I Just Want to Spoil and Run Away with the Abused Female Lead [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 38.2

Shi Xingrao then reached out her hand toward Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao: “?”

Shi Xingrao shot him a slightly disdainful look, her eyes seeming to say, “How can you be so clueless?”

Yang Xiao: “…”

Shi Xingrao: “Didn’t you make cookies last night? You don’t need to give them to Auntie. Just give them to me.”

Give the cookies to Shi Xingrao, so everyone in the company could praise her as the kind and gentle Miss Shi? Using his cookies to win over others, how shameless could Shi Xingrao be?

But with Shen Yishu present, no matter how upset Yang Xiao felt, he couldn’t show it. He couldn’t afford to make Shen Yishu dislike him.

“But these are for you, Sister. I spent a long time making them yesterday, and I even burned myself. Won’t you really try one?” The man gazed pitifully at Shen Yishu, his eyes glistening as if on the verge of tears. The scars crisscrossing his raised hand looked genuinely painful.

Shi Xingrao studied the man calmly and earnestly remarked to the system, “Don’t you think this drama king’s acting is pretty good? Better than the male supporting actors I’ve worked with before.”

Cat Ears: “…”

Well, sis, he did manage to fool the female lead, after all. It wouldn’t make sense if he had no redeeming qualities, right?

Shen Yishu’s reaction, however, was cold. After a brief glance, she made her decision between Shi Xingrao and Yang Xiao. “Give them to Xiao Rao.”

Meeting Yang Xiao’s barely suppressed venomous glare, Shi Xingrao cheerfully took the cookies from his hands. “Thanks! By the way, I’d like mochi tomorrow. You can make that, right? If not, you’ll learn, won’t you?”

“Do your best and make a lot. I want to share them with everyone tomorrow.”

Yang Xiao’s nails nearly pierced his palms. How could someone like this exist? And to make matters worse, everyone thought she was wonderful even Shen Yishu took her side. Yang Xiao had never felt such intense hatred for anyone before.

“It’s already 10 a.m. Has President Shen not arrived yet? Did she go on a business trip today?”

“No, there’s no business trip on her schedule.”

“So is President Shen late today?”

“Wow, really? I’ve worked here for so long and never seen President Shen late.”

“I’m just wondering which little enchantress has the power to keep President Shen from coming to work.”

“Alright, stop talking. President Shen just entered the company.”

At that announcement, the entire secretarial department fell silent. Shen Yishu passed by without noticing anything unusual.

Having just dealt with the Shen family’s collateral branches yesterday, the Shen Corporation was particularly busy today. Those found with violations, who had wielded their authority like imperial decrees, were all resigning.

Even Shen Yishu’s office saw a constant stream of people coming and going. With Shen Yishu occupied, Shi Xingrao found ways to entertain herself. First, she wandered over to the secretarial department to share the cookies Yang Xiao had made with the secretaries. Then, she returned to her workstation to catch up on sleep, she really hadn’t gotten enough rest the night before.

Sneaking around felt nice, but the exhaustion was starting to get to Shi Xingrao.

Shi Xingrao: “Duoduo, keep an eye on Shen Yishu for me. If she comes over, wake me up.”

Cat Ears: “…”

Over the past few days, Shi Xingrao had been having so much fun that Cat Ears wanted to ask if she had forgotten their mission. But before it could finish speaking, Shi Xingrao had already drifted into a light sleep.

Cat Ears sighed and went to the system space to exchange for a blanket to cover Shi Xingrao. What else could it do? Its own host it had to spoil her. If not, then what?

Curling up in Shi Xingrao’s arms, Cat Ears, originally intending to keep watch, was influenced by her host’s peaceful sleep and dozed off as well. Ah, just five minutes it would only sleep for five minutes before getting up to stand guard.

Shen Yishu looked at the sleeping Shi Xingrao. With people coming and going and the chaos around, she could still fall asleep so soundly, it seemed she really hadn’t slept well last night while waiting for her.

An assistant nearby, glancing at Shen Yishu’s expression, spoke softly, “President Shen, should we wake Shi.”

