Chapter 140
From behind a tree in the distance, the figure slowly walked out.
Shen Xili took out the military knife he had kept hidden in his pocket, but upon seeing the person clearly, he instantly lowered his guard.
“Wen Jiafei?” Shen Shuyu peeked his head out from behind Shen Xili, surprised. “Why are you here?”
The two walked over. Wen Jiafei was still wearing the clothes he wore to school today. Looking at Shen Shuyu, he said, “Went downstairs to throw out trash. Saw you two weren’t going home and worried something might happen, so I followed to check.”
Shen Shuyu instantly thought of how Lin Qi suddenly called Zhong out just now. He asked, “Was Lin Qi arranged by you too?”
Wen Jiafei nodded. “Mn. Although I didn’t know what you were doing, I felt I had to distract him.”
He saw with his own eyes the two of them going to the first floor. Having lived in this slum building for a few years, he understood the goings-on here quite well. Only Lin Qi lived on the first floor, but Shen Shuyu and Shen Xili clearly weren’t looking for Lin Qi, which meant they were looking for something else.
He sat at the main entrance and waited for a while. Before long, he saw a man he had never seen before walking toward the first floor. Intuition told him that Shen Shuyu and Shen Xili had gone to that man’s home.
Thinking about it, he realized he could only ask Lin Qi for help.
Looking at Shen Shuyu, Wen Jiafei said gently, “I hope you don’t blame me for acting on my own.”
“How could we!” Shen Shuyu patted his shoulder. “We can’t thank you enough; why would we blame you!”
Shen Xili and Wen Jiafei’s gazes met. There seemed to be some imperceptible emotion in both their eyes, but it dissipated quickly.
Shen Shuyu didn’t notice the undercurrent between them. He said, “Alright, let’s go quickly. This isn’t a good place to catch up.”
At his words, the other two walked silently on his left and right, heading toward the exit.
Naturally, the two insisted on walking Shen Shuyu home first. Despite Shen Shuyu declining repeatedly, saying he could just take a taxi, both insisted on walking him.
Seeing it was still early and they happened to pass a bustling hotpot restaurant, Shen Shuyu thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go. I’ll treat you two to a hotpot.”
Shen Shuyu stepped up the stairs and looked back at the two motionless figures. “Let’s go. Why are you standing there? I’m hungry.”
He had indeed consumed a lot of energy today; the food he ate at Wen Jiafei’s house had basically been digested. After he went in, Wen Jiafei took a step and entered the hotpot restaurant as well.
Shen Xili pursed his lips and followed them in.
After the hotpot meal, their whole bodies warmed up. Shen Shuyu stretched and said, “I’m really taking a taxi back now. You two go home and rest.”
“If we said we’d walk you, we’ll walk you all the way home,” Shen Xili said. “Just right for walking off the food.”
Shen Shuyu looked at Wen Jiafei. “You aren’t home so late; won’t Auntie worry?”
Wen Jiafei said, “I’ve already messaged her. She’s already asleep peacefully.”
“Alright then.” Shen Shuyu surrendered. He felt these two were acting a bit weird, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly where, so he decided not to think about it and let them be.
Just then, a taxi passed by. Shen Shuyu raised his hand to hail it, and the car stopped steadily in front of them.
Zhong came out of the bathroom. The hot water had loosened his stiff limbs considerably. He stretched his muscles and bones, but then started feeling irritable again.
Today, because of a conflict with a permanent worker, his wages were settled, and he was fired. He didn’t have to return the clothes, so he could still wear them, but his future livelihood became a problem.
He fished out a few bills from his pocket, then took out two more from his pants—the ones he just earned from unclogging Lin Qi’s bathtub.
Lin Qi, that gigolo, couldn’t even handle such a small matter.
Zhong counted the money carefully. This amount would at most feed him for two days. His bugs also needed food; it simply wasn’t enough.
This was difficult to handle.
Was he going to go back in disgrace without obtaining the item? Leaving aside how others would mock him, if he went back empty-handed, the Boss would definitely look down on him and might even give what should have been his to someone else.
No!
What Zhong hated most in his life was mockery. He had suffered enough of that life growing up. Having finally gained some status and position, he absolutely couldn’t give it up.
