Chapter 34

Shen Yu couldn’t understand why Shen Xiao enjoyed feeding her so much. She never found any particular pleasure in it, but every time he fed her, he looked genuinely enthusiastic, clearly enjoying it.
She supposed every eccentric had their own strange quirks!
Normally, when he fed her at home, Shen Yu felt embarrassed, let alone in public. But this time, she had acted impulsively to interrupt their conversation, never expecting Shen Xiao to cooperate so readily.
Not only did he feed her one bite, but he followed with a second, a third... It seemed endless!
Shen Yu felt like she was playing with fire.
Chewing the food in her mouth, Shen Yu glanced at Bai Muqing and noticed she looked as if the sky were falling, staring at them in horror.
Seeing a scheming woman so frightened suddenly made Shen Yu feel quite pleased, and she became less bothered by Shen Xiao’s feeding. She even cooperated by pointing at the shrimp salad in front of her and saying, "I want that."
Shen Xiao hummed in agreement and reached over to fork a piece for her to eat.
And so, the siblings continued in this manner, one feeding, the other eating, creating an incredibly harmonious scene.
But in Bai Muqing’s eyes, it was an absolutely cringe-worthy sight!
"Do you two... always act like this?" The smile on her lips had stiffened, clearly showing how uncomfortable she felt.
Shen Yu blinked and said, "Yes, why?"
Bai Muqing frowned and added, "Don’t you think it’s strange?"
Although Shen Yu secretly agreed with her, she knew she had to oppose Bai Muqing no matter what. She replied softly, "It’s not that strange. We always do this at home."
Unable to hide the disdain in her eyes, Bai Muqing said, "You’re so old and still need to be fed? Isn’t that a bit too spoiled?"
Shen Yu was taken aback, hearing the clear contempt in her words. She glanced at Shen Xiao, then slowly lowered her head, her mood instantly dampened.
Secretly, she gave herself a mental pat on the back, thinking she had quite the potential for playing the innocent, manipulative type!
Ever since Shen Yu appeared, Shen Xiao’s attention had been entirely focused on her. He couldn’t be bothered with Bai Muqing. He had asked her to leave earlier, but she refused. Now, instead of eating, she kept chattering nonstop, which was truly irritating.
He handed another shrimp ball to Shen Yu, only to see her looking dejected with her head lowered. Annoyed, he shot a sharp glare at Bai Muqing and said, "What business is it of yours?"
Bai Muqing was completely baffled by the questioning, thinking this man was utterly unreasonable. He had agreed to go on a date with her, yet he was being cold and distant, speaking to her in such a harsh tone without a shred of consideration for her feelings!
What a scumbag!!
Feeling irritated, she defended herself, "No, is this how you treat your own sister? Even spoiling a child should have its limits!"
Because of Bai Muqing's words, Shen Xiao was once again refused by Shen Yu when he tried to feed her. He was equally annoyed and threw his fork onto the table, saying, "She's my child, and I'll spoil her however I like. What's it to you?"
Shen Yu kept her head down but pricked up her ears to listen to their conversation, inwardly applauding Shen Xiao. This lunatic was picking fights left and right, even with his date, and was absolutely capable of staying single through sheer effort. At this rate, even if Bai Muqing had the thickest skin, she'd soon be driven away by his attitude, and then Shen Yu wouldn't have to worry about Shen Xiao's dark side anymore.
The thought made her want to laugh, but she had to hold it in, causing her shoulders to tremble slightly. Without a closer look, one might have mistaken it for crying!
Shen Xiao only needed one glance to fly into a rage. He turned to Bai Muqing and directly told her to leave, "Alright, you can go now."
He was afraid that if he continued talking to her, he might not be able to stop himself from hitting a woman.
Bai Muqing widened her eyes in disbelief, thinking this man was a complete lunatic! He was the one who agreed to come out, and now he was the one kicking her out, truly a one-of-a-kind scumbag in the entire world!!
She simply couldn't stand being around him any longer!
Before, she had thought she'd struck gold, after all, Shen Xiao was not only wealthy but also handsome, almost on par with Situ Yi. But after spending some time with him, she increasingly felt that Shen Xiao was nothing but a piece of trash!!
Bai Muqing couldn't take it anymore and gritted her teeth as she said, "Shen, you're a lunatic! What kind of siblings act like you two? Even couples aren't as clingy as you! Why don't you just date each other instead? Ugh!"
After her outburst, Bai Muqing grabbed her purse and stormed off in a huff.
Shen Yu had been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines, but Bai Muqing's words startled her. She immediately turned to look at Shen Xiao and noticed that, despite being insulted, his expression remained calm with no signs of an episode. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as she straightened up, Shen Xiao handed her a shrimp ball, signaling for her to keep eating. "Alright, that crazy woman is gone. Let's continue," he said in a casual tone, completely unaffected by Bai Muqing's insults.
Shen Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, thinking to herself, You're the lunatic here, what right do you have to call someone else crazy?!
But with Bai Muqing driven away, her mission for the day was successfully accomplished. Besides, after the way Shen Xiao had torn into Bai Muqing, she probably wouldn't come looking for him again anytime soon.
Shen Yu felt that, given Shen Xiao's personality, he really needed to be paired with a woman who had an agenda. Otherwise, who could possibly put up with him?
Being constantly criticized by her own boyfriend, she'd have to be insane to keep dating him!
