Accidentally Pursued The Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 14
Shen Mian didn’t notice Xie Qiaoyu’s subtle emotional shift. Instead, she gripped the front passenger seat, eagerly asking the driver if he needed her to guide the way.
Ever since she started navigating for Xie Qiaoyu whenever they went out, Shen Mian had developed a keen interest in giving directions.
They weren’t going anywhere else but to the French restaurant they had agreed upon that afternoon.
Having not eaten all afternoon and with a few glasses of orange juice in her stomach, Shen Mian was indeed hungry.
She just wanted a good meal now.
After confirming that the designated driver knew the way, ‘enthusiastic passenger’ Shen Mian finally settled down, leaning back with her back pressed against the seat.
The car started, and all the scenery blurred past in reverse, making Shen Mian feel a little drowsy.
Just as Shen Mian was about to close her eyes for a nap, Xie Qiaoyu called her name.
“Xiao Mian.”
Perhaps it was because Shen Mian was a bit sleepy, but she felt Xie Qiaoyu’s voice wasn’t as gentle as usual, but rather carried a slight hint of melancholy.
Shen Mian jolted, and with what she considered a sweet and delicate voice, she cooed, “I’m here.”
Perhaps startled by Shen Mian’s overly sugary tone, after a long silence, Xie Qiaoyu finally spoke again, “Give me your hand.”
“Hand?” Before extending her hand to Xie Qiaoyu, Shen Mian checked its cleanliness, finding no dirt or grime. Thinking there might be an odor, she even brought it to her nose to sniff. Only after finding nothing unusual did she offer it.
Not knowing why Xie Qiaoyu wanted her hand, Shen Mian said, “What’s wrong with my hand? I checked, there’s no dirt or odd smell.”
Shen Mian held both hands out in front of Xie Qiaoyu, positioning them exactly at Xie Qiaoyu’s eye level.
Xie Qiaoyu looked straight at Shen Mian’s slender, fair hands, then glanced at Shen Mian’s questioning face. She slowly raised her own hand, gently placing it over Shen Mian’s left hand, then suddenly gripped it tightly.
Their fingers intertwined. The moment their hands fully connected, Xie Qiaoyu turned to meet Shen Mian’s surprised gaze.
Xie Qiaoyu said cheerfully, “There’s no dirty spot. I just wanted to hold your hand.”
Shen Mian was stunned.
*Was Xie Qiaoyu… drunk?*
*Why would she hold her hand for no reason? Girls shouldn’t be so intimate, okay?*
Coming back to her senses, Shen Mian tried to pull her hand away, but it was firmly held by Xie Qiaoyu’s warm grip.
The woman beside her said softly, “Didn’t you insist on holding my hand just now?”
Shen Mian: “…”
*That was a perilous situation just now! Only by holding your hand could I break through!*
After hearing Xie Qiaoyu’s words, Shen Mian felt a little embarrassed: *She couldn’t just use Xie Qiaoyu and then turn her back. It was just holding hands, so let’s just hold hands.*
And so, Shen Mian stopped resisting, obediently letting Xie Qiaoyu have her way.
The journey was halfway over, but Xie Qiaoyu showed no sign of letting go, and Shen Mian was starting to get restless.
The hand Shen Mian was holding had a layer of cold sweat in its palm, making Shen Mian feel uncomfortable. She was about to grab a tissue to wipe it, but when she tried to pull her hand away, she found it tightly clasped by Xie Qiaoyu’s fingers.
Shen Mian had no choice but to call out softly, “Sister Qiaoyu…”
Xie Qiaoyu noticed Shen Mian’s movement but didn’t loosen her grip. Hearing Shen Mian call her, she merely responded with a light, “Mm.”
“My hand is sweating, I want to wipe it. Is that okay?”
It was only after Shen Mian spoke that she realized something was wrong. *How had she become so subservient?!*
Not to mention how arrogant she had been in front of Xie Qiaoyu in her previous life, even in this life, Shen Mian had approached Xie Qiaoyu with the intention of being friends. But now, why was the atmosphere between them so strange? Having to ask for permission before doing something, as if she were Xie Qiaoyu’s little pet, needing to ask her owner for consent…
Suddenly realizing, Shen Mian immediately pulled her hand away without waiting for Xie Qiaoyu’s reply, grabbing a tissue from nearby and vigorously wiping her palm.
