Shen Xinglan was lying down holding A Miao, the two of them breathing one after the other in the dark room. He held his breath and tried to find her rhythm. In the end, both of their breaths converged, and you could not distinguish between the two.
"Really... I do like her." Shen Xinglan looked at the woman in his arms, stretched out his hand, and gently stroked her face.
"I've been running away for so long, but in the end, I can't escape."
When Shen Xinglan closed his eyes and opened them again, it was clear and bright. He gave A Miao a light look and then pulled away.
"Boss." Shen III waited at the door until he came out to meet him.
"There is one thing that is very strange. When we were looking for the young lady, we found another group of people looking for someone. It seemed like they were also looking for the young lady."
Shen Xinglan scowled. "You lost them?"
Since Shen III had said so, it meant that they had already checked it out, but found nothing.
"Yes, that group of people seemed to fall from the sky and then disappeared in the twinkling of an eye." Shen III looked ashamed. "Do you want us to continue to check..."
"No." Shen Xinglan slowly walked down the stairs. "When it is time to come out, they will naturally come out."
The next day, A Miao woke up early in the morning and went to look for Shen Xinglan after packing.
"The Boss has gone to the company." Shen II told her with a straight face.
A Miao felt a loss in her heart, but immediately adjusted her mood and asked him, "Yesterday..."
"It was Ji Xue." Shen II did not deceive her. "The Boss said he would handle it."
"What to deal with..." A Miao sighed in her heart. "Ji Xue's identity is there. How to deal with it?"
"Miss." Shen II pursed his lips. "Next week will be Boss's birthday."
A Miao's eyes wandered for a moment. "Huh?"
"There are some things that don't have to be seen superficially. Those who bully the young lady come to no good end," Shen II said, probably feeling that he had said a little too much, and then nodded and ran away as if someone were chasing him.
Was this... reminding her?
"Indeed, Shen I is a better communicator." A Miao shrugged her shoulders, thinking of Shen II's words just now. "Birthday..."
Because she wanted to thank Shen Xinglan, A Miao waited all day for him to come back. But she still didn't see him when it turned dark. She had dinner alone, went upstairs to take a bath, and then took a book to lie on the sofa in the living room.
At midnight, there was a sound at the entrance of the Shen home, and Shen Xinglan came in and stood motionless.
"Boss?" Shen III followed him.
"Keep your voice down. Go away." Shen Xinglan took off his coat and went over to the sofa to cover it carefully.
Only then did Shen III notice that someone was lying there, and he withdrew once he was aware of that.
"What should I do with you..." In the quiet living room, his helpless voice was heard.
A Miao moved and opened her eyes.
"Shen Xinglan?" She turned on the lamp on the table. "Oh! You're back."
"Do you want to get sick lying here in this weather?" He stood up, walked to the opposite side, and sat down.
A Miao rubbed her eyes. "I was waiting for you and accidentally fell asleep."
That sentence of her waiting for him made Shen Xinglan's heart jump. He even covered up his chest so he could calm down.
"What's wrong with you?" A Miao saw that he did not look right.
"Nothing," Shen Xinglan said casually. "Why were you waiting for me?"
A Miao's eyes drifted away. "It was nothing. I just... just wanted to say thank you.
"I know!" When she saw that Shen Xinglan was about to open his mouth, she hurried to say, "I know it's so trivial to say thank you, you've saved me so many times, but... I don't know what else to say besides thank you..."
Shen Xinglan raised his hand to interrupt her. "Didn't you say that it was all because of me?"
"What?" A Miao did not understand.
"You said that it was all because of me that you were targeted. If I hadn't said that you were my fiancee, Ji Xue wouldn't have targeted you."
Shen Xinglan looked at her indifferently. "So you don't have to thank me. Because I used you, I have to save your life."
"Oh..." A Miao lowered her head and, after a while, looked at the man opposite her with a smile. "I understand, but I still want to thank you!" Then she stood up. "It's getting late, I'm going to bed."
She left at a quick pace and, once out of sight, Shen Xinglan clenched his fist.
"Shanshan..." he murmured.
He knew that he liked A Miao, but he could not do that... He could not tell A Miao that he liked her. What would he do if Shanshan were to appear later?
Could he abandon A Miao and be with Shanshan?
"Just let it be. At least, for now, I will protect her."
Under the light shadow, struggle and hesitation flashed across Shen Xinglan's eyes, which soon after... became calm without wavering.
A Miao returned to school on Monday, and Jiang Hua sent her a message asking her out to dinner.
"Are you all right?" As soon as they met, Jiang Hua asked her.
A Miao sat down with fried pork meatballs. "It's nothing? Why do you ask?"
"I saw your fiance at school last Friday." Jiang Hua looked at her. "He seemed to be looking for something in a hurry."
As half of the meatballs fell to the table as she bit into them, A Miao had a pitiful look and wanted to clip back.
"It's dirty." Jiang Hua pushed her a share of ribs. "He was looking for you!"
A Miao smiled. "I say, Professor Jiang, why do you gossip so much!"
"Aren't we friends?" Jiang Hua stared at her.
