SM Chapter 32

“Then you might as well say I’m destined to be single forever…”

On the thirtieth of the Lunar New Year, Tan Zhi Xu arrived early in the morning to pick up the Zhu family.

Zhu Yingqing picked an orange from the bag he was preparing to take and handed it to him, “Have a seat, your Aunt Liu told Shihao to come over.”

He reached out to take it, casually hooked the trash can with his long legs, and began to peel the orange unhurriedly. “It’s okay, she can sleep a little longer.”

He had been a little anxious, so even though he knew she liked to sleep in, he still went upstairs at nine o’clock sharp. But now, sitting here, with the person he had been thinking about day and night just a wall away in the next room, the longing that had been surging for days suddenly calmed down.

The door of the room wasn’t closed, and some noises could be heard from inside.

“Sleeping? What sleeping? You never sleep at night and can’t get up in the morning, Zhu Shihao, you’re so old, you don’t still want me to get you up with a note, do you!”

Liu Ruoyin came out and heard what he said, continuing to lecture her daughter.

Zhu Shihao was carrying her bag in one hand, her head drooping, wanting to cover her ears but not daring to, following behind her mother with a wronged expression.

As soon as she came out and saw Tan Zhi Xu standing up and looking over, her dispirited appearance instantly perked up, and she scurried past Liu Ruoyin, standing beside him.

Once a person has someone to rely on, they always stand a little straighter.

She straightened her back and raised her chin, speaking with confidence, “What are you rushing me for? Zhi Xu didn’t say anything. What’s wrong with waiting a bit? Ask him if he has an opinion, don’t just assume things for others!”

Provoked, Liu Ruoyin said “Hey” and pointed at her with wide eyes, “You’re twenty-seven years old, can you be a little more mature! Just because Zhi Xu indulges you, doesn’t mean you can’t be more self-aware.”

Sure enough, as Zhu Shihao tried to dodge, he instinctively stepped to the side to shield her.

It’s always been like this, except for occasionally saying things that are a bit annoying, Tan Zhi Xu has always indulged her the most since they were little. Giving her whatever she wanted, and if he didn’t have it, he’d use his clever brain to think of a way. Whatever she wanted to do, he’d consider it in his mind and if it was feasible, he’d accompany her.

Even if what he said wasn’t always pleasant, compared to others, he was far too gentle, even coaxing her a few times occasionally.

“It’s okay, Auntie Liu, it’s still early.” Tan Zhi Xu took her wrist and walked towards the dining room, “Auntie Liu, Uncle Zhu left you breakfast on the table, go eat quickly.”

Zhu Shihao casually asked him, “Have you eaten?”

“Yeah, I ate before coming. Uncle Zhu already asked.”

Staring at their backs, Liu Ruoyin was speechless.

“So many years, and he’s still using the same trick of changing the subject.”

Zhu Yingqing said cheerfully, “Let her eat, let’s go see if we’ve forgotten anything.”

Shooting a glare at her husband.

What could they have forgotten? They’d checked everything over early in the morning, just using it as an excuse to keep her, the “villain,” away. But that being said, she still loved her own daughter, and didn’t really intend to do anything.

Hua Ting was known for its beautiful environment and strong privacy in its villa mansions, with individual courtyards. This tranquility and the greenery everywhere this season were enough to reveal its positioning.

The couple had come here for the second time. The last time they came, the place wasn’t fully renovated, so they couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration this time.

Zhu Yingqing inadvertently saw his daughter take off her coat and hang it up, her movements extremely skillful and natural.

“Shihao must have been here more often than us.”

Xu Ting and her husband happened to come out and heard this, so she joined in, “That’s obvious. Don’t just stand at the door, come in quickly, take a look around.”

After changing shoes, Liu Ruoyin linked arms with her, “This house is decorated nicely, it’s the style Zhi Xu likes.”

