Shen Sixian eventually managed to appease Shen Shuangjian.
They were clearly two mature adults, yet at dinner time, they squatted on the ground like two closely embracing mushrooms, delicately leaning against each other.
Shen Shuangjian difficult to coax and surprisingly easy to coax; as long as the right method was found, it was very effective.
Shen Shuangjian she was only responsive to gentle persuasion and not to force, and although she was difficult to please, she always fell for the trick of feigning injury.
It only took Shen Sixian five minutes to Shen Shuangjian down by half, at least making her obediently follow him to the restaurant for dinner.
Having just spent a great deal of effort to calm the man down, Shen Sixian dared not call him by his nickname for a while, and instead obediently addressed him Shuangjian.
In the large restaurant, apart from the servants and chefs serving the food, the long dining table with only two people sitting at it inevitably seemed a bit empty. However, as long as the two of them sat closer together, it would not feel empty.
"Gentlemen."
When the maid came in from outside, Shen Sixian was Shen Shuangjian. Seeing that she seemed to have something to say, Shen Sixian leaned forward slightly and whispered in her ear.
"Gentlemen······"
The maid seemed to lower her voice after that, Shen Shuangjian she hadn't heard it clearly, didn't want to be so curious as to listen more closely.
Although she didn't know what had happened, Shen Shuangjian noticed that Shen Sixian's expression seemed to have darkened, losing its previous pleasantness and peace and instead showing some annoyance.
Shen Shuangjian slowly chewed what was in her mouth and tilted her head towards Shen Sixian.
Noticing his younger brother's curious gaze, Shen Sixian slightly composed himself and smiled at Shen Shuangjian, saying, "We have guests at home. I'll go see them. Would you like to eat first?"
After Shen Shuangjian nodded, Shen Sixian pushed back his chair, stood up, and left the restaurant.
After Shen Sixian left, the housekeeper who had come in to speak earlier stood aside naturally, occasionally serving food to Shen Shuangjian on behalf of the servants.
Shen Shuangjian always eats very slowly, chewing each bite carefully. If she gets tired, she even stops to rest for a few minutes.
Furthermore, his appetite has been quite good lately, and it's normal for him to spend more than half an hour on a meal.
Shen Shuangjian that things were quiet on this side, but Shen Sixian on the other side could hardly hide the impatience in his eyes.
" Mr. Xie seems to have a lot of free time lately?" Shen Sixian casually leaned forward slightly, raising his hand to fill Xie Jinghui's teacup. "This is freshly arrived tea, Mr. Xie, please have a taste."
Opposite him, Xie Jinghui, who had been sitting upright for nearly half an hour, glanced at his teacup without moving, but slowly lifted his eyelids to look at Shen Sixian.
At this moment, Shen Sixian seemed reluctant to engage in any pretense. Although he did not explicitly show impatience, he was definitely not in a position to continue the conversation.
With a nonchalant and dismissive air, though physically present, one's spirit seems to have wandered off somewhere else.
In fact, Shen Sixian really didn't want to pay much attention to Xie Jinghui at this moment.
Instead of spending time with Shen Shuangjian, he's wasting his time chatting Xie Jinghui; it's truly tiresome.
Shen Sixian propped himself up and sighed inwardly.
He had assumed that Xie Jinghui would resort to some underhanded tactics to try and Shen Shuangjian, or to subtly probe him for information about Shen Shuangjian's schedule or current situation.
Shen Sixian had already planned how to respond. If Xie Jinghui was too ungrateful, he would not hesitate to speak harshly and ruthlessly to refute her.
Unfortunately, Xie Jinghui didn't seem to have that intention. He chatted idly for a long time, but it seemed that he really just came to visit him.
This gave Shen Sixian the feeling of punching cotton.
Shen Sixian had no idea what had happened, nor did he know what Xie Jinghui was really thinking.
He simply assumed that Xie Jinghui was self-aware enough to let go when the time was right; otherwise, if he insisted on doing something to Shen Shuangjian, the two families would fall out, causing even greater harm.
Xie Jinghui is a businessman, so his decision to withdraw at this time is not surprising to Shen Sixian.
"It's late, I won't bother Mr. Shen any longer. Please stay." Xie Jinghui finally stood up, not drinking the tea, and turned to walk outside.
As Xie Jinghui passed through the lobby, Shen Shuangjian also happened to be coming out of the restaurant. The two were quite a distance apart, but they noticed each other at the same time.
Shen Shuangjian was surprised that the guest would be Xie Jinghui, and Xie Jinghui was equally surprised that he would happen to bump into Shen Shuangjian.
In that instant, neither of them spoke, their eyes meeting and then parting, as if time should have passed very slowly, but in reality, only a few seconds had elapsed.
" Mr. Xie?"
Shen Sixian's three words, half a reminder and half a warning, finally snapped Xie Jinghui out of his daze. He quickly scanned Shen Shuangjian from head to toe.
He then turned and left without hesitation.
Shen Shuangjian inevitably stunned for a moment. He keenly sensed that something was wrong, but he didn't know exactly what it was.
Actually, he wanted to say something just now.
" Shuangjian?"
Shen Sixian keenly noticed the change in Shen Shuangjian's mood. He stroked Shen Shuangjian's back and gently patted her. "Do you want to watch TV? It was paused a moment ago, but it's not turned off yet."
Shen Shuangjian's attention was quickly drawn to the replaying television. He curled up on the carpet in front of the sofa and watched until it was time to go to bed, refusing to stop.
In the end, Shen Sixian forcibly turned off the TV and made it clear that he couldn't stay up late. Only after not seeing the finale Shen Shuangjian reluctantly go upstairs to sleep.
Only when the windows on one side of the second floor of the Shen Residence were no longer bright did the car, parked far away, finally start moving again.
Xie Jinghui sat in the driver's seat. The dial, which was shimmering with phosphorescence, finally pointed to ten o'clock. He lowered his eyes and slowly rested his head on the steering wheel, looking very tired.
The severe lack of sleep lately, coupled with an ever-growing number of worries, gradually led to a constant cigarette in hand and a lack of clothes.
Xie Jinghui originally just wanted to know about Shen Shuangjian's recent situation, but he didn't expect to run into her.
Shen Shuangjian thinner and paler than before, which suggested that his illness had taken a toll on his health.
Fortunately, even though he couldn't see Shen Shuangjian, he still had Shen Sixian by his side.
Even without asking, speaking, or looking, he could still barely deduce Shen Shuangjian's recent situation from Shen Sixian's state and expression.
Just now, he noticed that there was a new television in the living room, in front of the sofa, and the cushions and blankets were very soft.
He must have enjoyed curling up there watching TV, because on the coffee table in front of him were two books that Shen Shuangjian hadn't finished reading, and a glass of pink milk that had already solidified a bit.
He was well taken care of by Shen Sixian, and Xie Jinghui felt at ease knowing this.
On every sleepless midnight, he could find some comfort in these details.