Chapter 159: Having a Hundred Children Is No Child's Play

When Yan Mai first caught sight of Shen Yanlie, her expression darkened considerably. Just moments before, she had been all smiles while looking at Dr. Song, but now she found herself almost unable to bear the sight of Shen Yanlie right under her nose.

She realized that the mere act of looking at him stirred up unpleasant feelings deep within her, and whenever she felt displeased, she simply could not bring herself to put on a pleasant expression for Shen Yanlie.

Although Shen Yanlie took in every bit of Yan Mai's unconcealed contempt, he remained utterly composed. Looking at Dr. Song with a modest and serious demeanor, he said, "I may have to trouble Dr. Song frequently in the future. Sorry to bother you."

Shen Yanlie spoke with absolute calm and sincere earnestness. Although Dr. Song was his senior and Shen Yanlie himself was a renowned physician in the industry, the two were neither distant nor exceptionally close. It was safe to say that they would do their utmost to help each other whenever a problem or difficulty arose, yet the necessary courtesies still had to be observed.

"It is my great honor to be of assistance to Young Master," Dr. Song replied at an appropriate moment after Shen Yanlie's voice trailed off, giving Shen Yanlie a slight nod.

Shen Yanlie simply maintained a faint smile at the corners of his lips, watching quietly without saying another word.

*Young Master, great honor indeed—I think it's a great misfortune,* Yan Mai thought to herself. Her lips curled downward as she let out a disdainful sound of mockery, casting a contemptuous glance at Shen Yanlie. Shen Yanlie slowly turned his head to sweep his gaze across Yan Mai's face, but she turned away instantly, refusing to give him even the slightest opening.

Dr. Song looked at Yan Mai in puzzlement, only to be met entirely with the back of her head.

When Yan Mai had left home, she had been "openly abducted" by Shen Yanlie, bringing along absolutely nothing. Furthermore, that group of colleagues she usually exchanged ideas with had all unexpectedly turned into foodies. Feeling quite conflicted, she made up her mind: she was not going back tonight.

Shen Yanlie was extremely satisfied with Yan Mai's current state. Since Wheat seemed to have no intention of leaving, he was overjoyed.

After seeing Dr. Song out, it was already quite late. Shen Yanlie poured a cup of warm water, took the medicine, walked over to Yan Mai, and sat down.

Yan Mai obediently took them, playing the part of an obedient little girl as she swallowed all the medicine. Shen Yanlie then took back the teacup from her hand, set it down, and gazed at Yan Mai with the air of a devoted husband, reaching out to test her forehead with his hand.

"I'll carry you upstairs," Shen Yanlie said, turning his words into action. Yan Mai let out a few startled cries of protest, but in the end, she had no choice but to give up.

Upstairs in the bedroom, Shen Yanlie placed Yan Mai onto the bed, turned on the wall-mounted television, flipped through a few channels, and put down the remote control.

Yan Mai remained silent, watching the TV, while Shen Yanlie sat right beside her on the edge of the bed.

For some reason, the two of them, who had been chattering away and haggling with each other just moments before, were now quiet to an eerie degree, with only the dialogue from the television drama echoing continuously in the room.

Shen Yanlie did not seem to find the atmosphere awkward or embarrassing at all, his gaze fixed steadily on the television screen.

After a short while, likely finding it dull and uninteresting, Shen Yanlie turned his head to look at Yan Mai, who was half-reclining on the bed. After all, he still couldn't quite bring himself to appreciate those melodramatic Korean dramas.

"Give me another child." Shen Yanlie placed one hand on the side of Yan Mai's cheek. Yan Mai's facial expression stiffened instantly as she glared back at him.

"You must be joking. Do you think having children is child's play?" Yan Mai's expression quickly returned to normal. She did not stop Shen Yanlie from stroking her cheek, showing no strong aversion to it. Shen Yanlie had no idea whether this could be considered a very good beginning.

Shen Yanlie's thumb kept rubbing against Yan Mai's cheek, as if filled with deep-seated reluctance to part, so ingrained in his bones that he simply couldn't put her down.

"Haven't you touched enough yet?" Just how dirty could her face possibly be, for him to keep wiping it over and over again?

Shen Yanlie smiled, rubbed her cheek gently a few more times, withdrew his hand, and pulled up the bed sheet to tuck Yan Mai in properly.

"Don't sit up for too long. If you're tired, lie down and get some rest." Shen Yanlie paused, looked at Yan Mai for a few more moments, and then turned around and left.

The room's air conditioning was on, and the temperature was moderate, making it easy to fall asleep. Yet for some reason, ever since she watched Shen Yanlie's retreating figure vanish, Yan Mai lost all mood to even watch television. Although her gaze remained fixed on the LED screen, her mind was entirely elsewhere.

Perhaps it was because she had slept for a very long time during the day, but whatever the reason, Yan Mai kept the television running all the way until midnight.

With his bedroom door half-closed, Shen Yanlie was busy in the study signing documents and organizing files. When he raised his head again to look toward the bedroom, through the faint light filtering from the room, he saw that the lights in Yan Mai's room had finally been turned off. Only then did he stop working, set all the documents aside, pressed his fingertips together to gently massage his slightly aching eyes, and stood up.

***

Early the next morning.

