After that, Wen Qiuye indeed stopped bringing up the matter and took the initiative to change the subject.
Shen Xin was satisfied. What he liked most about Wen Qiuye was that she knew how to read the situation and behave appropriately. She handled everything with such thoughtfulness and thoroughness that waiting on him was immensely comfortable.
If one wanted a lover, why not choose someone gentle, attentive, and skilled at pleasing him?
He did not see the unwilling look in the woman’s eyes behind him.
.
Suxin returned to the Shen Residence, leading a string of balloons and carrying several large, wrapped cotton candies.
From Han Qingzi to the gardener, Old Deng, she had not left out a single person. She gave each of them a gift and even made a point of saying that these were the spoils she had won that day.
Even Lili received the most delicate little balloon, which Zhu Yin tied to the tip of her tail.
Lili kept turning around in confusion, trying to bite her own tail.
At last, Suxin led the final balloon to the study and knocked on the door.
Shen Dongjun, who knew what she had spent the entire day doing, was speechless: “…”
Suxin had enjoyed herself all day and was in extremely high spirits. Her cheeks were flushed pink, like a red plum blossoming atop a snow-covered mountain as the snow began to melt in early spring.
“Young Master, a gift for you.” She held out the balloon. She had eaten one of the cotton candies on the way, so there was none left for the male lead.
A mocking smile curled at the corners of Shen Dongjun’s lips. “I stopped playing with such childish things when I was three.”
Suxin froze at that. She tilted her head and looked at the extravagantly shaped dinosaur balloon beside her. After thinking for a moment, she stated firmly, “Even when I’m three hundred, I’ll still like it!”
Shen Dongjun did not take it, but she did not mind. Compared with seeing Shen Dongjun’s reaction, she enjoyed the process of “giving the gift” even more.
She tied the balloon to the curtains without a care, examined it with satisfaction for a moment, then turned around and told Shen Dongjun, “Shen Xin came looking for me today.”
Shen Dongjun remained impassive. “Oh?”
Suxin knew that he had sent people to follow her and Shen Xin, but that did not stop her from stating her position once again. “He wants to ruin the relationship between you and the Young Madam.”
Anyone who obstructed her from completing her mission was hateful. “Your father is really too idle. He has time every day to torment you two.”
That was not an exaggeration at all. In the story, at least half of the conflicts between the male and female leads were caused by the messes Shen Xin, his mistresses, and their illegitimate children stirred up.
As for the other half, one could blame the two of them for failing to use their mouths.
Having finished her report, Suxin prepared to leave.
Shen Dongjun suddenly called out to her. “Wait.”
He had spent the entire day sitting in the study. Aside from dealing with some accumulated affairs, he had been constantly thinking about Suxin.
He had a vague suspicion.
Suxin turned back and looked at him doubtfully.
Shen Dongjun said slowly, “Butler Suxin, I’m thirsty. Go pour me a glass of water.”
Suxin said, “? No problem.”
“I want freshly boiled water, cooled to fifty degrees. Not a degree higher or lower.”
Meeting Suxin’s gaze, he said coldly, “A competent butler wouldn’t be unable to handle such a minor task, would she?”
“Of course not, Young Master. Please wait,” Suxin said.
She turned and left. Not long afterward, she returned carrying a steaming kettle.
Shen Dongjun frowned. “I want water at fifty degrees.”
“Don’t rush, Young Master.” Suxin poured out a glass of water, picked it up, and released it in midair.
Shen Dongjun’s brows twitched, but the glass did not fall. Instead, it was held suspended in the air by some mysterious force.
Suxin snapped her fingers, and the temperature in the study suddenly dropped.
A humanoid creature covered in burning ice-blue flames appeared in Shen Dongjun’s horrified line of sight.
It was only about the size of a human palm. It had no facial features, and its entire body was composed of flames of a strange color.
Shen Dongjun watched as the obviously nonhuman creature gently touched the glass floating in the air. The boiling water, which had been giving off scalding steam, suddenly became still.
The thing hugged the glass, which was larger than its own body, and slowly flew over to Shen Dongjun before descending.
