【8.】

  To be honest, I didn't feel that angry at the time. After all, it wasn't like he came out of my bedroom... Even if Shen Zhuang really wanted to play around, there was no need to bring it here and cause trouble... Furthermore, deep down in my heart, I didn't believe that Shen Zhuang would do something like this.

  What a joke! If he was this kind of person, he would have had his arms around many women 800 years ago, why wait until today?

  I turned my head and looked at Jiang Ma: "Didn't Shen Dang get up?"

  "Master must have gone out for dinner last night and came back very late, he's probably still asleep now."

  I nodded and changed into slippers to enter the house, seeing Zhou Ruixue standing awkwardly on one side, I couldn't help but find it amusing. Nothing had happened, so why was she acting as if she had committed a grave mistake?

  "Sister..."

  I smiled and said: "Good morning, want to eat?"

  She didn't respond either, and just kept pulling on my pajamas.

  "Sister... last night was..." She seemed to struggle to find the right words, her eyes unintentionally glancing up at Shen Dong's bedroom on the second floor.

  I sat at the dinner table: "Don't wait for him, he's always loved sleeping. Let's eat first."

  Mother Jiang served me a bowl of porridge with some small dishes, all of which were the most ordinary ones we usually eat. I still had something on my mind and couldn't swallow my food.

  Zhou Ruixue stood aside with a wronged expression, I originally wanted to comfort her, but didn't know what to say, after all, I had no idea what happened.

  "Miss Zhou, why don't you sit down and eat with us? Standing there makes it seem like we're making things difficult for you."

  "Nowhere... isn't..."

  I beckoned her over: "Aunt Jiang didn't mean anything else, just don't want you to be estranged from us. Come sit down and eat together."

  As they spoke, the door of the house upstairs opened. Shen Duan seemed to have drunk wine last night, frowning with his eyes barely open, and shouted: "Aunt Jiang, has Liu Jia returned?"

  This sentence... I feel that from the moment I saw Zhou Ruixue, my trust in him has been worthwhile.

  "Ha! What's the point of asking me? He's right here sitting in front of us!"

  Shen Duan was wearing a nightgown and looked like he had just woken up, completely like a little kid. I found it amusing and smiled: "Wait for me for a bit."

  After speaking, he put down the things in his hand and ran upstairs. Shen Zhong immediately pretended to be angry and said: "Not returning home at night? You're quite capable!"

  I stuck out my tongue and didn't speak, looking at Shen Zhong with a flattering expression.

  He snorted, "I'm not buying that. If she weren't here, would I have gone out to eat and drink with people until so late? Beizi kept asking me if I had a falling out with you, or else why did I run out in the middle of the night."

  The words sounded like a gentle breeze, but I knew the person downstairs must have heard it and wasn't pleased. I sighed, leaned against Shen Dong's shoulder and whispered: "Don't make it too hard for others to save face."

  "You're being generous now."

  I know what he means and I also know that he is now in a bad mood. Although I can be a bit of a troublemaker at ordinary times, when Shen Zhong really gets angry, I rarely go against him.

  Shen Duan wrapped his arms around me and entered the bedroom, he seemed to still be sleepy, originally was going to chat with me, chatted for a while and fell asleep, I didn't rest well yesterday either, lying beside him gradually also fell asleep.

  After waking up, it was probably in the afternoon, I picked up his phone on the bedside table to check the time.

  As expected...

  I pushed him: "Shen Zhong... want to get up? Aren't you hungry?"

  He responded vaguely with a grunt, seemingly not wanting to get up. I thought about how he had drunk wine last night and hadn't eaten breakfast. Normally if I was this lazy in bed, he would have already started lecturing me on the importance of nourishing my spleen and stomach for health, so why did he completely forget all that when it came to himself?

  "How about getting up and having something to eat?" I coaxed in a soothing tone, "You'll starve your stomach if you're not careful."

  He closed his eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips, and said, "Say it again."

  "Huh?"

  "I'm starving, say it again."

  I sighed, some people are just so childish sometimes.

