Because acupuncture treatment was required, Shen Xiaoyan inevitably had to interact with Sima Han these days. Zheng Wei, therefore, moved his laptop to the hospital and stayed by her side whenever Shen Xiaoyan was undergoing treatment.
Shen Xiaoyan felt touched, but also found it amusing.
He had been taking care of her with unwavering attention these past few days. Every time he fed her, she felt as though she were a completely incapacitated person.
"Boss, the matter with Niu Shufang has been resolved. She'll never get out of prison in this lifetime. As for Madam's situation, it seems to have been leaked. Although the media's rumors have been suppressed, many people in our circle must already know." Assistant Hou's mention of "many people" actually referred to those within their social circle.
"Has the Niu family's company started to crumble?"
"Yes, it has on our end. They won't be able to hold on much longer." Assistant Hou replied.
In reality, others might never imagine that the fate of an entire company was being decided in what seemed like an ordinary conversation between these two.
"Eat your meal properly. Don't listen to grown-ups talk." Shen Xiaoyan had been eavesdropping intently while Zheng Wei spoke with Assistant Hou. She knew about the things Niu Shufang had done, and it was clear Zheng Wei and the others were discussing the Niu family's affairs, and it sounded complicated.
But just as she was straining to listen, Zheng Wei handed her a small bowl and said, "Don't listen to grown-ups talk."
Grown-ups? He was only a few years older than her!
Still, since he didn't want her to listen, she didn't pay attention. She wasn't the kind of person who would forgive those who had wronged her.
On the contrary, when Zheng Wei returned the bowl and chopsticks to her, she felt a sense of relief. At least she wouldn't have to be fed by Zheng Wei anymore.
Thinking this, she actually felt a surge of excitement and quickly began to eat with her spoon.
"Boss, I'll email you immediately if there are any developments with the company," Assistant Hou said as he was leaving.
Zheng Wei grunted and turned back to attend to Shen Xiaoyan.
Shen Xiaoyan had been eating quietly when Zheng Wei suddenly turned his head. Instinctively, she clutched her bowl of rice and recoiled slightly, as if afraid he would snatch her spoon.
Her possessiveness over her food made Zheng Wei chuckle aloud.
Shen Xiaoyan was stunned by his laughter.
He actually had a very handsome smile and a pleasant voice, but he rarely smiled.
Zheng Wei was about to reach for Shen Xiaoyan's bowl and spoon, but as she covered them, she quickly typed on her phone: "You look very handsome when you smile."
Hearing this, Zheng Wei froze in place.
Shen Xiaoyan was usually stubborn, and for her to say something like this was truly surprising. Zheng Wei had tried to coax her into saying such things in bed before, but she had never readily complied. This time, however...
"I'm a big boss. You want me to smile all day? Then I'll lose my authority!" Zheng Wei said irritably, knitting his brows. He then snatched the bowl and spoon, patted the seat in front of him, and told Shen Xiaoyan, "Sit here. I'll feed you."
Shen Xiaoyan shook her head, indicating that she could eat by herself.
"Let me. I find feeding people quite interesting." Zheng Wei had recently become quite engrossed in this activity.
Shen Xiaoyan: "..."
Zheng Wei was very fond of feeding her, but it was a waste of time. When Sima Han pushed open the door, he saw Zheng Wei still feeding Shen Xiaoyan.
"You two eat first. I'll wait for you." Sima Han had a way of making people feel at ease when interacting with him. Seeing Zheng Wei deliberately slow down his actions, he didn't say anything. He simply stayed and sat on the sofa, waiting for them.
"Pretty boy, how old are you this year?" Zheng Wei wiped Shen Xiaoyan's mouth with his hand and turned to Sima Han, his tone somewhat provocative.
"Two years younger than you," Sima Han replied, looking up.
Zheng Wei: "...Heh, lacking in life experience."
Sima Han casually flipped through his acupuncture kit and retorted, "But you're older, and you don't know about the current popularity of 'little puppy' and 'little wolfdog' types?"
Shen Xiaoyan almost choked. Dr. Sima looked like a very professional person, so why was he here discussing 'little puppy' or 'little wolfdog' types with Zheng Wei?
"What?" Zheng Wei frowned and suddenly turned to Shen Xiaoyan. "Do you know?"
Shen Xiaoyan: "..."
She didn't know whether to nod or shake her head. She had heard Kong Huangwei mention it more than once!
The moment Shen Xiaoyan hesitated, Zheng Wei knew the answer.
"Wouldn't it be better if you just acted like a normal person?" Zheng Wei raised an eyebrow in disdain, then added, "You boast about your youth and the profoundness of traditional Chinese medicine. Did you start studying from the womb? It's highly improbable for someone so young to become an expert."
Unexpectedly, after Zheng Wei asked this, Sima Han delivered a line that made him explode: "That's right, I started studying from the womb."
After saying this, Sima Han completely ignored Zheng Wei's reaction and turned back to Shen Xiaoyan, as she had finished eating.
"I'll give you acupuncture," Sima Han said.
Shen Xiaoyan nodded and obediently sat down, allowing Sima Han to perform the acupuncture.
Zheng Wei also sat beside Shen Xiaoyan. Apart from a moment of stunned silence, his expression was largely the same as before, except his gaze towards Sima Han was even more displeased.