When they were renovating, Tan Zhi Xu was busy with his company and didn’t have time to manage things here. A lot of the decisions were made by Zhu Shihao, and she even oversaw a lot of the process.

So, this wasn’t just the style Tan Zhi Xu liked, she liked it very much too.

The villa had three floors, so the parents went to look around.

Tan Zhi Xu lagged behind, “I’ll take Shihao to the room to put her things down.”

The friends were reuniting, so naturally they didn’t have time to pay attention to the kids. Xu Ting didn’t even give him a look, waving her hand towards him.

Zhu Shihao followed him curiously, wanting to see which room he would take her to.

It was the innermost bedroom on the second floor. He closed the door behind him and put her bag down on the table.

“Let’s pretend we live here.”

Zhu Shihao stood on the balcony, turned to look at him, and tilted her head, “Pretend?”

He strode towards her, stopping in front of her, his thumb and forefinger pinching the sides of her face, his tiger’s mouth holding her chin. “Sneak over at night.”

Why not just directly say having an affair.

She blinked, “You’re so bold?”

“I’ve always been bold, you’re just too timid.” Tan Zhi Xu looked down at her, his hand slightly tightening.

All this time, she had been the one hiding, and he was just complying with her choices.

The two leaned against the railing, with sparse buildings and lush greenery in view.

“Zhi Xu, it’s so comfortable here.”

She had been focused on the scenery, not noticing that the man beside her had been looking at her the whole time.

“Mm.”

After all, it was winter, and even if the wind wasn’t strong, it was still cold enough.

Tan Zhi Xu raised his hand and touched her cheek, which was already ice-cold, “Let’s go inside, don’t catch a cold.”

“Mm.” She responded softly, turning her head to look at him and smiling, “Do you like it? The curtains, the door, the bed, and lots of other things, I picked them all out for you.”

Of course, he was the one who paid for it, she couldn’t afford it.

She had asked him this question when she accompanied him to see the finished renovation.

The answer then was the same as the answer now. Tan Zhi Xu’s lips curved up as he patiently replied to her again, “I like it, you picked very well.”

Zhu Shihao proudly shook her head. Of course she picked well, because she liked it too.

Actually, there was still a difference. Back then, he could only pat her head, but now, he could kiss her.

The balcony was a little dangerous, thinking about her concerns, Tan Zhi Xu pulled her into the room in one fell swoop, backed her against the wall, and lowered his head to touch her lips, a fleeting touch.

However, at the moment their lips touched, the longing that had subsided surged up again like a spring.

It was strange, it had only been a short two or three days, but the longing seemed bottomless, tearing open a hole that could no longer be patched up, leaving only the undercurrents churning.

He heard a soft cry, drilling into his heart from the torn seam.

“Zhi Xu, I’ve missed you these past few days.”

Not just missed, but missed so, so much.

His heart seemed to tighten for a second, the surface crack healed, but the stirring inside became even more turbulent. Tan Zhi Xu’s Adam’s apple bobbed, inexplicably dry, his heart becoming damp in an instant, soaked in tenderness.

He lowered his voice, deep and heavy, seemingly cherishing the moment, “I missed you too.”

Every second of separation, he was enduring.

The two of them didn’t stay in the room for too long. In the eyes of their parents, no matter how good their relationship was, even if they were as close as siblings, they weren’t really siblings after all, and they should naturally avoid suspicion at this age.

When the two of them went downstairs, only Aunt Wang was in the kitchen cooking.

Sitting down on the sofa, Tan Zhi Xu sat next to her.

Taking a glance at the distance between the two of them, Zhu Shihao silently moved a little to the side.

Seeing her little movements, Tan Zhi Xu squinted at her, sneering, “Why don’t you just sit over there?”

“Wouldn’t it be too obvious and seem strange?”

She actually seriously considered it.

He almost laughed with anger. Tan Zhi Xu stared at her with a smile that wasn’t a smile, “So you know.”

She pouted and didn’t say anything.

