Shen Qingzhou looked at the disoriented girl in front of him. Her inky pupils were still unfocused...
His gaze held against hers for a few seconds, then shifted to the two pet dogs that had been roused by their voices. Red Bean and Yu Diandian had rested themselves against each other by his leg, and were looking at him with their little heads raised. Their Samoyed smiles were the cutest he'd ever seen.
Shen Qingzhou paused and looked at Yu Wan again. Why did he feel like he was raising three pets in his house...
Strangely, the chilliness on Shen Qingzhou's expression eased.
But Yu Wan's immediate reaction was to frantically let go of him, jump from the sofa, and say awkwardly to Shen Qingzhou: "Sorry, I fell asleep by accident, wait just a moment! I'll go make dinner right away."
It wasn't until she ran into the kitchen that Yu Wan realized something. Upon first glance, Shen Qingzhou's expression was very cold, but it seemed to have warmed slightly afterwards. That... Couldn't have been because of her random hugging, right?
In the living room, Shen Qingzhou looked at Yu Wan's panicked silhouette. A thin smile formed on his lips, then disappeared as quickly as it emerged.
Shen Qingzhou sat down on his sofa. His furniture, usually used by him and no one else, was still warm with Yu Wan's temperature. It felt peculiar, because her warmth seemed to linger on his waist, too. Shen Qingzhou wasn't very familiar with this sensation, so he went to the air conditioner and turned it down two degrees.
As he put the remote back on the coffee table, Shen Qingzhou's gaze fell upon the documents. The words "Underworld of Wolves" were stenciled very clearly on the cover. He picked it up and randomly flipped through. The papers were riddled with meticulous notes like an ant hill, and the writer's care and dedication could easily be seen. Shen Qingzhou flipped to the last page and saw the two words "Weiwan" written at the bottom.
Weiwan, Yu Wan.
Shen Qingzhou stared at the girl in the kitchen. So it was her, all along.
"Three dishes and a soup, complete." Yu Wan took her apron off and set two bowls of rice on the table.
Shen Qingzhou sat down on a chair and examined the dishes. Twice-cooked pork, sauteed green beans, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and a mushroom soup. Though they were common household dishes, they were made very delicately and were impeccable.
Yu Wan rested her chin against her palm. "Have a taste."
Shen Qingzhou picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. Yu Wan's gaze lingered on his hand holding his chopsticks. She felt that his slow though elegant pace was extremely attractive.
"It's not bad, right?" At least, Yu Wan was still confident in her cooking abilities.
Shen Qingzhou nodded. "It's decent."
"That's for sure." Yu Wan's mood rose greatly from his compliment. Before, she had never thought that her cooking was very good, but today... She felt that all those years had beenworth it.
Yu Wan picked up her chopsticks and also began to eat. Shen Qingzhou's hand stopped as he pinched some green beans. He looked up at Yu Wan, who was munching very naturally and didn't show a sign of hesitation. However, he didn't recall saying that she could eat with him.
Normally, he would probably boot someone like that out the door, but today he lost that impulse. Whatever, it wouldn't be very practical if she refused to cook for him anymore as a result of him doing that.
The two ate silently, and Yu Diandian and Red Bean also trotted over to catch up on the fun. They barked a few times and Yu Wan was exasperated. "What do you want, are you not full yet?"
"Woof, woof!"
At home, Yu Diandian liked to beg for scraps from time to time. Yu Wan gave up and threw a piece of meat into its mouth. Yu Diandian chewed in satisfaction, and Red Bean also started to beg her for a scrap. Yu Wan turned to Shen Qingzhou, "Can it eat something?"
It was just a piece of meat, so Shen Qingzhou nodded. Yu Wan tossed a piece into Red Bean's mouth.
As she fed them, the two dogs started to get more and more excited. They didn't leave even after feeding them many times.
Yu Wan put on a show of being angry at them. "I'm not going to give you guys any more, Mr. Shen isn't going to have anything left."
