Chapter 9

When he flew back from HK, Su Hang didn’t bring anything with him except for the clothes on his back and the items in his suitcase. He came back in a great hurry. Su Hang just wanted to go home and see Shen Xi. But now that he was standing in front of their familiar gate, looking at the light coming out from the windows, he suddenly felt a little timid.

The lights were still on. Was Shen Xi still up? She would probably be surprised to see him. Or will she ask him why he came back all of a sudden? How should he answer?

But no matter how anxious and uneasy he felt, his need to see Shen Xi right this instant surpassed all his misgivings. Su Hang took out his keys and opened the front door.

In the warm living room, Shen Xi was soundly asleep on the sofa. But Chu Wu, who had been lying next to her, suddenly pricked up his ears.

Click.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Chu Wu leaped up from the sofa and walked a few steps towards the door, his eyes alert. With his hind legs bent, Chu Wu growled low. But when the front door finally opened, Chu Wu smelled the familiar scent of Su Hang, and his eyes became peaceful. He began to pant softly, and his tail started to sway back and forth.

As Su Hang closed the front door, he saw Chu Wu wagging his tail happily. Following the sound of the unfinished movie, they both slowly walked towards the sofa. There, Su Hang saw Shen Xi wrapped in a beige blanket, sleeping soundly.

Shen Xi seemed to be sleeping very well. His cheeks were tinged with a faint red, and her soft hair was hanging down her face. It rose and fell every time Shen Xi took a breath. Su Hang squatted down and reached out to help lift her hair off her face. It was just that his fingers were too cold. Just as they touched Shen Xi’s cheek, she murmured out uncomfortably.

Su Hang quickly pulled back his hand, thinking that Shen Xi was waking up. He looked at her, nervous, but after waiting a while, Shen Xi didn’t wake and continued to sleep quietly. The tense Su Hang gradually relaxed, then thought about the heat he felt when he had briefly touched Shen Xi. He became worried.

Did she have a fever? Su Hang wanted to reach out again and try to feel Shen Xi’s forehead, but he was afraid that he might wake her. Su Hang got up in a hurry and went to fetch the medicine box. He opened it and took out an infrared thermometer. He tested Shen Xi and saw that her temperature was normal. Su Hang sighed in relief.

He put down the thermometer, then bent down. After securing the blanket wrapped around Shen Xi, Su Hang picked her up and slowly walked up the stairs.

“Woo??” Seeing Father suddenly take Mother away, Chu Wu made a confused sound. But in the end, he obediently laid back down on the carpet.

Su Hang gently placed Shen Xi on the master bed. He pulled the quilt up to cover her properly, then sat on the bed, dazedly staring at Shen Xi’s sleeping figure like a fool.

He didn’t know how long he sat there in the dim light, but Su Hang startled when Shen Xi’s body turned towards him, causing one of her hands to emerge from the quilt.

Su Hang was afraid that she might get cold, so he reached for Shen Xi’s exposed hand, wanting to put it back under the quilt again. But just as Su Hang was about to touch her, he hesitated. His gaze fell to Shen Xi’s slender fingers. There lay the wedding ring he put on her himself.

As if possessed, Su Hang raised his left hand and gently placed it beside Shin Xi’s.

It was a picture he’s seen before. It looked exactly like a poster he had happened to pass- two hands, a pair of wedding rings. Beautiful and harmonious.

Su Hang’s fingers moved until they touched Shen Xi’s. Carefully at first, before becoming bolder. Greedy, Su Hang moved his hand until it rested below Shen Xi’s open hand. Then, he lowered his head, giving the back of Shen Xi’s hand a soft kiss.

When Su Hang came back downstairs, the warmth of Shen Xi’s hand still lingered on his lips.

When Chu Wu saw his father come back down, he stood up again, his tail wagging.

Su Hang bent down and gently rubbed Chu Wu’s head. With a big smile, he said: “Chu Wu, did you accompany Mother the whole day?”

Chu Wu didn’t understand his father’s words, but he knew he was being praised, so his tail wagging cheerfully sped up.

“Good Boy!” Su Hang exclaimed.

Chu Wu merrily wagged his tail.

Su Hang patted Chu Wu for a few more minutes before finally going to his room to rest.

After a good night’s sleep, Shen Xi woke up and habitually looked around for her phone. But after searching her bed, she couldn’t find it. Puzzled, Shen Xi eventually gave up and left the room.

“Madam, you’re awake.” Mrs. Zhang saw Shen Xi walk downstairs and concerned, asked her: “Is your cold better yet?”

“I’m feeling much better.” When Shen Xi woke up this morning, she felt normal. It seems that yesterday’s medicine worked.

“I still hear a little hoarseness in your voice. Why’d you wear so little? Quickly put this on.” Mrs. Zhang picked up the shawl Shen Xi had left on the sofa last night, and helped her put it on.

“Thank you.” Shen Xi said.

“Take a seat first, Madam. I’ll go and heat up some breakfast for you.” Mrs. Zhang nodded, then went to the kitchen.

Shen Xi sat on the sofa, her gaze casually sweeping across the coffee table. Noticing her iPad, last night’s memories started to come back to her. Shen Xi vaguely remembered watching a movie with Chu Wu last night, drinking some more medicine, then getting sleepy.

So how come she woke up in her bedroom?

“Madam, come and eat breakfast.” Finished, Mrs. Zhang shouted out.