Sima Han's entire family was in politics, yet he alone chose to study medicine. He possessed immense talent in this field, achieving his current accomplishments at such a young age, a height many people could never reach in a lifetime.
But if he were truly a genius, that would be one thing. However, if... if he was both a genius and... and related to that dream of his, what then?
If that were the case, he would inevitably have to compete with himself for Shen Xiaoyan.
For a moment, Zheng Wei's mind was in turmoil.
He stood up and paced back and forth several times.
As he turned, he met Shen Xiaoyan's eyes.
While he was pacing, Shen Xiaoyan had been watching his every change.
"What's wrong?" Shen Xiaoyan mouthed the question to Zheng Wei.
Seeing her speak to him, Zheng Wei's heart was suddenly soothed...
It was still too early for all that. Shen Xiaoyan would always be Zheng Wei's wife.
"Don't move," Shen Xiaoyan said, her movement of speaking causing her body to shift. Sima Han, in the back, said, "Don't move," and Shen Xiaoyan immediately stopped.
"How many days will this acupuncture treatment last?" Zheng Wei asked.
"It depends on her body's recovery. Sima Han explained, "There will be precursors before her voice regains sensation. When she can barely make a sound, then the end is near."
"Does it hurt?" Zheng Wei looked at the many silver needles inserted into Shen Xiaoyan's neck and asked her.
"She's still receiving acupuncture. You shouldn't talk to her now, to avoid affecting it," Sima Han said, looking up at Zheng Wei, somewhat disapprovingly.
Zheng Wei felt a surge of frustration. He pulled over a stool and sat down, his eyes fixed on Shen Xiaoyan.
"You made too much of a fuss with Niu Shufang's matter," Sima Han inserted a few more needles and then unexpectedly brought up Niu Shufang's topic.
"She didn't touch your people, so of course, you don't care," Zheng Wei scoffed.
"You should have let her suffer the consequences of her own actions, let her experience what it's like to be mute." Sima Han's methods were more restrained, while Zheng Wei's were more flamboyant. Naturally, he had the ability to deal with flamboyance.
"She'll be in prison for the rest of her life. Losing an eye or an arm is also possible," Zheng Wei said nonchalantly. Shen Xiaoyan's body suddenly trembled.
"Fortunately, it didn't hit," Sima Han was also startled by her tremor.
"Why are you so timid? It wasn't about you, so why are you shaking?" Zheng Wei looked at Shen Xiaoyan with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Although Zheng Wei said this, the way they discussed losing an arm or a leg as if they were discussing chicken legs with such ease made Shen Xiaoyan tremble. She still managed to calm herself down.
Sima Han didn't say anything further about Zheng Wei's answer, as if he... agreed.
...
The acupuncture treatment lasted about half an hour. When it was over, Sima Han had someone place a warm herbal sachet on Shen Xiaoyan's neck.
"Contact me if you feel unwell anytime," Sima Han told Shen Xiaoyan. "My contact information is with Zheng Wei."
"Okay," Shen Xiaoyan nodded obediently.
"Alright, you can go now." Zheng Wei quickly prepared to usher him out.
Sima Han completely ignored him and left with his herbal bag.
...
On the way home that afternoon, Zheng Wei drove directly and detoured, taking Shen Xiaoyan to a dog house.
When Shen Xiaoyan saw the sign hanging by the door, her eyes lit up.
But when they reached the door, Zheng Wei didn't open it. Shen Xiaoyan looked at the man in the driver's seat, puzzled.
"Do you prefer a 'little wolfdog' or a 'little puppy'?" Zheng Wei didn't open the door. Instead, he told Shen Xiaoyan to sit properly and asked her to answer this question.
Shen Xiaoyan's face turned red again. She thought this topic had passed, so why was it starting again now?
"How come I don't know when you started liking knowing people's ages? Xiaoyan, do you think I'm old?" Zheng Wei was now very disdainful of these 'little puppy' or 'little wolfdog' terms. Can't people just be themselves?
Shen Xiaoyan thought for a moment and shook her head.
Every time Zheng Wei brought up the issue of physical strength or age, no matter what she expressed, Zheng Wei would eventually settle it in bed, and she would be the one suffering.
"Do you like it or not?" Since Shen Xiaoyan couldn't speak, Zheng Wei asked her to nod or shake her head to choose.
Shen Xiaoyan shook her head.
She didn't dare to say it, but she felt that if she were to describe Zheng Wei's personality in detail, he would be like a... well, a big wolfdog.
"Very good. You just need to like me," Zheng Wei thought this answer was quite satisfactory. He then opened the door and told Shen Xiaoyan to get out.
"Mr. Zheng, you're here?" The person in the dog house saw Zheng Wei arrive and enthusiastically welcomed them.
"These are all small dogs, suitable for women to keep." After ushering the Zheng couple in, the person began to introduce them. The dog house was very high-end, and the dogs were very cute. There weren't many, but they were all sufficiently adorable.
Poodles, Bichon Frises, toy poodles – all very cute.
On the other side were Golden Retrievers, Labradors, and so on.
Shen Xiaoyan's eyes had been glued to them since she entered, but Zheng Wei noticed that her gaze was still focused on the dogs on the right.