Chapter 68: He Never Knew the Other’s Preferences
Shen Xingyu rushed upstairs in a state of extreme anxiety.
He couldn’t find him in the master bedroom.
He wasn’t in the study either.
He smacked his forehead, only then remembering that Liang Sheng had already separated from him. He should be in the guest room, right?
He turned and walked toward the attic.
The closer he got to the corner, his footsteps began to slow down involuntarily, and his heart raced uncontrollably.
What are you nervous about?
It’s not the first time you’ve seen Liang Sheng cry.
Shen Xingyu pressed his hand to his chest and stopped at the door of the guest room. The door wasn’t closed, leaving a gap about a finger’s width.
He grabbed the doorknob, wanting to push the door open, when he suddenly heard Liang Sheng’s soft, post-crying voice from inside the room:
“Xiao Gui, tell me, am I just very unlucky? No one believes me, and I’ve even got a terminal illness… For someone like me, there’s no point in living anymore, right…”
Who was he talking to?
Shen Xingyu frowned, veins bulging on the back of his hand. Was Liang Sheng on the phone with some man?
Ever since the incident with Liang Sheng and Xie Zhengran, he couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild. He had been feeling guilty, but at this thought, anger surged in his heart. He wanted to go in and see who was so audacious as to covet his person.
The door opened, and Shen Xingyu stormed in, wanting to vent the frustration he had felt over the past few days. However, he saw Liang Sheng sitting on the bed holding a Da’ergou, and he wasn’t on the phone with anyone.
Liang Sheng was startled by the sudden intrusion. He hugged the plushie tight and looked at Shen Xingyu piteously with his red-rimmed eyes, like a startled fawn.
“I…”
Shen Xingyu’s stern face instantly turned awkward. His Adam’s apple bobbed, but he didn’t know what to say to ease the situation.
Liang Sheng, having regained his senses, was both embarrassed and angry. Because he had been crying so violently, he had grown hot and taken off his jacket. Now, he was only wearing a shoulder-baring tank top.
He frantically pulled the covers over himself and questioned him fiercely: “Y-you, why didn’t you knock!”
Shen Xingyu hadn’t expected him to be so guarded. In the past, he would have definitely gone up and torn the covers away to teach Liang Sheng a lesson, but now he had no heart for it. Perhaps because of his earlier blind guessing, he even stuttered a little when he spoke:
“I… I… Grandpa told me to come and see how you were doing.”
“Get out!”
Liang Sheng’s face turned red. He grabbed a pillow and threw it forcefully at the man: “Get out! Can’t you hear me?”
“Alright, alright, I’m leaving. Don’t be angry.”
Shen Xingyu’s tone was placating. Fearing that Liang Sheng’s intense emotions would cause a relapse, he bent over to pick up the pillow from the floor and carefully placed it back on the bed.
Under Liang Sheng’s piteous and guarded gaze, his footsteps slowly shifted outward. He walked out the door and then closed it behind him.
Inside the room, Liang Sheng heard that there was no more movement outside. He hurriedly threw back the covers and got up. Barefoot, he ran to the door and quickly locked it.
He pressed his ear to the doorframe. Hearing no footsteps and knowing the man hadn’t left, he said angrily:
“Go away! Don’t hide at the door! If you don’t leave, I won’t come out of this room for the rest of my life! I… I’ll die inside!”
Outside the door, the man hearing this became frantic. However, he was too embarrassed to reveal that he was still at the door, so he could only make his footsteps louder to imply that he was actually leaving.
Liang Sheng waited for a good while. After confirming that the footsteps were getting further away and there was no movement outside the door, he finally dared to open the door and poke half his head out.
Seeing that the man had finally left, he sighed in relief and closed the door. He slowly sat down, leaning his back against the doorframe.
He stared blankly at the window. The thin sunlight shone into his moist eyes, fragmenting into tiny glimmers.
Liang Sheng suddenly felt as if his heart were empty. He couldn’t see a shred of hope. Even the sunlight shining on his body carried no warmth.
He leaned his head on his knees, not knowing what to do. He was so lost. He didn’t want to seek treatment.
Nor did he want to continue staying with the Shen family, but Shen Xingyu wouldn’t let him go. He had nowhere to go…
Tears flowed out again unconsciously.
Shen Xingyu, having been driven out, felt depressed. Without Liang Sheng by his side, he had no heart for work either.
He didn’t know when it started, but as long as he couldn’t see even a shadow of Liang Sheng, he couldn’t sit still.
He turned off the computer, spun his chair around, and pressed his aching temples. He hadn’t slept much these past few days, and his old ailment was acting up again.
In the past, when he had a headache, Liang Sheng would always massage it for him. Now, that person couldn’t wait to be as far away from him as possible.
The more he thought, the more frustrated he became.
What should he do?
What could he do to make Liang Sheng forgive him?
Even just a slightly better expression would do…
He used to never have to worry about Liang Sheng getting into a conflict with him, nor did he have to spend effort to make the person happy.
After all, it had always been Liang Sheng accommodating him.
Now that things had suddenly become like this, he was really a bit unaccustomed to it, and he didn’t know what to do.
Day after tomorrow was Liang Sheng’s birthday…
Should he give a gift?
But what should he give?
What did Liang Sheng like?
Shen Xingyu frowned, immediately thinking of that cartoon animal Liang Sheng liked. But wouldn’t giving that be a bit perfunctory? And it was quite childish.
No, he had to change it.
Did Liang Sheng like anything else?
In all these years, he didn’t even know this person’s preferences. Whether it was food or daily necessities, he never asked.
When all was said and done, it was quite a failure.
Shen Xingyu sighed, picked up his phone, and dialed Jiang Chuzhou’s number.