  I had no choice but to speak softly again, thinking that he would get up after I finished speaking. Who knew that as soon as my words fell, Shen Zhong's long arm stretched out and pulled me into his arms.

  This dragged on for over an hour, and in the end I used every trick in the book, soft and hard tactics combined, before he finally let me off. When I went downstairs to eat, Zhou Ruixue had already left, but I still asked: "When did Zhou Ruixue leave?"

  "Me neither," said Jiang's mother with a pout. "You two went to sleep and I went out to buy groceries. Who knows when she left."

  I have nothing to say for or against it.

  "Really, it's not me saying this to you, but for goodness' sake, can't you be more aware of things? This person has already brought you into their home, and yet you're still so careless?"

  "Who says I'm not taking it seriously?"

  "If you had been more careful...you wouldn't have let them stay here overnight last night."

  I was just wondering about this: "How could she stay here for a night? What did she say?"

  Jiang's mother put down what she was holding, sat down beside me, completely ignoring Shen Zhuo: "I said it was you who invited her. And I called you to ask if I should believe you, and you didn't answer. I said goodbye several times, but the guest insisted on staying, and when it got dark, as a girl, I couldn't drive her out anymore. You and your master weren't back yet, so I thought, let's just have her stay overnight."

  I nodded silently and Shen Zhong gave me some dishes: "Don't think about it."

  "Nor did I think..."

  He looked at me and sighed, seemingly very helpless.

  There were no classes that day, and neither Shen Duan nor I went to school. The next day when we went back to school, I unexpectedly received a call from Zhou Ruixue.

  He asked me out for lunch and I gladly accepted.

  Her appearance seemed to have deteriorated overnight, and the lively look of the past was gone. After I sat down, I thought about ordering a few dishes, but she interrupted me: "Senior, I came today just to ask you one question, and after you answer it, I'll leave, as for this meal, I don't have the mood to eat with you."

  I nodded: "Go on."

  She looked at me, her eyes slightly red, and I saw a hint of sadness: "Why do you trust him so much? I've always thought that even if we didn't get any benefits from him that night, it would be better to let you misunderstand. But why are you so calm and composed? Why do you believe in him so much?"

  I smiled: "Zhou Ruixue, I may be older than you by a few years, but it's not for nothing. You think I'm overbearing and rude on a daily basis, and Shen Zhong seems to have no way with me. But this is actually all because we're in love. My personality isn't like that, although I don't have much wisdom, I'm not a brainless person either. You're getting close to me for what reason? Anyone with eyes can see it. Shen Zhong told you, because he loves me, so he can spoil my bad temper, let me think and say whatever I want like a child. Because I'm the one he loves, I can enjoy these privileges. And he is the one I love, so he's worth my trust."

  She lowered her head and I couldn't see her expression. There was still something I wanted to say, but thinking that some words didn't need to be said too much, she only needed an answer, why bother giving her too much.

  "I get it now. At first I thought... " She laughed self-deprecatingly "But it turns out I'm the fool."

  I took a sip of water: "In this world, there's no such thing as stupid or not stupid. Zhou Ruixue, from the first day you approached me, I knew why. The reason I've kept you by my side for so long is just because you're still a kid... Maybe when you reach my age, you'll understand. The connection between people is hard to come by; being able to know you is everyone's fate."

  When I was young, I saw a sentence in a book called: Great wisdom is like foolishness.

  I don't claim to be a particularly wise person, but I think that often, being wise is just about being kind to others.

  She's so cautious and calculating, but in the end, one misstep can lead to complete defeat. It's actually easier for me, just watching from the sidelines with a cool head.

  Actually, the love that can be defeated by conspiracy is not love at all. If I had wavered for a moment when I saw her appear in the kitchen, if I had a slight doubt when I saw her wearing my pajamas.

  That is an unforgivable blasphemy against me, Shen Zhuo and our love.

  After returning home, he excitedly told Shen Zhong about the matter. After listening to it, Shen Zhong pondered for a moment and asked: "You really believe in me that much?"

  "Of course, it's not like we're filming a TV series, why be so over-the-top?"