Shen Qingzhou, "..."
"Majesty, go play with Red Bean. Don't go around stealing other people's food."
Yu Diandian and Red Bean left with their heads drooped down, and Yu Wan turned back to Shen Qingzhou. "Since they like it so much, I'll make some more meat next time. That way, all three of you will have enough."
Shen Qingzhou, "..."
Did something feel out of place?
When they finished, Yu Wan put her bowl and chopsticks in the sink and went to play with Yu Diandian and Red Bean. Shen Qingzhou looked at the dirty dishes on the table and got up to follow Yu Wan.
"The dishes aren't washed."
Yu Wan laid down between the two cute pets and pushed Yu Diandian's head aside. "Then you can go wash them."
Shen Qingzhou stopped and looked at Yu Wan in confusion. "I wash them?"
Yu Wan nodded. "You hired me to cook, not wash dishes. You wash dishes and I cook, isn't that perfect?"
Shen Qingzhou, "..."
He had never washed dishes once in his lifetime.
Yu Wan laughed at the two dogs' playfulness and squeezed in a suggestion, "Or, you can bring the dishes and wash them at my place, I have a dishwasher in my kitchen... Ah, Red Bean, let go..."
Shen Qingzhou looked down upon the mess that was the three of them and took a deep breath. He turned around and walked back to the kitchen.
He couldn't bear a messy house, though he hadn't employed a maid yet. Shen Qingzhou hadn't expected her to refuse washing dishes so confidently, and he couldn't argue against her logic at all. It was true that he didn't seem to have specified on this matter when he employed her.
He looked at the dirty dishes and leftovers and finally carried them to the kitchen.
Yu Wan messed with the two pets for a little while before glancing at Shen Qingzhou's shadow. Shen Qingzhou stood up and walked to the kitchen.
She liked to cook but hated washing dishes, so she bought a dishwasher at home. Earlier, she didn't really mean for him to actually go wash the dishes and was merely joking. She thought to just take the dishes home to wash later, but she hadn't expected Shen Qingzhou to actually do it.
She peered around the corner and watched him clumsily wash one plate at a time. "Mr. Shen, have you never washed dishes before?"
She peered around the corner and watched him clumsily wash one plate at a time. "Mr. Shen, have you never washed dishes before?"
Shen Qingzhou didn't answer her and turned to face her with an icy stare. "I'll buy a dishwasher tomorrow."
"...Oh."
Yu Wan went home with Yu Diandian as soon as she had gathered all her things. With a sudden thought, she opened Weibo and searched "Shen Qingzhou".
As expected, his account was verified*. Yu Wan excitedly clicked into his profile, but there wasn't much other than some retweets of movie trailers. There were no signs of life on the page.
However, Yu Wan still followed Shen Qingzhou's Weibo. Her "following" list grew by one along with Jian Yunong and Yu Huan's accounts.
Her cooking arrangement for Shen Qingzhou continued for two more weeks. She started to get creative with her dishes, and even though he didn't say much, Yu Wan could clearly see his immense satisfaction with each meal.
Yu Wan was glad that she didn't mind his cold attitude. She was fine with just the privilege of admiring a hunk ever day.
Jian Yunong frequently called her, and she would never leave the topic of Shen Qingzhou. Her enthusiastic praise of Shen Qingzhou had never stopped, and she kept telling Yu Wan to revere or even worship Shen-dao. She nearly fainted after Yu Wan told her about her cooking job and started nagging at her constantly to secretly take a photo of Shen Qingzhou eating; but of course, Yu Wan would never do something like that, nor would she ever have the guts to.
On a Friday morning, Yu Wan was about to start writing after getting out of bed and finishing her morning routine.
Just as she sat down at the computer, the doorbell rang. Yu Wan stood up and sluggishly walked to open the door. When she slumped against the peephole, she was instantly stunned.
She quickly opened the door, "Morning, Mr. Shen. Why are you here so early?"
