Chapter 184
The next day, when Shen Shuyu returned to school, he heard Feng Xing talking about the exams. This week was officially revision week, with a mountain of things to memorize and tasks to complete. Shen Shuyu felt numb just listening to it. Because of the situation with Shen Xili recently, he hadn’t been paying much attention to his classes.
Great. Starting today, he would have to burn the midnight oil. Of course, how could he do that as a student alone?
As soon as Wen Jiafei stepped into the classroom, he felt a burning gaze fixed on him. He looked over sharply. At the end of his line of sight was Shen Shuyu.
He walked over with his bag. Shen Shuyu enthusiastically took it from him and asked, “Wen Jiafei, have you had breakfast?”
Wen Jiafei didn’t know what he was up to, but he still answered, “I have.”
Shen Shuyu said, “Let’s have lunch together today. I feel like it’s been ages since we had a proper meal together.”
Shen Shuyu placed Wen Jiafei’s bag in the desk drawer and kept his eyes on him as he sat down. Being stared at like that made Wen Jiafei feel a bit uneasy. He said, “If you have something to say, just say it.”
Shen Shuyu gave a dry laugh. “Is my intent that obvious?”
Wen Jiafei nodded. “Mn.”
“Fine.” Shen Shuyu stopped beating around the bush. “I just wanted to ask if youāre free to come to my place.”
Wen Jiafeiās hand froze as he reached for a book. He didn’t speak, only turning to look at him. Shen Shuyu pressed his palms together in a pleading gesture. “Exams are coming up, and thereās so much I don’t know. Can I ask Teacher Wen to tutor me again? Don’t worry, it’ll be just like beforeāhourly rates.”
So he was looking for a tutor.
Wen Jiafei said, “Lunch is fine.”
After all, he didn’t need to go home and cook for Wen Yue at noon.
Shen Shuyu gave a small cheer. “Yay! Can you cook then? Weāll stick to the previous agreementāIāll pay you.”
“I can cook,” Wen Jiafei said. “But there’s no need for wages, and no need for the tutoring fee either.”
“Why?” Shen Shuyu asked. “I can’t just take advantage of you, can I?”
Wen Jiafei flipped open a book. “Didn’t you say it? Between friends, there must be a back-and-forth for friendship to last. Besides, by tutoring you, Iām consolidating my own knowledge. And I have to eat too, so Iāll be cooking for myself as well.”
Shen Shuyu muttered, “Did I really say something like that?”
He didn’t remember. But that wasn’t important.
Shen Shuyu thought for a moment. “How about this: you tutor me, and we cook together.”
It was only for two or three days anyway. Their relationship was so good now that giving money felt a bit distant.
Wen Jiafei glanced at him. “Fine.”
He hadn’t seen Shen Shuyu cook before.
At noon, having agreed on the tutoring, Shen Shuyu immediately invited Wen Jiafei back to his home. However, lunch today had already been prepared and placed on the table by the housekeeper.
It looked like Shen Yisi had arranged it.
This was actually better. They could eat as soon as they returned, saving even more time.
Shen Shuyu said, “We don’t need to cook. My brother arranged it. Let’s just focus on studying.”
Wen Jiafei opened his mouth to speak, but Shen Shuyu had already headed to the kitchen. He briskly washed his hands and brought out the bowls and chopsticks. Seeing Wen Jiafei standing still, he asked in confusion, “Why are you just standing there? Wash your hands and let’s eat.”
Only then did Wen Jiafei snap out of it. He hummed and went in to wash his hands.
The two finished their meal. Wen Jiafei stood up to put the dishes into the dishwasher. Shen Shuyu said, “I feel like itās been a long time since we studied together like this.”
Wen Jiafei hummed. “Stop wasting time. Let’s do some problems.”
Shen Shuyu gave an “oh” and took out his papers. The two cleared the dining table and started working on problems right there.
Not long after, Wen Jiafeiās terminal lit up. He had put it on silent while working, fearing he would disrupt Shen Shuyu’s train of thought.
He glanced at Shen Shuyu, who was sitting across from him, before opening his terminal to read the incoming message.
The investigation he had ordered last night had yielded results. The other party had sent him a file containing all the general information.
The target this time wasn’t difficult to track. The contact had charged a nominal fee and vanished back into the shadows.
Wen Jiafei opened the document. The first thing he saw was a somewhat familiar face.
He frowned. The file also contained comparisons of surveillance screenshots. He scrolled down and saw more screenshots featuring the same car. Last night, when he was leading Wen Yue away, some people had gathered around; he had caught a glimpse of one person’s face, and that person was also in the file.
