Chapter 138
Shen Shuyu reached out to crush the bug, but Shen Xili grabbed his wrist. Shen Xili shook his head, signaling to go to the living room first.
Shen Shuyu looked at it, then retracted his hand. Returning to the living room, they didn’t relax their vigilance. Although they found one listening bug, there was no guarantee there weren’t others in the house.
Shen Xili pointed to the terminal: [Find an excuse to go out.]
Shen Xili’s home was no longer safe.
Just then, there was a knock on Shen Xili’s door.
The two exchanged glances, seeing vigilance in each other’s eyes. They walked over in unison and looked through the peephole. It was Wen Jiafei?
Shen Xili opened the door. It really was Wen Jiafei.
Wen Jiafei looked at the two people standing inside and frowned. “You two?”
Did it take two people to open the door?
Shen Shuyu laughed dryly and quickly said, “Looking for me? Or Shen Xili?”
Wen Jiafei said, “My mom is calling you to eat at my place. She heard you came and baked…”
“How did you know I was missing Auntie?” Shen Shuyu grabbed the bag on the entryway cabinet as he walked out. “I was just thinking of visiting her.”
Wen Jiafei looked at him in confusion. Behind him, Shen Xili added, “Yeah, really too polite. Inviting him is one thing, but inviting me too? I’m embarrassed.”
Saying that, he also grabbed his keys and walked out.
After the door closed, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Sensing something was wrong, Wen Jiafei asked, “Did something happen?”
Shen Shuyu said, “Nothing, nothing. Let’s go eat at your place.”
Wen Jiafei frowned. He looked at Shen Xili, but Shen Xili had no intention of speaking either. He pursed his lips. Although he felt an inexplicable displeasure, he said nothing.
Arriving at Wen Jiafei’s home, Wen Yue was just coming out of the kitchen. She smiled and said, “You came at the perfect time. I just finished baking cookies.”
Shen Shuyu put down his bag, walked over, and praised, “Auntie, you’re amazing.”
Wen Yue smiled gently. “It’s nothing. I originally thought of letting Jiafei bring them to you tomorrow, but since you’re here, might as well eat them fresh from the oven.”
The smell of sweet cookies filled the air, and Shen Shuyu felt his mood improve significantly.
He said, “I’m going to eat them all. Not leaving a single crumb for those two.”
Amused, Wen Yue reached out and pinched Shen Shuyu’s cheek. “Okay, Auntie won’t give them a single piece.”
Wen Jiafei coughed lightly. “Let’s eat first, Mom.”
“Right, eat first,” Wen Yue said. “Studied all day, you must be hungry, right?”
She ushered Wen Jiafei and the others to sit while she went to the kitchen to bring out the cooked dishes.
Shen Shuyu couldn’t help saying, “Auntie’s mental state is even better than when I came two days ago.”
Only two days apart, yet she seemed like a different person.
“She likes the cat you gave her very much. Occasionally she holds it while sunbathing outside, so naturally, her mood improved,” Wen Jiafei explained.
And Meimei was very well-behaved. Even outside, it didn’t run around but stayed by Wen Yue’s feet, dutifully acting as a cat guard.
Shen Shuyu said “Ah” and asked, “By the way, where is Meimei?”
“Sleeping in the room,” Wen Jiafei said. “My mom made small toys for it. Played all day, tired now.”
Shen Shuyu nodded. “Alright.”
While talking, Wen Yue brought out the food. She said softly, “I didn’t know you were coming, so I just made a few simple home-cooked dishes. Next time you come, tell Auntie in advance, and I’ll make you other delicious things.”
“Thank you, Auntie, this is already very lavish,” Shen Xili replied. “We are the ones troubling you by coming.”
Wen Yue waved her hand. She looked at Wen Jiafei and said, “No trouble, Auntie is very happy.”
Shen Shuyu was the first friend of Wen Jiafei that Wen Yue had met. She had always liked this kid. Plus, since Shen Xili and Wen Jiafei had helped each other in the Survival War, she was even happier.
She had thought Wen Jiafei was withdrawn because of her, but seeing he had two such good friends, she was very, very happy—happier even than her health improving.
The four of them ate a harmonious dinner.
Wen Jiafei efficiently cleaned the kitchen. Meimei woke up around then and was munching away at its food. Shen Shuyu squatted nearby watching for a while, unable to resist mischievously moving its bowl. Meimei angrily raised a paw but landed it gently on his wrist, letting out a super innocent meow.
Meimei was furious for a second.
Shen Shuyu couldn’t help laughing. Shen Xili stood behind him, witnessing everything. He said, “With hands that annoying, you deserve to get scratched.”
