AAMIBBSBY 9

In an instant, Xia Huaishan’s face flushed red to his ears. It seemed that Shen Shixiao already knew about the matter he had proposed to Mother Shen today.

Facing Shen Shixiao’s contemptuous gaze, Xia Huaishan awkwardly lowered his head, urged Qin Wanru, and dejectedly got into the car to leave.

In the car, Xia Mingxuan sat silently in the passenger seat, not saying a word the entire time. However, his tightly crumpled windbreaker had long since exposed his current mood.

Was the trash Shen Shixiao spoke of referring to him?

Heh, even though he was clearly the one originally agreed upon as the marriage partner.

His lips devoid of any trace of color, he coldly questioned Qin Wanru, “Who told you that marrying Shen Shixiao would be so terrible!”

Qin Wanru felt uneasy and constrained. “Your cousin said so. Mom was originally afraid you would suffer grievances if you married into their family, which is why we refused.”

“Do you see Xia Zhi suffering any grievances?!” Xia Mingxuan’s breathing suddenly quickened, nearly losing his composure. “I was publicly mocked as trash by Shen Shixiao today, are you happy now?”

The previously silent Xia Huaishan said with a dark face, “Are you blaming us? Weren’t you the one who insisted I propose swapping the marriage partner to Shen Shixiao’s mother? That kind of shameless thing, I was too embarrassed to even bring it up!”

“Both of you calm down,” Qin Wanru persuaded from the side. “The reason we proposed this today, wasn’t it because we’re afraid we won’t be able to count on Xia Zhi in the future? You guys saw Xia Zhi’s attitude today too, we really did underestimate him before. Pleasing Shen Shixiao isn’t easy, it’s not as glamorous as it looks on the surface. Xia Zhi definitely isn’t having an easy time either—one look at Mother Shen and you can tell she’s no pushover!”

Xia Mingxuan closed his eyes tightly, when his phone suddenly received the script sent over by the ‘Best Actor’ screenwriter.

Clicking open the document, his screen time for the next episode wasn’t a lot, but it wasn’t a little either. 

As his fingertips gradually scrolled down, Xia Zhi’s name impressively appeared before his eyes.

His screen time for the next episode was actually almost identical to Xia Zhi’s?

A crazed, intense jealousy bred in his heart. With trembling hands, he sent a WeChat message to question the director, but what he received was a cold, icy explanation from the director: Your starlight value is about the same as Xia Zhi’s, so it’s normal to have the same amount of screen time.

With a loud “bang,” the phone smashed against the car window, and Xia Huaishan roared, “Are you crazy?”

Xia Mingxuan ignored Xia Huaishan, his palms slowly clenching into fists.

He couldn’t stand the sight of Xia Zhi looking so smug after getting his way!

Isn’t it just a marriage alliance? There are plenty of wealthy families out there—he didn’t have to hang himself on the single tree¹A common idiom meaning to stubbornly stick to one single option (or person) when there are many other alternatives available. of the Shen family!

In the courtyard of the Shen residence.

Shen Shixiao and Mother Shen strolled back, a hint of seriousness between their brows.

Mother Shen’s demeanor was calm and composed. “How are things at the company lately? How are things on your uncle’s side?”

Shen Shixiao: “It’s within a controllable range, just quietly waiting for his fox tail²An idiom used to refer to someone’s true, malicious intentions or hidden sinister motives. to be exposed.”

Mother Shen instructed, “Health is the most important thing, don’t get too tired.”

Shen Shixiao: “Mm.”

Returning to the room, Mother Shen restored her affectionate and gentle gaze, calling out warmly, “Zhizhi, come back to my room with me for a bit.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhi looked up with a smile. “Alrighty.” Saying so, he picked up a small plate full of shelled nuts. “Auntie, eating more nuts is good for your health.”

Mother Shen smiled in surprise. “Thank you, Zhizhi.” After speaking, she glanced at Shen Shixiao, revealing a teasing look in her eyes. “Zhizhi shelled these for me, there are none for you.”

Shen Shixiao chuckled softly. “Indeed.”