Wen Jiafei had felt the man grabbing Wen Yue looked familiar, but he couldn’t recall a name. It wasn’t until he scrolled to the middle of the document that he finally saw a name: Ning Shan.
The name was like Pandora’s Box, instantly opening the memories he least wanted to recall.
No wonder he felt the man was familiar last night. It was just that the lighting was too dim and they hadn’t seen each other in years, so he hadn’t recognized him immediately.
But he hadn’t expected it to be him!
Shen Shuyu was working on a problem when he noticed Wen Jiafei across from him hadn’t moved for a while. He looked up in confusion, only to see Wen Jiafeiās face looking incredibly grim.
He asked with concern, “What’s wrong, Wen Jiafei?”
When Wen Jiafei met Shen Shuyu’s eyes, his rationality finally returned. He slowly took a deep breath. “It’s nothing.”
He retracted his terminal, his expression returning to normal. “Let’s keep working.”
Shen Shuyu gave an “oh” and observed Wen Jiafei for a moment, but the latter had already lowered his head to continue working, as if the grim expression from a moment ago hadn’t belonged to him.
Shen Shuyu pursed his lips and focused on his work. After writing a few letters, he looked up again. “By the way, Shen Xili has already handled his suspension procedures. He won’t be coming to the academy anymore.”
“Mn?” Wen Jiafei said. “So sudden.”
The Mecha Department and the military candidates were in the same general direction. Even if they didn’t meet on purpose, they could catch a glimpse of each other from afar every day. Shen Xili hadn’t been around for two days, and he wasn’t at home either.
Wen Jiafei had thought things were still being settled and the police were still looking for him to cooperate with the investigation. He hadn’t expected him to suspend his studies.
Shen Shuyu hummed. “Heās going to the military next week. Weāll be in exams then, so we won’t be able to see him off.”
Last night, the entire Shen family was present. They had discussed whether he should wait until after the New Year to join the military, as this was their first reunion year.
But Shen Xili refused. This opportunity was hard-earned, and he wanted to grow up faster. Besides, the military had two or three days off for the New Year, so he could come back then.
Wen Jiafei nodded. “Mn. He told you?”
“Yeah.” Shen Shuyu didn’t notice the subtle emotion that flashed through Wen Jiafei’s question. Thinking about the favor Shen Xili had asked of him, he spoke again. “By the way, thereās one more thing I haven’t told you.”
Wen Jiafei hummed. “What is it?”
“Shen Xili is my parents’ biological son. Iām the ‘civet cat’ from the ‘civet cat swapped for the crown prince’ story.” Shen Shuyu casually explained his background.
It was just a short sentence, but the amount of information it contained was massive. Even Wen Jiafeiās expression couldn’t help but crack when he heard it. “What?”
Shen Shuyu explained, “Didn’t you ask before? About the relationship between me and Shen Xili. At that time, he didn’t plan to return to the Shen family, so it wasn’t my place to say anything. After all, Iām the fake one. But recently he had a change of heart and returned to the Shen family. However, his identity is being kept secretāhe returned under the guise of being a sponsored student.”
Shen Shuyu had overheard this from Shen Yisi yesterday. No wonder Shen Xili was unwilling to tell him why they had suddenly come to an agreement.
He suspected it probably had something to do with him.
However, Shen Shuyu felt that as time went on, everyone would naturally realize the truth. After all, Shen Xili really did look like a member of the Shen family.
Wen Jiafei was speechless. “Then what about you?”
Shen Shuyu said, “I’m fine. My parents and brother are all willing to keep accepting me. I originally thought about moving out, but they wouldn’t agree.”
In their words, they could afford to raise one more, and twenty years of affection couldn’t just be discarded.
Shen Xili had also said there was no need for unnecessary gestures.
Shen Shuyu said, “Alright, I’ve finished saying what I wanted to say. Do you have any other questions about this?”
Wen Jiafei didn’t know how Shen Shuyu could be so calm about it. He shook his head. “No.”
Actually, he did, but he didn’t know how to ask.
After all, when Shen Xili confessed to Shen Shuyu that day, there wasn’t a soul around.
Translatorās Note: “Civet cat swapped for the crown prince” (ēøē«ę¢å¤Ŗå – LĆmÄo huĆ n tĆ izĒ) is a famous historical legend from the Song Dynasty about a concubine who replaces another concubine’s newborn prince with a skinned civet cat to seize power. In modern slang, it’s used to describe a “swapped at birth” situation.
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