novelraw Chapter 269 - 265:
Chapter 269 - 265:
"Not at all, I was just asking casually." Cen Jin sheepishly touched her nose, made a face at Shen Xiangchen, stuck out her tongue, and quickly changed the subject, "Cousin, this time you’re staying at my mom’s place, right? Not at a hotel?"As soon as Cen Jin finished speaking, sure enough, Ms. Qin’s gaze ’swish swish swish’ flew towards Shen Xiangchen.
Receiving Ms. Qin’s look, Shen Xiangchen instinctively swallowed his saliva, his peripheral vision scanning his little sister, realizing this girl was good at changing topics, quickly shifting the attention onto him.
Actually, to talk about this matter, one has to start from the Qingming Festival last year. That time, because of work, he came back three days early without informing Ms. Qin. On the day of Qingming, he returned to Ms. Qin’s side to visit his uncle’s grave, only for Ms. Qin to find out he came back early and spent money staying at a hotel. She was instantly angry, scolded him, and said things like he has a home but doesn’t return, staying at a hotel outside wastes money.
Later, Shen Xiangchen promised he would definitely not stay at a hotel outside when coming back in the future and wouldn’t hide it from Ms. Qin.
"Aunt, the company booked a hotel for me..." Before Shen Xiangchen finished his sentence, Ms. Qin’s gaze became sharp, and he immediately changed his tone: "But, I told my secretary to cancel it, I said I have a place to stay, I’ll just stay at your place. After all, no matter what, staying at a hotel isn’t as comfortable as being at home!"
"Ah, now that’s the right thing to say." Ms. Qin nodded with a beaming smile after hearing this, very satisfied with his answer.
Cen Jin tried hard to hold back her laughter beside them, the fear of being controlled by Ms. Qin, you can’t afford it!
After the three had their meal, Ms. Qin wanted to call the server to pay the bill but was stopped by Shen Xiangchen, who quickly paid it himself and joked, "Aunt, going out for a meal with me, how can I let you pay. Besides, I’ll be staying at your place for this time, I’ll definitely be bothering you. If you don’t let me pay for this meal, how could I possibly have the face to stay with you? By then, my mom will also say I’m so grown up yet so immature, leaving you to worry so much for me."
"Look at what you’re saying, one family, why talk about two households, there’s nothing troublesome about it. If you stay at my place and never leave, I’m more than willing." Ms. Qin teased him with a smile and the two walked towards the restaurant entrance together.
Cen Jin picked up her umbrella and bag, silently following behind them, feeling like she was a forgotten child.
Indeed, as soon as her cousin arrives, she goes from being loved to being an extra.
The mid-to-late November winter rain was like broken beads, drizzling continuously, the cold intensifying. As they walked out the restaurant door, a piercing wind gusted in, like a knife; it seeped through their clothes, chilling to the bone, causing a sharp pain.
Cen Jin opened an umbrella and handed it to Ms. Qin, watching her with the umbrella walk directly into the rain with Shen Xiangchen. Standing there, she pouted, sighed deeply, opened another umbrella in her hand, and before she could step forward, she heard Ms. Qin’s urging voice, "Hurry up, this rain is so heavy and cold, be careful."
"Got it!" Cen Jin stepped into the rainwater in her boots, her figure looking a bit frail and thin in the cold wind and heavy rain.
Ms. Qin and Shen Xiangchen slowed their pace to walk alongside her.
The commercial street wasn’t far from where they lived in the villa community, walking with two traffic light intersections would take about ten minutes.
After returning to the villa, Ms. Qin took two towels from the bathroom and handed them to them: "Quickly dry off the rainwater on you, don’t catch a cold. Also, Xiangchen, your suitcase got wet; is it okay? Be careful it doesn’t get wet inside."
"It’s fine, Aunt, the suitcase is waterproof, not a big issue, it’s just my clothes inside. The things I use for work are with my assistant." Shen Xiangchen said with a laugh while wiping the rain from his down jacket.
Hearing this, Ms. Qin felt at ease, quickly turning on the heater in the house: "Okay, take a rest first, I’ll go upstairs to tidy up your room. You didn’t tell me in advance this time, and I haven’t prepared the bedding yet. Next time, you mustn’t do this, okay?"
"Okay, I got it. Next time for sure, I’ll inform Aunt in advance. Sorry to trouble you, Aunt."
"You’re good with words, aren’t you?" Ms. Qin teased him with a smile and then went upstairs to prepare the room for him.
As the room got warmer, Cen Jin took off her coat and went to the kitchen to make two cups of milk tea, handing them to Shen Xiangchen: "Here, cousin, have some milk tea to warm up."
"Thanks." Shen Xiangchen accepted the cup, took a small sip, and smiled while asking, "How’s your studio doing?"
"Not bad. Recently, I hired a few assistants and did a big project for the Yun Group at Milan Fashion Week." Cen Jin held the cup in her hands, lightly blowing on it, before looking up to ask in return, "Cousin, didn’t your company finish the collaboration with Nancheng last year? Why are you visiting this time?"
"I established a subsidiary in Nancheng, just starting, not yet stable. This time, I’m back for a collaborative project, a real estate development that requires discussion."
"I see! Are you going to the company in the afternoon?"
"No need, my assistant will go first. I’ll head there tomorrow morning, just a routine early meeting." Shen Xiangchen smiled, pausing briefly: "But tomorrow, I might not eat dinner at home and will come back quite late." Fınd the newest release on novelhall.com
"You have to tell my mom about that."
Shen Xiangchen smiled speechlessly; indeed, she is different now, married to Jiang Baizhou and already moved out, so telling her is indeed pointless.
***
As it neared evening, the rain began to lessen. Ms. Qin made some cookies Shen Xiangchen enjoyed and then prepared to start dinner. Taking out all the ingredients from the fridge, she glanced over and called out to Cen Jin, who was chatting with Shen Xiangchen in the living room: "Cen Jin! Go see if Hui Zi is home next door; tell her not to cook tonight and come over to eat! Also, go to the community supermarket and buy a bottle of vinegar and olive oil; we’ve run out. I mentioned buying it yesterday but forgot. Get some fruits too while you’re at it!"
"Okay, got it." Cen Jin stood up, put on her coat, picked up the phone on the table, and walked towards the door.
"I’ll go with you! I can’t be at ease with you alone on a rainy day, and you have to carry things." Hearing this, Shen Xiangchen also stood up, grabbing his coat and joining Cen Jin to change their shoes at the door. Each of them took an umbrella and stepped out of the villa’s gate.