Chapter 20
Avoiding problems will never solve anything. Feng Ran deeply understands this principle, but she often gets used to this way of dealing with things because it always works.
Her head started to ache again. The sleeping pills had induced very poor sleep quality, and Feng Ran had many dreams again, but she was in no mood to think about them. The thought that those depressing and dreary images might actually become reality in front of her at some point made Feng Ran think that she might as well just die now.
What must be faced will always be faced. She opened the door, and a small robot with Bai Jinyu's voice data circled around her feet: "Miss Fengran, it's 12:21 now. There's still some time before lunch. Would you like some snacks or fruit?"
The robot's spinning made Feng Ran a little dizzy, so she bent down, picked it up, and slowly walked outside: "What's for lunch?"
"I don't know, the host cooked today himself and didn't announce the menu."
As it spoke, Feng Ran had already stepped outside the living room. Clanging sounds came from the kitchen, and Shen Shiqian's figure was faintly visible through the archway. The aroma of food wafted out, which Feng Ran found quite peculiar.
Feng Ran's only memories of eating food cooked by others were in high-end restaurants or at formal banquets where the hosts would hire professional chefs. No one in the family knew how to cook; robots did it all. Sometimes, Feng Ran didn't want to eat with them, so he would just grab a nutrient solution from the freezer and go back to his room.
She looked at Shen Shiqian's busy figure and found it very interesting. In junior high school, she had briefly taken a home economics and practical skills course. The gentle female teacher said that learning cooking skills was not difficult, but it required patience to do more and try more. What supported this patience was the desire to show love to others.
Rather than being surprised that Shen Shiqian had learned to cook so skillfully, Feng Ran was more concerned that Shen Shiqian wasn't angry with her.
She sat at the dining table, holding the robot, waiting for the meal to begin. Suddenly, she realized that she didn't seem to know Shen Shiqian at all. Feng Ran had collected and mastered all kinds of intelligence and information about him, and the conclusion and evaluation he received were nothing more than genius, elite. As a double 3S-level, he was undoubtedly the most outstanding Alpha in the Empire. He could deal with any unexpected event rationally, objectively and calmly. He was serious and unapproachable. He was dazzling and brilliant, but also an untouchable high mountain flower.
When Feng Ran first met him, she was indeed intimidated by his cold demeanor. At that time, she felt great aversion and disgust because of his sudden intervention, and resisted him unconsciously. Although this resistance has not completely disappeared, she doesn't seem to hate Shen Shiqian as much as she did at the beginning.
So why did Shen Shiqian want to marry her? They didn't know each other before. Shen Shiqian's parents died in battle when he was young, and the Shen family had no other branches. He inherited the title, property, reputation, and power, and lived as he pleased according to his own beliefs. Feng Ran, as the daughter of an ordinary noble family, didn't even have anything to compare with. How did Shen Shiqian notice the existence of someone like her?
If he has been watching me all along, when did it begin, and which version of Feng Ran does he recognize?
Shen Shiqian has two identical housekeeping robots in his home, but it is obvious that the one with the pink shell is newly purchased. It is brand new from head to toe, and the wheels on the bottom are not worn. It does not make any rustling noise when it spins around on the ground.
Because Shen Shiqian didn't name them, they used their factory numbers to represent themselves. The pink one is 25737, and it's helping Shen Shiqian serve dishes. The blue one is 14693, and it's being held in Feng Ran's arms.
The lunch menu was clearly laid out on the table: spaghetti bolognese, crispy chicken nuggets with garlic butter, crispy pork with salt and pepper, and corn and pork rib soup. It looked and smelled delicious. Feng Ran's stomach growled in agreement. The irritability that had accumulated in the morning dissipated a lot in the steaming heat of the dishes, and she felt very peaceful.
Shen Shiqian took off his apron and came out of the kitchen. Everything he did was completely opposite to what the intelligence data said. He was gentle, considerate and patient, with a mesmerizing look in his eyes, just like the love that Feng Ran couldn't distinguish from Qin Xin when she was a child. He placed a plate and a small bowl in front of Feng Ran, picked up 14693 and put it back on the ground, and wiped her hands with a hot towel.
