After Being transported into a book, I adopted the villain

by Usui Takumii

not mine, free web novel and noobies translations. Beware Bl. Total: 82 chapters. Waiting for the translator to update.

1. 00 to 10

AFTER BEING TRANSPORTED INTO A BOOK, I ADOPTED THE VILLAIN

---

When Shen Yu woke up, he had accidentally gone into a ridiculous dog-blood novel.

In the novel, he is a poor cannon fodder character:

– dead father and mother

– his fiancée had run away

– he is disabled (in a wheelchair)

– he lives a lonely life in a 20,000-square foot mansion.

Later, in order to compete for the female lead, he died under the opposition.

In order to save his life, Shen Yu had to stay as far away as possible from the leading and supporting roles and concentrate on enjoying the luxury life.

As a result, one day, the servant brought a 10-year-old villain with bruised eyes: "Sir, this is the orphan of Tang's family."

Shen Yu: "…"

Shen Yu decided to adopt the small villains and change his fate.

Ten Years Later.

The villain pushed Shen Yu to the corner: "Who is that woman?"

Shen Yu: "… Who do you say?"

The villain: "The woman who seduced you at last night's banquet!"

Shen Yu: "…"

The villain: "Hehe, I'm going to kill her."

Shen Yu: "My son… That's the female lead you forgot by the lake…"

---

Chapter

Chapter 1 – Crossing

The Shen's main house is located in S city's famous rich villa area, which is placed in the suburbs, near the mountains and rivers giving it very beautiful scenery.

Without exception, all the rich and influential people in S city will try their best to buy real estate here, on the one hand, it will solidify their status, on the other hand, it will allow them meet the other influential people living in the area.

In other words, if a meteorite falls in this area, it will only smash down on a large number of dignitaries.

Shen Yu, the owner of the Shen family, lives in the golden position of this villa area.

As one of the most popular people in the upper-class circle, villas around Shen's house are naturally the most popular. Unfortunately, Shen Yu bought twelve buildings in the central area at one go. As a result, although so many people want to pretend to meet Shen Yu by chance, they don't have any opportunity to do so.

Those who come here specially for Shen Yu can wait for a year, but never even get a glimpse of Shen Yu.

The area in the center of the villa seems to be isolated into an island. People outside dare not enter, and those inside do not want to come out.

Over time, some rumors began to spread.——

Ever since a year ago when Chairman Shen and his wife met with difficulties, Shen Yu, the only son left behind, hardly showed up in public and even left all the work to the assistant's full control.

It's feared that for the rest of his life young master Shen will never escape the shadow of his parents' death.

It is also said that Shen Yu was disabled in both legs in the subsequent car accident and now he is accompanied by a wheelchair all day long, like a disabled person. The second young miss of the Du family, who had a marriage contract with him, could not accept marrying a disabled person, so she ran away with the male model.

The death of both parents, the disability of both legs, the annulment of the marriage contract, being someone that some people joke about...

This series of strikes overwhelmed Shen Yu, who shut himself up in his room day and night, and was sinking day by day.

To make a long story short, the legendary Shen family had experienced a thorough decline.

—————–

Inside the Shen House studio.

Soft sunlight shines through several clear and bright French windows, sprinkling in, covering the large room with a hazy glow that didn't overwhelm the eye.

There aren't many things in the studio. With a mere glance you can see a young man sitting in front of the windows.

He frowned lightly, with a slight corner of his mouth, his hands held a pencil as he very seriously drew several sketches on the drawing board.

The man looks only twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with scattered pitch-black hair, a pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes, a tall and straight nose, thin lips tinged with pink, and a small tear mole in the corner of his right eye.

His expression was incredibly serious and caused the housekeeper, who was pushing the door in, to slow down unconsciously.

The housekeeper stood at the edge of the room for a moment and saw that Shen Yu still hadn't noticed him. He coughed softly and said, "Sir."

"En?" Shen Yu raised his chin gently, but the movements of his hands did not stop, and his eyes were always glued to the drawing board.

"Here he is." The housekeeper said.

"En?" Who's here?

"Master Tang Li."

"Ah..." Shen Yu paused for two seconds. "No... Tang, Tang Li?!"

At this moment, Shen Yu finally reacted. He was beyond frightened, and even the tip of his pen made a hard scratch on the drawing paper — what the fuck! That little villain came so soon?!

"Yes." The housekeeper lowered his head. He took all of Shen Yu's reactions into his eyes. He thought, "If young master doesn't want to see him, I'll have Kang Lin send him away."

Shen Yu swallowed silently and hesitated for a while. Seeing that the housekeeper was really going to drive people out, he sighed and quickly raised his hand. "No. Uncle Zhang, I'll see him first."

Having hear what was said, Uncle Zhang's eyes gave a flash of doubt.

But in the end Uncle Zhang did not say anything. He shouted that two servants and pushed Shen Yu's wheelchair to the elevator so that the young master could take it downstairs. He stayed and tidied up.

As everyone knows, after those events a year ago, the young master had a great change in his temperament becoming increasingly irritable, and closing himself up more and more. He often shut himself up for a week without eating or drinking until he was rescued from dehydration.

Uncle Zhang, who felt helpless was anxious in his heart. After this continued for a period of time, he had lost half his hair.

Until one night, Shen Yu swallowed sleeping pills again and attempted suicide. Uncle Zhang and the other servants found him and rushed him to the hospital.

Who would have thought that the man who wakes up seems to have a change in personality, never mentioning suicide again, busy with work, painting and baking every day, receiving rehabilitation training from time to time from doctors, and living a very full life?

Despite the comments outside, the young master seemed to be doing well...

When Uncle Zhang finished sorting out the scraps on the floor, he looked up and saw the fruit bread outlined on the drawing board. It looks good, but the sudden harsh stroke in the middle had a little influence on the overall aesthetic feeling.

Uncle Zhang shook his head and laughed helplessly.

"Never before have I seen a gentleman so fond of baking..."

But if the young master can find something to get him out of the shadows, it's always good.

————————

However, Shen Yu, who had been pushed downstairs by the servants, was not in Uncle Zhang's good mood. He was so nervous that he couldn't stop swallowing saliva. His hands on his knees gripped the corners of his clothes.

If he didn't have two disabled legs, Shen Yu would have liked to get up from his wheelchair, turn his head, and leave immediately.

Only he knew why he was so panicked.

For he is not the original Shen Yu at all, this body is inhabited by the soul of a dove occupying the magpie nest.[1]

Speaking of magic, Shen Yu never dreamed that such a wicked thing as crossing through books would happen to himself. He was just so idle that he read a dog-blooded author's fighting novel entitled " The Noble Emperor can't be Provoked". As a result, the next day when he woke up and opened his eyes, he was Shen Yu, the cannon fodder character in the novel.

This Shen Yu is really pitiful. Both his father and mother died, he mutilated his legs, had his fiancée run away, and was pointed out by a group of people who eat melon in a lively way [2].

That's just his background. What's worse is that Shen Yu's life continued going wrong. He fell in love with the novel's female lead. Unfortunately, the female lead's kindness meant that while she didn't accept him, she couldn't bear to reject him. So, she just let him hang like that.

Eventually Shen Yu could not resist fighting for the female lead with the male lead and villain, and by virtue of his wealth and power, the villain blind by jealousy, finally kidnapped Shen Yu to the mountain wilderness. After cruel and inhuman torture, the villain tore Shen Yu's ticket to the afterlife.

When Shen Yu originally saw the plot, he could not help but feel a chill run up his back.

But every heart has a blessing. Fortunately, he was not the Shen Yu in the novel. Otherwise, he would rather commit suicide by hitting a wall than be kidnapped by the villain.

Then the next day after that, he became the Shen Yu in the novel.

Shen Yu: "..."

Son of a bitch.

After half a year of living like this, Shen Yu has almost adapted to the rhythm of life in this world.

He currently managed a successful western dessert shop. It's a decent business...

If it hadn't been for Tang Li's appearance, Shen Yu would have almost forgotten that he was the cannon fodder of this world and a poor figure doomed to die in the hands of the opposition.

And the Tang Li he's about to see, is the number one villain in the future.

It's a pity that Tang Li can't do anything now, because it's still 14 years before the whole story happened. That is to say, Tang Li is only ten years old now, and is still an orphan who has been abused by relatives for more than a year.

Thinking of this, Shen Yu's anxious heart finally calmed down.

Nowadays, both the male and female leads and their opponents are just ten-year-old children. They can't set off any storms. They still have the chance to change their fates.

Even if he had to follow the old road of kidnapping and tearing tickets, he can at least live the life of the rich for more than ten years. It's worth it!

——————

Even if it was sunny outside, the living room on the first floor was still brightly lit.

The shining crystal chandeliers, the valuable vases and murals, the simple and beautiful decorations, and even the uniforms of the servants are specially designed by Louis Vuitton [3, all of which reveals just how rich the master of this house was.

Every now and the, Shen Yu wanted to sigh.

Hey...

The original owner is really too rich.

The first thing he had to do when waking up in the morning was worry about what to spend money on next.

Looking up, he saw a quiet little boy sitting on the red leather sofa not far away. He was too small and had no sense of existence. If it hadn't been for the servant's reminder, Shen Yu wouldn't know that there was a person sitting on the sofa.

The servant pushed Shen Yu's wheelchair to the tea table and stopped. Another servant immediately made a cup of tea and brought it to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu didn't have the habit of drinking tea, unfortunately, the original owner did so he had to hold the cup to keep up appearances. His eyes were fixed on the little boy for a second. Oh no, this must be Tang Li.

This little villain is much thinner than he imagined. After all, he is going to break through the 1.9-meter (6ft 2in) barrier in the future. While he did not expect him to grow like a bean sprout when he was ten years old, currently the boy could easily pass for six or seven years old.

If Shen Yu was right, the bruises on Tang Li's cheeks, exposed arms and legs should have been from being beaten, even the right eye socket was somewhat swollen.

But Tang Li acted like he could not feel the pain, buried his head and sat motionless, like a dried fossil, without even a single hair fluttering.

It was only when the servant very carefully pulled Tang Li down from the sofa and gently pushed him in front of Shen Yu, that Tang Li lifted his chin slightly and directly stared at Shen Yu with careful and vigilant eyes.

"Sir, this is the Tang orphan." The servant said.

Shen Yu: "... I know."

There's really no one else with that fierce, terrible look in his eyes...

Shen Yu used to think that the author's description of Tang Li was somewhat exaggerated. No matter how fierce a delicate and good-looking person was, he would not use the word "hostile [4]" repeatedly to describe it.

Now, Shen Yu finds that this assumption was wrong.

Tang Li's foul spirit seems to be born out of his very soul, it has nothing to do with his age and experience.

In addition, Shen Yu feared Tang Li's identity. At the moment, Tang Li stared so piercingly at him that his heart shivered, making him forget all the abominable manuscripts he had read before.

Therefore, the room was dead silent.

Shen Yu and Tang Li stared, a pair of big eyes and a pair of small eyes interlocking.

The servant couldn't bear to look at it. Afraid of Shen Yu's anger, he quickly pushed Tang Li, "Young Master, this is your uncle Shen, whom we mentioned to you."

"Oh yes, call me Uncle Shen."

Tang Li, who was pushed, staggered for two steps, remained unmoved, like a small hedgehog with thorns. The appeared somewhat disturbed.

As if alarm bells went off in his heart, Tang Li shifted his eyes looking for danger.

