Quick Wear: Child Bearing System

Chapter 10

Harriet paused for a moment after Shen Wenyu’s question lingered in the air. The breeze stirred lightly through the garden, brushing the lilies and carrying the faint fragrance of flowers and damp soil. The quiet trickle of the fountain nearby filled the silence between them, steady and unhurried.

She knew Shen Wenyu was watching her. Even without looking directly at him, she could feel the weight of his gaze it was sharp, patient and calculating. He was the type of man who waited for people to reveal themselves. One careless answer, one misplaced expression, and he would see through it. So she allowed the silence to stretch.

If she said too much, he would pick it apart. If she said too little, he would suspect she was hiding something.

Finally, she spoke.

“People naturally appreciate beautiful things,” Harriet said calmly. “Isn’t there a saying the love of beauty is something all people share?” Her voice carried a light, thoughtful tone, as if she had merely recalled a proverb out of passing interest. But her steps stopped. The wheelchair rolled to a quiet halt beside the fountain.

For a brief moment Harriet remained behind him, her hands resting lightly on the handles. Then she stepped forward, moving slowly around the chair until she stood in front of him.

Shen Wenyu’s gaze followed her.

She could feel it tracing every step she took. The moment she reached him, she leaned forward. Then she bent slightly, slowly and deliberately she moved her face closer.

Harriet kept her expression composed, her breathing steady. She knew exactly what she was doing. Yet inside her heart, things were not nearly as calm. Her pulse quickened faintly as she leaned closer to him. It was subtle, but she felt it clearly the strange combination of nervousness and excitement tightening faintly in her chest.

Back then in the past before her life had taken such unexpected turns she had never been the type to approach someone so boldly. She had always been cautious with people, careful about boundaries, especially with men.

Yet here she was now, deliberately closing the distance between them as if she had practiced the act countless times. The realization almost made her laugh. Still despite the slight tension in her chest, there was another feeling rising quietly beneath it.

It was curiosity while unbeknownst to her thoughts Shen Wenyu had always been the same around her cold, distant, indifferent. Like a block of ice carved into a perfect shape. No matter what happened, his composure never seemed to crack. That calm, unreadable expression of his made people instinctively cautious.

Now their faces were only inches apart. She paused there deliberately. For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. The air between them seemed to tighten, the quiet garden fading into the background as the distance separating them shrank to almost nothing. From this close, every detail of Harriet’s face became impossible to ignore. And then she smiled it was not a shy smile nor was it restrained.

Her lips curved easily, revealing small white teeth neat and delicate, like tiny pearls set behind soft rose-colored lips. The smile appeared naturally, without the slightest trace of hesitation, as if she had simply allowed a hidden warmth within her to surface. The effect was unexpectedly striking.
Harriet was already beautiful even when her face was calm. Her features were refined and balanced, the kind of beauty that did not shout for attention but quietly drew the eye.

Her skin was smooth and pale, almost luminous beneath the soft daylight filtering through the trees. The faint glow of the sun brushed against her cheekbones, highlighting the gentle curve of her face. Her eyebrows were slender and softly arched, framing eyes that held a calm and intelligent brightness. Those eyes clear and steady seemed almost too composed for someone standing this close to another person.