Chapter 12:

Lin Qiao was about to scold Shen Qingzhou for his careless words, but Shen leaned close to her ear and murmured seductively, “Lin Qiao, I remember you were born in the Year of the Horse, right? This year is the Jia Wu Year of the Horse. Not only is it your Ben Ming Nian, but you also have the Wu Wu Zi Xing. It’s a year of bad luck.”

He spoke while pressing close to her earlobe. Lin Qiao unconsciously closed her eyes, her voice very soft as she whispered, “Shen Qingzhou, please let me go first…”

Shen didn’t move, continuing, “You need to be especially careful this year. Communicate more with others, plan your finances carefully, be vigilant at work, and most importantly, you should be grateful for the Tai Ji Gui Ren this year, who will protect your health and safety.”

“…I don’t know anything about the Tai Ji Gui Ren. All I see is you, the bad omen.”

Lin Qiao pushed Shen away forcefully and rolled to the other side of the bed. Her sudden movement pulled up her loose top, revealing her smooth, pale stomach.

Shen chuckled softly, pulling her back into his arms and murmuring, “You didn’t think I meant what you’re thinking, did you?”

Lin Qiao hesitated, breathing heavily as she asked, “Could there be another meaning?”

Shen directly pulled the blanket over both of them, saying softly, “Of course. I just meant it literally. What did you think?”

The literal meaning of “going to bed” is sleeping?

Lin Qiao was completely stunned. She struggled with her elbow, slightly angry, “Master Shen, I respect you as an educated person, so I won’t hold a grudge for what just happened. Please let me go now. You have a son and a wife.”

Shen paused for a moment, his warm breath flowing by her ear. His charming laughter made her ear tingle.

“Who said I have a son and a wife?” He asked with a smile, his tone open and honest.

Lin Qiao frowned in confusion, “Isn’t Xiao Ning calling you Dad? Could he have popped out of a rock?”

“Of course not.” Shen’s voice was husky and slow, “Xiao Ning is the son of two of my best friends. They grew up in an orphanage, without parents. Xiao Ning lost both parents shortly after birth, so I became his guardian.”

“They both passed away?” Lin Qiao turned to look at him in surprise. His face was slightly flushed, his dark eyes slightly closed, his collarbone lines and waist curves seductively attractive, and his black shirt made his skin appear even whiter and smoother, like high-quality jade.

“Mm.” He responded with a nasal sound, closing his eyes, “Xiao Ning’s biological father was a foreign correspondent who died in a terrorist attack. His mother had complications during childbirth. His father wasn’t around, and after she gave birth, she had no one to take care of her. Already in poor health, she didn’t survive long after hearing the bad news. Before she died, she entrusted the child to me.”

“Oh, I see.” Lin Qiao bit her lip, her expression filled with pity, “That’s so sad.”

Shen opened his eyes slightly, looking at her for a while, making her heart race and her face flush. She couldn’t help reaching out to pinch his nose.

This intimate gesture startled both of them. When they recovered, Shen simply closed his eyes as if he had fallen asleep, but Lin Qiao couldn’t calm down anymore.

“Let me go first.” Lin Qiao reluctantly looked up at the ceiling, “What is this? Even if you don’t have a wife, do you think it’s appropriate for us to do this? Are our relations so close that we can sleep in the same bed?” She pushed him as she spoke, “Hey, get up, you’ll miss your flight.”

Shen remained silent and motionless, showing no reaction. Lin Qiao looked down and saw that he seemed to be asleep, his breathing steady, his brows slightly furrowed, and more sweat on his forehead, probably due to the medicine’s effect.

Helplessly, Lin Qiao struggled out of his arms. This time, he didn’t stop her. She stood up, turned off the air conditioner, and hesitated for a while by the bed before resignedly bending down to take off his spotless shiny shoes and tuck him in with the blanket.

After finishing everything, Lin Qiao sat on the edge of the bed, tiredly thinking that today had been too eventful. She hoped such excitement wouldn’t happen again next time.

Perhaps due to the medicine, Shen slept straight through until the next day. His phone buzzed once during the night. After some hesitation, Lin Qiao glanced at it. It was a text message from Du Xinling, saying that the flight tickets he needed had been booked and he didn’t need to worry.

Lin Qiao didn’t unlock the phone, only looked at the lock screen, so as not to make Master Shen angry for peeking at his messages.

Besides, this guy had set a password on his phone, so even if she wanted to see more, she couldn’t.

She ignored him in a huff. He wouldn’t come to talk to her at this time anyway. Lin Qiao curled up on the sofa playing with her iPad until midnight when she got sleepy and just fell asleep there.

The next day, Lin Qiao was woken up by someone. She felt something tickling her face and opened her eyes to see Shen holding a takeout bag, rubbing it against her face. She was stunned for a moment before reacting, grabbing the iPad in her arms to hit him. When she hit him, she realized that the hard, cold electronic device had somehow been replaced with a soft pillow, and she was covered with a blanket.

“Wake up and get ready for the airport.”

“What?” Lin didn’t understand, “Get ready? Go where?”

“Ganzhou. You’re coming back with me.”

He spoke concisely, then coughed a couple of times, covering his mouth. His face was a bit better than yesterday’s but still looked terrible.

Lin rubbed her arm and asked softly, “Why do you want me to go back with you?”

Shen looked at her, speaking in a very matter-of-fact tone, “Miss Lin, although I don’t like to put on airs, I came to Beijing to handle matters for your family. Now I’m in poor health, asking you to accompany me back is only reasonable and proper.”

