Chapter 35: Aunt’s Partner Should Be Called Uncle

As for why Shen Yi’an wanted to briefly escape Li Beichen’s sight, it was solely because she wanted to understand why the Space had shown such intense longing for the sandalwood roots.

Previously, with people around, she had kept the sandalwood roots in her satchel.

Now, finally alone, she immediately transferred the item into the Space.

The moment the sandalwood roots entered the Space, Shen Yi’an sensed a faint, almost imperceptible barrier between her and the Space.

She could confirm the Space was still there, but neither she nor her consciousness could enter it.

Facing this situation for the first time, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous.

She had been counting on the Space to help her make great strides, enabling her to pursue both revenge and her career simultaneously.

But now, she couldn’t enter the Space!

Not only could her physical body not enter, but even her consciousness couldn’t penetrate it.

This realization left Shen Yi’an somewhat panicked and at a loss.

Thinking that she could still sense the Space’s presence and that Li Beichen was waiting outside, she had no choice but to temporarily suppress her anxiety and return to the cold noodle stall.

“Eat up!”

Seeing her return, Li Beichen nudged the bowl and chopsticks beside him. “No wonder you’ve been so eager to come here. I never expected the cold noodles here to have such a unique flavor.”

“Even though I haven’t tasted them yet, the aroma alone feels wonderful.”

He pointed to the seasoning in the bowl. “Especially the chili oil—it smells fragrant without being overpowering.”

At any other time, hearing such praise would have filled Shen Yi’an with pride.

It couldn’t be helped—this was the innate sense of hometown pride rising from within.

But now, upon hearing the compliment, she only managed an awkward smile. “I’m glad you like it. The chili oil really is fragrant.”

Waving at Li Beichen to signal him to eat first, she absentmindedly began stirring the cold noodles in her bowl.

This wasn’t like noodles, where more stirring would improve the flavor.

Cold noodles were already soft and required little effort to chew before swallowing.

After such careless stirring, they quickly broke into short, disjointed strips.

Though it wouldn’t affect digestion, the appearance was far from appealing.

Li Beichen observed everything.

Though he didn’t know what had happened during her absence, he swapped their bowls and asked casually, “You’ve seemed distracted since you came back. Did something happen just now?”

“Do you want to talk about it? Maybe I can help you figure it out.”

Startled by the sudden voice beside her, Shen Yi’an looked up in confusion.

Meeting the man’s concerned gaze, she inexplicably felt a pang of guilt and quickly lowered her eyes. “It’s nothing. I just suddenly don’t feel like staying here anymore.”

“Let’s go home after we finish the cold noodles.”

If it were anything else, she might have considered discussing it.

But the matter of the Space was out of the question.

Human hearts are fickle.

She planned to keep it a secret from her family forever, let alone from the man before her.

Hearing the slight tremor in her voice, Li Beichen knew she was lying.

But he understood that everyone had their own secrets. After a brief pause, he simply agreed, “Alright, we’ll go home after we finish eating.”

“By the time we get back, the sun will probably be blazing.”

Seeing him agree without even asking for an explanation, Shen Yi’an, already feeling guilty, grew even more uneasy.

But the words had already been spoken and couldn’t be taken back, so she could only lower her head and prepare to taste the delicious food.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the cold noodles in the man’s bowl were broken into segments, while hers remained intact. She instantly understood what the change she had felt earlier was.

Immediately pushing the bowl beside her hand forward, she said, “Li Beichen, you eat this one. I’ll eat my own portion.”

“No need!” He lifted his gaze to look at her, his eyes filled with laughter. “We don’t need to draw such clear lines between us anymore. What do you think?”

Hearing the deeper meaning in his words, Shen Yi’an quickly lowered her head, her face flushing crimson.

For the rest of the time, neither of them spoke further, both seriously savoring the cold noodles, yet countless pink bubbles inexplicably floated between them.

The food tasting concluded.

When they went to hail a taxi, they encountered a vendor riding a tricycle and hawking his wares at the intersection.

