Just as Yang Haoran was being teased to the point of feeling feverish all over, the voices of his childhood friend and Tang Wenqian conversing outside the door sounded. Not long after, Shiwen pushed the door open and entered.
“Haoran, is your injury feeling any better?”
“Shiwen, you’re back.”
Yang Haoran greeted him and then replied, “Pretty much recovered! Aunt Shen took good care of me.”
When Zhou Shiwen entered, he saw the intimate posture between his childhood friend and his mother. After they exchanged greetings, he said somewhat apologetically, “Haoran, am I interrupting you?”
Yang Haoran found it strange that Shiwen was acting so formal. Shen Qing, beside him, glanced at Tang Wenqian waiting outside the door and instructed, “Wenqian, go and prepare dinner.”
Tang Wenqian had actually been sneaking glances into the room from the start. She was a little curious about how the three of them, with their special relationship, usually interacted. Zhou Shiwen and Yang Haoran were childhood friends, yet Yang Haoran was the master of Zhou Shiwen’s mother. This intricate dynamic was indeed intriguing.
Hearing Sister Shen Qing’s instruction, Tang Wenqian had no choice but to turn and leave.
After Tang Wenqian left, Yang Haoran clearly noticed that Shiwen seemed to let out a sigh of relief, his expression relaxing. He couldn’t help but mutter to himselfβCould it be that Shiwen, this kid, has designs on Tang Wenqian?
He was going to take Tang Wenqian’s virginity tonight. This couldn’t be happening, could it?
As these thoughts raced through Yang Haoran’s mind, Zhou Shiwen moved closer, his face a mix of anticipation and awkwardness, and said, “Haoran, Mom, later when you… play… could you ask Wenqianjie to stay away?”
Seeing their eyes on him, Zhou Shiwen felt his face grow hot. “Wenqianjie doesn’t know about these things, after all. She’s also an outsider. Let her go back to the second floor to sleep.” Zhou Shiwen had never felt so ashamed; the gazes from his childhood friend and his mother felt like social death, making him wish he could find a crack to hide in.
Yang Haoran understood clearly. Shen Qing, seeming completely unaware, broke the awkwardness and said with a laugh, “Wenwen, you make a good point. Mom will have Wenqian go to the second floor later.”
“You just got back and must be tired. Go back to your room and rest. Mom will call you when Wenqian has dinner ready.”
Yang Haoran had been about to ask, but was stopped by Aunt Shen’s words. Zhou Shiwen also felt uncomfortable and nodded, saying, “Well then, Mom, Haoran, I’ll head back to my room.”
After his childhood friend left, Yang Haoran looked at Aunt Shen and couldn’t help asking, “Aunt Shen, does Shiwen like… does Shiwen like Tang Wenqian?”
Although it was a question, Yang Haoran’s tone was quite certain. Shen Qing sighed lightly, unable to help feeling some regret about how her personality had contributed to this situation when her son and Tang Wenqian first met. “Well, Wenwen might… like Wenqian a little.”
Getting confirmation from Aunt Shen, Yang Haoran felt this was troublesome. What the hell? Should he still make a move on Tang Wenqian tonight?
“Then what should we do? Aunt Shen, this makes it a bit hard for me to proceed,” Yang Haoran said with a troubled tone. This time was different from when Aunt Shen had told him to let Tang Wenqian go. Now, Tang Wenqian had actively offered herself up, becoming meat on his chopping block.
In his heart, he had already decided Tang Wenqian was his to collect. Moreover, he quite appreciated her character of repaying kindness; knowing she was a good girl, he naturally didn’t want to let go.
But Shiwen was a childhood friend as close as a brother. If he liked Tang Wenqian, and Yang Haoran still made a move… no matter how he thought about it, it put him in a dilemma!
Shen Qing glanced at the conflicted look on little Haoran’s face and said with amusement, “Let Aunt handle this matter. Don’t ask Wenwen about it; just pretend you don’t know.”
