“Sorry.” Shen Yu’s voice was hoarse.
Li Miao stared at him for two seconds, then turned and left without a word.
This was the first time since his reincarnation that he had been this angry.
Only Shen Yu was left standing there for a long time.
Li Miao planned to give Shen Yu the cold shoulder. He was too incompetent. As a dog, he didn’t even know what his Master hated. But just before bed, the butler hesitated, then knocked on Li Miao’s door.
“Second Young Master.”
“What is it?” Li Miao looked up, expressionless.
Everyone in the villa could tell that Li Miao was in a bad mood today.
“Outside…” the butler hesitated. “It seems to be Student Shen.”
Li Miao froze.
He frowned and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Whoosh… the curtains were drawn open.
Outside the villa, a figure sat by the roadside. In the moonlight, his shadow stretched long, making him look lonely.
Shen Yu had come at some unknown time.
Like a statue, he didn’t move at all.
“Since when has security at Rose Garden been this bad?” Li Miao curled his lips in a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “If he wants to stay, let him stay.”
“Wait,” Li Miao suddenly said with a smile, calling the butler back.
His smile was wicked. “Tell him that if he waits for me outside until dawn, I’ll forgive him.”
Then Li Miao snapped the curtains shut, turned around, and went to bed.
Shen Yu sat by the roadside, watching the lights in the villa go out one by one.
His gaze lingered on the second-floor room with its curtains tightly closed. That was Li Miao’s room.
Whenever he closed his eyes, his mind was filled with Li Miao’s every smile and frown.
The way he carried himself so recklessly and flamboyantly.
His arrogant, overbearing pride.
And his… angry expression.
Was this what liking someone felt like? Shen Yu felt lost for the first time.
He had never felt such intense emotions for anyone.
He wanted to get closer to him, closer and closer.
In the middle of the night, Li Miao was jolted awake by thunder.
Or maybe he had never fallen asleep at all.
In any case, he lay on the bed with clear eyes, listening to the raindrops outside the window begin to fall, each one as big as a bean.
At first they came sporadically, then they turned into a downpour.
Li Miao stared expressionlessly at the ceiling for five minutes, then rolled over and sat up.
Outside the villa, a figure in a black hoodie was curled into a ball.
Shen Yu was still in the same spot, knees drawn up, arms wrapped around his legs.
Like a wet Border Collie.
Its tail hung low.
The rain was heavy, and the night was cold.
Then, suddenly, the rain stopped.
No, the rain hadn’t stopped. Someone had come to hold an umbrella over him.
Shen Yu opened his eyes. In front of him, the warm light from a streetlamp outlined a slender figure holding an umbrella.
Shen Yu turned around. Li Miao held the umbrella steadily, expressionless, eyes lowered, like a god.
Ten minutes later, the villa lights came on.
The living room sprang to life. One servant went to get blankets, another handed over towels.
Li Miao was still in a bad mood. “Are you stupid? Don’t you know to get out of the rain?”
“Sorry.” Shen Yu lowered his eyes.
Li Miao had gone out in a hurry and was still wearing slippers, so now most of his feet were wet.
Suddenly, Shen Yu crouched down, pulled a tissue from the table, and carefully dried Li Miao’s feet.
The butler came over carrying a bowl of hot ginger soup. Seeing this, he froze in surprise, then gently set the ginger soup on the coffee table, silently withdrew, and took all the servants with him.
Only two people remained in the living room.
“Is that all you have to say?” Li Miao’s eyes were cool.
“If this is because you want to repay a favor, then leave. I don’t want to see your unwilling expression, and I’m not interested in watching you act.”
“As long as you walk out that door right now, what I said about making you my dog is immediately void. The fact that I saved your life is wiped clean too. We’ll go our separate ways and never have anything to do with each other again.”
“No…” Shen Yu looked up at him.
He was drenched through and through. He looked like a huge wet dog, and his eyes were wet too when he looked up at someone.
Li Miao waited quietly for his answer.
“No, I’m not acting.” Shen Yu explained. “I… I’m not unwilling.”
“Really,” Shen Yu looked at Li Miao, “I’m doing this willingly.”
Li Miao had long since guessed Shen Yu’s choice.
Of course he knew Shen Yu couldn’t leave him.
The carrot-and-stick PUA tactic worked every time.
When a dog made a mistake, he had to let it know the consequences, so it wouldn’t dare to do it again.
How could his dog, Li Miao’s dog, overstep its place and seize the initiative?
Whether you, major villain, are acting or telling the truth, at this moment you have to behave.
If it’s true, that’s best.
If it’s acting… then that’s even more exciting.
“Good.” Li Miao finally showed a smile, lifting Shen Yu’s face in his hands. “Remember this: I hate it most when dogs are disobedient. If one day I catch you doing something I don’t like again, I won’t be softhearted.”
“Okay, I’ll remember.” Shen Yu’s black eyes were full of seriousness, able to hold only Li Miao.
“Go drink the ginger soup.” Li Miao stood up. “Stay in the guest room tonight.”
The system, having watched the whole thing, was dead silent.
Its host was way too crazy.
When the ending came, would Shen Yu draw and quarter him, or tear him to pieces?
Li Miao’s attempt to derail the plot was a success, but in a sense it was also a failure, because after the masquerade ball, just like in the previous life, everyone knew that Shen Xingze and Jiang Luo were a couple.
However, the price of their public announcement was far more severe than in the previous life.
Being kicked out of the masquerade ball in front of the entire grade was a first since Nan’en was founded.
For a while, Jiang Luo and Shen Xingze became the center of attention for the entire grade.
The two of them had their first fight in this life.
This was a plot that hadn’t existed in the previous life. In the previous life, around this time, the two of them were in the sweet and sticky stage of flirting.
After yet another bad parting with Shen Xingze, Jiang Luo walked along Chunhui Lake at school with red-rimmed eyes.
Senior Jin Lai noticed how lost he looked and thought he might be about to do something stupid.
No matter how long Jiang Luo sat by the lake, Little Sun Jin Lai stayed with him for just as long.
Thus, Jiang Luo came to know the second of F4… Little Sun Jin Lai.
『Hiss… this plot has moved up. Originally, Jiang Luo was supposed to meet Jin Lai next semester. It was probably because Jiang Luo and Shen Xingze argued earlier.』
This was all Li Miao learned from the system. He didn’t have the time to circle around Jiang Luo.
During this period, he had been confirming the first investment target with Fu Hao.
After some investigation, the two of them finally settled on an internet startup with huge growth potential but a shortage of funds: Diejie.
The next class was archery. Li Miao walked with one hand in his pocket, with Shen Yu following behind him carrying both of their equipment.
“I really can’t stand this,” Ji Zhou had been babbling the whole way without stopping. “My dad seems to be planning to retire recently. He’s been staying home more and more, and it’s making it impossible for me to go out and have fun.”
Like Li Miao, Ji Zhou was not the eldest son in the family. In other words, neither of them was the heir to the company.
So the two of them were both spoiled rich kids through and through. After all, if the sky fell, there were older brothers to hold it up.
“Mm.” Li Miao answered casually, letting him know he was listening. Ji Zhou didn’t need Li Miao’s reply at all; he could talk to himself all day.
Li Miao’s gaze was fixed on the front left.
Jiang Luo was carrying a bow and arrows, walking quickly beside Shen Xingze.
Shen Xingze was nearly a head taller than Jiang Luo. It took Jiang Luo three steps to cover what Shen Xingze covered in two, but Shen Xingze showed no sign of slowing down to wait for him.
Arguing again?
Li Miao was happy.