Seeing the child like this, Shen Yu, who had some worries, gradually relaxed. He smiled and felt that he was too timid just now.

Anyway, Tang Li is still a child now.

He is also very poor.

"Chestnut ." Shen Yu called Tang Li's nickname.

Tang Li was stiff all over, and a little confusion flashed through his dark eyes. Shen Yu went over in a wheelchair, eyes sweeping over the cracked lips of Tang Li, and handed a teacup forward: "Do you drink tea?"

[1]It's an idiom that means to pass off an illegitimate child as a legitimate one.

[2] 吃瓜群众 meaning "group of melon eaters, or eating melon group", refers to people that enjoy watching something happen to other people (usually something unfortunate or funny), that they themselves have nothing to do with. Btw, the meme below means "Melon eaters who don't know the truth."

[3] I had to google this one because it was written as "Donkey Brand" which is apparently slang for LV. The more you know.

[4] The raws had 戾气 (lì qì).

Literally meaning "harsh air".

In simple terms it can be translated as hostile. However, the meaning is used to describe incredibly dark hearted people who are hostile to an extreme point.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterChapter 2 – Adoption

Shen Yu is very worried.

Although the one standing in front of him was a miniature version of the villain, after all, he still has a sense of awe for the villain who one day will turn from merely abnormal to abhorrent, so kissing up now was a must.

Today you drink my cup of tea, tomorrow we will be good friends.

Those who fight, kill, kidnap and tear up tickets were not to be offended, okay?

Shen Yu's thoughts were flying. After turning 180 corners, Shen Yu's sight suddenly crossed with the gloomy eyes of Tang Li. Suddenly he was shocked, and all his thoughts were gone in an instant.

Forget it.

Before the miniature villain completely mends his evil ways, this cannon fodder character should stay quiet.

Shen Yu became lost in his gloomy thoughts.

At the same time, the motionless Tang Li almost imperceptibly shook his head. He opened his mouth slightly and said, "No."

It is reasonable to say that the voice of a ten-year-old child should be crisp and melodious, perhaps with a trace of milky tone [1, but Tang Li's voice is very hoarse and stiff, which makes Shen Yu very uncomfortable when listening.

Shen Yu, a little distracted, looked at the bruises on Tang Li's body. He knew that the childhood of a villain character was bound to be difficult, but he did not expect to be sad to this point.

"Are you hungry?" Shen Yu handed the cup to the servant and asked, "Do you want dessert? Let Aunt help you.

Tang Li did not speak.

The servant standing next to him was very anxious and regret that he could not directly make Tang Li cooperate.

In their opinion, the dull and gloomy Tang Li is likely to annoy the master. Whether he can be adopted at this time or not is another matter. The servant feared that the master was not currently in a good frame of mind to take in this child.

The servant explained, "Sir, young master Tang Li's parents died in a car accident a year ago. Young master Tang Li went to live with many different relatives. Unfortunately, none of them were suitable. As master Shen said that he was lonely, we've brought young master Tang Li to you."

In fact, this explanation has been repeated dozens of times by Uncle Zhang.

They were afraid that Shen Yu would be angry, and they could not refuse master Shen's orders. They could only explain to Shen Yu their reasoning and bring Tang Li so that their master could meet him.

However, they did not want to accept the presence of Tang Li.

Because they know very well that Shen Yu will need time to recover physically and psychologically soon after he came out of his haze, which makes it difficult for him to take good care of a child.

"... I know." Shen Yu sighed.

Not only did he know the tragic experience of Tang Li, but he also knew that this cannon fodder character would have refused to adopt Tang Li and instead he would relentlessly ridicule the boy, making it so that he would be remembered by this villain.

In the end, all his misfortune was brought on by a poor mouth.

"Come here." Shen Yu waved to Tang Li.

Tang Li seemed like he was unaware of Shen Yu's order, his white lips tightened, his eyes stared at Shen Yu for a moment, and he stood perfectly still.

Left with no choice, Shen Yu had to push his wheelchair over to Tang Li.

If you look carefully, you will find that Tang Li is very delicate. Even if the five features [2] are not yet developed enough to make people feel amazed, he had beautiful phoenix eyes that slightly picked up at the corner, white lips that are very thin, and a sharp jaw line.

But the shadows in his eyes were too strong, and the atmosphere that surrounded him made people feel uncomfortable.

Shen Yu secretly typed up his manuscript, and before he could open his mouth, he saw Uncle Zhang strolling up after tidying up the studio.

"Sir." Uncle Zhang did not look at Tang Li who stood in front of him. He paced over to Shen Yu's wheelchair and bent over slightly. He spoke into Shen Yu's ear with a light voice, "You must be tired. I'll push you back to your room to rest."

After that, Uncle Zhang turned around and coldly glanced over Tang Li. Finally, he looked at the servant and said, "Send him back to Elder Shen, I'll talk to him later."

The servant immediately understood the intent of the housekeeper.

That is to say, the boy had been rejected.

The servant looked at Tang Li with some sympathy and thought that the child was doomed to misfortune. Even if he lived a lonely but well-fed life in the Shen's house, he would be much better off than staying at a place where he was being abused.

"Understood." The servant answered, ready to take Tang Li away.

Seeing this, Shen Yu suddenly felt panicked, and could not help but grab Tang Li's wrist and frown at Uncle Zhang: "This child, I will keep him."

As soon as this was said, not to mention Uncle Zhang and the servants that were all full of surprise, even the unresponsive Tang Li was slightly startled. Looking up with round eyes, the boy small stature resembled a terrified squirrel.

Uncle Zhang did not seem to understand Shen Yu's meaning: "Have you [3] thoroughly thought about it?"

"Yes." Shen Yu said.

He has been wrestling with the matter over and over for the past two days.

For a long time he had thought about it...

Since he traveled into the story before it really begins, it means that he has an opportunity to change his destiny.

It would be too passive to stay away from the protagonists and supporting actors. Maybe the female protagonist will suddenly come out and say a few simple words to him in the future, and after being seen by the villains, they'll tear his ticket.

Shen Yu thought about it and decided to solve the problem from the root.

The person who will kill him in the future is the villain Tang Li. This is the best way to change Tang Li's view on him. It's better not to be hated by him anymore. As far as the present situation is concerned, adopting Tang Li should be the safest way.

Anyway, Tang Li is only ten years old now. Fourteen years later, he will meet a woman and begin his tragic career as a villain.

That is to say, he still has fourteen years to go...

If you follow the original plot, then at this time, Shen Yu should follow Uncle Zhang's words and call the servants to drive Tang Li away. He also cynically educated Tang Li, this person who had an unpleasant character. No wonder he was kicked around like a football.

Shen Yu was sweating bitterly at the mere thought of these words. He was grateful that he hadn't crossed the line and rejected Tang Li. Otherwise, he would have no chance to recover.

"Pack up the second bedroom next to my bedroom and add some new furniture. If chestnut wants, then he can live here from now on." After giving these orders, Shen Yu found that he was still holding Tang Li's hand.

The child's wrist is very thin, it felt fragile as if a little force could break it, his skin is snow white Blue blood vessels hidden beneath the skin are dimly visible, his hands are cold, Shen Yu felt as if he was holding an ice cube.

But Tang Li did not struggle. Looking at Shen Yu with a confused look, even the vigilance just now dissipated a lot unconsciously.

"Of course, if you don't want to, I won't force you. I'll leave you a room. You can come whenever you need it."

When Shen Yu finished speaking, he saw Tang Li's lips open.

"I'll stay."

The child's voice is unusually husky and low, but he spits out these two words, one after another, with great seriousness.

"That's good." Shen Yu's eyes curved as he smiled, while loosening Tang Li's hand, he continued to command his servant, "Take him with you. Also, buy some clothes when you add the furniture."

Although it's still sunny outside, it's late autumn in September. The clothes on Tang Li were thin, and all the bruises in the shorts and shorts are exposed.

Seeing this, Shen Yu paused, "Call Dr. Liu so that he can take a look."

————————————————-

After going to the study.

Uncle Zhang's face was tense, and his eyebrows were tied in a knot. He had stopped talking, but eventually he could no longer hold his tongue. "Sir, you don't have to grieve over the idea of offending Elder Shen. The child is indeed misfortunate, but his personality is gloomy and irritable. He is not suitable for staying in the Shen house."

At the desk, Shen Yu was sorting out the stack of drawings that Uncle Zhang had collected before. He did not bother to raise his head when he heard the words. With a tone of indifference Shen Yu spoke, "Our Shen family doesn't lack a pair of chopsticks. [4]"

"But Sir..." Uncle Zhang was quite embarrassed. "I remember you didn't want to be disturbed by that child. I thought you were just doing it for Elder Shen, and you didn't really adopt that child."

Shen Yu, who had been busy for half a day, finally looked up at Uncle Zhang with an inexplicable look on his face. Only when he saw Uncle Zhang getting uncomfortable did he utter in a loud voice: "When did I say those words?"

Uncle Zhang was stunned.

"Think about it carefully." Shen Yu laid down his drawings, the beautiful peach blossom eyes had no emotion, a lake without ripples. He said, "Since my grandfather suggested that I adopt Tang Li, when did I say that I would let him go?"

Shen Yu's tone of voice was not severe, he spoke simply out of pure curiosity and his expressionless face was simply his normal appearance.

But despite this knowledge, Uncle Zhang was so frightened that a few drops of bean-sized cold sweat formed on Uncle Zhang's forehead.

"I..." Uncle Zhang did not know how to explain it. Shen Yu did not express his dislike for Tang Li from beginning to end. It was his wishful thinking that Shen Yu hated Tang Li very much.

As for the source of this knowledge...

Even Uncle Zhang himself was not clear, it was if this assumption had been naturally rooted in his mind.

Shen Yu did not expect a simple question would frighten Uncle Zhang into such a strange and helpless state, he waved his hand indicating to Uncle Zhang that he may return to his own business.

When the door of the study was closed, Shen Yu picked up his mobile phone and dialed Elder Shen's telephone.

——————————————

Tang Li curled up in the bathtub.

The bathroom is about the size of two-thirds of the bedroom he lived in at his aunt's house. The bathroom is bright, clean and fresh. The scent of lavender floats in the air.

Due to the excessive light around, the bruises and scars on Tang Li were exposed more thoroughly.

But he's already used to it.

A year ago, his parents died in a car accident. Then his family company was seized, and he was deprived of his inheritance. He was also expelled from his home by those people and lived under the roof of relatives.

His relatives were not kind to him.

His parents used to struggle to earn money to support the parasite relatives, but now that his parents are gone, the quality of life of the relatives had plummeted, so they could only vent all their complaints on him.

For more than a year he was plunged into the abyss of misery.

Then a month ago, he received a phone call from his father's teacher, Elder Shen, asking him if he would like to go to the Shen's house to live with Shen Yu.

Tang Li has heard of Shen Yu's name.

His aunt and her family often talk about the Shen family and Shen Yu, trying to climb into Shen family's good graces, even if it is only a relative of the Shen family. It's a pity. How can a family like the Shen family look at them?

Shen family...

Shen Yu...

Tang Li breathed out, and his mouth raised into a seemingly innocent sneer.

He wants to stay at the Shen house.

Even if it's as Shen Yu's cattle, horse, or dog. He's willing to do it.

[1] Milky Tone – meaning a childish or young sounding voice. I've heard it used to describe the voice of women that purposely talk in a "cutsie" way. As far as I know it's called "milk" because it describes the tone babies have when crying for their mother to give them milk and is therefore associated with a child's voice, but I'm not completely sure _(ツ)/.

