Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Scheming Man.
Inside the presidential suite of Kunting Hotel, the night was dark outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Shao Chengzhang sat in the luxurious and spacious living room with a laptop computer that was not turned off at his side.
"I say, what's wrong with you? Why don't you live at home and come here?" Liang Yuchen came over with two glasses of red wine, pushed one to the side of the coffee table, and sat down on the single sofa next to it.
Before, Shao Chengzhang was reluctant to return to Yihai Villa, so he lived here for a long time. Since Yuelan Bay was renovated, Shao Chengzhang has not lived here for several years.
Shao Chengzhang didn't look at him. He picked up the wine glass, leaned back into the sofa, and gently touched the rim of the glass with his lips. The phone on the side lit up, and it was a reply message from Shen Zhuo.
He finally realized that if he didn't take the initiative to send a message to Chen Zhuo, Chen Zhuo would really ignore him.
Even if she doesn't care about his whereabouts, Ares is still at home. Why doesn't Shen Zhuo send a message to ask him? Can she handle it alone?
Shao Chengzhang was absent-minded. He looked at his watch and saw it was already ten o'clock. After hesitating for a long time, he couldn't help but send a message to Chen Zhuo, reminding her to help feed Ares.
Soon the phone vibrated.
Shen Zhuo replied: "I have already fed it."
Oh, so it has been fed... What else? Shao Chengzhang suddenly remembered that he had to turn off the fluorescent light and UVB light in the crawling box at night. He immediately sent a message to Chen Zhuo, asking him to leave only a heated night light on at night.
Chen Zhuo turned off the lights as he instructed, and then took a photo for him to confirm. It was obviously taken very casually, even a little blurry.
He stared at the picture for a few seconds, and the corners of his lips curved slowly and imperceptibly.
"Who are you talking to?" Liang Yuchen was surprised to see Shao Chengzhang staring at his phone with an inexplicable smile.
"No one." Shao Chengzhang put away his phone and picked up his computer to do his work.
Liang Yuchen obviously didn't believe it: "Impossible, there must be something wrong with you. Could it be that you have a mistress hidden in your house? Who is it?"
A series of questions left Shao Chengzhang speechless, "Liang Yuchen, how can a man like you be so gossipy?"
"Gossip is human nature." Seeing that he didn't deny it, Liang Yuchen smiled meaningfully, "You haven't answered my question yet."
"Boring." Shao Chengzhang glanced at him, then took another sip of wine from his glass. "Aren't you going to Ferry today? Why is Boss Liang so free?"
"Work is not as important as being with you." Liang Yuchen said with a smile, "If you don't tell me, I will go to your house tomorrow to see what's going on."
Shao Chengzhang knew that Liang Yuchen was capable of doing this, so he had to briefly explain the current situation between him and Shen Zhuo.
Liang Yuchen was silent for a while after hearing this, then he laughed when he figured it out.
Liang Yuchen wasn't surprised that Shao Chengzhang was looking for someone to marry because his family was looking for someone to marry him. To him, achieving his goal was the most important thing. Instead, he was intrigued by the fact that he actually went out to stay in a hotel just because of a woman's words.
"Tell me the truth, do you like that girl?" Liang Yuchen asked.
Shao Chengzhang snorted and laughed: "Do you think I am in heat every day like you?"
Liang Yuchen tutted, "Be careful with your wording. That's an instinctive reaction based on free will."
Shao Chengzhang was too lazy to pay attention to him.
"Why would you run away if they wanted to move out?" Liang Yuchen was overjoyed. "Do you know what this is called?"
Shao Chengzhang paused his fingertips on the touchpad, looked up at him, and waited for his answer.
"A scheming man." Liang Yuchen smiled slyly, "Just keep talking tough."
Shao Chengzhang casually threw the pillow next to him into Liang Yuchen's arms, and at the same time threw the word "get out" to him.
"Okay, I'll listen to Mr. Shao. I'll leave quickly. After all, I don't want to keep the beauty waiting for too long." Liang Yuchen drank the last sip of wine, stood up and left.
After walking a few steps, he turned around and whistled at Shao Chengzhang, "Hey, Shao Chengzhang, you're really finished." Before the second pillow flew over, he had disappeared.
The living room fell silent again.
Shao Chengzhang stared at the screen full of text, but couldn't read a single word. He frowned slightly, reached out to close the computer, and leaned back on the sofa.
He doesn't think he is suitable for love. Love is really useless to him.
He had a brief relationship in college.
