After Being transported into a book, I adopted the villain

by Usui Takumii

not mine, free web novel

3. 21 to 30

Ch.21 – Puppy Love

8:40 A.M.

Shenghua International School has finished its first class.

The lecture buildings in the elementary and middle schools are located at the southern end of the school, separated by a small garden, which is a popular summer spot for students. Now the weather has cooled down and nobody except the gardener has visited it.

Hidden in the shade of the tree on the stone path, Tang Li and Lei Yumeng kept some distance from each other.

Tang Li usually does not like to laugh at school, often he kept a straight face, just looking at his expression any person could guess he is a very difficult person to get along with. Of course, his temper is as bad as people assume.

From Lei Yumeng's memory alone, the amount of girls Tang Li has caused to cry could not be counted with only two hands.

But because Tang Li is beautiful, good at learning, and holds the teachers and principal in the palm of his hand, whether it was in the elementary school or middle school, there are countless girls who like him.

Lei Yumeng is the boldest of the girls.

She didn't care that Tang Li was younger than her, nor did she care that her classmates laughed at her for wanting to rob the cradle [1]. She thought she could wait for Tang Li to grow up. They would go to high school together, go abroad to study together, and later, after they start working, they'll get married and have children together.

How wonderful...

But when thinking about Tang Li's attitude towards her, Lei Yumeng became very sad. She just didn't know how to change Tang Li's feelings.

While Lei Yumeng was in a state of fantasy, Tang Li stood still.

There were no superfluous expressions on his face. With those dark eyes, he observed Lei Yumeng quietly for a long time, and then calmly opened his mouth: "Don't you like me? Why are you talking to my brother?

After hearing this question, Lei Yumeng was stunned.

After a moment, she seemed to suddenly realize something, the surprise in her eyes almost overflowed, and the smile on her lips could not be suppressed.

"Are you jealous?" Asked Lei Yumeng.

"Answer me." Tang Li frowned and repeated the question he had just asked, "Why are you talking to my brother?"

It seems to be jealousy.

Lei Yumeng thought to herself that she was so happy that she would like to show off to some of her close friends and sisters. She spent a lot of energy to suppress the excitement in her heart. She calmly said, "Your big brother is so beautiful and gentle, much better than you."

Finally, she added smugly, "And your big brother seems to like me a lot."

Both her parents and relatives said that Shen Yu was an odd-tempered man and was not easy to get along with. Also, it was easier to climb the sky than to see him in person.

But Shen Yu was not at all like what those people had said. He not only laughed and talked with her, but also handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

In a word, Shen Yu is really special to her.

Remembering the way Shen Yu spoke to her in a soft voice, Lei Yumeng felt her cheeks burning faintly, and her whole heart began to pound.

Like a small rabbit thumping continuously.

While Lei Yumeng's heart was overflowing with emotion, she completely failed to notice Tang Li's gloomy eyes. When she recovered, Tang Li, who had kept a distance from her not long ago, had moved in close to her, and his expression had returned to normal.

"You think too much. How could my brother like a naive little girl like you [2]?" Tang Li raised the corners of his mouth and gave a cool smile. Just how cold was the look in his eyes?

Tang Li is a growing quickly, but he's still half-a-head shorter than Lei Yumeng, who is nearly 1.65 meters (5ft 4in) tall. He raised his chin slightly and fixed his eyes on Lei Yumeng.

"Don't think about my brother. What do you think of me?" Tang Li said, "Although I'm young, don't you like me?"

Such a ridiculous remark was said by Tang Li in a very serious manner.

Lei Yumeng was stunned for a long time. After a while, her heart began to beat wildly again.

She couldn't hear the mockery in the Tang Li tone. However, the contents of the words made Lei Yumeng both surprised and happy for a while.

"What do you mean?" Lei Yumeng asked carefully.

"You're asking what I mean?" Tang Li raised his lips and laughed, always giving off a cool atmosphere, "It's exactly what you think I mean."

——————————-

When Shen Yu finished the last meeting of the day, it was already after four o'clock in the afternoon.

After looking at the time, he decided to go to the school with Uncle Zhang to pick up Tang Li and go home.

On the way, Shen Yu, who had nothing to do, was looking through Weibo casually and discovered that Jenny Yang had sent him several messages in the afternoon, all of which were concerned about the health of Tang Li. Finally, she added a note "If you have any news, please reply".

"..." Shen Yu was speechless.

Why didn't he find out that Jenny Yang had such a stubborn side when they had dinner last night?

He originally thought Jenny Yang was a shy girl. If he slightly neglected her, she should quit pursuing him.

Shen Yu sighed, deliberated for a while, and then typed, deleted, typed again and responded.

[Sorry for the late reply. Just finished work. Chestnut is much better now. Thank you for your concern.]

In short, every word carries an undertone of alienation.

Shen Yu did not want to respond to Jenny Yang's advances. He only wanted Jenny Yang to see his intentions soon, even if she just thought of them as ordinary friends.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the message was sent out, the area in the chat box read "User is texting...".

Soon Jenny Yang answered.

[No problem, I was just worried.]

[Grandpa Shen said you've been fond of drawing lately. A friend of mine gave me two tickets to the art exhibition for next Friday afternoon, do you have time to accompany me? 】

[Please. JPG[3]

Shen Yu didn't even have to think twice and did not hesitate to reply.

[Sorry, there may be no time to attend. The parents' meeting is next Friday.]

Jenny Yang immediately replied.

[That's okay. Let's go out for a meal this week. We didn't get the chance to speak last night. I almost forgot that we were dating.]

[Laughing while crying. JPG[4]

Now Jenny Yang made it clear that she was interested in Shen Yu and wanted to further develop their feelings.

Shen Yu sighed and tapped his fingertips lightly on the screen of his mobile phone. He thought he was very straightforward, but Jenny Yang still looked like she didn't understand anything.

It's a little annoying.

This reminds Shen Yu of the girls he met before transmigrating. they ran to his shop every day and squatted there. After closing the shop in the evening, they were extremely enthusiastic to send him home. From time to time, they sent him roses and small gifts. No matter what he said, it would not help.

Shen Yu is really scared.

[It's not convenient for me to go out because I have a leg injury. Miss Yang would be better off having dinner with someone else.]

After replying to the text, Shen Yu put up his mobile phone and looked up at the school gate, which was slowly drawing near the car.

After school, the roadside outside the school gate was filled with luxury cars, and a steady stream of students came out and got into their cars.

Shen Yu rolled down half of the window. Resting his chin idly in his hands, he looked for Tang Li among the students.

In order not to attract attention, Shen Yu specifically asked Uncle Zhang to change his car every three or four days, and every time the car was an inexpensive mid-range car.

Despite that, he was still being watched.

A middle-aged man in black clothes and pants was mixed in the parents' group not far from the gate. He had been nervously staring at Shen Yu. This action made him especially prominent among a group of parents that were only looking at the school gate.

Shen Yu spotted the man with mere glance.

After the middle-aged man saw Shen Yu, he was a little shocked. Then, as if he were a guilty thief, he quickly turned his head around and pretended to be looking for his child.

Shen Yu pondered for a long time and could not place the man's face as someone he remembered. Maybe that was someone the original Shen Yu knew.

But the middle-aged men seemed to have no malice, and his way of hiding is also bad, otherwise he would not be discovered by Shen Yu so quickly...

What's more, he seems to be very afraid of Shen Yu. He was frightened simply by the way Shen Yu looked at him just now.

At present, it seems that the man is not dangerous to him.

Shen Yu, thinking about it, moved his eyes away and his thoughts soon left the middle-aged man behind. In a twinkling of an eye, he saw the cold-faced little villain coming from the gate.

"Chestnut." Shen Yu greeted with a smile, "This way."

Tang Li's black eyes brightened for a while, and the corners of his mouth, which had been pressed into a straight line, could not help turning upward. He quickened his steps subconsciously.

When Tang Li approached, Shen Yu was surprised to find that there was a chattering girl beside the little villain. When he looked closely, was it not Lei Yumeng, who had been talking to the little villain this morning?

The two children looked noisy. It didn't take long for them to stick together.

Shen Yu smiled helplessly. As long as the villain had no intention of entering that ill-fated love triangle, he would not object to the villain's development of interpersonal relations.

Lei Yumeng did not mind Tang Li's indifferent attitude. She followed him incessantly, with a sweet happy smile on her beautiful face.

Coming closer to the car, Lei Yumeng cried out happily, "Big brother Shen Yu."

Shen Yu smiled, "Hello."

When Lei Yumeng finished speaking, he turned to Tang Li and whispered, "Let's go to school early tomorrow so we can have breakfast together."

"I know." Tang Li answered coldly, and without looking at Lei Yumeng, he stepped into the car.

As Uncle Zhang drove away, Shen Yu could still see Lei Yumeng standing on the side of the road, looking at them eagerly.

[1] 老年吃嫩草, literally meaning "old age eats tender grass". Meaning a May-December romance, or an older person dating a significantly younger person.

[2] Tang Li calls her 黄毛丫头. This is one of those statements that can be affectionate or malicious depending on context. It literally means "yellow haired girl" (as newborns often have lighter hair that darkens with age) meaning a girl that's a virgin or isn't fully grown. It's often used with affection in the context of "silly little girl", or "a chit of a girl". However, in this context, Tang Li is using the phrase sarcastically, so it's actually quite cutting.

[3] Of course I'm adding an example.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterCh.22 – Parents Meeting

Shen Yu was surprised. His intuition told him that something happened between the little villain and Lei Yumeng, that's why the little villain did not reject Lei Yumeng's approach as he did before.

He turned his head to Tang Li.

Tang Li was sitting quietly beside him, looking down at his knees. He looked cold and nobody could tell what he was thinking.

When he noticed Shen Yu's gaze, Tang Li looked up sharply, a little stunned, and then burst into a brilliant smile.

"Shen Yu." Tang Li cried out crisply and leaned over. His hands easily crossed the armrest of the wheelchair in front of him and tightly wrapped around Shen Yu's arm.

Shen Yu had long grown used to the little villain's clinging skills, and pinched the little villain's cheek: "What would you like to eat tonight?"

"I'll eat whatever you want." Tang Li buried his face in the crook of Shen Yu's arm. His voice sounded a little dull. The hot air he exhaled when he spoke penetrated Shen Yu's clothes and spread warmly across his skin.

Shen Yu felt itchy and wanted to pull his arm out of the grasp of the little villain. He tried to move two times but was held in a very strong hold.

"We'll have let Aunt Chen make a couple dishes as she please." Shen Yu said, stretching out his hand and rubbing Tang Li's hair. Shen Yu laughed and shook his head. "Truly a sticky spirit."

Tang Li immediately retorted, "I only stick to you."

"I'm afraid that will not be the case in the future."

Shen Yu wanted to say that Tang Li would eventually get married and have children. Even if he didn't gain the heart of the female lead in this novel, in time he would like other girls. When that happens, Tang Li could not stick to him like this anymore.

Perhaps if something happened with that middle school girl, the little villain won't stick to him like this again...

Thinking of this, Shen Yu unexpectedly felt a slight sense of loss.

However, before he could say the following words, he felt the little villain clutching his arm tighter and trying to stretch his little hands around Shen Yu's waist.

"No, that will never happen." Tang Li said earnestly, "I'll just stick to you, both for now and in the future."

After that, the villain added domineeringly, "You also can only stick to me alone."

Shen Yu laughed: "That's quite an overbearing contract."

Seeing that Shen Yu was acting soft, the little villain simply played the role of a rascal and shook Shen Yu's arm around: "I don't care, you have to promise me that no one else is allowed to stick to you, especially that aunt introduced by Grandpa Shen."

If it was before, Shen Yu would have obediently promised Tang Li in order to calm him down, then he suddenly remembered something and tentatively said, "Isn't that little girl named Lei Yumeng sticking to you? What is your relationship with her?"

"..." Tang Li froze for a moment, and then answered stiffly, "It doesn't matter."

Shen Yu was particularly suspicious: "Really?"

Tang Li nodded: "Really."

Shen Yu still didn't believe Tang Li's words. He pinched Tang Li's chin and forced him to look up and into his eyes.

The little villain's eyes, which were like thick black gems, lingered on Shen Yu. He stared at Shen Yu's face without any intent of dodging the other's gaze.

Shen Yu was silently relieved.

He intuitively felt that the little villain was not deceiving him.

It was not until Shen Yu took a bath and lay down in bed at night that he remembered to check Weibo. Jenny Yang's chat box showed that it had new messages. Shen Yu avoided the chat box for a long time before he finally opened it up to see Jenny Yang's message.

There are only two sentences.

One sentence says she knows.

The other said she could wait until Shen Yu was better.

Jenny Yang is not as difficult as Shen Yu had originally feared.

Shen Yu completely relaxed and did not reply to Jenny Yang, he considered the matter dealt with for now.

——————————

Although there are a lot of business to be taken care of at the company, Shen Yu spent as much time as possible in the kitchen every day. He plans to open two dessert shops to sell his own creations.

He asked Kang Lin to help set up the two stores in a good location in his spare time.

The stores were located on a commercial street that was just outside the university district and located in the downtown area in the northern part of the city. Because of the golden location, the rent is not cheap, but money is nothing to Shen Yu.

Kang Lin is a very efficient assistant. He even talked with the landlords about the price of the store. He thought that according to Shen Yu's character and financial resources, he would buy the store directly.

When Kang Lin told Shen Yu about it, Shen Yu waved and said, "Don't worry about that for now, let's rent it first."

Kang Lin was surprised and gave a gentle sigh. When he thought about how he was acting inappropriately, he quickly closed his mouth and recollected himself. Then he asked carefully, "Isn't it more convenient to take care of the store if you directly buy it?"

Shen Yu sat at his desk, drawing on the sketchbook, he laughed and answered, "I just want to open two dessert stores because I'm interested. I don't know if this plan will work. If the business is good, it's not impossible to buy the stores."

Kang Lin thought about it, and felt that this was reasonable, so he stopped talking about it.

Very soon, Kang Lin signed a lease contract for Shen Yu with the landlords and rushed around to find design and interior decoration companies. He made sure to begin the decoration work of the stores immediately.

Shen Yu handed over most of the work to Kang Lin. Additionally, he asked Uncle Zhang to help with the recruitment, so he could devote himself to designing the menu when he wasn't working at the company.

In fact, Shen Yu did this in order to find a way to take care of himself.

As a reader of the original novel, he knows exactly what his character will experience in the next decade or so. Although he doesn't care about bankruptcy, he still has to be prepared for it before it comes.

At that time, all his real estate will be taken to pay his debts, his bank accounts will be frozen, the domestic servants will be dismissed, and relatives of the Shen family avoid him like he was a scorpion.

This didn't even include the debts owed to the male lead and the villain...

Just thinking about it frightened Shen Yu into a cold sweat.

So he plans to develop a side business and open some shops in the name of Uncle Zhang. So that if he does go bankrupt, he will not fall to sleeping in the streets.

