Shen Family Villa.
The steam in the bathroom lingered, covering the large mirror with a thin layer of mist.
Shen Zhili walked out wrapped in a towel, her bare feet stepping on the soft wool carpet as water droplets slid down her smooth calves.
She changed into silk pajamas and sank into the soft bed, reaching for her phone before opening the familiar green app.
The chat interface still showed only the two messages from the afternoon.
【I left the things at your place, in the corner by the window in the living room.】
Below her message, a single word lay alone.
【Okay.】
Shen Zhili stared at the word “Okay,” lost in thought.
Judging by the time, Jiang Xianzhuo should have returned home by now and seen her handiwork.
Given his suspicious and sensitive nature, what would he think?
Would he assume she was playing some new trick, that she had ulterior motives?
The corners of Shen Zhili’s lips curled silently.
Ulterior motives? Definitely.
As for the rest… there was plenty more.
But she had no intention of explaining anything.
When dealing with someone like Jiang Xianzhuo, whose mind twists and turns like a labyrinth, explanations would only make him overthink.
Time would prove everything.
She had plenty of patience.
Shen Zhili exited the chat interface and skillfully opened the shopping app, typing “refrigerator” into the search bar.
Her fingertips slid across the screen as rows of product information flashed by.
Double doors, large capacity, preferably with smart freshness preservation features, and a clean, simple design.
After filtering through options for a while, she finally settled on the latest German import model and placed the order directly.
The delivery address was filled in as Room 302, Qingshan Apartments.
Payment successful.
Shen Zhili then opened the housekeeping company’s app and scheduled a regular home service.
For the service frequency, she selected twice a week.
However, she filled in her own phone number as the contact.
After completing all this, she finally set her phone down, casually tossing it onto the bedside table before turning off the wall lamp.
The room instantly plunged into darkness.
Shen Zhili lay with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling, Jiang Xianzhuo’s cold and distant face once again surfacing in her mind.
She suddenly smiled.
The smile spread silently in the darkness.
Jiang Xianzhuo.
The more you refuse to believe, the more you resist now, the harder it will be for you to escape later.
I have all the time and patience in the world to wear you down, bit by bit, until you’re completely tamed and can never leave.
…
Shen Zhili woke up very early.
She glanced at her phone; the screen showed 6:00 a.m.
She twitched the corner of her mouth and let out an almost inaudible murmur.
“Being eighteen really means boundless energy, huh? Can’t you sleep a little longer?”
Sigh.
Since she couldn’t sleep, she might as well get up.
She slowly sat up in bed, slipped on her slippers, threw on a robe, and walked out of the room.
Faint, gentle sounds were already drifting through the villa. The servants had just begun their day’s work, and the air carried the fresh scent of Mom Liu washing fruit in the kitchen.
Shen Zhili yawned, planning to head downstairs to the kitchen for a little something to tide her over.
Her footsteps were light, her soft slippers making no sound as they touched the floor.
Just as she reached the staircase landing between the second and third floors, she suddenly heard a faint rustling sound from upstairs.
Shen Zhili paused.
Holding her breath, she tiptoed up to the third floor.
At the end of the third-floor corridor, Shen Zhiyu was crouching there furtively, holding a cat teaser in his hand, poking the Ragdoll cat named Truck with it again and again.
The large cat lay lazily on the floor, its beautiful blue eyes half-closed, completely indifferent to the feathers poking its face, not even bothering to lift an eyelid.
Shen Zhili: “…”
This little fool isn’t sleeping early in the morning and instead comes here to torment the cat?
She didn’t make a sound, just stood in the shadows at the top of the stairs, arms crossed, watching with interest.
Shen Zhiyu was persistent. Even though Truck ignored him, he changed angles and continued harassing the cat with the teaser.
After poking for a long time, the cat only flicked its tail impatiently, still lying motionless.
He finally gave up, withdrew the cat teaser, and muttered softly.
“How did it fall asleep again…”
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked up to return to his room and his gaze collided with Shen Zhili’s, who was standing on the stairs.
Shen Zhiyu froze completely.
He looked at Shen Zhili, shuddered all over, and nearly dropped the cat teaser from his hand.
“Witch… Shen Zhili… why are you here?”
Shen Zhili raised an eyebrow and stepped out of the shadows.
“Not sleeping early in the morning, and instead playing with the cat?”
Shen Zhiyu swallowed hard, his mind racing as he tried to come up with a reasonable explanation.
But before he could speak, Shen Zhili had already walked up to him.
Shen Zhiyu instinctively shrank back, gripping the cat teaser so tightly it almost snapped.
It’s over.
She’s definitely going to tell Dad.
That he wasn’t studying early in the morning and was playing with the cat instead, neglecting his duties.
And then Truck would be thrown out of the villa by her, becoming a poor stray cat, starving and emaciated every day.
The more Shen Zhiyu thought about it, the more panicked he became. His mind went blank, and he blurted out almost without thinking.
“Don’t tell Dad.”
Shen Zhili almost laughed when she heard this.
She leaned down slightly, meeting Shen Zhiyu at eye level.
“Why would I tell him? Playing with a cat isn’t a crime.”
Shen Zhiyu was stunned.
No tattling?
Ignoring the horrified expression on his face, Shen Zhili reached out her hand toward him.
Shen Zhiyu: “…”
Reaching out her hand—what did that mean?
He tentatively placed his own hand in hers.
Seeing her expression freeze, Shen Zhiyu even scratched her palm lightly.
Like this… right?
Shen Zhili was speechless.
Seeing his foolish look, she rolled her eyes, snatched the cat teaser from his other hand, and began skillfully teasing the cat.
Shen Zhiyu just stared at her blankly.
Watching her wave the cat teaser deftly in front of Truck.
The cat finally reacted.
It lazily lifted a paw, swatted at the feathers on the end of the teaser symbolically, then lay back down and continued sleeping.
Shen Zhili pursed her lips.
“This cat is way too lazy.”
Shen Zhiyu leaned in closer and whispered beside her:
“Truck is usually like this… except when eating, it sleeps all the time.”
“Tsk, just like me in the future.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind, let’s go down for breakfast.”
Shen Zhiyu was taken aback.
“Huh?”
“Or do you want to keep crouching here watching this cat sleep? Don’t forget that man is home.”
“…No.”
Shen Zhiyu twitched the corner of his mouth. That man?
She couldn’t even be bothered to call him “Dad” now?
But then again, the relationship between this father and daughter had always been like this—tense and hostile. A large part of the reason was because of his mother.
Thinking of this, Shen Zhiyu also fell silent. He quietly stood up and followed Shen Zhili downstairs.