Yang Haoran instantly understood Aunt Shen’s meaning: play dumb, get the deed done first, cook the raw rice. Still, he felt a bit melancholy and said, “Aunt Shen, to be honest, letting go of Wenqianjie now is something I can’t bear to do. But if I yield her to Shiwen, I feel like I was here first, and yielding feels unfair. I’m caught between a rock and a hard place.” Shen Qing stroked Yang Haoran’s troubled cheek and offered her thoughts: “It’s not that Aunt is favoring you, but Wenqian isn’t suitable for Wenwen. She’s been influenced by the environment of the estate. Wenwen wouldn’t be able to handle her. Besides, Wenqian doesn’t have those kinds of feelings for Wenwen; she mostly sees him as a younger brother.”
After listening to Aunt Shen’s comforting words, Yang Haoran felt much more at ease. He didn’t say more, afraid of sounding overly sentimental.
TheεΊθ° (tone/approach) for this matter was thus set!
The dinner appeared exceptionally sumptuous. Steamed sea bass, braised pork, scallionη beef, Kung Pao chicken, poached prawns, di san xian (stir-fried potato, green pepper, and eggplant), and moreβa full array of dishes, complete in color, aroma, and taste, covered the long rectangular marble dining table.
This lavish dinner offered a glimpse into the extraordinary nature of the night to come.
Yang Haoran and Shen Qing sat on the west side. Yang Haoran faced Zhou Shiwen. As Tang Wenqian brought out the final dish, a black chicken soup, and placed it on the table, the rising steam carried a mouth-watering aroma. Zhou Shiwen glanced at Tang Wenqian, who turned to prepare bowls of rice for everyone, and said shyly with a smile, “Wenqianjie, you must be exhausted from all this work. Thank you for making so many dishes.”
“Xiao Wen, I’m the housemaid. This is what I should do,” Tang Wenqian paused and turned back to look at Zhou Shiwen with a smile. “If there’s a particular dish you really like, I can make it for you every day from now on.”
Shen Qing was right; Tang Wenqian indeed treated Zhou Shiwen like a younger brother in her heart. The bright smile that spread across her face caused Zhou Shiwen to stare slightly dazed. Tang Wenqian found it difficult to meet Zhou Shiwen’s gaze directly. Even though she was aware he might have some feelings for her, she tucked a stray strand of hair damp with sweat from her forehead and said somewhat awkwardly, “Wait a moment, I’ll get the rice for everyone.”
As soon as Tang Wenqian left, Yang Haoran, seeing his childhood friend’s gaze fixed dumbly on the beautiful silhouette of Tang Wenqian departing, said with a laugh, “Shiwen, when did your family hire such a beautiful housemaid?” Zhou Shiwen seemed to realize that staring at someone’s back like a pervert was noticeable. He turned to Yang Haoran and replied, scratching his head sheepishly, “Wenqianjie? Mom hired her. I don’t know the details either.”
Normally he wouldn’t be so obvious, but the key was that Tang Wenqian’s “maid outfit” today was too sexy. The low, heart-shaped neckline of her top squeezed out a full and enticing cleavage, offering a glimpse of her snowy white, supple breasts. The edge of the neckline, damp with fragrant sweat from herεΏη’ (busyness), clung tightly to the plump, delicate swell of her snow-white breasts, glistening with a crystalline sheen, akin to a wet T-shirt effect. Below, the lace black mesh with a cut-out revealing her midriff was the finishing touch, offering aζ¦θ§ (hazy/teasing) view of her navel, like a magical black hole irresistibly drawing one’s gaze downward to the tented area under her skirt.
After speaking, Zhou Shiwen turned his gaze to Shen Qing and asked, “Mom, when did you buy Wenqianjie a maid outfit?”
He thought Tang Wenqian’s attire was less like aδΏε§ζ (housemaid uniform) and more like aε₯³δ»θ£ (maid costume), pleasing to the eye while carrying aζ¦θ§ηθ―±ζ (hazy seduction) that stirred one’s desires.
“I bought it for her a while ago. Wenqian wasn’t very used to it before, so she didn’t wear it. Perhaps she wanted to try it out today,” Shen Qing explained, while serving Yang Haoran some black chicken soup, offering this “explanation” in response to her son’s query.