Chapter 5 Dandelion Rabbit

Chapter 5: The Foxtail Grass Bunny

That night, just as Shen Shiyan had changed into his pajamas and lain down, the door to his room was gently pushed open.

A sliver of light from the hallway squeezed through the crack. Shen Ci, one hand gripping the doorknob and the other clutching the doorframe, timidly poked his head inside.

Shen Shiyan thought Shen Ci was going to insist on sleeping together, and his expression instantly turned even frostier.

"What is it?"

Shen Ci took one hand down and nibbled on a fingertip before saying, "Are you afraid, Daddy? If you're afraid of the dark, I can sleep with you."

"......"

Shen Shiyan was silent for a moment before uttering a stiff "No need."

Shen Ci seemed to understand and nodded, smiling at Shen Shiyan. "Okay, then goodnight, Daddy!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Ci had already pulled his head back and thoughtfully closed the door tightly.

Shen Shiyan felt this child was not at all like a child, but couldn't quite pinpoint why. He was sweeter-tongued, more observant, more obedient than ordinary children... more like an adult.

But it wasn't important. Shen Shiyan reached out and turned on the bedside lamp, then turned over onto his stomach to continue reading the contract.

He knew there was a camera by the headboard; he had noticed it on the first day. Although he had requested Shen Wenzhou to have it removed, living under someone else's roof now meant he had to be extremely cautious himself.

To survive in the Shen family without being devoured down to the bone, he had to manage the company—not too poorly, but also not too well.

Although Shen Wenzhou was superstitious and had found someone to perform a ritual, humans are mortal, and the elderly would eventually pass on. In a large family with its undercurrents of rivalry, a slight misstep could make one a casualty in the struggle for the patriarch's position. He was still young; navigating these murky waters was like crossing a rotten log bridge on one foot.

He read through every single word meticulously, finding no loopholes, before finally feeling at ease, turning off the light, and going to sleep.

Yuhe was a very inconspicuous small company under the Shen Group, mainly operating in peripheral industries of new energy. Its business wasn't great, barely breaking even.

Because it didn't involve the core of energy technology, Shen Wenzhou usually couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this company. Many outsiders didn't even know this small company belonged to the Shen family.

The next day, after having breakfast in the main hall as usual, he couldn't avoid a few more sarcastic remarks from several people.

Shen Shiyan seemed to have no temper at all. Accompanied by Shen Ci, whose eyes lit up at the sight of snacks, both remained silent.

One listened to the reprimands with a cold face, the other buried his head in eating.

It wasn't until they returned to the side courtyard that Shen Shiyan relaxed a little. Today, a tutor was coming to give him supplementary lessons. He didn't need to attend university; Shen Wenzhou had long arranged for someone to handle his academic qualifications.

He sat bolt upright on the sofa. Beside him, Shen Ci, in a good mood, was playing with a few stalks of foxtail grass he had somehow plucked at some point.

Shen Shiyan was not good at, nor did he like, making conversation. Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the person beside him, his gaze was drawn. Those small hands moved with practiced skill, turning and weaving. Patches of green appeared and disappeared between his fingertips, finally forming a beautiful little rabbit.

"For you, Daddy." Before Shen Shiyan could withdraw his gaze, Shen Ci had already raised the rabbit right before his eyes, giving it a little shake. The fuzzy foxtail trembled unsteadily, as if the rabbit had truly come to life.

For a long moment, he didn't take it. The atmosphere fell silent. Shen Shiyan even forgot how to respond or how to make the motion of reaching out, his mind preoccupied with why the wait for the tutor felt so long.

Shen Ci's eyes were very bright. The light-colored pupils within his peach-blossom eyes seemed bewitching, making it hard for anyone to refuse.

"Daddy doesn't like it?" Shen Ci jumped down from the sofa, looking at the rabbit in his hand. He didn't seem sad or angry, just said, "Then what animal does Daddy like? I'll make another one for you!"

A trace of barely perceptible eagerness to please showed on his childish cheeks. Shen Shiyan cleared his throat softly, opened his palm, and said, "There's nothing I particularly like. This one is fine."

The pale green little rabbit was gently placed in his palm. It felt a bit ticklish, as if someone had lightly scratched it. At the tail end, because it was wound too tightly, a light brown grass seed had fallen off.

"You didn't dream about your mother yesterday?" After examining it for a while, Shen Shiyan, as if possessed, asked the beautiful porcelain doll before him.

Shen Ci sat back down beside him, close but maintaining a slight distance. "A little bit."

"Hmm." Shen Shiyan responded with an extremely faint sound. Just then, the tutor, Li Wei'an, stepped through the main door, greeting him in fluent Chinese. "Mr. Shen."

Shen Shiyan loosely cupped the rabbit in his hand, stood up, and gave Li Wei'an a half-bow of respect. As he was about to head towards the study, Shen Ci very politely imitated Shen Shiyan and bowed to Li Wei'an, asking, "May I listen?"

Li Wei'an liked this long-haired child very much. She reached out and ruffled his hair, smiling. "Of course."

Having obtained Li Wei'an's consent, Shen Ci looked up at Shen Shiyan again, a hint of longing in his eyes. "May I, Daddy?"

He had asked politely first; even if Shen Shiyan didn't want to, he could only agree now. Before entering the study, Shen Shiyan instructed Shen Ci not to move around or speak out of turn.

"Mr. Shen is so young, yet his child is already this big." Li Wei'an took the teaching materials out of her backpack, spread them flat on the table, and made conversation with Shen Shiyan.

Shen Shiyan felt a headache coming on, unsure how to explain this matter. Shen Ci very appropriately fetched a cup of hot water from the water dispenser and placed it in front of Li Wei'an. "That's just what I call him."

Li Wei'an was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said thank you before starting Shen Shiyan's lesson.

She was a university professor, not particularly famous, and probably unknown in China. Shen Wenzhou had found this tutor randomly. He just wanted Shen Shiyan to learn some management and finance, to at least have some ability to run a company, but not to become too proficient, lest he learn some skills and forget who he was.

After helping Shen Shiyan out of the awkward situation, Shen Ci obediently sat on the soft chair beside him, propping his chin with his hands, listening attentively to Li Wei'an talk about things he couldn't understand at all.

Shen Shiyan listened very seriously. He was intelligent with a strong learning ability. If it weren't for Shen Sinian holding him back, he should have been living a brilliant life by now.

The little rabbit was placed beside the textbook, within easy reach for Shen Shiyan. During a break, he held the rabbit and gently swayed it before his eyes. Occasionally, his peripheral glance would sweep over Shen Ci, who had already fallen asleep, stirring something within him.

He couldn't remember his mother's name, only that Shen Sinian always harshly called her a whore, a bitch. By the time he was six or seven, Shen Shiyan rarely saw her anymore. Shen Sinian controlled almost all of his time, so he didn't really have a childhood either.

Running freely on the lawn like other children, walking hand-in-hand with both parents under the sunset bathed in happiness, or having a complete toy that belonged to him.

He had none of these. Beatings, scoldings, and lectures were his daily fare, to the point where he was now numb, indifferent, constantly remembering he was a Shen seed, constantly remembering the Shen family rules.

He had also thought about ending it all, but Shen Sinian's words lingered in his ears like a demon's whisper every day—

"Shen Shiyan, even if you die, you'll only be a Shen family ghost."