Pampering My Cute Pet

Night fell. Yu Wan sat at her desk, revising her novel "Wolf Smoke" while video chatting with Jian Yunong, her only friend since childhood, who was currently abroad.

"Yu Wan, listen up! When you get to the film set, if you run into any of my favorite celebrities, you must get me their autographs," Jian Yunong said, slurping instant noodles.

Yu Wan rolled her eyes. "Seriously? I'm going there to work, not to chase stars. If you want autographs, get them yourself."

"Hey, don't act all high and mighty with me."

"If you want autographs, wouldn't it be easier to ask my brother? Why bother me? I'm just going to be a junior screenwriter, okay?"

Jian Yunong replied, "Your brother's a busy man. He doesn't have time for such trivial matters."

"Get out of here."

Jian Yunong finally finished her noodles and let out a loud burp. Yu Wan glanced at her, feeling as if she could smell the pickled cabbage flavor even through the screen.

"That was my last bowl of pickled cabbage noodles. Yu Wan, mail me a whole box tomorrow," Jian Yunong said mournfully.

Yu Wan replied, "…Wouldn't that kill you?"

"Oh, right! Last time you said you were getting a new neighbor. So, how is it? Male or female? Friendly? Rich, right? Anyone living in your building must be either rich or influential." Jian Yunong's expression showed her disdain for the wealthy.

Yu Wan's fingers paused on the keyboard, Shen Qingzhou's ethereal face flashing through her mind. "Well, they moved in. It's a man. Very handsome."

"Very handsome?! How handsome? Compared to your brother?" Jian Yunong asked excitedly.

Yu Wan smiled. "They're not the same type. In my opinion, I prefer my neighbor's looks. After all, I've been looking at my brother for over twenty years. I'm tired of it."

"Your brother will definitely kill you if he hears that."

"He wouldn't dare."

"Just keep bullying your brother." Jian Yunong shook her head, clicking her tongue. "But Yu Wan, it seems you really like this neighbor. It's rare for a super homebody like you to take notice of someone. So, how about him? Is he friendly to you? Did he give you a welcome gift as a new neighbor, you know, to get acquainted?"

"Friendly?" Yu Wan's eyebrow twitched. She muttered, "It would be nice if he didn't freeze me to death…"

Jian Yunong didn't hear her clearly and continued, "Such a handsome neighbor, and rich too. Tsk, tsk, you little girl are really lucky. Hey, keep me updated if you hook up with him."

Yu Wan replied, "I'll try my best."

Jian Yunong was stunned. She was just joking, but she didn't expect Yu Wan, who usually only lived in the world of words, to actually have that intention. "Are you serious?"

Yu Wan thought for a moment. "The first time I saw him, I thought he was inexplicably good-looking, like the male protagonist in my novels."

Jian Yunong was dumbfounded. "Um, Yu Wan, don't tell me you actually believe in such impractical things like love at first sight?"

"Love at first sight? Does this count?" Yu Wan pondered seriously. "If it does, then I guess so."

"…" Could she not be so casual about it?

After finishing the video call with Jian Yunong, Yu Wan worked on the script for several more hours and then held a small online video conference with two other screenwriters. Afterward, her eyes were exhausted. She tossed her computer aside and collapsed onto her bed.

She fell asleep without realizing it and woke up to bright daylight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Yu Wan sat up in a daze, looking at her computer screen, which was still on. Suddenly, she felt like she had forgotten something…

After thinking for a long time, she suddenly jolted awake. It seemed, maybe, she had forgotten to update "The Last Pendulum" yesterday. A drop of cold sweat trickled down Yu Wan's forehead. She scurried back to her computer and opened her author dashboard, only to find a pile of messages.

"Where are you? Why no update today?"

"You said daily updates! You lied, author! 555555"

"I just kicked over my dinner bowl! Wei Wan, come out here! I promise I won't kill you!"

"I was so anxious waiting for today's update after the break the day before yesterday!!!"

"Author, are you okay? Were you kidnapped?!"

…

The clamor for updates was deafening. Yu Wan had worked late on the script yesterday and completely forgotten to update. Resting her chin in her hand, she wondered how to explain to her eagerly awaiting readers.

After a long while, Yu Wan went to the living room and found Yu Diandian, her pet, sleeping soundly. She woke it up. "Your Highness, look pitiful. Give me a pitiful expression."

Yu Diandian had just woken up, its eyes still filled with tears. Yu Wan quickly snapped a picture…

Five minutes later, her fans saw an update on Wei Wan's Weibo.

The photo showed Yu Diandian, her beloved pet that frequently appeared on her Weibo. However, in today's photo, it looked "exceptionally pitiful."

Everyone saw Wei Wan's caption: "I had an emergency yesterday and forgot to update. To compensate, double update today. Also, attached is a pitiful photo of His Highness…"

With Yu Diandian's appearance, the public's anger subsided considerably. Yu Wan breathed a sigh of relief and went to work on her writing, energized.

Remembering her promise to Shen Qingzhou to cook for Hongdou, Yu Wan went to the kitchen on time to prepare the ingredients. However, upon opening the refrigerator, she realized there weren't enough ingredients.

Come to think of it, she hadn't been grocery shopping in a while, and her snack stash was almost depleted. With that in mind, Yu Wan changed her clothes, grabbed her bag, and headed to the supermarket within the residential complex.

