Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

"I’m here," Wen Zhi said.

After getting into the car, Wen Zhi turned her head to look at Shang Hexing by her side.

Shang Hexing nodded towards the area behind Wen Zhi, "Did she try to stop you?"

Following Shang Hexing’s gaze, Wen Zhi turned around and saw Su Tong skulking at the doorway, peering out.

Wen Zhi withdrew her gaze and turned back, "She wouldn’t dare."

The car started moving as Chen Jinhai got in.

With one hand, Wen Zhi placed her bag aside, and with the other hand, Shang Hexing took hold of hers.

He rolled up her sleeve and saw a red stain on the gauze, and softly asked, "Did it bleed yesterday?"

"Just a bit," Wen Zhi said.

"What happened after you went back yesterday?" Shang Hexing gently pulled her sleeve back down.

"...Nothing much," Wen Zhi withdrew her hand and placed it steadily on her lap, "Just argued with her."

Shang Hexing lifted his eyes to look at her, "Just argued?"

Wen Zhi nodded vigorously.

"If it was just an argument, would the wound have reopened? Or was it from yelling?" Shang Hexing inquired.

"..." Wen Zhi said nothing.

She knew she couldn’t hide it; as soon as he saw the gauze, he would definitely insist on getting a full picture.

She honestly recounted the events of the previous day to Shang Hexing, and the more he listened, the deeper his frown became.

Wen Zhi immediately steered the conversation back to this morning, "I threatened her with complaining to my dad, and guess what? It worked like a charm."

"And what happened?" Shang Hexing asked.

"..." Wen Zhi stammered, not daring to meet his eyes, "During the process, she, she spilled a glass of milk on me."

Shang Hexing’s eyes darkened with fury, and Wen Zhi quickly smoothed things over, "But I made her clean it up! She didn’t dare say a word."

Shang Hexing’s expression darkened slightly, "I was afraid you would be upset, but now I see that I really should have forced an assistant on you."

Wen Zhi caught a little bit of his shirt hem, "I can protect myself, and stand up for myself. Your overly protective indulgence will only make me weaker."

And that was certainly the truth.

Shang Hexing’s overprotection would indeed make Wen Zhi more dependent on him in the future.

Shang Hexing understood the rationale well, "Apart from being independent in character, I do hope you could rely on me a bit more for other things." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Grinning playfully, Wen Zhi said, "If I rely on you too much for everything, what will I do if we ever part ways?"

All of a sudden, Shang Hexing turned his head to look at her, his gaze cold and deep.

The grin on Wen Zhi’s face slowly faded, realizing she had misspoken, "What I mean is, it’s not good to always rely on you."

"Wen Zhi," Shang Hexing said, gazing at her with rare seriousness, calling her full name.

Feeling flustered, Wen Zhi tried to deflect with a forced laugh, "I haven’t soaked in the Hot Spring Pool at Jiuqu Villa for a long time. I kind of miss it."

Shang Hexing reminded her, "Don’t even think about those things with an injured hand. We’ll talk when it’s better."

His tone was cool as well.

She cursed herself for saying the wrong thing and ruining the good mood.

At that moment, out of the corner of her eye, Wen Zhi saw Shang Hexing pressing a button on the side.

Then she saw the partition rise.

Wen Zhi’s expression froze, and just as she was about to turn her head to look at him, she was engulfed by an imposing shadow.

...

Close to eleven o’clock, the car arrived at Jiuqu Villa.

After getting out of the car, Wen Zhi’s lip gloss was gone, and her ears were visibly red.

Shang Hexing, who got out of the car after her, naturally took her hand, "Let’s go."

Wen Zhi immediately said, "I haven’t taken my bag yet."

Turning back, Shang Hexing saw that Chen Jinhai had already conscientiously brought the bag from the back seat.

Taking the bag from him, Wen Zhi reached out to grab it, but Shang Hexing held it effortlessly, "When I’m here, just take it easy."

Wen Zhi couldn’t help but laugh, "The bag isn’t heavy anyway."

