Chapter 150: Living with the Wife from Now On

Sheng Ze did not go in to disturb the two of them; he came silently, and left just as silently.

Gu Yan did not even notice.

By evening, after she finished her bath and came out of the bathroom, she found Shen Yanhui sitting by the side of the bed, holding a paintbrush in his hand with a palette placed beside him.

Her footsteps paused: "What are you doing?"

Shen Yanhui: "Painting."

Gu Yan was even more puzzled; painting late at night was one thing, but furthermore: "You know how to paint?"

"Mm, come here."

Gu Yan walked over and sat down, feeling completely bewildered.

His gaze landed on her, from top to bottom, slowly tracing her over, as if measuring something.

Gu Yan felt that something was not quite right.

This gaze did not look like he was looking at anything proper.

"Are you... planning to paint what?" she asked vigilantly.

He did not speak, only reached out and pulled the belt of her bathrobe. The bathrobe instantly came undone, sliding down to her shoulders.

Gu Yan: "?"

She held down his hand: "What are you doing!"

Yet he took the opportunity to push her down, his eyes filled with a smile: "Painting you."

"Painting... me?"

"Mm, painting you," he said unhurriedly, "painting on you."

Gu Yan's alarm bells rang loudly; she could no longer care about the state of her bathrobe being wide open and her clothes scattered, her first reaction was to run.

She flipped over and crawled toward the other side of the bed.

Before she had crawled two steps, her ankle was gripped by a hand. With a gentle tug, her entire body was dragged back, and she fell backward onto the bed.

He leaned over, his hands braced on either side of her, trapping her in his embrace: "What are you running for?"

She glared at him: "You tell me what I'm running for?"

He was composed: "You've painted me before, too."

Gu Yan wanted to say, can that be the same? She did it for art, but what was he doing it for now?

"I helped you once, you help me once, it's fair, isn't it?"

Gu Yan subconsciously wanted to retort, but he lowered his head and continued to whisper in her ear: "Today is my birthday."

The young girl indeed hesitated for a moment.

Shen Yanhui's voice was low, carrying a hint of seduction: "The birthday boy is the most important, isn't he?"

The young girl was clearly wavering.

He continued: "So, is it excessive for the birthday boy to want to paint a picture on you?"

Gu Yan looked at him, looking at the mischievous smile in his eyes.

She wanted to say no, wanted to say it was excessive, wanted to say Shen Yanhui, don't be too excessive...

But today was his birthday.

The words reached her lips and turned into a soft mutter: "... Then you can only paint one."

Shen Yanhui curled the corners of his lips: "Mm."

She bit her lip: "You can't paint strange places."

"Okay."

"... Then hurry up and paint."

Gu Yan simply closed her eyes, out of sight, out of mind.

Shen Yanhui chuckled, straightened his body, picked up the paintbrush, and dipped it into some pigment on the palette.

She lay on the bed, her bathrobe scattered on both sides, her whole person completely exposed before his eyes. Her snow-white skin could compare to the most expensive canvas.

His gaze deepened as he held the brush and let it fall lightly onto her collarbone.

The cool touch made her tremble slightly.

His brush tip slowly traced along her collarbone, leaving a pale golden trail. It was very light, but it tickled.

Gu Yan bit her lip, her eyelashes fluttering; she looked so pitiful.

"Ice skin and jade bones," he suddenly spoke, his voice low, "naturally cool and without sweat."

"..." He was actually reciting poetry.

The brush tip continued to wander over her body, from her collarbone to her shoulder, from her shoulder to her arm, winding all the way.

Golden lines spread out on her fair skin, and her breathing began to grow ragged.

Every inch of skin where the brush tip passed was burning hot.

Gu Yan couldn't help but open her eyes, catching sight of his focused profile.

"Shen Yanhui..."

"Mm?"

He responded, but the brush did not stop. The tip paused at her heart, tapping lightly.

"Here."

Gu Yan looked down and saw a small flower had appeared there. It was pale gold, its petals unfurled as if it had just bloomed.

He switched to a fine brush, dipped it in a bit of red, and tapped it lightly at the heart of the flower.

In that instant, her whole body trembled.

His brush was too light.

But before she could adapt, the tip of the brush moved down again. Lower abdomen, waist, and...

Gu Yan's body trembled slightly, and she bit her lip hard to keep her voice from spilling out.

"Shen Yanhui... are you done painting yet..." She called to him, her voice impossibly soft.

He put down the brush, looked at the young girl's wet eyes, and said in a low voice, "Not yet."

Gu Yan chided him, "Then hurry up!"

He didn't speak, only gently brushed his finger over that little flower. The pigment smeared a little, blurring the edges.

His finger continued downward, following those golden lines, bit by bit.

Her body trembled slightly with his finger.

"Just a few strokes left," he said suddenly.