Xia Zhi paused, the tips of his ears gradually growing hot.

He only focused on shelling nuts for his mother-in-law, and forgot to shell any for his gold master daddy!

It’s over! This will affect his career prospects!

Seeing his embarrassment, Shen Shixiao reminded them, “If you have things to discuss, go quickly. We need to head home in a bit.”

Mother Shen took Xia Zhi’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Inside Mother Shen’s bedroom, Xia Zhi sat obediently on the sofa, with a black box patterned with hibiscus flowers placed in front of him.

“This was given to me by Shixiao’s grandmother, and now it should be given to you.”

Inside the box were two white jade pendants of excellent quality, one engraved with “Intertwining branches,” and the other engraved with “Sharing a tomb,” making them a pair.³A deeply romantic and somewhat tragic four-character Chinese idiom. It originates from the folklore of Han Ping and his wife, who were driven to suicide by a tyrannical king but asked to be buried together. Their graves grew two trees whose branches and roots intertwined forever. It symbolizes eternal love that transcends death.

Invaluable.

“Shixiao has a cold temperament, he rarely shows his emotions to others, and likes to keep everything bottled up inside. He likes you very much, so I sincerely hope that the two of you can accompany each other until old age.”

Caressing the characters on the jade pendants, Xia Zhi’s mind was disturbed. This idiom represented his youthful yearning for love—he had once fantasized that if he found someone he could spend his whole life with, he would definitely engrave these four words onto their rings.

It was just that cheesy!

The blessing was sincere and touching; he smiled sweetly. He nodded solemnly at Mother Shen.

This mother-in-law is so gentle.

He will accept it on behalf of the bai yueguang for now.

After chatting for a while longer, Mother Shen noticed the sky changing outside, and said with profound meaning, “Heavy rain is forecast for tonight, I wouldn’t feel at ease with you two driving home, why don’t you stay the night?”

Xia Zhi quietly said, “Let’s ask Shixiao-ge.”

Hearing Mother Shen say she wanted them to stay the night, Shen Shixiao immediately made eye contact with her for a few seconds, then murmured, “No need, I have a meeting tomorrow morning, and it’s far from the company here.”

Mother Shen said, “You can wake up a bit earlier tomorrow. With heavy rain at night, the road conditions will be bad. I’m really worried about you guys, right, Zhizhi?”

Xia Zhi’s mind was entirely on the jade pendants in his embrace, so he casually replied, “Right.”

Shen Shixiao gave a light chuckle. “Alright, then we will stay here today; have the servants go quickly to tidy up a room.”

Mother Shen affectionately said, “No need to tidy up, someone is assigned to clean your bedroom every day.”

Xia Zhi suddenly snapped back to reality, his pitch-black eyes looking at Shen Shixiao in a panic.

Where was he sleeping tonight then?

Mother Shen asked with concern, “Zhizhi, what’s wrong?”

Xia Zhi stammered, “Um, I…”

Halfway through his sentence, afraid of giving the game away⁴Literally “leaking the stuffing” (like a dumpling bursting open). It means to accidentally reveal a secret or show one’s true colors., he scratched his head and smiled. “The two of us will go to rest then.”

Mother Shen nodded in satisfaction. “Go on.”

At ten o’clock at night, Xia Zhi, wearing the little dairy cow pajamas Mother Shen had bought for him, walked out of the bathroom towel-drying his hair, his footsteps hesitant.

A lone man and a lone man⁵A humorous BL twist on the standard idiom “孤男寡女” (a lone man and a lone woman), which usually implies that an unmarried man and woman alone in a room will naturally engage in inappropriate behavior., alone in the same room!

Xia Zhi’s mind frantically rolled through R-rated movies⁶Chinese internet slang for pornographic or highly explicit films., as he simultaneously wrapped his robe tighter.

Shen Shixiao sat at the desk reading a book. Unlike his usual aloofness, after his shower, his black hair rested tamely on his forehead, and his handsome features gained a few degrees of softness under the lamplight.

Two pillows were placed on the bed.

