Shen I, who was waiting for A Miao downstairs, immediately fished out his phone after seeing her disappear into the dark and gritty building.
"Boss! She has returned to her old home."
"Yes, I'm waiting dowanstairs."
"Yes. When she woke up and saw that you're not around, she immediately asked where you've gone."
"Yes, I told her! I told her that you were very busy and left for the company."
"Okay, I understand!"
After ending the call, Shen Xinglan pursed his lips. The woman was tactful enough to at least know to ask after him.
"Boss?" Shen II paused. He thought he saw Shen Xinglan smile earlier.
Shen Xinglan cast him a glance without any expression. "Nothing. Continue."
"There's a little hiccup in the acquisition over in the United States." Shen II was an exemplary subordinate who absolutely obeyed orders and did not engage in gossip. He immediately returned to their topic at hand. "Our men discovered that it was Ji Yan's handiwork after an investigation."
"Bai Yongwei's son?" Shen Xinglan lifted an eyebrow. "The old man has given him only a company to play with. Looks like he's no longer satisfied with it and wants something larger."
"He has been buying the company's shares and they're no longer willing to accept the price that we've agreed on."
Shen Xinglan scowled. "Who's responsible for the operations there?"
"Someone named Li Junbao." Shen II glanced at the information in his hand. "It's a veteran personnel of Ji Conglomerate. He's one of the employees who worked hard with Elder Ji to establish the company."
He paused before adding, "I suspect that Ji Yan has roped him in."
"Looks like I'll need to make a personal visit," Shen Xinglan said impatiently. "Go and arrange it. We'll leave tomorrow morning."
When he returned home that night, his impatience rose to a peak after not seeing that woman in the living room.
"Where is she?"
Shen I pointed upstairs. "She returned to her room after dinner and did not step out."
"Did she eat dinner on her own?" Shen Xinglan's voice rose by several octaves.
"Y-Yes…"
"Hehe! Very well!"
Shen Xinglan took large strides into the dining hall. Auntie Zhang immediately placed the dishes in front of him. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and slammed them on the table after just a few bites.
"Tell her to come down."
Shen I turned his head to look at Shen II. The latter acted like he had gone deaf.
"Boss, what if she's asleep?" Shen I had no choice but to ask himself.
Shen Xinglan cast him a sinister look. "Wake her up if she's asleep. Don't you know how to wake someone?"
"I do! I do!" Shen I ran upstairs while nodding.
When A Miao heard a knock at her door, she was watching television while lying in bed. There was no television in her room in the Xia family villa. To be more precise, she had very few chances to watch television so comfortably.
"Miss!" Shen I knocked on the door.
A Miao was currently watching a celebrity variety show and laughing so hard that she was gasping for breath. "Do you need me?"
"Boss asks you to come down."
"... Can I say I don't want to go?"
She opened the door with an unsightly expression. "Why is your Boss looking for me?"
"I don't know." Shen I made an inviting gesture. "You better go down and take a look immediately!"
A Miao lost all anger after thinking about it for three seconds.
"This home is his and so is the television! What's there to get angry about…" After considering this, she adjusted her expression and walked downstairs with a wide smile.
"Looks like you're living quite comfortably."
A Miao sat on the other side of the dining table. "Yes! I have to thank you for that. At least I don't have to be constantly on my toes here and worry about someone hurting me."
She looked at Shen Xinglan with her bright eyes which looked weird with the makeup. Shen Xinglan even felt they were not so ugly because he was familiar with them or of something else.
"You still have a conscience at least." The man moved somewhat awkwardly.
"There's something I want to talk to you about." Seeing as he was in a rather good mood, A Miao took the opportunity to say, "Do you have time to listen to me?"
Shen Xinglan had been furious earlier but for some reason, he found himself calm again. This seemed to be his first conversation with A Miao that did not stink of gunpowder.
"Say it." He picked up his chopsticks.
"I want to attend university." A Miao saw him glancing at her and immediately added, "I'm not saying I want to study overseas. It's fine to study at a local university."
She had thought about it. She was certain she could not leave while bearing the title of Shen Xinglan's fiancee.
"It's my dream to attend university. I hope you can agree," A Miao continued. "I've applied for a spot in a nearby university before living with the Xia family. I ought to sit for the examination at the end of this month."
Shen Xinglan put down his bowl. "It's a prestigious university. Will you succeed?"
"I don't foresee any problem."
A Miao was rather confident in this aspect. She scratched her fingertips as she said, "I'll try my best to get good results and fight for a scholarship. I'll work as I study to cover my other expenditure. I promise not to trouble you."
Her words were like flipping a switch. Shen Xinglan felt a burst of anger rising to his head.
"Up to you." He stood up and walked out of the dining hall. Before he left, however, he left behind these words, "You're not allowed to tell anyone at the university about our relationship. I can't bear that sort of shame."
A Miao curled her lips. "I would have to be mad to tell anyone…"
"Don't worry. I don't want others to know either." She nodded especially sincerely but found that the man seemed to be even angrier.
Shen Xinglan left with a dark expression. A Miao patted her chest and said, "What's that guy's heart made out of? He changes his mind like he changes clothes!"
After returning to his room, Shen Xinglan sat without moving for a long time. He remembered that he had called the woman to come downstairs to teach her a lesson. How dare she eat dinner without waiting for the owner to come back?