[2] The five features: eyebrows, eyes, ears, nose, mouth.

[3] The housekeeper uses the more formal of saying "you", 您 (nín), as opposed to the less formal 你 (nǐ) when addressing Shen Yu. On a side note, my favorite character in Chinese is also 您 because to create it you use the informal 你 and the character 心 (xīn) which literally means "heart". So, when you use 您 as opposed to 你, you are, in a very literal sense, putting more heart into addressing someone. When I was first learning how to read Chinese this was always the one fun fact that stuck with me.

[4] Meaning they don't lack the capacity to feed and house another person.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterChapter 3 – Tag

Tang Li came out in less than half an hour. He didn't dare to stay in the bathroom for too long.

On the bed, the servants neatly laid out some new clothes, Tang Li took the clothes back to the bathroom and changed into them, they were just the right size.

The tag hanging on the clothing was not yet removed. Tang Li twisted the tag on his trousers and looked at it. He was stunned. Even when his parents were still alive, they did not buy him such expensive clothes.

Tang Li went out of the bathroom, looked around the spacious and luxurious bedroom, and finally his gaze landed on a small bamboo basket laying on the tea table, it contained such items as scissors and rulers.

He approached, picked up the scissors, and gripped the hanging tag. Even after gripping the tag for a while, he had not yet started cutting.

After putting the scissors down, a sudden knocking noise came from the bedroom door. Tang Li hesitated for a moment before he finally said please come in.

As his voice fell, a servant opened the door and came in. "Young master Tang Li, we need to redesign your bedroom. Please go to the living room on the first floor and wait."

Tang Li nodded and left the bedroom.

The Shen house was as gorgeous as he imagined, but it was always accompanied by a depressing sense of coldness. Tang Li sat on the sofa for an afternoon. There was no noise except the occasional sound of heavy objects landing on the second floor when the servants were carrying furniture.

Everything is silent.

Even Shen Yu, who decided to adopt him, never showed up.

Tang Li thought Shen Yu would appear at dinner.

When evening came and the servant led him to the dining room. Tang Li had subconsciously taken greater care of his clothes in order to make a better impression on Shen Yu, so he felt a little restrained.

Unfortunately, while there are many delicate and delicious dishes on the table, there is only Tang Li sitting alone at the table.

Tang Li had a bad time at his relatives' house and was always and after-thought to his relatives in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation. In more than a year under the roof of his relatives, he seldom had a full meal, so the dinner before him was undoubtedly the most abundant meal he had ever enjoyed since his parents died.

But Tang Li felt it was a little bland.

He forced himself to finish most of the dishes on the table. He knew that he was too thin and too short. Even Shen Yu, who sat in a wheelchair, could look down at him.

Remembering Shen Yu's gentle eyes, there was a feeling of spring breeze that left an Tang Li with an odd sensation, as if even his cold body had a little warmth.

He needs to grow up quickly!

It was the first time Tang Li had such an urgent need.

——————————————-

Shen Yu has been in the world for a half-a-year[1]. Because the original owner of this body is not in good health, he was forced to get rid of many of his former bad habits.

However, it was only in the case of his bad eating habits that Shen Yu could not change, regardless of how hard Uncle Zhang tried to persuade him.

In the past, he also ran a dessert shop that was very successful and had a good reputation. He was the only owner and the only pastry chef. He was particularly interested in studying the practice of western pastry making. He himself had designed many popular pastries.

Of course, during the process of creating a new dessert, it is unavoidable to make a pile of test batches. Shen Yu got used to both tasting during the baking, and then eating again until he was full.

Uncle Zhang stood in front of the kitchen door and watched Shen Yu eat five pieces of cakes and seven or eight fist-sized croissants. His face instantly turned green [2] and he choked.

"Sir, you'd better go and have something to eat. Dr. Liu said that these desserts cannot be your staple food."

"I'm not hungry yet." Shen Yu took off his apron [3, and steered the wheelchair back out from the table. He then ordered the servant that was assisting him, "Put the tray into the oven. Ah...I really don't know how it will turn out this time."

Uncle Zhang helplessly said: "... What if it hasn't succeeded yet?"

Shen Yu raised his lips and patted his belly confidently. "There are still four croissants here. I am confident that I can make the type of taste I want within four trials."

"..." Are you really not hungry?

Uncle Zhang looked up and sighed with despair.

Shen Yu couldn't help laughing. He manipulated the wheelchair to go over to Uncle Zhang, as he was just about to comfort the worried housekeeper, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a small head peeking out from the door.

Shen Yu, who was caught off guard, felt stunned. Just as he was about to take a closer look, the little head quickly retreated.

Shen Yu: "..."

He really was like a squirrel, acting frightened from beginning to end.

Shen Yu was unexpectedly amused, and the upward curvature of his mouth could hardly be suppressed. If it hadn't been for his perseverance, the people who knew the original master of this body would have collapsed.

Uncle Zhang immediately noticed Shen Yu's eyes. Frowning solemnly, he turned to walk out of the kitchen. Within a few seconds, he returned with a depressed child.

"He just finished his dinner and got lost while taking a walk." Uncle Zhang brought Tang Li over to Shen Yu.

Tang Li knew that peeping outside the door was wrong. For a while, the little villain blushed, buried his head, clenched his lips, and said nothing

In fact, he lied to Zhang housekeeper. He was not taking a walk. He just came to see Shen Yu under the guise of taking one. He learned from the servants that Shen Yu was in the kitchen, so he had spent a lot of time winding through this labyrinth-like house before he found it.

However, the feeling of being caught peeping is not good, and maybe Shen Yu will even hate him because of it...

Thinking of this, Tang Li felt a sense of panic well up in his chest.

He raised his head quietly and tried to secretly observe Shen Yu's reaction, but in the next second, he couldn't avoid locking sight with a pair of smiling eyes.

Tang Li was stunned.

Shen Yu was indeed laughing. The peach blossoms eyes were like half-moon shaped curves. They were full of smiles. It was like a lake sparkling in the sunshine. The sparkling light almost blurred Tang Li's vision.

At this moment, it seems that he couldn't see anything else.

Only Shen Yu's spring-like smile remained in his mind.

Shen Yu laughs so beautifully...

It's a pity that Shen Yu did not know what Tang Li was thinking. Seeing the child staring at him in amazement, he thought that Uncle Zhang had just frightened him with his fierce manner. So, he reached for the croissant wrapped in paper on the table and handed it to him.

"Do you want to eat it? I just baked it."

Shen Yu is more or less afraid of this little villain, and when he speaks to him, he will inevitably mix in some flattery. Even if the little villain is unwilling to accept his kindness, he is tolerant enough to understand.

After all, he's a villain. How can he be called a villain if he immediately trusts strangers?

Shen Yu was ready to be ignored again. Unexpectedly, Tang Li quietly raised his own hand and took the croissant from Shen Yu's hand.

"Thank you." Tang Li whispered, the tips of his ear already red.

"You're welcome." Shen Yu returned with a smile.

Just now, when Tang Li was brought in by Uncle Zhang, Shen Yu noticed his new clothes. He had to admit that clothes really do make the man. Just by changing clothes, Tang Li changed from an ordinary child to a delicate and beautiful little boy.

It's just the hanging tag hanging outside that's a bit eye-catching.

Shen Yu slightly pulled at the tag on Tang Li trousers. As a result, he unintentionally saw the price on the tag. Suddenly, he fully understood the intention of the servant.

The Shen family's servants have always been rigorous in their work and would never have made a low-level mistake like leaving hanging tags on their clothes. This is obviously to let Tang Li know how much the Shen family spent on him.

Shen Yu: ...

Shen Yu sighed in his heart. He thought Tang Li might have guessed the servant's intent, so the child not only didn't cut the hanging tag but might have also deliberately took it out and hung it in a more conspicuous position.

Just from Tang Li's method of doing things alone, it's hard to imagine that he is only a ten-year-old child.

But thinking about Tang Li's experience over the past year and his establishment as a villain, Shen Yu once again relaxed.

"Who prepared the clothes?" Shen Yu asked Uncle Zhang.

"Aunt Chen." When Uncle Zhang answered, he understood Shen Yu's meaning. "I'll ask Aunt Chen to bring the scissors."

Uncle Zhang came back soon after he left, followed by Aunt Chen, who looked terrified. During this time, Shen Yu asked the servant to bring out the tray in the oven and gave the croissant, which had been successfully made, to Tang Li.

One big person and one small person finished their croissants quietly.

Aunt Chen looked at Shen Yu and Tang Li, and said with some trepidation, "I'm sorry, sir. It was my own negligence. I'll immediately cut the tag."

Shen Yu said, "Cut it."

Aunt Chen's head was almost buried in her collar. The poor aunt's face was so pale that she dared not breathe in even the air. She quickly cut all the hanging tags on Tang Li's clothing.

Shen Yu knew that Aunt Chen actions were for the Shen family's sake. He didn't want Aunt Chen to be embarrassed, but he didn't want Tang Li to feel that the whole Shen family was rejecting him. After considering it, he knew he had to clarify his intent to Aunt Chen.

"Aunt Chen, from now on, Chestnut will be a member of our Shen family. I entrust him to your care. You must work a little harder than others to care for him." Shen Yu continued, "But in turn, you will be equally compensated. Starting this month, your salary will be doubled, and a bonus will be added every quarter."

Hearing this, Aunt Chen was surprised and delighted. She flew from hell to heaven in an instant. She realized that she was so excited that she had almost forgotten to show her appreciation, "Thank you, sir. I'm sure I'll do a good job!"

"En." Shen Yu nodded. He looked down at Tang Li and said with a smile, "You can go upstairs with Aunt Chen and rest. I'll go back to my room later."

Tang Li didn't want to leave, but he had to be obedient. He looked down, concealing the negative emotions in his eyes and followed behind Aunt Chen.

"Good night." Shen Yu called after him.

Tang Li did not respond, but instead, stepping with his slender legs, quickly disappeared from Shen Yu's sight.

Shen Yu pouted his lips. Turning around, he saw Uncle Zhang looking at him in silence. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Little Chestnut is still so shy."

"The child's character is not good." Uncle Zhang said bluntly, "It will be difficult to raise him."

Shen Yu didn't speak. He pushed the wheelchair over to the table and began tidying up the messy table with the servant. He quietly spoke without raising his head, "Uncle Zhang, I know you just want what's best for me, but since I've made a decision and Little Chestnut is going to stay in this house, I don't want to hear you speaking badly about him anymore."

Uncle Zhang abruptly paused and then immediately bowed his head. "My apologies, it will not happen again."

"That's better. Families should live in harmony." Shen Yuzhen smiled. He pinched his sore neck and said, "Let's go, it's time for me to sleep [4]. Tomorrow we'll take Little Chestnut out to buy some things."

Uncle Zhang: "..."

He wanted to ask Shen Yu if he was raising Tang Li as his son. As the question was about to slip from his mouth, he swallowed it.

[1] This says it's been a year, but the last chapter specified half-a-year. I can't tell if this means he's had the bakery open for half a year, but Shen Yu has been in the world for a year, or if the author made a mistake. So I'm just going to change it to half-a-year and keep it consistent.

[2] Originally 菜色 [cài sè, which literally means "vegetable color", or "emancipated".