Feng Ran was somewhat taken aback by such considerate and gentle treatment. This time, she didn't break free from Shen Shiqian. She blinked, lowered her head slightly, and sincerely apologized: "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I was wrong too."
"Let's eat first, and then we can have a proper talk, okay?"
Feng Ran nodded. Although she had already prepared herself, she still ate absentmindedly, and even the small portion of noodles she served herself was not finished.
Shen Shiqian looked at her with some concern: "Is it not to your liking?"
Feng Ran thought for a long time before deciding to answer truthfully: "It's delicious, but I don't have much of an appetite."
While she was thinking, Shen Shiqian had stopped eating, and there was still food left on his plate, which made Feng Ran feel a little ashamed. The two clueless robots had already started working together, one clearing the plates and the other wiping the table. So their meeting place was moved from the dining room to the living room.
Feng Ran: "What do you want to tell me?"
Shen Shiqian sighed: "I thought you would have questions for me first."
Feng Ran didn't expect Shen Shiqian to tell her everything, after all, their intimate relationship only existed in name, and she herself had many things she kept from Shen Shiqian.
Feng Ran simply asked, "If I had said I didn't want to, would you have given up on marrying me?"
Shen Shiqian didn't answer, looking at her with some melancholy. Feng Ran felt that she already knew the answer.
Feng Ran: "So, the second question is, do you love me?"
Shen Shiqian answered almost instinctively, "Of course." His azure eyes were as deep as the night, flowing with complex emotions that Feng Ran couldn't understand. "I know that the timing and methods I used to approach you were inappropriate, but I've been watching you for a long time. Please believe me on this one point, okay?"
How long ago was "a long time ago"? Feng Ran felt a little confused. Wouldn't this make her just like Basil? How could she still hate Shen Shiqian then? But if he had been watching her from the beginning, why couldn't he have appeared sooner?
Feng Ran couldn't tell whether his love was real or fake, but this answer did relieve her. In her short sixteen years of life, she had received very little love. Both of the Alphas she had met were full of possessiveness and dominance towards her. She didn't know if this was normal.
Feng Ran stared at him intently: "You won't change, will you?"
He won't suddenly take away her love like Qin Xin did, he won't abandon her and leave her homeless to wander the sea of stars, he won't be her enemy or point a gun at her, and he won't become the cold-blooded person she hates and fears.
Shen Shiqian solemnly took her hand: "No, I can assure you, I want Ranran to be healthy, happy and blessed forever, with a bright future and a promising career more than anyone else. For this, I want to always protect you, okay?"
Shen Shiqian might indeed be different from his rumored cold personality. Feng Ran remembered that fragment of the scene where the meticulous marshal took off his heavy uniform jacket full of merit badges, leaned against the edge of the control panel, and looked at Feng Ran with a smile in his eyes, giving him affirmation: "You are a promising young man with a bright future. I dare to predict that your future is bright and you will become the most dazzling star in the history of the empire."
She didn't know how Feng Ran answered; she was simply chasing after that glowing figure until she was deeply consumed by its power.
She wavered, unsure if the uncertain future would change as a result, but that didn't stop her from being stunned by surprise, because Shen Shiqian gently kissed the back of her hand.
Shen Shiqian: "Can you give me a chance to prove myself? I will try my best to do better than I say with my actions. Of course, maintaining a relationship requires the cooperation of both people, so Ranran, can you accept me a little and get a little closer to me?"
Feng Ran curled her fingers, feeling a little nervous. The feeling Shen Shiqian gave Feng Ran was completely different from Luo Le's. It was complicated and unreal, like an iceberg hidden beneath a gentle, slow river. She shouldn't think like this, but her breathing and mind were in a mess. Maybe she should still try to test him?
Pheromones radiated from the touched fingertips, and Feng Ran turned to look at Shen Shiqian, getting a little closer to him.
