He called her "Siyi" for the second time. Ren Siyi lay down, savoring the two syllables in her mind and on her tongue.
Coming from his mouth, it felt… a little strange.
Her elders at home—her grandparents, for instance—called her Siyi.
Hearing Shen Shen address her that way, she guessed he probably saw himself as an elder figure to her too. Definitely.
She secretly observed him. He worked with intense focus and seriousness. Who was it that said men look their most handsome when they're focused?
Ren Siyi had never truly experienced that before. The most handsome guy in her class had been her deskmate, and when he studied earnestly, she didn't find him attractive at all.
Ren Siyi had always thought she had refined taste—she preferred the mature, fatherly type.
Now, she'd have to add one more criterion to her standards for a partner: not a vampire.
Around dawn, Shen Shen woke her up. "Siyi, time to go home."
Ren Siyi was still groggy with sleep. She cracked her eyes open and saw a god-tier handsome man barging into her half-awake dream.
"Mmm…"
Can't get up. Haven't slept enough…
Ren Siyi rolled over, draping her leg over the pillow she was hugging, and mumbled, "Five more… minutes."
Shen Shen had no patience to wait five minutes. Outside the window, the city skyline was touched by the first faint glow of sunrise. Day was breaking—he had to get home.
He reached out to scoop her up and carry her away, but then he reconsidered. She'd declined the princess carry, saying that was a position reserved for boyfriends.
Shen Shen's thinking was simple enough—just switch to a different hold.
He'd seen fathers carrying their children on the street before, and at his age, he was more than old enough to be her father.
So he followed suit. He slid his hands under the girl's armpits, lifted her up facing him, then shifted her so she was draped over his shoulder, one hand supporting her bottom as he carried her out.
The jostling woke her up. She opened her eyes and found herself straddling his lean waist, legs hooked around him, while he supported her hips and back, her hands resting on his shoulders.
!!!!!
What kind of perverted position was this?!
"Shen Shen!" Ren Siyi exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"
"You can go back to sleep." Shen Shen was completely unbothered, carrying her through the hospital corridor, ignoring the stunned stares of every doctor, nurse, and patient who looked at them like they were witnessing a world wonder.
He stepped into the elevator.
"No… you… I… this…"
Her cheeks burned like fire, and her tongue nearly tied itself in knots. "How can you be so perverted!"
"I don't accept your baseless accusations." Shen Shen felt he was being very patient. Since she couldn't get up, he was carrying her so she could keep sleeping.
He probably wouldn't even be this accommodating to his own daughter, if he had one.
As he spoke, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
A crowd of medical staff watched Shen Shen carry Ren Siyi out, all of them frozen like statues, following them with their eyes all the way out the hospital entrance.
Ren Siyi lay limp over his shoulder, utterly defeated. Well, she thought, it wasn't entirely without benefit.
At least she'd successfully borrowed his authority to intimidate others.
Even if it was a little embarrassing.
On the way back, Ren Siyi issued a stern warning to Shen Shen: "From now on, you can't just pick me up on your own initiative without my consent."
"That might be a bit difficult," Shen Shen said. "If you're going to stay by my side, you'll have to adapt to my pace."
That… made sense, actually.
After all, she was the one asking him for protection. She did need to follow his schedule and lifestyle habits.
But Ren Siyi didn't want to make things too hard on herself either. She was in the prime of her youth, stuck with this grumpy old man—er, stuck with this handsome old man…
"Then I think we need to establish some ground rules, how about that?" Ren Siyi kicked off her shoes and crossed her legs on the Maybach's leather seats, looking at him with a serious negotiating face. "Mutual adaptation. Mutual compromise."
Shen Shen was reasonably reasonable, and he didn't particularly want to quibble with this young lady. Besides, thinking about what was to come…
He felt guilty toward her.
"How do you propose we do this?" he asked.
