181: Grandpa

Shen Lian did not miss Zhou Tangru's smile.

Although it was their first meeting, seeing the other party's face, which bore some resemblance to Zhou Tangsi's, and then seeing Feng Yueshan's gloating expression, Shen Lian roughly guessed the situation.

Shen Lian remained calm, his eyes briefly meeting Zhou Tangru's.

Shen Lian's first impression of him was unremarkable, at least not repulsive.

By this time, Chu Yilan had arrived in front of him. "Was it cold on the way?"

"It wasn't cold." Shen Lian tucked the small daisies into the man's arms. "The shop owner said they didn't have roses today."

Chu Yilan said, "This bouquet is also nice."

Zhou Tangru had absolutely no interest in Zhou Tangsi's romantic history. His entry into the Zhou Family gate was strictly for the inheritance and power. It was only at a banquet that a friend pointed to the refined face on the Social Media Platform trending list and told him, "This is the one who was previously entangled with Zhou Tangsi. They say he was Zhou Tangsi's lapdog, but I don't believe it."

So, Zhou Tangru knew who Shen Lian was.

He had been indifferent before, and now, Zhou Tangru still didn't believe Shen Lian harbored any feelings for Zhou Tangsi.

After all, the benchmark was Chu Yilan.

"Others say you are blind and foolish; perhaps you should listen to them," Zhou Tangru said with a smile.

Zhou Tangsi suddenly turned around. "What?"

"I heard you dumped Shen Lian because of Zheng Ge?" Zhou Tangru whispered, "Someone of Zheng Ge's caliber..." The next second, he was grabbed by the collar by Zhou Tangsi. After a brief standoff, Zhou Tangru continued, "Hypocritical, selfish, greedy for power and status, yet insisting on pretending to be a noble, untouchable flower. Big Brother, your taste is really poor."

At least at first glance, Shen Lian was infinitely better than Zheng Ge. No wonder he managed to anger the Old Madam so much, Zhou Tangru thought. But if not for this, where would his opportunity come from? As long as Zhou Tangsi and Zheng Ge remained entangled, he would grow stronger day by day.

"That's enough," Zhou Tangsi's nominal girlfriend said flatly. "With so many people watching, even if you two are shameless, I'm not."

Zhou Tangru forcibly pried open Zhou Tangsi's hand. "Miss An is right."

An Jing ignored Zhou Tangru, briefly glancing at Zhou Tangsi, a flash of disdain crossing her eyes. How had she ever thought this man was exceptionally charismatic? It was as if ten thousand layers of filters forcefully covering her eyes had suddenly vanished; the more she looked, the more mediocre he seemed.

Seeing that they hadn't started fighting, Feng Yueshan tutted lightly. "Boring."

"The matter is settled, so I'll be leaving first," Chu Yilan said. "Call me if anything happens, and drink less."

Feng Yueshan waved his hand. "OK, OK. Shen Lian, I'll treat you to a meal next time."

Shen Lian replied, "Sure."

Emerging from the Xingyue Building, the sky gradually cleared, and the rain stopped. There was a clear azure quality, typical just before sunset, and a streak of sunset glow squeezed out from the edge of the clouds.

Chu Yilan held the daisies, pulled open the car door with one hand, and shielded Shen Lian as he got in.

The two went out for a dinner date and returned home around 8:30 PM. Chu Yilan went to shower. Shen Lian suddenly remembered the pot of succulents he had left on the rooftop yesterday; the skylight was open, and he hoped they hadn't been drowned by the rain.

The succulents were perfectly fine. Just as Shen Lian was about to pick up the pot and leave, he heard a faint, tiny cry. He initially paid it no mind, but when he passed a flower stand, the sound became clearer.

Curious, Shen Lian turned on his phone flashlight and shone it inside.

Shen Lian jumped in surprise when a pair of "flashlights" appeared, immediately raising the succulent pot as a weapon. Immediately after, the fat body of a cow cat laboriously squeezed itself out.

