Chapter 129
On Monday, when returning to school, Shen Yisi drove Shen Shuyu to the school gate as usual. He patted Shen Shuyu’s head. “Attend class well. When I’m done with work, I’ll take you out to have fun.”
Shen Shuyu nodded. He glanced at the brooch on Shen Yisi’s chest, opened his mouth, but simply said, “Got it, Brother. I’ll study hard.”
Shen Yisi pinched his cheek. “While working hard, don’t forget to eat properly, understood?”
Shen Shuyu agreed. “I’ll stay at the school dorms for a while. Please tell Mom for me; it’s more convenient here.”
“Alright,” Shen Yisi said. “Go on in. It’s cold lately, wear more clothes.”
Shen Shuyu got out of the car. This time, he was the one watching Shen Yisi leave first.
After the car left, he pursed his lips and turned to walk into the academy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure. Shen Xili was walking slowly from another path, holding a cup of soy milk.
When their eyes met, Shen Xili slowed down even more, but he quickly recovered and strode over to Shen Shuyu’s side. “Morning.”
Shen Shuyu nodded. “Morning.”
Shen Xili sucked up the last of the soy milk and tossed the cup into a trash can as they passed it. Neither spoke as they walked side by side toward their destination.
Usually, Shen Xili always had something to say, but today he was quiet. Shen Shuyu understood why. He thought of Mother Shen’s red, swollen eyes and finally broke the silence. “I heard everything from my brother. Thank you for that day.”
Shen Yisi had said that when they came out, they had intended to leave immediately. It was Shen Xili who first noticed something wrong with Shen Shuyu and called out his name. Only then did the three of them realize Shen Shuyu had fainted on the ground.
Actually, the first thing Shen Shuyu heard before losing consciousness was Shen Xili’s voice.
He glanced at Shen Xili. “Thanks.”
“Small matter,” Shen Xili said. “As long as you’re okay.”
“Mn.”
The atmosphere cooled instantly. They reached a fork in the road.
One had to go to the Mecha Department, the other to the training grounds. Yet, standing at the fork, both stopped in tacit agreement.
Shen Shuyu took a deep breath. “I know everything. When are you coming home?”
“I won’t go back.”
They spoke almost simultaneously. Shen Shuyu was slightly stunned but reacted first, asking, “Can I ask why?”
Shen Xili kept his gaze on him. Hearing Shen Shuyu’s question, he countered, “Do you want me to go back?”
Shen Shuyu said gently, “This is your choice, not mine.”
He actually didn’t quite understand why Shen Xili wouldn’t return. In the original plot, Shen Xili didn’t return immediately after recognizing his kin because the original host strongly opposed it. But now he wasn’t objecting, yet Shen Xili didn’t want to go back.
Shen Xili let out a soft “Ah.” He said, “I’m used to being free and unfettered. I don’t want to go back.”
Shen Shuyu came back to his senses. “Mom and Dad are very sad.”
Shen Xili extended a finger and waved it. Then he opened his hand, placed it on Shen Shuyu’s shoulder, and gave a squeeze to bring him back to reality.
He hunched his back slightly, bringing his face level with Shen Shuyu’s. Locking eyes, he tilted his head. “Take note: they are your Mom and Dad. You should comfort them well.”
After saying that, he ruffled Shen Shuyu’s hair. “Off to class.”
Shen Shuyu couldn’t quite figure out what Shen Xili was trying to do. Seeing Shen Xili walking away, he couldn’t help but call out, “Why?”
Without looking back, Shen Xili said, “I told you, I’m used to being free. Being alone is quite good.”
He raised his hand and waved. “Go to class.”
Only after Shen Xili had walked far away did Shen Shuyu walk toward the Mecha Department, feeling somewhat depressed. He didn’t get it. He really didn’t get it. Why were the protagonist’s thoughts so hard to guess?
As he walked, he couldn’t help looking back toward where Shen Xili had left. By now, his figure was gone. He walked pretty fast.
“Shen Shuyu.”
