Chapter 96: Pitying Me Again?

The cold wind blew all night, only stopping when the sky brightened.

Sheng Yu opened his eyes and felt a soft bundle in his arms.

He lowered his head to take a look; Zhu Yuan was still asleep.

It must have been because things were too intense the night before last, and she hadn't been able to rest properly.

Held captive in his arms all night, she had gone from initial stiffness to the relaxed softness of sleep.

Her cold hands and feet were warmed by his body heat.

With her head resting on his arm and her face forced against his chest, her naturally pale, rosy skin had flushed even deeper, like a ripe peach.

Sheng Yu couldn't help but reach out to brush the hair from her cheek; at this touch, Zhu Yuan's eyelids flickered, showing signs of waking.

The man withdrew his hand.

Then, Zhu Yuan slowly opened her eyes.

Caught off guard by a pair of deep, dark eyes, she panicked and instinctively closed her eyes again.

"Thinking it's a nightmare again?" The man's voice, fresh from sleep, was slightly hoarse, carrying a hint of ambiguity that disturbed the morning's tranquility.

"No." After Zhu Yuan opened her eyes and glanced at him, she sat up quickly.

She had actually slept the whole night like this with Sheng Yu.

Not because she had passed out from exhaustion or been worn out, but simply sleeping.

Sheng Yu propped up his upper body, shook his stiff, numb arm, and stared at her slightly flustered face. "Not very bright, but your head is quite heavy."

Zhu Yuan lowered her head to straighten the buttons on her clothes, her hands pausing; it was clearly he who had forcibly pulled her into his arms, refusing to let her speak or leave.

Later, she had felt the bed was very warm, so warm that her bones felt soft and she just wanted to sleep.

She didn't speak, but seeing the photo albums, frames, and old items scattered across the end of the bed, she pursed her lips, walked over, knelt down, and picked them up one by one.

She wasn't prying into Sheng Yu's secrets, just putting everything back into the box.

Watching her kneel there in silence to tidy up, Sheng Yu's hand, which was fastening his buttons, paused; outside the window, dark clouds gathered, and a shadow seemed to fall over his eyes.

"Zhu Yuan." He walked over, grabbed Zhu Yuan's arm, pulled her into his arms, and casually tossed the photo album in her hand into the box.

Sheng Yu stared into her eyes. "Pitying me again?"

Zhu Yuan's pupils trembled; her actions just now had indeed been bold, as she had harbored the intention of pleasing him, hoping to soften his heart.

But facing Sheng Yu's interrogation, it would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous.

However, before she could speak, Sheng Yu's voice dropped a notch. "Why did you stay last night? With your temper, even if Situ stopped you, you would have found a way to leave."

As he asked, his grip on Zhu Yuan's wrist tightened, and Zhu Yuan was forced against his chest, feeling his powerful heartbeat.

The two hearts were almost pressed together.

At such close range, would a lie be heard?

She bit the inside of her lip and quickly looked out the window, as if to escape the question. "I don't know."

An uncertain answer is not easy to find holes in.

The man pinched her chin and turned her face back, his gaze deepening. "You don't know?"

Stared at by his profound gaze, Zhu Yuan's heartbeat became a chaotic sea, rising and falling.

"I don't know means I don't know."

"Does what you said last night still count?" She changed the subject.

Her tone, while cautious, revealed a trace of panic, a cover-up to avoid having her true thoughts exposed.

Sheng Yu stared at her for a moment, inexplicably finding her pleasing. "After breakfast, let Enzo take you to the theater."

Zhu Yuan murmured an acknowledgment, the corners of her mouth curving up, and she ran quickly into the bathroom to wash up.

Once the door was closed, she lowered her head and breathed cautiously, her nails nearly piercing her palms.

Watching the bathroom door close, Sheng Yu withdrew his gaze and glanced at the cardboard box on the floor.

After he finished washing up in the guest bedroom, Situ was having the servants bring the gifts everyone had given last night into the room.

A table was covered with gift boxes of all sizes.

Sheng Yu walked over, reached out to flip through them, and saw the names of the givers written on the boxes.

"Where is Zhu Yuan's?"

Situ was stunned. "I didn't see a gift from Miss Zhu."

Seeing the man's expression darken, Situ thought for a moment and said, "Miss Zhu came over from the Hot Spring Villa yesterday; she might not have had the gift with her."