[3] The sentence uses 塑料手袋 [sù liào shǒu dài, which mean "plastic bag", and that is not a metaphor for apron. However I couldn't figure out why he would need a plastic bag unless it was to carry cooking utensils (I carried a bag with me everywhere when I was on crutches, even if it was just around the house), but the paragraph didn't specify if that was the reason. So, I replaced it with apron because that made more sense.

[4] Translated literally he said "come along, back to bed" which sounds fine in Chinese but really ambiguous in English so I had to specify that Shen Yu was not, in fact, taking Uncle Zhang with him to bed. () ︵ ??ol

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterChapter 4 – Patient's Condition

The next morning.

After receiving a notification, Dr. Liu temporarily cancelled his training and rushed back from abroad and drove straight to the Shen house without stopping. He took his medicine box and went straight to Shen Yu's bedroom while being followed by four medical assistants, each dragging various instruments.

Uncle Zhang, who was about to call Shen Yu out of bed, was shocked by Dr. Liu's battle-like demeanor. He quickly stopped him and asked, "Dr. Liu, has something urgent happened?"

"What about Mr. Shen?"

"He's inside."

"Is he all right?"

"At present he's fine." Uncle Zhang was shocked to see Dr. Liu, and became nervous. "Why did Dr. Liu ask that?"

Dr. Liu blankly touched his nose. "Didn't Aunt Chen call me to come over?"

Just as his voice fell, the bedroom door in front of them slowly opened. Shen Yu, dressed neatly, came out in a wheelchair. He squinted his eyes and laughed, two shallow dots appeared on his cheeks: "Good morning Dr. Liu, I see you've made a special trip. I hope I didn't cause you any inconvenience."

"I'm always happy to serve Mr. Shen." Dr. Liu smiled and said, "It seems that Mr. Shen is recovering well now. You can get up and dress without the help of Uncle Zhang. Have you been making sure to complete the rehabilitation plan I made?"

"I've been doing it all the time. Not once have I been lazy." Shen Yu laughed, and then changed the topic. "But today's protagonist is not me."

Dr. Liu: "Oh?"

————————————

On the other side.

Tang Li got up before dawn.

He had developed the habit of never sleeping late at his relatives' house.

Tang Li thought he would definitely see Shen Yu at breakfast. In the end, even though he deliberately finished his breakfast slowly, Shen Yu did not appear.

Before leaving, Tang Li finally could not resist and asked Aunt Chen, who had begun to tidy up the dishes and chopsticks.

"What about Mr. Shen?"

"Perhaps still sleeping." Aunt Chen smiled helplessly. "In the past, the Master was a night owl who couldn't sleep at night and couldn't get up in the morning. Later, Mr. Zhang confiscated the master's mobile phone before going to bed, so he forcibly corrected the master's habit of staying up late. But now, so long as nothing serious happens, Master can sleep until noon, and I don't know if he'll change that habit..."

Aunt Chen worked for the Shen family for 30 years. She watched Shen Yu grow up since he was young, so she could talk about her Master endlessly.

Tang Li was silent as he listened to Aunt Chen.

Obviously, the image of Shen Yu that Aunt Chen described is quite different from the image he had in his head.

Before coming to the Shen house, he thought Shen Yu was a cold and high-ranking person, standing at the top of the pyramid and looking down at all the ants. After coming to the Shen house, he found that Shen Yu was an angel with a warm smile. One that had no temper and was easy to approach, so much so that he could easily accept an outsider like Tang Li.

But now for the first time, he had discovered that Shen Yu had such a childish side.

"Aunt Chen." A slightly strange and melodious male voice sounded helpless as it interrupted Aunt Chen's rant, "You're spilling all of my dark secrets again."

Aunt Chen paused and turned to look at Shen Yu, who was pushed over by Uncle Zhang. She laughed and shouted, "Master!"

After taking care of Shen Yu for so long, she naturally knew that Shen Yu was not as angry as he was last night, but when she saw Dr. Liu coming after him, she quickly tidied up the dishes and left the dining room.

Dr. Liu looked at Aunt Chen's back as she walked away. He raised his eyebrows and joked, "I haven't seen you for so long, yet everyone is still so afraid of you."

"Am I scary?" Shen Yu brought his hand to his own face.

"Not scary, not scary at all." Dr. Liu answered casually, "With Mr. Shen's unmatchable beauty, we mortals can only be fascinated from afar."

"... Shut up."

Shen Yu turned his head and looked at Tang Li, who seemed to have almost no sense of existence from a distance. He waved to him, "Little Chestnut, come here."

Tang Li hesitated a little, and then obediently went to Shen Yu.

At that time, there were only Shen Yu, Uncle Zhang, Dr. Liu and the silent Tang Li in the big dining room.

In order not to hurt the self-esteem of the little future villain, Shen Yu specially asked the four assistants brought by Dr. Liu to stay in the living room.

"Give him an examination, make sure to check the scars on his body. If you can dress them, then do so. I'd be best if you can get rid of them." When Shen Yu finished, he gently grabbed Tang Li's hand and whispered in his ear, "I'll wait for you in the living room. Shall we go shopping later?"

Shen Yu spoke in a light tone, the air he breathed out like soft feathers passing by Tang Li's ears.

It's itchy.

And it's itchy in his heart.

Tang Li nodded almost imperceptibly, and the blush of his cheeks had spread to the tip of his ears, but he had not noticed it at all.

Shen Yu watched Tang Li's face change with wide eyes, and he couldn't help laughing. He pressed down the desire to pinch the ears of the little villain and instead let Uncle Zhang push him out of the dining room.

After waiting in the living room for about half an hour, Dr. Liu and Tang Li came out of the dining room.

Dr. Liu, with a slightly indignant look, called Shen Yu over to the next room alone. He opened his mouth and got straight to the point, "After the Tang couple departed, they left a mess for their poor son. There is also that group of relatives of the Tang family who are covetous of his inheritance. Are you really going to adopt that child? "

"That won't be an issue." Shen Yu looked out of the window at the sparkling lake and asked, "What about Chestnut?"

Dr. Liu saw that Shen Yu had made up his mind. Although he did not agree with his decision, he could not say anything at this juncture. He grabbed his head and said, "There are many injuries and the child is severely malnourished, but it will be enough to slowly take care of his body after applying medical treatment to his injuries. It's just that his mental state seems not very good."

Shen Yu was stunned: "Specifically speaking?"

"I'm not quite sure. It's a bit of a guess." Dr. Liu sighed, "He is very defensive, and seems to think of everyone as his enemy, which may result in depression and mania."

Depression?

Mania?

Shen Yu suddenly remembered that the villain in the novel did have a very serious manic disorder, sometimes even to the point where he was unable to control his own behavior and did some extremely cruel things.

If he remembers correctly, it seems that when Tang Li kidnapped and killed the original Shen Yu, it was a state of mania.

Shen Yu shivered and asked, "What should I do then?"

"Find a psychiatrist to treat it, and it's better not to overly stimulate him with words or actions." Looking at Shen Yu's nervous appearance, Dr. Liu shook his head and said, "Mr. Shen, you are a good man."

Shen Yu grinned bitterly: "You want a son?"

"You still lack a son? Maybe the kind that went to college and works as a doctor?"

"... Get out of here."

When Shen Yu and Dr. Liu returned to the living room, Uncle Zhang was ready for their trip, and Dr. Liu's four assistants had packed up their things and were ready to leave.

Only Tang Li, who had nothing to do, was sitting upright on the sofa, his dark eyes looking in the direction of Shen Yu.

As Shen Yu approached, Tang Li's figure became more and more rigid. Looking directly at Shen Yu's eyes, he couldn't help but feel nervous and anxious.

He did not know what Dr. Liu had said to Shen Yu, but intuition told him that it might be related to him.

Thinking of the way Dr. Liu had stopped talking and his solemn expression just now, the fear in Tang Li's heart was like a snowball. The more it rolled, the more it grew. He was afraid to see the disappointment in Shen Yu's eyes, and to hear the word "leave" from Shen Yu's mouth.

Shen Yu is the only person willing to take him in.

He couldn't let Dr. Liu have the chance to talk with Shen Yu.

But what can he do when he is so weak?

Tang Li's face was as white as paper, his hands on his knees were tightening constantly, his nails were firmly embedded in the flesh of his palms. However, he seemed to feel no pain. He opened his beautiful Phoenix eyes slightly and for a moment, stared at Shen Yu who had come over to him.

If Dr. Liu really persuaded had Shen Yu to change his mind on the adoption, then one day he would surely have Dr. Liu completely disappear from the world...

This is Tang Li's final resolve.

"Chestnut." Shen Yu boldly touched Tang Li's soft hair. He felt a small shiver from the little villain. After a moment of amazement, he went to hold Tang Li's hands. "You must have waited a long time. Let's go shopping."

Tang Li suddenly felt sluggish.

In an instant, all the thoughts in his head disappeared into thin air.

At this moment, he couldn't even think. He could only stare at Shen Yu's smiling face.

The brilliant yellow sunshine passed through the window and sprinkled down on the side of Shen Yu's beautiful face, blurring the Shen Yu's outline and made him squint his eyes unconsciously.

The light blocked them, as if it separated them by tens-of-thousands of light-years. Shen Yu was bathed in the warm sunshine, but he was sunk in the endless darkness.

For a moment, the contrast between light and dark in combination with Shen Yu's holding his hand made Tang Li feel nihilistic.

Suddenly, he heard Shen Yu's exclamation: "Ah! is your hand bleeding? Too careless! How can you pinch your palm until it bleeds? Dr. Liu, come over and quickly treat it."

Dr. Liu, who was being stared at by Tang Li, was just about to slip away. When he heard Shen Yu's call, he could only stiffen his scalp [1] and come over: "... I'm coming."

After such a delay, it was half-an-hour before Shen Yu could go out with Tang Li.

Since Shen Yu came to this world, he has stayed at home, concentrating on baking and rehabilitation, rarely going out to see other people and refusing all visitors.

With a quick calculation, this should be Shen Yu's sixth trip out. The first five times he either went to Elder Shen's home, or to the company meeting. He certainly did not expect his first real trip out to be with the villain.

Shen Yu looked at Tang Li while sitting face-to-face, as he looked down, his sight landed on two small hands wrapped in gauze.

He asked, "Does it hurt?"

Tang Li hesitated for two seconds and shook his head: "No."

Shen Yu laughed, "Lying is not the habit of a good child."

"... It hurts." Tang Li wiped his lips and chose to tell the truth, but he quickly added, "But after you asked, it doesn't hurt."

[1] 硬着头皮 [yìng zhe tóu pí] , it means to toughen up and put on a brave face.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterChapter 5 – Madman

Although the original Shen Yu grew up in this city, the current Shen Yu was someone who showed up unexpectedly and without an invitation [1] . He was not familiar with the city's routes, so he gave all the work of arranging the itinerary to Uncle Zhang.

Unfortunately, Uncle Zhang is an old man and didn't enjoy shopping at all, so he could only to turn to Aunt Chen on the topic of where to go. The similarly unaware Aunt Chen had to run to ask her daughter before she learned where they sold some good things.

They did not take bodyguards on this trip, and instead only brought Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen.

Uncle Zhang was responsible for driving and pushing Shen Yu's wheelchair. Aunt Chen was responsible for carrying things. The work was evenly distributed.

Perhaps because Shen Yu sat in a wheelchair, as soon as they entered the shopping mall, they attracted the attention of a considerable number of people. The per-capita consumption rate in this shopping mall is one of the best in the country [2, and only VIP customers are sent membership cards.

