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"I'm hungry. My little sister-in-law made me a bowl of noodles. You're not going to get jealous, are you, Brother?"
Ji Chen chuckled as he grinned mischievously.
The term "little sister-in-law" startled Xia Zhiyao. She hurriedly tried to explain.
"Mr. Ji, I... I'm not..."
She understood her position very clearly.
Before she could finish speaking, Shen Yu interrupted.
"I asked you to investigate the missing emergency supplies from Meng Qinbang's shipment. Have you found anything yet?"
He turned his gaze toward Ji Chen.
Ji Chen froze.
"Uh... well... Dan Cai is still interrogating him..."
"You haven't finished the investigation, yet you came here to eat noodles?"
Shen Yu cut off his explanation. His voice was calm, not harsh, but the chill it carried made everyone present tense up.
"Do you really have that much free time?"
"No, no, no! I'm leaving right now! Right now!"
Ji Chen was an extremely perceptive man.
He knew that whenever Shen Yu showed that expression, the smartest thing to do was disappear immediately.
He glanced at Xia Zhiyao, his eyes clearly saying, You're on your own.
Then he helplessly shrugged, wiped his mouth, and quickly left the kitchen.
In an instant, the spacious kitchen was left with only the two of them.
The atmosphere became unbearably oppressive.
"Mr... Mr. Shen, I made some noodles. Would you... like a bowl?"
After what had happened the previous night, seeing Shen Yu again made Xia Zhiyao feel both embarrassed and afraid. She could only awkwardly start a conversation, hoping to ease the suffocating silence between them.
Shen Yu did not respond.
His deep, dark eyes remained fixed on the floor.
After a moment, his gaze slowly moved downward and landed on her bare feet, which were covered in mud.
Following his gaze, Xia Zhiyao looked down.
Her face instantly turned pale.
From the doorway all the way to the kitchen island, a trail of muddy footprints was clearly visible across the glossy white tiles.
They were hers.
Xia Zhiyao's entire body stiffened.
She suddenly remembered Ji Chen's words, and every hair on her body stood on end.
—He might think those feet are dirty now... and simply chop them off for you and replace them with a new pair.
Just as Xia Zhiyao was about to apologize, Shen Yu's deep, low voice slowly echoed through the kitchen.
"You dirtied my car, and now you've come to dirty my floor."
His sharp, dark eyes were unreadable, and there was not the slightest trace of emotion in his voice.
"There's a lawn this large, and several thousand square meters of concrete."
"Did you deliberately roll around in a ditch?"
Do all puppies like stepping into mud puddles?
Shen Yu strode toward her with long, steady steps. His military boots struck against the marble floor with crisp, heavy sounds, each step making her heart tighten with fear.
He stopped two steps away from her.
Xia Zhiyao did not dare lift her head to look at him, much less tell him that she had stepped into the mud only because she had been harassed by several mercenaries.
She was afraid that if he became angry, he would truly cut off her feet.
"I-I’m... I'm sorry, Mr. Shen!"
Xia Zhiyao quickly bowed in apology. Her knee accidentally knocked against a chair, creating a sharp scraping sound.
"I... I didn't do it on purpose. I'll clean it up right away..."
Completely flustered, she tried to wipe away the muddy footprints with her feet.
However, instead of cleaning them, she only spread the dirt across an even larger area.
To make things worse, a stubborn clump of mud fell from her heel. It rolled twice across the spotless, mirror-like floor before stopping right beside Shen Yu's polished military boot.
It was less than half a centimeter away from the tip of his boot.
The entire kitchen fell silent.
The vein at Shen Yu's temple twitched violently, and his expression darkened in helpless frustration.
This little thing was practically a husky that had just been dragged out of a mud pit.
Her greatest talent seemed to be turning a perfectly clean house into a disaster zone.
Xia Zhiyao was so frightened that she nearly collapsed to her knees. She quickly bent down, reaching out to pick up the clump of mud with her hand.
But before she could touch it, her waist suddenly tightened.
The next moment, her entire body was lifted off the ground.
With one arm firmly wrapped around her waist, Shen Yu effortlessly picked her up as if she weighed nothing more than a sack of rice.
"Ah!"
Xia Zhiyao let out a short cry of surprise. Suspended in the air, her legs instinctively kicked slightly.
"Don't move."
Shen Yu's expression darkened as he warned her.
"If you fling even one more speck of mud onto me, I'll throw you into the washing machine."
Xia Zhiyao instantly froze as if someone had pressed a pressure point.
Her entire body became stiff.
Her two dirty little bare feet dangled helplessly in the air, her toes curling awkwardly as she remained completely still, not daring to move even an inch.
Still carrying her in his arms, Shen Yu strode into the room and kicked open the bathroom door.
He placed her on top of the bathroom vanity.
The cold marble surface made Xia Zhiyao shiver.
"Sit still."
Shen Yu turned on the faucet, tested the water temperature, and then pulled over the handheld showerhead.