"Chu Zhumi, you..." Before Shen Lian could finish speaking, he clearly saw a litter of kittens nestled deeper inside. Three of them were orange, making the parentage obvious.

So, that magnificent, imposing Big Orange was a female cat!

"Meow~" Chu Zhumi rubbed against Shen Lian's ankle. Seeing he got no reaction, it struggled to squeeze back in, and shortly after, emerged carrying a kitten in its mouth, looking eagerly at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian was silent for a moment, then expressionlessly gave a thumbs up. "Awesome!"

"Meow~"

Chu Yilan came out after showering, his dark gray bathrobe casually tied around his waist, water still dripping from the tips of his hair. He drank half a glass of warm water, turned around when he heard movement, and was satisfied to see Shen Lian's eyes transition from excited curiosity to lustful anticipation.

Chu Yilan raised an eyebrow.

Zhu Mi, step aside for a moment.

Shen Lian stepped forward and naturally wrapped his arms around Chu Yilan's neck. The man's large hand tightened around his waist, and after half a turn, Shen Lian found himself pressed against the glass window by Chu Yilan.

When the kiss ended, Shen Lian felt satisfied, licking his lips with lingering desire. He allowed Chu Yilan to rub against his neck and spoke in a husky voice, "You're going to be a grandfather."

Chu Yilan chuckled lightly. "Did I kiss you senseless?"

"It's true." Shen Lian gently pushed Chu Yilan away. "On the rooftop, seven little kittens!"

Chu Yilan pulled his senses back from the sea of desire. "Where did they come from?"

"Zhu Mi's offspring! The fat orange cat that beat him up before is female!"

Chu Yilan was incredulous. Was the cat world really so unconcerned with appearance?

Aunt Fen offered to help when she heard the news. Half an hour later, the seven kittens were settled into soft little blankets. Chu Yilan watched with a frown; one of them looked exactly like Zhu Mi, including the two small black patches near its mouth—undoubtedly its biological child.

Zhu Mi knew Shen Lian was reliable, and was currently rubbing against his pant leg as if he had just had catnip.

Shen Lian pushed him away, picked up the little cow kitten, and handed it to Chu Yilan. His movement was so quick and natural that Chu Yilan didn't even react, and when Shen Lian withdrew his hand, Chu Yilan instinctively caught the kitten.

It was tiny and soft, curled up perfectly in the palm of his hand.

Chu Yilan's heart was gently struck.

As a child, he had kept small animals, but after Chu Changqi discovered them, the outcome was predictable.

At this moment, a strange feeling welled up in his heart. Everything was changing, including the fact that he once thought he could never accept another pet, yet now the little stray he brought home had started a family.

"How about we put them back on the rooftop," Shen Lian continued, pretending not to notice Chu Yilan's reaction. "That orange cat is very wary. She wouldn't even give me a chance to get revenge for Zhu Mi when she beat him up before. If we bring the kittens inside, she'll probably worry herself sick."

"Mhm," Chu Yilan said. "Put them back on the rooftop."

Shen Lian smiled softly.

Aunt Fen mentioned that she had fed the orange cat a few times. Although she hadn't touched it, they were at least familiar, so the responsibility of care fell to Aunt Fen. Since she was very idle at home every day, Aunt Fen was quite happy to do it.

Afterwards, Shen Lian realized that Chu Zhumi, the good-for-nothing, had only brought the kittens back and hadn't immediately given a warning, meaning the small amount of food he had carried up was nowhere near enough. The orange cat had just given birth and had to search everywhere for food.

Chu Yilan cut Zhu Mi's canned food supply in half and asked Aunt Fen to put it on the rooftop and supervise the feeding.

Over the next few days, whenever Chu Yilan returned from work and had time, he would take a stroll on the rooftop. The orange cat's wariness decreased due to the feeding, and finally, one day, Shen Lian saw her true appearance.

She was very beautiful, sitting quietly with her tail curled in front of her, extremely elegant. When the sun shone on her, her fur looked like dandelion fluff.

Chu Yilan said, "He married up."

Shen Lian replied, "He married up."