Shen Yu sighed.

Now that he has adopted the villain, he can only hope that in the future the villain will be merciful.

He just doesn't know what will happen with the male lead who hasn't appeared yet. So far, he and the male lead haven't had any interactions, but at the same time he can't avoid the story, so he can only carefully plan ahead.

Shen Yu was busy preparing for the dessert shops these days, but he hadn't forgotten to take Tang Li to and from school with Uncle Zhang.

Then he discovered a strange phenomenon.

Tang Li and Lei Yumeng often seem to stick together. Whether Shen Yu sends Tang Li to school in the morning or when Shen Yu picks up Tang Li in the afternoon, the figure of Lei Yumeng can always be seen.

Tang Li also no longer ate breakfast at home, saying that someone in the school was waiting for him to eat together.

Shen Yu is not a fool. The present situation is so obvious that he cannot help but see it.

So the nights before going to the school to attend the parents' meeting, Shen Yu specifically called Tang Li to the study and asked the little villain about his new relationship in a very euphemistic manner.

Tang Li stood at the desk with his bright eyes staring straight at Shen Yu. He said frankly, "It's not like that."

"Then why does that little girl wait for you at the school gate every morning? And you said it was her who were going to breakfast with." Shen Yu observed Tang Li's expression and said, "I don't mind you falling in love as a student, but you are too young now. Learning is the most important task."

"I know." Tang Li's eyes were torch-like, so calm that he did not even move his eyebrows. He again said, " It's not like that."

Shen Yu helplessly supported his forehead: "Recently you and that little girl have become too close, I'll have to think about this more."

Hearing this, the corner of Tang Li's mouth hooked up into a slightly strange arc, in a indescribable voice he said: "It will soon be over."

Shen Yu: "What?"

Tang Li quickly bowed his head and whispered, "Nothing."

Shen Yu spoke for most of the day, and Tang Li insisted that there was no relationship between him and Lei Yumeng. Shen Yu had no choice but to tell Tang Li repeatedly that he could not fall in love with others so early and then sent him off to rest.

But Shen Yu still didn't believe Tang Li's words.

After going to school tomorrow, he plans to ask the other students himself.

Time soon arrived at noon the next day.

In order to attend the parents' meeting, Shen Yu left the company early and drove to school with Uncle Zhang.

Principal Li had been waiting outside the school for a long time, bringing several teachers together to welcome Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang into the school with a smile.

Nearly an hour before the parents' meeting, the students were all in the classroom. Shen Yu sat in a wheelchair and was pushed by Uncle Zhang to walk half a lap around the campus behind Principal Li. Then he asked Principal Li and the others to go and take care of their over matters. He and Uncle Zhang would continue to hang out.

In fact, President Li and his party wanted to follow Shen Yu so that they had the chance to throw flattery at him, but Shen Yu's attitude was so stubborn that they could not refuse, so they left in frustration.

Watching Principal Li and others disappear, Shen Yu asked Uncle Zhang, "Is that little girl a middle school student?"

Uncle Zhang answered, "Class 20, Middle School."

Shen Yu nodded and said, "Let's go and have a look."

Zhang Shu responded, then pushed Shen Yu's wheelchair to the middle school. In order to familiarize himself with the structure of the school, Uncle Zhang came over yesterday to look around.

The middle part of the middle school is neither near nor far from where they are currently. It takes half an hour to reach the small playground next to the middle school. Right now, the playground is being rebuilt. There are tools and cement everywhere, and basically no people hang around there.

However, when Shen Yu was pushed by Uncle Zhang, he could faintly hear a sound of swearing, accompanied by the scream of a girl.

"Wait a minute." Shen Yu said quickly.

Obviously, Uncle Zhang also heard those voices. While he paused, he turned his head with Shen Yu and looked in the direction of the voice.

The next second, another scream sounded, it was the girl just now.

"The voice..." Shen Yu was stunned before he said, "Ah..."

It seems that...

This is Lei Yumeng's voice!

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterCh.23 – Parents' Meeting

Shortly after Shen Yu spoke, he heard a girl shouting Lei Yumeng's name and then swearing and shouting a lot of words. Although Shen Yu could not hear all of them clearly, he could still feel that...

This little girl is clearly being bullied!

Shen Yu frowned and looked up at Uncle Zhang.

Obviously, Uncle Zhang thought of this too, and his expression was slightly dignified, waiting for Shen Yu to speak.

"Let's go and have a look." Shen Yu said.

"Right away." Uncle Zhang nodded and pushed Shen Yu's wheelchair to go find the source of the sound.

Shortly afterwards, they saw the figures of several girls in front of a bungalow stacked with debris near the playground. One of the girls was laying half on the ground, in a disgraceful posture, holding her head in pain.

Shen Yu narrowed his eyes and recognized the girl at first glance.

Lei Yumeng.

Sure enough, it was bullying.

The other girls surrounded Lei Yumeng and looked down at her. One girl kicked Lei Yumeng fiercely, then reached out and pulled her hair.

Lei Yumeng gave a painful cry and was forced to look up at the girls.

"Just how old are you? I'm too shy to fall in love with him at this age, yet you want to be this shameless?" The girl in front of Lei Yumeng sneered, she had obviously taken the lead in the bullying.

"If she had any pride, she wouldn't be following him around all day and night like a little lap dog." Another girl on the sidelines laughed happily and sneered, "This kind of attitude, we should teach her some manners."

Then they kicked Lei Yumeng harshly.

Lei Yumeng cried out bitterly. She was pale, and a cold sweat appeared on her forehead. Her eyes were tightly closed, and she could hardly speak from the pain.

"Now..." The leading girl bent down and smiled to Lei Yumeng. "How many times have I told you that he's mine and you can't have him?"

Hearing this, the other girls immediately echoed similar words.

"That's right, he belongs to Manman. You dare chase him. Don't you know that Manman has been waiting for him to get to middle school?"

"I advise you to quit chasing him. Don't bother yourself. It'd be a shame if we had to beat you a second time today."

While the girls kept chirping, Lei Yumeng had her eyes tightly closed and her body rigidly held as she was being pulled by her hair. She did not respond at all.

When the leading bully saw the situation, she suddenly became angry and raised her palm to slap Lei Yumeng's face.

But before her hand could fall, it was snatched by a middle-aged man who appeared behind her.

The girl was frightened and turned her head in panic. Her eyes were level with the shoulders of the middle-aged man, so she quickly raised her chin and looked up.

In the next second, an expressionless face suddenly burst into sight.

"Little girl." Uncle Zhang stoically murmured, "Is your group bulling this child? Does the teacher allow you to do this?"

Although Uncle Zhang is over 40 years old, he is tall and strong, and always kept a gentlemanly grinning expression.

At first glance, it was frightening.

The girls were completely frightened. For a short time, their faces were pale from terror, and they ran away in the blink of an eye.

The girl who was still being grabbed by Uncle Zhang wanted to run away with her group, but seeing her wrist still held in a tight grip, she became anxious. With only a little pressure, she instantly became a paper tiger [1] .

Shen Yu saw Lei Yumeng sitting on the ground trembling, he shook his head and said to Uncle Zhang, "Let her go."

Uncle Zhang immediately let the girl go and she instantly jumped out of their sight, like a frightened rabbit.

Shen Yu asked Uncle Zhang to help Lei Yumeng stand up. He saw that Lei Yumeng's cheeks were very red and swollen. He could even see two obvious palm marks.

But Lei Yumeng, as if she could not feel any pain, only fixed her disorderly hair with a slightly blank expression. She looked at Shen Yu with gratitude.

"Thank you, big brother Shen Yu." Lei Yumeng said in a hoarse voice, "If you hadn't come, maybe I wouldn't be able to go home today. [2] "

This sentence made Shen Yu frown. He said, "If you want, I can pass a few words to your head teacher."

"No need. Thank you big brother Shen Yu." Lei Yumeng immediately shook her head like a little rattle drum. Her face was full of rejection and fear. "I can solve this problem myself."

Seeing this, Shen Yu decided to stop talking about it.

Just now, he had heard the girls' words intermittently, talking about breaking up and getting beaten up, Shen Yu could easily link these keywords together. Nine chances out of ten this should be a problem caused by love.

For this kind of thing...

As an outsider, Shen Yu really can't say much.

In the end, he and Uncle Zhang took Lei Yumeng to the clinic and asked the school doctor to clean up her wound.

The school doctor lifted Lei Yumeng's sleeve and saw that her arms were blue and purple. Her expression suddenly became strange. She looked at Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang with a little more suspicion.

Shen Yu had originally wanted to find Lei Yumeng to inquire about Tang Li, so instead of leaving in a hurry, he waited outside the door of the medical office.

Unexpectedly, Shen Yu met Lei Yumeng's head teacher.

This head teacher was a teacher who followed Principal Li to welcome Shen Yu not long ago.

He thought that a student in his class had been bullied by adults who had mixed into the school. As a result, he was confused when he saw Shen Yu outside the clinic.

"..." instantly the teacher in charge of the class, who was still fierce a second ago, lost his temper. He instantly deflated, feeling defeated before he even went to battle. He could only put a pleasant smile on his face. "Mr. Shen, what a coincidence, how are you here?"

Shen Yu quickly guessed the man's identity: "Are you the teacher of that little girl?"

"Yes, yes..." The head teacher rubbed his hands and laughed, "The school doctor called me, so I came to see what was going on."

Shen Yu gestured, "She's in there."

"Thank you." The head teacher raised his feet and went into the clinic.

Shen Yu watched the head teacher disappear behind the door, knowing that there was nothing he could ask Lei Yumeng today. He debated for a moment, but ultimately decided to ask Tang Li's classmates and teachers.

———————–

Time passed until it was 2:30 p.m.

The parents' meeting is held at 3:00 p.m. in the second multimedia classroom on the fourth floor of the building. Many parents can't find their way, so they have to wait outside the classroom for their children to leave class and have them act as guides to the multimedia classroom.

When Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang finally arrived outside the classroom, it was just before the end of the class. Students were rushing out of the classroom, and the corridor outside was quickly crowded with parents meeting there children before going to the meeting.

Shen Yu sat in a wheelchair, since he couldn't move around the crowded area conveniently, he did not dive into the crowd with the other parents. He and Uncle Zhang waited together at the corner of the corridor.

Despite this, many parents recognized Shen Yu.

Parents who could send their children to this school are all quite rich, and they all know each other in a roundabout way. After all, the circle of the upper-class society is not that big. People like Shen Yu, who are considered the pillars in the center of the circle, are naturally paid close attention to.

Shen Yu also adopted the Tang family's child, which is well known.

But the other parents would have never dreamed that Shen Yu, who, was notoriously reclusive, would put down his noble personage and attend the parents' meeting in person. This shows just how much importance he attached to the child.

Even while shocked, some people still came forward to talk to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu has always disliked this kind of empty society, which was full of venomous snakes, and especially disliked wearing masks and talking to people. He was impatient and was trying to find an excuse to leave, but he soon saw a small head suddenly run out from the crowd.

The little head looked around, and soon fixed its eyes on Shen Yu.

Then those beautiful eyes lit up.

Shen Yu chuckled and waved to the villain, "Chestnut."

Tang Li squeezed through the crowd and rushed over to Shen Yu's side. His cheeks were a little ruddy. It was only this past weekend that Uncle Zhang took him out to cut his hair, which even while shorter, became messy from the little villain's excitement.

Those eyes are really bright.

It seemed like the most precious treasure in the world was held in those eyes.

Tang Li grinned and said childishly, "Big brother Shen Yu, you're finally here!"

"I didn't mean to keep you waiting." Shen Yu smiled and rubbed the hair of the little villain. Although it was cut short, it still felt very good.

Hearing this, Tang Li really nodded solemnly: "I've been waiting for you for a long time... I'll take you to the multimedia classroom."

Shen Yu gently laughed and said, "Then I'll trouble you."

Tang Li led Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang out of the crowded corridor.

The rest of the parents wanted to crowd around him but were afraid of Uncle Zhang's gloomy face. They hesitated for a long time. In the end, they could only look at Shen Yu's faraway figure and then let out a mournful hiss.

"It seems Mr. Shen is very interested in that child."

"Didn't you also notice? The last time we saw Mr. Shen he was filing a lawsuit for that child; it made a lot of noise.

"I thought he was just looking out for Elder Shen at that time... Well, fortunately, my child has a good relationship with that child."

"My son and Tang Li are also good friends. Every day when he gets home, he shouts about how he wants to go play with Tang Li. It's like he worships him. I heard that Tang Li is popular with others because of his good academic performance."

[1] Paper tiger, meaning something that looks scary but has no substance. It's like saying someone is all bark, no bite.

[2] She's not saying they would have killed her. But I can't tell if she's saying this because she wouldn't want her parents to see her beaten up or if she's saying she would have been beaten so bad that she physically could not make it home.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterCh.24 – Inquire

Shen Yu, who was already far ahead, did not know what the other parents were discussing behind him.

Shen Yu had two reasons why he came to school today. One was to inquire about the relationship between Tang Li and Lei Yumeng, the other was to see what attitude the teachers and classmates in this school had towards Tang Li.

If it's as Tang Li said...

Thinking of this, Shen Yu's heart slightly sunk, even with the original indifferent look he had on his face gradually became cold.

He sent Tang Li to this school and he wouldn't allow others to bully the little villain.

Soon, however, Shen Yu found that something was wrong.

When he and Uncle Zhang were led into the multimedia classroom by Tang Li, there were already quite a few students and parents in the classroom. Instead of rejecting Tang Li as Shen Yu had imagined, the students seemed enthusiastic about Tang Li's arrival.

Even before they were seated, they were surrounded by a group of lively students.

"Tang Li, is he your big brother Shen Yu? He actually looks better than you!"

"Wow, this is the first time I saw him in person, I only saw the appearance of brother Shen in the reports from my father's company. Oh, and some time ago in a lawsuit interview! Haha..."

"Brother Shen, you were so cool when you took on that reporter! My parents wouldn't even dare to fart in front of the paparazzi for fear of something being scribbled about them."

"Brother Shen..."

Everyone chattered and talked over each other, and worship was shining in their bright eyes.

Shen Yu was starting to develop a little headache from the noise, but he couldn't even squeeze a single word into the conversation. He could only nod his head and add a small murmur helplessly from time to time.

Suddenly, there was a sudden loud bang from the side.

All the people, including Shen Yu, were frightened and looked around. Tang Li stood calmly in front of a kicked chair, and his gloomy eyes slowly swept over the students who surrounded Shen Yu.

"Who allowed you to be here?" Tang Li opened his mouth gloomily.

The students turned pale and scattered immediately. In the blink of an eye, they ran away, leaving only a slightly stunned Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang behind with a bewildered expression in their eyes.

Shen Yu was really shocked by Tang Li's reaction just now. When he thought of Tang Li's villain-like behavior, he felt a little fear in his heart.

But when he blinked and looked at Tang Li again, the villain had returned to his original brilliant smile, and those beautiful phoenix eyes had curved into a crescent moon shape.