"First, you can't carry me like you just did. That's too intimate—we're not that close yet." As she said this, her ears grew warm, and she couldn't bring herself to look at him, turning her gaze away. "If you're really in a hurry and I can't wake up, you… you can do the princess carry."
"Isn't the princess carry reserved for boyfriends?"
"You can… make an exception for you." She felt her ears grow even redder.
Shen Shen nodded, noting this seriously. "Alright. Thank you. I'm honored."
Ren Siyi: …
That was almost too polite!
"Anything else?" he asked.
"Um, let me think."
Ren Siyi's mind had gone blank from being dazzled by his gentlemanly attitude just now. "Uh, well, that is…"
She couldn't think of anything at the moment.
Oh wait—she suddenly remembered. Back in the room, Shen Shen had stripped off his upper garments and walked into the bathroom so casually, as if he didn't care at all that she was sharing the space with him.
He really didn't treat her like an outsider at all.
Ren Siyi thought about how she would change clothes in front of her little cat back home without any hesitation.
So it was normal for vampires to treat humans as pets, right?
But wait—this was a matter of dignity!
Still… still…
She stole a glance at him, seeing the long, slender neck tightly wrapped in his shirt collar, the veins clearly visible, and his collarbones quite beautiful.
Anyway, she wasn't the one losing out—she was the one profiting, okay!
Shen Shen noticed her words trailing off, her eyes fixed on him like a sly little fox, clearly scheming about something in her head. He asked, "Is there anything else in the terms? Say it all at once."
Ren Siyi gave a light cough. "N-no, that's all."
She felt a bit guilty.
The two returned to the villa. In the underground garage, Ren Siyi heard wolf howls one after another—
Ooooh~ Ooooh~
Utterly mournful.
She quickly moved closer to Shen Shen and grabbed his sleeve. "It's not werewolves coming, is it?!"
"There's no such thing as werewolves." Shen Shen didn't shake her off, explaining patiently, "That's just a legend that only exists in books."
"Eh, then what is that…"
"It's Shen Du." Shen Shen walked to a safety door beside the spacious underground garage and pounded on it several times with his fist.
Sure enough, the wolf howls from the room stopped.
"He's expressing his dissatisfaction with me, but he doesn't dare use harsh words, so he can only bark like a dog." Shen Shen walked back and led Ren Siyi into the elevator. "No need to pay him any attention."
Ren Siyi: …
Back in the room, Shen Shen changed into black sleepwear.
He really did treat her like a little pet, completely unbothered by her presence!
Damn!
Ren Siyi had to control herself, turning her gaze away so she wouldn't watch him unbutton his shirt one button at a time or pull off his belt.
But she couldn't guarantee that after one time, two times, three times, four times… she could still be this "gentlemanly"!
Oh no, "ladylike."
Shen Shen got into bed, straightened his sheets, and looked at the girl standing in the room at a loss. "You can move freely around the villa. Shen Du is locked up, so you don't need to worry about anything."
"Oh! Okay! Then I'll go read in the study."
"Mm."
"Good night, Mr. Shen."
"Good night."
Ren Siyi went to the study. The butler, Lu Sen, was also reading at a rosewood desk across from the study, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, exuding an air of a refined scoundrel.
She didn't disturb him, found herself a small corner, and picked out a few romance novels to read.
These romance novels were ones she'd ordered online a while back, perfect for passing the time. Just as she was reading, her grandmother sent her a WeChat message—a photo of the South City train station.
Then came a long voice message—
"Siyi, your grandpa and I have come to South City. Your aunt told us that you and Lulu are both about to start school, in the next couple of days. Your neighbor, Old Zhang's son Zhang Pengpai, also got into university this year after the college entrance exam, and Old Zhang insisted on personally seeing him off. We talked it over and decided to come to South City too, to see you off to school. That way your classmates will know that even though you don't have a father, you have your grandparents backing you up, and they won't bully you."
Ren Siyi's brows knitted tightly.
No way… Why did Grandma and Grandpa have to come?!
Her situation right now was so… so terrible.