Without Shen Yi’an having to say anything, Li Beichen took the initiative to walk over and communicate, “Boss, give me five of each: the large ice cream bars and the white sugar popsicles.”

“The weather is hot, could you pack some ice from your foam box for me? There are children at home, and it would be bad if they melt.”

Seeing a customer approach, the vendor guarding the tricycle grinned cheerfully. “Sure thing, I’ll definitely follow your requests! Five large ice cream bars and five white sugar popsicles, right?”

Seeing Li Beichen nod, the vendor deftly began packing, not forgetting to calculate the price in between. “Large ice cream bars are ten cents each, so five would be fifty cents. White sugar popsicles are twenty cents each, so five would be one yuan. That’s one yuan and fifty cents in total.”

After the items were packed as requested, the one yuan and fifty cents smoothly ended up in the vendor’s hand.

On the taxi ride back to the Steel Mill Residential Compound, Shen Yi’an’s previously gloomy mood was dispelled by this incident. “How can you be like this? We agreed that today was about accompanying me shopping, so I should be the one paying for things. Take this money—if you don’t, I’ll be upset!”

Watching the person vigorously shaking his arm, Li Beichen looked up amusedly and gestured toward the rearview mirror. “Are you sure you want to tug at me like this? The driver up front is already laughing.”

Hearing this, Shen Yi’an finally realized the situation was inappropriate, mainly because they were excessively close. She immediately blushed and moved away, but couldn’t resist muttering softly, “So what if I tug at you? Besides, if others laugh, let them. I don’t know them, why should I care so much!”

Despite her words, the pink hue on the back of her neck clearly suggested otherwise.

Back at the Steel Mill Residential Compound.

Li Beichen held the food while Shen Yi’an walked ahead to knock on the door.

When someone was home, few people carried their keys with them.

“Third Sister-in-law, open up, we’re back!”

Hearing the familiar voice outside, Shen Yi, who had been playing with toys by the sofa, turned her head ‘whoosh.’ After a pause, she got up and ran toward the door.

“Little Aunt, I’m coming! Mom is feeding little brother, I’ll open the door for you!”

Accompanied by her childish voice, the small figure had already dashed to the entrance.

Seeing this, Shen Shasha, who was still feeding from the bottle, had to raise her voice to remind them. “Little sister, step back! Xiao Yi is going to open the door, be careful not to get hit.”

The doors in the Family Compound all opened outward, so anyone standing at the entrance could easily get bumped.

Shen Yi’an had just stepped back two steps upon hearing the reminder when the home door was slowly pushed open from the inside.

Immediately, a little milky voice chimed in, “Little Auntie, don’t worry, Xiaoyi won’t bump into you.”

“I’m not as clumsy as Mom says, I’m a smart kid!”

Hearing the little voice defend herself, Shen Yi’an walked over and patted her head. “That’s right, our Xiaoyi is a good, well-behaved, and clever child. There’s no little girl smarter than our Xiaoyi.”

Hearing this, Shen Yi giggled, her eyes narrowing into slits. “Mm-hmm, Xiaoyi is a good girl!”

After saying that, she quickly added, “Little Auntie, where did you and Little Uncle go to play?”

“Mom said I shouldn’t disturb you and Little Uncle, so I was good and didn’t follow you.”

Hearing this, Shen Yi’an’s face flushed red instantly. “You little rascal, who taught you to call him that?”

“‘Little Uncle’ this, ‘Little Uncle’ that—what, is Auntie not dear to you anymore?”

As she spoke, she reached out and pinched the chubby little face in front of her, as if to ease the embarrassment of hearing her niece call him “Little Uncle.”

Feeling the pinch on her cheek, Shen Yi’s words immediately became a bit slurred.

“Liddle Auntie, it was Mom who taught me!”

“Mom said Liddle Auntie’s boyfriend should be called Liddle Uncle!”

It took Shen Yi’an a moment to process what she meant.

Little Auntie’s boyfriend should be called Little Uncle!

Wait, why is Third Sister-in-law teaching the little girl this? Isn’t she worried about corrupting her?

Just as she was about to explain something, Li Beichen, who had entered a step later, spoke up first.