"Ah Qi? Ah Qi, are you in there?"
At this moment, Liu Yue's voice suddenly came from the bathroom door.
"Oh, I'm here. What's wrong?" Liu Qi turned her phone off and answered Liu Yue.
Liu Yue said gently, "Auntie was looking for you just now. She said that grandma asked you to go over."
"Okay, I'll come right away." After saying that, Liu Qi deliberately pressed the flush button.
...
Li Ya had already slowly sat down next to Shen Nanxiao. Her beautiful face smiled and greeted him. "Nanxiao, how have you been?"
"Yes, sister," Shen Nanxiao replied politely. It was also because Li Ya was part of the little girl's family. Other than that, there was no other expression on his face. It was still a cold and indifferent expression.
Li Ya did not care about Shen Nanxiao's coldness. Instead, she smiled and said jokingly, "I heard from Auntie that Ah Qi is staying at the Shen family. She has become much more well-behaved this time."
"She has always behaved well."
"You both aren't even married yet, and you're already defending her." Li Ya covered her mouth and laughed softly. Her laughter was gentle and clear.
Then, Li Ya thought about it as if she was reminiscing. She sighed and said, "I still remember the last time when Ah Qi found out that she was going to marry you, she was extremely unwilling. In order to get out of the marriage, she even tried to set us up together by locking us up together."
"At that time, the basement was dark. You don't know, but I've been afraid of the dark since I was young. If I was alone at that time, I wouldn't know what to do. Fortunately, it was the two of us. Otherwise, I'm afraid that I would have a shadow in my heart."
"Okay." Shen Nanxiao only responded lightly and did not respond. However, his brows were unconsciously furrowed. He knew who Liu Qi was doing it for.
Li Ya tilted her head. Her long curly hair naturally fell behind her shoulders, revealing her beautiful collarbone. She looked at Shen Nanxiao seriously and said.
"Nanxiao, do you know that you give people a reassuring feeling when we're around you? I felt it last time. I thought that it was an illusion because I was afraid. But now, I can still feel that reassuring feeling by your side. "I think Ah Qi will definitely be able to feel it once she's been around you for a long time."
"At that time, Ah Qi went on a hunger strike for three days in order to marry Nangong Shu. I wonder what part of Nongong Shu struck her... After that, I don't know what happened to the two of them." Li Ya suddenly stopped, as if she knew that she had said the wrong thing, she quietly stopped what she was about to say.
Then, Li Ya sighed softly and comforted him. "Nanxiao, Ah Qi was not sensible at that time. Now that I see that the two of you have reconciled, I believe that Ah Qi and Nangong Shu have also broken up."
"Yes." Shen Nanxiao's tone did not sound happy or angry, but one could feel that the coldness around him was stronger than before.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Ah Qi has grown up and is sensible now. Naturally, she knows that her parents' arrangements are right. It should not be long before Ah Qi is going to marry you." Li Ya's face still had a calm and elegant smile; her eyes revealed a look of concern.
Her parents' arrangements, heh!
What he wanted was never Liu Qi. What he wanted was her heart. Her everything. However, if her heart did not belong to him. What was the point of wanting the person.
They were just torturing each other.
However, Liu Qi's change in attitude towards him was too sudden. It was so sudden that he could not react in time.
The little girl who used to say whatever she wanted to say and lose her temper whenever she was unhappy seemed to have some unspeakable secrets now.
"She is my wife. Whether she marries me or not." Shen Nanxiao drank a mouthful of wine with a heavy expression. This kind of reaction was something that Li Ya was willing to see.
However, Li Ya had underestimated Shen Nanxiao's obsession with Liu Qi.
Even when Liu Qi and Nangong Shu were married in her previous life, Shen Nanxiao had never had the intention of marrying someone else.
"It's my uncle's birthday at the beginning of next month. He will hold a banquet at the Mingya Sea. Ah Qi loves the seaside. Why don't you bring Ah Qi along then, Nanxiao?" Li Ya used the excuse of Liu Qi to invite Shen Nanxiao.
Shen Nanxiao rejected her directly. "I'm going to the North City for a business trip at the end of the month."
"That's really unfortunate. How about this? Let Ah Qi come over then. I'll help you take care of her. It's the same." Li Ya was still smiling warmly.
"She'll come with me," Shen Nanxiao said.
