Staring at the white ceiling, Shen Mengli blinked her eyes and suddenly realized something was off. She immediately sat up from the bed.
!!!!
I... I remember now! I’m at Ye Feng’s house!
After coming to her senses, Shen Mengli quickly glanced towards where Ye Feng had been, but when she looked closely, there was no trace of him on the other side of the bed—only a crumpled sheet remained.
Ye... Ye Feng... he’s awake? When did that happen? How did I not notice!
Shen Mengli’s vision darkened, and her heart grew increasingly anxious. She had overslept on her very first day at his house.
Ugh... so embarrassing! Ye Feng must think I’m a lazy bum now. It’s all because the bed was too comfortable... no! It’s all your fault!
Thinking this, Shen Mengli picked up the teddy bear on her lap and held it up.
“It’s all your fault! If Ye Feng hadn’t let me sleep in, I wouldn’t have overslept! It’s all your fault, all your fault!”
As she spoke, she raised her small hand and began punching the teddy bear on her lap repeatedly. At the same time, the door creaked open, and Ye Feng happened to walk in.
“Mengli, I heard some noise in the room, so I came to check if you were awake...”
“Ye Feng, it’s all your fault...”
After delivering the final punch to the teddy bear’s belly, Shen Mengli seemed to realize something and slowly turned her head to look at Ye Feng, who was standing there bewildered.
“......”
“Um... maybe you should keep hitting it for a while?”
Seeing Ye Feng suddenly appear, Shen Mengli was completely flustered. She let go of the teddy bear and flopped back onto the bed.
“Mengli?”
“I... I can’t live with this shame!!!”
......
“So... how is it? Does it taste good?”
Ye Feng watched as Shen Mengli, sitting at the dining table, took small spoonfuls of the tangyuan he had made for her.
“Mmm... it’s delicious~”
Shen Mengli smiled at Ye Feng, her eyes curving into crescents, though the teddy bear never left her side.
“That’s good. If there’s anything you can’t eat, make sure to let me know, okay?”
“I don’t have any dietary restrictions. By the way, Ye Feng, aren’t you having any tangyuan?”
Shen Mengli looked curiously at Ye Feng’s empty spot in front of him and asked.
“I already had breakfast earlier. I saw you were still asleep, so I didn’t want to disturb you. After all, it’s best to eat while it’s hot.”
“Ugh...”
Hearing Ye Feng mention her oversleeping, the tangyuan in Shen Mengli’s bowl suddenly didn’t seem as appetizing.
“It was an accident... today was just an accident!”
“Pfft.”
Seeing how serious Shen Mengli was, Ye Feng couldn’t help but laugh. For some reason, he felt that Shen Mengli became more talkative when she was with him, though he wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination.
“Don’t worry, sleeping in is pretty normal. I do it sometimes too.”
“It’s not the same! I wasn’t someone who slept in back at the orphanage! It’s just... I don’t know why I overslept today.”
“Alright, alright, Mengli, finish your tangyuan first, okay? If you keep talking, it’ll get cold.”
“Mmm...”
After Ye Feng finished washing the dishes, he turned around to see Shen Mengli holding her teddy bear and staring at him.
“What’s wrong, Mengli?”
“Ye Feng, doesn’t all this make you tired? Cooking for me, carrying me to the dining table... and I can’t do anything for you in return...”
Shen Mengli’s expression turned a bit gloomy, which was why she had been reluctant to share her struggles with Ye Feng before.
“If you keep talking like that, I’m going to have to teach you a lesson.”
After drying his hands, Ye Feng walked over to Shen Mengli and pretended to give her a light chop on the head.
“I don’t need you to do anything for me. I just want you to live a good life, okay? That’s enough for me.”
“But it’s not fair. You’re always doing things for me, and I can’t do anything in return...”
“Mengli, you don’t have to do anything for me... but how about this?”
Ye Feng suddenly changed his tone, as if he had come up with a good idea.
“You can be my specially appointed little secretary.”
“Little secretary?”
“Yes!”
Ye Feng nodded.
“After spending time with you and Director Wenwen, I’ve decided I want to do something for the children at the orphanage. Like donating supplies or organizing charity events. And you, as the representative, can handle the coordination, okay?”
“So you’re saying you want to do charity work at the orphanage?”
“Exactly, but I can’t go there every day, right? That would just create more work for Director Wenwen. So, as the representative, you’ll be my little secretary. How does that sound?”
“But Ye Feng, you’re still just helping...”
“No, no, this isn’t just helping. There’s a condition to all this.”
“What condition?”
“The condition is... to keep this kindness going, you’ll be the key person in making it happen. Without you, this whole thing would fall apart. So your job is to stay by my side until...”
“Until there’s no trace of you left in my world.”
Shen Mengli suddenly interrupted Ye Feng, and her words left him stunned.
“Ah!”
Realizing she had spoken her thoughts out loud, Shen Mengli quickly tried to cover it up.
“I mean, if you disappear, I wouldn’t know how to handle the donation activities without you.”
“Ah... right, I definitely can’t disappear. So Mengli, you’ll have to stay with me and watch the children at the orphanage grow up, okay?”
“Okay~”
Shen Mengli opened her arms towards Ye Feng.
“Ye Feng... we should head back to the orphanage now. Otherwise, Director Wenwen will worry about me.”
Recalling how Ye Feng had carried her from the bedroom to the dining table earlier, Shen Mengli felt a faint sense of eagerness. For some reason, whenever Ye Feng’s hand touched her back, her heart felt warm, and there was a strange, indescribable feeling.
“Alright, I’ll carry you back to the bed first, and then we’ll head out after I get ready, okay?”
“Mmm~”
After Shen Mengli agreed, Ye Feng picked her up in a princess carry again.
As Shen Mengli’s black dress slipped down slightly, Ye Feng’s hand accidentally brushed against the smooth skin of her calf. Realizing his mistake, Ye Feng quickly apologized.
“S-sorry.”
“Huh? Why are you apologizing, Ye Feng?”
“Ah... it’s nothing.”
Ye Feng suddenly remembered that Shen Mengli couldn’t feel anything in her legs, so he decided not to bring it up.
But... why is Mengli’s skin so soft and smooth? It’s like a baby’s skin.
No, no! What am I thinking? I need to get her to the bed quickly.