Zhu Yin smiled at him. “Young Master, the fifty-degree hot water you wanted. It’s just right. If you’re worried, you can measure it with a thermometer.”
Shen Dongjun said nothing. He stared intently at the little flame person floating in front of him, then suddenly reached out and grabbed at it.
Just as he was about to close his hand around the mass of flames, the little flame person trembled lightly, and its entire body suddenly dispersed. Shen Dongjun caught only a mass of icy air.
“You can’t touch him casually.” Zhu Yin smiled. “Lanlan’s temperature is extremely low. If an ordinary person touches him recklessly and he fails to control it properly, their flesh and blood will freeze immediately.”
“Is it magic?” Shen Dongjun murmured.
Perhaps because he had made mental preparations this time, seeing the little flame person did not horrify him as much as it had the first time. Instead, he was filled with curiosity about the unknown world.
Zhu Yin hesitated for a second. “…That counts, I suppose.”
Shen Dongjun asked again, “Beyond the world as ordinary people understand it, is there another, more mysterious world?”
In other words, what he wanted to know even more was: “Are there many people like you?”
Zhu Yin told him, “There’s only one person like me in this world.”
“You’re not lying to me?”
“I’m not.”
Shen Dongjun slowly exhaled, his voice heavy. “I believe you now. You truly don’t mean me any harm.”
For someone like her to take his life might be no different from stepping on an ant.
Zhu Yin nodded vigorously. She had made it this obvious. If he still did not believe her, she would have to wonder whether there was something wrong with the male lead’s brain.
Shen Dongjun asked again, “You really can’t leave the Shen family?”
The fact that she would not harm him was one thing, but who could possibly remain at ease with such a lethal weapon living nearby?
Zhu Yin hesitated for a second before asking, “Do you want me to tell you the truth?”
That familiar phrasing made Shen Dongjun’s heart jolt.
He said, “Tell me.”
“The truth is…” Zhu Yin’s tone was exceptionally sincere. “If I want to do something, even if I moved to the other side of the world, it wouldn’t get in my way.”
“…”
Their eyes met.
Shen Dongjun finally settled down.
He never mentioned dismissing Zhu Yin again, nor did he deliberately make things difficult for her.
He wished that one day he could wake up and discover that Zhu Yin had already left, that everything had merely been a dream, and that this person had never existed.
Being a butler was not difficult, and Zhu Yin was rather happy in the position. The servants at the Shen Residence liked her as well.
The Shen family enjoyed a long period of peace and ease.
By “long,” this meant twenty days.
Then, a fierce argument erupted between Shen Dongjun and Han Qingzi.
When Zhu Yin was roused by the noise, it was still dark outside.
She glanced at the time. Four in the morning?
She got dressed and left her room. The corridor was already brightly lit, and all the other servants had been woken by the commotion as well.
Compared with the confusion on Zhu Yin’s face, everyone else looked entirely accustomed to it.
“The Young Master and Young Madam are arguing again.”
“It’s been a long time since the Young Master woke me by smashing things. It’s almost nostalgic.”
Xiaoding from the western kitchen even stuffed a packet of biscuits into Zhu Yin’s hands on the way and told her, “Butler, eat something first. It’ll take the Young Master and Young Madam a long time once they start arguing.”
When they reached the main residence, the second floor was in complete disarray.
Xiaoding tactfully backed away and crouched at the stairwell, smiling. “I won’t go over.”
Zhu Yin: ?
Xiaoding lowered his voice. “In the middle of the night, the Young Master and Young Madam might not have had time to tidy up.”
If he happened to see something he should not, the Young Master would go berserk again.
Shen Dongjun was still wearing his dressing gown. His hair was disheveled, and his expression was furious.
Seeing the large crowd coming over, he roared, “What are you here for? Get lost!”
Han Qingzi was dressed in a white nightgown and stood coldly before the floor-to-ceiling window. Her skin was pale and translucent, and alluring red marks could be seen at her neckline. Clearly, this young married couple might have still been whispering sweet nothings to each other not long ago. Who knew what had happened now?
Han Qingzi said coldly, “Why should they leave? You’re the one throwing a fit in the middle of the night. Are you afraid of embarrassing yourself, so no one is allowed to watch?”