The large room instantly went silent, and the air was filled with a subtle air of awkwardness.

Lu Huaiyu’s eyebrows twitched.

It seemed that he had heard that sentence clearly…

However, in the next moment, his smile remained unchanged, and his tone was extremely calm as he said,

“Previously, Ah Li still had some things that she had left at Rongyue Mansion. I noticed that she had been quite busy recently, so I helped her by bringing them over for her.”

Shen Zhijin listened to him, his expression remaining unperturbed.

Bringing things, taking things.

This house was so big. Could those things only be placed in the bedroom?

Probably knowing that his words did not have much credibility, Lu Huaiyu took the initiative to help him carry his luggage.

“Teacher Shen, you must be very tired from your journey. Shall I help you?”

Shen Zhijin’s hand slowly tightened around the handle of the luggage, and he said calmly, “There’s no need. This luggage is not meant to be sent to Tangtang’s bedroom.”

Lu Huaihe, “…”

Shen Li, “…”

Shen Zhijin pulled the suitcase along as he walked towards the living room.

“Dad, have you eaten?”

Shen Li walked over.

Shen Zhijin paused for a moment.

“No.”

He had rushed back in a hurry and mostly been resting on the plane.

Shen Li looked at him hesitantly, then at Lu Huaiyu.

She had already agreed to have dinner with Lu Huaiyu, so it was not good to miss the appointment. On the other hand, Shen Zhijin had just returned.

He had been on a 3-day business trip and his schedule had already been very tight. However, he had managed to squeeze it down to two days. He had returned a night earlier just to spend Christmas Eve with her.

This–

Lu Huaiyu suddenly spoke.

“Ah Li, Teacher Shen specially flew back early just for you and today is also your first Christmas Eve together, so–”

Shen Li looked at him in surprise.

Lu Huaiyu was taking the initiative to back down?

With his temperament, it was really rare–

“So,” Lu Huaiyu said with sincerity, “Let’s stay at home and accompany Teacher Shen.”

Shen Li, “…”

Shen Zhijin raised his eyes slightly, and his clear gaze fell on Lu Huaiyu again.

“Your man seems to be waiting downstairs.”

When he had returned earlier, his only thought had been to go home as soon as possible. Thus, he had not paid too much attention to his surroundings.

However, now that he thought about it, beneath the dim shadow of the trees by the roadside, it seemed that a black Bentley had been parked there.

It went without saying who that car belonged to.

Lu Huaiyu considered it seriously for a moment before obediently nodding.

“You’re right. I’ll let him go back first.”

As he spoke, he took his phone out and called Yi Bin, who was still waiting downstairs.

“Please cancel the reservation at the restaurant. I won’t be going there today.”

As he spoke, he glanced over.

“Teacher Shen is back. Ah Li and I will stay at home and spend some time with Teacher Shen.”

Ah Li and Shen Zhijin were speechless.

Stay with Teacher Shen…

Whose house was this?!

Shen Li’s breathing stopped. She could clearly feel a chill spreading from Shen Zhijin’s body, causing the surrounding temperature to drop greatly.

She turned her head and looked at Shen Zhijin, blinking.

“Dad, what would you like to eat today?”

If Shen Zhijin had still been thinking about what to eat with her before he had pushed open the door, now, he really did not have the slightest appetite.

However, since his daughter asked this question, he obviously could not bear to refuse her.

“I’ll go with whatever you suggest, Tangtang.”

“Teacher Shen.” After Lu Huaiyu ended the phone call and overheard the conversation between the father and daughter, he added, “You must have had a long, tiring journey back. What would you like to eat? Ah Li and I can make it.”

Shen Li instantly felt even colder.

Lu Huaiyu placed the painting on the coffee table in the living room, his movements especially natural and smooth.

Because the painting had been placed in a box, Shen Zhijin could not see the contents.

Shen Li could not be bothered to deal with him. Instead, she walked towards the refrigerator and scanned the interior.

These past few days, because Shen Zhijin was on a business trip and she had been the only one at home, she had not bought any extra ingredients.