Really...

Such a cute kid.

Shen Yu could almost convince himself that Tang Li's cruel appearance just now was simply an illusion.

Shen Yu opened his mouth subconsciously, and before he could speak, Tang Li came forward and pushed his wheelchair.

"My seat is in the front. I'll take you there." The voice of the little villain was clear and pure, in sharp contrast to the depressed atmosphere just now.

Shen Yu stared at Tang Li's smiling little face and was reluctant to blame him in any way. He nodded and asked Tang Li to push his wheelchair to the front of the classroom.

Soon after, the rest of the parents entered the multimedia classroom and found their seats.

At three o'clock, the bell rang.

The head teacher took the prepared report cards and other information to the stage and took a deep breath. After looking at all the important men and women sitting in front of her, she suddenly became more nervous.

Shen Yu was also worried.

This is the first time that he attended the parents' meeting of his child. He didn't really expect to hear the head teacher praising Tang Li and was even afraid that the head teacher would criticize Tang Li in front of everyone.

After all, the little villain's temper is not very good, and he has been out of school for more than a year...

So, Shen Yu was shocked when the parents' meeting began.

The first-place student in the middle school entrance exam last week was Tang Li?!

The student who will be sent by the school to participate in the national elementary school mathematics competition is Tang Li?!

The student who won the district elementary school piano competition two days ago was Tang Li?!

The fuck...

How could he not have known that the little villain was so fierce!

In the end this so called "parents' meeting" was turned into a flattery conference for Tang Li. Four-fifths of the content was to listen to the head teacher's fanciful praise of Tang Li, and one-fifth of the time was left to read the report card.

What's more amazing is that the other parents have no complaints about this, and their applause is continuous. They even praise Shen Yu for teaching such a talented child.

Shen Yu: "..."

After the meeting, Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang, who had no time to evacuate, were surrounded by wolf-like parents.

The other parents seemingly seek advice from Shen Yu on how to educate their children, but in fact they want to get close to him, trying to get personal contact information.

However, Shen Yu is not foolish. Naturally, he knows the other parents' minds. He handled them with quick indifference, then he let Uncle Zhang push him out of the multimedia classroom quickly.

At this time, the students who had been outside, returned to the classroom, packed their schoolbags and prepared to leave school with their parents.

Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang were waiting outside the classroom. Through the window, they could see Tang Li sitting at the desk. His slender legs were spread apart in a comfortable position, his head was lowered, and his face was expressionless. He was looking for something in the desk box.

Two little girls stood beside Tang Li's table, hand-in-hand, cheeks reddened, and said something to Tang Li.

Unfortunately, Tang Li didn't even lift his eyes, as if he hadn't seen the two little girls.

Shen Yu sighed heavily when he saw this scene.

At the same time, the big stone pressing on his heart also dropped a little.

It seems that the little villain really does not intend to start a puppy love act, perhaps he's thinking too much.

In the original text, the villain often used women's feelings towards him to hurt innocent people, so Shen Yu is very afraid of the small villain in this respect.

But caution is always good.

At this time, two boys came out of the classroom laughing and talking.

Shen Yu hesitated for a moment, but still ordered Uncle Zhang to invite the two boys over to a more private corner to talk.

The two boys seemed very nervous. They could not help gripping their backpacks and looking at Shen Yu carefully.

"Don't worry, I just want to ask you one thing about Tang Li," Shen Yu said soothingly.

As soon as the words came out, the two boys suddenly changed from nervous to panicked, they turned their heads to looked at each other, and swallowed their saliva at the same time.

Shen Yu couldn't understand the message that was just exchanged through their eye contact. After they calmed down a little, he asked politely, "I just want to know if Tang Li has been getting close to any girls in particular recently..."

Before his voice completely fell, the short boy shook his head and said, "No!"

The tall boy responded quickly after his partner as he also shook his head and said, "No, not at all, not at all!"

Shen Yu squinted suspiciously.

Knowing that Shen Yu did not believe them, the short boy stuttered and added, "But there are many girls who like Tang Li. There are only two in the middle school that we know of. But you can rest assured that Tang Li has been concentrating on his studies and ignoring the flies."

The tall boy then echoed, "That's the truth. Absolutely the truth!"

Shen Yu was amused by their serious expressions, thanked them and let them go.

Then Shen Yu was pushed back to the corridor by Uncle Zhang. Looking up, he saw Tang Li standing outside the classroom door with his schoolbag, looking around. After looking up at Shen Yu, Tang Li flew over like a happy little bird.

"Where have you been?" Tang Li took Shen Yu's hand and complained coquettishly, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"Just browsing around casually." Shen Yu touched the little villain's head with a smile and changed the topic. "Have you packed up yet? Let's go home then."

"Good." Tang Li said wholeheartedly, rubbing against Shen Yu's palm in a gesture of dependence.

The little villain's eyes glimmered as if the man in front of him was his whole world.

Shen Yu was distracted by Tang Li's attentive gaze. He felt guilty when he remembered the question he had just asked the two boys.

Since the little villain has long denied that he was dating, then he should have no hesitation in believing the little villain's words.

After all, parents should believe in their children.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterCh.25 – Gift and an Accident

After coming to this decision, the knot in Shen Yu's chest finally loosened.

He thought about it, but in the end, he did not tell Tang Li about the matter with Lei Yumeng.

Coupled with the preparations for the opening of two dessert stores recently, Shen Yu was rushing between the company and the two stores. He was so busy that he quickly forgot about Lei Yumeng.

During this period, Elder Shen inquired about his progress with Jenny Yang. Shen Yu did not want to deceive Elder Shen, so he answered truthfully that he and Jenny Yang were not suitable for each other.

Not only that, he had also just taken in Tang Li, and at this juncture, falling in love is not conducive to the growth of his child. He didn't want to give Tang Li a reason to feel insecure.

Hearing this, Elder Shen was unexpectedly silent for a long time, and then sighed helplessly.

"You certainly have a point in saying that." Elder Shen said, "But you can't delay your life for a child, can you?"

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Regardless, my fate does not lie with Miss Yang. Besides, I'm still young enough that I don't worry about finding someone."

"All right." Elder Shen paused and said, "Then at least come over for a meal sometime. I haven't seen you for almost a month."

Shen Yu had been deceived many times by Elder Shen with such an excuse. Originally, he would go because he wanted to talk with Elder Shen about the past and try to dig out some information about the original Shen Yu.

However, every time he stepped in the door, he would be greeted by a blind date that Elder Shen had set up for him.

Over time, Shen Yu developed psychological shadow.

So of course, he refused Elder Shen automatically. "Chestnut is not in good health, and since he just begun school it must be very stressful for him right now."

Elder Shen was stunned and said, "Come alone then."

Shen Yu spoke straightforwardly, "That's not possible. As a parent, I must accompany my child."

Elder Shen: "..."

Elder Shen tried to persuade him for a long time but seeing that Shen Yu was determined to be resolute and unmoved, he could only gradually let the topic go.

The fact that Elder Shen had reached this point in life is enough to prove that he is not a fool, at least in some ways he knows more than the muddled Shen Yu.

That night Tang Li suddenly had a stomachache. He was rushed to the hospital by Shen Yu, yet he was able to school the next day.

Elder Shen, who got the news at that time, felt that something was wrong.

He didn't think about it much before. Even though he knew that Tang Li had even stabbed his uncle before, he only thought that Tang Li had been stimulated by his parents 'death and that's why he became so irritable.

After the death of Tang Jian, he persuaded Shen Yu to accept Tang Li. The only purpose was that they had the same experience and could live together and heal each other.

Now, however, Elder Shen finds that perhaps Tang Li is not as simple as he thought.

At this moment, he suddenly regretted sending Tang Li to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu was not even a little wary of Tang Li, and even really took him as his own child to raise. He only hoped that Tang Li would not go astray under Shen Yu's guidance.

Elder Shen shook his head.

Somehow, he had a bad feeling.

——————–

After Shen Yu confessed his thoughts to Elder Shen, he thought that his relationship with Jenny Yang would be over.

As a result, who knows what Elder Shen said to Jenny Yang, but Jenny Yang, who had been quiet for a long time, found Shen Yu again.

But this time, instead of inviting him to go to a painting exhibition or to eat as she did last time, Jenny Yang simply said that her friend had given her a painting, but she wasn't able to fully appreciate it, so she decided to send it to Shen Yu.

Naturally, Shen Yu wanted to refuse immediately.

Unfortunately, before he could even utter a word, Jenny Yang seemed to have guessed what he was going to say. She quickly added, "I have sent the painting to your house. Remember to check it."

Shen Yu was shocked: "... How do you know my address?"

Jenny Yang gave a sly smile and said, "Even if you have several properties under your name, it's already and open secret in the upper circle."

Shen Yu: "..."

At five o'clock in the afternoon, when Shen Yu came home from the company, he learned from Aunt Chen that a well-packaged delivery had been received at the security guard's office this afternoon, and it looked like a painting.

Shen Yu asked Aunt Chen and others to move the painting to the living room and found that the painting was not only beautifully packaged but was also more than two meters (6ft 5in) in length and width.

So long as you think with your brain, you can also guess that the price of this painting is not cheap.

Shen Yu had a headache. He raised his head to the ceiling with a sigh and did not speak for a long time.

Aunt Chen saw the situation and asked carefully, "Sir, should we put this up or open it now?"

"Send it back to the return address." Shen Yu decided, "The sooner the better."

"Ah?" Aunt Chen blinked blankly. She obviously didn't understand why Shen Yu did this. She just bowed her head and said, "Okay, I'll send it right away."

When Aunt Chen contacted the courier to pick up the painting, Shen Yu received another face time call from Jenny Yang.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Jenny Yang's words were filled with laughter, and she said happily, "I guessed you might like it."

Shen Yu was silent for two seconds and said frankly, "I didn't open the package. I'll send it back to you in later."

"..." Now it's Jenny Yang's turn to be silent. She didn't seem to have expected Shen Yu to be so decisive. Suddenly she raised her voice and cried. "Are you really not interested in me at all? Even if I just give you a simple gift, you return it in such a hurry."

Shen Yu: "... I'm sorry."

"Don't tell me you're sorry." Jenny Yang was emotional, and her voice was crying. "You can say anything to me, but don't say sorry. I don't want to hear that word."

Shen Yu thought for a moment and before helplessly opening his mouth again: "... my apologizes. [1]"

"..." Jenny Yang could not resist bursting into a smile. She did not know whether she was really amused by Shen Yu's words, or whether she was only afraid of losing face and was pretending to calm by smiling. "Although you have been so cold to me, I still like you."

Shen Yu has nothing to say.

He found that Jenny Yang was not much better than the girls who came to the dessert shop in his past life to hang around him.

Jenny Yang, seeing Shen Yu silent and unconcerned, she said to herself, "This is the first time in my life that I have actively pursued someone of the opposite sex. I don't want to end up failing my first time. Won't you give me a chance? If, after a period of time, you still don't have any feelings for me, then I promise I will not disturb you anymore."

Shen Yu was almost speechless: "I can't be responsible for your feelings."

Jenny Yang immediately said, "I don't need you to take responsibility. I just want a chance."

Shen Yu still said, "I'm sorry..."

After that, he did not give Jenny Yang any more time to speak. He hung up the phone directly. Then he blocked Jenny Yang's mobile phone number and deleted her on Weibo. The whole set of actions was completed in less than a minute.

Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief...

After putting away his cell phone, he prepared to return to the living room.

Unexpectedly, as he turned around, he unexpectedly met a cold pair of eyes.

Tang Li, who was picked up by Uncle Zhang from school, appeared behind him at some point. The little villain was still carrying his schoolbag on his shoulder. He stood upright. There was a blank expression on his little face. Only his eyes were very hot.

As if to see through Shen Yu's soul.

Shen Yu was so frightened that he almost fell to the ground with his mobile phone.

Fortunately, he responded in time. After quickly calming down, while half helpless and half blaming, he asked, "When did you come back? I didn't hear you walk in."

In the past, the little villain would have run up to Shen Yu like a puppy.

But at this time, Tang Li still stood still and kept a certain distance from Shen Yu. He gradually narrowed his eyes and calmly said, "I have footsteps, but your attention is not here."

Shen Yu thought Tang Li's words were strange, but he didn't think much about them.

The little villain is too precocious.

He is also good at hiding his inner feelings.

Even if Shen Yu tried hard to guess, he would not be able to guess the correct answer. It would be better to wait for the little villain to open his mouth on his own initiative.

"Are you hungry? Aunt Chen is already preparing dinner." Shen Yu steered his wheelchair to Tang Li and tried to touch his head, but the little villain suddenly turned his head away.

Shen Yu was stunned.

The raised hand was held stiffly in midair.

Tang Li did not speak or explain. Instead he opened his beautiful phoenix eyes and looked directly into Shen Yu's eyes.

Shen Yu pulled up the corners of his mouth and forced a smile. He awkwardly retracted his hand and whispered, "What's wrong?"

Tang Li asked directly, "Who were you calling just now?"

"A friend." Shen Yu knew that Tang Li did not like Jenny Yang and was afraid that Tang Li would overthink, so he gave a vague answer.

"Which friend?" Tang Li asked.

Shen Yu: "A friend you don't know."

Tang Li asked again, "What's their name?"

Shen Yu: "..."

He had never seen such an aggressive attitude from Tang Li, but Shen Yu's previous guess was confirmed by the reaction of the little villain. Even though he had already made a promise, Tang Li still felt insecure, fearing that he would be abandoned after Shen Yu brought a girl home.

Shen Yu suddenly felt heartache and reached out to pinch Tang Li's face.

This time Tang Li didn't dodge any more, and Shen Yu pinched his face.

"You don't need to know her name because she's not a very important friend anyway." Shen Yu said, "Maybe we won't even see her again in the future."

Tang Li nodded as if he understood what Shen Yu meant.

——————

On the other side.

After Jenny Yang was hung up on, she stared at her cell phone for a long time. She did not dial Shen Yu's number again until it was confirmed that Shen Yu had deliberately hung up his phone.

As a result...

The other line was busy.

After Shen Yu's decisive refusal, she wouldn't be narcissistic enough to assume that Shen Yu was calling her.

She was stunned for a moment. She quickly dropped the call and continued to dial the number again.

Seven or eight times in a row, all of them are busy tones.

Jenny Yang's face grew green and her hands were shaking with anger. Although she really didn't want to admit it, she had to admit that Shen Yu had blacklisted her cell phone number.

At the same time, he also blocked he Weibo account.

Jenny Yang just couldn't figure it out. She was so persistent, so how could Shen Yu remain indifferent?

Even a man of ice should be melted by her, right?

From childhood to adulthood, Jenny Yang was like the existence of a legendary fairy to those around her. Even now, you cannot count the number of people who are pursuing with both hands, but still, she prefers Shen Yu.

After all, only Shen Yu has the qualifications to be her other half.