But if her goal of breaking them up succeeded, would Shen Xiao be doomed to a lonely life from then on?
Hmm... future troubles could wait for the future.
After finishing their meal, the two headed straight home.
Uncle Li was waiting for them in the living room. Seeing them come in together, he smiled and asked, "Have you eaten? I saved some dishes."
Shen Yu shook her head. Still wearing her new dress, which made moving a bit inconvenient, she went straight upstairs to change as soon as she entered.
Shen Xiao tossed his jacket aside, unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt, and without even taking off his shoes, sprawled out on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling light.
He seemed to be in a pretty good mood.
Uncle Li brought him his slippers, then half-knelt beside him and asked cheerfully, "Made up?"
Shen Xiao shot him a sidelong glance and snorted through his nose as a response.
Uncle Li nodded reassuringly and said, "Good that you made up. Don’t always bully her from now on. Even a little kitten will scratch when it gets angry, you know. Let me tell you, Miss actually wasn’t planning to go out tonight."
Shen Xiao narrowed his eyes and lifted his head slightly. "What do you mean?"
Uncle Li explained, "She was mad at you, and you deliberately provoked her by talking about finding some other woman. Of course she wouldn’t go looking for you. It was only after I said a few words to her that she went."
As he spoke, Uncle Li looked quite pleased with himself.
Shen Xiao pushed himself up with his hands and sat up, asking him, "What did you say?"
Uncle Li glanced toward the staircase to make sure no one was there, then whispered to Shen Xiao, "I told her that you paced around outside her door before going to bed last night but ended up doing nothing and just went back to your room."
Shen Xiao looked utterly baffled and asked, "Why would I pace around outside her door??"
Uncle Li: “...”
He sighed in frustration. "To make her soften up, of course! After I said that, she changed her mind and went to find you. Tell me, wasn’t it effective??"
Shen Xiao: “…”
Uncle Li shook his head. "You need to learn how to sweet-talk girls."
Shen Xiao pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tapped one out, lit it, and said disdainfully, "Why would I bother sweet-talking girls? I only need to coax the kid at home!"
Uncle Li: “...”
As if the kid at home isn’t a girl!
Just then, an all-black cat strode over gracefully, leaped effortlessly onto the sofa, and slowly made its way onto Shen Xiao’s lap. The husky followed behind, wanting to jump up too, but seeing it was Shen Xiao on the sofa, it didn’t dare, and could only wag its tail vigorously nearby.
Probably because Shen Xiao had bought it, the black cat was quite fond of him and always tried to get close. But Shen Xiao was disgusted by it, he’d only bought the cat on a whim as a prank, not because he actually liked cats.
"Get lost. You’re female, stay away from me," Shen Xiao said disdainfully, waving the black cat away.
Uncle Li: “...”
Shen Yu changed her clothes and bounded lightly downstairs. She first went to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of juice, then brought it to the living room, chatting with Uncle Li as she drank.
"Uncle Li, did you make sweet soup tonight?"
Uncle Li replied, "Yes, would you like some? I’ll heat it up for you."
Shen Yu looked back at Shen Xiao. "Brother, do you want some?"
Shen Xiao curled his lip. "Only kids like sweet stuff."
Shen Yu then smiled at Uncle Li and said, "Uncle Li, we’ll have two bowls!"
Shen Xiao: “…”
These past few days, Shen Yu had been listless and lifeless, but today she finally regained her cheerful, smiling demeanor. The two men beside her couldn’t help but feel emotional, both thinking that they should do their best to protect that smile.
Uncle Li turned and went to the kitchen to heat up some sweet soup. Shen Yu set down the cup in her hand, picked up the black cat, sat on the sofa, and placed the cat on her lap.
Shen Xiao watched her series of movements quietly and asked, "What are you doing?"
Shen Yu chuckled and said, "Petting the cat, of course!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she started stroking the cat. Watching the cat’s comfortable and contented expression, she too looked completely satisfied.
Shen Xiao, with a cigarette in his mouth, tilted his head and studied her. After a moment, he suddenly stood up, moved next to her, rolled up his sleeves, and reached out to ruffle her hair.
Shen Yu’s hair was down at the time, and after a few strokes from him, it immediately turned into a bird’s nest. She looked up at him in confusion and asked, "What are you doing?"
Seeing her looking like a madwoman, Shen Xiao couldn’t hold back a low chuckle and said, "You’re petting the cat, and I’m petting you."
Shen Yu: “…”
Why did that sound so weird?
Shen Yu struggled and tried to slap his hand away, but Shen Xiao remained unfazed and continued playing with her hair.
He suddenly realized that the child’s hair was very soft and smooth, and it felt quite pleasant to touch.
Then, he suddenly remembered Bai Muqing’s harsh words to him earlier that evening...
"Shen, you’re a lunatic! Where in the world do siblings interact like you two?! Even couples aren’t as clingy as you two. Why don’t you just start dating already? Ugh!"
Dating?? With his own child?? What a joke!
His child was meant to be played with, not dated!
Besides, he worked hard every day to earn money, and when he came home, he amused himself with the child. He didn’t need to date at all!
Shen Xiao thought disdainfully that Bai Muqing was indeed a nutcase. He should interact with her less in the future! Most importantly, his child didn’t like her!
With that thought, Shen Xiao lowered his head to look at Shen Yu again and suddenly felt an itch in his heart, an impulse to pull her into his arms and give her a good ruffling.
Indeed, petting cats could be addictive.