Shen Shuyu hadn’t taken many steps when he heard someone call his name. He turned around and saw it was Feng Xing and Wen Jiafei.
He stopped to wait for them to catch up, asking suspiciously, “How come you two are walking together?”
Feng Xing said, “Bumped into each other at the gate. How are you? Why did you suddenly faint?”
He had been startled when he heard the news from Shen Xili. But since Shen Shuyu was gone, someone had to fill in. That responsibility fell on his head, as he was the only one who had followed the whole process and knew all the lines and positioning.
“Just too tired. The checkup said there were no issues.” Shen Shuyu looked at Wen Jiafei. “Morning, Wen Jiafei.”
Wen Jiafei nodded. “Good morning.”
Feng Xing pulled him around to inspect him left and right. Shen Shuyu said helplessly, “Can you be normal?”
“Brother is showing concern for you, why are you getting annoyed?” Feng Xing retorted, feeling wrongly accused.
The three walked side by side toward the Mecha Department. Shen Shuyu didn’t want to discuss the fainting issue anymore, so he asked, “By the way, I don’t know the results yet. How did we rank?”
“Do you even need to ask?” Feng Xing grinned so wide his face might crack. “I personally stepped in. It would be unjustifiable if we didn’t take first place.”
Shen Shuyu gave him a thumbs up. “Awesome.”
Feng Xing was very satisfied with the praise.
As they walked a bit further, Shen Shuyu’s attention was suddenly drawn to a figure. Wen Jiafei, walking by his side, noticed Shen Shuyu looking away and followed his gaze.
A man was walking sideways toward the Reserve Army direction.
Wen Jiafei asked in a low voice, “What is it?”
Shen Shuyu snapped back to reality. “Nothing, I just feel like I’ve seen that person somewhere before.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Shuyu remembered.
It was the man Shen Xili said had asked for directions that day, and also the man he had bumped into when coming out of the pet hospital.
Why was he appearing in the academy again?
However, the man walked very fast. When they looked again, he was already gone.
Seeing him, that uncomfortable feeling surged in Shen Shuyu’s heart again. It was truly strange; every time he saw him, he felt uneasy.
The three returned to the classroom. Shen Shuyu sat next to Wen Jiafei as usual. Wen Jiafei looked at him twice, thought for a moment, took out his smart terminal, and played a video.
Shen Shuyu glanced at it and discovered it was a video of the little orange cat making biscuits (kneading). Shen Shuyu raised his eyebrows. “So cute. Does it have a name?”
With so much happening over the last two days, he had forgotten to ask the cat’s name.
Wen Jiafei hummed an assent. “My mom named it. It’s called Meimei (Beautiful/Little Beauty).”
“It is indeed quite beautiful.” Shen Shuyu smiled. Seeing small animals brightened his mood considerably.
“One more thing,” Wen Jiafei said. “My mom wants to invite you to eat at our home. She says thank you for visiting her so often.”
Shen Shuyu scratched his neck. “No need to thank me.”
“Are you free tonight?” Wen Jiafei asked. “If you are free tonight, come to my place.”
“Sure,” Shen Shuyu said. “I said I’d visit Auntie after she went home anyway, but I haven’t had the time.”
Wen Jiafei nodded, and they agreed to go back together in the afternoon.
The teacher walked in with textbooks. After agreeing, Shen Shuyu took out his pen, but his mind was still thinking about that little cat.
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head. He remembered!
When he had just come out of the pet hospital, he bumped into that man. And typically, there are surveillance cameras at the entrance of pet hospitals.
【Xiao Yi.】 Shen Shuyu summoned his Gold Finger.
【Master~ I’m here~】 The Gold Finger was on call anytime.
【Go check someone for me. The pet hospital at the school gate has surveillance. Hack in and extract the footage from last Friday afternoon.】
【Okay, Master.】 The System asked, 【Who are we checking?】
【I bumped into a man after coming out of the hospital. Help me check his background.】
His impression of that man wasn’t very good. He could let Xiao Yi test the waters so he could feel more at ease.
Hopefully, he was just being overly suspicious.
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