Jenny Yang thought about it, but she didn't want to give up. So, she called Elder Shen and gently advised him to persuade Shen Yu again.

After listening to her, Elder Shen was silent for a long time. Finally, he let out a long sigh and said, "Little Yang, it's not that Grandpa Shen doesn't want to help you. That day I made my words very clear to him. It's just, Little Yu has a stubborn temper. If he truly doesn't intend to do something, even if I broke my mouth, he won't change his mind."

"But Grandpa Shen..."

"Oh, stop talking." Master Shen interrupted her directly. "It's no use telling me these things anymore. This irresponsible old man can't influence Little Yu's decision."

Jenny Yang: "..."

Since Elder Shen said so, Jenny Yang is too thin-skinned to continue.

She thanked him in a low voice and waited for Elder Shen to hang up.

That night, Jenny Yang was lying in bed, but she could not sleep.

She thought about a lot of things, then sat up, took the cell phone from the bedside table, and dialed Shen Yu's cell phone number. Still a busy tone.

It seems that Shen Yu really is trying to alienate her.

Jenny Yang's face was so blue that she could not help gripping her cell phone. She was somewhat resentful and helpless, but more so she was unwilling.

Is emotion such a thing which has the reason to give up when it's told to?

She has been passive emotionally for more than 20 years, only willing to take the initiative once, and this is also about her future life trajectory. If she married into the Shen family, those sisters who despise her would never dare to say anything again.

Thinking of this, Jenny Yang, who was thinking of giving up, lit up a fire of hope in her heart.

Then she decided...

Go to Shen's house in person!

She can't give Shen Yu another chance to hang up his phone.

—————-

Two days later.

Jenny Yang just heard about Shen Yu's schedule from Elder Shen.

She spent two hours putting on delicate makeup, wearing a newly purchased luxury brand coat, and stepping into eight-centimeter stiletto heels. After she was prepared, she asked her driver to take her to Shen Yu's home.

Meanwhile, Jenny Yang hadn't forgotten to bring the painting sent back by Shen Yu.

She intends to give the painting to Shen Yu personally.

If Shen Yu had to face her in person, it wouldn't be so easy to return the painting.

An hour later, Jenny Yang arrived at Shen Yu's villa.

The first time she came here, she thought she would be able to get in directly, but before her car got to the underground parking lot, she was stopped by the guard at the gate.

Jenny Yang slowly rolled down the window, and with a gentle and polite smile on her beautiful face she said, "Hello, I'm looking for Mr. Shen Yu of the Shen family."

The security guard has long become accustomed to uninvited men and women such as Jenny Yang showing up. The guard walked to the window expressionlessly and asked, "Have you notified the owner?"

Jenny Yang was bewildered. "What did you say?"

"Does the owner know you're coming?" The security guard looked at Jenny Yang's reaction and knew that he had guessed right and was too lazy to waste his time on the woman. "You can call the servants of the Shen family and have them call me so that I can let you in."

Hearing this, Jenny Yang felt embarrassed.

If she did call Shen Yu, he might even explicitly tell the security guards not to let her in.

And more importantly...

Shen Yu has blocked her cell phone number! Just how can she call him?

The security guard had already waited for half a day but didn't wait any more for Jenny Yang's reply. He jeered as the corners of his mouth rose and waved, "Okay, you go out, don't stand in the way."

"Wait a minute!" Jenny Yang grit her teeth and said, "Do you have a video phone here?"

A minute later, Jenny Yang told the driver to pull over. She got out and followed the security guard to the security booth.

When she dialed the Shen's video phone, Jenny Yang was so nervous that her palms were sweating. She took a deep breath and stared at the black screen as the phone remained unconnected.

What should she say to Shen Yu later?

She didn't know if Shen Yu would waiver after talking to Elder Shen

Jenny Yang's thoughts were tangled up, when suddenly, she noticed that the original dark screen, was filled with a delicate small face.

It's the Tang kid!

He seems to be called Tang Li.

Jenny Yang was shocked by the sudden appearance of his face and subconsciously stepped back two steps.

After regaining her composure, she quickly painted on a kind smile and said in a softly voice, "Chestnut, I'm Sister Yang, is Brother Shen Yu at home?"

Tang Li looked at her with a dead expression. His phoenix eyes were half closed; his pupils were like a knife instantly staring at Jenny Yang.

It was a strange sensation, but even as an adult who has experienced the storms of life, when Jenny Yang was being looked at by a child, a chill went up her spine.

Now it was no longer just her illusion, she really felt the child's hostility towards her.

Just when Jenny Yang thought that Tang Li would not answer her, she heard the other side say, "Brother Shen Yu has gone out and has not come back yet."

"Well..." Jenny Yang was disappointed as she didn't expect Shen Yu to be out.

"Did you come to see big brother Shen Yu?" Tang Li crisply asked, the clear and melodious boy's voice and his face covered with a layer thin ice formed a sharp contrast.

"Yes." Jenny Yang said, "I have something to talk about with your brother Shen Yu."

Tang Li showed a strange expression, and then raised his lips and laughed, "Do you want to come in and wait? It seems inconvenient to wait outside."

Janie Yang was overjoyed, naturally she wouldn't miss this opportunity. She nodded her head and said, "Okay."

Tang Li said, "Wait for me at the security booth. I'll come pick you up now."

Jenny Yang laughed so hard that you could not see her teeth [2]. "Thank you, Chestnut."

Tang Li laughed even more brilliantly: "You're welcome, Aunty." [3]

The smile on Jenny Yang's face froze instantly: "..."

Tang Li didn't seem to see Jenny Yang's sudden green face, and quickly hung up the video phone.

Janie Yang sighed and rubbed her eyebrows with some irritation.

Sure enough, she couldn't like that child...

Fortunately, Shen Yu only temporarily took the child in. He should not keep him in the Shen family for a long time. If she and Shen Yu really succeeded as a couple, they would not need such a child in the family.

Jenny Yang called the driver and sat in the security booth and waited.

As a result, the wait was more than an hour.

Jenny Yang was looking at the autumn scenery for a long time, but still she did not see Tang Li. She was impatient to wait and dialed the video phone seven or eight time, but no one answered them.

Jenny Yang nearly collapsed, but also gradually understand -that demon child was making a fool of her!

Letting her wait for so long in vain, in fact, this demon child didn't intend to come to pick her up!

Jenny Yang, who was finally aware of this, began trembling in anger.

Her whole face was as black as the bottom of the pot. She gritted her teeth and cried out the name of Tang Li.

She knew it!

That child is absolutely terrible!

At the age of 10, he even dared to pick up a knife and stab his uncle. Just how good can such a child be?!

Perhaps his so-called stomachache that night was also deliberate.

No...

She can't watch Shen Yu be cheated by such a demon. She had to let Shen Yu clearly see the bad nature of that child.

—————-

December.

The weather was getting colder and colder.

Although the sun is shining today, the wind was still cold enough to send shivers up the arms of the people walking outside.

Shen Yu excused himself to go to work and instead went to the mall with Uncle Zhang.

In three days, it will be the eleventh birthday of the villains.

As early as a week ago, Shen Yu ordered Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen to start preparing for the event. They bought a lot of things to decorate. They piled them all up in the warehouse, ready to wait until that morning when Tang Li went to school before they began to decorate the home.

As Shen Yu himself liked the quiet, and he knew that the little villain is not a lively person, he did not intend to invite people to the birthday party, even Grandpa Shen is not on his list.

He, Aunt Chen, Uncle Zhang, and other servants are enough.

The rest of the preparations are almost ready, but Shen Yu's gift to the little villain and the birthday cake are still missing.

Shen Yu has never been innovative in choosing gifts. In the past, when his friends and classmates celebrated their birthdays, he sent red envelopes directly to those people so they could buy their own birthday gifts.

However, this method cannot be applied to the little villain.

Shen Yu thought about this matter for several days, and he went to four or five shopping malls in succession. Finally, he asked Uncle Zhang to send him to a well-known custom jewelry store.

This jewelry store only receives VIP customers. Fortunately, the Shen family has a good reputation. Even if Shen Yu is not a VIP customer, the staff warmly welcomed him into the shop.

Under the introduction of the staff, Shen Yu selected a gold pendant with the appearance of Tang Li in mind. The image of a mouse was temporarily designed and painted on by the painters. After three days of urgent processing, the finished product will be sent to the Shen home on the evening of Tang Li's birthday.

When he paid the deposit, Shen Yu was almost blinded by the string of zeros on the bill.

Fortunately, he kept calm and waved to Uncle Zhang to pay by swiping his card.

Later, Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang went to the cake shop again.

They carefully selected a three-layer fruit cake with a blue whale leaping out of the water. Shen Yu thought about it and asked the baker to add a sentence in the blank area of the bottom layer of the cake.

By the time Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang arrived home, it was eight o'clock in the evening.

The deep night sky is permeated by seemingly nonexistent starlight, a shallow crescent moon hung in the horizon, a film of light moonlight covered the quiet land.

The night breeze blew slowly, and the coldess immersed itself in the bone marrow.

It looks like it's going to snow.

Shen Yu went back to his bedroom and took a hot bath.

As soon as he had dried his hair, he heard Aunt Chen knocking at the door: "Sir, dinner is ready."

Shen Yu, sitting in his wheelchair, opened the door and asked, "What about Chestnut?"

"Young master Tang Li went back to his room after dinner. The English teacher is giving him an extra lesson online." Aunt Chen laughed. "No wonder Master Tang Li did so well in school. After all, he worked so hard in private."

Shen Yu nodded happily: "That's good."

Watching children grow...

How can it be bad?

Shen Yu's exigent can't be contained, it was a kind of "my child's first growth" satisfaction.

Before going to bed, Shen Yu went to Tang Li's bedroom door in his wheelchair. He hesitated for half a day, but he still couldn't help knocking on the door.

It would be bad to disturb the study of the little villain.

Shen Yu didn't know if the little villain remembers his own birthday is in three days.

Shen Yu remembered everything he had prepared secretly with Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen and began to look forward to the reaction of the little villain when he got home from school. He hoped that all he had done would make the little villain get rid of his past resentments sooner.

——————————-

In a twinkling of an eye, it was Tang Li's birthday.

Shen Yu, who had always loved lounging in bed, got up early and watched Uncle Zhang drive Tang Li to school. Then, he and Aunt Chen got busy.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, a strange number appeared on Shen Yu's mobile phone.

It was the bakery staff who had brought over the birthday cake.

Shen Yu asked Aunt Chen to go to the security booth to get the cake, and then continued to decorate the living room with the servants.

At that moment, Shen Yu's cell phone, which was placed on the tea table, rang again. He handed the decorations to the servant and picked up the cell phone. He found that it was another strange call.

Although Shen Yu never told his personal number to outsiders, there were still a few unwanted calls in his daily life.

Usually, Shen Yu would choose to ignore it directly. However, he thought that maybe the cake delivery staff had changed their mobile phones and were trying to call him.

So, he answered the phone and said, "Hello."

An unexpected silence from the other side of the line lasted for a long time before a slightly hoarse middle-aged male voice rang out: "Hello, is this Mr. Shen? I'm Lei Yumeng's father..."

...

Tang Li is a child with a quick mind.

Despite Shen Yu's intention to hide it, he had already guessed what Shen Yu was going to do today.

Moreover, the door of the warehouse was never locked up. So, he could easily see what Shen Yu, Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen had prepared by sneaking into the warehouse to look around while others were not paying attention.

Nevertheless, Tang Li still pretended to know nothing. He forcibly suppressed the joy that almost overflowed from his chest and followed Uncle Zhang to school as if nothing had happened.

Tang Li is in a very good mood.

Even when faced with several girls who often pestered him, he was not as cynical as before.

At noon, Tang Li and his two classmates were eating in the dining hall when they suddenly saw a boy who loved to gossip running over in panic. He was panting, looking around and yelling, "Not good!"

A lot of people looked around.

Tang Li bowed his head and concentrated on his meal. There was no reaction from the little villain.

Instead, the classmate sitting next to Tang Li urgently said, "What's wrong? Speak quickly!"

The male classmate patted his chest and slowly breathed, then turned his eyes to Tang Li, and anxiously opened his mouth: "Lei Yumeng cut her wrist in the bathroom to commit suicide and was sent to the hospital by her teacher."

Hearing this, the people around him burst into nervous chatter and turned their eyes to Tang Li.

Tang Li, who had been eating all this time, finally responded, but still, he did not show any panic or worry. Instead, he frowned impatiently, looked up and asked the male classmate, "When did it happen?"

The male student answered, "Just before the first class this morning."

Tang Li: "Is she all right?"

The boy shook his head. "I don't know that. I heard that the toilet lid was covered with blood. While Lei Yumeng was being carried away by her teacher, the blood on her hand dripped all the whole time."

Tang Li said lightly, "Oh."

Then, keep eating.

Others saw Tang Li's indifferent attitude, so they dared not continue to talk about this topic.

With a sigh, the boy touched his nose embarrassingly and turned quietly away.

Although Tang Li didn't care about it, the heavy news had spread all over the elementary and middle school by the afternoon, and even the middle schools far away heard the news.

Before the end of school, the information passed to Tang Li was more complete.

It is said that Lei Yumeng was bullied for a month by several middle school girls who dragged her to the small playground almost every day for two beatings. At first, the girls only kicked a few times, and then it developed to the point of slapping her ears and burning her arms with cigarette butts.

Lei Yumeng's head teacher knew what was happening to her, but for this year's excellent class moral and his own evaluation, the head teacher chose to ignore it.

Deeply bullied, Lei Yumeng did not dare to seek help from the outside world. She could only bear it silently. Until this morning, she decided to commit suicide by cutting her wrist in the school bathroom.

As for the reason why Lei Yumeng was bullied——

There are also divergent opinions.

Only the students in Tang Li's class knew the whole story. They thought that Tang Li would be affected by it, or they would be called to the office by the head teacher for accountability.

However, when the bell rang, Tang Li was like a normal person, and with an air of composure, packed up his schoolbag and got up to walk out of the classroom.

After a long and murmured argument, one of Tang Li's classmates carefully asked him, "Are you going to the hospital to see Lei Yumeng?"

Tang Li looked straight ahead and asked in a strange way, "Why should I go to see her?"

The classmate said, "She was bullied by those girls after she started clinging to you..."

Tang Li turned his head to his classmates and fixed his black eyes on them without any emotion. He pulled up the corner of his mouth and said, "What does that have to do with me? Did I let those people bully her? Or did I let her commit suicide?"

"..." The classmate was stared at by Tang Li. He opened his mouth and could not spit out a word.

Tang Li looked at his classmate's fearful face and suddenly squinted and laughed, "Do you know what kind of person is the most stupid?"

The classmates dared not ignore the: "... Who?"

The chilling voice of Tang Li rang out: "Parrots who repeat things without thinking."

Subconsciously, the students retreated, swallowed their saliva, and watched Tang Li turn and walk away. Only then did they breathe in relief, with cold sweat dripping down their backs.

