Meanwhile, the rest of the Li family moved from the dining area to the living room and started chatting with Shen Zichen whom Li Chuntao had temporarily abandoned. The woman didn"t even acknowledge him before leaving him with the rest of her family members. Zheng Yue and Old Madam Li had been asking him questions about his work, to which he had been politely answering. When Li Yuren and Li Chuntao came back from the study, they found him being overwhelmed by the older women"s questions. Shen Zichen helplessly looked at Li Chuntao while the latter raised a brow at him.
Why was he looking at her as if she"d bullied him?
Zheng Yue looked out the window and saw that it was starting to rain heavily outside. Since summer had officially ended, the rain had been pouring almost every day lately.. Worried that her niece would have a hard time going home, she wondered if she should ask them to stay the night.
Ever since Li Chuntao migrated, they"d been missing her so badly and now that she was here with them, Zheng Yue wasn"t ready to see her leave yet. She and Li Yuren were getting old, of course, they would want to see her more often and spend more time with her.
"Chuntao, it"s raining hard outside. Why don"t you and ZIchen stay here for the night? We can"t be sure what time the rain will stop tonight."
"Yes, stay here tonight. The roads might not be safe in this weather," Chairman Li agreed easily to his daughter-in-law"s suggestion.
Li Chuntao had no other choice but to agree since it was her grandfather who insisted for them to stay. She looked at Shen Zichen and she felt a headache coming her way.
Was it really necessary for her family to set her up with Young Master Shen like this? Weren"t they being too obvious?
Shen Zichen listened in silence as the Li family conversed with each other and when Li Chuntao looked at his way to see if he would reject her family"s request, he gave her a shrug.
"Fine. We"ll stay for the night and leave tomorrow morning."
Zheng Yue clapped her hands in glee. Even Old Madam Li was pleased with her answer.
"Great! I"ll ask someone to prepare the guest room for Zichen then." Zheng Yue said before calling out a maid to do the task.
Li Chuntao sat next to her grandmother and hummed her agreement. She wouldn"t dare to ruin the cheerful mood her aunt and grandma had due to their short stay.
"Chuntao, I"m glad you visited us. It"s been too long since we"ve seen you." Old Madam Li said as she gently stroked Li Chuntao"s long hair. "Are you taking care of yourself abroad? Are you seeing someone there?"
At her last question, Shen Zichen froze midway, sipping his tea as he waited for Li Chuntao"s answer. Shen Zichen wasn"t the only one curious to hear her answer, Zheng Yue was too. Both hadn"t considered that Li Chuntao might have been seeing someone during the seven long years she was abroad.
"Hmm, Grandma. I have no time for that. I do occasionally go for a few dates of course, but I"m not committed to anyone at the moment." Li Chuntao nonchalantly answered her grandmother.
Zheng Yue"s smile returned and winked at her husband, an action that wasn"t lost to Li Chuntao. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at her family"s curiosity.
Meanwhile, Shen Zichen was lost on how he should react. He was somewhat relieved to know that she wasn"t seeing anyone, but for her to forget about him…
Ah, why was she so forgetful? Was it really easy for her to forget what he said last night?
Shen Zichen remained silent, deep in his own thoughts as Li Chuntao busied herself catching up with her family.
An hour later, he found himself following Li Chuntao upstairs.
"Why are you following me?" She asked without looking at his direction.
Shen Zichen shrugged, buried his hands in his side pockets, and looked around.
"I don"t know where the guest room is." He pointed out.
"Ahh…" was the only thing Li Chuntao said. She stopped in front of her bedroom door before pointing to the last door at the end of the hallway. "The last room on the right side is the guest room. I"ll see you in the morning."
However, before she managed to close her door, Shen Zichen blocked it with his foot, stopping her. She glared at him.
"What is it now?" Li Chuntao sounded annoyed. She wasn"t sure why he was annoying her tonight.
"I"m not ready to sleep."
"So?" She still couldn"t understand what he was up to. Seeing that he wouldn"t budge, Li Chuntao allowed him to step inside the room she hadn"t been in for years and rolled her eyes. She was now regretting bringing him with her tonight.
"I"m gonna take a shower. You go keep yourself busy." She huffed, taking a pair of clean pajamas from her wardrobe before going to the bathroom, leaving him inside her room.
Shen Zichen hummed, looked around the room, and wasn"t surprised how her room was filled with books. On one side of the room, a huge bookshelf was installed, housing different books she had owned over the years.
He picked up a photo of Ying and Chuntao when they were kids, both sporting the same style of dress. Even as children, it was easy for him to differentiate the two. He put the frame back in place and checked her collection of books, his eyes slightly widening at the sight of the same erotica novel he hadn"t seen in years.
How did Chuntao manage to secure a copy of it? Ah, it must be his twin sister, Yuyan. Why wasn"t he surprised at all?
Shen Zichen picked up the book and flipped the pages in boredom. He then noticed a few scribbled notes tucked in between the pages. Taking the first note, he lifted it up to read. A second later, he felt his cheek burn red.
"Sister Yuyan, Brother Zichen is inexperienced. This book is like a crash course that would help him. Page 32 is a good start."
"Why these two!" A vein almost popped in his head, his lips twitching at their mischief.
Yuyan and Chuntao had always been partners in crime whenever they wanted to annoy him. He wouldn"t be surprised that the two had been planning this the whole time but the book simply never ended in his hand.
Curious at what Li Chuntao had stored for him, he flipped through the book and saw another note, marking the page. He almost choked with his own breath when he read the steamy love scene between two lovers.
He read the next note and noticed something handwritten on it.
"Page 87 would be better if done in the shower,"
Hearing the shower running in the bathroom, he couldn"t stop the blush that spread on his face. He didn"t need to read it and immediately shut the book, returning it to its position as if it burned his hand.
d.a.m.n, this woman. She really knew how to annoy him to death!
Li Chuntao was halfway through her showering when she heard the door of her room open and shut. She a.s.sumed that Shen ZIchen was in a hurry. She shook her head. What the h.e.l.l was wrong with him?