Shen Shuyu didn’t look back, just scoffing, “What do you know?”
Saying that, he moved the cat bowl back.
Meimei went back to eating passionately.
Shen Xili said, “It’s about time.”
Shen Shuyu sighed and stood up. Wen Yue was still helping him pack cookies. He walked over and said, “Auntie, I’m leaving now.”
Wen Yue said, “I haven’t finished packing these yet.”
“It’s okay, Auntie.” Shen Shuyu picked up a packed bag. “Leave the rest for Wen Jiafei.”
Indeed, there wasn’t much left. Wen Yue sped up her packing and stuffed a bag for Shen Xili too. “Xili, take some home to eat as well.”
“Thank you, Auntie. I won’t stand on ceremony then.” Shen Xili accepted the cookies.
Wen Jiafei came out of the kitchen just then. His distinct knuckles still had water droplets on them. He pulled a tissue to wipe them and said, “I’ll walk you back.”
“No need.”
“No need.”
Shen Shuyu and Shen Xili spoke in unison. They looked at each other, and Shen Xili said, “I’ll just walk him back.”
Shen Shuyu nodded. “Right, Wen Jiafei, you just stay and keep Auntie company. Shen Xili sending me is enough. Besides, it’s early and the weather is good; it doesn’t matter if someone walks me or not.”
Wen Jiafei looked at the two of them, pursed his lips, but ultimately didn’t insist.
Shen Shuyu and Shen Xili said their goodbyes and left the Wen home.
Once outside, Shen Shuyu looked at his watch. “Is this time suitable?”
It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet. Even taking the bus, it would only take twenty minutes—eight-thirty at most. Eight-thirty was when the people in the slums were liveliest.
Shen Xili said, “Zhong has already gone to work.”
Shen Shuyu looked at him. Shen Xili raised his hand and flicked Shuyu’s forehead. “Of course I checked his work schedule.”
Shen Shuyu was speechless. “Aren’t other people human?”
“There are only two households on the first floor. One is a gigolo, the other is Zhong,” Shen Xili said. “We’ll circle around from the back. As long as we don’t run into his neighbor next door, it’s fine.”
Although the first floor of the slums was cheap, it was countless times colder and damper than other rooms. Even in summer, it was humid and chilly. So everyone preferred to pay a few dozen more to live in slightly better rooms, treating it as some comfort to themselves.
“His name is Lin Qi,” Shen Shuyu corrected.
Shen Xili raised an eyebrow. “You know him?”
“Yeah,” Shen Shuyu said. “Yesterday, when I followed him home during the day, I accidentally broke a glass bottle. Lin Qi was the one who helped me out of the jam.”
Shen Xili gave a long “Oh.” “Then he’s pretty decent.”
Shen Shuyu said, “Let’s not talk about other things. Let’s talk about what to do tonight.”
Originally, going to Shen Xili’s house was to discuss how to divide the work tonight. Unexpectedly, Zhong had already gone there to rummage through everything and left listening bugs, so naturally, they couldn’t say anything there.
It was already night. They would have to act soon, so they had to agree on a plan in advance.
The two found a roadside bench and sat down. Fortunately, no one was passing by, so talking was relatively safe.
“You stay outside and act as lookout; I’ll go in and search,” Shen Xili said. “The larvae in my body can sense the Mother Bug; it’ll be faster and more accurate.”
Shen Shuyu vetoed it. “No need to guard outside. Although the room isn’t big, two people searching is faster. Besides, didn’t you draw me a diagram at noon? I personally think I’m quite smart; I won’t mistake it.”
Shen Shuyu took the drawing out of his pocket. He had already asked the System to search for the bug on the paper, but the System hadn’t replied yet, presumably because it hadn’t seen it. It seemed they had to rely on themselves.
Shen Shuyu looked at the drawing again. “Don’t worry. I said I’d help you, so I won’t drag you down.”
He put the drawing away again. “But we should still try to be quick, because we can’t guarantee he won’t come back suddenly like yesterday.”
Shen Shuyu stood up as he spoke. He still needed to buy a mask and hat. He hadn’t expected to go again today, so he had left them at home.
However, just as he stood up, Shen Xili grabbed his wrist. The warm palm pressed tightly against his skin. Shen Shuyu looked down, then at Shen Xili, asking, “What’s wrong?”
Shen Xili asked, “I forgot to ask you yesterday.”
“What?” Shen Shuyu’s heart thumped, feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
Shen Xili stood up as well. He asked, articulating every word clearly, “How did you know that he came back suddenly?”
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