Tang Li trotted out of the school gate and soon found Uncle Zhang's car.

Thinking of Shen Yu, who was waiting for him at home, Tang Li felt that his depression had been swept away. He was like a happy bird, bustling into the car.

"Uncle Zhang." Tang Li cried in a clear voice.

However, Uncle Zhang did not respond as respectfully as before. Instead, he looked at Tang Li in a very complicated way through the rearview mirror and gave a low-pitched hum.

Tang Li immediately noticed something was wrong. He blinked blankly and asked in a low voice, "Uncle Zhang, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Uncle Zhang took back his gaze and slowly started the car. "When we return home you can ask that again."

[1] When he originally says, "I'm sorry" he uses 对不起, which only means "I'm sorry". But the second time he apologizes he uses 抱歉, which can mean "pardon me" as well as "sorry" and is a bit less formal and gentler in tone.

[2] Meaning her teeth go in and out of view with the movements of laughter. I think...

[3] He's calling her aunt instead of sister, implying she old.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapter26 – Eruption

Tang Li's journey home was one of nervousness.

Finally, back at the Shen home, after stepping into the living room, the first thing that came into view was the brightly colored balloon affixed to the window, which excitedly spelled out two big words, "Happy Birthday".

The living room was decorated very childishly, and there were even stuffed bears as tall as Tang Li resting on the sofa.

A three-tier birthday cake with a blue hue was placed quietly on the tea table. The top of the cake has a lovely whale leaping out of the blue water.

When Tang Li approached, he saw a line of words written on the bottom tier of the cake.

[—— My little Chestnut, brother will always love you.]

For a moment, Tang Li was stunned. His eyes were filled with joy, and his nose even stung a little. It seemed that a hot liquid was spilling out of his eyes.

This is undoubtedly the best birthday gift he has ever received.

Tang Li looked up and turned to Shen Yu, who was sitting in front of him in his wheelchair with his straight back facing the little villain. He called out softly, "Brother Shen Yu."

He didn't know if he was too sensitive, but he somehow felt that the atmosphere in the living room is too quiet. The servants, including Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen, stood quietly in the corner of the living room and did not dare to look at them.

Shen Yu heard his call but refused to turn around and face him.

"Brother Shen Yu. What's wrong with you?" Tang Li cried in a childish voice, taking two tentative steps forward.

Before his voice fell, he was interrupted by Shen Yu: "Don't come here."

Tang Li's footsteps stopped for a moment. He thought about it and quickly retreated to his previous position. He grinned uneasily and said, "Brother Shen Yu, is there anything I did to upset you?"

The answer to Tang Li's question was only a sneer.

Now he is guilty, he knows how to call him brother?"

Tang Li's stood stiffly in place. He seemed to realize something in that moment. His face gradually grew green, and even his smile became extremely reluctant.

"What's wrong?" Tang Li said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Shen Yu did not speak, but slowly turned around in his wheelchair. The expression on his face could be described as despair. His lips were tight, and his cold eyes rested on Tang Li's face.

Looking at Tang Li made Shen Yu very uncomfortable. The little villain's slightly flat mouth, and the glimmering light flowing in those phoenix eyes gave him a pitiable appearance.

"Brother Shen Yu..."

As usual, the villain shouted Shen Yu's name in a soft, waxy voice, like a puppy who made a mistake and was begging his master for forgiveness.

This time, however, Shen Yu was indifferent.

He looked straight at Tang Li and remained silent.

No fear...

No worries...

Not a trace of regret...

Doing such bad things, and then acting like this.

Shen Yu closed his eyes and felt that all his internal organs were sore with anger. All he could see was the memory of when he went to the hospital in the afternoon. Lei Yumeng was lying weakly in the hospital bed, her exposed hands and feet were badly bruised, her wrists were covered with heavy gauze, and she was groaning in her sleep from pain.

In a only a little more than a month, Lei Yumeng has changed from a lovely girl who jumps around to a patient who is thin and sick.

At that moment, Shen Yu could hardly believe his eyes.

Mrs. Lei was sitting beside the hospital bed with a pale face and black circles under her eyes. She covered her face with one hand and wept silently.

Mr. Lei called Shen Yu to the corridor outside the ward and pleaded in a low voice, "Mr. Shen, we did not discipline for our daughter enough, and failed to stop her behavior in time. This must have caused trouble to the Tang child. We are deeply sorry and Yumeng's mother will go to school to pull her out tomorrow. I hope you will forgive us."

In the face of the sincere Mr. Lei, Shen Yu looked on in a daze and did not respond for a long time.

After a while, Shen Yu squeezed out a few words from his throat: "I'm sorry..."

"No." Mr. Lei waved his hand in a hurry. "Don't say you're sorry, blame the students and their head teacher. They're the ones who hurt Yumeng. Tang Li is also a victim in this matter."

Shen Yu opened his mouth but did not know what to say.

The memory of Mr. Lei father apologizing to him was like a sharp needle quenched with poison, which penetrated into his skin so hard that he could hardly breathe.

He knew that Lei Yumeng's parents didn't really think Tang Li was free from blame, but after looking at Shen Yu's face, they could only put their feelings aside and carefully apologize to him.

When he left, Shen Yu asked Uncle Zhang to inquire about the Lei family's bank account number and deposit a sum of compensation as soon as possible.

But on the way home, he still felt bad.

He just couldn't make sense of the recent events.

Tang Li has just turned eleven years old. He should have been an unknowing child. So where did he learn how to do think and do such cruel things?

But at this moment, looking at Tang Li's unrepentant face, Shen Yu suddenly understood.

Tang Li himself is the biggest villain in the original novel.

Doesn't that fit in with the ruthlessness of a villain?

Even if Shen Yu treats him attentively, even if Shen Yu actively wants to pull him back from his inherent evil ways, it will ultimately mean nothing... Just because Tang Li is a real villain and a natural cold-blooded animal.

Even if Shen Yu had the best intentions, he could not warm the heart of Tang Li.

Shen Yu clenched his lips and felt so sad that he wanted to cry. He took a deep breath and forced back the feelings that poured into his eyes. Only the despair that had soaked into his bone marrow remained.

"Uncle Zhang." Shen Yu looked away from Tang Li's pleasant face and said hoarsely, "Take apart the decorations."

"As you wish." Uncle Zhang responded in a low voice, turning his head and motioning to Aunt Chen and the other servants. The group of people acted immediately.

Tang Li was frozen on the spot, and his little face was full of confusion. He did not seem to understand Shen Yu's meaning.

"Shen Yu, are you unhappy with something?" Tang Li asked in dismay.

Shen Yu ignored Tang Li's words, he refused to give him any more attention. Suddenly, he saw the three-layered cake on the tea table, Shen Yu's eyes flashed, and then he said to Uncle Zhang, "Throw this away too."

"Yes." Uncle Zhang nodded and strode to the tea table to pick up the tray that held the cake.

When Tang Li saw the situation, he was immediately flustered. He staggered over, spread his arms over the cake protectively and quickly said, "Isn't this my birthday cake? Why throw it away? You can't throw it out!"

Uncle Zhang turned his head to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu sat in his wheelchair with no expression. His calm eyes are like a lake without even the slightest ripple. Even his breath is soaked with a detached tone: "I said throw it away."

Uncle Zhang no longer hesitated, after bypassing Tang Li in front of him, he picked up the cake on the tea table and went out.

He was only able to take a few steps when suddenly, Tang Li rushed over like a madman and tried to steal the cake from Uncle Zhang's hands.

Uncle Zhang was shocked by Tang Li's sudden action and, on reflex, turned sharply to the side to avoid the little villain. As a result, he collided with Tang Li's small body.

The weight of the three-tier birthday cake is not light. Even Uncle Zhang, as an adult, had some difficulty carrying it. At the moment he was hit by Tang Li's body, his own body's center of gravity instantly changed, and his hands became unstable.

The whole cake fell straight onto Tang Li.

Tang Li had no intention of avoiding at all and instead reached for the cake.

Unfortunately, such a delicate thing as a cake cannot withstand such harsh treatment. In the end, Tang Li's face and body were pasted with the fallen cake.

Uncle Zhang was stunned and looked at Tang Li in surprise: "Young master Tang Li..."

Tang Li's expression was slightly stunned. He looked down at the cake pasted on his body, and at the empty hands he wanted to catch it with. He was as stranded as a small animal lost in the forest.

"This is my cake. It's the cake you gave me..." Tang Li muttered, grieving as if he was about to cry, "Why did you throw my cake away? Didn't you give it to me? You can't throw away my cake without my consent..."

Uncle Zhang, who had a hard time listening to his helpless muttering, could only turn his head away in silence.

Shen Yu, who was sitting not far away, watched all this quietly from beginning to end. After hearing Tang Li's words, the sarcastic arc of his mouth became more and more obvious, and his voice opened coldly: "Consent? So what you did in school was with my consent? Did you let Lei Yumeng suffer those injuries with her parents' consent?

As soon as this was said, Tang Li's whole face turned pale.

If he had just suspected that Shen Yu knew about his association with Lei Yumeng, now he is quite sure that Shen Yu not only knows about it, but also knows all of the bullying Lei Yumeng suffered, and that he has been standing idly by.

Thinking of this, Tang Li suddenly felt cold all over.

"Shen Yu..." He cried out, "It's not what you think..."

Shen Yu couldn't bear it. He grabbed the wheelchair arm and raised his voice, "What else can it look like?"

Tang Li was stunned, and his voice stopped abruptly. He looked at Shen Yu timidly.

"Tang Li, I have asked you many times, but every time you lie, you never tell me the truth." Shen Yu's eyes were filled with such a thick sense of disappointment that it could not be concealed. "I always thought you were just playing a game of puppy love, but I didn't expect you to do more than I imagined. You used those people to bully that girl!"

"Shen Yu, it's not like that..." For the first time, Tang Li's always cold face showed a truly panicked expression. He shook his head like a rattle drum and went to grasp Shen Yu's hand.

But the next second, Shen Yu was relentlessly moved away.

"Don't touch me." Shen Yu's voice was ice cold.

"If she hadn't badgered me and threatened me with you, I would never have done anything like that." Tang Li's face and body were covered with cake. He looked extremely confused. His voice trembled as he explain, "Everything that Lei Yumeng has suffered is her own fault."

Shen Yu coldly smiled, "Just because she was pestering you, you used others to force her to commit suicide at school?"

Tang Li said, "I am not the one who bullied her, nor am I the one who made her commit suicide."

Hearing this, Shen Yu's temples throbbed suddenly. He put his hand on his forehead and said angrily, "What's the difference between you and those people? It's just that the blood wasn't spilled directly on your hands that you can say such indifferent things. Don't forget, you are the murderer who indirectly led to Lei Yumeng's suicide! "

How can you be so cruel?

How can you watch a girl be bullied because of you?

How can you act as if it had nothing to do with you afterwards?

For a time, numerous questions and exclamations filled Shen Yu's mind. His mood was unstable, he leaned on the wheelchair and gasped slightly. His hot eyes seemed to penetrate Tang Li's body.

He sighed in a low voice, "I thought I could change you and pull you back from that dark road. Until now, I didn't realize that those peoples' maliciousness has already penetrated into your bones. You were born like that. You are you. I can't change you."

After a pause, he said, "Tang Li, do you have feelings?"

Shen Yu did not get a reply from Tang Li.

He didn't even know whether Tang Li understood his words or not.

Shen Yu abandoned his gaze and suddenly lost the energy to observe Tang Li's reaction. After Aunt Chen and others cleaned up the living room, he waved his hand and asked the servants to leave first.

Then he asked Uncle Zhang, "Is there any real estate near the school?"

Uncle Zhang bowed his head and answered empathically, "There are two places. One is in Guiyuan district. It's only ten minutes away from Shenghua International School. The other one is in Lugang District. It's a high rise with more than 200 levels. It takes half an hour to drive to school. It's also better in security and more convenient for transportation."

"You decide." Shen Yu closed his eyes tiredly and rubbed his eyebrows. "I'll send Tang Li with you later. From now on, let him live there and come back once a month."

Before Uncle Zhang could respond, Tang Li had collapsed and yelled, "Why?!"

Shen Yu opened his eyes and stared lightly at the shocked Tang Li: "I can't teach you anymore."

After a few seconds, he added, "But since I promised you that I would bring you up, I will keep my promise. You don't have to worry about that."

Tang Li stared directly at Shen Yu, it was if he was looking at someone he had never seen before.

Gradually, the dark eyes of Tang Li became covered in a layer of watery mist, and the sorrow lingering in the bottom of his eyes seemed to overflow.

Tang Li moved his lips and spoke in an incredible tone: "All this for the sake of Lei Yumeng?"

Shen Yu sneered: "It has nothing to do with her."

"Then what is it? Or is it you disliked me for a long time and now you have a reasonable excuse to kick me out?"

Shen Yu noticed that Tang Li was approaching a breaking point. He raised his eyes to the red eyes of Tang Li. He felt terrible. He frowned and said, "It's not like that."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Yu saw several crystal tears rolling out of Tang Li's eyes.

Then the tears came out like beads with broken threads.

Tang Li did not feel them at all, his eyes were scary red, and a few visible green veins appeared on his forehead. He seemed to be trying to suppress his emotions. He tried to speak calmly, "If I didn't do that, Lei Yumeng would still pester me and stay outside my classroom day after day, just like Jenny Yang is pestering you."

Shen Yu was stunned and murmured, "Although I don't like Jenny Yang, I wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

"That's why you gave her the chance to continue to pester you."

Shen Yu was suddenly stunned into silence, and his unbelieving eyes wandered around Tang Li figure several times.

He could hardly believe that...

This sentence was uttered from the mouth of an eleven-year-old child.

At the same time, Tang Li continued: "Your refusal isn't firm, you give her the chance to hope, even if she follows you around like a dog you don't do anything about it. Your behavior makes her believe that as long as she takes the initiative and stay persistent, then one day sooner or later she'll be Mrs. Shen."

Shen Yu, with a blue face, slapped the armrest of his wheelchair in anger: "At least she was not forced to commit suicide because of me!"

Tang Li spoke, his gaze locked on Shen Yu's own eyes, "You're such a bad man."

Hearing this, Shen Yu was so angry that he even breathed a little unsteadily. In an instant, his heart burst into flames and his mouth burst out words before his brain could process them: "Exactly, if I were not such a bad man, how could I take in a troubled teenager like you?"

After the words fell, the whole room was dead silent.

Tang Li did not make any more noise and instead went directly into a robotic state.

Shen Yu's reason gradually returned. Finally, he realized what he had said and immediately softened his heart. "Chestnut, I..."

Tang Li did not give him an opportunity to explain, but turned around and left.

Soon, Tang Li's back disappeared from Shen Yu's sight.

Uncle Zhang looked at Shen Yu and went out quietly without saying a word.

———————-

Winter nights come early.

Just before 8 o'clock in the evening, the sky outside the windows had been already been covered by the heavy cloak of night. Looking at it, it was like a strong and huge curtain, which covered all the light tightly.

