Chapter 140: Like Children?

Zhu Yuan twisted her body a few times, but the hand around her waist tightened, and Sheng Yu's open overcoat wrapped directly around her.

She flushed with shame and anger, "I'm 1.687 meters, I'm not short at all!"

This height is considered decent among girls, right?

At the very least, back in college, her height was in the upper-middle range of her class; how could she not be tall?

Unexpectedly, the man with his chin resting on her shoulder let out a low chuckle.

Sheng Yu looked up, watching her face flushed with anger, his eyes smiling, "Still 1.687 meters? If we sold that extra 0.7 by weight, would it fetch a bit more money?"

If it were before, Zhu Yuan would definitely have retorted that human trafficking is illegal.

But now, she didn't want to get entangled with him in these trivialities at all, "Can you let me go?"

"You get upset when I say you're short, so I won't say it anymore, okay?" Sheng Yu's hand reached into the overcoat and grabbed her hand; it was still cold.

The moment her hand was caught by him, Zhu Yuan's whole body stiffened, "It's not like everyone can grow to be 1.9 meters like you."

"How did you know I'm 1.9 meters?" Sheng Yu's low, magnetic voice carried a trace of imperceptible amusement.

"It's written on the encyclopedia."

Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow, "You looked up my information on the encyclopedia?"

Zhu Yuan let out a breath; she shouldn't have let him lead her by the nose.

Suddenly, the hand holding hers forced its fingers through the gaps between hers, interlacing them; her heart felt a numbing sensation like an electric shock.

Sheng Yu's eyes deepened, "The information on the encyclopedia is limited; if you want to know anything, you can ask me directly."

"I don't want to know," Zhu Yuan said urgently, "I have no interest in your affairs."

"No interest, yet you secretly looked me up on the encyclopedia?"

She had gone to the encyclopedia to look up his information because he had reminded her what day November 11th was, and she had guessed it was his birthday, so she went to verify it.

Zhu Yuan subconsciously squeezed her fingers, forgetting that she was currently interlaced with Sheng Yu.

So much so that the moment she curled her fingers, it felt like she was gripping Sheng Yu back—an ambiguous gesture that was hard to explain.

Soft fingertips pressed against the back of her hand, and Sheng Yu's breathing deepened as he pulled her closer; before Zhu Yuan could explain, the swing moved, and she was forced to lift her chin to meet the man's kiss.

In the house not far away, Qi Jing and Yuan Fengye, who were watching through the floor-to-ceiling window, simultaneously looked away.

The two met each other's eyes and saw shock in them.

Afterward, they awkwardly shifted their gazes; Qi Jing cleared his throat, and Yuan Fengye exclaimed in admiration, "Yu Ge is actually quite romantic."

Never mind that the two were in the middle of a cold war; just looking at this scene—snowy weather, a greenhouse swing, a handsome man and a beautiful woman of top-tier appearance—who wouldn't sigh and say it was too beautiful?

Sheng Yu slowly released Zhu Yuan's lips, his slightly rough thumb gently stroking her lip where he had bitten a mark, and said hoarsely, "I forgive you for the things you wronged me about."

Zhu Yuan glared at him in anger, pushed him away hard, and ran out of the greenhouse.

Watching her figure trot away, Sheng Yu stood up, gave the swing a push, and strode after her with his long legs.

When he entered the house, Yuan Fengye and Qi Jing saw that he had shed his previous gloom and looked refreshed, so they knew he was in a good mood now.

As for whether Zhu Yuan had been coaxed, one could tell from the way she had stormed into the house just a moment ago.

She hadn't been coaxed at all; only he himself was satisfied.

During dinner, Qi Qi wanted to sit next to Zhu Yuan; Zhu Yuan had Sheng Yu on her left and Qi Qi on her right.

Qi Qi was smiling and very happy, but suddenly she frowned and turned to ask Qi Jing, "Dad, why hasn't Auntie Dong Shu come yet?"

The adults at the table all paused at these words, except for Sheng Yu, who looked indifferent; he served a bowl of soup and placed it casually in front of Zhu Yuan.

Qi Jing thought for a moment and explained, "She has something to do and can't come."

This wasn't exactly a lie.

Qi Qi was still just a child, and since the theme of the day was inviting Zhu Yuan to dinner, she didn't take it too much to heart.

"I want to eat shrimp," Qi Qi said crisply.

Qi Jing grabbed a shrimp and started peeling it, but Qi Qi shook her head, "Hmm~ I want Auntie Yuanyuan to feed me."

Children always like to cling to new friends.

Qi Jing was in a bind, "Auntie Yuanyuan is hungry."

"It's no trouble," Zhu Yuan said, grabbing a shrimp and starting to peel the shell.

Qi Qi opened her little mouth, "Ah-woo!"

She chewed with her little mouth pursed, looking at Zhu Yuan from close range, when suddenly her gaze paused, and she pointed at Zhu Yuan's lips, "Auntie, what's wrong with your mouth? Was it bitten by something?"

Zhu Yuan's peeling motion paused; she hadn't expected Qi Qi to notice this and ask it just like that—most importantly, there were other people at the table.

She couldn't very well say it was bitten by Sheng Yu, could she?

Her face flushed red in an instant, "I, I was stung by a bee."

"Oh, so that's how it is," Qi Qi nodded, half-understanding.

Suddenly, she opened her round eyes wide and asked with full confusion, "Are there bees in the middle of winter? They come out when it's snowing, aren't they afraid of the cold?"

Zhu Yuan bit the bullet and nodded, "Some bees aren't afraid of the cold; they are very fierce."

Yuan Fengye wanted to laugh but didn't dare; Qi Jing cleared his throat, and both of them looked at Sheng Yu simultaneously.

Sheng Yu didn't change his expression as he put food in Zhu Yuan's bowl—it was the spicy chicken she liked, "Being stung by a bee drains your vitality; you should nourish yourself."

Zhu Yuan really wanted to throw the food in front of her into his face.

She wiped her hands clean, picked up some food and placed it in the plate in front of him, then covered the ears of Qi Qi, who was eating, so the child wouldn't hear, "You should nourish yourself too; you almost lost your chastity."

Watching her look of shame and anger, like a cat with its fur standing on end, Sheng Yu watched her with composure for a while, and only after seeing her earlobes turn red did he eat the food she had picked for him.

Yuan Fengye silently clinked glasses with Qi Jing; it was just a meal, so why was there such a good show to watch?

It was just that watching this show too much was a bit masochistic.

After the meal, Qi Qi yawned several times because she hadn't taken a nap, yet she still insisted on having Zhu Yuan play with her, but in less than five minutes, she fell asleep in Zhu Yuan's arms.

"Leave it to me," Qi Jing reached out, wanting to take Qi Qi from Zhu Yuan's arms.

Zhu Yuan said softly, "Let me take her back to her room, so as not to wake her."

She could tell that Qi Qi liked to cling to her; perhaps it was because Qi Qi had lacked a mother's company since she was little, so she was very fond of female elders.

"Then I will trouble you." Qi Jing gestured for the nanny to lead Zhu Yuan to Qi Qi's room.

Zhu Yuan placed Qi Qi on her little bed, gently covered her with the quilt, and only after ensuring she had not woken up did she tiptoe out of the room.

As she lifted her eyes, her whole body stiffened; Sheng Yu was standing by the door, his features appearing even more profound against the light, his gaze like a bottomless sea.

She walked to the doorway and closed the door behind her, the man's low, magnetic voice sounding in her ears: "Do you like children?"