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Chapter 174
Chapter 174
Chapter 174
At Ziyue Manor.
Shen Yin couldn't fall asleep, and neither could Xu Xiuhe. One felt regretful, thinking she shouldn't have been drinking tea so late at night.
Xu Xiuhe also regretted drinking the tea by his bedside so late at night, leaving them both unusually awake.
In the past they could've done other things, but now with Shen Yin's special condition, all they could do was stare at the ceiling blankly.
"Can't sleep?" Xu Xiuhe asked.
"Mmm, can't sleep."
"Then shall we watch a movie?"
"Sure."
Xu Xiuhe got up and adjusted the projector by the bed, which he had barely used before.
"What shall we watch?" Xu Xiuhe asked.
"The Little Prince," said Shen Yin. She had wanted to see it before, but had been too busy recently to find the time.
Xu Xiuhe found The Little Prince movie on his phone and began projecting it.
Just as they set up the equipment, the sound of thunder rolled outside.
"I wonder if Zhengzheng will be scared of the thunder," Shen Yin said worriedly, hearing the faint rumbles.
"Nah, the house is well sound-proofed. When it was built, they added insulation in the walls, so we can only hear it faintly. He's asleep, so he probably can't hear it at all."
"Have you read the book The Little Prince before?" Shen Yin asked.
"I think I read it when I was little. I still have some impression of it. The book was written by Saint-Exupéry for his wife."
"Is it a love story?"
"It's a children's novel. The little prince travels to another planet and experiences all sorts of adventures. The little prince grows up along the way, meets many little companions. So he's not lonely anymore. He sees the world through a child's perspective, celebrating the beauty of humanity."
"The visuals of this movie are so beautiful. And there's a lot of philosophy in it," Shen Yin mused.
"Yeah, love is the sweetest subjection between two people. Just like us," Xu Xiuhe said.
"I may not say sweet nothings, but I'll show it through my actions." Xu Xiuhe hugged Shen Yin.
After the movie ended, Shen Yin was still savoring it.
Hearing what Xu Xiuhe said, she suddenly sat up and turned to say, "You can't say sweet nothings?"
Xu Xiuhe nodded.
"You still can't? You said plenty when you were pursuing me, you know."
Xu Xiuhe recalled, ah yes, during that time he might have read some domineering CEO romance novels, plus with guidance from Xiao Li'er, so he could talk quite smoothly.
Lines like "there's no divorce, only being a widow," "you don't need to do anything, I'll become the kind of person you like," "one day I'll enter your heart."
He and Shen Yin had been together for two months already, which felt unbelievable. Every day was sweet, and he had found a sense of home.
They slept late, so they woke up late the next day too. After Zhengzheng woke up from the inner room, he saw his dad and mom still lying in bed, with the projector on the wall still running.
Zhengzheng climbed onto the bed and lay down beside Shen Yin.
"Mommy, Zhengzheng's awake," Xu Yunzheng said, looking at Shen Yin's face.
Shen Yin opened her eyes, rubbed them, and sat up. Seeing the faint light through the curtains, she realized she had overslept.
The baby doll happily stood up, wanting to go into Shen Yin's embrace, but ended up losing balance and falling right onto Xu Xiuhe, who was still dreaming as he sat up. Feeling someone on top of him, he struggled to open his eyes.
"You're going to be late for work today!" Shen Yin suddenly became fully awake.
"It's fine, I'm the boss."
Shen Yin...
"I was meaning to tell you last night, my embroidery competition this time is in Hua City. It's in two days, so I might have to go there tomorrow night."
"Okay, I'll go with you," Xu Xiuhe said with a yawn.
"What about the company?"
"Liu Bo is there. We're not too busy now after getting that partnership deal settled. The rest of what needs to be done these few days isn't much either."
The family of three took a flight to Hua City, which is north of Rong City. It was Shen Yin's first time on a plane, and Xu Xiuhe took good care of her the whole way until they got off and he brought Shen Yin and Zhengzheng back to his alma mater.
Along the way, since it wasn't the school semester yet, there were only a few students remaining on campus. Xu Xiuhe reminisced about his college life and youthful days to Shen Yin.
"Ah, youth."
"Yes, youth. It's a pity you didn't come into my youth earlier."
"But I'm here now, and that's the best thing."
What Shen Yin actually wanted to say was, it didn't matter that she wasn't in his youth, because from now on she would be in every single day of his life.
But she felt that would be too mushy, so she couldn't get the words out and stopped herself abruptly.
She had walked the places he studied, seen the sights he saw, so there was nothing left to regret.
"Why aren't you nervous this time?" Shen Yin asked.
"Because I believe in you. I've seen your skills, you'll always be the champion in my heart."
"And Zhengzheng is also a champion."
The national embroidery competition naturally gathered the top experts, so even the competition venue was much bigger than the one in Rong City.
At the venue, Shen Yin unexpectedly saw Qi Yan. She didn't understand why Qi Yan would come here too.
Shen Yin turned to look at Xu Xiuhe, who was also stunned for a moment. So there really were people who wouldn't let go, huh.
"Why is she here?"
"Probably just here to watch the competition," Xu Xiuhe said.
Just like last time, Shen Yin took her position.
The competition venue was quite noisy, with the top three from five regional competitions across the country present, making 15 contestants in total.
The top three winners would not only receive monetary rewards, but more importantly, prestige.
Their embroidery craft might not be as famous in other circles where everyone would know the big names, but within this circle, having a reputation meant not having to worry about the future and having good prospects.
The host went over the rules and revealed the contest theme. There would still be a two-hour break at noon as usual.
Shen Yin wasn't worried at all. With an inner strength, she would fear nothing.
Next to Shen Yin were the second and third place winners from the regional competition in Rong City last time. Shen Yin remembered them, though she hadn't memorized their names back then. But now, she knew.
Each contestant's table had a name card, which was how she also found out why Qi Yan was here.
It was because the woman sitting next to her, who also had the surname Qi, was called Qi Shengwen.
The Qi surname wasn't very common, and even more coincidentally, this woman named Qi Shengwen happened to be related to Qi Shengwu, who was Qi Yan's father from the previous competition in Rong City.
She saw the name and found it very familiar. After thinking for a while, she remembered the person, Qi Shengwu.
This explains the relationship between Qi Yan and Qi Shengwu.
Shen Yin noticed it, and the intelligent Xu Xiuhe also saw it.
"Dad, Mom's competing."
"Yes, Mom's competing, and she'll win the championship."
Qi Yan, who was a few seats away from the father and son, suddenly spoke up: "It's too early to say who will win the championship."
The woman's gaze was fierce as she glanced towards Zhengzheng.