Two highly compatible people seem to be particularly sensitive to each other's pheromones, but Feng Ran is not bothered by this compatibility. However, Shen Shiqian's face turned red in an instant. Once his breathing rises and falls too much, the shape of his pectoral muscles will be particularly obvious. There is a reason for the popular aesthetic of broad shoulders and narrow waist. Feng Ran was strangely satisfied with his reaction, and his eyelids felt a little hot.
Stimulated by the mellow and refreshing liquor, the flavor of bitter chocolate bursts forth, rich, intense, and finally viscous.
The victorious smile was fleeting. Feng Ran suppressed his urge to smile, watching Shen Shiqian sink into the soft back of the sofa, his breath trembling. He deliberately moved even closer, asking innocently, "Sir, is this what you call love?"
She nestled into Shen Shiqian's lap again, as if she had grown completely accustomed to this contact over the past few days. Her cheek pressed against his burning chest, and when his hands gently rested on her waist and abdomen, the person beneath her couldn't help but gasp. He struggled to push her away, saying, "Ranran... don't do this..."
It's strange, both Alphas and Omegas behave the same way when they're in heat. Shen Shiqian's scent made Feng Ran feel sticky and uncomfortable, and Feng Ran himself was also affected. He clearly couldn't handle such a strong stimulation and made some soft, whimpering sounds.
Feng Ran wasn't averse to the situation she had orchestrated. She snuggled closer to Shen Shiqian, and Shen Shiqian pushed her away with the force of a gentle tickle, which seemed to be a mix of resistance and attraction. The hem of Feng Ran's skirt, which was sitting on his lap, was soaked with his bodily fluids, which smelled fishy and bitter.
Feng Ran was secretly excited. It seemed that the high concentration of pheromones could only make Alphas more thirsty and sensitive when they were feverish, without the soothing effect of Omega. Even though nothing was done, Shen Shiqian had gone limp and wet. He leaned his head against the back of the sofa, and Feng Ran could not see his expression clearly.
Feng Ran licked her mark teeth, hoping that her knowledge of physiological health would be useful for homosexuals. She touched Shen Shiqian's face, about to give him a mark to end it all, but Shen Shiqian's eyes became hazy as he looked at her.
"Feng Ran..." he murmured, the pleasure distorting his rational perception into a phantom in the clouds. The image of the long-haired girl in front of him overlapped with the image of the man in the black suit. "Feng Ran... Feng Ran..."
Feng Ran was instantly horrified. She had never seen anything like this before. She jumped up from Shen Shiqian's body as if her fur had stood on end. This was illogical, too bizarre. Shen Shiqian was still lying there, calling her name tenderly and affectionately. Every sound was soft and infatuated, like a soft moan used in bed. Feng Ran just wanted to get as far away as possible.
She couldn't help but suspect that Shen Shiqian, despite his seemingly upright appearance, was actually a pervert at heart, harboring such intense desires for minors...
Feng Ran pursed her lips and stood by for a while, still unable to accept this contrast. But ultimately, she had gone too far first. She grabbed Shen Shiqian's wrist, bit it, stabbed it, paused briefly, then released it, tossed the wrist back, and stood up unhappily, arrogantly ordering the housekeeping robot around.
"Little Blue and Little Pink, take the Marshal back to his room, bandage his wrist, and make him a cup of Dereklin to cool him down."
The robot corrected her methodically: "Miss Fengran, Dereklin is an anesthetic, it can't reduce internal heat."
Of course she knew, she just wanted Shen Shiqian to lose his temper first. Sure enough, the Alpha mark was not comfortable. It was really sad to be a homosexual. Shen Shiqian's wrist had little flesh, and the bones were so hard that Feng Ran's teeth ached.
Feng Ran felt she needed to go out and calm down, but after glancing at the brand-new school uniform that Shen Shiqian had ruined again, she turned around and went back to her room, glaring fiercely at the robot: "You guys figure it out yourselves!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
