Pampered by Short-Lived Bigshot

Chapter 265: 187 Come back home with me, Fourth Master has turned into a scumbag [Prize Quiz]

The bedroom door was gently closed, and Jiangjiang could no longer hear any conversation outside, feeling both anxious and angry.

Surely it was that jerk of a dad up to no good behind the scenes. Otherwise, why would Mom suddenly leave him? What could be going on between the two of them at this late hour?

He strained his ears, but the silence outside was so profound that not a sound could be heard.

Time passed without any movement, and eventually, he couldn’t bear it any longer. His eyelids drooped, and he soon fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in the apartment’s living room

When Shen Zhixian came out, Jiang Yanting was reclining on the sofa with a laptop on his knees, wearing a Bluetooth headset, apparently working, “Come here.”

The computer screen light fell on his face, highlighting the sharp angles of his profile, transporting her back to their school days when he would write papers and she would watch intently from the side.

Jiang Yanting noticed her out of the corner of his eye and gestured to the space beside him.

Whenever Shen Zhixian was nervous, her palms would sweat easily. She wiped her sweaty palms discreetly along the seam of her trousers and sat down beside him, still keeping a distance between them, “Where is it?”

“Move closer.”

Was there a need to sit so far apart? They had been more intimate than this in the past; why the pretense?

“This is fine.”

Even if they had once been close, the long separation inevitably made interactions feel estranged, as if harking back to when they first met and her heart would flutter.

Jiang Yanting chuckled softly, “Then don’t move, I’ll come over…”

If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.

If she wouldn’t come to him, then he had to go to her.

The loveseat wasn’t large at all. Since she was already sitting close to the edge, when he moved closer, their clothes brushed together, their arms touched, and she felt her breathing becoming constrained.

“It’s on the computer, you can’t see unless you get closer,” Jiang Yanting explained.

“Mm,” muttered Shen Zhixian, her palms starting to sweat again.

Jiang Yanting took off his Bluetooth headset, and Shen Zhixian caught a glimpse of his hand reaching out and instinctively shrank back.

“Don’t move—” He was likely also cautious not to wake the child, his voice soft and low by her ear.

He helped her put on the headphones, which seemed to still hold his warmth, and when it touched her ears, it was still warm…

She suddenly remembered how, back in their school days, they had once shared a pair of headphones, with her complaining about his taste in obscure music and him saying her preferred music was too noisy.

But soon a clear melody played, pulling her thoughts back to the present.

On the computer screen, a series of photographs began to appear rapidly, an electronic album accompanied by a soothing, soft female voice, documenting each step of Jiangjiang’s growth.

Each album was paired with a segment of text.

His first smile, first time rolling over, first time standing up, the first time he fell down and cried loudly, even his reluctance to enter kindergarten while clinging to the gate, and his demeanor playing soccer, were all meticulously recorded…

There he was with his hair slicked back, wearing a little suit, singing in kindergarten; lying on a heavy motorcycle, laughing with his teeth showing; a Jiang family photo, dressed in a little red jacket, sitting on the elderly lady’s lap, smiling with eyes squinted closed…

There were too many photos, yet each seemed to remind Shen Zhixian just how much she had missed out on.

“Our family really likes him. I edited this video, but the music in the background was recorded by my mother when he was three,” Jiang Yanting pointed to the photos, explaining to her.

“Could you… send this to me later?” Shen Zhixian asked, her gaze fixed on the screen, her eyes slightly reddening.

“Mm.”

If not for using these enticements, how could Shen Zhixian possibly take the initiative to retain him?

“So that’s…” Shen Zhixian couldn’t help but laugh while looking at the photos, “So this is what Jiangjiang looks like.”

His face had been swollen today, his eyes nearly squished shut, making it difficult to discern his usual appearance.

“I really missed out on so much…”

“You won’t miss out anymore in the future.”