Chapter 41: A Meeting Gift

Xu Yuan directed Chang Su and the housekeeper to carry the three suitcases upstairs one by one.

Gu Yan crouched in front of the art supply box, carefully checking the paints and brushes.

"Miss, shall I help you hang up your clothes?" Xu Yuan asked softly.

"Mm." Gu Yan didn't even look up, frowning at a tube of cobalt blue paint, "This tube seems to be running out... Xu Yuan, remember to help me order a few new ones tomorrow."

"Alright." Xu Yuan replied, unzipping the first suitcase.

She took the clothes out one by one and hung them in the wardrobe, saying as she did so, "I was nervous the whole way here, I thought I was going to be living under the same roof as Mr. Shen."

Fortunately, Chang Su told her later that she had been arranged to stay in the villa opposite the wooden house.

Gu Yan finally looked up from the pile of paints and laughed at her, "Are you that afraid of him?"

Xu Yuan: "It's not fear... it's just that the sense of oppression is too strong. When Mr. Shen stands there, I don't even dare to breathe too loudly."

"No backbone." Gu Yan shook her head and continued to lower her head to organize her art supplies.

Xu Yuan pursed her lips and smiled, continuing the movements of her hands. When her fingers reached into the suitcase compartment, they touched a small velvet bag.

She didn't think much of it, took it out naturally, and untied the drawstring.

Her movements froze.

The lace was so thin it was almost transparent in the sunlight.

No wonder Miss was so nervous last night; it was indeed a bit unsuitable for children.

She put the item back into the bag and stood up to walk to the wardrobe. She didn't tuck it deep inside, but instead placed it at the very front.

She even thoughtfully left the mouth of the bag slightly open to ensure it would be seen as soon as the wardrobe was opened.

A professional assistant must learn to guess their boss's thoughts.

Xu Yuan was very satisfied with herself.

Turning around, Gu Yan was still crouching in front of the art supply box, quickly sketching something on her sketchbook with a pencil.

The sunlight favored her too, as if plating her whole body in a layer of light.

"What is Miss drawing?" Xu Yuan walked over.

"A sea of clouds." Gu Yan didn't stop her pencil tip, "When the fog cleared just now, those layered waves of clouds... were too beautiful."

Xu Yuan stood behind her, watching the lines gradually taking shape on the sketchbook. With just a few strokes, the momentum of the surging clouds was already outlined.

"It's really beautiful," she said softly.

Gu Yan smiled, finally put down the pencil, and rubbed her wrist, "The paints are almost complete, I'm just missing a few large flat brushes; remember to order them together tomorrow."

Xu Yuan nodded, "Alright, I've noted it."

Gu Yan stood up, "There's nothing else here, you can go back. Get some good rest, consider the rest of the time a vacation."

——

Gu Yan came down from upstairs and saw Shen Yanhui sitting on the sofa with several documents spread out in front of him.

She deliberately softened her footsteps and quietly walked behind him.

Suddenly, she reached out to cover his eyes.

With her palms pressed against his warm eyelids, she could feel his eyelashes tremble slightly against her palms.

"Guess who I am?" She lowered her voice, deliberately making it raspy.

Shen Yanhui didn't move, but the corners of his lips curled up imperceptibly: "Gu Yan."

"Wrong." She tightened her fingers a little, "Guess again."

He raised his hand and grasped her wrist. His palm was warm, and his fingertips gently rubbed against her wrist bone.

"Then let me think." There was a faint smile in his voice, "Is it some troublemaking little kid?"

Gu Yan hummed, let go of her hands, but didn't move away from behind him.

Instead, keeping this posture, she leaned over his shoulders, resting her chin on his shoulder: "You're the little kid."

Shen Yanhui turned his face to the side, his nose almost touching hers: "Then what am I?"

"You are..." her eyes darted around, "you are the person supervising your work."

"And what has the supervision found?"

"It found that..." she leaned closer, her lips almost brushing his earlobe, "Boss Shen's profile looks especially good when he's working."

Shen Yanhui's eyes deepened.

He put down the documents, swept his arm backward, and pulled her over from behind the sofa.

The movement was fast and steady; Gu Yan let out a soft cry, and her whole body had already fallen into his arms.

"Only the profile looks good?"

Gu Yan reached out to cup his face, "Everything looks good."

Shen Yanhui: "Sweet talker."

Gu Yan pinched his face and hummed: "Just tell me, do you love hearing it or not?"

Shen Yanhui felt that she was becoming increasingly lawless, his eyes narrowing slightly. The next second, he pinned her hands behind her back and bit down on that thin shoulder strap.

The strap quickly slid down onto her arm.

Gu Yan's hands were trapped, and she could only watch as her charms were gradually revealed.

"You..."

Before the words were finished, his kiss had already landed on her collarbone.

Gu Yan felt ticklish and wanted to dodge backward, but she was firmly held in place and could only let him leave ambiguous marks on her collarbone.

Just at this moment, a knock on the door sounded.

"Bang, bang, bang."

Three times, neither light nor heavy.

Gu Yan shuddered all over and hurriedly reached out to pull up her shoulder strap.

Shen Yanhui looked up, his eyes showing displeasure. He picked up the shawl nearby and draped it over the young girl's shoulders in a leisurely manner.

Not until the red marks were completely covered did he say coldly, "Come in."

The door was pushed open.

Sheng Ze stood at the doorway, carrying a dark blue velvet gift box in his hand. Seeing the scene in the living room, he paused his steps and blinked his eyes.

"Yo," he drawled, "looks like I've interrupted you two again?"

That word "again."

Gu Yan knew at once who this person was—the man who had barged into the cruise ship lounge.

To be caught by him time and again, she didn't know what to say.

Shen Yanhui's tone was impatient: "What are you here for?"

"So prickly? I heard you two had gone into the mountains, so I came specifically to pay a visit, didn't I?"

"You've paid your visit; see yourself out."

Sheng Ze was choked up, a rare moment of being deflated.

Gu Yan couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips; usually, she only heard of how these princelings were dashing and unrestrained, and stories of them throwing away thousands of gold, but she never expected to see him looking so deflated.

Sheng Ze was sharp, too; the moment he saw Gu Yan smile, he climbed right up the pole.

"This must be my sister-in-law, right?"

Gu Yan nodded generously, "Mr. Sheng."

"Just call me Sheng Ze."

He ignored the cold air Shen Yanhui was radiating and sat down on a single sofa nearby as if he were an old friend.

"First time meeting, just a small token of my regard."

Gu Yan looked at the velvet gift box in his hand, inside which lay a diamond bracelet.

It wasn't a common thin chain, but one composed of a whole row of pavé-set diamonds, with a pigeon-egg-sized Burmese ruby dangling in the center.

Even though Gu Yan was used to seeing fine things, she was still stunned.

This was far too valuable.

Shen Yanhui glanced at it and commented indifferently, "Flashy and gaudy; your taste is as poor as ever."

Sheng Ze: "?"

This was something he had spent a huge sum of money to snatch from a bunch of people, and all he got was a comment that his taste was poor?

"I'm giving it to my sister-in-law, what are you blindly criticizing for?" Sheng Ze snorted, then turned to look at Gu Yan, "Sister-in-law, what do you think?"

Gu Yan: "... I think it's quite nice."

Sheng Ze: "..."

Fine, it seems his taste really was bad.

Shen Yanhui leaned back against the chair and said lazily, "But since you've given it, just keep it."

Sheng Ze: "?"

Why did giving this gift feel so stifling?