In the past, she was completely mesmerized by his appearance for a whole eight years.
From the first time she saw him, she set three targets: to tease him, kiss him, and sleep with him.
It seemed⦠they were all accomplished?
At this moment, Shen Chi had already dressed and when he came out after washing up, Xu Chaomu was still in a daze.
âWhat are you thinking about?â Shen Chi rubbed her hair, his eyes filled with indulgence.
âNothing.â Xu Chaomuâs eyelids drooped as she rose to her feet and headed to her own room.
Today, Shen Chi personally drove Xu Chaomu to the hospital.
After having breakfast, he was already waiting in the driverâs seat, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. He wanted to light up a cigarette, but remembering that Xu Chaomu couldnât breathe in secondhand smoke, he reluctantly refrained.
The weather was very nice today, with a clear azure sky and not a cloud in sight. Occasionally, a few birds flew past, flapping their wings, swiftly disappearing into the distance.
The stream in the villa area sparkled, the lotus flowers bloomed in abundance. When the sun shone down, the waterâs surface glinted with silver ripples and when the wind blew, it ruffled up small ripples.
The sunlight was a bit glaring, so Shen Chi wore sunglasses, his hands lazily resting on the steering wheel as he waited for Xu Chaomu.
He waited left and right, but Xu Chaomu just did not appear.
Shen Chi had no choice but to get out of the car and head back to the Shen Family residence.
âMumu, Mumu!â he called twice.
The response came from the butler, who hurried over: âFourth Young Master, Chaomu just had a little something to eat, but unfortunately her pregnancy is making her so sick, she threw up again.â
âIs that so?â Shen Chi ran anxiously into the washroom, his face full of worry.
In the washroom, Xu Chaomu was leaning over the basin, clutching her belly in discomfort.
âBeing pregnant is so annoying, I donât want to have this child anymoreâ¦â Xu Chaomu was close to tears.
These past few days, she had been vomiting so much she was hardly human; she never knew pregnancy could be so painful.
And it so happened that her morning sickness was especially severe.
âMumu, are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?â
Xu Chaomu grumbled weakly, âWhy donât you try it?â
âIf I could, how could I bear to see you suffer like this,â said Shen Chi, clearly at a loss.
âI donât want this child anymore, it really hurts so much, I donât want itâ¦â
âStop it, Mumu, just bear with it, bear with it a little longer, and it will be fine. Once this period is over, everything will be okay.â
âWhat âokayâ? When my belly grows bigger, I wonât be able to sleep at night. And childbirth, I heard itâs really painful!â
âDonât you like children anymore? Itâs only hard for seven more months, and then it will be fine. Think about it, the child will be so cute, and youâve even knitted a sweater for him.â
Shen Chi tried to persuade her gently. He knew that pregnancy was indeed a sweet torment for a woman.
âShen Chiâ¦â Xu Chaomu lifted her eyelids to look at him.
âHmm?â
âDo you feel sorry for me or the child?â
âBoth,â Shen Chi said lightly.
âI donât believe you.â Xu Chaomu laughed, showing two rows of small white teeth, her face filled with sweet happiness, âWhere is a man who would feel sorry for raising another manâs child?â
âI will treat him as my own child.â
âReally?â
âHmm.â
âBut Iâm still going to make him call you âUncle Fourâ.â
âYou!â Shen Chi looked at Xu Chaomuâs face blooming with laughter, torn between laughter and tears.
âAlright, letâs go to the hospital.â Xu Chaomu straightened up from the edge of the basin, still wearing a trace of a smile on her face.
Although she had argued with Shen Chi all morning, for some reason, her mood was still pretty good.
Perhaps it was because of the nice weather today?
âIf you donât upset me for a day, youâre not happy for a day,â Shen Chi said with increasing helplessness, âIâll support you.â
He supported Xu Chaomu by the arm and used a towel to wipe her face.
This girl, after five years, was polite to everyone else, but with him, she was still the same as always.
âI can do it myself.â Xu Chaomu pouted and shook off his hand, not allowing him to support her.
âStill this stubborn temperament,â Shen Chi shook his head.
Xu Chaomu walked towards the door; just as she stepped out, she was scorched by the blazing sun.
She retreated shyly two steps and used her hand to shield her forehead.
Shen Chi was thoughful as always; he brought a shawl for her and carefully draped it over her: âDonât get sunburned and become a little black cat, that wouldnât be nice.â
âYouâre the little black cat; your whole family are little black cats,â Xu Chaomu huffed.
âMy family includes you,â Shen Chi said helplessly.
Xu Chaomu thought about it, and it seemed right. After all, their marriage certificate was written in black and white. And then, there was this childâ¦
âPut on the sunglasses too,â Shen Chi said.
âOh.â
It was then that Shen Chi led her towards the Maybach.
Walking across the cobblestone path, passing by the garden and the pond, as they were about to reach the gate, Xu Chaomu noticed that her shoelaces had come undone.
She tugged at Shen Chiâs sleeve, pointed to her shoes, then looked up at him with eyes fluttering innocently and utterly harmless.
Shen Chi stopped in his tracks when she tugged, and upon looking down, he realized her shoelaces were undone, a silent request for him to tie them for her!
She was already shorter than him, and Shen Chi looked down at her with a mix of helplessness and fondness, smoothing her hair as if petting a kitten.
âYou little pest,â he chuckled, his smile bright under the sun, the corners of his thin lips uplifted gently.
Xu Chaomu extended the foot with the undone lace, pointing at it again.
âGot it,â Shen Chi chuckled and knelt down.
Dressed in a dark shirt, he looked particularly handsome at this moment, especially as he bent down, the whole world seemed to be filled with sweet affection.
Xu Chaomu was perfectly content, a spontaneous smile spreading at the corners of her mouth.
The summer breeze lightly lifted her hair, which she gently pushed back with her hand.
She remembered, five years ago, there was a time when he had also bent down to tie her shoelaces. She remembered, after returning home from school that day, she had been reluctant to take off her shoes.
Just that she hadnât expected, five years later, he would still be tying her shoelaces.
She thought that time had moved on far away, only to turn around and find him still there.
The sunlight was warm, the years tranquil.
Shen Chiâs hands were neatly trimmed, clean and slender. His fingertips slid over her white shoelaces, tying them deftly. After a thorough check, he stood up.
They stood face to face, and his large hand rested on top of her head.
âThere, no need to thank me,â he smiled.
Xu Chaomu pouted and brushed away his hands: âDonât flatter yourself.â
âSure, this is what I should do,â Shen Chi smirked, wrapping his arm around her waist and walking towards the car.
Shen Chiâs act of tying Xu Chaomuâs shoelaces had been seen by the butler.
At that time, the butler was considering the flowers. Glancing up unintentionally, he caught Shen Chi bending down to tie Xu Chaomuâs laces.
The butler pushed up his reading glasses and smiled too.
Xu Chaomu was indeed Shen Chiâs lifelong entanglement.
From the first meeting thirteen years ago, they were destined to be intertwined for life.
Itâs just a pity that Xu Chaomu was carrying another manâs child and was about to get engaged to someone else. In the future, he wondered if heâd ever see the two of them bickering and fussing again.