Chapter 67: A Warm Day

  Just then, he suddenly heard the light footsteps, Zhang Chengyuan immediately came back to his senses and looked towards the door, but saw Zheng Xiuyan pushing the door and walking in, and slightly nodded to her.

  Seeing Xiao Shuijing sleeping in Zhang Chengyuan's arms, Zheng Xiuyan's eyes flashed with an inexplicable expression, and immediately turned cold as ice again, as if she hadn't seen Zhang Chengyuan at all. She leaned against her own bed, picked up a storybook from the small bookshelf on the headboard, and began to read it to herself.

  Jang Sung-won was already used to her cold attitude and didn't mind, asking in a low voice, "Why are you back home so early today? Aren't you going to the company for practice tonight?" During the summer vacation, Jung Soo-yeon would usually go to the company every day to practice singing, dancing, acting, and other talents, and wouldn't return home until after 8 pm. Jang Sung-won had only visited the Jung's house a few times, but he always left before 8 pm, so they rarely met each other due to their conflicting schedules. Today, being able to see Jung Soo-yeon for the first time in a long while, Jang Sung-won was genuinely delighted.

  However, Zheng Xiuyan's relationship with him was far from as close as his relationship with Little Crystal, at least on the surface: and she was already a 16-year-old, slender girl, so Zhang Chengyuan did not show her his inner joy, he didn't want this little girl to think that he liked her too much, which might lead to some unnecessary misunderstandings.

  It's because he felt that Zheng Xiu Yan had a very faint and vague affection for him. Zhang Cheng Yuan hoped that it was just his imagination, and in reality, Zheng Xiu Yan didn't actually like him. At this moment, he only wished that Zheng Xiu Yan would like him as much as an older brother.

  Perhaps he was really thinking too much, only to see Zheng Xiuyan answering him with a love that didn't care, looking at the book and not even raising his head: "I'm a bit tired, so I'll go home early."

  Jang Sung-won stroked the small crystal's black, shiny and smooth hair, continuing to say to Jung Soo-yeon, "It's good this way, labor and rest are combined. Have you been practicing the qigong I taught you recently?"

  Jung Soo-yeon hesitated for a moment before responding, "Uh, I practice occasionally!" In reality, she practiced diligently because she clearly felt that her physical abilities had improved significantly after practicing this qigong. However, when it came to saying so out loud, she didn't know why but she didn't want to give an honest answer. Perhaps she didn't want Zhang Chengyuan to think that she took his words too seriously.

  Zhang Chengyuan furrowed his brow, somewhat displeased, and ordered: "Stretch out your hand for me to examine."

  Under his piercing gaze, Zheng Xiuyan reluctantly stretched out her hand towards Zhang Chengyuan.

  The two sisters, Zheng, had single beds less than a meter apart. Zhang Chengyuan stretched out his long arm and easily grabbed Zheng Xiuyan's left wrist, then checked her pulse, feeling strong and powerful, her body was in an extremely good state, where was the fatigue she mentioned earlier? On the contrary, the speed of the pulse seemed to be faster than normal, making him feel a little strange, and he couldn't help but look at Zheng Xiuyan with suspicion.

  Only to see Zheng Xiuyan's face was rosy, her complexion was excellent, her long eyelashes were lightly trembling unnaturally, and her eyes dared not look at Zhang Chengyuan, as if she was a little shy. Zhang Chengyuan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately let go of his hand, coughing lightly, saying: "Hmm, it's okay, you haven't disappointed me, keep working hard in the future!"

  Jung Soo-yeon withdrew her hand, lowering her head even further, and replied in a soft voice: "Mm!" Her eyes flashed with a shy yet joyful expression, as if she was pleased with Jang Sung-yoon's praise.

  Just as Zhang Chengyuan was taking Zheng Xiuyan's pulse and examining her physical condition, the little Shuijing who had been sleeping soundly on Zhang Chengyuan's body woke up and looked at Zhang Chengyuan and Zheng Xiuyan's movements with curiosity, asking: "Brother, sister, what are you doing?"