Xie Qiaoyu was startled by Shen Mian’s sudden movement. Turning to see Shen Mian’s actions, her previously pleasant mood instantly plummeted. This was because Shen Mian now looked particularly like she was wiping away something unclean and repulsive, and that ‘something’ wasn’t sweat, but her.
Shen Mian didn’t know that her actions had caused Xie Qiaoyu to misunderstand. She was wiping so hard only because she was disgusted with her own ‘lack of dignity’. The moment she pulled her hand away, Shen Mian realized a truth: *So what if she’s a little pet, as long as she can cling to Xie Qiaoyu’s thigh.*
Shen Mian put the used tissue aside, then turned to look at Xie Qiaoyu. She saw Xie Qiaoyu’s hand still stiff in its original position, her knuckles slightly curled, maintaining the posture of having held hands.
Shen Mian took out another tissue. This time, she placed it over Xie Qiaoyu’s palm. “Let me wipe yours too.”
“No…”
Before Xie Qiaoyu could refuse, Shen Mian had already started wiping it herself.
Xie Qiaoyu must have gotten her hand sweat on her, but Xie Qiaoyu hadn’t said anything or shown any disgust.
Shen Mian was again moved by Xie Qiaoyu’s good breeding.
After wiping, Shen Mian re-clasped Xie Qiaoyu’s hand. As their fingers intertwined, Shen Mian’s thumb unconsciously pressed against the back of Xie Qiaoyu’s hand, and a strange sensation passed into Xie Qiaoyu’s heart.
••••
The next day, as Wang Feng was preparing dinner in the kitchen, she heard the sound of a door opening and closing in the living room.
Peeking out from the kitchen, she saw someone standing in the entrance hall, changing into slippers.
Wang Feng, delighted, put down the vegetables in her hand and called out, “Second Young Master, why didn’t you say you were coming back?”
Shen Xiu heard Wang Feng’s voice, turned around, and hugged the approaching Wang Feng with open arms. “Aunt Wang, did you miss me?”
“Of course I did! Aunt Wang sees you’ve gotten so much thinner. Was the food not good in the mountains? Tell Aunt Wang what you want to eat, and I’ll make it for you. How did you get so thin…”
“Aunt Wang still dotes on me. But I’m not hungry right now, no need to cook.” Shen Xiu, hearing Wang Feng’s loud voice, noticed that Shen Tianrong and Liang Minzhen hadn’t come out. He knew they weren’t home and asked, “Where are my parents?”
“The master and madam went fishing after lunch.”
*Mom and Dad aren’t home, and my brother is definitely at the company, so…*
Shen Xiu then asked, “Is Xiao Mian home?”
“Yes, Miss is in the study on the third floor.”
“When did the third floor get a study?”
“It was just renovated a few days ago, for Miss to study in.”
Shen Xiu felt that his home had changed quite a bit in the two months he was away. Not only was there a study on the third floor, but his sister was actually studying?!
The ring on Shen Xiu’s right index finger sparkled in the sunlight. He raised his hand to take off his sunglasses. The mole at the corner of his right eye adorned Shen Xiu’s charming ‘peach blossom’ eyes.
Suppressing his joy at seeing his sister, Shen Xiu told Wang Feng, “Then I’ll go upstairs and take a look.”
With that, Shen Xiu walked upstairs.
The study on the third floor was at the end of the hallway; one could see it as soon as they reached the third floor.
The study door was not closed. Shen Xiu stood in the middle of the corridor, looking at the little girl facing the door, writing with her head bowed.
Having been isolated for filming for two months, the person he missed the most was Shen Mian, his sister.
But he didn’t dare to go forward. He was afraid his joyful anticipation would be extinguished by his sister’s coldness. Ever since she was little, his sister disliked him the most. If he went over to greet her, it would definitely annoy her. Even though his sister never gave him a smile, Shen Xiu still thought Shen Mian was adorable.
