Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"Who's like you, a great lazy pig?" Chen Shutang gave Yang Ce a reproachful look. "Go wash your face, breakfast will be ready in a moment."

"All right, I want to taste just how good my Yan'er's love-filled breakfast is." Yang Ce nodded with a smile and went to wash his face.

Yang Ce suddenly realized that if Chen Shutang were the only girl left at home, she actually treated him very well—not only gentle and compliant, but cooking breakfast for him like a little wife.

After washing his face, Yang Ce returned to the dining room, where Chen Shutang had finished the cooking and was bringing the food to the table.

Breakfast was simple—fried eggs and toasted slices of steamed bun—but they had been cooked to a golden brown, very appetizing.

Yang Ce had been hungry to begin with, and at the sight his appetite surged. He reached out to grab a slice of bun, only to have Chen Shutang smack the back of his hand. "Are you a caveman? There are chopsticks right there—can't you see them?"

"Heh heh," Yang Ce gave a dry laugh. "I was just in a hurry."

"A hurry is no excuse. Grabbing it with your bare hands—how unhygienic!" Chen Shutang handed him the chopsticks, then sat down on the other side of the table. Seeing that Auntie Li, after bringing over the breakfast, did not sit down with them, she called out, "Auntie Li, come eat with us."

"Mr. Yang, Miss Chen, you two go ahead and eat—don't mind me. I'll eat after you're done," Auntie Li said with a wave of her hand.

"Auntie Li, come and eat with us. There aren't so many people today—there's room to sit," Yang Ce said.

"Mr. Yang, thank you, but we who work as housekeepers have our own rules. Please don't make me break them," Auntie Li said, shaking her head and insisting.

Seeing how firm she was, Yang Ce said nothing more. After he and Chen Shutang finished eating, the two went upstairs, and only then did Auntie Li sit down and start eating.

"Yang Ce, it's just the two of us now," Chen Shutang said once they were back in the room. She flopped onto the bed spread-eagled, her arms and legs thrown wide, and spoke excitedly.

"Yes, just the two of us." A pang of bitterness shot through Yang Juehuan's heart. This should have been Chen Shutang's rightful place, yet now it had become a luxury, a mere hope.

"Come here, Yang Ce." Chen Shutang suddenly grew bold and crooked a finger at him.

Yang Ce's head swam. No way—Chen Shutang knew how to flirt too? Looking at her languid, delicate, seductive manner, fire blazed in his eyes and he lunged toward the bed.

But Chen Shutang giggled and dodged aside, then said with a light laugh, "Do you want me?"

"I do." Yang Jiyan was struck dumb. He had never seen Chen Shutang so bold.

"Want me and you still can't have me." Chen Shutang's little face suddenly turned stern. She pouted and sniffed, "Aren't you the one with lots of girlfriends? Go find them. Don't come to me."

"This—" Yang Puqi was stunned, then it hit him: Chen Shutang was doing this on purpose. She had deliberately lured him, teased him, only to let him look but not touch—punishing him for his philandering.

Right now, neither Lin Yanhe nor Zhou Yanning was in Songjiang. Lan Ling was still far away in Yunnan, and even Su Ya was in the middle of a nationwide concert tour. What Chen Shutang did not know was that he also had Xiao Qing, Sun Jie, and Wang Yanqiu. But of course Yang Ce could not say that—otherwise who knew whether Chen Shutang would explode.

Seeing Yang Jincong's sullen face and the foolish way he stared at her, Chen Shutang's heart suddenly softened. She raised her little fist and pounded him. "You philanderer, you philanderer! I can't even have you to myself anymore. I'll bite you to death!"

So saying, Chen Shutang really did open her mouth and bite down on Yang Juehuan's hand. Yang Shuoxuan did not struggle; he let her bite him, and with guilt in his heart he gave a faint sigh.

After a long while, Chen Shutang stopped her horseplay and let go. Looking at the teeth marks on Yang Ce's hand, she said with some distress, "Yang Ce, does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt." Yang Ce shook his head. "Your heart must hurt far more than my hand."

At Yang Juehuan's words, Chen Shutang's nose stung and tears came pattering down. "What are you doing, talking so mournfully, making me cry? You really are hateful, Yang Ce. I hate you to death. But I just can't stop myself from loving you."

Yang Xutang was utterly confused. What was all this? One moment hate, the next love—women really were such sentimental creatures. But before Yang Ce could make sense of it, Chen Shutang boldly kissed him of her own accord. Gazing at her tear-streaked little face, Yang Ce tenderly gathered her into his arms. Yet Chen Shutang struggled free with all her might, her hands going to the buttons of his shirt, murmuring, "Yang Ce, love me."

Chen Shutang's behavior let Yang Ce feel a madness in her he had never seen before—perhaps the grievances pent up in her heart, perhaps the true feelings held back inside. In any case, in that instant it all burst free.

With no one to disturb them and no sense of time, two young people who loved each other to the bone squandered their passion to the fullest.

It was not until the sky began to darken that they realized, without knowing it, a whole day had passed.

Chen Shutang lay quietly against Yang Juehuan's chest, holding him tightly, feeling his heartbeat and his breath, which put her extraordinarily at ease.

"Yang Ce, from now on you have to set aside one day every month for me—just the two of us. All right?" Chen Shutang's soft, lovely voice made Yang Lanxu's heart tremble.

What a simple request—one month, just one day. Only twelve days in a whole year. At the thought, Yang Ce felt a pang of pain and nodded without hesitation. "All right. I promise you."

To be continued.

1021. The Case and the Credit

Hearing Yang Ce's affirmative reply, Chen Shutang smiled faintly and closed her eyes in happiness. Yang Ce gently held her and stroked her hair. In truth, Chen Shutang's request was not high at all—on the contrary, it was very, very low. Now that he thought about it, when Chen Shutang occasionally threw little tantrums and got a little temperamental with him, Yang Ce no longer found anything wrong with it. On the contrary, he found it rather endearing.

This was the real Chen Shutang. If she were like the women in those online harem novels, helping the protagonist collect wives for the household, she would not be a living, breathing person but a vase on a shelf.

Only when the sky had gone completely dark did Yang Ce and Chen Shutang suddenly snap to awareness.

"Yang Ce, what time is it?" Chen Shutang was languid and unwilling to move—too lazy even to open her mouth. They had been at it from morning till night; even a person made of iron could not take it, especially after eating only a little fried egg and a few slices of steamed bun for breakfast.

Yang Ce reached for the phone on the nightstand and glanced at it, then said with a wry smile, "It's already past six in the evening. We've actually been lying in bed for seven or eight hours."

"Aren't you tired of me yet?" Chen Shutang asked in return.

"Of course not. Lying like this, I'd never get tired of it in a lifetime." Yang Ce spoke with absolute certainty and seriousness.

"You just know how to say sweet things to make me happy." Chen Shutang gave a lovely smile, and indeed her face lit up with joy.

"No, I mean every word." Yang Yanzhou's words were sincere—only, they applied equally to Lin Yanhe and the others.

"Get up. Let's go eat something—my whole body feels like it's fallen apart." Chen Shutang said a little sheepishly, "It seems one day a month really was a wise choice. If I were with you every day, you'd be the death of me."

Yang Ce chuckled to himself. It seemed being rather impressive in certain respects was a good thing after all—this way he could legitimately make Chen Shutang compromise.