The other woman, a bright and cheerful Chinese-American with a warm and outgoing personality, actively pursued him for a while. Even after they officially started dating, he remained preoccupied with his studies and the desire to start a business away from home, leaving little room for the relationship. His responses to her greetings and sharing were often perfunctory and cold. After a month, she couldn't stand it anymore and broke up. He didn't try to persuade her, simply feeling relieved. Later, he founded Dreamora, and he couldn't spare any time for a relationship.
Of course, in his opinion, falling in love is more of a trouble.
Because no one can fully understand another person. He doesn't want to waste time understanding someone whose future plans may change at any time.
Can someone love another person unconditionally? Shao Chengzhang doesn't believe in such love.
For Shao Chengzhang, emotions are not something that should be taken for granted, but rather a variable that needs to be handled with caution and avoided when necessary.
But Shen Zhuo was an exception for him.
He found that he actually had expectations for things related to her. He expected her to live in his house, allow her to take half of his private space, cook her favorite dishes, hear her praise, and chat about their respective careers or hobbies. He even couldn't help but want to be close to her.
Hearing Chen Zhuo say that he wanted to move out, his first reaction was anger. The thought that popped into his mind was reflection - was there something he hadn't done well enough, or did she feel too stressed about being with him? This emotion flashed through his mind, but it made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
In fact, what Liang Yuchen said was both right and wrong. He moved out because, firstly, he didn't want Chen Zhuo to leave Yuelan Bay, and secondly, he needed to calm down.
*
Two days passed, and Shao Chengzhang still hadn't returned. Shen Zhuo had become quite comfortable staying here.
She paused as she passed the bedroom's open closet. That section was where Shao Chengzhang kept his most-worn shirts. He usually separated them into light and dark colors, each taking up about half. But now, the light-colored section was noticeably empty, with only two pieces left hanging.
Shen Zhuo frowned slightly and stared at it for several seconds. When she was looking for a shirt here this morning, the clothes hanging here were clearly full...
Could it be that he came back and took it away? Wasn't he on a business trip?
A thought suddenly occurred to her - could it be that Shao Chengzhang wasn't on a business trip at all?!
He moved out? He didn't misunderstand what she said that day and think she hated him, did he? She really didn't mean that!
This Shao Chengzhang really is...it's obviously his family... She pursed her lips, feeling a pang of pain in her heart. Could it be that he is causing trouble for others again...
Chen Zhuo suddenly wanted to send him a message to ask where he was. She turned on her phone and clicked on the chat interface with Shao Chengzhang. Her fingertips hovered over the input box for a few seconds, and finally locked the screen.
Forget it, forget it. His legs are on him, and she didn't drive him away! What is she sorry for?!
Just as she was thinking about it, a message came in on her phone. She unlocked it happily, but found that it was a message from Jiang Jun. She actually felt a little disappointed.
Jiang Jun: "Baby, will you come back on May Day? I miss you."
Chen Zhuo pursed his lips and thought for a moment before typing: "Probably not." He added a crying emoticon at the end.
She decided to stay with Ms. Chi for a few days.
Jiang Jun was surprised: "Where have you been? When will you be back?" If he was filming or visiting the set, he would be back in three or four days, but Chen Zhuo was away longer than before, and now was not the time to go to a fashion week abroad.
Chen Zhuo didn't know when he could go home, so he could only reply that he was not sure yet.
Jiang Jun: "Are you okay?"
Chen Zhuo said no, and told her to rest assured and wait for her to come back. Jiang Jun sent her a hug emoticon, and then sent her a few pictures of her homemade desserts. Her new project is a web drama, and the heroine is a baker. She has recently been studying and learning to make desserts at home to get a feel for it.
"When you're not around, there's no one to be my guinea pig." Jiang Jun complained to her.
Chen Zhuo laughed out loud: "That's just right so you can learn it when I get back."
Jiang Jun gossip: "How are you and your husband doing recently?"
Chen Zhuo was speechless: rolling eyes.jpg.
Jiang Jun sent a string of hahaha and asked her: "He didn't contact you? Didn't he look for you?"
He did, and not only did he, he also lived with her. Chen Zhuo pursed his lips, not knowing how to tell Jiang Jun. When she thought about her deception to Jiang Jun, she felt guilty and blamed herself, but for some reason she didn't dare to tell her the truth, so she had to reply with a "no." Jiang Jun was shocked: "Ah?! What's wrong with this guy? He doesn't even care about such a beautiful wife? Is he just a dog?"
