Shang Hanzhou seemed not to notice her nervous emotions and said to her in a calm attitude, “Tomorrow I will send Ace away.”
Cen Xi frowned this time.
“There’s really no need. Don’t take Grandfather’s words to heart.”
“It’s not because of that.”
Shang Hanzhou said lightly, “I had already planned to send him away.”
He had already made that decision when he saw her enter the house and realized how afraid she was of dogs.
In the end, she was his wife. He would not let her feel wronged because of this.
Upon hearing this, Ace’s eating of dog food even became less enthusiastic. His ears drooped heavily, and though he was angry, he did not dare to say anything, only letting out low whimpering sounds in his throat.
Cen Xi felt a little sorry for him. Shang Hanzhou also did not want to burden her psychologically, so he explained concisely, “He will live downstairs.”
He had bought the entire building.
When she was at home, Ace could go downstairs to play, so neither of them would disturb the other.
“Is that okay?”
He asked for Cen Xi’s opinion.
Cen Xi saw that after Ace had finished eating, he happily sprawled his belly out like a fool and started playing again in his dog bed. He did not seem as frightening anymore.
She nodded. “Okay.”
After Ace’s arrangement was settled, the two of them had nothing else to talk about.
Cen Xi tugged at the hem of her clothes and hurriedly threw out a sentence, “I’m going to take a shower,” then ran into the bedroom first.
Once she entered the bedroom and was alone, her tense nerves finally relaxed.
She was used to that small bedroom. Suddenly moving here was indeed somewhat uncomfortable, especially since Lin Xingyou was not by her side.
Just as she thought of Lin Xingyou, her video call came in at the perfect time.
Cen Xi quickly answered and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window with her phone.
The floors of Jingtang Garden were high. Even late at night, the view from above was still dazzling, with streams of car lights like weaving threads.
“Ahhh Xi Baby! Without you, this feeling of loneliness is driving me crazy!”
On the video call, Lin Xingyou was lying lifelessly on the sofa, looking like her soul had been crushed.
She had even lost the motivation to draw her little adult comics tonight.
“I had already planned out the next scene, but the moment I thought that after drawing it, there would be no you to be the first to read it and cheer me on, I completely lost motivation.”
Her tone was listless.
Hearing this, Cen Xi suddenly remembered the piece of lingerie in her backpack.
“Youzi, be honest. Was that piece of clothing in my bag something you deliberately put in?”
“What? What? Xi Baby, what are you talking about?”
Lin Xingyou immediately moved her phone far away, pretending the signal was bad.
Cen Xi gritted her teeth. “Do you even know—”
Just thinking about how she had made Shang Hanzhou personally take her backpack made her feel faint.
“Know what?”
Lin Xingyou chuckled, “Don’t tell me that sleepwear I prepared for you actually got used? How was the battle?”
Cen Xi puffed up her cheeks immediately.
She knew it. Lin Xingyou had done it on purpose.
“No! I already threw it away.”
She said sternly.
Lin Xingyou felt regretful. “Why did you throw it away? That sleepwear cost me quite a bit of money, four digits!”
Cen Xi turned her face away, and then heard her continue, “President Shang isn’t working, huh? He couldn’t even tolerate you throwing away such an irresistibly seductive sleepwear? Is he even a man?”
“……”
Cen Xi was speechless for two seconds. Just as she was about to respond, she suddenly heard the door behind her being pushed open—Shang Hanzhou walked in.
On the video call.
Lin Xingyou was still speaking animatedly: “I even thought your husband could go eight rounds all night. Looks like the saying ‘men over twenty-five are basically sixty-five’ is really true!”
“Cen Xi.”
A deep male voice landed clearly right after her words.
In an instant, Lin Xingyou fell completely silent.
The next second, she decisively hung up the call out of guilt.
Youzi: “Xi Baby, I suddenly got a lot of inspiration. I’m going to draw comics. Talk tomorrow!”
Youzi: “Don’t miss me too much~”
Looking at the messages on the screen, Cen Xi’s palm gripping her phone felt burning hot.
Shang Hanzhou… he probably hadn’t heard that, right?
She slowly turned around. The light and shadow from outside the floor-to-ceiling window formed a halo behind her. She lowered her head, only looking at her own shoe tips.
She really wished someone would call her to go to the hospital for overtime right now.
From the bedroom entrance to the window, there was some distance. Shang Hanzhou did not seem affected by what Lin Xingyou had said and spoke calmly.
“This afternoon I took a shower.”
Hearing this, Cen Xi’s expression turned serious again.
“Did your leg injury get wet?”
“No.”
He responded lightly as he walked deeper into the room, his long legs moving forward.
“I used a waterproof dressing.”
“That’s good.”
She sighed in relief, but still reminded him, “You should reapply iodine solution.”
“Mm, I already did.”
From the looks of it, he was more attentive to his injury than before.
Cen Xi liked this kind of patient.
“You did very well. Very good.”
She praised him almost instinctively, the way she usually did with obedient patients. Only after speaking did she realize her tone sounded like she was praising a kindergarten child.
Shang Hanzhou probably wouldn’t respond to this…
Feeling slightly awkward, she touched the bridge of her nose and quickly walked past his tall figure toward the bathroom.
But her slender wrist was suddenly grabbed.
Shang Hanzhou did not let go. His cold voice said, “I remembered everything you said.”
Cen Xi blinked, not immediately understanding what he meant.
After a moment, she was slightly startled.
Was he asking her to praise him again?!
So Shang Hanzhou actually responded to this…
She couldn’t help but want to laugh. The corners of her lips lifted slightly, though she did not show it. Instead, she cooperated and said, “Very good. That way your wound will heal faster.”
The grip on her wrist loosened slightly. Just as Cen Xi was about to walk forward again, she heard him ask, “Can I do strenuous exercise?”
She thought for a moment.
“Not for now. Your injury is on your leg. Strenuous exercise could cause the healing wound to split open. If you want to exercise, you should wait at least a week.”
Shang Hanzhou’s dark, carved-like eyes dimmed slightly as he replied in a low voice, “Okay. Then I won’t do it tonight.”
Cough… cough cough…
Cen Xi’s heart skipped a beat.
Do?
Was he talking about what she thought he was talking about?
She quickly reassured herself. He probably meant exercise.
After calming herself down, Cen Xi went into the bathroom. After she finished showering and came out, Shang Hanzhou was leaning against the headboard, a laptop beside him, thin-rimmed frameless glasses resting on his high nose bridge.
That refined, dangerous aura of a “polite villain” grew even stronger.
Cen Xi inexplicably felt nervous.
Taking a deep breath, she walked over calmly and sat quietly on the other side of the bed. Then she lifted the blanket and lay down, leaving a large distance between them.
She heard the sound of the laptop closing.
Her tightly closed eyelids trembled slightly.
“Turn off the light?”
His low voice asked.
“Whatever,” she replied absentmindedly.
The man did not speak again. The bright light dimmed. Once her eyes closed, her hearing became even sharper.
She heard him lie down as well, and her heartbeat uncontrollably accelerated.
Eighteen-year-old Cen Xi would never have imagined that twenty-eight-year-old Cen Xi would be sleeping beside Shang Hanzhou.
Cen Xi slightly regretted lying down so early. She suddenly felt a little thirsty and wanted to get up for a drink of water.
She moved carefully, but just as she shifted slightly, the man’s warm palm accurately covered the back of her hand.
Shang Hanzhou let out a low sigh.
“Strenuous exercise isn’t allowed… what about kissing?”