So… he didn’t need to go over and disturb his sister’s studying. He would just quietly watch her for a bit, then find a topic to talk to her about when he went downstairs for dinner.
Shen Xiu made up his mind, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned against the wall, gazing at Shen Mian.
It was half an hour later when Shen Mian finished the last question, put down her pen, and checked her homework several times.
Having her neck bent down for a long time made Shen Mian’s cervical spine stiff, so she had to shake her neck before stretching. But as she tilted her head back to move her neck, her eyes noticed Shen Xiu leaning against the corridor wall.
Shen Xiu was about 1.83 meters tall and was still wearing a gray suit that he hadn’t had time to change out of. His hair was dyed platinum blonde, complementing his very fair skin. The tips of his bangs were just above his eyebrows, neither long nor short.
Shen Xiu’s face didn’t have the uprightness of Shen Zhixing’s; instead, it had a delicate beauty, with red lips and white teeth.
At this moment, Shen Xiu was looking down at his phone, not noticing that Shen Mian had already spotted him.
Shen Xiu’s agent asked him where he had gone, why he disappeared as soon as he got off the plane, and said that they would be late for an upcoming event. Shen Xiu impatiently replied a few words, put his phone away, and was about to continue watching his cute sister study when he saw that his sister had already seen him at some point.
Their eyes met. Shen Xiu immediately panicked, turned around, and took steps to leave the spot. Fortunately, his room was on the third floor, just two more steps away.
*Just seeing him once shouldn’t make her unhappy, right?* Shen Xiu prayed in his heart that Shen Mian hadn’t noticed him, his steps becoming more hurried.
Seeing Shen Xiu turn and walk away, Shen Mian indignantly slapped the table and shouted, “Second Brother!”
The word ‘Brother’ stopped Shen Xiu.
It had been many years since he had heard Shen Mian call him that.
Shen Xiu stopped in his tracks. Half a minute later, he turned around and saw Shen Mian had appeared behind him at some point. Shen Xiu’s voice was hesitant as he called out, “Xi- Xiao Mian?”
*His sister called him Second Brother! This was incredible!*
Shen Mian hugged Shen Xiu, looked up into Shen Xiu’s eyes, and chuckled, “Second Brother, I missed you so much.”
Shen Xiu was bewildered by Shen Mian’s sudden hug. After much hesitation, he finally raised his hands and hugged Shen Mian back, stammering, “Se- Second Brother missed you too.”
“Then why did you turn and leave when you saw me just now?”
Shen Xiu blurted out, “I was afraid you…”
Shen Xiu didn’t finish his sentence, but Shen Mian understood.
Shen Mian rested her head against Shen Xiu’s chest. After smelling Shen Xiu’s perfume, it was a familiar scent, belonging to her second brother. Remembering all the past events, tears finally streamed down her face uncontrollably.
It was strange. She hadn’t cried when she saw Shen Zhixing, hadn’t cried when she saw Aunt Wang, hadn’t cried when she saw her parents. But why, when it came to Shen Xiu, could she not stop crying?
“Good girl, why are you crying? Second Brother wasn’t afraid of you. Second Brother was going to get you a gift, yes, a gift.” Shen Xiu clumsily patted Shen Mian’s back, trying to comfort her in a flustered manner.
This time, he had been filming in the mountains and had found many strangely shaped rocks. Little girls should be curious about such things, and his sister might like them.
Hearing Shen Xiu’s words, Shen Mian finally understood why she cried when she saw him: because only Shen Xiu treated her like a three-year-old child, not like an adult.
She would only be so willfully pampered in front of Shen Xiu.
The tears in her eyes increased even more after hearing Shen Xiu’s words, and Shen Xiu’s suit couldn’t even stop them.
Watching Shen Xiu’s expensive, high-end suit, worth hundreds of thousands, being used to wipe her tears, Shen Mian couldn’t bear it. She pointed to the study, telling Shen Xiu to get her a tissue.
When Xie Qiaoyu went upstairs, what she saw was Shen Mian standing in the corridor, her eyes red and teary.
*Was she… bullied?*