Chapter 69: As Obedient as a Child Fresh Out of Kindergarten

"Oh." The obedient reply sounded at once.

Shen Hanzhi hung up the phone and was about to open the car door to fetch an umbrella from the trunk when he saw a young woman approaching, holding an umbrella and escorting Lin Nanxun out of the house towards them.

He paused at the sight.

Zhou Bei, seated in the driver's seat, quickly got out and opened the car door for Lin Nanxun.

"Miss Lin, please get in."

Ye Ning accompanied Lin Nanxun to the car. The door was already open, and when she saw there was a man inside, she instinctively glanced into the car.

Yet, when her eyes fell upon the man’s face, she couldn’t help but be startled.

He was strikingly handsome, but his expression was so cold and aloof that it created an unapproachable distance.

He was a man with an aura of icy reserve.

"See you tomorrow, Nanxun," Ye Ning said with a wave and a smile, only after Lin Nanxun had settled into the car.

"Goodbye," Lin Nanxun replied, nodding gently and speaking with obedient sweetness, like a child just released from kindergarten.

Zhou Bei closed the car door and went to start the car.

The vehicle began making its way back along the narrow path.

The fine patter of rain fell against the windows, and the car’s interior was quiet.

After settling into her seat, Lin Nanxun lowered her head and rummaged through her pocket for something.

Shen Hanzhi glanced sideways, watching her for a moment, then pressed his lips together, suddenly wanting to ask her what had happened today.

At that moment, Lin Nanxun finally found what she’d been searching for and, delighted, handed it to Shen Hanzhi.

"For you to drink."

Shen Hanzhi looked down, glancing at the beverage box she held, and his brows creased slightly.

He didn’t care for soft drinks, especially the sweet and sour kind.

Seeing he didn’t take it, Lin Nanxun offered a quiet explanation.

"It’s been kept warm. It’s not cold."

The weather was chilly, but the drink had stayed warm inside her pocket, so it would not chill him.

As her words fell, Shen Hanzhi’s expression faltered. He looked again at the drink she cradled like a treasure in her hands.

Only then did he realize she must have hidden it away especially for him.

A sudden tightness gripped his chest...

The next moment, almost unconsciously, he reached out and accepted the drink from her hands.

The box was indeed warm, carrying the heat from her body.

Shen Hanzhi’s gaze deepened.

It was the first time anyone had gone to such lengths for him.

Though it was nothing earth-shattering, it sent a surge of warmth through his heart, as if a gentle current had been poured into his soul.

In this world, perhaps only a foolish girl like her would give so wholeheartedly to someone as innately cold as himself...

At that thought, a trace of emotion flickered across Shen Hanzhi’s face.

Without thinking, he unwrapped the straw and wanted to taste this drink that bore her warmth.

Yet, just as he pushed the straw in and took the first sip, his expression suddenly changed.

The warmth of the first mouthful sank into him, but almost instantly, a sourness—almost intolerable—spread through his mouth, with a hint of bitterness that grew stronger and stronger, impossible to ignore.

For a moment, his expression became exceedingly complicated.

He never drank such things, and now, tasting it for the first time, he was taken aback.

How could something taste so awful in this world?