Seeing him finally show a different reaction, she finally cracked a smile, revealing two rows of small white teeth.
"You still haven't told me your name, how old are you?"
Xu Chaomu propped her cheek with her hand and tilted her head, staring at him intently with unblinking eyes.
"Shen Chi."
"Shen Chi?" Xu Chaomu muttered a few times, then her small hand climbed up his neck, "Can I call you Achi from now on?"
"Absolutely not!"
"Husband?"
"Get lost!"
"..."
Shen Chi glanced at her uneasily, prying off the hands that were clinging to his neck like an octopus.
"Xu Chaomu, behave yourself!" Shen Chi said with a thin layer of anger on his face.
Honestly, he had never encountered such a clingy girl before.
"Shen Chi, I want to ask you a serious question."
Xu Chaomu suddenly straightened her face, speaking earnestly as she looked at Shen Chi.
"No nonsense."
"Oh. I'll just ask one thing, why did your family adopt me? Are you guys human traffickers?"
"I don't know," Shen Chi said slowly, his words sparing.
Xu Chaomu looked disappointed, "Then what do you know?"
"I know you're annoying!"
Shen Chi gave her a glance and then leaned back in the seat, closing his eyes.
Just thinking about having to live with her made Shen Chi's face contorted with pain.
"Don't sleep, talk to me, please. Tell me what your family does for a living? Is this car yours? It looks pretty expensive. Also, aren't you afraid that after I arrive, I might steal your things and sell them for money?"
Xu Chaomu's cool hand scratched Shen Chi, and with a jolt, he begrudgingly opened his eyes.
"Get your dirty paws off me!" he frowned.
Those hands that had just been playing with mud were now touching his clothes again.
"Being mean again, are you mad at me because your grades are bad and you're always scolded by teachers?"
Shen Chi found the situation both laughable and frustrating—if he was really going to be petty with a ten-year-old girl, he wouldn't be Shen Chi.
"Young Master, has the lady not returned yet?"
An middle-aged man came from outside, opened the car door, and sat down in the driver's seat.
"Uncle Jiang, not yet," Shen Chi answered.
Xu Chaomu blinked, smiling at the middle-aged man, "Uncle, are you the driver?"
"Smart kid, are you the Xu Chaomu that the lady mentioned?" The driver smiled and turned his head to touch her braid.
"Yes, yes, I am Xu Chaomu. The 'Xu' in Xu Chaomu, the 'Chao' in Xu Chaomu, and the 'Mu' in Xu Chaomu, isn't it nice, uncle? My mom picked it for me!"
Pride shone on her little face, but after it faded, her big eyes brimmed with boundless sorrow.
"Haha, it's very nice, indeed. Such a well-behaved child!" The driver couldn't help but laugh heartily.
However, this was the second time Shen Chi had heard Xu Chaomu introduce herself.
He was fed up and, taking a pen from his pocket, he pulled out a notepad as well.
"Listen carefully, your name is Xu Chaomu, the 'Xu' in Xu Nuo, and the 'Chao' and 'Mu' in 'morning till evening'."
Shen Chi casually wrote down the words "Xu Nuo" and "morning till evening," and then wrote the name "Xu Chaomu" beneath them, his handwriting steady and strong.
"I don't understand," Xu Chaomu shook her head.
Shen Chi felt helpless, she could be so articulate at other times, but now that he was being serious, she didn't understand!
"Haha, Young Master, don't be too hard on Chaomu, she's just a little older than a toddler," the driver chuckled.
"If you don't understand, then so be it, as dumb as can be."
He tried to put away the note, but Xu Chaomu snatched it away from him first.
"If I don't understand, I need to learn, don't I? You weren't born knowing everything either. Maybe when you were my age, you didn't know as much as I do!" Xu Chaomu said defiantly.
She put away the notepad carefully, tucking it into her pocket with great care.
It wasn't until later, when the paper had yellowed and the ink from the pen had blurred, that she understood the meaning of love enduring through time, and that being together every minute of the day wasn't necessary.
And for two people without love, even being together constantly was just like being a world apart.
"I don't know as much about messy stuff as you do," Shen Chi glanced at her disdainfully, "but at least I know what 'men and women should not touch hands when giving or receiving objects' means."
"Men and women should not touch hands when giving or receiving objects?" Xu Chaomu heard this complex phrase for the first time and looked to the driver for help.
"Uncle, what does it mean?" Xu Chaomu was eager to learn.
"Haha, it means boys and girls shouldn't hug or embrace each other," the driver explained, again finding Xu Chaomu very adorable for her serious attitude.
"Oh, then it has nothing to do with me," Xu Chaomu said, relieved.
"How does it have nothing to do with you?" the driver asked curiously.
"We're not little boys and girls anymore," Xu Chaomu spoke with false gravity.
Having said that, she turned her head and once again scratched Shen Chi's neck, "Don't you agree?"
"Get lost!" Shen Chi burst out in rage, swatting her hand away!
Anger was visible on his handsome youthful face, and with the sunlight streaming in from the window, it was particularly conspicuous.
Xu Chaomu, as if blind, didn't notice at all.
"Being mean again, can't we just have fun!" Xu Chaomu pouted, looking at him with a sense of grievance.
"Hahaha." The driver was already bent over with laughter—he had never before seen someone openly tease their young master like this.
In C City's upper social circles, everyone knew that the young master of the Shen Family, Shen Chi, was famously aloof and proud, not given to smiling, and seldom spoke a word more than necessary.
No one dared to provoke him, let alone tease him so brazenly.
Countless young girls fancied Shen Chi, but they all just watched from a distance; Xu Chaomu was the first girl bold enough to touch him!
Xu Chaomu truly was a brash calf unafraid of tigers, freshly arrived and audacious at heart.
"Uncle, do you know why they want to adopt me?" Xu Chaomu whispered, pointing at Shen Chi.
"This… I'm not quite sure, maybe they have too much money," the driver joked with her.
"I'm not a pet," Xu Chaomu responded, unhappy.
"Just kidding, just kidding, such a proud little girl. Come to the Shen Family, you're sure to not be at a disadvantage," the driver laughed.
"But it seems like some people don't really welcome me." As she spoke, Xu Chaomu deliberately glanced at Shen Chi.
"Don't worry about that. Just make sure to eat well, drink well, sleep well, and study hard," he advised.
Xu Chaomu nodded, somewhat comprehending.
She had initially thought that the Shen Family was just another wealthy household, after all, in C City, the rich were more numerous than ants. But little did she know, she was entering C City's premier family.
The sun slanted from its zenith towards the west, and as it neared sunset, it grew colder.
The wind picked up a few dead leaves outside the vehicle, tapping on the windowpanes, creating a whining sound.
Shen Chi had long stopped paying attention to Xu Chaomu, resting with his eyes closed against the backrest.
After speaking for a while, Xu Chaomu grew tired, warmed by the air conditioning, and she curled up in the car and slowly fell asleep.
Perhaps it was the cold, but while she slept, Xu Chaomu gradually shuffled closer to Shen Chi.