Yan Mai felt something touching her face... well, it was indeed tapping against her cheek, but it felt so gentle—was she dreaming?

"Lazybones, time to get up!" Shen Yanlie bent over, his large hand gently patting the side of Yan Mai's face. The girl was already past seven o'clock and still sleeping; if he didn't wake her up, would she just stay in bed all day and refuse to get up?

"Cut it out! So annoying!" Yan Mai brushed Shen Yanlie's hand away with extreme irritation, turned onto her side, and continued sleeping. She had clearly been right in the middle of a wonderful dream just a moment ago; who dared to disturb her, who dared to ruin it? She felt like hitting someone.

The dream had shattered and could no longer be pieced back together. With a fiery temper, Yan Mai flipped back around, her large eyes snapping wide open as she glared angrily at Shen Yanlie, who was towering over her: "Do you have a problem?"

Could he please not disturb her sleep if there was nothing important? She hadn't slept enough yet.

"Get up and eat." With that, Shen Yanlie stretched out a long arm, grabbed Yan Mai's wrist, and hauled her straight up from the bed.

"What is your problem?" Now Yan Mai's temper flared even higher. She was already extremely reluctant to be staying at his place, so why on earth was he treating her like this?

"From now on, you must get up to have breakfast no later than seven o'clock every morning. I don't care how many hours you sleep a day, but you must have breakfast by seven—even if you crawl back into bed to continue sleeping right after finishing it, that's fine," Shen Yanlie commanded Yan Mai, his overbearing tone leaving no room for defiance.

Yan Mai gave a lazy yawn. "I don't have the habit of eating breakfast. Just give me a glass of milk will do." As she spoke, she made a move to lie back down on the bed, but Shen Yanlie was hardly going to allow that.

"What are you doing? This is endless!" Annoying man. Could he just let her sleep a little longer right now, and promise that she would leave on her own accord later?

"Get up, eat your breakfast, and then you can go back to sleep." Stubborn and relentless, Shen Yanlie's persistence felt almost like coquettish pleading—if only their roles were reversed right now, Shen Yanlie probably wouldn't be able to handle it, or he might simply flip her over and pin her onto the bed, declaring that she herself was the best breakfast available.

"Whoever marries you is truly unlucky," Yan Mai muttered under her breath with half-drooped eyelids, genuinely speechless at his stubbornness. If she really had to finish breakfast now, wouldn't all her sleepiness vanish completely?

Shen Yanlie pulled Yan Mai along as he walked downstairs, while Yan Mai, still looking like someone who hadn't fully woken up, kept her eyelids drooping all the way, walking in a daze.

Shen Yanlie forcefully pressed down on Yan Mai's shoulders, making her sit at the dining table. Reluctant and unwilling, she naturally put up a bit of a struggle to show that she was being coerced into this, otherwise such a thing would never have happened of its own accord.

Shen Yanlie pushed the glass of milk a little closer to Yan Mai. Although she had already caught the milky aroma on the dining table long ago, she was trying her utmost to restrain herself, refusing to let this fellow think she was dying to gulp it down in one go—that would deal a heavy blow to her self-esteem, and she was determined to be at war with Shen Yanlie to the bitter end.

Seeing that Yan Mai had finally given in and started eating her breakfast, Shen Yanlie stood up, walked behind her, and gathered her loose hair into a ponytail. Yan Mai acted as though she didn't care about anything Shen Yanlie was doing, simply focusing entirely on eating the bread, pastries, and warm milk he had prepared early in the morning.

"Are you free today?" Yan Mai asked out of nowhere while Shen Yanlie was completely off guard. Shen Yanlie countered with an offhanded question of his own: "Whether I'm free depends on your purpose. If you're going to bear me a child, I'm free every single day..."

Of course, he kept the second half of the sentence to himself. At a rare moment when Wheat's emotions were finally stable, without her throwing tantrums or losing her temper, and she was actually willing to discuss things properly, he had to go with the flow. Only by doing so could he better execute the next step of his battle plan.

"I've eaten the meal, and I've stayed the night. I didn't bring a single thing with me when I came out; can you please let me go back to the hotel?" Yan Mai put down the pastry in her hand and looked at him with a hint of entreaty, her gaze serious.

"You really want to go back that badly?" Shen Yanlie's brows knit together slightly.

Wheat nodded earnestly.

"Eat your breakfast first. Once you're done, I'll drop you off at your hotel on my way to the company."

"Really?" Yan Mai was ecstatic. The moment Shen Yanlie's voice trailed off, she sprang up from the stool. Seeing Yan Mai looking so radiant and spirited, a trace of bitterness washed through Shen Yanlie's heart, though a smile curved the corners of his lips. He stroked her soft hair, his eyes filled with gentleness: "Really."

Without any conditions, without any reasons, and without any exchanges, he had agreed to her request just like that—agreeing to personally drive her back to her team.

And he actually did it.

Just like that, he tidied up his attire, went down to the garage to fetch his car, waited for her to open the door and get inside, and drove away with her.

Along the entire journey, he did not speak another word, remaining completely silent. Perhaps, for certain matters, silence was indeed the best answer.

He was unwilling to let her leave, yet he had no choice.

This time, from the moment he laid eyes on her until now, the only time she smiled the brightest and the most cheerfully was when he agreed to send her back...