Chapter 106: The Cannon Fodder in a Dogblood Novel (106)
After eating, Shen Tangqing walked to the nearby mall.
Jiang Qingyan went directly to the basement to get his car and drove to the company.
After buying a phone and setting up a new card, Shen Tangqing didn’t feel like shopping anymore.
He had pre-booked a housekeeping service to clean the apartment at Liuli Shuian.
By the time he came out of the mall, he hailed a taxi and went straight back to Liuli Shuian.
After waiting for about half an hour, the housekeeper arrived on time.
Shen Tangqing had nothing to do, so he curled up on the sofa and played with his new phone.
After downloading the common apps, he registered a new WeChat account.
He wanted to contact Zhou Geng to ask about Zhou Shuli’s condition.
Almost a month had passed, and he didn’t know how Zhou Shuli’s health was…
But he didn’t have his phone number, so he couldn’t get in touch at all.
After some hesitation, Shen Tangqing decided to go to the Zhou house to try his luck.
Fortunately, he had hired four cleaners, so they finished the job in about an hour and a half.
He paid them, saw them out, and then booked a car online to go to the Zhou family.
After all, that villa district was so large that walking to the entrance to hail a taxi would take twenty minutes.
Shen Tangqing thought to himself that he should find time in the next couple of days to buy a car; otherwise, getting around would be too inconvenient.
It was almost four o’clock when he reached the Zhou house.
The vermilion gates were tightly shut.
He rang the bell and waited for two or three minutes.
The door opened from the inside.
It was Butler Wang.
When Butler Wang saw Shen Tangqing, a flash of astonishment first crossed his eyes.
The next second, the eyes behind his glasses narrowed, and he unobtrusively scanned Shen Tangqing.
In an instant, he lowered his gaze, and his face was once again covered with his signature smile.
“Young Master Shen, long time no see.”
After Zhou Geng returned to the country and couldn’t contact Shen Tangqing, he had people look for his whereabouts. Butler Wang had happened to overhear this, so seeing Shen Tangqing standing before him now wasn’t entirely unexpected.
Shen Tangqing was quite surprised. After all, he had only been to the Zhou house once; he hadn’t expected Butler Wang to have such a good memory and still remember him.
“Hello. Is Brother Geng home?”
“The Second Young Master went on a business trip this morning. Why doesn’t Young Master Shen come in and sit for a while?”
Shen Tangqing hadn’t expected such poor timing, but the next moment, his brow furrowed.
If Zhou Geng was back, what about Brother Zhou?
He was just about to ask Butler Wang, but Butler Wang spoke first, making an inviting gesture.
“Young Master Shen, please…”
Shen Tangqing: …
Shen Tangqing sat on the sofa in the living room.
Butler Wang brought him a cup of coffee and said warmly, “Young Master Shen, I’ve added a spoonful of milk and sugar. It’s slightly bitter; you should like the taste.”
Shen Tangqing was stunned. “How do you know my preference?”
Butler Wang’s face still held that perfectly standard smile, and his tone was calm.
“I don’t know, but the Eldest Young Master knew your preference.”
Shen Tangqing was stunned again.
Zhou Shuli knew his preference?
Why did that sentence feel a bit strange?
However, he didn’t overthink it, asking Butler Wang directly, “Butler Wang, how is Brother Zhou’s illness?”
The smile on Butler Wang’s face stiffened for a moment, and the gaze behind his glasses darkened.
It was like a meticulously maintained mask had suddenly developed a fine crack.
He paused for two seconds before replying to Shen Tangqing.
“The Eldest Young Master passed away in Country Y on October 2nd at 4:32 PM.”
Shen Tangqing bolted upright from the sofa, his face full of disbelief.
Although he knew Zhou Shuli was very ill, in his mind, Zhou Shuli was the male lead; how could he die so easily?
“Brother Zhou… how could he die?”
Butler Wang was silent for a moment.
“Young Master Shen, please wait a moment. I’ll go get something for you.”
Until Butler Wang left, Shen Tangqing remained frozen on the spot, his entire being engulfed by this sudden, tragic news.
Before long, footsteps sounded from the stairs.
When Butler Wang came down, he held a notebook and a stack of sealed photos.
He stepped forward and handed the items to Shen Tangqing.
“Young Master Shen, this notebook was left by the Eldest Young Master, and… these photos…”
He finished, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose before continuing.
“Originally, according to the Eldest Young Master’s final wishes, these were to be burned. But I kept them of my own accord. Now that you’re here, consider it a form of ‘returning them to their owner’.”
In Butler Wang’s view, this relationship should not be covered up and dissipated because of death.
Shen Tangqing had the right to know.
Confused, Shen Tangqing pulled back the cover of the photos.
His pupils constricted violently.
The person in the photos was actually himself—
Refusing to believe it, he flipped through them one by one.
Every single one was of him…
The angles were all candid…
Why had Zhou Shuli taken secret photos of him?
“Young Master Shen,” Butler Wang’s voice rang out at the right time, breaking the frozen silence.
“Although the Eldest Young Master having people take secret photos of you wasn’t exactly legal, now that the lamp has gone out, it all comes down to the fact that he… simply liked you.”
“Liked me?”
Shen Tangqing felt as if he were hallucinating.
Zhou Shuli liked him?
How was that possible?
In his heart, Zhou Shuli had always been like an older brother.
And Zhou Shuli had always been very restrained and polite in their interactions.
He had never overstepped, and even his speech was very measured.
How could such a person harbor those kinds of thoughts toward him?
The living room fell into a deathly silence.
Shen Tangqing’s gaze fell on the photos, and he couldn’t regain his senses for a long time.
He truly found it difficult to accept the information Butler Wang was conveying to him.
Butler Wang stood in the backlight, his figure appearing a bit thin. He spoke slowly, his voice carrying a hint of sentiment.
“The Eldest Young Master was naturally cold and restrained, with many thoughts kept inside. He never showed them in front of others, and his feelings for you were the same…”
He reached up and pressed his glasses.
The light reflecting off the lenses hid the emotions in his eyes.
“If Young Master Shen is willing, you might want to look at that diary… Of course, you can also choose not to. The decision is in your hands.”
Shen Tangqing’s gaze fell on the notebook.
After a long silence, he spoke.
“Where is Brother Zhou… buried?”
Butler Wang turned, took a piece of paper and a pen from the foyer’s drawer, and wrote down the address of Zhou Shuli’s grave.
He handed the paper to Shen Tangqing, a very faint smile pulling at his lips, though it didn’t reach his eyes.
“If the Eldest Young Master knew you were going to see him, he’d be very happy.”
Shen Tangqing took the paper, his fingertips gripping it tightly.
Regardless of what Zhou Shuli’s feelings for him actually were, in terms of both emotion and logic, he should go… and pay his respects.
He saved Zhou Geng’s phone number and then left the Zhou house.
Butler Wang stood at the entrance, watching the car carrying Shen Tangqing gradually fade away.
Only when the car’s tail lights disappeared at the end of the road did he slowly withdraw his gaze.
The word “Love”—
It truly ruins people.
…
Shen Tangqing didn’t return to the Jiang family; he went straight back to Liuli Shuian.
The night deepened.
A dim, warm light lit up in the room.
Shen Tangqing sat at the desk and finally opened Zhou Shuli’s diary.
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