Chapter 199: Chapter 141: A Bit of Physical Labor Can Relieve Stress

It wasn’t yet dark when Shu Yao arrived home.

She was covered in grime, looking like she’d just gotten off a shift at a construction site.

"I’m back."

Seeing that she was only dirty and otherwise unharmed, Shu Xin let out a huge sigh of relief but couldn’t stop herself from complaining, "I haven’t been able to reach you all morning! Your uncle went out looking for you several times and still couldn’t find you. Where on earth did you go!"

Shu Yao had turned off her Light Brain’s communication features at the abandoned warehouse to focus on her project.

"I was at school all day," she said in a relaxed tone.

"Then... then why did they say you were attacked today!" Shu Xin’s lips trembled with fear.

"It was no big deal. It’s all been taken care of." Shu Yao tried to change the subject. "Mom, where’s Xiao Juzi?"

Xiao Juzi hadn’t appeared since she’d gotten back.

Having not seen his mom all day, Zaizai was definitely in a mood. He wasn’t hiding because he didn’t want to see her, but because he wanted her to coax him out.

Shu Xin glanced around but didn’t see the boy, and her expression grew tense again. "Where’s my baby? Come on out, sweetie, Mama’s back!"

He had been there right before Shu Yao walked in.

"Look what Mama brought back for you," Shu Yao said in a gentle, coaxing voice. In the next moment, she glimpsed a small, fluffy head peeking out from under the sofa.

She deliberately pretended not to see him.

Xiao Juzi deliberately made a bit of noise from under the sofa.

Shu Xin looked over and smiled knowingly.

But Shu Yao acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. "If you don’t come out, I’ll give it to someone else."

With that, she turned and pretended to walk outside.

Hearing the sound of the front door, Xiao Juzi grew anxious.

’Why doesn’t Mama know to coax me a little more!’

He crawled out and scurried behind Shu Yao. Pushing off with all four paws, he leaped with all his might, landing with a THUMP and clinging to his mother’s back, his tail wagging nonstop.

With his mouth in a pouting triangle, he complained unhappily, "Mama said you wouldn’t leave me all alone! You broke your promise, so you’re a little puppy!"

"You weren’t here by yourself; Grandma was with you the whole time. So Mama didn’t break her promise, did she?" Shu Yao reached a hand behind her back but grabbed only air.

Xiao Juzi dodged left and right, refusing to be touched.

Zaizai was still sulking, the kind of mood that wouldn’t be fixed so easily.

Once they were in the yard, Shu Yao pointed to the Flying Machine she had brought back. "Sweetheart, look at that."

Xiao Juzi craned his head, his gaze passing over his mother’s shoulder. He was instantly captivated by the Flying Machine’s new design, and his dark eyes lit up.

"A giant bumblebee!" As soon as his little paws hit the ground, he bounced and skipped over to the Flying Machine, circling it again and again, growing more delighted by the second. "Wow, Mama, I love it!"

Shu Xin’s happiness lasted less than a second before a terrible thought erased her smile. "Yaoyao, what happened to the original Flying Machine?"

"This is the original one," Shu Yao said in a casual tone. "It got scraped when I went out this morning, so I gave it a new paint job and a new look. You can’t even see the scrape anymore."

’A scrape?’

’It clearly had a hole blasted through it!’

Shu Xin scrutinized the drastically altered Flying Machine.

’This has to be a brand new one!’

Her anxiety only faded after she went inside the cabin and confirmed that the Flying Machine still had its original registration number.

Still, she had her doubts.

"Yaoyao, you tell me what really happened!" Shu Xin’s face was stern. "Don’t even think about hiding it from me! Since this morning, all my old friends, even the ones I barely keep in touch with, have been contacting me one after another, like they all planned it, just to be nice to me! That has to be related to you, right?"

’Mom’s intuition is pretty sharp.’

Seeing she couldn’t hide it any longer, Shu Yao downplayed the events, giving her a brief summary of the friction with the Austin family and how she’d gone to the Imperial Palace to file a complaint.

Shu Xin gasped and her eyes widened repeatedly as she listened.

"You just wait, I’m making an appointment with Doctor Wen right now!"

Shu Yao was baffled. "Mom, I’m fine!"

"No, absolutely not!" Shu Xin was terrified just thinking about it. "I’ve heard that some people suffer from post-traumatic stress after an incident like this. I’ll ask Doctor Wen. He’s a professional psychologist; he’ll know what to do in this kind of situation!"

"Mom, he’s a child psychologist! I’m an adult. Please stop treating me like a kid. I can handle it myself..."

Shu Xin’s eyes immediately reddened with a mix of sadness and anger. "If I don’t ask, you won’t tell me anything! How can I possibly rest easy when you’re like this!"

Shu Yao’s heart softened. She relented, her voice gentle. "Okay, okay, I’ll see him. It’s late now, how about tomorrow?"

Shu Xin shot her a reproachful look but said nothing, which was as good as an agreement.

Shu Yao said, "Look at me, I’m filthy and I stink. Can you let me go take a shower now?"

Only then did Shu Xin realize she had been clutching her daughter’s hand the whole time.

Xiao Juzi came bouncing over, practically vibrating with excitement. "Mama, Grandma, can we take the giant bumblebee to the park to find Little Taotao tomorrow? Please?"

’Little Taotao will love the giant bumblebee, too!’

"You tell Grandma, Mama is going to go take a shower now."

Shu Yao grabbed a change of clothes and ducked into the bathroom, washing away the grime, sweat, and exhaustion.

At 8 p.m., she logged on as scheduled. But instead of cooking, she used her status as a Food Recommendation Officer to promote three other food streamers.

After logging off, she closed her eyes, letting her mind go blank. When she opened them again, she was startled to see her uncle sprawled across the dining counter opposite her.

"Uncle, when did you get in here!?"

"Exhausted?" Shu Chao Yu asked with concern.

Before Shu Yao could even open her mouth to answer, he continued.

Shu Chao Yu said, "If you’re tired, don’t go next door tonight."

Shu Yao replied with a straight face, "You worry too much, Uncle. I was just overthinking things, so I’m a little mentally stressed. Some physical activities are actually great for relieving stress!"

Shu Chao Yu: "..."

"I didn’t cook tonight. There’s some omurice in the food warmer." Shu Yao stretched lazily. "I’m off to relieve some stress. Xiao Juzi is in your hands."

Shu Chao Yu’s lip twitched.

"Keep your Light Brain’s comms on!" he said through gritted teeth. "Don’t make it impossible to reach you like last night!"

Shu Yao gave a mischievous laugh. "We’ll see how I feel~"

Shu Chao Yu channeled his grief and indignation into his appetite, devouring everything edible in the kitchen, cooked or not.

During the day, Shu Yao’s Light Brain had been unreachable.

So had Qin Shiwei’s.

After receiving the complaint that morning, the Imperial Family immediately sanctioned the main party responsible for instigating the incident. To reassure the public, an investigation team headed by the Commander-in-Chief was swiftly formed. Its purpose was to conduct a comprehensive review of all civilian tech products from Ouchuang Technology and investigate potential safety hazards.

This was a severe blow to the Austin family, both financially and to their reputation.

Qin Shiwei had been busy with this matter all day, not returning to their new home until after midnight.

The moment he stepped inside, he caught a fresh fragrance. He carefully singled out the sweet scent of citrus, almost masked by the aroma of shower gel.

Following the sweet fragrance, he went to the sofa. He knelt, lowering himself to gaze affectionately at the sleeping woman.

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