Gu Yan met his gaze, and her heart gave a tug. She didn't know what she was nervous about, only feeling that dark tides seemed to be surging at the bottom of his eyes.

Shen Yanhui lowered his head and kissed that flower.

His lips landed on her heart, warm and moist.

Gu Yan let out a soft hum.

His kisses began to follow those golden traces downward, tracing them with great patience.

Her hands gripped the bedsheets tightly.

When he kissed her lower abdomen, her body couldn't help but lift upward, as if she were begging for something.

Shen Yanhui let out a low laugh: "Want it?"

Gu Yan turned her face away, refusing to say it.

He kissed her again.

She finally couldn't hold back and whispered, "... Want it." After saying it, her face was completely red, and her whole body was trembling slightly.

"Good."

Gu Yan's memory of what followed was a bit blurry; she only remembered that he insisted she answer him whether her reaction was cold.

She was being * to the point of speechlessness, yet still had to have her meaning misinterpreted by him, ushering in an even more intense possession.

It was truly a grievance she couldn't voice.

——

The two of them stayed lovey-dovey like this, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year.

The winter in Jingzhou was dry and cold, with a thin layer of white frost on the windows. The plane trees by the street were bare, their branches reaching toward the gray sky, looking very desolate.

But the Shen Family Old Residence was lively.

Shen Yanhui brought Gu Yan back to the old residence to handle some year-end trifles; the moment they stepped over the threshold, they were completely surrounded by various so-called relatives.

"Yanyan is back? Are you tired from the journey? Hurry inside and rest!"

"This is this year's newly arrived blood bird's nest; I specifically entrusted someone to bring it from Nanyang. You keep it to nourish your body."

"I have a few bolts of Suzhou embroidery over there; I'll have someone send them over later. A young lady like you will surely look beautiful wearing them."

Gu Yan was a bit bewildered by this display.

These people—they didn't have this look on their faces when she came last time. At that time, they all held the airs of elders, their eyes filled with scrutiny and pickiness, wishing they could look her over from head to toe.

And now?

Their faces were piled with smiles, the wrinkles at the corners of their eyes almost squeezing out, and every other word was "you" (honorific).

She glanced at Shen Yanhui, who was standing to the side.

He was leaning against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets, looking like it had nothing to do with him, yet the corners of his mouth were slightly curved.

That was clearly the expression of someone watching a show.

Gu Yan understood instantly.

Then she wouldn't be polite either, smiling and responding as she walked inside.

She collected gifts all the way in.

When she finally returned to the room and looked at the gift boxes piled on the table and floor, almost forming a small mountain, her eyes went wide.

"Are... are these all for me?"

She turned her head to look at Shen Yanhui, who had followed her in.

"Yours," he said with a doting tone.

Gu Yan froze for a second, then threw herself into the pile of gifts.

"Wow—" She picked up a box and shook it, then picked up another and weighed it.

"Shen Yanhui, Shen Yanhui! Look at this!" She held up a brocade box and opened it; inside was a pair of ruby earrings, the quality excellent, shimmering in the light. "Is it pretty?"

He took a look: "Pretty."

She unwrapped another, a cashmere shawl: "How about this one?"

"Mm."

She didn't mind his perfunctoriness, happy as could be, draped the shawl over herself, and spun around in front of the mirror.

"I look good in this, right?"

He walked over, wrapped his arms around her from behind, rested his chin on her shoulder, and looked at the two of them in the mirror.

"You look good in everything."

She curved her eyes and ran off to unwrap the next one.

The room was soon covered in wrapping paper and ribbons. She sat in the middle of the mess, holding a pearl bracelet in her hand, shining it against the light, then taking it down to compare it against her wrist.

"These people are too generous," she muttered, "it wasn't like this when I came last time."

He let out a low chuckle: "It's different now."

Gu Yan understood, of course; she was now the largest shareholder of the Shen Corporation, holding the economic lifeline of those people, so naturally they had to flatter and fawn over her.

Chang Su came in from outside and called out in a low voice: "Sir."

Shen Yanhui raised his eyes: "What is it?"

Chang Su glanced at Gu Yan, then looked back at him: "News has come from Qiongzhou; they say the old master wants to return to the capital for the New Year."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly went quiet for a moment.

The movement of Gu Yan's hands paused, and she looked up at Shen Yanhui.

There was no expression on his face; he simply lowered his eyes and tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop twice.

"Refuse."

Chang Su nodded, preparing to leave.

Shen Yanhui spoke again: "Tell him that from now on, I will not be spending the New Year at the Shen Residence."

Chang Su was stunned for a moment: "Then..."

Shen Yanhui withdrew his gaze and let it fall upon Gu Yan.

She was sitting amidst a pile of gifts, clutching a newly unwrapped necklace in her hand, looking up at him with bright eyes.

"From now on, I will spend it with my wife."

Gu Yan could not suppress the corners of her mouth.