Pampering My Cute Pet

Shen Qingzhou got up to open the door. Yu Wan pursed her lips and continued to finish the noodles in her bowl.

“My dearest Director Shen, I’ve brought your dinner. So, what do you think? Aren’t I great?”

Shen Qingzhou stood at the entrance, looking at the two people who had just entered. “Why are you two here together?”

Tang Yue said, “I just happened to run into Ye Yu. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, so we decided to come and see you.”

Lin Ye Yu, who was behind him, took off her sunglasses, a smile gracing her exquisite and beautiful face. “I called Tang Yue. I happened to know he was coming to see you, so I tagged along. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

Shen Qingzhou’s expression remained neutral. “No. Have you finished filming?”

Lin Ye Yu took off her ten-centimeter high heels. “Not yet, but I have a short break, so I came back.”

“Mm.” Shen Qingzhou didn’t say anything more and turned to walk back.

“Hey, where should I put the dinner?”

“In the kitchen.”

“Help me carry it. We haven’t eaten yet. Let’s eat together. I bought a lot.”

Shen Qingzhou paused. “I’ve already eaten. You two go ahead.”

“What?” Tang Yue followed him, carrying two large bags. “Didn’t you ask me to bring you dinner? What did you eat?”

Just as he finished speaking, Tang Yue suddenly stopped. His gaze drifted past Shen Qingzhou and landed on the woman sitting on the sofa not far away. Holy crap, holy crap! What’s going on? There’s a woman in Shen Qingzhou’s house!!!

When they first entered, the partition had obscured his view of the living room. Now that he was inside, he realized there was someone here!

Yu Wan had felt something was amiss since she heard the voices. So, the “takeout” he mentioned was dinner brought by friends. And she had insisted he eat noodles. This was awkward…

Seeing the newcomers standing in the living room, Yu Wan put down her bowl and chopsticks and stood up. “Hello.”

Tang Yue stared wide-eyed, as if he had discovered a new continent. He dropped the two bags of dinner and rushed towards Yu Wan. “So fresh-faced and cute. Director Shen, so this is your type?”

Yu Wan choked, immediately realizing that her presence here had been misinterpreted. “No, no, no, you’ve misunderstood. I’m just the neighbor from across the hall.”

“Across the hall?” Tang Yue tsked and shook his head, turning to look at the indifferent Shen Qingzhou. “Shen Qingzhou, impressive moves! I thought you were impervious to romance. I didn’t expect you to move in across from her.”

Yu Wan shook her head vehemently.

“Little sister, how old are you? Judging by your appearance…” Tang Yue’s eyes held a hint of doubt as he cautiously asked, “Are you of age?”

The corner of Yu Wan’s mouth twitched. “…I’m twenty-three.”

“Ah? Doesn’t look like it…” Tang Yue looked at her with fascination. “But that’s good. I was worried our Director Shen would be charged with corrupting a minor.”

Yu Wan, “…”

Shen Qingzhou, seemingly having reached his limit, walked over to Tang Yue and said coldly, “Take the food to the kitchen. Don’t leave it here.”

“Qingzhou, why didn’t you tell me about such a big event?” Tang Yue said with a grin.

At this moment, Lin Ye Yu also walked forward. Her face stiffened slightly when she saw Yu Wan, but as an actress, she quickly recovered. “Yes, you didn’t even tell us you had a girlfriend.”

Shen Qingzhou said coldly, “You’re overthinking it. I hired her to make dinner for Hongdou.”

Yu Wan quickly added, “Yes, yes, yes, I’m just here to take care of Hongdou.”

“But you’ve always been so protective of Hongdou, not letting just anyone take care of him.” Tang Yue looked unconvinced, his gaze glancing at the two empty bowls on the coffee table. “Besides, taking care of Hongdou also involves taking care of you, right?”

Shen Qingzhou shot him a cold glare, and Tang Yue shut his mouth. “Alright, alright, I won’t say anything more. Is that okay?”

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Yu Wan quickly said to Shen Qingzhou, “Mr. Shen, you have guests. I’ll go back now.”

Shen Qingzhou nodded slightly.

Yu Wan nodded to Tang Yue and Lin Ye Yu, then went to call Yu Diandian.

“Your Highness, time to go home.” Yu Diandian glanced at her, then at Hongdou, looking reluctant. Yu Wan squatted down and patted its head. “I’ll let you see Hongdou again tomorrow. Come home with me now.”

“Woof, woof, woof!”

Yu Wan stood up and walked towards the door. Yu Diandian looked back at Hongdou longingly, but eventually followed Yu Wan out. Hongdou followed them all the way, finally squatting at the entrance, staring at the closed door like a lovesick statue.

“Unbelievable! You’ve only moved in for a few days, and Hongdou already likes that girl so much.” Tang Yue sounded disgruntled. “Back then, it took me a whole month to win Hongdou over.”

Shen Qingzhou glanced at Hongdou, his expression unreadable.

Yu Wan didn't go home directly. She went to the property management office first; she couldn't survive the night without electricity and air conditioning. On her way back, she looked at the advertisement for a certain cosmetic brand on the large LCD screen of a building.

No wonder it looked familiar. She had seen it here. The advertisement had been playing on a loop recently. Yu Wan would inadvertently glance at it when she took Yu Diandian for walks. The brand ambassador: Lin Ye Yu.

The woman she saw at Shen Qingzhou's house seemed to be a quite popular celebrity.

