The tightly closed door in front of her was suddenly opened, catching Zhao Meimei off guard, leaving her and Qian Jinqiu on either side, staring wide-eyed at each other.
A large hand reached out from beside Qian Jinqiu, pulling Zhao Meimei aside to make way at the door.
Qian Jinqiu briefly glanced at Zhao Meimei’s face and said nothing, retreating hurriedly.
Zhao Meimei watched Qian Jinqiu’s back disappear around the stairwell, and a large hand waved in front of her eyes: "Okay, she’s gone, what are you still looking at?"
Zhao Meimei followed Shi Yang back to the office, sitting quietly on the guest sofa, hands clenched, her mind a jumbled mess of thoughts, and sourly asked, "Brother, was she your blind date?"
Shi Yang shook his head decisively: "What blind date! Our families just had dinner together before."
Zhao Meimei gave him a sidelong glance: "You met the parents, and you still don’t call it a blind date?"
Shi Yang’s eyes flickered, and he raised the corners of his lips: "Then you’ve eaten and slept at my house, if having dinner together counts as a blind date, does that mean you’ve already married into my family to be my wife?"
Zhao Meimei suddenly felt elated, smiling with curved eyes, "Marriage sounds great, as long as you propose, I’m ready to marry anytime."
Shi Yang’s eyes glimmered beneath his pretty eyelids: "Oh? Then I want to marry you right now."
Zhao Meimei responded straightforwardly: "Then I’ll marry you right now."
Shi Yang laughed: "Sure, how will you marry me?"
Zhao Meimei confidently declared: "However you propose, I’ll comply!"
Shi Yang stood up, taking a bank card out of the desk drawer and handed it to Zhao Meimei.
This was Zhao Meimei’s first time seeing a bank card; her parents usually used passbooks at home.
Holding the bank card, Zhao Meimei looked at the string of numbers on it and asked, "What is this?"
Shi Yang squinted slightly: "Betrothal gift."
Zhao Meimei didn’t understand at first: "Huh? Betrothal gift?"
She turned to look at Shi Yang, meeting his mischievous smile. Zhao Meimei suddenly understood, her ears reddening slowly, and she dryly said with a slightly hoarse voice, "A betrothal gift for me?"
Shi Yang held her hand, together pinching the bank card: "This is my private stash of money. I’m giving it to you to keep."
When Zhao Meimei heard it was money, she asked, "For me to keep?"
Shi Yang squeezed her hand, lightly rubbing the bank card’s hard edges, speaking seriously: "It’s for buying a house. Right now, it’s enough for a bathroom and a balcony. By the end of next year at the latest, I’ll definitely have saved enough for the rest."
Zhao Meimei curiously asked, "Brother, why are you buying a house?"
Shi Yang’s lips curved into a teasing smile, glancing at Zhao Meimei: "For marrying a wife, of course! You’re in a hurry to marry me, so I must quickly save up for our new home!"
Zhao Meimei widened her eyes in surprise, staring at Shi Yang, their faces close, eyes locked, frozen in that moment. Her heart swelled with emotion, blood rushing through her like a surging wave, warming her heart until it melted like cotton, turned to liquid.
Overcome with emotion, Zhao Meimei suddenly hugged Shi Yang’s waist: "Brother!"
Shi Yang held Zhao Meimei, his Adam’s apple slightly trembling, while his profile remained calm and gentle.
Zhao Meimei tilted her head up: "When I grow up, we’ll get married, and you’ll marry me."
Shi Yang couldn’t help but smile at Zhao Meimei’s slightly flushed face from excitement, his eyes crinkling into fine lines, looking irresistibly cool.
At noon, Zhao Meimei ate with Shi Yang at the company, and in the afternoon while Shi Yang worked, she helped with small tasks like checking receipts, running errands, and massaging his neck and shoulders whenever he looked tired.
Shi Yang’s neck felt comfortably sore and numb from her massage, so he simply put down his pen, lowered his head, and cooperated. Follow current novᴇls on novel★fire.net
From a young age, Zhao Meimei was adept at sweet-talking and flattering, doing whatever she could to please her mom whenever she made mistakes. Her somewhat practiced massage skills were learned from her mom, knowing exactly where to press for comfort and where to elicit a bit of numbness or pain.
As Zhao Meimei kneaded the stiff muscles in Shi Yang’s neck from prolonged hunching, the needle-like pain gave way to indescribable relief.
Shi Yang shook his neck, turning to praise her: "Wow, those skills are pretty good, it’s really relaxing!"
Zhao Meimei grinned at the compliment, shaking her arms and playfully complaining: "Brother, my arms are sore from all this kneading, why don’t you give me a massage?"
Shi Yang chuckled, pulling her to sit on the chair’s armrest, massaging her wrist with his fingers, feeling her pulsating pulse. The two of them continued to massage and hold each other for half a day, spending hours effortlessly and without growing tired.
When Zhao Dazhuang and Liu Xiue arrived in the evening to settle accounts at the company and saw Zhao Meimei, they were both momentarily shocked.
Liu Xiue scolded her: "What are you doing here? Have you finished your homework?"
Zhao Meimei, feeling guilty, quickly hid behind Shi Yang, using him as her strong shield.
Shi Yang laughed, trying to ease the situation: "Just as everyone’s here today, I’ll call my parents, and we’ll all have dinner together tonight, how about it?"
In the sweltering summer, there’s nothing better than eating some spicy crawfish, ordering a few dishes of stir-fried seafood and scallops, and enjoying chilled beer in the air conditioning, talking and chatting, both leisurely and comfortable.
Shi Yang, having looked after Zhao Meimei since she was young, was used to it. With disposable gloves, he skillfully peeled shrimp for Zhao Meimei to eat bite after bite.
Liu Xiue reprimanded Zhao Meimei with a stern face: "Don’t you have hands of your own? Can’t you peel a couple for your brother?"
Shi Yang replied with a smile: "It’s alright, no need to let her burn her hands. It’s quite hot!"
Zhao Meimei, her mouth full of shrimp, held up her plate to her mom: "Mom, pass me a scallop, I want to eat it."
Liu Xiue immediately forgot she had just scolded the child, took the plate, and clipped two scallops, deftly picking the meat and discarding the shells on the table before handing it back to Zhao Meimei, inwardly fond and indulgent.
Growing up, Zhao Meimei was pampered by both her mom and Shi Yang, apt to say she never lifted a finger could fairly describe her life, without exaggeration. Raised in a honey jar, she had never endured hardship, understanding little yet savoring life with innocence and ease,
Ever since Zhao Dazhuang started working at Shi Yang’s company, he felt like a fish in water, skilled in designing and drawing, previously handling everything from the thickness of a single screw to assembling parts for large machinery, requiring accuracy and precision. This intricate and varied work was like second nature to him; Shi Yang’s small-scale toy installation and design were a piece of cake.
Shi Yang also equipped Zhao Dazhuang with a laptop, and he had just learned to type with Wubi inputs. He spent his days engrossed in graphic design software, learning to create flat designs. Immersed in new things and high-tech tools, Dazhuang lived a busy yet enjoyable life these days.