After Shen Xiying had the household servants clear away all the dishes from the table, she was about to head upstairs.
The door opened.
Shang Ruzhou was back.
Shen Xiying froze for a full two seconds, then walked down from the stairway.
She headed toward the door.
Shang Ruzhou had already closed the door and was walking in.
The expression on his face was faint, carrying a hint of aloofness and detachment that seemed to emanate from his very bones.
It made his eyes look calm, tinged with a touch of indifference.
“Why are you back?”
Shen Xiying walked over in her slippers.
A gentle, shallow smile spread across her face. She wanted to get closer to him.
But she didn’t quite dare, so she could only stand at a safe distance, watching him as she spoke.
Shang Ruzhou looked up at her.
Her smile was radiant, her lashes fine and slightly curved.
A trace of moisture clung to them.
Below the corner of her eye was a faint mark—probably from pressing against something while she slept.
She looked like she had just woken up.
Shang Ruzhou paused for a moment, then looked at her and said, “Didn’t you say you made a lot of dishes I like? I came back to have a taste.”
Shen Xiying reached up and scratched her ear. “…You said you weren’t coming back, so I had the servants throw them all away.”
“Is that so?” Shang Ruzhou looked at her, his tone suddenly carrying a hint of a faint smile.
When he smiled, his voice was slightly deep, with an inexplicable huskiness.
It made her ears tingle.
“That’s right.” Shen Xiying picked at her palm.
“Are you a little hungry? I’ll cook you a bowl of noodles.” As she spoke, Shen Xiying looked up at him.
Shang Ruzhou nodded.
Shen Xiying: “I’ll be quick, just wait a moment.”
With that, she hurried off to the kitchen.
Shen Xiying had often cooked noodles when she was younger, and she could even cook full meals by herself.
The Shen family wasn’t like the Shang family—they didn’t have such a deep foundation.
Shen Jieyu and Xu Wan had started their business when they were young, and when Shen Xiying was born, they were even living in a rented apartment of only twenty-five square meters.
That was the hardest period.
Later, when Shen Xiying started elementary school, the two of them were constantly busy.
She had to take care of herself all alone.
By the time she reached middle school, Shen Jieyu and Xu Wan’s company had caught the wave of opportunity.
So, the place she lived in went from twenty-five square meters to a hundred, then to two hundred.
And finally, to a manor of several thousand square meters.
The Shen family gradually gained a firm foothold in the business world and the circles of fame.
Not the best, but better than most.
After cooking the tomato and egg noodles, Shen Xiying set them on the kitchen table.
She called Shang Ruzhou over to eat.
He sat down to eat the noodles, and she didn’t leave either—she sat nearby, watching him eat.
Even while eating noodles, his movements were unhurried, every gesture exuding an air of refined elegance.
When he finished, Shen Xiying was still sitting there.
Her elbows propped on the glass table, her chin resting in her palms, her head tilted slightly as she watched him.
Until Shang Ruzhou set down his chopsticks, looked up at her, and asked in a flat tone, “Shen Xiying, why do you keep staring at me?”
“Are you hungry too?”
Shen Xiying shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”
Then she added, “I just like watching other people eat.”
As she spoke, she gave him a very soft smile, then asked, “Was it good?”
“Just so-so,” Shang Ruzhou replied.
Shen Xiying: “…”
Just so-so, and yet he finished the whole bowl.
What she made was clearly delicious!
She didn’t dare say that out loud, only muttered it silently in her head.
The servants would come to collect the dishes later.
After going upstairs, Shen Xiying took a shower.
She and Shang Ruzhou didn’t have separate rooms—they shared one.
After her shower, Shen Xiying pulled back the covers, got into bed, and curled up inside while scrolling through her phone.
Shang Ruzhou still hadn’t come back. He was probably still in the study.
He was always busy, and he liked to compress his time endlessly.
That was how he was in high school too.
Very goal-oriented, very ambitious. She liked that about him.
After scrolling for a while, Shen Xiying started to feel sleepy.
Shang Ruzhou still hadn’t returned.
She wanted to go to the study to see what he was doing.
But she didn’t quite dare.
The study was his private space; she didn’t dare set foot in it casually.
Maybe later.
Maybe once he liked her, she’d be allowed in.
She looked at her phone a bit more. It was almost midnight, and Shang Ruzhou still hadn’t come back.
Shen Xiying yawned, gently patted her own face, sat up in bed, and leaned against the headboard to keep herself awake.
Finally, Shang Ruzhou entered the room.
Shen Xiying’s drowsiness vanished instantly, and she was completely wide awake.
The moment he came in, her gaze fixed on him.
Until Shang Ruzhou picked up his clothes and placed his hand on the bathroom door handle, about to step inside.
He suddenly turned back and glanced at Shen Xiying.
His gaze was somewhat casual. After working in the study for so long, there wasn’t a trace of fatigue or weariness on his face.
He looked entirely relaxed.
Shen Xiying felt a little uneasy under his gaze, her heart inexplicably starting to beat faster.
Just as she was about to look away, she heard Shang Ruzhou’s very calm voice: “Shen Xiying, do you like watching other people eat, or do you also like watching other people shower?”
Shen Xiying: “…?”
Shen Xiying: “I…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Shang Ruzhou had already opened the bathroom door and walked in.
Then he closed the door.
The words she hadn’t finished all got swallowed back down her throat.
Her gaze lingered on the bathroom door for a few seconds, then she pressed her lips together and looked away.
It wasn’t that she liked watching other people eat, or watching other people shower.
She just liked watching him.
Shen Xiying lay on the bed. The room was very quiet, and she could hear the sound of water trickling from the bathroom.
Usually at this hour she’d be very sleepy, but she couldn’t fall asleep now.
Her mind was unusually excited.
After a while, the bathroom door opened and Shang Ruzhou walked out.
His hair was wet, and he held a white towel in his hand, casually drying his hair with it.
Water droplets trickled down.
He was wearing a bathrobe with a low collar, revealing his collarbones.
Just below his collarbone was a tiny mole—black in color, but with a reddish ring around it.
Set beneath his collarbone, it was inexplicably a bit alluring.
Want to touch it.
Shen Xiying thought silently to herself.
After a while, Shang Ruzhou finished blow-drying his hair, walked over to the bed, and glanced at her.
She wasn’t asleep—she was wide awake, her eyes round, slightly moist, and especially bright.
Like water droplets catching the light.
Shang Ruzhou looked for a second, then asked, “Still awake?”
“I can’t sleep.” Shen Xiying blinked before answering.
“Should I turn off the light, then?” he said.
Shen Xiying nodded.
Shang Ruzhou switched off the light, then lifted a corner of the blanket and got into bed.
The bed was large, and the distance between her and him wasn’t close.
It was somewhat far.
When he lay down, a very light breeze swept past the tip of her nose.
She instinctively held her breath.
But she still caught a faint fragrance.
Like a blend of rose and jasmine.
Very fresh, very fragrant.
It made her heart itch with longing.
So almost instinctively, she blurted out, “Shang Ruzhou, you smell so nice.”
The moment the words left her mouth—
The entire room fell into silence.
Shen Xiying instantly exploded inside.
How could she have said her inner thoughts out loud?!
After two seconds, Shang Ruzhou made no sound at all.
Shen Xiying relaxed a little.
Maybe he didn’t hear it.
The next second—
A somewhat light, indifferent voice landed by her ear: “Shen Xiying, you’re a bit of a pervert.”