"It's going to snow tonight." Aunt Chen looked out of the window and said.

Shen Yu sat beside the sofa and played with his mobile phone. He listened and looked up at the dark night sky outside the window. He said, "It's only December now. Why is it snowing so early?"

"It snowed at this time last year." Aunt Chen turned around and said uncertainly, "I think the weather forecast says that, even if it doesn't snow tonight, it may snow tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."

Shen Yu: "Oh..."

He kept looking down at his cell phone, but he couldn't see the content on the screen.

Aunt Chen watched Shen Yu's absent-minded reaction. She sighed, not knowing how to comfort Shen Yu.

Although Aunt Chen and other servants were dismissed by Shen Yu before he and Tang Li quarreled earlier this evening, she clearly saw Tang Li walking towards the gate in the front yard, and Uncle Zhang did not say a word.

It seems that this time there is a lot of trouble...

Whether it's Shen Yu or Tang li, both are in a bad mood this evening.

Aunt Chen hesitated for a while and advised, "Sir, it's not early in the evening. How about going upstairs to rest."

"Em." Shen Yu nodded, then picked up his cell phone, and manipulated his wheelchair to take the elevator upstairs. Suddenly, he thought of something and told Aunt Chen, "If Uncle Zhang comes back, tell him come to my bedroom to find me, I won't go to sleep quite yet."

Aunt Chen answered, "Yes sir."

Maybe it's because Shen Yu was so worried that even though he was sitting on his bed after taking a bath, he really didn't feel sleepy at all.

He thought for a long time, finally, he picked up the mobile phone that had been placed on the bedside table, and dialed Uncle Zhang's phone nervously.

After a second call, he was connected. Uncle Zhang's voice was intentionally lowered when speaking into his mobile phone: "Sir, I am accompanying young master Tang Li outside. There is nothing to worry about. Please rest assured."

Shen Yu asked, "Where are you?"

"Lei Yumeng's front door." Uncle Zhang said, "She left the hospital this afternoon and went home. Young master Tang Li has been keeping watch in front of her house."

Shen Yu felt very strange: "What's he going to do?"

Uncle Zhang answered truthfully, "I don't know."

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterCh.27 – Apology

Shen Yu felt that Tang Li's mood is not right. Especially when he left, the shadows that filled Tang Li's eyes made Shen Yu more and more worried.

He was really angry with Tang Li on Lei Yumeng's behalf. If it really was the case that Tang Li intentionally vented all his resentment on Lei Yumeng...

Then the implications are unimaginable.

The more Shen Yu thought about it, the more apprehensive he felt. If it was before, he would have unreservedly believed that Tang Li would not have done anything to Lei Yumeng. But now, his trust in Tang Li has been shaken.

It's like a broken bucket...

No matter how hard he tried to fill it with water, there was still water leaking out.

"Bring him back first." Shen Yu ordered, "The rest will wait till tomorrow."

Uncle Zhang said, "Understood."

Shen Yu warned again, "Don't let him do anything to Lei Yumeng."

Uncle Zhang hesitated for a moment and carefully explained, "I think young master Tang Li wanted to apologize to the little girl."

"Really..." Shen Yu suddenly paused. When faced with Uncle Zhang's immediate defense of Tang Li, he suddenly felt at a loss and a sense of indescribable embarrassment.

Even Uncle Zhang chose to look on the bright side.

While he still looks at Tang Li with tinted glasses.

After hanging up the phone, Shen Yu still couldn't sleep. Eventually, he got out of bed and sat in front of the window and waited.

Looking down from this angle, he could see a lush forest shrouded in the night and the faint lights circling along the path in the forest.

In the distance, there is a quiet lake.

Weak streetlights circled around the lake, and the reflection of the lights fell into the water like stars in the night sky.

Winter nights often bring about depression, and tonight, this feeling is particularly strong for Shen Yu.

It was suffocating.

He closed his eyes and recalled all the things that happened in the afternoon. Suddenly, he was confused. Although Tang Li indirectly was the cause of Lei Yumeng's bullying, in the end, Tang Li himself was not the person who was bullying Lei Yumeng.

Was his own reaction too harsh?

Thinking of this, the memory of Tang Li's grieving expression as he stood covered in cake gradually emerged.

The tears flashing in the eyes of the little villain, his little eyes red as he stubbornly tried to pull back his emotions. The little villain trying to explain the truth to him in a seemingly calm but still trembling voice. Shen Yu remembered it all.

After more than three months, he was already regarded as Shen Yu's own son.

Even though Shen Yu was so angry a few hours ago that he wanted to directly drive Tang Li out of the Shen house, now that he had calmed down, he felt regret.

Maybe he shouldn't have been so angry.

He should have communicated calmly with Tang Li.

Shen Yu stroked his forehead to sooth his headache and sat there stoically for nearly two hours. Yet, he still did not hear Uncle Zhang and Tang Li returning. He eventually took his wheelchair to the stairway to watch.

In the large quiet living room, there was only a dim floor lamp.

Aunt Chen sat sleepily beside the sofa; her head propped on hand.

After hearing the sound of a wheelchair rolling on the floor, Aunt Chen woke up immediately and quickly looked up. When she found that it was Shen Yu, she was relieved. "Sir, why did you come all the way out here?"

"Uncle Zhang hasn't come back yet?"

"No." Aunt Chen shook her head. "I called housekeeper Zhang and he said he would be back later."

Shen Yu spoke quietly, "Go back first and rest."

Aunt Chen was so sleepy that she could hardly keep her eyes open. After being told that, she got up and went back to her room to wash and sleep.

Shen Yu stayed in place for a moment, looking down at the quiet living room shrouded in the dim light. After a long silence, he sighed and steered the wheelchair back to the bedroom.

When he came to the window again, Shen Yu saw that there seemed to be something fine and dense floating down in the night sky.

He turned on the flashlight of his cell phone, pointed it at the window, and found that it was snowflakes.

Aunt Chen was right. It was snowing tonight.

No one knew when Uncle Zhang and Tang Li would come back.

After a long time without contact, Shen Yu became worried and dialed Uncle Zhang's phone.

This time, Uncle Zhang answered immediately. Before Shen Yu could speak out, Uncle Zhang had taken the lead in saying, "Sir, you can go to bed first. Young master Tang Li and I will come back later."

Shen Yu said, "It's snowing."

"Yes." Uncle Zhang sighed in a low voice, "The first snow really came at an inconvenient time."

Shen Yu felt that Uncle Zhang was only avoiding the topic and simply said, "Don't stay outside. Come back as soon as possible. If Chestnut is still angry with me, please try to persuade him."

"Sir..." Uncle Zhang said in embarrassment, "I persuaded him for a long time, but young master Tang Li refused to go back. He said that he knew he was wrong, and he wanted to ask the little girl for forgiveness."

Shen Yu laughed, helpless and distressed, the fire that nested in the cavity of his heart wanted to disperse completely.

"He can apologize later, you tell him, that if he really wants to apologize to Lei Yumeng, I can take him to meet Lei Yumeng's family directly."

Hearing this, Uncle Zhang was silent for a few seconds before he said, "Why don't I give my phone to young master Tang Li? You can say to him that to him directly."

"Please do," said Shen Yu.

Soon, Uncle Zhang's voice changed from clear to blurred, and he seemed to be talking to Tang Li.

Instantly, Shen Yu felt a little nervous. He could not help gripping his cell phone. When he racked his brain to think about how to start the conversation, he suddenly found that the opposite side was too quiet.

There was no sound at all.

Shen Yu noticed something in an instant and looked at his phone.

The call had been hung up.

Shen Yu: "..."

What the fuck!

Usually he can't see it, but the little villain's temper is actually pretty big.

Shen Yu's face was full of astonishment. He looked at his phone and held it in mid-air for a full minute before slowly putting it down.

For a moment, he felt angry and bewildered.

Forget it.

Tang Li has shown such obvious resistance to him, why would he change now? Besides, Tang Li should be punished if he had done something wrong.

Moreover, there should be nothing wrong so long as Uncle Zhang accompanying him.

Shen Yu thought about it and sent a message to Uncle Zhang, asking him to take the blanket in his car and put it on Tang Li. He could not end up with a cold without apologizing first.

After Uncle Zhang's reply came, Shen Yu restrained his mind and went back to bed.

———————

Unfortunately, this evening, Shen Yu's mind was in a mess and he could not fall asleep. He could only stare at the ceiling until dawn.

At seven o'clock in the morning, Shen Yu got up and dressed.

When he finally got to the dining room after washing, Aunt Chen had just cooked the yam porridge. She was shocked to see two dark circles under Shen Yu's eyes.

"Are you all right, sir?"

"I'm all right." Shen Yu sat in the wheelchair and came to the fixed position at the dining table. After expending some effort, he fixed a smile to his face and reluctantly laughing, "It's just that I didn't sleep well last night."

Aunt Chen put the porridge, fried buns and other foods on the table. Then she said worriedly, "How about after breakfast, you will go back to rest?"

Shen Yu waved his hand: "No, there's still work to be done."

Also, Uncle Zhang and Tang Li did not return last night. How could he sleep?

Aunt Chen listened to Shen Yu's words, knowing that she couldn't convince him any further.

After breakfast, Shen Yu passed the living room in a wheelchair and went to the study. He saw that the scene outside the window had been covered with a blanket of snow. The lush scene in the courtyard had disappeared completely. Three servants in overcoats were sweeping the snow from the sidewalks.

A servant passed by and saw Shen Yu staring out of the window. He couldn't help exclaiming, "It snowed all night and didn't stop until five o'clock in the morning. I don't think it will be long before it starts to fall again."

After that, the servant cautioned Shen Yu carefully: "The temperature has dropped dramatically recently, Sir should pay attention to keeping warm."

Shen Yu's thoughts were pulled back by the servant's voice. His eyes gradually focused. He looked up at the servant and smiled. "Thank you."

After arriving at the study, Shen Yu picked up his cell phone and dialed Uncle Zhang's phone.

It's still off.

When Shen Yu woke up this morning, Uncle Zhang's cell phone had been turned off, but Tang Li's cell phone was on. However, he refused to answer Shen Yu's phone call.

Shen Yu had no choice but to wait.

He waited until he had finished the mountain of work in his study, until he called Kang Lin and some assistants to have a brief meeting, until he did his rehabilitation exercise for about half an hour with the help of a doctor, until more than six o'clock in the evening...

Uncle Zhang finally came back.

But he came back alone.

Shen Yu, who rushed out of the study, looked around behind Uncle Zhang. The smile on his face soon stiffened. He asked, "What about Chestnut?"

"Still there." Uncle Zhang had snowflakes on his hair and clothes, and snowflakes all over his body. He grinned helplessly. "Young master Tang Li is too stubborn. The little girl doesn't want to see him, so he waited downstairs. No matter what I said, he won't leave."

It sounds like he sincerely wants to apologize to Lei Yumeng.

But Shen Yu couldn't be happy, and there was an indescribable rage in his chest, rushing straight up his throat and burning his cheeks red.

What does Tang Li mean by doing this?

Is the little villain snapping his teeth against him?

He had softened his attitude and extended an olive branch of peace. However, Tang Li not only refused to accept it, but was also determined to spend his time in the cold snow.

Shen Yu's lips turned downwards, his eyes were dim, his face, black and blue, and the dark circles under his eyes made him look very desolate.

After a while, Shen Yu squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: "Does he really not want to come back?"

Uncle Zhang bowed his head and said, "That, I cannot say."

"Well, since he's so reluctant, then don't come back." Shen Yu was so angry that his voice was trembling. He clicked his fingertips on the wheelchair armrest many times before steering the wheelchair away.

He has always been calm and self-restrained. When he came to this world, he could count the number of times he lost his temper with one hand.

This time, he was frustrated by Tang Li.

Even though he was very naive, he would not care about Tang Li anymore. Even if Tang Li came back, he would pick a fight with Tang Li for a whole month just to make Tang Li realize the seriousness of this matter.

However, when Shen Yu saw the snowflakes falling outside the window, those childish ideas disappeared in a flash.

The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and nobody could tell when it will stop.

It seems that the whole world is buried in heavy snow.

Meanwhile, Shen Yu regretted it.

He later realized that Tang Li was only a child who had just turned eleven years old and had been abused by the Tang family for more than a year. Naturally, his way of thinking and acting was different from that of ordinary children.

He's not an adult, he's a traumatized 11-year-old...

Shen Yu's anger at the first discovery of Lei Yumeng's suicide attempt, his heartache after learning that Tang Li apologized, his embarrassment that Tang Li had ignored him, and finally, his guilt. In less than a day, he had experienced many emotional ups and downs, as if he had been riding a roller coaster all day long, and the sharp sense of the upcoming drop tormented him into madness.

But the only thing he can be sure of is——

Even if Tang Li was wrong, Shen Yu had raised this child for more than three months. People's hearts were fleshy [1]. He could not keep his eyes open only to watch Tang Li starve and freeze outside.

After thinking about this, Shen Yu felt relaxed. He called Uncle Zhang and said, "It's getting late. We'll pick up Chestnut and come back."

—————

After careful calculation, Tang Li waited for one night and one day in front of Lei Yumeng's house.

When it started snowing, and the cold snowflakes fell on his hair and clothes. Gradually, they turned into ice water, soaking his hair and clothes, even his bone marrow felt soaked in ice water.

Tang Li was so cold that his teeth are chattering.

He was still wearing his school uniform. His slightly thin woolen overcoat could not withstand the cold wind. In the snowy winter, it seemed that even the air was freezing.

Although Tang Li had been restraining himself from trembling, his pale face seemed to blend with the snow-white background, and he looked miserable and pitiful.

Housekeeper Zhang[2] accompanied Tang Li overnight and during the day, and strongly advised him to come home.

Unfortunately, Tang Li did not listen to a word, and stubbornly refused to go back with housekeeper Zhang. He opened his already frozen blue lips and said with a numb expression, "Uncle Zhang, brother Shen Yu is right. I made a mistake and should bear the consequences. You don't have to sympathize with me."

The housekeeper sighed and then advised, "It's Mr. Shen who wants you to come home. He's waiting for you."

"I'm not going back." Tang Li drooped his eyes, stared at his feet, and breathed out a white mist. "I will not leave until Lei Yumeng comes out to see me."

Housekeeper Zhang looked at Tang Li's stubborn expression and decided to stop talking. Finally, he drove away. His cell phone had no power left, so he needed to report to Shen Yu personally.

After housekeeper Zhang left, there was only the lonely and miserable looking Tang Li left.

Lei Yumeng's family lived in a high-end residential area with strict security and very few pedestrians. Tang Li relied on housekeeper Zhang to get in. During the time they waited, they seldom saw other passers-by.

It was snowing heavily with no sense of stopping.

Tang Li stood motionless in the snow, like a soulless sculpture.

As if a whole century had passed, from the quiet and snowy air, suddenly came the squeak of shoes treading on the snow. Gradually, the sound grew nearer to the frozen boy.