Xia Zhiyao stared at him in complete confusion.
Before she could react, warm water was already flowing over the tops of her dirty feet.
Shen Yu held the showerhead in one hand while his other hand gripped her mud-covered ankle. There was not the slightest hint of disgust on his face.
That same large hand that might have held a gun moments ago—the hand that controlled the lives and deaths of countless people, was rough and calloused from years of use.
Those fingers carefully scrubbed the delicate sole of her foot.
It hurt a little.
It also tickled a little.
Xia Zhiyao's mind went completely blank, as if she had been struck by lightning. She did not dare speak or move.
Black, muddy water flowed down the pale curve of her foot and disappeared into the drain.
Under Shen Yu's patient scrubbing, her once-filthy little feet gradually returned to their original soft pink color, smooth and delicate like peeled water chestnuts.
"Um... Mr. Shen..."
Xia Zhiyao spoke cautiously.
"I can wash them myself..."
"Quiet."
What could a filthy, foolish little puppy possibly clean by herself?
Without even looking up, Shen Yu continued until both of her feet were completely clean, their soft pink color restored. Only then did he turn off the water.
He casually picked up a towel and somewhat roughly dried her feet.
After straightening up, Shen Yu tossed the towel into the laundry basket.
Then he placed both hands on the edges of the vanity, trapping her between his arms.
Those intimidating black eyes stared directly at her.
His gaze moved from her now-clean feet upward, passing over the gorgeous peacock-colored dress she wore, before finally stopping on her still-frightened face.
"Did you do it on purpose?"
he suddenly asked.
Xia Zhiyao blinked in confusion.
"What?"
"Deliberately getting yourself this dirty and running all over the house."
"Were you trying to remind me that I hadn't bought you any shoes?"
Xia Zhiyao's eyes widened.
"I wasn't! I really wasn't..."
She shook her head frantically.
"I... I don't need shoes. I can go without them!"
How could she possibly dare ask him for anything?
As long as he did not kill her, even if he ordered her to walk barefoot, or even upside down, she would obey.
Seeing how terrified she looked, the inexplicable irritation that had been building inside Shen Yu slowly faded.
Foolish little puppy.
"Enough."
Shen Yu withdrew his hands and looked over her clothes once again.
The light gold silk blouse hugged her figure, outlining her slender waist. Beneath the dark emerald pencil skirt, her legs appeared long, straight, and fair.
Regina's craftsmanship was indeed excellent.
More importantly, this body suited the outfit perfectly.
"The clothes look good."
His comment was flat and simple.
Xia Zhiyao had barely managed to relax when the satellite phone in Shen Yu's pocket suddenly vibrated.
He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.
The slight warmth that had appeared in his expression instantly disappeared. His eyes turned cold again, and the terrifying aura surrounding him returned.
"I have something to deal with."
He turned and walked toward the door.
When he reached it, he stopped, looked back at her, and gave an order.
"Stay inside and behave. You're not allowed to go outside and step in the mud again."
With that, his tall figure dressed in black disappeared beyond the doorway.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Only then did the suffocating pressure that had filled the room finally disappear.
Xia Zhiyao's entire body went limp.
She collapsed onto the bathroom vanity and let out a long breath of relief.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror, seeing herself dressed in elegant clothes.
Then she lowered her gaze to her feet—the feet that terrifying man had personally washed until they were completely clean, so clean that they had even turned slightly pink.
Her tiny head...
was filled with enormous confusion.
In the courtyard.
A-Ken opened the car door, and Shen Yu bent down before getting into the back seat.
"Boss, there's a problem with the northern transport route. Khun Sa's men are causing trouble."
A-Ken quickly reported the situation.
Shen Yu listened without changing his expression, lightly tapping his fingers against his knee.
"Have Jackal take some men over and handle it. He understands Khun Sa's affairs better than anyone. Let him deal with it however he sees fit."
"Yes, Boss."
The vehicle started and slowly drove out through the gates of the compound.
Leaning back against the seat, Shen Yu closed his eyes to rest.
Yet, without warning, the image of those little feet covered in mud—and those frightened, watery eyes—appeared in his mind once again.
Tsk.
Troublesome.
"A-Ken."
He suddenly called out.
A-Ken, who had been reading documents in the passenger seat, immediately turned around.
"Boss?"
Shen Yu opened his eyes.
"Have someone bring over a few pairs of shoes."
"The kind with soft soles. They shouldn't easily damage the carpets."
A-Ken froze for a moment.
Then he quickly understood.
Lowering his head to hide the surprise in his eyes, he asked cautiously,
"Yes, Boss. Women's shoes?"
Shen Yu did not answer.
He only gave a faint, almost inaudible response.
"Mm."
"And one more thing."
Shen Yu paused before adding,
"Don't buy any with shoelaces."
That foolish little puppy probably doesn't even know how to tie shoelaces.
She'll only trip herself and end up injured.