While walking to the supermarket, Yu Wan called Shen Qingzhou to let him know that the meal would be late today.

The call connected.

"Hello," a slightly deep voice answered, a pleasure to her ears…

Yu Wan said, "Mr. Shen, are you home?"

"No, I'm at the supermarket."

"Supermarket?" Yu Wan said in surprise. "Is it the one in our complex?"

"Yes."

"Great! I'm going there too. I'm out of ingredients, so I'm going shopping. I was just about to tell you that Hongdou's meal will be a little late."

There was a pause on the other end. "Okay."

"Then wait for me. I'll be right there." Without waiting for Shen Qingzhou's reply, Yu Wan quickly hung up.

Shen Qingzhou stood in front of the freezer, his brow slightly furrowed. Wait for what?

Yu Wan arrived at the supermarket, stored her bag in a locker, and then took out her phone to call Shen Qingzhou.

"Mr. Shen, where are you?"

"Is something the matter?"

"Yes, aren't we going to buy ingredients together?"

"…When did I say I was going to buy ingredients with you?" Shen Qingzhou's voice dropped a few degrees.

Yu Wan walked inside, looking around for him, ignoring his unfriendly tone. "Are you sure you don't want to see what Hongdou is eating?"

He was silent for a few seconds. "Beverage aisle."

"Okay." Yu Wan hung up, a smile playing on her lips.

From afar, she spotted Shen Qingzhou's tall and slender figure. He looked like a model straight out of a magazine.

"Mr. Shen." Yu Wan walked over and glanced at his shopping cart. Imported mineral water, imported milk, imported snacks… everything was top-of-the-line. This supermarket catered specifically to the residents of the complex. It wasn't crowded, but it was well-stocked, especially with imported premium foods.

Yu Wan looked away. "Is this all you're buying?"

"Yes."

Yu Wan nodded, still unable to comprehend someone coming to a supermarket without buying any snacks.

"Where do they sell Hongdou's food?"

"Wait, I'll take you there. I'll just grab a few things for myself first. You don't mind, do you?" Yu Wan looked at him, and Shen Qingzhou, looking straight ahead, replied, "Whatever."

Yu Wan smiled and grabbed a few packs of Yakult and cans of banana milk from the refrigerator. Finally, she stopped in front of the brand of milk Shen Qingzhou had chosen.

"Is this milk good?"

Shen Qingzhou was already impatient. If it weren't for Hongdou, he wouldn't be following someone around the supermarket. He gave a perfunctory reply.

Yu Wan said, "Then I'll try it."

She grabbed a large carton. Unable to carry everything, she placed it directly into Shen Qingzhou's shopping cart.

Shen Qingzhou's gaze lingered on her nonchalant face for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but he ultimately looked away in silence.

They walked into the snack aisle. Yu Wan tossed packages of cookies, chocolate pies, White Rabbit creamy candy, and other treats into the cart. Shen Qingzhou pushed the cart, utterly bewildered by her actions. He couldn't understand why anyone would be so happy about these junk foods.

"Hey, look!"

"So handsome, even more handsome up close…"

"I can't believe I'm seeing him here. Does he live nearby?"

"Do you dare to ask for an autograph?"

"I don't dare… I heard he doesn't like being disturbed in private. Why don't you go?"

"I don't dare either."

Yu Wan had just thrown a bag of chips into the cart when she turned and saw two girls whispering not far away, their gazes constantly flitting towards Shen Qingzhou. Yu Wan looked back at Shen Qingzhou and muttered, "It seems being handsome means being admired wherever you go."

As they were about to leave the aisle, the two girls finally shuffled over.

"Mr. Shen, could we have your autograph…?"

Yu Wan looked at them in surprise. An autograph? Was he really that popular? Handsome enough that people wanted his autograph?

Wait a minute… Yu Wan's mind raced. Why did they even know his last name?

Yu Wan looked at the two blushing girls, then at Shen Qingzhou's indifferent expression, completely confused.

"Sorry, I don't have a pen."

"It's okay, it's okay, we have one." One of the girls quickly pulled out a pen and a piece of paper, handing them to Shen Qingzhou with trembling hands.

Shen Qingzhou took them, quickly signed his name, and returned them to the girl.

He nodded slightly and walked out of the aisle. After taking a step, he turned back to look at Yu Wan. "Bring the cart."

"Oh." Yu Wan followed a beat later, looking back at the two girls as she walked. They were staring at the autographed paper, probably ecstatic.

After walking a considerable distance, the two girls were no longer in sight. Yu Wan frowned and asked, "Mr. Shen, who are you?"

The question sounded strange, and Yu Wan knew it. But she was oblivious to the world outside her own, and apart from knowing her brother was a famous actor, she knew nothing about other celebrities.

Shen Qingzhou didn't answer. He looked at her, his light brown eyes calm. "Hongdou's food. Hurry up."

Yu Wan pursed her lips. Seeing his unwillingness to answer, she stopped asking and quickly led him to buy the ingredients.

After finishing their shopping, Shen Qingzhou pushed the cart to the checkout counter. Yu Wan quickly started to take out her own items. Since their things were mixed together, it would take some time to sort them out.

Shen Qingzhou interrupted her. "I'll pay. Consider it your wages for today."

Then he gestured for the cashier to ring them up. Yu Wan obediently stepped aside, thinking to herself, "You're rich, so you call the shots."

ʕ◉ᴥ◉ʔ

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