Tang Li's consciousness quickly returned, and he looked up.

Lei Yumeng was wearing a long black down jacket from head to ankle, showing only a pair of big eyes. Even if she wrapped herself tightly, she could still feel her weight during this period. Like a bamboo pole with a down jacket coming, it had none of its previously healthy appearance.

After reaching Tang Li, Lei Yumeng slowly stopped.

A month ago, Lei Yumeng was still looking down at Tang Li. Now, a month later, she has to raise her chin slightly to get a better look at Tang Li.

Two people stared, one so big and one so small, about half a minute later, Tang Li broke the silence with a loud voice: "I'm sorry."

Whether it was Tang Li's manner or tone, both were sincere. After saying this, he took out from his pocket a vintage-red, square box containing the bracelet he had purchased last night.

"Here's the bracelet you've always wanted, for you."

Lei Yumeng looked down. Her cold eyes fell on the delicate box. She hesitated for a moment. Then she slowly reached over and took it.

"I know you came last night, but I don't want to see you." Lei Yumeng closed her five fingers, clutched the box tightly and looked straight at Tang Li with eyes full of hatred. "If my mother hadn't seen you just now, even if you stood here and froze to death, I wouldn't care about you."

Tang Li crooked his mouth and said, "Please thank aunt for me."

The phrase of no significant importance ignited the anger in Lei Yumeng's heart.

"Don't think you can make me forgive you if you do these things. I've come down to see you to relive my mother's worry. I'll accept your things for my mother's sake, but I will never forgive you, never!"

Lei Yumeng breathed slightly with a venomous look in her eyes, like a snake ready to strike. It seemed as if she would like to rush over and bite Tang Li to pieces.

When Tang Li heard her words, he not only felt no annoyance, but also raised his lips to show a faint smile. He said in a still sincere tone, "I just came to apologize to you, and I don't need your forgiveness."

Lei Yumeng was stunned: "What do you mean?"

Tang Li said with a laugh, "Literally speaking."

Lei Yumeng was momentary confused, but she was still smart, and soon understood what Tang Li was talking about. Suddenly, her eyes were full of anger and flames were coming out of her head.

She threw the small box on the ground, pointing at Tang Li with half indignation and half embarrassment. "I knew you didn't come to apologize to me at all. You were clearly putting on a show. You're selling it to Shen Yu so that Shen Yu would continue to support you!"

Tang Li looked at the emotional Lei Yumeng with no expression and said nothing.

"How can you do that? You still act this way towards to me!" Lei Yumeng yelled with tears pouring out of her eyes. She wiped the corner of her eyes, cried, and suddenly laughed. "What a pity, only eleven years old? This is all just a way to ensure your life."

[1] The heart is fleshy, it basically means that we're human, and part of that is feeling emotions that can't be controlled and that aren't necessarily rational.

[2] During this part, the text very distinctly refers to Uncle Zhang as "housekeeper Zhang", but uses "Uncle Zhang" in the dialogue. I'm not sure if this is an indication of Tang Li's mental perspective or if I'm overthinking.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterCh.28 – The Truth

Lei Yumeng cried and laughed for half a day, and Tang Li stood in front of her motionless, with eyes as calm as a lake, as if looking at an inanimate object.

Soon, Lei Yumeng gradually recollected herself. She fixed her eyes on Tang Li for a long time before she began to speak hoarsely: "You and I are the same kind of person. In order to stay in the Shen household, you're willing to act like Shen Yu's lap dog. Someday, you will follow me in the same direction."

Tang Li's eyes flashed slightly, his mouth tightened, and he still had no words.

"I'll wait and see how you fall. Maybe it won't be long before Shen Yu will see through your little act," said Lei Yumeng fiercely. "You can only kneel on the ground like a pathetic orphaned dog and beg him to forgive you and not throw you out."

Speaking of this, the Lei Yumeng perked up.

The next second, she smiled brilliantly. "I don't believe it will be too long now."

Tang Li's expressionless face seemed to be unaffected by Lei Yumeng's vicious words.

There was a long silence.

Tang Li asked coldly, "Is that all?"

Lei Yumeng: "... That's all."

"Oh." Tang Li looked down and was too lazy to see Lei Yumeng again. "Then go back."

Although Lei Yumeng always knew that Tang Li was precocious and indifferent, she did not think that after hearing her words, Tang Li would have no reaction.

It seemed like she was punching cotton.

"You really are a cold-blooded animal." Lei Yumeng stepped back two paces. The sound of her snow boots squeaking when they rubbed against the snow was particularly harsh in the silent night. She was ashamed and annoyed. "Tang Li, you are not fit to be called human."

Hearing this, the originally indifferent expression on Tang Li's changed, as he looked back up, his eyes quickly filled with an indescribable emotion.

Suddenly he said, "Does that mean you're fit to be called human?"

Lei Yumeng was stunned.

Tang Li crooked his mouth and sneered, his voice almost melting into the frigid air: "If it wasn't because you of the fact that you're a girl, I would have already exposed your lies. So don't think that just because I haven't done that, that I'm foolish enough not to know what you've done before. "

"What do you mean?" Lei Yumeng had a moment of panic. Fortunately, she soon calmed down, frowned and said, "I don't understand what you're talking about."

Tang Li stared coldly at the slight change of face that Lei Yumeng could not completely cover up, and mocked, "Between you and those women, how many are innocent? They just slapped you. Don't forget that last winter you hired someone to push one of them into the river."

Lei's face turned white in a flash.

How?!

It's been almost a year since that incident, and she used the money to get a bully to push that girl down. Tang Li transferred to school four months ago. How did he know that?!

Tang Li smiled, his grin more brilliant than Lei Yumeng's own smile just a second ago, but also noticeably colder: "What is done in the dark can always be pulled out into the light."

Lei Yumeng's body was stiff, her eyes glazed at Tang Li for a long time, and she stammered as she asked, "What...What do you want?"

"When I made that promised to associate with you, I just wanted to see what would happen between you and that woman. I figured that if you concentrated on her, you wouldn't waste your time on me anymore. But it seems, I underestimated your ability. You're just too good at playing the bully from the shadows. I only needed to give a you a little push [1]."

Tang Li's face and clothes were covered with dried cake and cream, his hair was a little messy, and the night wind made his clothes rustle.

Shivering, he looked like a mess.

Despite that, his face was full of irony and laughter. With half-closed eyes and looking down at the pale Lei Yumeng, he whispered with a smile on his face: "Even without me, you would have developed to this point. Your so-called suicide is not really about suicide, but a deliberate act of revenge against that group of girls, right? I've heard that they still can't get out of prison. Your parents must have made a lot of money from their parents and the school as compensation."

Now, Lei Yumeng was completely stunned.

She never would have dreamed of it.

Tang Li even knows these things...

But how did he know that?!

No one should know about that except her and her parents.

Tang Li took in Lei Yumeng's reaction with his cold eyes. He seemed to guess what she was thinking. He grinned his lips slightly. "I could guess as much."

Lei Yumeng: "..."

Tang Li said, "Your goal has been achieved. They are being punished even more cruelly than you had planned. So why don't you let me go. After all, I'm only an eleven-year-old schoolboy."

After hearing these words, Lei Yumeng almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

What the Fuck...

Go to hell with your schoolboys!

How could a simple schoolboy guess so many things?!

At this moment, Lei Yumeng's fear of Tang Li increased by one point unconsciously. She thought that Tang Li was just a little smarter compared to his peers.

But at the moment, it's not just him being merely smart...

After a long pause, Lei Yumeng asked in a low voice, "Why don't you tell Shen Yu about it?"

If Shen Yu knew the truth, maybe he wouldn't be so willing to let Tang Li freeze outside on a snowy night.

Tang Li sneered, "What's the matter with you?"

Lei Yumeng: "..."

"Go back." Tang Li said, "If you do this again, I can't guarantee that I won't change my mind."

[1] The originals said, "top the pot", which means the base issues were already present, and someone just needed to add a little for things to overflow. Kind of like saying, "the powder kegs were already there, I just needed to light the match".

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterChapter 29 – Forgive

Lei Yumeng hesitated for a moment but left.

The night grew deeper and deeper, as if there were no light left in the pitch-black sky, only dense snowflakes drifting down, little by little.

In the shadows of night, there were no stray passers-by in the community.

It was so quiet that one could only hear the sound of snow falling from the branches from time to time, it was as if Tang Li was the only one left in the entire world.

He looked at the ground quietly, and the snow fell on his long eyelashes. It melted quickly into ice water and soaked into his eyes, which made his eyes red and his thin lips blue.

It was not long before Tang Li reluctantly moved his almost frozen legs and turned around very slowly.

Just behind him on his right, beside a small flower bed, there was an ordinary Buick car. The dark car seemed to melt into the night, and there was no light coming from it.

It's hard to find a car parked there if you weren't intentionally looking for it.

But Tang Li's eyes did not stay on the car. He was just stood stunned for a moment and then quickly turned away.

If he's not mistaken...

Shen Yu is in that car.

No, with his knowledge of Shen Yu, Shen Yu must certainly be in that car. If Uncle Zhang came alone, he would not have secretly parked the car in the dark.

With his arms folded into one another, Tang Li felt that his brain was somewhat dull from the cold air. However, when Shen Yu's gentle and kind smiling face appeared in front of him, he suddenly felt that it was not cold at all.

It was if his heart was filled with a warmth.

In a trance, he remembered the question raised by Lei Yumeng not long ago, why he didn't tell Shen Yu the truth.

Actually, there's no particularly complicated reason.

It's just that it's troublesome.

Just like how he had promised to play a childish game of love with Lei Yumeng, it was because he thought that Lei Yumeng was too troublesome. He simply needed to borrow the hands of the teacher or the group of girls to do something about her.

The fact that things got to this point was unexpected.

At first, he did feel guilty and panicked, but when he learned from his desk mate before leaving school that Lei Yumeng had some previous animosity with that group of girls, all he had left was the desire to quickly put an end to the matter.

As for the speculation about the authenticity of Lei Yumeng's suicide, it was only a guess made by him in combination with his desk mate's gossip.

Unexpectedly, Lei Yumeng admitted it fairly easily.

In fact, he didn't mind this little play of Lei Yumeng's, but he was upset that it was going on endlessly.

What's more, in Shen Yu's eyes, he is just a child who is somewhat touchy, unreasonable and lonely. He would rather Shen Yu mistook him for a cold-blooded person than let Shen Yu know that he has so many calculating thoughts.

—————

Snowy nights are especially cold.

Shen Yu was wrapped in a heavy overcoat. Before going out, Uncle Zhang put a blanket on his legs, but even sitting in the car, he still felt the bitter cool air drilling into his clothes.

Shen Yu shivered. He shrank his neck in and buried most of his face in his collar, revealing only a pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes.

Uncle Zhang sat in the driver's seat, turned his head and looked at Shen Yu shivering in the cold, so he advised, "Sir, you'd better close the window. It's too cold outside, and the car is heated. It's easy to get sick if it's blowing like this."

"It's all right." Shen Yu replied absently, leaning sideways in the wheelchair, holding his cheek in one hand, and staring at something in front of him.

The thin figure was struggling in the snow.

Shen Yu was distressed watching this, as if all his internal organs were being tightly gripped. It was so painful that he could hardly breathe.

At this moment, he wished he could get out of the car and bring the little villain back. Even if Tang Li did not want to go, he would drag Tang Li over by force. However, in retrospect, he hesitated when he thought about Tang Li's attitude towards him before.

What should we do in case the little villain hates him even more?

Shen Yu sighed and then told Uncle Zhang, "Call Kang Lin and ask him when he can come. Let him wait outside the main entrance of the community and take Chestnut to the hospital for an examination."

The little villain had stayed up all day and all night in the ice and snow, so Shen Yu was concerned about Tang Li's small body.

Oh yeah!

During this period, did Tang Li even drink a mouthful of water?

Thinking of this, Shen Yu felt his heart ache as if it was being stabbed by a needle.

Yesterday afternoon, he detested Tang Li's behavior, and now, he regretted that he treated Tang Li in the same bad way. Even worse, the little villain was only a teenager, and needed adults to guide him in the right way.

You can't expect a twisted iron bar to straighten out all at once.

Perhaps it is more useful to educate with a soothing tone than to punish severely.

When Shen Yu was in a mess thinking about it, Uncle Zhang had already called Kang Lin, and he said, "Kang Lin will be here in a few minutes, so we can leave first..."

Uncle Zhang's words were interrupted by Shen Yu's actions before they were finished.

Just now, Tang Li, walking on the snow, somehow, suddenly fell straight forward, and then there was no movement.

Shen Yu, who was always staring at Tang Li's appearance outside, was frightened, and had no time to think about it. He opened the door reflexively and rushed out in his wheelchair.

Fortunately, Uncle Zhang's eyes and hands seized Shen Yu's arm quickly.

"Wait in the car. I'll go and have a look." When Uncle Zhang finished, he got out and ran over.

Shortly after, Uncle Zhang rushed back with the unconscious Chestnut in his arms. He put him in the back seat and rushed back to the driver's seat to start the car.

Shen Yu covered Tang Li with the blanket that was originally on his legs. He held Tang Li's hand. The cold touch seemed to soak into Shen Yu's skin and then spread to his bones.

"Ah..." Shen Yu was so cold that he couldn't help letting go of Tang Li's hand.

The Tang Li wrapped in the blanket seemed to have some sense of this and leaned closer to Shen Yu. Who knows whether it was by instinct or deliberate, but the little villain rubbed Shen Yu's palm with his small face.

The little villain's long eyelashes trembled, his face was pale, and his lips were purple.

He looked pitiful.

"Chestnut." Shen Yu carefully stroked Tang Li's cold cheeks, and his voice was trembling with pain. "It's all right. We'll take you to the hospital."

Shen Yu thought that Tang Li was unconscious, but after his words were finished, Tang Li opened his eyes slowly, and his dim vision gradually focused on Shen Yu's face.

The small phoenix eyes were half closed, but the visible part of those dark eyes was covered with a thin layer of mist.

"Shen Yu..." Tang Li's throat was too cold to speak properly.

"I'm here." Shen Yu hurried over and tried to rub some warmth into Tang Li's cheeks. He asked nervously, "Is it still cold?"

Subsequently, Shen Yu quickly turned to Uncle Zhang who was driving and said, "Turn the heating to the maximum setting."

Uncle Zhang said, "Sir, it has reached its maximum."

Shen Yu was anxious and helpless, so he urged Uncle Zhang to drive faster. Then he turned back to tuck the blanket more securely around Tang Li, when suddenly, Tang Li held his arm in a tight grip.

"I'm so cold..." Tang Li said in a hoarse, almost imploring, voice, "Shen Yu, hold me. Please?"

Shen Yu looked down at the misty eyes of Tang Li, eyes that could not hide his hope, like a pitiful puppy.

"Hold me in your arms..." Tang Li urged in a low voice.

Shen Yu could not refuse, so he reluctantly changed his position in his wheelchair.

