Extreme Pampering
Chapter 102 Good Zhizhi, Bad Zhizhi.

Chapter 102: Chapter 102 Good Zhizhi, Bad Zhizhi.

It wasn’t until almost nightfall that they wrapped up on the film set, and surprisingly, Pei Yu was still there, playing puzzles with Duan Jiaze with an expressionless face. Every time the child nearly completed the puzzle, Pei Yu would casually mess up a corner. Unaware, Duan Jiaze would start over, and a small puzzle could take two hours to complete.

Pei Yu saw Shen Zhiyi first, "Done for the day?"

The child quickly looked over, mimicking him with not quite accurate pronunciation, "Done for the day?"

Seeing the two of them together like that, they indeed looked somewhat alike. Shen Zhiyi felt inexplicably as if she had seen this scene before. She stretched out her hand, her lips curving into a slight smile, "Yes, let’s go home."

Almost without thinking, Pei Yu reached out and took her hand.

Shen Zhiyi paused for a moment, lifted her eyes, and Pei Yu locked gazes with her intently. His features were handsome, and when he looked at someone like that, he often gave the impression of being deeply affectionate. She looked away, withdrew her hand, and then held it out to Duan Jiaze, who this time eagerly grabbed it, saying happily, "Zhizhi good!"

When he turned to pick up the puzzle he had been working on all afternoon, he found the once completed puzzle scattered into disarray at some point without his notice. His mouth turned downward, and he felt like crying.

Just as he was about to cry out, he suddenly met Pei Yu’s gaze, who was watching him with a blank face. Duan Jiaze was frightened into not crying anymore.

Shen Zhiyi gathered the puzzle pieces back into their original box, consoling him, "It’s okay, I’ll help you with it again later."

After realizing the child could understand basic English, she occasionally communicated with him in English, which indeed made their communication much smoother.

Duan Jiaze happily nodded his head, clinging to her without letting go, expressing his fondness for her with his limited vocabulary, "Zhizhi good! The best!"

Watching the child sweet talk nonstop, Pei Yu laughed without expression, feeling an itch, and then regretting bringing this little rascal along.

"I’m taking him home," Shen Zhiyi said without indicating any desire to keep him around, "You should go back too."

Pei Yu, still seated, asked in return, "Go back where?"

"Back to Huating," Shen Zhiyi heard the implication in his words, but pretended not to understand, "Wherever you want to go."

She was holding Duan Jiaze with one hand and carrying things with the other; she had no spare space, or more precisely, there was no space left for Pei Yu.

His lips drew into a straight line, as sourness and irritability collided in his chest. The worse his mood, the calmer and gentler Pei Yu appeared on the outside, unlike Meng Qiming’s genteel demeanor. His gentleness was a mask, meant to maintain the image she held of him in her eyes.

Even though that image was already bad enough.

His voice was low, "Can’t I go to your place?"

Shen Zhiyi shook her head, resolute, "No, Pei Yu."

Her tone was somewhat heavy, leaving no room for negotiation.

With Meng Qiming, she could still maintain a polite, distant façade, but she couldn’t do the same with Pei Yu. It was as if his every word and action could tug at her emotions. Shen Zhiyi strove to hide these feelings, unwilling to give Pei Yu another chance to breach her defenses.

With her being so firm, Pei Yu naturally couldn’t push any further. He stood up, picked up his jacket, looked at Shen Zhiyi for a while, and lightly touched her wrist, careful not to anger her, and withdrew as soon as they made contact.

In the silence that followed for several seconds, it seemed as though he had a thousand words to speak, but what finally came out was just a soft whisper, low and gentle.

"Zhizhi bad."

Her lowered eyelashes trembled, and Shen Zhiyi unconsciously tightened her grip on Duan Jiaze’s hand.

Without lingering any longer, Pei Yu walked away.

Unaware of the undercurrents between the adults, Duan Jiaze was puzzled, but he heard Pei Yu’s whisper, "Why did Uncle say Zhizhi is bad?"

He asked curiously, shaking the hand Shen Zhiyi was holding, "Is Zhizhi very bad to Uncle?"

The child’s eyes were innocent, and his understanding of "good" and "bad" couldn’t be simpler; he couldn’t comprehend what was happening between Pei Yu and Shen Zhiyi. In his view, perhaps Shen Zhiyi’s "badness" to Pei Yu was as benign as when his mother wouldn’t let him have snacks.

Pulling up the straps of his overalls that had slipped down, Shen Zhiyi softly "hmm’d" in response.

"I have been bad to him."

"It’s not Zhizhi’s fault," Duan Jiaze said earnestly, "Uncle is a little worse."

Yes, he felt that, no matter what, Pei Yu was a bit worse.

Shen Zhiyi couldn’t help agreeing with him after a light chuckle, "Mhm, your uncle is indeed very bad."

She had seen him secretly breaking apart the child’s puzzle, both childish and malicious.

Duan Jiaze was very easy to look after, and didn’t cry or fuss over missing his parents, but suddenly asked Shen Zhiyi a question before bedtime, puzzled.

"Why don’t you sleep with Uncle?"

Shen Zhiyi wondered if she had misheard, or if the child had made a mistake in Chinese, "I don’t live with your uncle."

"Why?"

Duan Jiaze couldn’t understand and said, confused, "He’s already come back, why don’t you sleep together?"

Feeling that something was off, Shen Zhiyi also became serious, "Why do you think we should sleep together?"

The child said it as if it were a matter of course, "You are Auntie, Uncle should sleep with Auntie, just like my dad and mom do."

He emphasized, "It’s the same."

Shen Zhiyi: "...Did Pei Yu teach you to say this?"

"Yes," without any hesitation, Duan Jiaze sold out his uncle, "You are Auntie, Uncle said so."

Such nonsense, how could one casually instill such notions into a child, Shen Zhiyi tried to explain to him, "I am not."

"Not Auntie?"

Duan Jiaze’s bewildered, tilting his head as if he understood something, "Did Uncle lie to me?"

Not wanting Pei Yu to become a liar in the child’s eyes and feeling that this wasn’t simply a matter of lying, Shen Zhiyi hesitated for a moment and then pulled Duan Jiaze in front of her, "He didn’t lie to you, Uncle misspoke."

"Don’t understand," suddenly grabbing Shen Zhiyi’s finger, Duan Jiaze’s little head was working overtime, "If you’re not Auntie, then can—"

He couldn’t think of what to say in Chinese and, after straining for a long time, forced out, "marry me?"

Shen Zhiyi: "..."

She was amused to laughter, "No, that’s not possible."

"Why?"

This sentence in Chinese was spoken very fluently by Duan Jiaze, who had even intuitively learned that making comparisons was a good way to advocate for himself, "I am better than Uncle."

Afraid Shen Zhiyi wouldn’t believe him, he also nodded vigorously, "Really!"

Shen Zhiyi laughed and shook her head, "That’s not possible either."

"Why?"

Duan Jiaze was so heartbroken, absolutely needing Shen Zhiyi to provide an answer.

After some thought, Shen Zhiyi said, "Your uncle wouldn’t agree."

However, Duan Jiaze had a different idea, "He will agree, he always buys me whatever I want."

He thought it was the same principle.

"Is that so?" Shen Zhiyi held back her laughter, "Then you can ask him."

No wonder Pei Yu always loved to play pranks; teasing kids really was quite fun.