With one person’s distance between them, Tan Zhi Xu didn’t insist on opposing her. He leaned over, took a strawberry with a fruit fork, and handed it to her.

Even though she had reminded herself many times in her heart to be careful and mind her manners, when she saw the big, bright red strawberry in front of her, her first reaction was still to lower her head and take a bite from his hand.

After chewing twice, she met his gaze and finally realized what she had done. Her chewing slowed down, and she lowered her head, silently taking the fork.

A soft laugh came from beside her.

She slowly raised her head, “What are you laughing at?”

Very satisfied with her subconscious reaction, Tan Zhi Xu took a strawberry for himself.

“Laughing at the fact that I didn’t waste my time feeding you all this time. Good, it shows you’re not so heartless after all, and you have a good memory for food.”

“What’s so good about it.” Zhu Shihao retorted softly, “It just makes people lazy.”

He raised his other hand and placed it on top of her head, pressing down slightly, not using much strength, but still extremely affectionate.

“I think it’s good, why be so diligent?”

It was best if no one but him could stand her, he had spoiled her, so naturally he should be responsible for her forever.

Thinking of this, Tan Zhi Xu took the opportunity to instill some “sweet poison” into her.

“When choosing a man, one who needs you to diligently support the family is a no-go. One who needs you to wholeheartedly take care of him is a no-go. One who needs you to worry too much, looking before you leap, is also a no-go. One who needs…”

The more Zhu Shihao listened, the wider her eyes became, a pair of eyes round like marbles, even the slightly upturned corners of her eyes, with their innate charm, were hidden by her cuteness.

“Stop—, then what is okay?”

She agreed with the reasoning, but if all of those were excluded, what could possibly be left?

Tan Zhi Xu suppressed the impulse to kiss her that had been stirred up by her cuteness, his expression calm, his tone even, carefully hiding his true feelings within his composure.

“Anyway, you have to remember, you’re going to enjoy life, not to save people from a burning building. The quality of life can only go up, not down, and you should have both love and freedom.”

That’s really difficult, isn’t it?

Even for Zhu Suiyi, it was difficult to say that her love and marriage had no troubles and that she still had complete freedom.

Zhu Shihao clicked her tongue, “Then you might as well say I’m destined to be single forever.”

Tan Zhi Xu paused for a moment, “It’s not quite like that either.”

There were also people who could always keep her happy and give her more, at least Tan Zhi Xu could.

But what if, just what if, there was that one in a million chance?

Just as he was about to say something, the sound of her parents came from the stairway. Seeing her turn her head to look over, Tan Zhi Xu swallowed the rest of his words back down.

He also turned his head in that direction, but the woman reflected in his pupils was still the one beside him.

Zhu Yingqing came down and gave a thumbs up, “The renovation is beautiful, great taste.”

Tan Zhi Xu smiled, but didn’t say anything.

What was there to say? That it was all thanks to your daughter’s good taste, and so was that bed in the master bedroom. Great taste, it suited his heart, and just looking at it made his mind wander.

Taking another strawberry, Zhu Shihao lowered her eyes, her eyeballs drifting a bit guiltily.

She had chosen a lot of things, but the overall style was still Tan Zhi Xu’s style, just a bit softer, so Xu Ting and the others felt like there was a change, but didn’t suspect anything.

She was usually bad at lying, so doing this to cover things up just made her feel guilty.

Casting an unnoticeable glance at her, Tan Zhi Xu’s lips curved up. “Mm, I think it’s very good too.”

Seeing the corners of her mouth perk up high, then press back down, but the slight curve that contained a smile just couldn’t be completely suppressed.

Getting up and taking a step, he stretched out his long arm, pulled a piece of paper with his forefinger and middle finger, and waved it in front of her, “Strawberry juice.”

Xu Ting sat down on the other side of her, and asked with a smile, “Are the strawberries sweet?”

“Yes, they’re sweet.” Her eyebrows also curved up with a smile.

They were sweet all the way to her heart.