Chapter 35 Hateful Taiyaki

Chapter 35: The Darned Taiyaki

At 7:23, the Yuhe company account transferred a full two million yuan to a personal bank account ending in 4371.

At 8:15, Shen Shiyan sat on the sofa, pulled out a still-warm taiyaki from his coat, and handed it to Shen Ci.

The rich milky aroma seeped through the plastic bag.

But Shen Ci didn't take it.

He stared directly at Shen Shiyan's face.

"Daddy, someone bullied you." He stated it, didn't ask.

Shen Shiyan had originally planned to return late at night, but he had bought the taiyaki.

It probably tastes better warm.

So he drove back as fast as he could.

"No one did." The corner of Shen Shiyan's mouth was split open. Speaking tugged at it, causing a sharp, pricking pain.

He kept his arm outstretched, offering it.

Shen Ci reached out, took it, and placed it on his lap, lowering his head. "Liar."

The entryway light flickered a few times due to faulty wiring before settling into a steady glow. The living room was so quiet that the faint sizzling from the light fixture could be heard.

Shen Shiyan got up and turned off the entryway light.

Turning back, Shen Ci still had his head down, his fingers gripping the edge of the plastic bag.

He sighed, went to the bathroom, and splashed cold water on his face. As he wiped his face in front of the mirror, Shen Shiyan's movements were slow. He couldn't quite put his finger on what he was feeling now.

His right cheek had been slapped three times in a row. Shen Sinian had a strong hand; besides the corner of his mouth, his lower lip was split, likely scratched by a fingernail.

There was a rustling sound from the living room. Shen Ci moved from the sofa all the way to the bathroom door, his hand clenched into a fist, tightly gripping his shirt hem. "Who bullied you, Daddy?"

He looked ready—if Shen Shiyan said a name, Shen Ci's fist would meet that person's face the next second.

Shen Shiyan was a little amused. "The taiyaki."

Shen Ci looked up. "Who?"

Shen Shiyan tossed the face towel in his hand into the trash bin and leaned against the sink. "That fish in the bag on the sofa."

Shen Ci was stunned. "But that's clearly a snack."

Shen Shiyan's bangs were damp. He pushed them back a couple of times. "Mhm, the spoils of war. If you don't eat it, I got hit for nothing."

Shen Ci, deflated by his joke and indifferent attitude, finished the taro-mochi-filled 'spoils of war' still sulking.

Amidst the sweet, milky pastry and filling, Shen Ci tasted a hint of sour bitterness.

Not tasty. I hate taiyaki.

Before bed, Shen Ci swore to the moon that if he ever found out who bullied Shen Shiyan, he would definitely beat them up, pin them to the ground, and stuff their mouth full of taiyaki.

After three consecutive cloudy days, it finally cleared up on Sunday morning.

The amusement park Song Xianghan chose was in another city, mainly to avoid running into too many acquaintances in Yuncheng and causing more gossip.

Her luxury van stopped at the entrance of the Shen residence. Song Xianghan, carrying two boxes of premium ginseng and holding Song Qiuchi's hand, entered the Shen house to pay a visit to Shen Wenzhou, who was pleading illness.

It wasn't anything serious, just constant fatigue and a bad cough from a slight cold.

Regarding Song Xianghan, although Shen Wenzhou was annoyed she'd sent the lawyer's letter straight to him, given the deep-sea oil and gas project and his long-standing friendship with her grandfather, he still accepted the gifts and chatted for a bit.

As they were about to drive to Shen Shiyan's courtyard residence, they happened to run into Shen Rong strolling in the courtyard. Sharp-eyed, he spotted Song Qiuchi in her white cloak immediately.

"Song Qiuchi!"

He shouted and ran over quickly, panting. "What are you doing here?"

Song Qiuchi looked at him. "What's it to you?"

Shen Rong, unusually, didn't get angry and even smiled. "You're at my house, so of course it concerns me."

Song Qiuchi had no patience. "Picking someone up to go to the amusement park."

Shen Rong's eyes lit up. "Picking up who? Can I come along?"

Before he could finish his sentence, Shen Ci's clear voice came from the side. "Song Qiuchi!"

It took Shen Rong a good while to snap back to reality. He gritted his teeth. Song Xianghan, who had been silent, took Shen Ci's backpack and tossed it into the car.

Song Qiuchi glanced at Shen Ci, revealing a smile Shen Rong had never seen before, then turned back to him with a displeased expression. "I don't play with rude people."

Who's rude? Me? I'm rude!?

And that little bastard is polite? He plays the innocent victim, twists the truth, and even bites people—that's polite!??

Shen Rong's back teeth were almost ground to dust.

He couldn't understand why Song Qiuchi didn't like playing with him.

But before he could argue further, amidst Shen Ci's "Bye-bye," the car started, its exhaust kicking up a cloud of dust that landed on Shen Rong's face.

Shen Ci was in a good mood because Shen Rong had been put in his place.

Shen Shiyan sat with perfect posture, nodding with a slight smile towards Gao Mengying, who had remained in the car opposite.

Her complexion was getting better and better, glowing with health. Now, pressed close to Song Xianghan, she wore a faint smile.

Qi Zizhu, living farther away, drove herself to meet up with them.

The nearly five-hour journey was halfway through when Song Qiuchi and Shen Ci began dozing off amidst the three adults' work-related conversation.

Shen Ci's head rested on Shen Shiyan's shoulder, but he wasn't tall enough and kept sliding off the edge, nodding like a chicken pecking at rice.

Finding it too uncomfortable to sleep, he simply let his whole body slump into Shen Shiyan's arms.

With many people in the car, Shen Shiyan didn't feel particularly awkward, because across from them, Song Qiuchi was also sleeping soundly in Song Xianghan's embrace.

Shen Ci's head rested on Shen Shiyan's thigh. Over time, separated only by layers of clothing, their body temperatures slowly mingled, creating a warm patch.

Miss Qi arrived at the destination about ten minutes before or after them.

The winter sun bathed the snow-covered amusement park in a warm glow. Due to the season, many skiing activities had been added.

Song Xianghan personally covered the premium VIP tickets for all six people. While going through the ticket check, Shen Shiyan walked at the end of the line, right behind the rounded back of Shen Ci’s head.

He glanced down at his still-warm suit pants, where a faint, damp circle from Shen Ci’s drool was left behind.

“...”

After a moment of silence, Shen Shiyan tugged at the corner of his mouth and pulled his overcoat tighter around himself.

The two-day, one-night amusement park trip officially began with a laser tag battle.

Under the intense stares of the other five, Shen Shiyan swallowed the words “I’ll sit this one out” he had been about to say before entering the arena. He changed into a military-style bulletproof vest, put on protective goggles, and selected a sniper rifle that felt comfortable in his hands.

Having spent over half a year with the Shen family, Shen Shiyan had been thriving. He now stood at 186 cm tall. The form-fitting camo clung to his frame, outlining his lean, firm physique—broad shoulders and a narrow waist—revealing a mature aura different from his usual suited appearance.

Once everyone had changed, they used the simple method of showing palms or backs of hands to split into two teams.

Song Qiuchi, Shen Shiyan, and Qi Zizhu formed the Red Team, while Shen Ci, Song Xianghan, and Gao Mengying made up the Blue Team.

Each team had three grenades at their disposal, with a three-second fuse. Anyone hit by an explosion would be immobilized on the spot and could only resume movement after five seconds.

Each round lasted twenty minutes. A player would be considered “out” if they were hit more than seven times. If all three members of a team were eliminated, the entire team would face the penalty: drinking bitter melon juice.