When Zhu Yuan came downstairs, she happened to see Sheng Yu standing in front of the pile of gifts.

Her footsteps faltered; the gift she had bought for Sheng Yu had been taken by Pei Ling, and she had no gift on her at all.

She had hugged his waist at midnight to wish him a happy birthday, but knowing it was his birthday and not having a gift prepared—would he be angry again?

Just as she was about to return to her room and pretend she hadn't come downstairs yet, the man keenly caught her movement.

"Stop."

Zhu Yuan's heart rose to her throat, and she had no choice but to go downstairs and walk to Sheng Yu.

Just when she thought Sheng Yu was asking her for a gift, he only said, "Go eat breakfast."

Zhu Yuan was slightly stunned, and Situ glanced at Sheng Yu before quickly lowering his head.

Young Master Yu was actually not angry.

Watching Sheng Yu walk away, Zhu Yuan hesitated for two seconds and called out to him, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"No appetite," Sheng Yu said flatly, but he still stopped when he heard her voice.

Zhu Yuan immediately thought of a remedy. She said, "Eat a little; not eating breakfast is bad for your health. If you have no appetite, shall I cook you some noodles?"

"Want to add millet chili water again?" Sheng Yu looked at her.

Zhu Yuan's cheeks grew slightly warm. "Not this time."

The man neither said yes nor no, so Zhu Yuan took the initiative and said, "Sit for a while, it will be quick."

Finally, the man gave a hum of agreement.

Ten-odd minutes later, Zhu Yuan carried a bowl of noodles to the dining room and placed it in front of Sheng Yu.

Her cooking skills were average, but she was decent at boiling noodles. The vegetable noodles had a poached egg added and were sprinkled with a bit of chopped green onion, looking quite good.

But it was still a bit too plain, and it wasn't as if the kitchen lacked ingredients.

Sheng Yu glanced at her, and she hurriedly said, "This is the way to make Changshoumian. It seems there isn't a custom of eating Changshoumian on birthdays in Jingdu City; I grew up in Yucheng, and I had to eat Changshoumian every birthday. I'm making it up to you today as a gift from me."

She had thought about lying to Sheng Yu that a gift was at home, but if she really went to buy one today, Sheng Yu would know she was lying if he took the trouble to check.

She was afraid that if she told too many lies, she wouldn't be able to keep her story straight.

Sheng Yu heard it clearly; so, she really hadn't prepared a gift for him.

He picked up his chopsticks with a cold face and lifted the noodles; this time the noodles were not clumped, and the taste of the soup was just right.

"Is it good?"

Sheng Yu looked at that face showing an expectant expression, and in a tone like coaxing a child, he frowned, "So-so."

Zhu Yuan translated it automatically: "That means it's good. Yuan Fengye said that if it doesn't taste good, you always start scolding directly."

"You believe his words that much?"

The man's tone was unfriendly.

Zhu Yuan was stunned for a moment, then showed an appearance of trying hard to endure and not letting herself show a look of disappointment.

She lowered her head and didn't speak, quietly eating her own breakfast.

Sheng Yu suddenly gripped his chopsticks tightly, and a few seconds later, said in a low voice, "It's good."

Zhu Yuan raised her head and glanced at him, a complex look flashing across the bottom of her eyes, but when she saw Sheng Yu about to bite through the noodle, she spoke up to stop him: "Changshoumian cannot be bitten through."

"Troublesome!"

Though he said it was troublesome, Sheng Yu did not bite through the noodles afterward, and the bowl of noodles reached the bottom, with the soup finished as well.

In the courtyard of the Sheng Family Old Residence, a black sedan pulled to a stop.

Situ got out of the car to open the door, Sheng Yu stepped down from the car, and the servants all around lowered their heads.

It was not just his one-meter-nine height that was full of oppressive force; the cold aura on his body alone made people afraid to face him directly.

He glanced at the butler, and the butler immediately lowered his head and said, "Young Master, the guests have arrived."

"What guests?" Sheng Yu strode inside with his long legs.

The old lady had only told him over the phone to return to the old residence once.

The butler didn't dare to speak, fearing he would be hit by Sheng Yu, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "They are guests invited by the old madam."

Sheng Yu walked through the door, seeing first Sheng Hongyao in the main seat and the old Madam Sheng sitting to the side, and only then did he see Dong Shu in the guest seat, as well as Dong Shu's parents.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.