Shi Youxuan silently chanted in her heart, "He can't see me, he can't see me..." Only then did the heat on her face gradually dissipate.
At the dining table, Shi Youxuan picked up the milk and gulped down a big sip, just as she was about to swallow, the housekeeper began to lecture, "Mrs. Sheng, you should drink milk in small sips, drinking it like this makes you look uncultured."
With a mouthful of milk, it wasn't easy to swallow it in small sips. Shi Youxuan tried but failed, and her face turned a bright red instead.
This foolish appearance of hers made the housekeeper disdain her even more, thinking she did not deserve the Eldest Young Master.
Thus, he continued more sternly, "Straighten your waist, keep your back upright, and be graceful..."
"Pfft!"
A big mouthful of milk sprayed all over Sheng Hanyu's face!
"My goodness, what are you doing?"
The housekeeper glared at Shi Youxuan, who quickly looked down, her shoulders trembling.
The servants and the housekeeper thought she was shaking from fear, but little did they know, she was stifling a laugh.
Sheng Hanyu's appearance was too comical, eating breakfast in a suit, tie, and sunglasses. Serves him right, doesn't it?
The white milk streamed down his dark hair onto his black suit, leaving marks, and his suit worth hundreds of thousands was ruined.
The housekeeper reached for a tissue to wipe off for the Eldest Young Master, but Sheng Hanyu stopped him with a hand, "You go on with your duties, let the one who sprayed it deal with it."
...
"Wah—"
Shi Youxuan repeated her old trick, starting to cry loudly.
Just as the housekeeper was about to scold her, he saw Eldest Young Master's unchanging expression, choked back his words, and didn't dare to speak.
"Help me back to my room to take a bath," Sheng Hanyu's tone was calm, showing no anger, yet authoritative.
Bath?
The redness that had just faded from Shi Youxuan's face crawled back over it. She hung her head low, not wanting to be caught in her embarrassed state, but she also missed seeing the corners of Sheng Hanyu's lips lifting in a silent chuckle.
The housekeeper watched their retreating figures, his mouth agape for a long time—was the Eldest Young Master smiling just now?
Ever since the fire five years ago, the number of times the Eldest Young Master had smiled could be counted on one hand, and just now, he actually smiled so brilliantly?
The housekeeper no longer underestimated the new Mrs. Sheng and even instructed the servants not to disrespect her.
"Help me undress," Sheng Hanyu commanded in the room.
Shi Youxuan puckered her lips, negotiating, "Can we just wipe it off with a towel? It's easy to catch a cold with a bath early in the morning."
She felt like she was now hoist with her own petard. If she had known that spraying him with a sip of milk would lead to such hassle as helping him bathe and change clothes, she wouldn't have done it at all.
Shi Youxuan felt a bit panicked, worried her act of playing dumb had been seen through, though she wasn't sure.
Sheng Hanyu taunted her, "You won't catch a cold with hot water."
...
With no excuse left, Shi Youxuan dawdled, not moving, and after a while, Sheng Hanyu began to urge, "Do you want me to do it myself, hmm?"
"I, I'll do it."
Shi Youxuan unbuttoned his shirt one button at a time, slowly taking off his coat, trousers, and shirt. When the man was left with just one final piece of clothing, Shi Youxuan paused again in her actions.
"Get out," Sheng Hanyu commanded.
The woman darted out like a deer, closing the bathroom door behind her.
Sheng Hanyu turned on the shower, the cold water pouring down from his head, washing away not just the milk stains but also quenching the fire that had surged within him.
These past five years his life had been very Zen, so devoid of any desires it seemed like he had severed them all.
Yet, his body had begun to change since last night, and heaven knows how he had made it through.
Agony, endurance.
Sheng Hanyu lingered in the shower for a long while before stepping out wrapped in a towel, with neatly folded clean clothes sitting on the bed, Shi Youxuan nowhere to be seen.
"Woman, come out."
The closet door silently cracked open a slit, a pair of bright eyes peeking out.
The man was only wearing a towel around his waist, his well-defined abs clearly visible... Tsk!
Shi Youxuan quickly covered her eyes. She had initially intended to secretly observe whether Sheng Hanyu was truly blind or pretending, but her focus had unintentionally shifted.
Sheng Hanyu wore sunglasses day and night, obscuring his eyes, yet he acted no differently than a sighted person.
She was pretending to be a fool, so she suspected that Sheng Hanyu might also be pretending, which is why she had devised a small trick to test him.
Sheng Hanyu sat on the edge of the bed, his clothes only ten centimeters away, yet he didn't reach for them, instead repeating, "Woman, come out."
Shi Youxuan held her breath and stayed silent, and certainly wasn't going out. At the moment, she could not determine how Sheng Hanyu had realized she was in the room, considering she had slipped into the closet while the bathroom door had been tightly shut.
Sheng Hanyu waited a while, and not seeing Shi Youxuan emerge, he began to untie his towel...
"Bang!"
A noise came from the direction of the closet, followed by a cry of "Ouch," and Shi Youxuan tumbled out of the closet like a ball, one hand on her forehead and the other clutching a bear plushie.
"You were spying on me." It was not a question but a statement.