As early as when the mall opened, it took the initiative to send a membership card to the original Shen Yu. Unfortunately, the original owner was not interested in leisure activities such as shopping and watching movies, as a result, he never once set foot in here.

Shen Yu and his party went to the lobby on the first floor and saw a nervous looking middle-aged man in a stiff suit rushing to meet them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Shen." The man's face was full of smiles and both his words and deeds carried a tone of flattery. "I'm the manager here. My surname is Fu. Please, just call me Xiao Fu. [3]"

"..." Shen Yu looked at a middle-aged man who was obviously older than himself for a couple of seconds and finally greeted with a smile, "Hello."

Manager Fu rubbed his hands and said with a slight nervousness, "It's rare for Mr. Shen to come here. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Shen Yu looked at the silent Tang Li beside him, and his originally cold eyes unconsciously became gentle. He said, "I want to buy some clothes and daily necessities for my family's child [4]."

"Oh-"

Manager Fu lengthened his tone and quickly glanced at Tang Li, then a trace of doubt and surprise flashed in his eyes.

But he dared not gossip about the Shen family. Instead, he recommended himself, "I am very familiar with this place. If it is convenient for Mr. Shen, I can show you around."

Shen Yu did not refuse: "Then we'll inconvenience you."

Manager Fu started laughing and replied, "It's no inconvenience at all."

—————————

Shen Yu has always known that the Shen family has a pivotal position in the upper circle. Even the rich and powerful officials will concede their greatness in front of the Shen family, not to mention a group of rich people who can't boast about their own identities and instead want to hug the Shen family's thigh.

When he first came to the world, Shen Yu did not know why this was. Later, he slowly learned about the Shen's history. A hundred years ago, the founders of Shen's family began operating in the underworld.

It was not until Shen Yu's father's generation that the Shen family was completely washed white.

However, the dark forces that the Shen family cultivated a hundred years ago cannot be dissolved overnight. With the current growth of the Shen family, those forces still seem to be vigorously developing.

In short, the Shen family has been a family of black and white people for centuries. Not only is it as simple as having money, as long as they latch onto the Shen family, many subsequent projects will be much easier to carry out.

With this knowledge, even if Shen Yu seldom appeared in public for the past year, even a passer-by with a certain identity can recognize him at a glance.

So, while Shen Yu and others were led around by manager Fu, and a group of people started to create a chatter around them. Eventually, even a few paparazzi mixed in with the crowd.

Through the crowd and the security guards, the paparazzi raised their voices and asked their questions.

"Mr. Shen, I heard that you have given up the management of the company over the past year. What are you going to do next?"

"Mr. Shen, we are all curious about how you will handle the company without a successor. You and Miss Du's engagement has reached a critical point. Will you cancel the engagement and marry another one?"

"I heard that Elder Shen intends to let you adopt the child of the Tang family, but before your parents' bones are even cold, your grandpa will ask for the property of the Shen family under their surnames. What do you think of this matter?"

The paparazzi kept chattering, making Shen Yu's ears hum.

Shen Yu lowered his head and rubbed his temple irritably.

He has never been good at dealing with these types of problems. When his dessert shop was popular on the Internet, a group of lively girls would come around to take pictures of him every day and happily ask personal questions.

Shen Yu could not answer, so he could only choose to escape.

"Enter the elevator." Shen Yu muttered to Uncle Zhang, who was pushing the wheelchair.

"Understood." Uncle Zhang answered, and immediately asked Aunt Chen to press the elevator key in front of her.

The current situation is not optimistic for them. Six security guards are not enough to resist the aggressive passers-by and paparazzi. The support team called by the manager is still on the way. It most likely it won't be long before they are completely surrounded by those people.

Uncle Zhang suddenly regretted not bringing the bodyguards with them.

The young master is just an ordinary businessman. He does not belong to the entertainment circle. Why should he be besieged by this group of parasites?!

Besides, the young master is recovering from a serious illness, he stays at home day and night and refuses to meet people. What if this event leaves a shadow in his heart.

The more Uncle Zhang thought of this, the more irritable he became, and the more he had the impulse to tear up those vermin in the past. Just as he tried to suppress this emotion, he suddenly heard a cry of alarm.

Shen Yu was also frightened by the sudden sound and immediately looked back.

The gauze wrapped around Tang Li's hand had been removed at some point. He had a baseball bat in his hands.

The little villain's expressionless face exuded murderous intent; his obsidian-like eyes surged.

There was a distinct atmosphere of disgust surrounding his whole body. His dark eyes seemed to glow with blood. He stared fiercely at the leading paparazzi member. He squeezed out a word from the gap between his teeth: "Leave."

This type of Tang Li shocked everyone.

Even Shen Yu was too shocked to speak at that moment.

The forehead of the paparazzi leader showed a large conspicuous bump, he squatted on the ground gritting his teeth in pain. Next to him, his companion reacted, and quickly put away his equipment. He began cursing Tang Li and stepped forward to teach him a lesson.

Who knows why Tang Li suddenly threw away his baseball bat and took two steps back?

The man grinned ferociously: "Where did this kid come from? How dare you run to our Mr. Shen and slap my friend? Today I'll teach you a lesson in place of your mother!"

As soon as the voice fell, Tang Li's right hand shook slightly, and there was a flash of silver.

Shen Yu was so frightened by the sudden situation that he turned pale and before he could get Uncle Zhang to go to persuade him, he saw Tang Li holding a dagger in his right hand.

The dagger shined horribly in the bright light.

With a grin on Tang Li's lips, his tender face showed an expression of gloom that did not match his age. He lowered his voice and said, "Come here if you are not afraid of death."

The man suddenly froze, suddenly not knowing what to think, his whole being was in a state of shock.

"That's the Tang family's son!" The man turned to his companion and exclaimed.

The paparazzi with a bump on his head was very angry and shouted, "Who cares whose dog he is, teach him a lesson first! Spare the rod, spoil the child! [5]"

"Get your head out of your ass!" The stunned man grabbed his companion and ran away. "Who the fuck cares with that madman you say? He almost stabbed his relatives to death!"

After that, the two men had run out of sight.

At this time, the security team called by Manager Fu finally arrived late, driving out the remaining passers-by and paparazzi, and escorting out the other customers in the mall.

At last, the noisy atmosphere was quiet, and Shen Yu, who had been having a headache, was relieved.

"Sir." Uncle Zhang asked, "Shall we go back?"

Shen Yu shook his head. "We haven't bought anything yet."

Zhang Shu had thought that Shen Yu would be affected by this incident. Now that the young master looks so calm, he can rest assured.

However, Tang Li's performance just now really shocked Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen. If Tang Li only hit the paparazzi with a stick, they could also understand that the child was angry, but what Tang Li said later...

It's chilling.

Thinking of this, Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen looked at Shen Yu at the same time.

Yesterday, Shen Yu decided to adopt Tang Li by his own will, they feared that after this incident, he would regret it.

[1] 半路殺出個程咬金 meaning "Cheng Yaojin shows up suddenly along the way". Used to describe a situation where someone shows up unexpectedly and disrupts a plan. It is also used to describe an unwelcome busybody who shows up where he/she is not wanted. Cheng Yaojin was general in Ancient China. Incidentally, he is also the star of another well know Chinese idiom, "Cheng Yaojin and his three axe strokes" (程咬金三板斧). Which is used to describe someone with a limited repertoire of skills, i.e. someone relying on the same old tricks. Apparently he is not well liked.

You can more about him here (https/en./wiki/Cheng_Yaojin). Also I took all this information directly from Wikipedia.

[2] for those of you wondering (and also because it gives me a chance to flex that economics/finance degree), when the author says per-capita consumption rate is one of the best, per-capita means the amount of something (usually money) divided by people. For example, if 3 people collectively earn $10,000 and 1 person earns $1 million dollars, then the earnings per-capita is $252,500 (($10,000$1,000,000)/(31)).

So, by saying the per-capita consumption rate is one of the best, it's implying that a lot of money is spent by a very small amount of people.

[3] I assume most of you know that "xiao" means small, and to call someone "Xiao [Name]" is an incredibly casual tone to have and is usually used among close friends and family. So it's inappropriate to call someone that when that person is considered "above you" in a sense, such as being significantly older than you.

[4] He's very specifically calling him "my family's child" and not "my child". I'm pretty sure this is like saying "a child of my household" and is subtle way of saying that he is not the biological child of Shen Yu. It's a pretty vague way to describe a child's relationship within the family, so it leaves a lot of room for people to make assumptions.

[5] The actual idiom was something like, "if the mother hits at an early age, the child won't sit in prison when they're an adult."

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterChapter 6 – Apologies

Tang Li took back the dagger without saying a word and stood stiffly in place.

When he realized what he had just done, he immediately felt goose bumps stand up all over his body

He did not dare to look back at or talk to Shen Yu.

The fear that came from the bottom of his heart welled up to the top of his head.

For more than a year after his parents left, Tang Li never cared about anyone's feelings. He didn't mind what others thought of him or what was said about him. Even if his knife poked that disgusting man right into the hospital and his crying aunt madly scolded him as a murderer, he never thought twice such words.

But now, just the knowledge that Shen Yu saw the other side of him and heard the two paparazzi talk about his past, he was almost drowned by the fear that came over him.

It was as if the whole heart had been dug out and thrown into cold water.

The bitter chill made Tang Li's body tremble.

He is only a ten-year-old child. He can't possibly stop thinking about the things he cares for, and in turn he also can't stop being afraid of losing those things.

"Tang Li."

Shen Yu's voice, which was neither disgusted nor weak, sounded behind him. Instead of calling him "Little Chestnut" kindly and gently, he called his full name directly.

Tang Li seemed to realize something. He drooped his eyelids silently and turned to face Shen Yu, but he was too timid to look directly into Shen Yu's eyes.

"Come here." Shen Yu said.

"..." Tang Li hesitated for a while, but still took a step forward.

The group was surrounded by silence, the only thing that could be heard was light music playing in the mall which slowly flowed in the air. Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen were both nervous and tense. They dare not make a sound, and their eyes are hovering between Shen Yu and Tang Li.

Even Manager Fu, an innocent outsider, felt suffocated He rubbed his hands nervously and stepped back a few paces in fear that Shen Yu's anger might affect himself.

"Sir." Uncle Zhang bent down and said to Shen Yu, "Let's talk about it when we get home."

Aunt Chen quickly agreed, "Yes, that sounds like the best idea."

The child was still carrying a dagger and was so impulsive. What if Shen Yu accidentally said something to stimulate him?

Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen became more and more panicked when they thought about it. Unconsciously, they took two steps forward and stepped between Shen Yu and Tang Li.

Just then, they could barely hear Tang Li whispering, "I'm sorry."

Hearing this, Shen, Yu who was standing in the middle of the stunned Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen, did not wait for their reactions and asked Tang Li: "Do you know what you did wrong?"

Tang Li nodded; his gloomy eyes fixed on the floor. He slowly clenched his fists at his side and squeezed out a lone sentence from his mouth after great difficulty: "I know my wrong."

"Come a little closer." Shen Yu once again beckoned.

Tang Li did not hesitate to cross between Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen and stood in front of Shen Yu, but his head remained buried in his collar, his soft black hair hanging down, covering his eyes.

Shen Yu couldn't clearly see Tang Li's expression at the time. He only knew that his face was pale, his thin lips were tight, and his face was in hiding.

"Raise your head." Shen Yu continued.

Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen were frightened to hear this. They were afraid that Tang Li would pull out a dagger and stab Shen Yu in a moment of madness. Tang Li's words had really left a shadow in their hearts.

In this day-in-age, which ten-year-old child can speak such cruel words so clearly?

Fortunately, Tang Li did not lash out. Instead, behaving like a good student who accepted the teacher's criticism, he raised his head silently and for a moment, looked at Shen Yu with his deep black eyes.

For a long time, Shen Yu did not shy away from looking at him. Then suddenly, he burst into laughter. He reached out and touched Tang Li's hair. "It's good that you know your mistake."

He looked down at Tang Li's hands.

Although the wound on his palm still looks a little scary, after Dr. Liu's treatment, the blood had coagulated.

Shen Yu was relieved. He stuffed a card into Tang Li's hand. "Go and pay the money. Don't do that next time."

"..."

Tang Li stared at the bank card in his hand with surprise.

Shen Yu spoke, "The password is your birthday. From now on this card will be yours. It will be my welcoming present to you."

The card belonged to the original Shen Yu, but the current Shen Yu took advantage of Dr. Liu's examination of Tang Li and asked Zhang housekeeper to temporarily go out and change the password, and additionally, put 20 million yuan [1] into the card's account.

After a long time, Tang Li finally opened his mouth: "What am I supposed to pay for?"

"Baseball bat." Shen Yu sighed lightly and pointed helplessly to the staff who were staying in the sports store not far away. "Didn't you take it from the store and plan to pay for it later?"

Looking in the direction that Shen Yu's finger pointed, Tang Li saw a girl in her uniform looking at them fearfully with an expression like she was about to burst into tears.

Shen Yu said, "Go ahead."

Tang Li gradually understood Shen Yu's meaning. Instantly, the despair and fear in his eyes were swept away and replaced by a small light that was shining like the stars.

He must have been looking at Shen Yu for a long time, his hot eyes walking up Shen Yu's skin, as if to deeply imprint Shen Yu's appearance onto his very soul.

Then, he quickly ran away.

Shen Yu smiled and shook his head.

While waiting for Tang Li to return, Aunt Chen couldn't help complaining, "Sir, don't let Tang Li carry knives with him in the future. How can such a small child play with such dangerous things?"

Shen Yu said, "I'll talk to him when I have a chance."

"That's all right." Aunt Chen quickly waved her hand. "Sir, you don't have to do that. After a while, I'll find an excuse to remind him that a good child shouldn't be more aggressive than adults."

As for Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen's worries, it's not like Shen Yu didn't understand them.

In the past, he himself was the person most afraid of Tang Li, but avoidance could not solve any problems. If today, out of fear, he sent Tang Li away, maybe more than ten years later, Tang Li would come knocking on his door with a sharp knife.

Fate, this troublesome thing...

No one can be sure how it will turn out.

It's better to let Tang Li grow under his careful watch than to drive him away to some unknown place. At least he can personally participate in Tang Li's life, and perhaps even gradually influence Tang Li's outlook on life.

Thinking about it, at least Tang Li's actions just know were done in order to protect him.

After a little self-comforting, Shen Yu felt much better.

——————————————————

They spent most of the day at the mall and went to eat on the way home, so it was already dusk when they had finally returned with their car full of new purchases.

Who knows where the people living in the neighboring villas had heard the news of Shen Yu's trip outside, but by now they have long been standing in groups in front of the gate, waiting for Shen Yu to return.

Before the car could pass through the gate, Shen Yu could see a crowd of people coming towards them through the windshield.

"..." Shen Yu rubbed his forehead irritably. "Doesn't it feel like we're being attacked by zombies?"

Tang Li blinked with his beautiful phoenix eyes and looked curiously at the group: "What are they doing?"

"Waiting for me..."

"Why wait for you?"

Shen Yu thought about it and bitterly joked, "Maybe I've gotten more popular. Perhaps I'm even more popular than those big stars you see on TV. Should I give them all my autograph?"

Tang Li: "..."

Uncle Zhang, who was driving the car, said, "They would prefer you to sign your autograph on their contracts."

Hearing this, Shen Yu could only give an ugly laugh. After thinking about it, he decided to let Uncle Zhang drive them back without further pause.

After enjoying his lazy day out with Tang Li, Shen Yu's assistant, who had to work overtime in the company, sent a large number of documents to Shen Yu for approval. Shen Yu complained incessantly but had no choice other than to go to the study with a sad face.

As an art student who likes baking, Shen Yu has never learned anything about business administration.

Managing a corporation is not as easy as running a dessert shop. Despite being a member of the transmigration club, Shen Yu never got his golden finger, nor did he get a fate defying master to support his rise to the top. He can only harden his scalp and pretend at being a top-notch president.

Developing a piece of land in the south of Chengdu into a high-grade housing area?

—— Let's go! Not bad money!

Suggested a merger and acquisition of XXX studio?

—— Buy, buy, buy! Not bad money!

Relevant matters concerning the establishment of a branch company in A country?

Emmmm... After the establishment of the branch office, it seems that a mountain of work will be piled up for him to deal with...

—— Rejected, many projects in the company have not recovered their cost of capital, the current amount of liquidity is insufficient to establish a new branch.

...

By the time Shen Yu finished all his work, the clock showed it was two in the morning. He steered the wheelchair out of the study and turned his head to see Uncle Zhang still outside the door.

"How's Chestnut?"

"He's fallen asleep."

"Uncle Zhang, find a school that has a good reputation and is near the house and go through the admission formalities for Chestnut." Shen Yu thought for a while before continuing, "It's better for him to start school after National Day. Chestnut isn't in good health. I want him to have a chance to adjust before he goes."

"Understood." Uncle Zhang nodded. "What about the adoption procedures?"

Shen Yu said, " Leave it alone for the time being."

"All right." Although Uncle Zhang was doubtful, he did not ask questions.

However, Shen Yu went ahead and explained, "The relationship between Chestnut and the Tang family is not clear yet. If I bring Chestnut into the Shen family without better understanding it, it may cause unnecessary trouble. It is a small matter for me but a difficult problem for Chestnut."

Uncle Zhang looked up at Shen Yu and his lips moved. It seemed that he wanted to say something. Unfortunately, it turned into a silent sigh.

It's just.

Since the death of Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen, the young master has been addicted to his pessimistic world view. Now, he is willing to come out of it, which is a good thing.

Although, the fact that he chose to walk out of his pessimistic world for that cruel child...

Shen Yu knew what Uncle Zhang wanted to say, but he could only turn a blind eye to it. After saying good night to Uncle Zhang, he steered the wheelchair towards his bedroom.

As he passed Tang Li's bedroom, Shen Yu stopped somewhat awkwardly. He listened for a moment in front of the door before he grabbed the door handle and opened it with a click.

Night lights were placed around the bedroom, dim yellow lights filled the room.

There was a touch of warmth.

Looking sideways, Shen Yu saw a small ball bundled up on the big soft bed.

He slowly steered the wheelchair in and came to Tang Li's bedside.

The little villain sleeps very well, with long eyelashes, thick and curled like a small fan, casting a light silhouette on his clean skin. His lips are very thin, and he always wipes them unconsciously, looking a little serious.

Really, it's only a ten-year-old child...

He's still just an innocent child.

Shen Yu sighed softly. He wondered whether he had demonized the villain too much. After all, a ten-year-old child could not turn over the sky.

After a long time, Shen Yu touched the soft cheek of Tang Li, tucked the quilt around him, and whispered, "Good night, Chestnut."

After speaking, he pushed his wheelchair and turned to go out.

After the door closed, the originally sleeping Tang Li slowly opened his eyes, and the dark eyes stared straight at the closed door.

After a while, he suddenly opened the quilt and got out of bed. After removing the pillow from the bed, he saw a dagger in its scabbard.

Tang Li picked up the dagger expressionlessly. His cold eyes swept over the weapon. Then he opened the empty drawer at the bottom of the bedside cabinet and threw the dagger in.

[1] about $2.9 million given the current exchange rate.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterChapter 7 - Exercise

Ch.7 – Exercise

The former Shen Yu seldom came to the villa. It wasn't until a year ago, when his parents died in an airplane crash, that he moved to the villa with Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen.

Although there are all kinds of daily necessities at the Shen home, what Shen Yu wanted had to be ordered.

So, for the next two days, people living around the Shen house could see several delivery trucks going in and out of the outdoor gymnasium in the Shen family's area of residence. The delivery trucks seemed to be carrying a lot of fitness equipment and other things in.

But Shen Yu's legs were paralyzed in a car accident.

So what does he mean to do by buying fitness equipment? Is it for the housekeeper and servants to use?

The people outside had many different opinions, but Shen Yu was completely unaffected. After the servants completed the gym and sports field, he began to work out the exercise plan of Tang Li.

There is also the crucial matter of a healthy diet. Shen Yu specially asked Dr. Liu to find a well-known nutritionist in the industry, who helped set up a diet plan for Tang Li.

The unknowing Tang Li remained in a state of ignorance.

As a result, one morning, Shen Yu asked Uncle Zhang to call Tang Li to the stadium. Cutting directly to the chase, he ordered the villain to run around the stadium for five laps.

Tang Li was wearing the sportswear Shen Yu bought for him, the light green and dark black clothing contrasting against each other. The figure of the little villain became thinner over time, and the handsome face became even more beautiful.

———————————-

Tang Li, who was bathed in the morning light, looked up slightly, his sharp chin became outlined in light. For a moment, he was stunning, then he turned around and started running without saying a word.

Shen Yu steered his wheelchair to the center of the stadium and observed Tang Li's running.

"Too thin." Shen Yu said to Uncle Zhang.

"But he's strong enough." Uncle Zhang calmly replied, "I've never seen a child run for so long without running out of breath."

During their conversation, Tang Li had already run two and a half laps.

He did not run very fast, but he kept his pace throughout the entire time. Even on the fourth lap, his pace did not slow, he even had a slight tendency to speed up.

Before long, Tang Li finished running 5 laps and trotted over to Shen Yu as he cooled down.

Shen Yu handed him the towel he had already prepared and smiled with raised eyebrows: "Chestnut really is great."

Tang Li's ears turned red. He silently took the towel and wiped the sweat from his head.

Shen Yu asked, "Tired?"

Tang Li shook his head. "Not Tired."

"That's good." Shen Yu said, "After running make sure to drink some water."

Tang Li lightly closed his lips, his bright obsidian-like eyes peeping at Shen Yu. Mixed in those beautiful eyes were feelings that Shen Yu could not understand.

After the rest, Aunt Chen brought in Tang Li's coach, who had been scheduled in advance to assist in Tang Li's training.

The coach has taught the national team and brought out many world champions in the Olympic Games [1]. The fee for his time is more expensive than ordinary people could even begin to imagine.

But Shen Yu was not a money-poor master. After greeting the coach, he warned, "The training should not be too strong. He is too thin. I just want him to be a little stronger."

"Yes, Mr. Shen." The coach nodded vigorously.

After Shen Yu said all this, he turned his head and looked at Tang Li, who had been staring at him the entire time. Shen Yu smiled and touched the little villain's sweaty black hair. "Get ready to start training [2]."

Tang Li felt oddly nervous and took the initiative to grab Shen Yu's hand. His expression was rather hesitant, and he asked, "Are you leaving?"

Shen Yu's wrist was painfully pinched by Tang Li's strong grip. He resisted the impulse to pull his hand back and said, "I won't go, I'm going to watch you."

"Really?" Tang Li's tone carried a trace of suspicion.