  Zhang Chengyuan patted her little head and replied: "Nothing, brother is checking your sister's body."

  Xiao Jingyu immediately stretched out her hand and said in a soft voice, "Brother, check mine too." The nature of children is to always follow the crowd.

  Although Zhang Chengyuan had been helping Xia Shuijing to dredge her meridians and remove impurities from her body for several years, in order to improve her physical fitness and immunity, he had just checked her body condition with his internal energy when Xia Shuijing fell asleep earlier. Therefore, there was no need to check again at this time, but he still carefully checked Xia Shuijing's body in a very cooperative manner. For Xia Shuijing's request, Zhang Chengyuan almost always fulfilled it.

  After the examination, Zhang Chengyuan casually picked up Xiao Shuijing and let her sit down in his arms, fondling her hair and saying: "My little crystal is fine, there's nothing wrong with her!"

  Xiaoshuijing smiled and kissed Zhang Chengyuan, asking: "Will it be better than sister?" Her eyes shone with the desire to compete with her sister. Since she was five years younger than her sister, she had been suppressed by her sister since childhood and could not turn over, and when she made mistakes, she was often punished by her sister. Although this would not affect the sincere feelings between the two sisters, it made her develop the idea that "everything must be more powerful than her sister". In her opinion, as long as she was more powerful than her sister, her sister could no longer bully her.

  After hearing Xia Shuijing's words, Zheng Xiuyan glanced at her sideways, hummed softly, and didn't say a word. However, Xia Shuijing pretended to be very scared and hugged Zhang Chengyuan tightly, pleading: "Brother, sister is bullying me again, after you leave, she will definitely beat me up. Can you help me teach her a lesson?"

  Zhang Chengyuan wouldn't be unaware of Xiao Shuijing's little thoughts, and he gently patted her back, smiling to comfort her: "Don't worry, if you get hurt, your brother will help you treat it." The squabbles between the sisters were something Zhang Chengyuan wouldn't participate in. Besides, although Zheng Xiuyan often disciplined her younger sister, she also doted on her and wouldn't bear to hit her hard; at most, she would just slap her palms or buttocks a few times.

  Three people stayed in the room, killing time. The room was filled with the sound of small crystals laughing. Zhang Chengyuan chatted with her in a humorous way, while Zheng Xiuyan remained silent and listened quietly. Even when she heard something funny, she never laughed out loud, looking like an ice princess. However, the subtle smile at the corner of her mouth and in her eyes revealed her inner satisfaction and joy. It seemed that every time she was with Zhang Chengyuan, she would have this feeling.

  When it was time for dinner, Zheng's mother called the three of them to the living room to eat. Zheng's father had a social engagement tonight and wasn't home. The four of them chatted and laughed as they enjoyed a warm dinner together. During dinner, Zheng's mother kept asking Zhang Chengyuan about his recent situation, whether he was working hard or not, if there was anyone he liked, just like a biological mother would nag.

  However, Zhang Chengyuan didn't feel annoyed at all. The experience of losing both his mothers in his past and present lives made him have an inexplicable longing for motherly love. Therefore, he deeply felt the warmth and gratitude towards Zheng Mu's care. Although he didn't treat Zheng Mu as his own biological mother, he respected her extremely.

  As for Zheng Fu, he was also very good to Zhang Chengyuan. However, due to his calm and reserved personality, he wouldn't ask him many questions or put on an air of superiority to lecture him. Most of the time, especially when they would have a few drinks together, Zheng Fu would share some valuable life experiences with Zhang Chengyuan, hoping that he could benefit from them.

  After years of getting along, Zhang Chengyuan and the Zheng family had become like one family. Not to mention that the two Zheng sisters treated him as an elder brother, even Mr. and Mrs. Zheng almost regarded Zhang Chengyuan as their eldest son, given by heaven to make up for not having a son in this life. If it weren't for the young age of the two daughters, they would have wanted Zhang Chengyuan to be their son-in-law.

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