Before the assistant could finish, Shen Yishu interrupted, “No need. Let her sleep. Don’t disturb her.”

The young girl was sleeping deeply, her long, curled lashes casting a faint shadow below. Her fair, delicate face was flushed from sleep, making her look especially endearing.

Shen Yishu had only been gone for less than three minutes, but the shock she left behind lingered for half an hour.

[Am I going crazy? I think I actually saw gentleness on President Shen’s face.]

[I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s not like President Shen never smiles she does, but you all know how intimidating her smile can be. Sometimes I even wish she wouldn’t smile at me. But just now, I actually felt her smile was gentle.]

[Is this the difference with a child you’ve raised since childhood? I heard Miss Shi has been by President Shen’s side since she was little.]

[But this doesn’t feel like maternal affection. It’s more like… adoring the child you raised yourself.]

[Still, raising a child as beautiful and soft as Miss Shi must be a joy. When Shi Xingrao was little, President Shen probably couldn’t resist buying her all kinds of pretty dresses.]

[Even now, Miss Shi is incredibly beautiful. If I were President Shen, I’d still be buying her all sorts of lovely dresses.]

In the office,

Shen Yishu held a cup of coffee, gazing out at the distant skyscrapers through the floor-to-ceiling window. Yet her mind was filled with images of Shi Xingrao sleeping both times so utterly defenseless, peaceful, and well-behaved.

Shen Yishu’s beautiful, refined features remained cold, as if touched by the snow atop a mountain peak.

But her heart was not as unmoved as her expression suggested. When Shi Xingrao came into her life, Shen Yishu was ten, and Shi Xingrao was two. Yet her memories of Shi Xingrao’s childhood were sparse so few that they didn’t even add up to as much as what she remembered since that night.

Shen Yishu suddenly felt a pang of regret. After finally raising a child, she couldn’t even recall what the child looked like growing up.

But perhaps it wasn’t too late to start now.

Amid her work, Shen Yishu took some time to consult her friends who already had children.

Friend 2: “They love pretty clothes, you know? And let me tell you, dressing up your daughter is pure joy.”

After chatting with Friend 2 for a while about raising a “cub,” Shen Yishu suddenly felt she had an explanation for those indescribable emotions she’d been feeling toward Shi Xingrao these past few days it was the feeling of raising a cub.

Shi Xingrao’s cleverness was just right; she was mostly well-behaved and her appearance perfectly aligned with Shen Yishu’s aesthetic. Perhaps Shi Xingrao was the ideal image of the daughter she had always imagined.

So, her affection for Shi Xingrao was akin to the love one feels for a daughter. As for wanting to be good to Shi Xingrao, it was probably because she wanted to experience the joy of raising a cub.

Just imagining the young girl actively snuggling up to her and leaning in to kiss her made the tips of Shen Yishu’s fair ears flush slightly red.

At the mere thought of this scene, Shen Yishu’s heart felt unsettled for a long time. She pondered seriously: Is this what it feels like to raise a cub? It brings joy, but when the cub gets close, your heart feels all flustered.

After finishing her conversation with Shen Yishu, Friend 2, utterly confused, went to find Friend 1.

[Friend 2: What’s up with Shen Yishu? She suddenly asked me how to raise a daughter and what it feels like.]

[Friend 2: Did Shen Yishu secretly raise a cub behind our backs?]

Looking at the messages from Friend 2, Friend 1 felt her vision darken. Well, she had said that combining a love-struck brain with a stubborn mouth would lead to trouble.

Shen Yishu couldn’t suppress her feelings, but her stubbornness kept her from uttering the word “love.” To make sense of her emotions and justify her affection, she had found an excuse: her feelings for Shi Xingrao were like those for a cub she just wanted to raise one.

Friend 1 couldn’t help but sigh at Shen Yishu’s stubbornness. Had she never considered that when you love someone, you naturally want to know what they were like as a child, and you might even unconsciously want to care for your partner as if they were your cub?

[Friend 1: facepalm and bitter smile emoji]

[Friend 1: Just assume Shen Yishu raised a cub behind our backs.]

