Chapter 11: Shang Hejing Prepared Pajamas for Her
Seated on the sofa, Shang Hejing crossed one leg over the other, exuding a lazy charm. Both arms draped over the back of the sofa, he carried an air of rugged nobility.
“It heard you say that you have a psychological fear of large dogs, so it lowered its height by lying down to avoid scaring you,” came the explanation.
Xu Tanxi was surprised. “It understands human speech?”
“Of course.”
“That’s amazing. My younger brother isn’t even as good as a dog.”
At that moment, Xu Yuefeng, who was busy gaming with friends in the e-sports room, let out a massive sneeze—
“Damn! Who’s cursing me?”
His hand trembled and he pressed the wrong key, resulting in his character’s death.
Xu Yuefeng: “......”
Listening to her mutter that under her breath, Shang Hejing frowned thoughtfully. Could it be that this woman actually believed dogs could understand human language?
The man and the dog stared at each other silently. Minutes passed before Xu Tanxi stood up.
Her legs numb from squatting too long, she lost her balance and leaned toward the man on the sofa.
She saw clearly that he had every chance to move aside, yet he just watched as she fell onto him.
Her nose bumped firmly against his chest; the familiar crisp scent of pine and musk filled her nostrils—it was pleasantly fragrant.
Climbing off him, Xu Tanxi rubbed her nose, bewildered and speechless. “You clearly could have dodged. Why didn’t you?”
“This sofa cost me money. Why should I move?”
His tone was self-righteous and irrefutable. Xu Tanxi decided not to engage further; she felt that talking to this man any longer might give her a breast nodule.
Seeing no sign he intended to discuss the Paris incident, she also chose to remain silent.
After all, they were merely a plastic couple—some things didn’t need to be explained.
“I’m going to sleep. You play by yourself,” she said and walked toward the stairs.
After a few steps, she suddenly remembered something, turned back, and added, “I’ll sleep in the master bedroom. You take another room.”
Shang Hejing absentmindedly stroked King’s head without replying.
Xu Tanxi said, “I know you heard me. Silence means you agree.”
He watched her figure disappear upstairs, then lowered his eyes to King, who was crouched before him.
“What now? The poor soul you saved seems to have forgotten you. Reflect on where the problem lies.”
King tilted his head, puzzled, his owner’s clear gaze filled with confusion.
Upstairs in the master bathroom, Xu Tanxi was showering.
---
The recent days had been quite intense. As the warm water, slightly hotter than usual, cascaded over her skin, her taut nerves finally eased a little.
The bath salts prepared by the servant were rose and green bamboo-scented—very pleasant.
The steamy bathroom was filled with soft, flowing music, the warm mist enveloping every inch of Xu Tanxi’s senses, the subtle fragrance of the bath salts lingering at her nose’s tip.
Her body and mind completely relaxed.
After finishing, the air felt a bit stuffy, so she turned on the ventilation fan. The mist gradually dispersed, revealing a large mirror above the sink.
Standing before it, her face became clear in the reflection, and inexplicably, she recalled that night in Paris.
That dog of a man, Shang Hejing, had so many tricks up his sleeve. Halfway through, he’d lifted her from the floor-to-ceiling window to stand before the bathroom mirror.
Staring at her reflection, the image slowly shifted to the two of them—her and Shang Hejing that night...
“Damn.” Xu Tanxi snapped back to reality, startled.
She didn’t consider herself thin-skinned, but whether it was the steam or the vivid memory of that intimate scene in front of the mirror, her face flushed red.
She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face, but it only seemed to make her feel hotter, so she gave up.
Wrapped in a towel, when she opened the bathroom door, she suddenly realized an important detail.
This was Tang Garden, a place she’d never been before—their marital home—and there were no pajamas for her after bathing.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she pondered whether she should just sleep naked for the night.
There was a knock at the door—neither too loud nor too soft. She hesitated, then got up to open it.
Glancing down at the towel wrapped around her, she cracked the door open just a sliver and saw no one.
Huh?
She opened it a little more and, by the light, saw King crouching by the doorway.
The moment their eyes met, Xu Tanxi reflexively flinched for a fraction of a second.
“Woof,” came a small, soft sound.
On King’s head rested a flat, rectangular object, like a book. She picked it up and realized it was a box.
“What’s this?”
King looked at her and stuck out his tongue, as if waiting for her to open it.
She did, revealing a neatly folded set of pale pink silk pajamas.
Xu Tanxi was momentarily stunned, then smiled and bent down to stroke King’s head. “Thank you~”
“You should be thanking me, not him,” Shang Hejing’s voice drifted from the dark corridor where the lights were off.
Peeking out, she saw him leaning against the bedroom doorframe, arms crossed, watching her.
---
Pretending not to hear him, she patted King gently. “Go thank your master for me.”
King trotted toward Shang Hejing, but halfway there, heard his owner say, “Don’t thank her.”
King came to an abrupt halt, caught between two loyalties.
Xu Tanxi: “......”
That Shang Hejing had prepared pajamas for her was undoubtedly surprising and appreciated.
But for some reason, she didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction. At that moment, her competitive spirit flared.
She decided to try a bribery tactic. “King baby, listen to me—someday, I’ll buy you some meat treats, okay?”
Catching the key phrase, King immediately made a choice, turning his head and dashing over to Shang Hejing, barking twice as fast as he could.
Shang Hejing: “......”
Satisfied, Xu Tanxi straightened up. “See? Bribery still works.”
The man emerged from the shadowy light, looking at her with mild amusement.
“You don’t really think he was bribed by you, do you?”
“Then what?”
“You used a triple repetition and a baby talk tone. He wasn’t bribed—he was seduced.”
“......I used baby talk? I didn’t even notice.”
“You couldn’t have done it more obviously.”
Xu Tanxi crossed her arms, adopting a boss-lady air. “What, you jealous? You can use baby talk on King too, then he’ll listen to you.”
Shang Hejing snorted lightly, clearly dismissive of such tactics.
Ignoring him, Xu Tanxi took the pajamas back into the bedroom. Before closing the door, she glanced at King, crouched beside Shang Hejing.
“King baby~ good night~”
King chuckled: “Woof woof~”
Almost visibly, Shang Hejing saw the pure canine joy in King’s eyes, tongue lolling out.
He reached out and gently flicked King’s forehead.
“Who taught you to bark with a wavy intonation? Why don’t you just listen to her and make her your master?”
King instantly retracted his tongue: no more chuckling.