“Alright, be careful not to get the wound wet.”
Shi Sheng nodded obediently, indicating that she understood.
She was actually a little afraid of Duan Yujing. In his presence, Shi Sheng always felt somewhat restrained.
She was always worried that making even the slightest mistake would provoke Duan Yujing’s displeasure.
Perhaps Shi Sheng’s distraction was too obvious, because Duan Yujing looked up at her and said in a calm voice:
“Are you nervous?”
Shi Sheng snapped back to reality and let out two unconvincing laughs:
“No, I’m fine. I feel great.”
Duan Yujing withdrew his gaze and began tidying up all the medicine on the table:
“Is that so.”
He stood up, his deep, calm eyes fixed on Shi Sheng as he added:
“Make sure the wound doesn’t get wet. If it’s inconvenient for you to manage on your own, have Qi Ye help you.”
Shi Sheng sat on the sofa, habitually swinging her feet, and muttered under her breath:
“He wouldn’t help me anyway…”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but Duan Yujing heard it clearly.
A flicker of darkness passed through the man’s eyes:
“…Hm?”
Shi Sheng snapped back to attention and quickly said, “Nothing! Thanks so much for today, big brother.”
Damn, that was close. She almost let it slip.
Duan Yujing’s brows furrowed slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but before he could speak, Qi Ye’s voice suddenly came from behind them:
“Bro, Sheng Sheng, what are you two doing?”
Shi Sheng quickly turned her head:
“A Ye.”
Duan Yujing didn’t move. He watched Shi Sheng, who had responded eagerly the moment she heard Qi Ye’s voice, and took a sip of the cold tea on the table.
Qi Ye seemed to have just come out of the indoor gym, wearing a white tank top with a towel still draped around his neck.
The young man’s muscles were smooth and well-defined, and the way he walked over from not too far away had a bit of a peacock showing off its feathers vibe to it.
Qi Ye’s gaze swept past his own brother and landed on Shi Sheng, who was lying on the sofa looking up at him with eager eyes.
There was still frost in his eyes, but the corners of his lips curved up slightly. In front of Duan Yujing, he deliberately pinched Shi Sheng’s cheeks with feigned intimacy:
“What are you doing out here? Why didn’t you come find me?”
Shi Sheng blinked: “You left right after eating and didn’t tell me where you were going.”
Hearing this, Qi Ye’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he pressed his lips together.
Seeing this, Shi Sheng immediately changed her tune:
“I’ll pay more attention next time. Wherever you go, I’ll go.”
Qi Ye let out a hum, finally satisfied.
Having barely managed to appease the childish man in front of her, Shi Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and subtly pulled his hand away from her face.
Stupid man, he’d just finished working out and was covered in sweat, yet he still came rubbing his hand all over her face.
Disgusting.
Shi Sheng grabbed Qi Ye’s hand and pulled him outside, but in Duan Yujing’s eyes, it looked like the two of them were intimately holding hands and swinging them back and forth.
He lowered his gaze and set the cold tea back on the table with one hand, producing a crisp clinking sound.
Like a good big brother who didn’t want to disturb his younger brother and sister-in-law’s intimate moment, Duan Yujing’s voice came out hoarse:
“You two have fun. I’ll be going now.”
Qi Ye slowly withdrew his hand and flashed Duan Yujing a smile that could only be described as obedient:
“See you later, big brother.”
The moment the man left, Qi Ye’s smile vanished instantly.
His face darkened as he stared intently at Shi Sheng:
“Since when did you get so close to my big brother?”
Hearing this, Shi Sheng was somewhat taken aback.
She instinctively touched her elbow:
“Big brother’s Tibetan mastiff hurt me, so that’s why…”
Qi Ye cut her off:
“So there’s really nothing between you two?”
“…”
At this point, Shi Sheng was genuinely starting to get angry. She widened her eyes and glared at Qi Ye, saying in disbelief:
“You must be sick! He’s your brother!”
Qi Ye raised an eyebrow slightly. “He is my brother, sure, but who knows what you might do?”
Shi Sheng closed her eyes, about to curse him out, but a second before she opened her mouth, she suddenly realized—
Wait, this might actually be a perfect opportunity to put on a show.
So she decisively swallowed the barrage of profanity that was about to fire off, and instead spoke with indignation and hurt:
“In your eyes, am I really that kind of fickle, disloyal person?”
Qi Ye crossed his arms and eyed her sideways, his expression carrying, unsurprisingly, a hint of smug satisfaction:
“What else would you expect me to think?”
Shi Sheng’s eyes suddenly turned red.
A few tears fell.
Qi Ye was a bit stunned by the sight: “Hey, you’re actually crying?”