Lin thought for a moment and implied, “I can let my dad accompany Master Shen back.”

Shen snorted coldly, “Can you handle the house and company matters yourself?”

“I…”

“With your personality, you’re definitely not good at business. You just graduated from school with no experience. Be careful not to be cheated, even with house matters.”

Although his words were harsh, they were all true. Lin was indeed not good at business, which was why the family business was getting worse and worse. Although she was always busy running around, she didn’t really accomplish much. She was just not cut out for business.

“I didn’t study business in college,” Lin muttered unhappily, then said, “I need to ask my dad first. If he agrees, I’ll send Master Shen back to Qiancheng, but I’ll have to come back immediately after I get there.”

Shen replied indifferently, “Fine.”

Once she was there, she wouldn’t be able to decide when to come back.

Lin really wanted to ask Shen what he meant. The accidental kiss and his subsequent ambiguous attitude troubled her a lot. However, he acted as if those things had never happened, making her wonder if he had forgotten everything because of the fever?

How could that be possible!!!

With a heart full of doubts, Lin Qiao resignedly boarded the plane and sat next to Shen Qingzhou, ignoring the way he looked at her. As soon as she got on the plane, she covered herself with a blanket and closed her eyes to sleep.

Shen Qingzhou held a magazine and looked at her, his gaze calm and serene, his face expressionless. His pale complexion and thin jawline, combined with that look, gave him an eerie sense of tranquility.

The plane landed safely at the airport. Shen Qingzhou woke Lin Qiao up, and when she opened her eyes, she saw him towering over her.

He was tall, somewhat cramped in the cabin. His long-sleeved blue shirt had neatly fastened cufflinks, and his black trousers accentuated his long, straight legs. He stood there looking at her like an elegant and beautiful swan in the morning blue lake water.

No matter how she looked at him, he was a precise and serious intellectual. Suddenly, it didn’t seem entirely implausible to Lin Qiao that he could speak convincingly about feng shui theories.

Sometimes, it really depends on who is speaking, and sometimes, it’s simply a matter of belief.

Du Xinling wasn’t at the airport to pick them up. Lin Qiao followed Shen Qingzhou to the airport parking lot, found his black Audi A8, and they drove to the hospital together.

A few days ago, during a physical education class, Xiao Ning suddenly fainted and had a nosebleed. After being sent to the hospital, the doctors questioned the teacher and Du Xinling and found that Xiao Ning often had nosebleeds, headaches, and nausea. Considering these symptoms together, the doctors had a rather ominous suspicion.

After a thorough examination, the hospital confirmed that Xiao Ning was in the early stages of leukemia.

This was the reason Shen Qingzhou was in such a hurry to return to Qiancheng. With Xiao Ning’s current condition, he needed someone close by. The child had been with Shen Qingzhou since he was very young and had long regarded him as his real father. Now was the time when he needed his father’s companionship the most.

Without even having time to drop off their luggage, Lin Qiao and Shen Qingzhou rushed to the hospital. When they arrived at Xiao Ning’s ward, Xiao Ning was playing with Du Xinling. He looked okay, but his face was pale and his spirits were low.

“Dad!” When Xiao Ning saw Shen Qingzhou, he stood up from the bed and opened his arms, asking for a hug.

Shen Qingzhou quickly walked over, hugged him, and placed him back on the bed, tucking him in. He frowned disapprovingly, “You’re sick, so you should rest. Wearing so little and jumping around outside like that—what kind of example is that?” He then looked at Du Xinling and scolded, “The child doesn’t know any better, but you don’t either?”

Du Xinling awkwardly scratched his nose and changed the subject, “Miss Lin, nice to see you again.”

He extended his hand to Lin Qiao, who shook it and then took out a gift for Xiao Ning from her backpack.

Xiao Ning looked at Shen Qingzhou weakly, and after receiving Shen’s approval, eagerly pulled back the blanket to accept the gift, loving the car model inside the exquisite box.

Shen Qingzhou observed him for a while and softly said, “You really like this car? When you get better, Dad will buy one for you.”

Lin Qiao silently looked at the Lamborghini LP700 car model and felt a vague pain in a certain nonexistent part of her body.

However, she could understand Shen Qingzhou’s feelings. As long as the child was safe and sound, spending any amount of money or making any kind of promise was worth it. He was still so young but had to endure such great pain—it was simply too cruel.

As everyone was silent, Xiao Ning, who had just received an expensive promise from his father, didn’t thank his father but instead smiled at Lin Qiao and said, “Thank you, Mom!”

Lin Qiao looked at Xiao Ning in surprise and then immediately turned to look at Shen Qingzhou. Shen didn’t look at her but continued to gaze quietly at Xiao Ning, his long, dark eyes cold and captivating.

Xiao Ning then turned his gaze to behind Lin Qiao and called out loudly, “Dr. Liu, this is my mom. I told you my dad has a wife. Now you believe me, right?”

Lin Qiao turned her head and saw a male and female doctor and two female nurses standing at the door, seemingly about to come in. The female doctor’s face was very awkward.

Lin Qiao immediately understood Xiao Ning’s intention and looked at Shen Qingzhou with a complex mood.

Shen stood up and walked to her side. She was wearing flat shoes today, her height reaching about his shoulder. He raised his hand to wrap his arm around her shoulder, slightly nodded toward the doctors, his eyes flowing with an inherent pride like plum blossoms, and said in a polite and distant voice, “Hello everyone. Thank you for taking care of my son these past few days.”

The tone, the gesture—it was clearly the demeanor of a newlywed couple.