Shen Xi put her doubts aside and walked to the dining table. Looking at the sumptuous breakfast spread on the table, Shen Xi said: “Mrs. Zhang, you don’t need to prepare so much next time, I don’t think I can finish this.”

“Oh, how can two people not finish that?” As she spoke, Mrs. Zhang took out two clean dishes and placed them on both sides of the table.

“Su Hang is back?” Shen Xi asked as she looked at the two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks on the table.

“Yes. It seems that he came back last night.” Mrs. Zhang replied with a smile.

“Where is he then?” Shen Xi looked around the room.

“Playing outside with Chu Wu.” Mrs. Zhang answered. “Sir said he would wait for you to get up first, then eat breakfast together. I’ll go get him now.”

Shen Xi watched Mrs. Zhang leave towards the backyard. She had just been wondering how she had gotten to bed, and now it seems she had her answer.

“Woof, woof, woof!”

Chu Wu ran in the kitchen, past the table and chairs, to circle around Shen Xi. As he went round and round, Shen Xi couldn’t help but laugh, finding the dog to be extremely cute.

“Morning.” Su Hang, dressed in sportswear, pulled out the chair opposite Shen Xi and sat down.

“Morning.” Shen Xi greeted him back and sat down.

After saying their greetings, Su Hang looked down and busied himself in his food. Shen Xi ate two mouthfuls of porridge, poked at the bottom of the bowl with her spoon, then broke the silence. “When did you come back?”

“Last night.” Su Hang replied.

“Thank you.”

Shen Xi suddenly thanked Su Hang. He was surprised at her sudden thanks and looked up, puzzled.

“You carried me up last night. Thank you.” Shen Xi thanked him again.

Shen Xi’s mouth curved, and her beautiful eyes twinkled, causing Su Hang’s heart to itch.

“In the future…don’t sleep in the living room.” Su Hang bowed his head, his words of concern becoming a little blunt due to his bewilderment. Realizing his tone wasn’t very good, Su Hang couldn’t help but panic.

“Uh…” Shen Xi blinked, a little stunned. It took a while for her to reply. “Alright.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Su Hang quickly tried to clarify.

“I know. You’re just concerned about me.” Shen Xi looked at the obviously panicked Su Hang trying to explain. For some reason, Shen Xi found it funny and couldn’t help chuckling.

Su Hang was stunned, then lowered his head. He awkwardly continued to eat.

“By the way, why are you back so soon?” Shen Xi asked.

Ah, she asked.

“Things were going better than expected, so I came home ahead of time.” This was the answer Su Hang had come up with just this morning.

“Oh.” It seems that she just couldn’t find a good topic to talk about. Shen Xi bit her lip, a little discouraged, and went back to eating.

And so breakfast still ended in silence as usual. After breakfast, Shen Xi and Chu Wu sat in the living room to play, while Su Hang went into his study to work. This continued until 10 o’clock, when Mrs. Zhang gave Shen Xi a glass of water and some cold medicine.

Shen Xi accepted the cold medicine and realized that colds were contagious. She said: “Mrs. Zhang, please give my husband a cup of indigowoad root.

(T/N: one of those healthy, nourishing plants)

“Madam, are you afraid you might pass your cold on to Sir?” Mrs. Zhang asked with a smile.

Shen Xi awkwardly smiled back and replied: “Please make yourself a cup too, so you don’t catch it.”

Mrs. Zhang laughed merrily and left to make the drink. Soon, Mrs. Zhang came back to Shen Xi with a cup and at her confused stare, replied: “I’m not allowed in Sir’s study.”

Not even waiting for Shen Xi to reply, Mrs. Zhang put down the cup and went back into the kitchen to clean up.

Shen Xi opened her mouth, then looked down at the steaming cup on the coffee table. In the end, she helplessly sighed and accepted her fate.

Knock knock.

Su Hang, who had been talking to Li QingYuan via video call, signaled Li QingYuan to stop for a bit. He looked towards the door, and expectant, said: “Please come in.”

The door was quietly pushed open, revealing Shen Xi, who was wearing a casual white sweater. Su Hang especially liked what Shen Xi was wearing today. It looked very warm and comfortable.

“I hope I didn’t disturb you.” Shen Xi whispered.

“No.” Su Hang stood up and asked: “What can I do for you?”

“Well…” Shen Xi walked up to Su Hang and put down a cup on his desk. Under Su Hang’s surprised eyes, she explained: “It’s indigowoad tea. It can prevent colds. Just remember to drink some, I won’t bother you anymore.”

After saying this, Shen Xi turned, intending to leave the study.

Watching Shen Xi’s figure disappearing behind the door, Su Hang’s expression became gentle. He took the cup and stared at it for a long time.

“If you don’t drink that soon, it’s going to get cold.” Suddenly, Li QingYuan’s unpleasant voice rang out from his laptop.

Su Hang returned to his senses and sat back down on his chair.

“That saw Shen Xi just now? She sounded like she had a cold. So you frantically rushed back home because she had a cold.” Li QingYuan guessed. “And she gave you some indigowoad tea. I guess she’s afraid she might infect you?”

“Back to the contract details.” Su Hang ignored Li QingYuan’s teasing tone.

“Didn’t I just tell you? The CEO wanted to talk to you directly.” Li QingYuan replied.

“Talk to him one more time. If he doesn’t agree, then just abandon the co-operation plans.” Su Hang said directly. Then, without waiting for Li QingYuan’s reply, he promptly closed his laptop.

Su Hang focused on the steaming cup in front of him, a smile slowly forming on his face.