Shi Sheng wiped her tears away with her sleeve in one swift motion, then shoved Qi Ye hard, pushing him aside from where he blocked her path, and strode quickly toward the stairs.
Up the stairs, open the door, close the door, lock it.
All in one fluid motion.
Within seconds, urgent knocking sounded from outside the door, accompanied by Qi Ye’s voice, deliberately lowered so his family wouldn’t hear:
“Shi Sheng, open the door! Are you really crying?”
His tone carried a childish excitement.
Shi Sheng didn’t even acknowledge him. She pulled out a tissue, wiped away the tears she’d forced out moments ago, and then hummed softly as she took out her laptop from her bag.
She connected her drawing tablet and continued working to make money.
Tsk, let Qi Ye play out that tormented, angsty romance drama all by himself.
She, Shi Sheng, was a modern independent woman—making money was the real priority.
The knocking stopped at some point without her noticing.
Qi Ye withdrew his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel.
He lowered his gaze, then headed to another bedroom.
Actually, Qi Ye knew there was nothing between Shi Sheng and Duan Yujing. The very thought was laughable just by virtue of appearing.
That was Duan Yujing—a man of his status and position could have any woman he wanted. How could he possibly take an interest in Shi Sheng?
It was only him, Qi Ye, who would condescend to grace Shi Sheng with his attention for a while.
But for some reason, Qi Ye always enjoyed teasing Shi Sheng like he just had.
Because in front of him, Shi Sheng rarely showed any emotion.
Even when he brought women home and put on a show right in front of her, she could watch with an unchanged expression, and after they finished, calmly go out to prepare midnight snacks for them.
Little did she know, the more Shi Sheng acted that way, the more Qi Ye wanted to peel off that ever-calm mask of hers and see what she looked like when she was furious and hysterical.
The Qi family’s dinner gathering wasn’t particularly grand. Though the dishes were plentiful, the whole family amounted to just five people in total.
The atmosphere at the dining table was very harmonious.
Although Qi Ye was a childish little brat in front of Shi Sheng, in front of his parents, he was a genuine source of joy.
Over the course of the meal, Qi Ye recounted everything he’d been up to recently—of course, omitting the parts about bar-hopping and picking up girls.
He had Madam Duan laughing nonstop.
Qi Mingde was past fifty, yet he didn’t have the typical middle-aged man’s balding head, puffy face, or beer belly. Dressed in a crisp suit, with visible fine lines at the corners of his eyes, he remained dignified and handsome.
He ate in silence, occasionally getting stared down and scolded by Duan Yunning.
He didn’t dare talk back, only nodding seriously in acknowledgment.
By the time the family dinner ended, it was already nine o’clock in the evening.
Qi Ye held Shi Sheng’s hand as they said goodbye to Duan Yunning.
He took large, fast strides, completely disregarding the fact that Shi Sheng was wearing high heels.
Perhaps he was still upset that Shi Sheng had ignored him all afternoon.
Once they were out of the villa area and into the courtyard, Qi Ye immediately let go of her hand and, without a word, opened the car door and got in.
He moved so fast you’d think he was rushing to his own funeral.
Shi Sheng rolled her eyes inwardly and walked over to the passenger side to pull the door open.
It wouldn’t budge.
She frowned.
The next second, the window rolled down from inside.
Qi Ye rested one hand on the steering wheel, a sly smile curling at the corner of his mouth, his peach-blossom eyes narrowing slightly:
“Not throwing a tantrum with me, huh? Fine, tonight you can take a cab home yourself.”
With that, before Shi Sheng could get a word in, Qi Ye rolled the window back up, stepped on the gas, and drove out of the villa courtyard.
Shi Sheng: “…”
What, like she cared about his six-million-yuan limited-edition supercar?
The subway she rode was built with billions!
After silently venting, Shi Sheng instinctively patted her bag.
Her laptop was still in there.
Honestly, with everything packed together, it was a bit heavy.
It was still a long walk from here to the subway station, so Shi Sheng pulled out her phone, thinking she might as well hail a cab.
But just as she opened the ride-hailing app, headlights suddenly flashed from behind.
Realizing a car was coming, Shi Sheng quickly stepped aside.
It was a pitch-black car with a sleek, imposing silhouette.
Judging by the emblem, it was a Rolls-Royce.
Then Shi Sheng watched as the Rolls-Royce pulled up right in front of her.
The window lowered, revealing Duan Yujing’s calm expression.
He turned his head to look at Shi Sheng:
“Qi Ye’s been picking on you again?”
Shi Sheng didn’t know what to say for a moment.
Saying yes felt a bit like tattling, but saying no wouldn’t explain why she was standing alone in the courtyard right now.
Just as Shi Sheng hesitated, Duan Yujing made the decision for her.
The car door opened automatically.
Duan Yujing averted his gaze:
“Get in.”