Shang Hexing: "I’m happy to carry it for you."

"I’ll let you carry it in the future," she said.

Shang Hexing: "Just make sure you can keep your word."

Wen Zhi dared not continue the conversation; who knew how long she could stay by his side, and Nian Xun was still waiting for her reply...

After arriving at the private room, Wen Zhi immediately looked for the restroom, but Shang Hexing was holding her hand. She tried to pull away, but Shang Hexing did not let go and asked where she was going. Wen Zhi said, "I’m going to touch up my makeup."

Shang Hexing still didn’t let go of her hand: "What are you retouching?"

"My lipstick," she said.

Shang Hexing’s gaze lingered on her lips for a while: "We’re about to have lunch; it’s okay not to retouch."

"That won’t do." Wen Zhi insisted on retouching her makeup and added, "A girl should always look pretty when she’s out and about."

Shang Hexing was amused by her and released her hand: "Go ahead."

Chen Jinhai immediately pointed Wen Zhi in the right direction: "Miss Wen, the restroom is over there."

"Thank you." Wen Zhi thanked Chen Jinhai and went to the restroom to touch up her makeup.

The private room had already been occupied by a man and a woman.

The man was Wei You, who was sitting at the round table with his legs crossed, a cigarette in his mouth, but unlit.

The woman was Zhou Qin. She was sitting opposite Wei You, looking at her phone.

When Shang Hexing walked over, Wei You had already stood up. He removed the cigarette from his lips and tucked it behind his ear, his eyes falling on the ladies’ bag in Shang Hexing’s hand, teasing: "Yo, even starting to carry bags? A fine trait of a good man."

Shang Hexing’s face showed a visible pleasure.

Zhou Qin put down her phone and stood up, smiling as she greeted, "Mr. Shang."

Shang Hexing nodded slightly and took the head seat, then placed the bag on the seat next to him.

Wei You and Zhou Qin also took their seats in turn.

Wei You stretched his legs: "I hear you’ve been going on business trips quite frequently these days."

Shang Hexing: "It’s the arrangement from above."

"Old fox," Wei You scoffed with a smile, "always so watertight."

The smile at the corners of Shang Hexing’s mouth grew a bit deeper: "I have some new plans."

Curiosity drew Wei You closer: "Do tell."

Shang Hexing looked at Wei You: "It’s not wise to spread word of deals that haven’t been struck yet, in case it leads to mistakes."

Wei You snorted: "Since when do you believe in that."

Shang Hexing: "I always have."

Zhou Qin did not join the conversation until Shang Hexing’s gaze fell on her and he asked, "Has anyone from the Zhou Family been giving you trouble?"

Zhou Qin sat upright and answered truthfully, "There is one person."

Shang Hexing guessed: "Zhou Congjie."

Zhou Qin nodded: "Yes, him."

It was clear during the Zhou Family’s elder’s birthday banquet that Zhou Congjie did not take kindly to Zhou Qin, his sister who had been found and brought back. Only the old Mr. Zhou was beaming with joy from the excitement of finding his daughter. The rest of the Zhou Family was less accepting internally, though they managed civility on the surface.

Only Zhou Congjie had made no secret of his disdain, showing his contempt for Zhou Qin openly in front of everyone.

Shang Hexing asked, "Is he causing too much trouble?"

Zhou Qin really didn’t know how to describe Zhou Congjie’s aggravating behavior. After hesitating for a while, she replied with two words: "A bit."

Wei You chimed in, "That kid has it too easy in the Zhou Family."

Wei You had always looked down on the likes of Zhou Congjie—second-generation rich who lacked ambition and hadn’t inherited a shred of old Mr. Zhou’s integrity.

Shang Hexing remarked indifferently, "Let’s not let him be too comfortable for a while."

Having said that, Shang Hexing looked meaningfully at Wei You.

Wei You could not misunderstand and curved his lips: "Understood."

Zhou Qin stood to express her thanks.

Right then, Wen Zhi also came out.