After dawdling while drying his hair, Xia Zhi carefully walked over holding the jade pendant box. “This is the heirloom jade pendant Auntie gave me.”

Shen Shixiao lightly raised his eyes. “If it was given to you, just take it.”

Slender eyelashes fluttered.

I really do want it, but I can’t!

Enduring the pain, Xia Zhi’s tone was hesitant. “This should be what Auntie gives to her daughter-in-law. If I take it away after we divorce later, it would be a huge loss for you.”

Shen Shixiao’s deep eyes stared at him for a long while, before he softly said, “Not a loss.”

Um,  can’t reason with him, can’t reason with him.

Unable to break the stalemate, Xia Zhi had no choice but to temporarily put the jade pendant away, and discuss the most important issue of tonight.

How were the two of them going to sleep?

Looking around, the most shocking thing was, Shen Shixiao’s bedroom was so big, yet it actually didn’t even have a sofa?

Could it be that he could only sleep on the floor?

“Can you lend me a small mattress, preferably a thicker one. The floor gets cold at night,” Xia Zhi said with a muffled voice, and began searching for the best spot to sleep on the floor tonight.

Shen Shixiao thought for a moment. “There are extra beds in the next room, but if we have the servants open the guest room door, my mom will know.”

What should they do then?

Don’t tell him he has to lie on the bare floor?

Forget it, forget it, he might as well give it a try.

Looking at Xia Zhi’s expression of facing death unflinchingly, Shen Shixiao said in a low voice, “Let’s sleep on the bed together, I won’t do anything.”

Xia Zhi hurriedly explained with a guilty conscience, “Of course I know you won’t do anything to me. As long as you don’t mind it being crowded, I don’t care.”

Looking at the 2-meter wide bed, Shen Shixiao: “It won’t be crowded.”

The bed was of European style, quite a bit higher than a normal bed.

Xia Zhi scooted to the edge of the bed, only covering himself with the very edge of the blanket, looking extremely pitiful.

Although the bed was big, the blanket wasn’t that big. If he wanted to maintain his distance, he could only sacrifice some blanket.

“Can I turn off the lights?” Shen Shixiao asked in a low voice.

“Mm.”

After turning off the lights, the room was dead silent, one could only hear the ticking of the clock on the wall and each other’s breathing.

The pitch-black surroundings were so dark that one couldn’t see a hand in front of their face. Xia Zhi’s breathing actually became slightly hurried, his body tensing up as he unconsciously scooted outwards.

Having lived for over twenty years, he had never shared a blanket with anyone else before.

After a long time, Shen Shixiao beside him seemed to turn over, causing Xia Zhi to open his eyes, and under his nervousness, he gently scooted outwards again.

However, this time, his shoulder suddenly hit empty air, his center of gravity abruptly losing its balance, and his mind went blank with a boom.

It’s over, his head was going to be cracked open.

Ugh, it’s definitely going to hurt a lot.

However, the expected coldness and pain did not strike. His waist was suddenly hooked by a strong, warm arm, and the moment he looked up, a strange, scorching breath surged above his forehead along with that familiar woody scent.

Shen Shixiao hugged his waist, his voice carrying a hint of lethargy. “Still not behaving while sleeping?”

• 1
  A common idiom meaning to stubbornly stick to one single option (or person) when there are many other alternatives available.
• 2
  An idiom used to refer to someone’s true, malicious intentions or hidden sinister motives.
• 3
  A deeply romantic and somewhat tragic four-character Chinese idiom. It originates from the folklore of Han Ping and his wife, who were driven to suicide by a tyrannical king but asked to be buried together. Their graves grew two trees whose branches and roots intertwined forever. It symbolizes eternal love that transcends death.
• 4
  Literally “leaking the stuffing” (like a dumpling bursting open). It means to accidentally reveal a secret or show one’s true colors.
• 5
  A humorous BL twist on the standard idiom “孤男寡女” (a lone man and a lone woman), which usually implies that an unmarried man and woman alone in a room will naturally engage in inappropriate behavior.
• 6
  Chinese internet slang for pornographic or highly explicit films.