The call was picked up quickly. The other party was extremely surprised by his call: “Brother Yu?!”
“Meet me at Wuhai Café.”
After saying that, he got up to change his clothes. On the phone, Jiang Chuzhou pretended to be troubled: “I can’t! Brother Yu, my dad locked me up and won’t let me out. You have to tell him for me~”
“Useless.”
Shen Xingyu said the word indifferently, then turned and dialed Jiang Tianyang’s number. He hated passing messages back and forth.
It was a hassle.
If he could explain something in one sentence, he would never say it a second time. But now, for Liang Sheng’s sake, he had no choice.
After successfully dealing with Jiang Tianyang, he sent a message to Jiang Chuzhou, then turned to get dressed.
On the other side, Jiang Chuzhou was overjoyed. As long as he could go out, he didn’t care what Shen Xingyu wanted to meet him for.
He hurried to get up and dress himself up, then hopped on his motorcycle and zoomed off.
He had been cooped up for the past two days!
He was just worrying about how to get to the racing competition; Shen Xingyu’s call came at just the right time!
He parked his bike, took off his helmet, and saw Shen Xingyu’s figure sitting upright in the window from a distance.
“Tsk, old-fashioned.”
He gave a lazy smile and walked over leisurely.
“Hello, welcome~”
“May I ask what you would like to drink?”
“Give me a cappuccino, light sugar, extra ice. Also this, this, and these snacks—give me one of each. Oh, right. For that gentleman, give him an iced Americano, no sugar.”
Jiang Chuzhou stood there in a slovenly manner, his chin pointing toward Shen Xingyu sitting not far away.
“Sir, are you sure about no sugar for the Americano? It will be very bitter! It might taste better with sugar.”
“No need. Pure coffee.”
He intentionally emphasized his words, raising a smug eyebrow. Whenever he saw Shen Xingyu, he couldn’t help but want to mess with him. Who told this man to always have such a sour, high-and-mighty face?
Hearing the voice behind him, Shen Xingyu shifted his eyes slightly and then went back to reading the newspaper.
Not until Jiang Chuzhou walked up to him and bent over, slapping down the newspaper in his hand.
Only then did he nonchalantly look up, meeting that playboy face. He remained as indifferent as ever: “Sit.”
Jiang Chuzhou gave a snort of laughter. He immediately looked around but didn’t see the person he was looking for. He suddenly felt a bit bored:
“Eh? Why don’t I see Bodyguard Qin?”
“I gave him a few days off so he could rest.”
Shen Xingyu gave a perfunctory excuse. He looked at him seriously and changed the subject: “Alright, I have something urgent to ask you.”
Gave him a few days off?
No way? Does that mean he’s not going to the racing competition?
But the other party indeed hadn’t promised him he would go.
Jiang Chuzhou felt a moment of disappointment, then regained his heartless appearance: “Yo, did the sun rise from the west? You, the busy President Shen, not only took the initiative to invite me, but even have something to ask me?”
“I…”
Shen Xingyu was about to speak when he was interrupted by Jiang Chuzhou seeing the waiter bringing the food:
“Hey! My food is here!”
“Gentlemen, please enjoy.”
The waiter placed the food from the full cart onto the table one by one. Soon, the table was piled high.
“I’m starving!”
Jiang Chuzhou began to eat ravenously. He was so hungry he was dizzy, his cheeks bulging:
“Whatever it is, tell me later. Let me eat first. I haven’t eaten for two days. Chomp chomp… It’s all that old man’s fault. He wouldn’t let me out, so I tried to go on a hunger strike to show him… chomp chomp…”
Seeing that he had no table manners whatsoever, Shen Xingyu frowned with a trace of disgust. He specifically moved his chair away from him to avoid being splashed by sauce.
“Uncle Jiang is doing it for your own good.”
He drank his plain water, his tone indifferent: “After all, you cause trouble for the Jiang family from time to time.”
“Crap! You’re not allowed to speak for him!”
Jiang Chuzhou said angrily while pointing his chopsticks at him, continuing to complain about his father with a mouthful of food:
“For my own good… chomp chomp… He should give me my freedom! Locking me up and starving me—what kind of ‘good’ is that?!”
Seeing him eating like that, knowing he wouldn’t be able to speak clearly for a while, Shen Xingyu could only wait patiently despite his urgency.
“You eat too!”
Seeing that Shen Xingyu was staring at him, Jiang Chuzhou thought he was being shy and hurriedly pushed the pasta over.
“No need. I’m not hungry.”
Shen Xingyu pushed it back coldly.
“If you’re not hungry, then forget it. I’ll eat it myself!”
Jiang Chuzhou curled his lip and continued to feast on his own. As he ate, he even began to pick at the food: “What kind of tea restaurant did you pick anyway? It’s not good at all. The noodles are too hard. They aren’t even twenty percent as fragrant as the ones my family’s chef makes!”
Regarding his complaints, Shen Xingyu remained expressionless. He lowered his head and took a sip of warm water: “I don’t often come to places like this. I don’t know which one is good.”
“Next time, you should let me pick the place! I’ve eaten at every restaurant in Nanshi.”
Shen Xingyu had no interest in discussing which restaurant was better. He glanced at his watch and couldn’t help but urge him:
“Are you finished eating?”
“Wait, let me have a sip of my drink. I’m choking.”
Jiang Chuzhou thumped his chest, picked up his soda, and gulped down half the bottle before feeling a bit better.
“Alright.”
Shen Xingyu irritably licked his back teeth. If he weren’t in need of help, he wouldn’t waste his precious time on this unemployed drifter Jiang Chuzhou!
“Here, the coffee I ordered for you. Drink up, drink up!”
Jiang Chuzhou even enthusiastically held the iced Americano in front of him, raising his own to toast with him.
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