Chapter 497: Living Together

The Chen living room.

Under the bright chandelier, everyone's micro-expressions were illuminated clearly.

Seeing Shen Yan and her eldest daughter whispering in front of her, Wei Wenli temporarily withdrew her focus from her youngest daughter and said in a half-joking tone, "It seems you two young people are getting along quite well."

Hearing this, Yin Yezi felt a tightness in her heart, her gaze darting back and forth between the two, trying to discern something.

Upon their first meeting, the scene of Shen Yan in high spirits on the podium had left a profound impression on Yin Yezi; after close contact, it had even birthed an unprecedented feeling.

Heart racing, palms sweating.

This was the first time Yin Yezi had wanted to understand a boy, unable to help herself from wanting to look at him a few more times.

It was all Shen Yan's fault—why did he have to look at people with that "deeply affectionate" gaze, causing her Dao heart to collapse, yet he acted as if nothing had happened?

Now, Yin Yezi finally understood the reason.

Shen Yan seemed to have a close relationship with the sister she had never met, and the only reason he looked at her with that gaze was because the two sisters looked extremely alike.

Thinking of her own self-righteous behavior earlier, Yin Yezi couldn't help but blush, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Ahhh! I want to die!

Shen Yan must have thought she was ridiculous at the time.

Sigh! I, Yin Yezi, am truly not favored by the heavens.

Having drifted from place to place since childhood and tasted all the bitterness of life, now that she had finally met a man who caught her eye, the buds of affection were nipped before they could even sprout.

Shen Yan naturally did not know that he had inadvertently stirred a young girl's heart again. Facing Wei Wenli's meaningful gaze, he smiled faintly and said ambiguously, "It's thanks to Aunt Wei's good genes that you gave birth to such an elegant and intelligent daughter."

Chen Shanni was a bit embarrassed by the praise and quietly lowered her head to eat, masking her emotions.

She also kicked Shen Yan with her foot.

She didn't know why she kicked him; she just did it subconsciously.

"Haha! You child really have a sweet tongue."

Wei Wenli was coaxed into a wide grin, the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes appearing.

As the saying goes: "A mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law and finds him more pleasing the more she looks."

This perfectly described Wei Wenli's current state of mind.

This remark nakedly indicated that Shen Yan held affection for her eldest daughter.

They might even be dating already.

No, she would have to interrogate her eldest daughter later.

Chen Jun's thoughts were identical to Wei Wenli's, and the smile on his face was completely uncontrollable; he thought very highly of this young man who, like himself, had started from nothing.

A person cannot choose their background, but they can rewrite their own destiny.

He firmly believed that Shen Yan would have a place in the internet industry.

To have such a brilliant son-in-law, Chen Jun naturally could ask for nothing more.

As if remembering something, Chen Jun turned his head to look at the taciturn Yin Yezi: "Yezi, how long is the freshmen's military training this time?"

Yin Yezi replied twenty days.

"How about this: Dad will ask the school for leave. Since our family has finally reunited, you come with Dad to Shanghai for a short stay."

Wei Wenli chimed in without delay: "Yes, yes, then Mom will take you around and prepare some supplements to nourish your body; your complexion isn't very good."

Uh...

Yin Yezi hesitated, both longing to spend more time with her parents and not quite accustomed to this sudden concern.

Most importantly, they weren't familiar enough yet, and she always felt it was quite awkward.

She couldn't even bring herself to call them Mom and Dad.

But facing her parents' expectant gazes, Yin Yezi couldn't bring herself to refuse, and finally, she thought of a compromise.

"I want to spend some time with my sister first, and go to Shanghai after National Day."

Perhaps because they looked so similar, Yin Yezi found the word "sister" incredibly easy to say. Chen Shanni was stunned, a pleasant curve quietly forming at the corners of her mouth.

The feeling of having a younger sister wasn't bad.

"Yezi..." Wei Wenli opened her mouth, about to say something, but was interrupted by Chen Jun first.

"That works too. Then you two sisters get along well; Mom and Dad will wait for you in Shanghai."

Hearing her husband say that, Wei Wenli had no choice but to drop it.

In truth, she could feel an invisible barrier between herself and her youngest daughter, blocking the bond between mother and child.

Wei Wenli could understand this feeling, and even more so, she understood her husband's intention. If two strangers suddenly appeared claiming to be her biological parents, she certainly wouldn't be able to accept it immediately either.

Yin Yezi felt a sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

At this moment, Chen Jun instructed Chen Shanni again: "Shanni, you are the older sister, so take good care of your younger sister. Also, military training is so exhausting; Yezi is a frail girl and surely won't be able to handle it. You find an excuse tomorrow to help her ask the instructor for leave."

"Dad has business at the company to handle, so I have to rush back to Shanghai after dinner."

"Okay!" Chen Shanni nodded, feeling inexplicably sour inside.

When she had military training last year, she hadn't seen Chen Jun ask for leave for her, yet now that it was her sister's turn, he was being so meticulous.

No wonder some children don't like their siblings, feeling that they have stolen their parents' love.

So this is what that feels like.

After dinner, Chen Jun and Shen Yan discussed company financing for a while before setting off on their return journey without delay. Before leaving, Wei Wenli pulled Yin Yezi aside to fuss over her and handed her a bank card.

There were one hundred thousand inside.

Buy whatever daily necessities you need, and if it's not enough, I'll add more.

Yin Yezi, who had never seen so much money, couldn't help but gasp.

The family seemed to be unusually wealthy; had she turned from a wild pheasant into a phoenix?

Shen Family bathroom.

Shen Yan, who was taking a shower, hummed a little tune contentedly: "It's not because I'm lonely that I miss you, it's just because I'm lonely that I miss you, when the tears fall..."

I don't know why, but some songs only feel right when sung while taking a bath.

At this moment, Chen Shanni's voice rang out from outside the door.

"Shen Yan, are you taking a bath inside?"

"Mm!"

Chen Shanni didn't make another sound until the sound of water inside stopped, then she asked: "Are you done yet? I'm coming in?"

"Come on in, it's not like you haven't seen it before."

A captivating blush spread across Chen Shanni's face; the next moment, the bathroom door was opened from the outside, and what came into view was a robust body.

On his lower body was a pair of blue boxer shorts.

He was holding an electric shaver in his hand, standing in front of the mirror to tidy up his appearance.

Although such a scene was long since common practice, Chen Shanni still couldn't help but feel shy, and immediately she stepped forward to wrap her arms around Shen Yan's lower abdomen from behind.

Her delicate body pressed tightly against his robust back.

Her nose twitched slightly; the scent of the body wash after a shower was especially pleasant.

Shen Yan's shaving motion paused, and he keenly sensed the good girl's abnormality: "What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"

Chen Shanni shook her head gently: "No, it's just that I feel like after Yezi appeared, Mom and Dad don't care about me as much anymore. At dinner, they kept putting food in Yezi's bowl, their eyes were full of only Yezi, and they even made me ask for leave for Yezi. I didn't even ask for leave during military training last year."