan's words, Lu Shien turned around and protested, correcting her, "Mom! I'm already a senior in college! I've been working for almost a year now, and there aren't any competitions like those in high school anymore!"
Cheng Meiyan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized and said, "Oh dear... I'm sorry, Xiao En, Mom always feels that you haven't grown up yet."
As she said this, Cheng Meiyan felt somewhat melancholy.
Looking at the tiny little girl she had brought home, she felt the passage of time around her and murmured, "Our little En has grown up so much. How time flies..."
Sensing the somewhat somber atmosphere in the car, Lu Shizhen immediately put her arm around Xu Shiyue and changed the subject, saying, "Mom, take a picture of me and Shiyue. Didn't you say you were going to take lots of beautiful pictures of us?"
“Ah, yes, yes, yes.” Cheng Meiyan nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.
Distracted by Lu Shizhen, Cheng Meiyan's slightly melancholy mood vanished instantly.
As she spoke, she raised the camera she had just adjusted and pointed it through the lens at Lu Shizhen and Xu Shiyue sitting in the back row: "Come on, Shiyue, give me a smile."
The camera lens unfolded with a slight sound, and upon hearing this, Xu Shiyue immediately flipped her phone back down, the one she had been talking to.
Then the scent of roses fell on her shoulders. She looked at the hand placed in front of her and naturally intertwined her fingers with Lu Shizhen's in front of the camera.
Sunlight streamed obliquely through the windowpane, shining brightly on Xu Shiyue and Lu Shizhen.
Liveliness and aloofness side by side are like the snow-capped mountains outside the window that hold up the sun; they seem incongruous at first glance, but they blend together perfectly.
Compared to her past social anxiety and awkwardness in front of the camera, Lu Shizhen is much more confident now.
Whether she's holding hands or flashing a peace sign at the camera, she's incredibly natural and exudes a radiant warmth like the sun.
Xu Shiyue was also bathed in the bright glow of the sunlight, thus preserving her gentleness in the photos featuring Lu Shizhen.
This is a love that belongs only to them.
Lu Shi'en watched from the side, feeling the same emotions he had every time he saw Xu Shiyue and Lu Shizhen together in the past.
But unlike in the past, this time, her usually calm eyes seemed to hold a hint of touched envy...
The car entered the tunnel in an instant, and in the flickering light, Lu Shi'en's profile was reflected on the window.
Her eyes remained fixed on Lu Shizhen, her gaze filled with envy but without any jealousy, a simple longing for such a relationship.
This longing resonated with the surrounding darkness, and suddenly an emptiness filled her heart.
However, Lu Shien has never been one to be unable to bear loneliness in the past.
She and her fellow students seemed to be the opposite of each other in age. She never felt any excitement or desire for romance just because she saw something beautiful.
But this time, she suddenly felt a longing and envy.
She wasn't sure why this was happening. If you applied her logic from the field of artificial intelligence, there must have been some achievable condition that triggered her learning ability.
This means that there was someone in her life who made this ethereal thing tangible, but she didn't bring it with her, which is why she felt this envious and regretful impulse.
So, that person.
Who is it...?
It felt like being trapped in a dead end with no solution, or like not daring to push open that tightly closed door.
In the dim light, Lu Shi'en frowned slightly.
"Xiao En, the light here is great, hurry up!"
Just as Lu Shien was thinking this, he was interrupted by Cheng Meiyan's sudden voice.
Lu Shien suddenly snapped out of her daze, looked up and saw the camera turning towards her. Cheng Meiyan smiled and urged her to quickly strike a nice pose for the camera.
That makes sense; how can you apply that kind of knowledge to humans?
Lu Shien quickly suppressed his thoughts of sneaking away, and just like before, smiled in front of Cheng Meiyan's camera with anticipation for the trip.
From the airport to the snow mountain scenic area, Cheng Meiyan took many photos of everyone in her family, including Lu Shize.
This guy doesn't like having his picture taken, but since he was driving, he had no chance to resist and was forced to have a lot of pictures taken of him with the camera pointed at him. He was teased by Lu Shizhen and Lu Shien the whole way.
With this joyful atmosphere, the family arrived at their hotel.
The hotel's VIP suites are double rooms, so the five of them naturally split into two suites: Cheng Meiyan and Lu Shize shared one, and Lu Shien shared the other with Xu Shiyue and Lu Shizhen.
Feeling the strange sensation from the car ride earlier, Lu Shi'en, unusually, didn't want to stick close to Lu Shizhen. However, despite this, Lu Shi'en looked at his scissor-hand gesture, which he had lost to Lu Shize, and felt somewhat helpless.
She used to be able to flirt with Lu Shize and tempt this sister-obsessed man who only cared about Lu Shizhen.
But that's no longer possible now, because Lu Shize is a sister-obsessed person, so he won't be in the same frame as Xu Shiyue, who "stole" his sister, unless absolutely necessary.
Lu Shi'en now understands what it means to be on the verge of tears.
She stared at her scissor-hand gesture as two cards were slipped through her open fingers.
"Xiao En, here are your room cards." Lu Shizhen handed the room cards she had just received to Lu Shi En and instructed, "Two of them, don't lose them."
Lu Shi'en looked at the two room cards in his hand, feeling inappropriately sensitive.
She couldn't help but sigh, and replied in a drawn-out tone, "I understand, sister—"
Just then, the sound of a door opening came from the entrance of the hall.
Lu Shi'en didn't notice that someone walked in out of the corner of her eye.
The wind in the Northeast is more rugged than in other places, and Lu Shi'en was blown by the sudden gust of wind, causing him to tighten his open collar.
The sound of hair rubbing against the hood of her down jacket reached her ears, followed by Lu Shizhen's voice: "Shen Yanxing?"
Almost instinctively, Lu Shien suddenly raised his head.
The bright light from the doorway blazed into her unprepared eyes, and Shen Yanxing was right in the center of that light.
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