Zhong took a deep breath and felt around in his pocket again. From the inner pocket of his work uniform, he took out an object wrapped in black cloth. lifting the outer layer of cloth, he revealed a glass bottle and the tiny Mother Bug inside.
He had specifically visited Shen Xili’s home during the day. After searching around, he didn’t find the item he wanted. Could he be carrying it with him too?
Makes sense. Although that item wasn’t as important as his Mother Bug, it still had great utility value. How could a mercenary person like Shen Xili leave it at home casually?
Zhong uncorked the glass bottle. Using a razor blade, he cut his finger. Warm blood immediately surged out from the wound.
Zhong pressed his finger against the bottle opening, letting fresh blood drip down the glass. Soon, the originally quiet Mother Bug became restless upon smelling the blood. It crawled around the bottom of the bottle, and wherever it passed, the blood stains were licked clean.
It was ‘eating’ very cleanly.
The small wound soon clotted into a scab, stopping the bleeding. The unsatisfied Mother Bug waved its front two legs rapidly, seeming to demand its food; it wasn’t full.
Zhong smiled and capped the bottle. He gently shook the bottle, teasing the Mother Bug through the glass wall with his cut finger. The Mother Bug anxiously scratched the inner wall with its legs, seemingly wanting to crawl out. But the inner wall offered no support. As soon as all its legs touched the wall, it would slip due to the smoothness and fall back to the bottom, all legs wriggling rapidly trying to flip over.
This scene finally made Zhong laugh. He shook the bottle slightly harder to help the Mother Bug flip over. Holding it up to his face, he smiled, “Don’t rush. Wait a few more days. Once I get what I want, I’ll let you eat your fill.”
Bursts of laughter came from the bedroom. In the guest room outside, the bugs in the giant vessel seemed stimulated by something, crawling frantically in the darkness.
Outside Shen Shuyu’s residential complex.
Shen Shuyu said, “Alright, you two send me off here. I’ll go up myself. Hurry back.”
Shen Xili smiled. “No rush. I’ll watch you go in.”
Shen Shuyu glanced at Shen Xili, not understanding what game he was playing now. He looked at Wen Jiafei; evidently, this person had the same idea.
Shen Shuyu stopped himself from speaking, feeling they were hopeless. He decided not to say more, turned around, and prepared to walk into the complex. However, after just two steps, he heard a noise behind him. He turned his head and saw Shen Xili kneeling on one knee, one hand clutching his heart.
“Shen Xili!” Shen Shuyu hurried to his side.
Wen Jiafei also squatted down, frowning. “What’s wrong with him?”
Huge drops of sweat quickly formed on Shen Xili’s forehead. He bit his lower lip hard to suppress cries of pain.
Shen Shuyu looked at Wen Jiafei. “No time to explain. Quick, let’s help him into my house.”
Shen Shuyu’s home was the nearest and safest place now.
Wen Jiafei said, “I’ll carry him up.”
Given Shen Xili’s state, it didn’t look like he could walk even with support.
Shen Xili was about to refuse, but Shen Shuyu said, “Okay.”
He helped Shen Xili onto Wen Jiafei’s back. Shen Shuyu supported his back with his hand, and working together, they got Shen Xili into his apartment as quickly as possible.
Shen Shuyu didn’t dare stop. He immediately ran to the fridge, took out a tube of nutrient solution, snapped open the cap, and pressed it to his lips, making him drink it.
The veins on Shen Xili’s forehead and arms were all bulging. Even after one tube of nutrient solution, he didn’t seem to improve.
What was going on?
Shen Shuyu said, “Take off his shirt.”
Although Wen Jiafei didn’t understand what Shen Shuyu wanted to do, as soon as the words fell, he efficiently unbuttoned Shen Xili’s outer jacket and the shirt inside. When only a white sleeveless undershirt remained, he hesitated for a second and exchanged a glance with Shen Shuyu.
Shen Shuyu hummed an assent. Just as he was reaching out to pull the hem of the shirt up himself, he heard a ripping sound. Wen Jiafei expressionlessly tore Shen Xili’s undershirt in half.
Shen Xili: …?
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