"No one's going to bully me—this is university." Ren Siyi messaged her grandmother. "It's not like middle school or high school. Everyone's an adult now."
Her grandmother sent another voice message: "Then we can help carry your luggage too. Anyway, enough talk—the sun's strong right now, so we'll head to your aunt's place to sit for a while. Come back and have dinner together when you're done with work. Grandma misses you."
Then her grandfather's voice chimed in: "Grandpa misses you too!"
Ren Siyi put down her phone and looked up at the butler, Lu Sen.
Lu Sen adjusted his glasses. He had also heard the voice messages from her grandmother, and before Ren Siyi could speak, he said, "I don't have the authority to approve you going out. Go ask Mr. Shen."
Ren Siyi, full of inner conflict, walked to the door of Shen Shen's room on the third floor and gently pushed it open.
The room was dark, the blackout curtains drawn tightly, blocking out most of the sunlight.
But it was daytime after all, so a faint dim light seeped through—not pitch black.
She stood by the bed, hesitating back and forth, not knowing what to do.
Shen Shen's sleeping posture was just as proper as his usual demeanor—lying straight, face turned up, perfectly composed.
A bit like Sleeping Beauty in a coffin.
Ren Siyi thought that description was quite fitting.
However, he seemed to sleep lightly and wake easily. Ren Siyi merely stood beside him watching, without making a sound, yet his nostrils twitched slightly, catching her sweet scent, and he woke up.
Seeing Ren Siyi's expression of someone needing a favor, Shen Shen reached for his phone on the nightstand. It was only ten in the morning—not yet his usual waking time.
This little girl had woken him up.
"What's wrong?" His voice carried a hint of languor as he sat up halfway, leaning against the headboard.
The black silk pajama top hung loosely at his chest, revealing his handsome pectorals and well-proportioned abs, quite alluring.
Ren Siyi forced herself not to let her gaze wander, mumbling, "My grandparents want to see me off to university. They've already arrived in South City. I might… might need to go meet them."
She was terrified he might refuse, but fortunately, Shen Shen only asked calmly, "Do they have a place to stay?"
"Yes, yes, they're staying at my aunt's house."
Although her aunt was harsh with her, her grandparents were her aunt's biological parents, so she wouldn't treat them too badly.
"Grandma and Grandpa know I'm working as a maid for someone, on call twenty-four hours. But tonight, I might need to go back—they want to have dinner with me."
Shen Shen didn't refuse, only asked, "Do you dare go out on your own?"
"During the day, it should be fine, right?" She wasn't sure, feeling a bit nervous.
She was afraid of being followed by a bad vampire, putting her grandparents in danger.
But if she didn't go back, her grandparents would definitely worry about her, and might even come looking for her to see what kind of job she was actually doing.
Shen Shen pondered for a moment, then took a ring from his right hand and placed it on Ren Siyi's finger.
The center of the ring's face was set with an obsidian stone, its texture like the depths of the night. The band was formed by six silver leaves intertwined, the leaves gathering together to cradle the obsidian in the middle.
"It's been with me for centuries, carrying my power and scent. Ordinary Blood Clan members won't dare come near you."
The ring had originally been worn on Shen Shen's index finger, and it fit perfectly on Ren Siyi's thumb. "But it's not absolutely foolproof, because your blood is precious—there may be those who would risk death for it."
"Then… what if I run into them?" she asked quickly.
"If you truly encounter someone reckless, remember to borrow my authority and use my name."
In truth, Shen Shen wasn't too worried. Within his territory, no Blood Clan member would be bold enough to challenge his authority.
Unless it was one of those old relics from Europe, but even they would have to weigh the consequences.
Ren Siyi treasured the ring like a precious gem and quickly put it on.
"Then how should I introduce myself?" she asked. "As your little follower, or good friend?"
Shen Shen rested his hands behind his head, lazily leaning against the edge of the bed, but his tone was serious: "Tell them I'm your father."
Ren Siyi: …
"Got it, boyfriend."