"Really." Shen Yu assured him that he'd stay to the end, and then he held Tang Li's hand and said, "When have I ever deceived you?"

Tang Li looked at Shen Yu for a long time, until he was sure that Shen Yu's eyes were not lying. His nerves, which had tightened into a knot, gradually started relaxing. He murmured, "Don't go."

Shen Yu laughed and patted Tang Li on the back of his hand with a sigh.

The coach next to him looked at the interaction between the two people with a surprised look on his face. Then he laughed and said, "I envy you. My son is already so big and would prefer to be one hundred and eighty thousand miles away from me. He would never stick so close to his mother and me."

Hearing this, Shen Yu felt very helpless.

He didn't know why the villain liked to stick to him so much. When he worked in his study, Tang Li would wander around outside from time to time, like a little puppy waiting for his master's attention.

Every time Shen Yu look at it, he felt it was pathetic.

But from another point of view, Shen Yu thinks this is also good – the little villain likes him and trusts him, which shows that his position in the heart of the little villain is becoming more and more important.

Over time, it may even be able to completely eliminate the hatred of the villain in the original plot.

——————————–

The training area for the coach is located on the sports ground. The servants temporarily moved some necessary equipment from the gym. The training time is two hours a day, and mainly focused on aerobic exercise.

Despite Shen Yu's appeals to avoid intensive training, after all, with a sky-high hourly salary the coach did not come to mess around, so there was hardly any rest for two hours in the first class.

As a sports waste, Shen Yu became tired just looking at it, and he felt a little distressed for Tang Li's thin arms and legs.

Fortunately, Tang Li quickly adapted to the coach's rhythm, and easily completed the tasks issued by the coach. He was far better than the average ten-year-old boy.

"Sir." Uncle Zhang stood behind him and reminded him, "It's time for your rehabilitation exercises."

Shen Yu did not look away from Tang Li, but only responded lightly: "Wait a minute."

Uncle Zhang hesitated, but after a while he pushed on, "Sir..."

"I promised Little Chestnut to wait here." Shen Yu turned his head to Uncle Zhang and shrugged his shoulders. "You can never go back on your own word."

Uncle Zhang: "..."

Uncle Zhang looked down at the side of Shen Yu's face, which was blurred by the sunshine. His throat was blocked with thousands of words, but he did not know how to say it. He wanted to ask Shen Yu why he valued Tang Li so much.

It's clear that the violent child is not worth spending so much time on...

And now, news has already spread outside, saying that Shen Yu finally compromised with Elder Shen, and took the Tang child in. It's already feared that the Shen family will change for the worse in the future.

Uncle Zhang didn't tell Shen Yu about these things.

One reason is that he does not want to provoke the relationship between Shen Yu and Elder Shen, the other is that he can vaguely guess that Shen Yu doesn't care what people outside say at all, but instead concentrates all his energy on Tang Li.

Uncle Zhang had been struggling for a long time, but he still swallowed back the words that filled his throat.

Not far away, Tang Li had finished training. Even the mineral water handed to him by his coach wasn't finish before he ran over to Shen Yu. His dark eyes were shining like stars.

"I'm done." Tang Li was still panting, his cheeks were red, but he was not a mess at all.

"Chestnut is terrific!" Shen Yu started praising him excitedly [3]. Clearly, his words are very powerful for the villain. The light in Tang Li's eyes became as dazzling as brilliant sunshine.

Tang Li was born with a pair of very beautiful of phoenix eyes. His eyes were long and narrow. Even though his eyes did not carry any excess emotions, they also seemed to be full of thousands of amorous feelings.

At the same time, these eyes are also very aggressive.

In the novel, the male lead once said to the female lead that what he hated most was Tang Li's eyes, which held concern for nobody, and seemed to be calculating all the time.

However, at this moment, these beautiful phoenix eyes are full of smiles, and the clear bottom of the eyes only reflected Shen Yu's figure.

Shen Yu was shocked for a long time before he recovered. He picked up the cup of water on the table next to him and handed it to Tang Li: "Drink some water."

When Tang Li took the cup, Shen Yu suddenly realized that he had drunk half of the water. He rushed to grab the cup and said, "Wait a minute, I have already drunk from that cup..."

Tang Li's hand quickly moved aside and easily avoided Shen Yu's movements, and then he raised his head and drank the remaining water in the cup.

Shen Yu: "..."

This kid...

Hands and feet are too quick!

Tang Li put the empty cup into Shen Yu's stiff hand, which was still hanging in mid-air, and said seriously, "Thank you."

Shen Yu squeezed out a smile: "... You're welcome."

———————–

Shen Yu's rehabilitation exercise has always been done by Uncle Zhang.

When the original Shen Yu survived the car accident, he was seriously injured and traumatized. He always refused rehabilitation and psychotherapy. After the current Shen Yu came, he began to cooperate with doctors to carry out rehabilitation exercises.

In the process of rehabilitation, Shen Yu suffered a lot.

It is not easy to control such feeble legs to walk on the ground. Every step requires great strength and courage. The soreness and pain of the legs make Shen Yu walk like he was on the tip of a knife.

Only after six steps, Shen Yu could not support himself and planted himself on the floor.

The servants quickly helped Shen Yu sit on the soft sofa.

Shen Yu's face was pale, without a trace of blood. He gasped heavily, and the sweat from his face gathered in drops under his chin and ran down his white neck into his already wet clothes.

The heavily distressed Uncle Zhang looked at the timer and said, "Three seconds more than before, there is progress."

Shen Yu felt he was dying of pain and thought of giving up, but it was only a thought.

After Shen Yu cooled down, the servants pushed the wheelchair over and helped Shen Yu sit in it.

Shen Yu put in some effort to smiled and said, "It's been hard for you."

"The person trying hardest is you." Uncle Zhang put away the timer and suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Aunt Chen just came over and said that Tang Li's aunt and uncle have been waiting in the living room for about an hour."

Shen Yu was not surprised.

In the original text, Tang Li's aunt and her family used Tang Li as a springboard to approach Elder Shen and Shen Yu in order to climb up into the Shen family's good graces. Unfortunately, Shen Yu had no sympathy for Tang Li, and instead and was always on guard against Tang Li.

Until finally the Tang family was killed by Tang Li himself, and they could no longer touch the Shen family.

When reading the novel, Shen Yu disliked the Tang family very much. The author described the calculating faces of the ordinary people very well. Every time they appeared, he was very disgusted.

Uncle Zhang observed Shen Yu's expression and frowned at him. He immediately said, "I'll have Aunt Chen send them away."

"No hurry." Shen Yu raised his hand to stop Uncle Zhang. "I want to see them."

Uncle Zhang was stunned for two seconds before bowing his head and replying, "As you wish."

[1] The text does not specify what he actually coaches, just that he's really good at it.

[2] Originally, 加油呀 [jiā yóu yā, which literally means "add oil". It's similar to saying ,"get a move on", but not quite that harsh.

[3] Originally 吹了一堆彩虹屁, which literally translated means "to blow a bunch of rainbow farts". Which just means to praise someone in an exaggerated manner. I'd be like praising your boss.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterChapter 8 - V.I.P.

Ch.8 – V.I.P.

Shen Yu changed his clothes and was pushed out of the bedroom by Uncle Zhang. Turning around, he jumped in fright when he suddenly saw a small figure standing silently by the door.

Seeing that it was Tang Li, Shen Yu immediately calmed down.

He laughed and waved to Tang Li, "Chestnut."

Tang Li had already changed out of his morning training clothes. He was wearing a light-grey knit shirt and black trousers, which made the little villain appear clean and delicate. However, it was hard to hide the cruelty in his bones.

Tang Li looked at Shen Yu expressionlessly, then stepped forward and stood in front of Shen Yu.

"What's wrong?" Shen Yu reached out and rubbed Tang Li's hair. Then he put his hand on Tang Li's shoulder. "Are you looking for me?"

Tang Li tightened his lips and shook his head before letting his eyes fall on Shen Yu's legs.

After a moment, the little villain asked hoarsely, "Does it hurt?"

Shen Yu smiled and said, "There's no pain."

"You lie." Tang Li said in a firm tone.

"It did hurt a little before." Shen Yu, speaking in a drawn-out tone, patted Tang Li twice on the shoulder, and said in a low voice, "But after you asked, it doesn't hurt."

He gave Tang Li a playful wink.

It's a pity that Tang Li didn't get to see this moment. Always frowning and with a small expression, Tang Li stared at Shen Yu's legs with great seriousness.

Shen Yu felt helpless, guessing in his heart that maybe when he was doing rehabilitation exercises in his study, the voice he made was heard by the little villain. It seems that he should keep away from the little villain in the future while doing his exercises.

—————————————-

When he went downstairs to see Tang Li's aunt and uncle, Shen Yu specifically asked Aunt Chen to take Tang Li and occupy him somewhere else.

In the grand and luxurious living room, the visiting couple were sitting on the sofa uncomfortably. They looked up and saw Shen Yu, who being pushed by Uncle Zhang, approaching slowly. Their expressions flashed with ecstasy.

"Mr. Shen, here you are!"

"Hello, Mr. Shen!"

Facing the excited couple, Shen Yu just nodded slightly and then gestured, "No need to inconvenience yourself. Please, sit down."

The couple sat back on the sofa, their hearts almost popping out in their chest.

Their eyes were burning and straightforward. They did not shy away, as if they were trying to see through Shen Yu's soul. Their faces were full of undisguised greed.

It was unexpected that one day they would see the real Shen Yu in person.

It's something they didn't dare to even dream about before...

The unattainable, mysterious and difficult Shen Yu, who even Tang family's elders wanted to meet, sat in front of them at this very moment.

It's like winning the lottery.

Thinking of Tang Li, who had not appeared even now, Tang Jia and her husband, Yuan Yunping, had a trace of resentment in their eyes.

When they calmed down, they immediately painted on a smile and looked at Shen Yu.

"Mr. Shen, to be honest, we are here today to discuss Chestnut with you." Tang Jia said.

Shen Yu naturally knew what the couple was playing at in their hearts, and slightly raised his eyebrows: "Go on."

"As the guardians of Chestnut, we should guarantee the education of Chestnut in both morals and reason. Furthermore, Chestnut is my brother's son, and I'm afraid that he won't be able to rest peacefully if Chestnut is raised away from his family..."

Shen Yu held his chin in one hand, closed his eyes halfway, and looked at Tang Jia coldly.

"Well." He said, "So what?"

Tang Jia licked her lips and rubbed her hands nervously before continuing to speak, "We all know that Mr. Shen is a reasonable person. You must be able to understand our concerns. If Chestnut stays here all the time and disturbs Mr. Shen, as his guardians everyone will think we've neglected our duty..."

Perhaps it's because Shen Yu is demonized in too many rumors outside that even though Shen Yu never showed a ferocious expression from beginning to end, Tang Jia and Yuan Yunping are still a little afraid of him. They watched his face carefully even when they spoke.

When Shen Yu chuckled, Tang Jia and Yuan Yunping straightened their backs in an instant, not daring to even breathe.

"Are you the guardians of Tang Li?"

"Yes." Tang Jia quickly nodded. "After my brother and sister-in-law died, Chestnut was brought up by our family. Although he had been to his uncle's and aunt's house before, those people..."

At this point, Tang Jia paused, deliberately revealing a mysterious expression.

"Domestic violence?" Shen Yu spewed out what she wanted to say.