"Er..." A Miao opened her mouth. "We should be."
"So you must know that I care about my friends." Jiang Hua shrugged his shoulders. "Unless... you don't regard me as a friend."
A Miao rolled her eyes, and then said with a serious face, "Well, you know, it's a big family feud!"
"Haha!" Jiang Hua was amused by her. "Have you ever thought about leaving such a rich family?"
Seeing A Miao stare blankly at him, Jiang Hua also put on a serious face. "I'm serious. If it doesn't suit you, why don't you leave?"
"Stop joking," said Miao with a fake smile. "I'm somebody else's fiancee!"
Jiang Hua stared at her and gave her a half-smile. "Do you want more meat? I'll go and get another one."
"Yes!" A Miao nodded vigorously. When Jiang Hua stood up, she suddenly whispered some words.
"Thank you."
Jiang Hua lifted the corners of his mouth and stepped forward. "Why are you so polite to me? Aren't we friends?"
Soon after, A Miao found out one thing that Ji Xue was hiding from her. Although the two were not in the same department, they met occasionally a few times and Ji Xue avoided her from afar.
"Because Mr. Ji asked her to apologize to you." When Shen II came to pick her up on Friday, he said, "But Boss said that she would definitely not go."
A Miao nodded. "She'd better not come."
"Anyway... the Boss will not let anyone off who bullies you." Shen II stressed again and again.
Seeing that he was not uncomfortable, A Miao asked curiously, "Do you have something to say? Your facial expression is like Shen I's."
"It was he who insisted on me saying it." Shen II said with a serious face, "He is afraid that the young lady will forget the Boss's birthday."
A Miao gave him a thumbs up. "What a good Chinese bodyguard!"
Of course, she had not forgotten, the gifts were all ready. A Miao pinched her schoolbag and smiled. "Tomorrow is his birthday. How about I cook a meal?"
"What does miss mean?"
"It means you have to find a way to keep your Boss at home!"
A Miao indeed had thought about whether Shen Xinglan was interested in her. But that night, what he very clearly said killed the little seedlings in her heart before it's sprouted.
But later on, she thought that she must have had her brain removed. She and Shen Xinglan were from two completely different worlds. What she needed to do now was to finish college well. If she performed better during ordinary times, maybe Shen Xinglan would let her study abroad.
This was the real reason she wanted to celebrate Shen Xinglan's birthday.
"Boss, are you going out?" When Shen Xinglan came downstairs early in the morning, Shen II came over to meet him.
Shen Xinglan narrowed and squinted his eyes. "Speak up if you have something to say."
"There's no car."
Shen Xinglan had no response.
"It's just that, Boss, the cars have been sent to be overhauled." Shen II's eyes drifted away and he felt that Shen I's idea was not good at all.
Sure enough, Shen Xinglan looked at him with a sneer. "All five cars of the family have been sent to be repaired?"
"Yes." Shen II looked in the eyes of Shen III, who had been standing in the background, and wanted him to come over and confirm it.
But Shen III was as blind as...
"I know." Shen Xinglan lightly threw out a sentence.
"Did I succeed?" Shen II was about to relax when he heard...
"Then go to the foot of the mountain, take a taxi to the company, and drive a car back to pick me up."
Shen II looked at his Boss in shock.
"Don't tell me the company has sent more than a dozen cars to be overhauled." Shen Xinglan looked at him with pressing eyes.
"I'll go!" Shen III finally regained his eyesight and took the initiative to step forward.
Shen Xinglan glanced at them and entered the dining room.
Then, Shen III did not come back until the sun went down.
"Boss... his phone can't be reached." Shen II already did not know how many times he reported that Shen III's phone had been turned off.
Shen III did not come back, but the fresh ingredients from the Internet that A Miao ordered had arrived.
"I'm cooking tonight. I hope you indulge in eating it." She carried the ingredients into the kitchen.
Shen Xinglan scowled and said nothing. After a long time, A Miao appeared at the door. "Dinner is ready!"
"Why do you want to cook yourself?" Shen Xinglan stopped just as he finished speaking.
The dining room was obviously decorated. In addition to flowers, there was a cake in the middle of the table.
"I baked a cake for the first time, and I don't know if it is delicious." A Miao pulled out a chair. "Please!"
Shen Xinglan pursed his lips and walked over. "It seems that you have bribed all my bodyguards."
"I just want to celebrate your birthday." A Miao put a big bowl in front of him. "Don't bite it off and eat it all at once."
The thick bone soup had a tangy aroma. The bowl was filled with white soup and thin ramen noodles with several pieces of red beef in it.
"Eat!" A Miao handed him chopsticks.
Shen Xinglan picked it up and found that the surface was unbroken. Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and sucked with his lips while glancing at the girl around him from time to time.
A Miao stared at Shen Xinglan nervously in fear that he would bite the noodle off until the end of the noodle went into his mouth.
"Great! Next year, everything will surely go well for you as you wish along with your journey. "
She focused on clapping hands, and accidentally tripped over the stool leg. Shen Xinglan saw that her body was tilted, and his hand stretched out faster than her brain worked.
And then...
A Miao sat in his embrace.