"I understand. So you've already made arrangements. I wonder if it's a business trip or a vacation?" Li Ya teased openly, appearing natural.
Suddenly, Li Ya remembered something, she continued. "I heard that the filming of The Ballad of the South Wind is about to start in the North City. It's a novel that I quite like. The female lead should be Ah Yue. Later, due to some matters, it seems to have been changed to the artist under Nangong Shu, Lu Xue."
"I heard that... Nangong Shu is also in North City. Nanxiao, I'm afraid it's not very good for you to bring Ah Qi to North City on a business trip."
The meaning behind her words was already obvious. Was Liu Qi going on a business trip with you, or did she have other motives?
Just as Li Ya finished speaking, she heard Liu Qi's rushing voice.
"Shen Nanxiao!" This name was called out in a rather delicate and angry manner, as if she was dissatisfied with something.
Liu Qi had just gone to see her grandmother, and she had given her an inexplicable reprimand.
She did not even have time to think about what she had done wrong before she felt that something was wrong.
Sure enough, Li Ya had already started talking to Shen Nanxiao, but Shen Nanxiao did not seem to have any intention of getting angry.
Was it because Li Ya had not had the time to act evil, or was this life different from her previous life?
"Ah Qi is here. It is time for you to accompany Nanxiao. I'll go take care of the others." Li Ya always had a gentle look in front of outsiders, making it difficult for anyone to call her out, including Liu Qi.
"Go ahead, cousin. I'll take care of this." Liu Qi forced a smile. She then sat beside Shen Nanxiao and grabbed his arm.
Liu Qi's reaction surprised Li Ya. Did Liu Qi really like Shen Nanxiao, or was it just an act that she had put on before when she said she did not like him?
She was unable to find out for the time being, so she just nodded slightly with a smile, turned around, and left.
Looking at Li Ya's departing figure, Liu Qi finally heaved a sigh of relief. She looked up at Shen Nanxiao and complained softly. "I told you not to talk to her."
"She's your cousin. I can't just ignore her." Shen Nanxiao stroked the little girl's hair gently and patiently, as if he was smoothing the fur of an angry kitten.
...
The moon was up and night came. The day was finally over.
Liu Qi did not plan to stay any longer. Liu Yue had already rushed back in the afternoon, citing work as an excuse.
The car window opened a crack, and a few wisps of cool wind blew in, bringing with it the smell of fragrant grass. Liu Qi looked at the waning night outside the window and could not help but yawn.
Shen Nanxiao, who was busy working on his laptop, raised his eyes and asked, "Are you sleepy?"
This warm voice was like a lullaby that made people want to sleep peacefully.
"Mmm..." Liu Qi turned around and whimpered like a kitten. She closed her eyes and leaned against the man.
The man closed the laptop and put it aside. His big hand exerted a little force and pulled the little girl into his arms.
Liu Qi inexplicably felt relaxed in this warm and elegant embrace with the fragrance of lotus flowers.
She could not help but mutter in a low voice, "Shen Nanxiao, you're a man and you wear lotus perfume."
"You don't like it?" Shen Nanxiao used his other hand to tidy up the messy hair on the person's face. His voice was low and a little hoarse.
"I like it." After saying that, Liu Qi buried her head deeper into the man's chest and took a deep breath. She was not satisfied and sniffed lightly.
"Shen Nanxiao, you smell so good." As she breathed in and out, her warm and cold breath tickled him. The little girl in his arms seemed a little greedy.
The driver for Shen Nanxiao today was Wu Feng. He only wanted to be deaf right now.
At this moment, Shen Nanxiao was completely stunned. His heartbeat was strong and fast, and his stomach felt hot. The hands holding the little girl tightened and tightened.
"It smells even better than a real lotus."
"Stop talking. Go to sleep." Shen Nanxiao lowered his voice again and again. This little girl had undoubtedly become a fatal temptation to him.
After a long time, the little girl's face was no longer pressed so tightly. There was the sound of clear and shallow breathing, as if she had already fallen asleep.
His gaze was deep as he stared at half of the little girl's gentle face. This fragrance was developed for this little girl, but it was used on him.
He remembered that when the little girl was young, she said that when she grew up, she wanted to marry a man who smelled as good as a lotus flower.
This sentence, perhaps even this little girl did not remember anymore.