Chen Zhuo chuckled and replied, "You think I'm pretty because you're in the eyes of a lover."
Jiang Jun: "No, I'm just describing objective facts."
The two chatted about other things for a while until Chen Zhuo was ready to rest and then said good night to each other.
*
The five-day holiday arrived as scheduled, but Shao Chengzhang still hadn't returned. Shen Zhuo told Aunt Chen that she didn't need to come over these few days. She didn't want to stay in Yuelan Bay, so she went to Ms. Chi on the first day of the holiday.
When Ms. Chi saw her daughter coming back, she took the fruit from her hand and asked with a smile, "How are you doing recently?"
Chen Zhuo lowered his head to change his slippers, not thinking much about it, thinking that the question was about her, "It's okay, it's fine, just like that."
Ms. Chi entered the kitchen and raised her voice: "What do you mean by just like that? How far have you gotten?"
You guys? Where did you come from? Shen Zhuo realized that Ms. Chi was asking about her and Shao Chengzhang.
Chen Zhuo walked to the sofa in his slippers and sank into it, half of his body resting on the wide armrest of the sofa, and shouted towards the kitchen: "Mom, why do you care about a man if you don't care about your daughter?" It would be more comfortable to be back at home. At Shao Chengzhang's house, he always had to act politely, which was tiring.
After a while, she heard the sound of running water. Ms. Chi washed the peaches she bought and brought them out to place on the coffee table. "I told you not to eat takeout or drink alcohol, but you still listen? You're already an adult, and you still don't sit properly. Sit properly."
Chen Zhuo uttered an "Ouch!", stood up and washed his hands, then came back and passed by the coffee table, reached out and took a nectarine to eat.
When would it be best to tell Ms. Chi that she and Shao Chengzhang were married? I didn't know how she would react when she found out. After thinking about it, I decided to wait.
Ms. Chi was preparing dumplings for lunch, chopping vegetables and mixing noodles. Chen Zhuo suggested a simple meal, and Ms. Chi replied that it would be quick. She had just planted a large pot of chives on the balcony, the last crop. A moment later, Ms. Chi entered the kitchen clutching a handful of chives. The sounds of running water, the clatter of pots and bowls, and the thud of a knife against a chopping board filled Chen Zhuo's ears.
Ms. Chi had been cooking at home for almost her entire life, and her movements were quick and nimble, so Shen Zhuo volunteered to help. However, she only knew how to roll out the dough, and the resulting dough was always different thicknesses and shapes, never round. Ms. Chi would always complain, and she'd also say, "If you can't even make dumplings, what will you do when you get married? Your in-laws will all look down on you."
Chen Zhuo said, "I have to serve others, why can't a man make dumplings for me?"
Ms. Chi said, "It would be best if you can cook and take care of people."
Shen Zhuo thought, Shao Chengzhang can really cook, and his food is delicious. As for taking care of people... She occupied his bedroom, so he could only sleep on the floor and work in the living room, which could be considered as taking care of her to some extent.
Come to think of it, he's pretty good. She still has good taste.
"Mom, what would you do if I got married?"
Ms. Chi's hands kept moving, folding the dumpling wrapper in half and pressing it, until a dumpling was formed in her hand. She gently dropped it onto the chopping board and said, "Then I'll definitely be happy. I'll have to set off two firecrackers to celebrate. From now on, I don't have anything to worry about. I'll go travel around."
The dumplings came out of the pot and were served steaming hot. When they were almost done, Shen Zhuo put down his chopsticks and said casually, "By the way, I have something to tell you. Shao Chengzhang and I just got our marriage certificate." She spoke so naturally, as if getting a marriage certificate was a trivial matter in life.
"Really? You've decided to get married?" Ms. Chi's face lit up with joy.
"No." Chen Zhuo said, "We have already got the marriage certificate, you can buy a whip now. You can go out for a trip tomorrow." As he spoke, Chen Zhuo laughed.
"Are you kidding or serious?" Ms. Chi suddenly became serious.
"Of course I'm serious." Shen Zhuo nodded. "Why would I lie to you about this?" She raised her right hand and showed Ms. Chi the ring on her hand.
"Chen Zhuo!" Ms. Chi yelled, "What's wrong with you?! Can you just casually do something like getting married? How long have you known him? Do you understand him well enough to marry him?"
"Didn't you say he was good? And that you were quite satisfied with him? Now that I'm really getting married to him, you're not happy about it." Chen Zhuo said.
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