Originally, she had planned to shop for groceries tomorrow, but she had not expected Shen Zhijin to return early.

Moreover, today was a special day so it was too easy to just say that.

“Dad, I’ll just go to the supermarket to buy some more vegetables, alright?”

It was not far from here anyway. Besides, she had often accompanied Shen Zhijin to the supermarket recently and was already very familiar with it.

Lu Huaiyu came behind her and looked into the fridge. Hearing her say so, he said, “I’ll go with you. Since Teacher Shen has only just come back, why don’t we–”

“There’s no rule about allowing guests to go shopping with us,” Shen Zhijin interrupted Lu Huaiyu in a flat tone.

As he spoke, he walked towards the entrance.

Lu Huaiyu did not seem to understand the rejection in his words. Instead, he smiled and said sincerely, “Teacher Shen, you’re too polite. I’m Ah Li’s boyfriend. These small things are what I should do.”

“I’ll help you and Ah Li carry your things.”

…

Five minutes later, the three of them went downstairs together.

Shen Li followed beside Shen Zhijin, while Lu Huaiyu was half a step behind her.

They had only just walked some distance when they bumped into Bi Zhitong and his wife.

“Hey, Zhijin, you’re back?”

Bi Zhitong was a little surprised to see Shen Zhijin, and he was even more surprised when he saw Lu Huaiyu behind him.

“Huaiyu is here too?”

His wife’s gaze swept over the three of them and smiled gently.

“Are you all going out together?”

Shen Li’s eyes curved in a smile.

“No, Auntie Bi. My dad just came back, so we’re going shopping together.”

“Oh, I see.”

Bi Zhitong and his wife smiled in understanding.

They had known Shen Zhijin for so many years, and he had always been alone. Finally, he had more people around him now. It was a rare sight.

They looked on at him, they felt happy for him.

Bi Zhitong smiled.

“Zhijin, Huaiyu is very protective of Ah Li. The last time I saw him, it was around 10pm. He was so worried that it wouldn’t be safe for her to come back alone, so he personally sent her home.”

Shen Zhijin paused for a moment and asked, “Around 10 pm?”

Shen Li tugged at his sleeve.

“Dad, remember that Mian sent two tickets to the premiere of “Hibiscus” previously?”

It had been a night event, so it had indeed been quite late when they had come back from watching it.

Shen Zhijin nodded his head and said goodbye to Bi Zhitong and his wife before he continued walking forward.

On the way, he met several familiar faces, many of whom were teachers and staff of Xijing University.

When these people saw the three of them together, they were all quite surprised.

Everyone at Xijing University knew that Lu Huaiyu was Shen Li’s boyfriend.

However, they had not expected that his relationship with both the father and daughter had become so close?

Previously, he had accompanied them to the staff canteen. This time, he had come directly to the house and was accompanying them to buy vegetables.

Tsk.

Surely, that meant that Shen Zhijin was quite satisfied with Lu Huaiyu?

That’s right. After all, it was Lu Huaiyu.

Therefore, after a short moment of surprise, everyone looked over with envy and blessings in tacit understanding.

The three of them entered the supermarket. Shen Li and Shen Zhijin picked out the items, while Lu Huaiyu helped to carry them from behind.

While they were checking out, they happened to bump into Zhang Yao at the checkout counter.

“Hey, Zhijin?”

Zhang Yao had turned around and spotted the three of them. He was amused.

“Huaiyu, are you here to freeload?”

Lu Huaiyu nodded with a smile. “Yes.”

“I thought you were here to send Ah Li back again! But it’s still early, not like the last time when it had been almost ten o’clock–”

Shen Zhijin paused and narrowed his eyes. He asked slowly,”Almost 10 o’clock?”

Lu Huaiyu’s eyebrows twitched as he immediately tried to stop him.

“Zhang–”

He could not stop Zhang Yao’s hearty laughter.

“Hahahaha, that’s right! It was snowing that day. When I came back, I happened to meet them downstairs!”