[Friend 2: ? What do you mean “just assume”!?]

Shi Xingrao was fast asleep and only realized she had been caught napping after she woke up. She felt a bit dazed and flustered. “Duoduo, you betrayed my trust! Didn’t you promise to keep an eye out for me?”

Cat Ears: “…”

Who could resist the temptation of “just five more minutes” of sleep?

Shi Xingrao was a little panicked. She had already woken up late today and then slept through the entire afternoon at work. Being caught slacking off by Shen Yishu wasn’t a threat in itself, but if Shen Yishu deduced from this that she hadn’t obediently gone to sleep last night, she would be in trouble.

She had heard from former classmates that parents were incredibly sharp they could even guess you’d been crying just from seeing your puffy eyes.

When Shen Yishu came to tell her it was time to leave work, Shi Xingrao felt a little guilty.

For once, Shi Xingrao was as docile as a quail. “Auntie, aren’t you working overtime today?”

Shen Yishu’s gaze fell on Shi Xingrao, her icy stare almost mechanical. Under such scrutiny, Shi Xingrao felt a chill. She had always known Shen Yishu was clever and would surely guess that she hadn’t obediently gone to sleep last night.

Shi Xingrao quietly calculated the likelihood of being able to talk her way out of this.

The young girl was only just over eighteen, with a well-proportioned figure and an exquisitely fair, porcelain-like face. Her dark, feathery eyelashes were long and thick, trembling slightly like feathers brushing against one’s heart.

Shen Yishu thought about the clothes she had asked the designer to make for Shi Xingrao, they would surely look stunning on her.

But Shen Yishu felt she couldn’t wait any longer. Right now, she was just dying to see Shi Xingrao wear the clothes she had picked out.

“This Saturday I’m off work, I’ll take you shopping for clothes.” Shen Yishu’s tone wasn’t very practiced, she had originally intended to ask Shi Xingrao if she wanted to go, but the words came out sounding like a command.

Shen Yishu’s fingers curled slightly. Next time, she would have to pay more attention to her tone.

Shi Xingrao: “?”

Oh, so it wasn’t a reprimand. Not only was it not a reprimand, but it was something like shopping for clothes.

A faint light glimmered in Shi Xingrao’s clear, gentle eyes. “Alright.”

The corners of Shen Yishu’s lips, which had held no curve at all, lifted slightly at Shi Xingrao’s “alright” just a little, so subtle that one wouldn’t notice without looking closely.

Still, Shi Xingrao could sense Shen Yishu’s slight delight. The chill surrounding the icy beauty seemed to lessen by a few degrees.

In the past, Shi Xingrao had always felt that Shen Yishu was like a frozen black snow lotus not only cold but also hard to approach.

Now, Shi Xingrao not only felt that the ice encasing Shen Yishu had melted but also that what lay inside wasn’t some black lotus, but a misunderstood snow lotus.

Shi Xingrao thought idly, Is this what Shen Yishu looks like when she trusts someone?

Shen Yishu’s cold voice snapped Shi Xingrao out of her daze: “Get in the car.”

Shen Yun still had a lot of work today, but as it neared the end of her shift, she packed up her documents to take home and review.

The department manager couldn’t help but remark, “Xiao Yun, isn’t it tiring to carry files back and forth between home and the office? If you want to keep working, you can just stay at the office.”

Their company’s working conditions weren’t bad if employees worked overtime, there were fruits and meals prepared for them.

Without looking up, Shen Yun replied succinctly, “It’s not tiring.”

But when Shen Yun reached the underground parking garage, she happened to see Shi Xingrao getting into Shen Yishu’s car.

A faint, almost imperceptible flicker of disappointment passed through Shen Yun’s dark eyes. It seemed Shi Xingrao and Shen Yishu hadn’t argued today.

No chance to pick up the pieces, then.

Well, it wasn’t like you could find an abandoned puppy by the roadside every day.

Soon, Shen Yun collected herself and turned to get into her own car. She would have to work even harder so she wouldn’t have to keep picking up the pieces others had left behind.