Yu Wan returned home and received a call from her brother, Yu Huan.

“Brother, the power suddenly went out. I just went out to pay the property management fees.”

Yu Huan said helplessly, “How long have you been overdue on your payments for the power to be cut off?”

“Hehe, well…not too long.” Yu Wan chuckled. “Are you busy lately? When are you coming back?”

“Very busy. Filming just started.”

“Another new drama? Brother, do you have to be such a workaholic? Jian Yunong said your dramas dominated the screen this year. What, do you want to continue dominating next year as well?”

“I have to earn money to feed you, little piggy.” Yu Huan laughed.

Yu Wan rolled her eyes. “Although I don’t earn as much as you, I can more than support myself. So, I think you’re earning money to support my future sister-in-law, right?”

“Your brother is too busy. Haven’t even seen the shadow of a sister-in-law yet.”

“Tsk, tsk. Get some rest. Don't overwork yourself.” Yu Wan said, “Can you come back and see your lonely little sister sometime?”

“Alright, alright. I’ll make time to see you.”

“That’s good.” Yu Wan suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right, I want to ask you something. Do you know…Shen Qingzhou?”

“Shen Qingzhou? Yeah, I know him. Why do you ask?”

“Ah? Just curious. I’m planning to write a novel with a director as the male lead. I happened to see him online and thought he’d be a good prototype, so I’m asking you.” Yu Wan didn’t mention that Shen Qingzhou lived across the hall, so she made up a plausible excuse.

Yu Huan didn’t suspect anything. He thought for a moment and said, “He’s a very talented director. He became famous a few years ago with ‘Silken Bureau,’ which won many awards. The male and female leads also became popular because of that film. In the following years, he directed several TV series and films, all with excellent reputations.”

“Oh, what about his character? Have you worked with him before?”

“We haven’t collaborated yet, but I did meet him last year and chatted briefly.” Yu Huan said, “Everyone in the industry knows that Shen Qingzhou has a detached personality. He doesn’t give anyone special treatment. It’s just his nature, and over time, everyone got used to it. Also, those who have acted in his films know that he’s very strict and meticulous in his work, not tolerating any flaws. But perhaps that’s why the quality of his work is so high.”

Yu Wan nodded, able to imagine Shen Qingzhou’s demeanor. He was the type of person who wouldn’t deliberately flatter others, even in the entertainment industry, where flattery and connections were essential. He remained unique and independent.

“Yu Wan, are you asking about him because you think he’s handsome and would make a good prototype for a novel’s male lead?” Yu Huan suddenly teased.

Yu Wan laughed. “Yeah, it’s common for actors to be handsome, but it’s rare for a director to be good-looking.”

Yu Huan laughed on the other end of the phone. “It’s rare for my little sister to praise someone so much. Tell you what, if I run into him in the future, I’ll observe him carefully and tell you about my close-up impression of his appearance.”

Yu Wan responded, thinking to herself, I’ve already had plenty of close-up impressions of his appearance. I don’t need you for that.

After chatting with Yu Huan, she prepared to take a shower and then start working.

After her shower, she changed into a comfortable oversized T-shirt, opened her laptop, posted today’s update, and began writing tomorrow’s chapter.

After writing over a thousand words, Yu Wan stopped to grab some snacks. Late at night, snacks and writing were the perfect match.

She opened a bag of chocolate beans and popped a handful into her mouth. While eating, she picked up her phone. After some thought, she sent Shen Qingzhou a text message.

“I seem to have caused you some trouble today. I hope your friends didn’t misunderstand.” - Yu Wan

There was no reply for a long time. Yu Wan felt a little deflated and started typing again.

While typing, she was also thinking, Lin Ye Yu is an actress, Shen Qingzhou is a director… According to the usual novel tropes, there should be something going on between a director and an actress.

After thinking for a while, Yu Wan shook her head, secretly scolding herself. What was she even fantasizing about…

“Ding.”

A text message notification. Yu Wan immediately grabbed her phone and opened the message.

“No.”

Simple and to the point, completely his style.

Yu Wan stared at the single word for a moment. Suddenly, her phone dinged again. Another message came in.

“Besides noodles, what else can you cook?”

Yu Wan was puzzled by Shen Qingzhou’s seemingly random question. Why was he asking such disconnected questions? Nevertheless, she replied seriously, “Most common dishes.”

“Your occupation, and your working hours.”

Yu Wan looked at Shen Qingzhou's inexplicable questions with confusion. Why were his questions so disjointed? However, she still replied earnestly, “I don’t have set working hours. I write books at home…”

“Good. Starting tomorrow, you will make dinner for me and Hongdou. I will double your pay.”

Yu Wan stared at the message, dumbfounded.

She originally only had one pet. Since yesterday, it had become two. And now, starting tomorrow…was she inexplicably going to start taking care of a third?

Yu Wan propped her chin on her hand and began to ponder.

Generally, unless she was feeling particularly lazy, she would cook for herself in the evenings. Making an extra portion for Shen Qingzhou wouldn’t take much more time.

More importantly, she rather enjoyed looking at him. His icy expression…no matter how cold he was, she found him attractive. Was this some kind of illness?

Yu Wan shifted her position and continued to think. Or was it, as Jian Yunong had said, that she was currently experiencing a cliché called love at first sight? If she really had feelings for someone who was indifferent towards her, did that mean she, Yu Wan, had masochistic tendencies…?

ʕ◉ᴥ◉ʔ

Love what you read?