19-
She just thought guys who rode motorcycles looked really cool.
“If she’s your guest, naturally you should be the one to pick her up.”
Shi Yating grabbed a cushion from behind her and threw it at Shen Xiuyu. “You brat, how dare you talk back!”
Shen Xiuyu caught the cushion with one hand and set it aside. “Well, this brat is still your own son, after all.”
Shen Jing looked at him. “Look at you, always fooling around outside. You finally come home, and you still argue with Mom.”
“You’re still young. If you can avoid riding that motorcycle, don’t ride it. Aren’t sports cars safe enough?”
“Sis, it’s not like I ride it every day. Besides, I’m a racer. What’s wrong with riding a motorcycle? Don’t you trust my skills?”
“You, a racer? The average age of your racing team is only 18. I think you should disband it sooner rather than later, so Dad won’t have to worry about you all day.”
Shi Yating also said worriedly, “Your sister is right. Motorcycles aren’t very safe after all. There are so many supercars in the garage, yet you insist on riding a motorcycle on the streets. If something happens, what are we supposed to do?”
Shen Xiuyu replied dismissively, “Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you. Is that enough?”
He knew his mom and sister just loved to worry unnecessarily.
At that moment, Butler Liu brought Jiang Xizi inside.
As soon as Shi Yating saw Jiang Xizi, her smile immediately softened, and she couldn’t help but adore her.
She quickly stood up and looked Jiang Xizi over.
“Xizi, I can’t believe you’re all grown up now. Back when I first met your mother, I was only your age.”
Jiang Xizi smiled gently and greeted her politely. “Aunt Shi, it’s been a long time.”
Shi Yating took Jiang Xizi’s hand and sat her down, asking about her all the while.
Jiang Xizi replied politely, though her eyes kept drifting toward Shen Xiuyu.
Shen Jing quietly leaned closer to Shen Xiuyu and whispered, “Is this girl from your school?”
Shen Xiuyu, lounging with one leg crossed over the other, was watching racing videos and replied absentmindedly, “Yeah.”
Shen Jing studied Jiang Xizi for a while. She was quite pretty, but their mother’s look—like she was sizing up a future daughter-in-law—wasn’t subtle at all.
“Mom has taken a liking to her.”
Shen Xiuyu didn’t even lift his eyelids. “So what if she has? What does that have to do with me?”
“Aren’t you afraid Mom will try to set you two up?”
“It takes two to tango.”
Shen Jing looked at her younger brother’s calm demeanor and thought to herself, this pampered heir really had been cold and arrogant since birth.
He’d never faced any real setbacks. If their family really tried to push him together with this Jiang Xizi, there probably wasn’t much they could do about it.
After watching the racing videos for a while, Shen Xiuyu closed the page on his phone.
He said to his mother across the room, “Mom, I’m in a hurry. I’m going to eat first. You all can keep chatting.”
With that, he stood up and headed toward the dining room.
Shi Yating frowned and asked, “What’s the rush? Are you trying to get reincarnated? What could you possibly have to do?”
“The coach called me for training.”
“It’s just training. Can’t you skip it for one day?”
Jiang Xizi also looked up, gazing at Shen Xiuyu with an expectant expression.
Shen Xiuyu stood there, his face expressionless as he uttered two words, “No way.”
Then he headed to the dining room. Shen Jing also said to Shi Yating, “Mom, I’m going to eat with Xiao Yu.”
Shi Yating waved her hand helplessly. “Go ahead.”
She knew her younger son—he had always been strong-willed since childhood. Once he made a decision, not even ten oxen could pull him back.
Jiang Xizi watched Shen Xiuyu’s retreating figure and said to Shi Yating, “Auntie, why don’t we go keep Xiuyu company too? After all, he rarely comes home, and you must miss him.”
Shi Yating smiled with satisfaction. Earlier, she had noticed Jiang Xizi’s eyes constantly drifting toward her younger son.
It seemed there might really be something between them. She had originally worried that Shen Xiuyu’s temper might not appeal to girls, but it looked like she had overthought it.
Shen Xiuyu took his seat and began eating with Shen Jing.
When he glanced up, he saw Jiang Xizi approaching as well. He raised an eyebrow and began shoveling food into his mouth even faster, eating in large, hurried bites.
Shi Yating glanced at him. “Why are you eating so fast? No one’s going to steal your food.”
“Mom, I’m in a hurry, so I need to finish quickly.”
Shi Yating rolled her eyes and ignored him.
Having spent so much time with her younger brother, Shen Jing could easily see through him.
He probably just didn’t want to spend too much time with this girl, which was why he was so eager to leave.
Her brother was a straight-up, concrete-and-steel kind of guy—stubborn as hell and ridiculously arrogant. If it weren’t for his good looks, he probably wouldn’t be popular with girls at all. If he were even slightly less attractive, no one would likely give him a second glance.
Shen Xiuyu quickly finished a few more bites, grabbed his phone and car keys, and said to them, “Take your time eating. I’m heading out first.”
Without waiting for a response, he strode straight toward the elevator.
Shen Jing called after his retreating figure, “Don’t ride too recklessly. Drive carefully!”
Shen Xiuyu turned around, pressed his index and middle fingers together, tilted them against his temple, and gave a light flick of his wrist, his brow slightly raised.
“Roger that, salute!”
Then he turned away coolly and stepped into the elevator.
Shen Jing frowned, shooting a disdainful look in his direction. Seriously, even when leaving, he couldn’t resist showing off.
Jiang Xizi, however, felt her heart flutter at that simple salute.
For Shen Xiuyu, it was just a casual, instinctive gesture, but in his case, it came off as effortlessly cool.
It wasn’t so much that he was trying to show off—it was just that he was naturally handsome, with striking features that made even the simplest actions seem charismatic.
It was already 5 p.m. Ruan Tiantian changed out of her work clothes and left the cat café.
The sunlight at the horizon was no longer as harsh as it had been at noon. She walked alone to the bus stop and sat on the bench, waiting for the bus.
Just then, a black motorcycle sped past her. She couldn’t help but steal a few glances at the rider, thinking he looked incredibly cool.
The guy was riding fast and wild. She felt a gust of wind sweep by, catching a glimpse of a figure in white before he vanished from sight in no time. She withdrew her gaze.
The bus arrived, and she boarded.
Sitting by the window, she grew drowsy but didn’t dare actually fall asleep, afraid she might miss her stop.
The bus swayed and rattled for half an hour before finally reaching the northern part of the city.
She got off. Her former home was in the old district of the north side, where most of the buildings were aged and worn with time.
The neighborhood she lived in was also an old building from many years ago.
She walked through an alley and went upstairs. The lighting in the stairwell was very dim, still using the old sound-activated lights that hadn’t been replaced in a long time.
Sometimes they didn’t respond well, so she turned on her phone’s flashlight and made her way up the stairs step by step.
Just as she reached her doorstep, she heard arguing inside.
It was the voice of her stepmother, An Meirong.
“Ruan Guoqiang, oh Ruan Guoqiang! I really regret marrying you. Look at you—all you do every day is drink and gamble. Can’t you do anything worthwhile?”