"No manners at all," Shen Xinglan said to no one. He then remembered that the woman was still unaware that he would be going on a business trip tomorrow and stood up to open the door.
It so happened that A Miao was walking up the stairs with a banana in her mouth.
Thus, both of them stood at two ends of the corridor. One wore no expression. No one could tell what he was thinking. The other looked wide-eyed with a banana in her mouth and wore a foolish expression.
"Idiot!"
Shen Xinglan scolded her before slamming the door with a thud.
"Cough…" A Miao hastily spat out her banana. She shook her head as she pushed open the door to her room.
"Sigh. That guy is indeed a psycho…"
The sky was just beginning to brighten when the man on the large black bed stirred. He then violently turned over and sat up.
"Damn it!"
Shen Xinglan climbed down the bed with a gloomy expression and entered the bathroom to take a shower. Once he was clean, he picked up his underpants and threw them straight into the rubbish bin.
"It's all that foolish woman's fault…" Shen Xinglan's ears abruptly reddened as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
To think that he actually had a wet dream!
The last time he had a wet dream was when he was 16 and that had been a physiological reaction during puberty. This time, however…
Last night, he dreamed about a woman with an obscured face kneeling in front of him while eating a banana. However, the woman did not bite down on the banana no matter what. All she did was push it in and out of her mouth without stopping.
The woman then abruptly pulled down his trousers. Just as he was feeling pleasure, the woman raised her head and her face became clear to him. It actually turned out to be A Miao! Shen Xinglan immediately woke up in fright.
"It must be because I've been working too hard recently," he said seriously. "I'll need to go on a vacation after coming back from the United States."
A Miao did not know when Shen Xinglan left. She stayed in her room to revise her studies after having breakfast. Even if she was confident that she would test well, it was always a good thing to get the highest possible score!
It was only after three days that she noticed that the man seemed to have not returned…
"Shen I, is your Boss very busy lately?" she finally asked.
Shen I looked at her as if he was looking at his savior. "Yes! Exactly! Our Boss has gone on a business trip and will only come back next week."
"Wooo! She finally pops the question!"
Only heaven knew the circumstances in which he made his report to his boss each day. Even through the phone, he could feel Shen Xinglan's anger when the latter found out that A Miao had yet to discover that he was not around.
"No wonder." A Miao nodded happily. Seeing the strange look that Shen I shot her, she thought that she could not make her feelings so obvious.
Then she said in a voice that she thought was very sincere, "Oh dear. What a pity. I'll be all alone…"
"Hehehe!" Shen I pretended that he had gone blind. He saw nothing at all.
Naturally, A Miao did not understand Shen I's distress. It would be Friday tomorrow. She had promised that Zhou Xiao could come to play.
"That… Shen I!"
"It's that kind of tone again." Shen I took a step back in retreat. "You can be straightforward with me, Miss."
"I have an especially, especially close friend who wants to visit me tomorrow. Is that okay?"
Shen I instantly knew that she was referring to Zhou Xiao. "Sure! Do you want me to pick her up?"
"That's great! I'll be troubling you." A Miao looked grateful, but later felt that she was unable to fully express her goodwill and added, "You're so much better than that II!"
"Pfft!"
"II?"
"You're referring to Shen II?"
A Miao nodded fervently. "That's right. He doesn't talk."
"Come on! Please say that again. I want to record it." Shen I placed his phone in front of A Miao's mouth.
When night fell, it was once again time to report A Miao's daily activities.
"What did she do today?" Inside the voice call, Shen Xinglan was wearing a black suit and looked like he was ready to head out.
Shen I was all smiles as he replied, "Miss A Miao has finally asked the question. When she found out that Boss is away on a business trip, her expression was especially downcast."
There was a minute change in Shen Xinglan's expression on the other end. With Shen I's eyesight, there was no way he could detect it.
"She's still revising her studies the rest of the time." Shen I paused before adding, "I secretly took a look at her books. They're all related to archaeology and antiques."
Shen Xinglan raised an eyebrow but then ended the video call without saying another word.
"Is he happy or not…" Shen I scratched the back of his head.
The next afternoon, A Miao prepared a lot of dishes. Previously, she had thickened her face to request Auntie Zhang to buy more fruits when the latter was doing her groceries shopping. Shen I happened to overhear her.
"Miss, if there's something you'd like to eat, we can buy it at the supermarket."
"There's nothing I want to eat," A Miao replied. "I don't have any more money…"
"Are you worrying about money?" Shen I was like the worm in her belly. "Didn't you see the card inside your drawer?"
"What card?" A Miao shook her head in confusion. "I don't see it. What card?"
Shen I made a lot of noise as he ran up the stairs with her. "Inside the bedside cabinet. Open and take a look."
"That's…" A Miao pulled open the drawer and found a bank card inside.
"It's your reward for helping our Boss previously." Shen I looked at her. "It's a credit card that you can directly withdraw money from."
A Miao cast him a doubtful look. "Don't joke around. Your Boss only knows how to plot against me and make me pay him…"
"It's true!" Shen I said in a particularly solemn voice. "Our Boss said the money in the card is considered compensation for not being able to send you to study overseas as per your agreement."
"How much money is in it?" A Miao felt that this line of reasoning was rather logical.
Shen I shook his head. "I have no idea. You should give it a swipe and see!"