Shen Qingzhou, "It's not early, it's ten o'clock."
"Oh."
Yu Wan awkwardly cleared her throat and sized him up. She realized that he was dressed rather formally today. He wore a business shirt and tie and had a suit draped on his forearm. His stature carried a strict and unrelenting manner.
Yu Wan, "You're here because?" It was only the second time he had stood at her doorstep. Normally, they would communicate directly by phone.
Shen Qingzhou, "I have to go on a trip for a few days, so I want to leave Red Bean to you."
Yu Wan looked down at Red Bean. "No problem, but... When are you coming back?"
"Not sure."
"Oh, okay."
Shen Qingzhou said, "You only have to make food for it and walk it at night. Otherwise, it can stay at my home."
Yu Wan frowned. "It doesn't sound right for it to stay at your place alone. Why not have it stay with me? Yu Diandian can keep it company and I can look after it."
Shen Qingzhou paused, "Fine."
"Mm." Yu Wan smiled as she crouched down. "Red Bean, that means you'll be crashing with me. Aren't you excited?"
"Woof, woof!!"
Shen Qingzhou, "Then I'll be leaving."
Yu Wan looked up at him and lifted Red Bean's paw. "Say goodbye to your owner."
Shen QIngzhou's gaze lingered on Yu Wan's shining face, and reached down to pat Red Bean's head. He lowered his voice, "Be good."
"Got it."
Shen Qingzhou paused and looked at the girl who jumped to answer. A smile flickered in his eyes.
Yu Wan realized that her words had been a bit strange, but she quickly regained her composure. "Red Bean won't have any problems. I'll call you if anything happens."
Shen Qingzhou stood up and turned to leave. Red Bean barked at his silhouette a couple times, then was led into the apartment by Yu Wan.
Shen Qingzhou was gone for four days and called her every night without fail. Yu Wan reported on Red Bean's day to him every time in a formal manner.
Today, Yu Wan took Yu Diandian and Red Bean out for a walk as usual. She followed behind them and went to the garden in the neighborhood to play.
There were kids about twelve to thirteen years old at the garden, and they immediately ran up to play with the dogs when they saw them.
Yu Diandian was rather familiar with them, but Red Bean seemed a bit bothered by strangers. The kids were still excited and petted them enthusiastically.
Yu Wan stood nearby and smiled at the kids circling around the dogs. Her earbuds rested comfortably in her ears, and she sat down on a bench while listening to music and watching the reservoir in the distance.
Yu Wan didn't pay attention to the two dogs for a while, so it was only until she heard strange noises through her earbuds when she looked over.
The scene was enough to make her heart jump with fright. All of her blood seemed to rush to her head.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!" Yu Wan felt like she had never yelled this loudly before. She ran to the dogs and the kids with her hands shaking.
It was obvious that the three children didn't know that the dogs' owner was Yu Wan, and their faces paled at the sight of her.
"I, I didn't mean to do it." A boy wearing a blue T-shirt stuttered in panic.
"Yeah, my brother didn't mean to do it, the doggie suddenly jumped forward, my brother cut it because he was scared!" A girl stood in front of the boy and said.
"That can't be true! There's no way Red Bean would ever jump on you, it's not aggressive at all!" Yu Wan was furious. She knew Red Bean, it would never try to harm someone given how calm it usually was.
"It... It jumped and was going to bite..." The girl locked eyes with Yu Wan.
Yu Wan glared at them, brimming with anger.
But it wasn't the time to get angry. Yu Wan turned back to look at Red Bean's wound. There was a long cut along its side, and she didn't know how deep it was. Because the blood had matted the fur, she couldn't even see the wound.
Out of the corner of her eye, Yu Wan saw the boxcutter in the kid's hand. A vein bulged at her temple, and her heart felt crumpled. Yu Diandian had been sick before, and Yu Wan was hysterical every time it was. Seeing Red Bean's horrific injury was almost enough to make her faint.