Now, he was facing Tang Li. Just as he wanted to reach out to hold him, he saw that Tang Li, who had just looked so weak, quickly burrowed into his arms, the little villain's movements were very flexible.

Shen Yu: "..."

For a moment, he thought that Tang Li was pretending to be ill.

Only, when Shen Yu looked down and saw Tang Li lying on his leg, his eyes closed, breathing with his mouth in great difficulty and knotting his eyebrows in pain, he quickly dispelled those doubtful thoughts.

At this time, he is still thinking about how he had treated the little villain before.

Shen Yu couldn't help feeling immense guilt over his previous conduct.

He unbuttoned his overcoat and wrapped it around the upper half of Tang Li.

Tang Li sensed Shen Yu's movements and changed his position in his arms. He buried his face in Shen Yu's chest and held his hands tightly around Shen Yu's waist.

"Shen Yu." Tang Li said in a muffled voice, "Sorry, I was wrong. I'll never do that again."

Tang Li could not even speak clearly, so it took some effort for Shen Yu to discern what the little villain was talking about.

Shen Yu was stunned. He patted Tang Li on the back and said, "I was wrong too."

"No, you were right." Tang Li shook his head in Shen Yu's bosom, hugged Shen Yu tightly and said, "The wrong person is me, I lied to you, I did those things, but I apologized to Lei Yumeng, and she forgave me."

Shen Yu sighed, "I know."

Tang Li spoke in an anxious voice, "Shen Yu, will you forgive me?"

Shen Yu stroked Tang Li's back and said gently, "Of course, who let you be the child of our Shen family?"

After a long time, Tang Li said, "Will you still drive me away then?"

Shen Yu thought for a while before he could understand what Tang Li was talking about. He remembered the episode where he had asked him to move to the house near the school. He burst into tears and laughed. Shen Yu bowed his head and kissed Tang Li's soft hair.

"I'm sorry, I said those words in anger, but now I take them back."

After that, Shen Yu noticeably felt Tang Li's body tremble fiercely. He was really afraid of Tang Li's frozen voice, which seemed to be losing its ability to speak. He hastened to say, "Don't talk, you have a rest first, and I'll wake you later when I get to the hospital."

Tang Li nodded obediently.

Soon, he fell asleep in Shen Yu's arms.

However, when he arrived at the hospital, Shen Yu did not wake up Tang Li, but instead asked Uncle Zhang to help him carry it.

Throughout the process, Tang Li did not wake up. At first Shen Yu thought Tang Li was sleeping soundly, so he asked doctors and nurses to move quietly so as not to wake up the child.

Later, after the doctor examined the little villain, he was still unconscious.

That evening, Shen Yu worried quite a lot. Although the doctor gave Tang Li an iv infusion, at midnight, Tang Li suddenly developed a high fever.

Shen Yu sat in the wheelchair beside Tang Li's sick bed. Eventually, he fell asleep in the chair. When he woke up in the early morning, before sunrise, he touched the little villain's forehead on instinct. The next second he was frightened by the hot temperature and he instantly turned pale.

"Uncle Zhang!" Shen Yu shouted, even his voice changed, and he immediately woke up Uncle Zhang and Kang Lin, who were both dozing outside the room.

Uncle Zhang immediately called in a doctor and asked the him to give Tang Li an injection. Only then did Tang Li's condition gradually improve.

Shen Yu breathed in relief, and later realized that he had broken out into a cold sweat. Sweaty underwear clinging to the skin felt very uncomfortable.

Kang Lin saw Shen Yu's face was pale, and a faint layer of dark blue appeared under Shen Yu's eyes. He went up and suggested, "Sir, you and Mr. Zhang should go back first, I'll stay here."

"No." Shen Yu shook his head and refused, "Anyway, it'll be light out soon. Why don't you go back to rest and come back at noon?"

As for Shen Yu's proposal, Uncle Zhang and Kang Lin naturally did not agree, so they continued to take a nap on the bench outside the room.

Shen Yu drank a glass of cold water to wake up. He planned to sit by the bed until dawn, but before long, he fell asleep again.

This sleep was very uncomfortable.

Consciousness blurred, it was as if something was walking on the skin of Shen Yu's face, something very light and itchy. Shen Yu frowned.

I felt like a hand touching his cheek carefully.

Shen Yu was a little uncomfortable and opened his eyes. Then he looked up at a pair of black eyes, which were slightly flustered.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterCh.30 – Hospitalization

Shen Yu didn't know when Tang Li woke up, but he was lying on the bed carefully, face-to-face with Shen Yu.

Seeing Shen Yu opened his eyes, Tang Li was suddenly stunned. He seemed to want to hide but did not dare to. He struggled for a while, but still chose to remain stiff in his current position.

Shen Yu was both very incensed and amused when he saw the heart of guilty thief in Tang Li's eyes.

"Are you feeling better?" Shen Yu reached out and pinched Tang Li's nose. When he got up, he found that he had slept in his chair for a long time. His hands were numb and could hardly move.

However, he was covered with a thin quilt, so that he did not feel too uncomfortable.

Then he looked at the bare bed, and the little villain sitting solemnly.

Even if Shen Yu thought with his feet [1, he could still figure out that the thin quilt was laid on him by Tang Li.

"Much better." Tang Li nodded, as if remembering what happened last night. His expression became tense in an instant, and he swallowed his saliva before he began to speak uneasily. "I apologized to Lei Yumeng."

With a sigh, Shen Yu reached out and grasped Tang Li's tightly clenched fist from his leg. "I know."

Tang Li seemed stunned that Shen Yu's reaction would be so calm. He was a little surprised. He stayed motionless for a while and just looked down at their joined hands.

The hand holding his was beautiful, with distinct fingers and rounded fingertips. Even the nails were well-groomed and fair-skinned, which reminded the Tang Li of the snowflakes falling last night.

On the contrary, his own hand——

Filled with fine knife marks, and there was a layer of calluses on his palm, which was neither thin nor thick. It was left over by the year of miscellaneous work under the "care" of his relatives.

Compared to Shen Yu's hand, his own hand is too ugly.

In the past, Tang Li never felt that any part of his body or appearance was inferior to others. However, at this moment, he suddenly had an impulse to pull his hand out of Shen Yu's hand and hide them behind him.

It's just that he's not willing to do it.

He didn't want to miss a single chance to touch Shen Yu...

Shen Yu noticed Tang Li's eyes and covered the little villain's other hand in the same manner. His fingers were long, and he could easily wrap Tang Li's small fist in his palm.

"Chestnut, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you the afternoon before yesterday." Shen Yu paused for a moment and then whispered, "But I also hope that in the future you will not hide anything from me. You are still young and you're not doing things properly. It is easy to cause bad and long-lasting consequences."

Tang Li hung his head gloomily and said nothing.

Shen Yu licked his lips and patted the back of Tang Li's hand gently. "Why don't you talk?"

Tang Li: "Sorry, there will be no next time."

Shen Yu: "Look at me and say that again."

Tang Li raised his head. His hair grew very fast. Uncle Zhang had just taken him to cut it, but now it covered his eyes again. It looked like a dog that had its fur ravaged.

But the little puppy's eyes were red, and there was a layer of mist covering his beautiful obsidian eyes.

Tang Li's voice choked, but as if nothing had happened, he forced himself to repeat what he had just said: "Sorry, Shen Yu, there will be no next time."

As the words fell, the tears in his eyes also fell.

The water droplets hit Shen Yu on the back of his hand like heavy rain drops.

Shen Yu was stunned, but that soon turned to confusion.

He quickly loosened his grip from Tang Li's hand and quickly wiped the tears from the corners of the little villain's eyes with his fingertips. But those tears were like a continuous stream of spring water, which could not be wiped clean.

This is the second time Tang Li had cried in front of Shen Yu.

The first time was when Tang Li was covered with cake the afternoon before yesterday. Although the stains on his face and clothes were wiped clean by Shen Yu with a towel, the degree of impact on Shen Yu this time was no less than the last time.

Shen Yu was overwhelmed by Tang Li's sudden tears.

It felt like he had accidentally provoked his girlfriend to cry.

"Stop crying, Chestnut..." Shen Yu put the thin quilt back on the bed, took Tang Li's face in both hands, and gently stroked the tear marks with his thumbs. "I don't mean to blame you with those words. I just want you to know what I think. Since we are a family, I will accept your past and your character as much as I can, but there are some bad habits that we need to correct it together."

Tang Li cried, his face as red as a tomato, but he gritted his teeth hard and refused to make any noise.

Shen Yu also said, "In fact, Lei Yumeng has entangled you in this matter. If you can't solve it by yourself, you can tell me, and I will solve it in another way."

Speaking of this, Shen Yu also blames himself.

This is his first time as a child's parent, inevitably there are many unknown issues that are bound to pop up. Before, he naturally saw Lei Yumeng's entanglement with Tang Li, but he did not want to interfere too much in Tang Li's campus life, afraid that it would let Tang Li develop the habit of relying too much on his parent...

But it was unexpected that things would move in the direction of bullying.

Shen Yu sighed and tidied up Tang Li's hair. He said in a warm voice, "Don't hide anything in the future, or I'm useless as a parent."

Tang Li looked down and covered his tear-soaked eyes with his eyelids. He flushed and nodded.

Shen Yu laughed and touched the soft hair of Tang Li: "My Chestnut is so sweet."

Tang Li subconsciously rubbed Shen Yu's hand with his face. As a result, Shen Yu's heart was filled with tears.

———–

After Shen Yu washed up in the bathroom, he saw Tang Li sitting on the bed with a table and delicious food in front of him.

When he saw Shen Yu approaching, Tang Li immediately stopped swallowing. He opened his eyes wide and turned to Shen Yu. The little villain was clutching a bowl of chicken and yam porridge in his hand.

Like a hamster found stealing food.

Those round phoenix eyes really look like a small animal's.

Shen Yu couldn't help laughing as the corners of his mouth lifted in joy. He came to the bed in his wheelchair and raised his chin slightly. "Eat well. Don't go hungry."

Tang Li's cheeks turned red again after they had only recently returned to normal. He was stiff and did not move. After a while, he said, "You eat with me."

Uncle Zhang, who was next to him, was busy handing over the brunch he had bought for Shen Yu: "Sir, this is yours."

"Thank you." Shen Yu laughed.

As early as when Shen Yu washed, Uncle Zhang called for a doctor to examine Tang Li. The fever was gone. Unfortunately, Tang Li's body was too weak to eat or drink anything heavy for two days. The doctor also suggested that he stay in hospital for a period of observation.

Shen Yu had no objection. Anyway, they had already asked the school for leave just to avoid the storm of Lei Yumeng's suicide and dropping out of school. It's okay to ask for a few more days.

So for the next week, Shen Yu stayed in the hospital with Tang Li. He asked Uncle Zhang to add a simple bed to the single room and move all his work over.

Kang Lin, who used to run to the Shen house to work, had to run to the hospital four or five times a day, but Kang Lin was happy and comfortable. After all, running to the hospital was much more convenient than that running to the suburbs.

After a few days' rest, Tang Li's condition gradually recovered, and Shen Yu's anxious heart slowly calmed down.

On the day Tang Li was discharged from hospital, Shen Yu suddenly received a call from Lei Yumeng's father, saying that he had heard that Tang Li was in hospital and wanted to bring his family to visit.

Shen Yu hesitated a little before agreeing.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the three members of Lei Yumeng's family appeared outside the room with various fruit baskets. The Lei couple were more haggard than the last time they met. They kept apologizing to Shen Yu in a low voice.

"Two days ago, it was snowing so heavily, and my wife and I were busy with the lawsuit. I really didn't know that Tang Li had come." Mr. Lei said.

Had it not been for the security guards in the district to tell them that the housekeeper of the Shen family had come to visit them, they would not have known about it at all, nor did they know that Lei Yumeng intentionally drove Tang Li away before they returned home.

For the first time, Mr. Lei had taken a hanger, and scolded Lei Yumeng fiercely.

Shen Yu looked at Lei Yumeng standing in the corner with a calm face and felt tired at once. He was too lazy to interrupt the apologies of the Lei couple.

After they had finished speaking quietly, Shen Yu quickly ordered Uncle Zhang to accept the fruit and send Lei Yumeng and her family out on the pretext that Tang Li still had to go through the discharge formalities.

How could he know that just when they had left, the door would be knocked again?

Uncle Zhang went to open the door and saw Lei Yumeng standing outside.

"Brother Shen Yu, I have something to tell you." Lei Yumeng looked straight at Shen Yu and waved to him, "Can you come out for a while?"

Shen Yu remained motionless and said with a smile, "Just talk about it here."

"That's not going to work." Lei Yumeng refused decisively and waved her hand without stopping. "Brother Shen Yu, please come out. It will only take one minute. It's really a very important thing."

Shen Yu helplessly turned to look at Tang Li unconsciously, only to see Tang Li's face staring blankly at Lei Yumeng outside the door, a dark light surging from the bottom of his dark eyes, but Shen Yu could not distinguish what mood they were mixed with.

"I'll go out and be back soon." Shen Yu shook Tang Li's hand.

Tang Li bit her lip and said nothing.

Shen Yu pushed his wheelchair and followed Lei Yumeng to the stairway. He watched Lei Yumeng look eastward and westward for fear that someone else might pass by. He also remembered the way the little girl used to do that with Tang Li and felt even more irritated for a while.

There was compassion and heartache before, but now there is only boredom.

All hearts are fleshy.

After his anger cooled, he's bound to lean a little bit towards the little villain.

"Say it." Shen Yu interrupted the action of Lei Yumeng with his voice and opened his mouth coldly. "What's the matter?"

Lei Yumeng heard the words and turned to Shen Yu.

She watched Shen Yu's almost indifferent expression, and with little effort she could guess what attitude Shen Yu had towards her at the moment.

She remembered the painful picture of her father holding a hanger a few days ago, and the pain of lying in bed for the past few days without moving, and she was instantly overwhelmed.

Sure enough, she underestimated Tang Li.

She had also thought that after Tang Li let her go home on that snowy night, that they had really put aside their old grievances.

Unexpectedly, Tang Li called her.

At the security booth in the neighborhood, the security guard told her parents about his coming with Uncle Zhang, and she was almost knocked unconscious.

Even now, Lei Yumeng felt her beaten arms and buttocks are still hurting.

She took a deep breath and said to Shen Yu, "Brother Shen Yu, Tang Li, he's not as good as you think..."

The word "simple" has not yet come out of the mouth of Lei Yumeng, when they heard a cold voice from behind her.

"Lei Yumeng, what are you saying about me again?"

A cold and indifferent sentence, but it made Lei Yumeng jump like she was struck lightning, her voice also abruptly stopped.

She quickly turned her head and looked behind her. When she looked at Tang Li's quiet face, Lei Yumeng wished she could faint on the spot.

[1] The original said "think with his toes", but I thought that would be too close to the English phrase "think on your toes", which ironically has the opposite meaning.

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