Chapter 17: Even My Son Is Better at Winning People's Favor Than You

The little girl tightly clutched his clothes, her face pale as a sheet, and her voice trembling as she spoke. Ye Chen quickly patted her back and comforted her in a gentle tone, "Alright, alright, it's okay now."

Ye Chen knew that Gu Nianxi was most afraid of thunderstorms. Even as she grew older, her fear persisted. Every time it thundered, she would hide under the covers, shivering with fear, making it hard not to feel distressed for her.

The rain poured down harder and harder. Ye Chen hurriedly used his schoolbag to shield the little girl's head, his eyes scanning the surroundings for a place to take shelter. They couldn't just walk home in the rain; she'd definitely catch a cold by tomorrow.

He didn't care about himself, but Gu Nianxi was different—just a bit of rain and she would fall ill.

It was only March, with temperatures in the teens, and the air still carried a chilly bite, unlike the warmth of summer.

Soon, he found a place to take cover—a nearby abandoned building, about two or three stories high, unrenovated, with overgrown weeds at the entrance.

"Are you cold?" Seeing the little girl shivering, Ye Chen felt a deep pang of pity. He quickly took off his own jacket and draped it over Gu Nianxi.

Gu Nianxi was clearly terrified at this moment, but she still mustered up her courage to look up at Ye Chen and said, "Brother Ye Chen, if you give me your jacket, you'll be cold."

Ye Chen gently patted her head and said with a warm smile, "It's okay. I'm not cold. Boys aren't afraid of the cold."

Boom!

Another clap of thunder roared.

Gu Nianxi immediately hugged Ye Chen's arm tightly again.

The rain showed no signs of stopping, and the sky remained overcast. Ye Chen's hair was damp, but luckily, his inner clothes had stayed dry thanks to the jacket he'd been using earlier. Otherwise, giving the jacket to the little girl now would mean he'd surely catch a cold by tomorrow.

But no matter what, his top priority was to protect the person by his side.

He didn't mind enduring discomfort himself.

Half an hour later.

The rain finally stopped, and the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed. The air felt cool and refreshing.

"Brother Ye Chen, are you cold? Take your jacket back." The little girl tried to take off the jacket, but Ye Chen stopped her. "It's still chilly outside. Keep it on. I'm a boy; I'm not cold."

---

Meanwhile, after the rain stopped, Ye Yuanfeng rode his small electric scooter to the school to pick up his son. After searching all over and finding no trace of him, he asked the teacher, who told him the boy had already left.

Ye Yuanfeng was stunned. Already gone?

Ye Yuanfeng had just left the house. It had already been over half an hour since school ended, yet he hadn't seen his son anywhere.

Ye Chen arrived home with Gu Nianxi. Seeing her son's hair dripping wet, Shen Yuhua was startled. She quickly grabbed a towel from the room and began drying his hair.

"What's going on? Where's your dad?"

It had started raining, so she assumed Ye Chen would wait at school until the rain stopped, letting the boy's father pick him up later. But now her son came back soaked—what had happened?

Ye Chen explained what had happened on the way home.

Shen Yuhua nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see." She glanced over at Gu Nianxi with a kind look and asked gently, "Xiao Xi, are you cold? I'll go make some ginger tea for you both."

"Auntie, I'm not cold. Brother Ye Chen gave me his jacket," Gu Nianxi said softly.

She was sure Brother Ye Chen must be cold himself. He had only said he wasn't cold because he had given her his jacket to wear.

One day, when she grew up, she vowed to protect Brother Ye Chen, just as he had protected her.

Shen Yuhua's eyes flickered as she glanced at Ye Chen. Not bad—this kid knows how to protect his wife. Hmm, better than his dad by far.

He truly is her son.

"Go sit on the sofa. I'll get the heater ready to warm you up," Shen Yuhua said.

She went back to the room and prepared two cups of sweetened water, placing them on the coffee table.

"Brother Ye Chen, my shoes got a little dirty," Gu Nianxi said, referring to how she had stepped into mud earlier at the abandoned building entrance.

Ye Chen smiled. "No problem. I have a couple of pairs of slippers. I'll go grab a pair for you."

"Okay!"

Gu Nianxi beamed sweetly, feeling delighted at the thought of wearing Brother Ye Chen's slippers.

Ye Chen selected a pair of light blue slippers, which Shen Yuhua had made herself. She was skilled with her hands—most of the sweaters and shoes at home were her handiwork.

Lin Wan was envious.

She had previously wanted to learn from Shen Yuhua but had given up after a few failed attempts because she wasn't nimble enough with her hands.

Once the two had changed into the slippers, they quickly sat on the sofa. The heater was already set up, and they began to feel better as they basked in its warmth and sipped on the sweetened water.

"This sweet water tastes so good!" Gu Nianxi's foodie nature was instantly revealed.

Shen Yuhua had added a bit of lemon juice, giving it a tangy and sweet flavor.

Not long after, Ye Yuanfeng came back. He hadn't seen anyone on the way and had no idea where the kids had run off to. Even the neighbor Gu Wenguo was out searching for his daughter.

He figured the rascal Ye Chen must have taken Gu Nianxi along.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered the house, he saw the two kids sitting on the sofa, warming up by the heater, laughing and drinking sweet water.

Back home, Gu Wenguo was pacing anxiously. Lin Wan said, "They're definitely with Ye Chen. Why are you so worried?"

The two kids were so close; on a rainy day like this, there was no way they'd go separate ways.

Lin Wan was much more at ease knowing Ye Chen was with them.

And indeed, her guess was right. Her daughter was at Ye Chen's house, and after finishing her cup of sweetened water, she was already eyeing Ye Chen's cup.

"Brother Ye Chen, why aren't you drinking?" The little girl blinked her big eyes and asked.

"I don't like drinking this stuff. If you like it, you can have it," Ye Chen said. He wasn't fond of overly sweet things.

The little girl's face lit up immediately. Smiling brightly, she said, "Really?"

Ye Chen nodded.

"Yay! Then I'll drink it. Brother Ye Chen, you're the best~"

"See? Our son is way better at winning people over than you are," Shen Yuhua teased her husband. She sighed—why was her man so dull?

He wasn't good at much, except eating. Definitely not as good as their son.

Ye Yuanfeng chuckled, knowing she was envious of the two kids' sweet interactions. "Back when I was courting you, didn't I go all out to win your favor every single day?"

"That was the past," Shen Yuhua said, unimpressed. She wasn't about to let him off with that excuse. She cared about the present.

Humph!

Soon after, Lin Wan and Gu Wenguo arrived. Sure enough, they found the two kids sitting side by side on the sofa, watching cartoons.

"See? I told you Nianxi was here. With Ye Chen around, I can relax," Lin Wan said, exasperated, to her husband.

Gu Wenguo also heaved a sigh of relief.

Shen Yuhua smiled. "Since you're all here, why don't you stay for dinner?"

"Sure," they agreed.

Gu Nianxi cheered with excitement. As long as she could stay with Brother Ye Chen, she was happy.

While dinner was being prepared, Shen Yuhua called out, "Ye Chen, take Nianxi to do your homework. Stop watching TV. Your grades have just improved; don't let them slip again."

"Okay," Ye Chen responded, taking Gu Nianxi's hand and leading her to the room.

The little girl pulled out her math test, where she had scored 85 points. She wanted to ask Brother Ye Chen about the questions she had gotten wrong. She had spent a long time on them but still couldn't get the answers right.