Chapter 535: Xu Chan: Be Safe
He deftly pulled out his phone, his movements so slick they seemed rehearsed countless times. With a soft BEEP, his fingertips flew across the screen, tapping a few times.
The next second—
DING—
Shen Yuan’s phone chimed with a clear notification almost the instant Old Shen was done.
Pulling out his phone, Shen Yuan saw a red envelope notification.
200 yuan. The attached message read: “Stay calm.”
A brilliant smile instantly bloomed on Shen Yuan’s face.
He shot his dad an appreciative look that said, ‘You get it,’ then immediately locked the screen and stuffed the phone into his pocket, all in one smooth motion.
“Heh, thanks, Dad!” he said cheerfully, pocketing his hand.
Li Zhi, who had witnessed the entire exchange from the side, glanced at her own father, who was still smiling sheepishly.
Then she looked back at Shen Yuan’s smug expression, looking like the cat who got the cream. Her earlier feeling of being wronged completely vanished, replaced by an exasperated sense of amusement.
‘This guy…’
Ultimately, she couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from curling into a helpless smile.
Just then, Shen Yuan finished putting his phone away. He smacked his lips in satisfaction, the grin not yet faded from his face.
Seeing his expression, Li Zhi gave him a pointed look.
Shen Yuan got the message at once and quickly stood up.
Under the watchful eyes of the four adults, the two of them walked side-by-side toward Shen Yuan’s bedroom, completely unbothered.
He pushed the door open, stepping aside to let Li Zhi in first before following her. Then, with a crisp CLICK, he shut the door behind him.
The air in the living room seemed to freeze for a second after the soft click.
The sheepish smile on Old Li’s face froze. His eyes were glued to the closed bedroom door.
The knowing glance his daughter and that Shen Yuan kid had just exchanged, coupled with the now firmly shut door, struck his fatherly heart like an invisible shockwave.
A complex, indescribable emotion instantly washed over him.
‘My daughter’s all grown up… A pig came for my cabbage… That damn kid is way too brazen…’
He subconsciously opened his mouth to speak, but though his lips moved, no sound came out.
Old Li’s dazed gaze remained fixed on the door for several seconds, his mind buzzing.
He turned his head, almost in a daze, looking at his wife with a mixture of disbelief, confusion, and a hint of grievance. She had been watching the whole spectacle with great interest from the very beginning.
His expression seemed to ask, ‘They… they just went in like that?’
Xu Chan caught her husband’s resentful glare.
She leisurely picked up her glass from the coffee table, took a sip, and shot Old Li a casual glance.
“What did you expect? The kids are grown up. Just let them be. We’re the ones in the wrong for losing track of time, so why meddle?”
Old Li opened his mouth, but ultimately, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything disapproving or to intervene.
As for Shen Yuan, all he felt right now was a rush of excitement.
‘This is great! I just led my girlfriend into my bedroom right in front of my future father-in-law!’
The moment the bedroom door shut, Li Zhi spun around, her beautiful eyes fixed on Shen Yuan.
“Hey!” she whispered, her voice low and filled with eager curiosity. “My dad gave me 1,000. How much did your dad give you?”
Her voice held a hint of a humblebrag, and it sounded like she was stifling a laugh as she waited for his reaction.
“Oh, 1,000, huh? That’s quite a lot…” Shen Yuan nodded along instinctively, still smiling. But a second later, when the number finally registered in his brain’s central processing unit—
The smile on his face froze for half a second before shattering with an audible CRACK!
“How much?!”
Shen Yuan’s eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. His mouth fell slightly open as he sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, letting out a short, strangled gasp. “…Huh?! 1,000?!!”
The smug satisfaction he’d felt just a moment ago over his 200-yuan “stay calm” money was now utterly crushed by the enormous difference!
“Wait a minute…” Shen Yuan’s voice shot up, laced with incredulous accusation. “1,000?! Your fa— Old Li gave you 1,000?!!”
He pointed at the door in disbelief.
The huge disparity sent a wave of indignation through Shen Yuan. A rush of hot blood WHOOSHED to his head.
His “stay calm” 200 yuan was instantly blown to smithereens by the comparison to her 1,000!
“Nope, not happening. I need to go have a word with my dad.”
With that, Shen Yuan turned to open the door.
His hand had just touched the cold doorknob, not even having a chance to turn it, when he heard Li Zhi’s voice in his ear.
“Oh? Going out? Are you sure?”
The beautiful girl watched Shen Yuan with a look of great interest.
“If you go out now, you’ll come face to face with—”
“—the one and only Old Li, who just spent 1,000 yuan, just got a ‘talking to’ from me, is probably mentally ranting about ‘his little girl getting snatched away,’ and is likely grinding his teeth just thinking about you!”
Shen Yuan froze.
The hand reaching for the doorknob shot back as if it had been burned.
Shen Yuan sniffled and swallowed, his throat suddenly feeling a little dry.
He silently retreated to where he had been standing.
‘Never mind…’
‘200 yuan… is pretty good.’
‘Really…’
Seeing Shen Yuan’s wimpy retreat, Li Zhi burst out laughing.
Her laughter, like the chiming of silver bells, drifted out of the bedroom and clearly reached Old Li’s ears.
The father’s expression instantly grew complicated, a mixture of helplessness, heartache, and the lament of a man whose ‘little girl was all grown up and couldn’t be kept at home.’
However, something that would make Old Li’s expression even darker was still to come.
Since Shen Yuan and Li Zhi had returned late, the meal Ms. Zhang Yuyan had cooked wasn’t enough for six people. As a result, Shen Yuan and Li Zhi had to order takeout.
After the parents finished their meal, Old Li watched as Shen Yuan came trotting back into the room with a McDonald’s takeout bag.