The last time he came, everything had happened so suddenly and urgently that Tang Chen had entered the house wearing only his socks.
Winter had arrived. Although the villa, unlike an ordinary apartment building, had underfloor heating, walking barefoot on the floor could still easily make someone catch a cold.
"There haven't been any men in the house, so there are only women's slippers."
Shen Qingyan said, pursing her plump, rose-petal lips.
She turned around and took off her high heels, revealing feet barely the size of a palm, delicate as jade, before slipping them into a pair of slippers.
Tang Chen's gaze swept over Shen Qingyan's flawless feet, unadorned by nail polish, before he put on the women's slippers as well.
"Pfft!"
Shen Qingyan turned back and could not hold back her laughter, covering her face.
Tang Chen's size forty-four feet were crammed into Shen Qingyan's size thirty-six pink slippers, with more than half of his heels hanging out the back.
The sight was inexplicably hilarious.
"Mom, what are you laughing at?"
Tang Yao, who had already changed her shoes and gone into the living room, heard Shen Qingyan laughing and ran back over.
Then, when she saw Tang Chen wearing Shen Qingyan's slippers—
She covered her mouth with both little hands and began giggling too. "Hehehe, Dad, why are you wearing Mom's slippers...?"
Seeing the mother and daughter laugh because of him, Tang Chen laughed too.
He walked over and rubbed Tang Yao's head. "Who told Mom to have such tiny feet while Dad's feet are so big?"
"Dad, I have an idea!"
Tang Yao's eyes suddenly lit up...
"Hahahaha!"
Not long after.
Two bursts of laughter rang out from inside the villa.
Looking at the extra pair of slippers taped onto Tang Chen's heels.
Tang Yao clutched her stomach and laughed so hard she rocked back and forth.
Shen Qingyan could not help smiling either, her eyes curving into crescents.
Ever since Shengtang Group had been established, when had Tang Chen ever been laughed at?
Yet, seeing the happy mother and daughter and his own awkward appearance, Tang Chen could not help laughing as well.
Dressed like that, Tang Chen went into the living room. It took quite a while before the little girl finally stopped laughing, but whenever the mother and daughter looked at his feet, they still could not help chuckling.
The sky gradually darkened.
After laughing herself tired, Tang Yao patted her belly and looked eagerly at Shen Qingyan and Tang Chen. "Dad, Mom, what are we having for dinner tonight?"
Knowing she was hungry and asking to be fed, Shen Qingyan smiled and gently patted the top of her head. "Mom will cook."
"Yay! I haven't had Mom's cooking in so long!"
Tang Yao clapped excitedly in celebration.
Shen Qingyan sighed.
That was right.
Ever since the Shen Group had fallen into crisis, she had not cooked for Tang Yao in a long time...
"Just wait."
Shen Qingyan tied an apron around her waist, making her slender waist seem even more pronounced. She tied her long hair behind her head, revealing her breathtakingly beautiful face. She looked just like a lovely little chef.
"Dad! You're in for a treat!"
Tang Yao lay across the sofa and leaned toward Tang Chen. "Mom's cooking is super delicious!"
"Then I'll be counting on your good fortune!"
Tang Chen pinched her chubby little cheeks and copied Tang Yao's tone.
"Ah, Dad, you're so annoying! Don't copy the way I talk!"
Tang Yao said indignantly, planting her hands on her hips.
Tang Chen could not help laughing as he stood up from the sofa.
"Dad, where are you going?"
"Dad's going to see whether Mom needs any help!"
"Oh!"
Tang Chen headed toward the kitchen.
Shen Qingyan had already taken out the ingredients and begun chopping them.
But after going so long without exercising, suddenly bending over to cut things made her back ache faintly. She could not help furrowing her brows.
"Do you need help?"
Tang Chen walked into the kitchen and saw Shen Qingyan's slightly pained expression. He frowned. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"No. I just haven't cooked in so long. Bending over all of a sudden is making my back feel a little sore."
Shen Qingyan shook her head and smiled. "It's an old problem."
An old problem?
How could a twenty-five-year-old woman have such an old ailment?
He did not even need to think about it. Yaoyao's birth must have left her overworked for the past five years...
Tang Chen reached out and took the knife from Shen Qingyan's hand.
Shen Qingyan looked at him in surprise.
He reached out and took hold of her wrist. "Come with me."
Shen Qingyan was even more puzzled, but she still let him lead her out of the kitchen and over to the living room sofa.
"Lie down on your stomach."
Tang Chen pointed at the sofa and spoke softly.
"?"
Shen Qingyan's mind instantly flashed through countless thoughts. For some reason, her pretty face reddened slightly. After remaining silent for quite a while, she still did as Tang Chen said and lay facedown on the sofa.
Tang Yao, standing nearby, was stunned too.
Seeing Shen Qingyan lie down, she knitted her faint little brows. "Dad, did Mom do something wrong? Are you going to spank her?"
"Can you spank Yaoyao instead?"
"Yaoyao is willing to take Mom's punishment for her!"
Seeing how serious and adorable the little girl looked, Tang Chen laughed and pinched her cheek. "What is going through that little head of yours all day? How could Dad possibly hit Mom?"
"Mom isn't feeling well. Dad's going to give her a massage to help her feel better!"
As he spoke.
Tang Chen walked to Shen Qingyan's side and gently placed his hand on her back.
The instant his hand touched her.
Shen Qingyan's body abruptly stiffened.
Other than Tang Yao, no one else had ever touched her at all—not even Xu Nan. Her pretty face, buried in the sofa, turned completely red.
However...
Her blush was not solely because of Tang Chen's hand.
There was another reason.
When Tang Chen had just told her to lie down, she could not help associating it with certain other things...
So it was a massage...
As a comfortable sensation spread across her back and the pain gradually faded, Shen Qingyan became increasingly surprised.
She knew an elderly woman.
That woman was an expert in orthopedics and pain management.
When the woman had examined her, she said Shen Qingyan had no underlying lesion.
The only way to resolve it was through long-term exercise.
It could not be cured completely, so whenever it started hurting, she could only endure it...
Yet Tang Chen had been massaging her for only a few minutes, and it had already eased so much?
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