"You know?" Tang Jia didn't realize that Shen Yu would rob them of the chance to sell tragedy. Suddenly panicked, she asked, "What did Tang Li say to you?"

Shen Yu smiled but did not laugh. "He didn't say anything, but the bruises and scars on his body spoke volumes."

"Oh, that um..."

Tang Jia swallowed her saliva and nervously stroked her hair. Before she could speak, she was stopped by Yuan Yunping. Tang Jia quickly glanced at her husband and immediately closed her mouth.

"Mr. Shen, this is all a misunderstanding." Yuan Yunping seemed to find something encouraging in Shen Yu's expression, explaining with a grin, "Before Chestnut came to our house, he went to live with his mother's relatives for a period of time. Later, when we visited, we found that those people had a tendency for violence and took it out on Chestnut. Although we later took good care of Chestnut, the scars on his body never seemed to fade."

Although Yuan Yunping explained a lot of things, he did not get any response from Shen Yu.

Gradually, Yuan Yunping calmed down and began grabbing at his hair awkwardly.

"Don't be nervous." Shen Yu said, "I just needed to ask."

Hearing this, Tang Jia and Yuan Yunping felt relieved: "So long as Mr. Shen does not misunderstand, it's good."

Shen Yu nodded and turned to let Uncle Zhang come near. He whispered something to him.

Uncle Zhang softly replied and went straight to the second floor.

"You can rest assured that since you are the guardians of Tang Li, I will not stop you from taking him away." Shen Yu smiled and said to Yuan Yunping and his wife, "Uncle Zhang has gone upstairs to pick up Tang Li. It'll only be a moment."

Tang Jia and Yuan Yunping were stunned.

They looked at each other in a panic, and they both saw their own dismay reflected in the other's eyes.

No...

Why didn't Shen Yu follow their script?!

Didn't those people outside say that Shen Yu absolutely didn't want to leave Tang Li?

According to reason, Shen Yu should strongly refuse their request to take Tang Li away, and then make them start negotiations, right?

Their original intention is not to take back that money-losing brat, but to eat, drink and live freely in their house, and even stab people with knives! [1]

They'd be crazy to take the little murderer back!

"Mr. Shen, in fact, Chestnut is better off staying here with you than going back with us. Our Tang family has declined, and we cannot provide the best options for Chestnut in both his spiritual and material needs."

In a panic, Tang Jia began to speak freely. "But you're different, the Shen family has a prosperous business and only one master, even if Chestnut is left with the Shen family's scraps, it is enough for him to enjoy the best material life."

Shen Yu smiled lightly, but there was no smile in those peach blossom eyes. He said, "I really like Tang Li, he's an excellent child. Your retreat makes me feel like a bandit making off with someone else's valuables."

"No, no, no." Tang Jia and Yuan Yunping shook their heads like a pair of rattle drums.

Shen Yu said, "Thank you then. I will take good care of Tang Li."

Tang Jia and Yuan Yunping nodded, but they didn't intend to get up and leave. They pushed each other for a while in secret. Finally, Tang Jia shyly said, "Mr. Shen, speaking of this, we're not hiding it from you. In fact, we came here to ask you for one thing..."

Shen Yu said, "You want money?"

Tang Jia did not expect Shen Yu to be so direct. Stunned for a few seconds, she spoke, a bit embarrassed, "There's a project in our company that can't amass the necessary funds..."

Shen Yu interrupted her with a smile: "I won't give you money."

Tang Jia: "..."

"Mr. Shen, how can you say that?" Yuan Yunping opened his mouth with a hard scalp [2]. "When we discussed with you about the future of Tang Li just now, you acted so understanding."

Shen Yu's soft temper does not mean that he has no temper.

Now this viscous couple have put the harness around his neck. If he doesn't stand strong now, they'll think that he is someone that is easy to take advantage of.

"That's two completely different matters. I heard your suggestion to leave Tang Li here, and I refused your request for money. Is there any connection?"

Shen Yu smiled but did not laugh, his eyes grew colder. He stared at the shuddering Tang Jia and Yuan Yunping.

Yuan Yunping was frightened, but he could not bear to see the cooked duck fly away [3]. He gritted his teeth and threatened, "It seems that Mr. Shen's temper is not suitable for taking in children. Today we can only take Tang Li back."

"You dare," Shen Yu said.

For a moment, Yuan Yunping shivered violently, his face turned blue, and his neck and mouth were stiff. "We are the guardians of Tang Li. We have the right to take Tang Li back. Mr. Shen, you are detaining minors illegally. All your actions are against the law!"

During the quarrel, Uncle Zhang quietly returned to Shen Yu's side and handed him a stack of bound materials from his study.

Shen Yu flipped through the pages slowly, the icy grin on his mouth became colder and colder. He shook his hand and threw the report at Yuan Yunping's face. The gloomy voice was like a sentence from the God of death.

"Let's see who broke the law here!"

The not-thin and not-thick stack of data fell on Yuan Yunping's face with a crash, which made his cheek ache. Yuan Yunping could only ignore the pain and quickly picked up the report that fell on the ground.

After turning over a few pages, Yuan Yunping's face lost all its blood he staggered against Tang Jia, looking desperate, as if he had seen the end of the world.

Tang Jia felt that something truly bad must have happened. She quickly grabbed the report and looked at it. Soon, her expression was the same as Yuan Yunping's.

"All the evidence of your past child abuse is in it. I'll see you in court." Shen Yu's words fell, deathly cold.

Immersed in despair, Yuan Yunping was immediately pulled back to his thoughts by the voice. He immediately threw himself on his knees and pleaded, "Mr. Shen, we did not abuse Tang Li. The injuries on him were not done by us, but by the relatives of his mother."

Shen Yu laughed, "In that case, let's directly go together."

[1] Meaning they want to have a powerful backer.

[2] Again, a hard scalp means to put on a brave face/ toughen one's skin. In context it's basically saying he's hardening himself to act shameless.

[3] The cooked duck flew away meaning, to lose what one has got, fail to seize an opportunity when it's available

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterChapter 9 - Explanation

Ch.9 – Explanation

Yuan Yunping knelt on the ground and for a long time, looked up at Shen Yu with startled eyes. Suddenly, he realized what he was doing. He stared at Shen Yu and said, "You...you knew we were coming. You led us along, waiting for us to throw ourselves into the net, didn't you?"

Shen Yu said, "You think too much."

"What does this mean?" Yuan Yunping madly grabbed the stack of information from Tang Jia's hand, and began shaking the pages wildly. "Isn't that what you were so prepared for?!"

Shen Yu lowered his eyelids indifferently, and his cool eyes swept across the faces of Yuan Yunping and Tang Jia.

His fingers were white and slender; his index finger was tapping on the wheelchair armrest in an irregular way – a sign of his impatience.

"You are not so important as to need my special attention. Don't be too conceited. If you didn't come today, I'd have given the evidence to the court. Then we'd see each other in court directly."

After that, Shen Yu raised his mouth ironically and turned to Uncle Zhang to say, "Uncle Zhang, please see our guests off ."

"As you wish."

Uncle Zhang was not polite either. He stepped forward and reached out with both his hands. He grabbed Tang Jia and Yuan Yunping, who were paralyzed on the ground, and dragged them out like garbage.

Tang Jia had already been frightened by Shen Yu's words and lost her soul. Even her struggling strength disappeared without a trace, just like a rag doll, she was dragged by Uncle Zhang.

On the other side, Yuan Yunping blushed and suddenly broke free while Uncle Zhang was not paying attention. Then, he pulled his shirt apart and rushed at Shen Yu.

Aunt Chen and several servants, who could only think about what Yuan Yunping would do to Shen Yu, subconsciously blocked Shen Yu by rushing between the two men.

"Stay back!" Aunt Chen said angrily, "If you take one more step, I'll call the police."

Hearing this, Yuan Yunping did not take any further steps, but pointed to his waist and gasped loudly, "Did you see this scar here? It was Tang Li, that lunatic, who stabbed me! I'm telling you, Tang Li is a white-eyed wolf, a murderer! Not only will he not thank you for all you have done for him, but he will also expect you to turn around and bite you hard on your back!

The emotional Yuan Yunping spoke with foam flying from his mouth, but Shen Yu, who sat in front of him, did not respond at all, not even raising his eyebrows.

Shen Yu's face was expressionless, and his cold eyes swept over the area that Yuan Yunping was pointing to.

There really was a knife wound.

The wound's healed, but it's still very obvious. It's a little scary.

Maybe Tang Li really did hurt Yuan Yunping with that dagger.

Shen Yu suppressed the thoughts in his mind, drew up his lips and smiled gently at Yuan Yunping. "You're performance is so good. I guess that scar must no longer bring you pain. It won't be long before the knife wound heals. So... you wanted to use Tang Li to ask me for money?"

Yuan Yunping's eyes were as big as saucers, he looked like a ghost.

He thought that he had calculated for everything, but in any case, it's impossible to calculate that Shen Yu would have such an attitude. Even though Shen Yu now knew that Tang Li is an extremely dangerous time bomb, he has still devoted himself to protecting Tang Li.

Is Shen Yu mad?

Crazy!

They are all fucking crazy!!!

Shen Yu turned a deaf ear to the roar of Yuan Yunping's break down and waved his hand impatiently. Uncle Zhang and several servants threw the couple out together.

The noisy living room was finally quiet.

Shen Yu manipulated the wheelchair to the place where Yuan Yunping had just knelt down and bent down to pick up the report that fell onthe ground.

It depicts the cold violence and abuse that Tang Li suffered at his relatives' home, relatives such as Tang Jia. The evidence is the photographs taken by Dr. Liu when examining Tang Li before, and the oral witness statements collected by Uncle Zhang these past two days.

The attitude and manner of those relatives towards Tang Li is no longer a secret in the circle they live in.

If Shen Yu pursues it to the end, they will absolutely be unable to recover in this lifetime.

Shen Yu turned to the last few pages of the materials and saw the serious bruises in the photos. At once, he felt a distressed. No matter what Yuan Yunping said, Tang Li was indeed a good obedient child.

Fortunately, after these past days of recuperation, the scars on Tang Li's body are no longer so glaringly obvious.

"Uncle Zhang." Shen Yu called to Uncle Zhang, who had just returned from outside, and handed him the information. "Put the evidence back on my desk."

After receiving the data packet, Uncle Zhang hesitated for a moment and asked, "Sir, do you really want to sue them?"

"Two days ago, I asked Kang Lin to start preparing the case." Shen Yu said, "Although I will not take custody of Chestnut for the time being, I will not allow those people to continue to use Chestnut."

When he spoke, Shen Yu always kept a faint smile on his face, which seemed gentle and peaceful. However, the coldness in his eyes let Uncle Zhang know that his young master was not as calm as he seemed on the surface.

————————

Kang Lin is the first assistant of the former master. Ever since Shen Yu came here [1] , he has been working for Shen Yu.

For both business and personal reasons, Kang Lin has been running to meet Shen Yu a lot.

These past two days, he did not appear very much because Shen Yu handed over the work of the lawsuit with Tang Li's relatives to him. According to the efficiency of Kang Lin's work, the preparatory work should be almost done.

Shen Yu planned to go back to his study and ask Kang Lin about his progress.

However, as soon as he turned around, he saw a small figure standing motionless at the corner of the stairs on the second floor, the small dark eyes fixed on him.

Shen Yu was stunned for a moment, and suddenly he felt a little panicked.

He did not know when Tang Li had appeared there, and how much of the conversation he had heard with Yuan Yunping and his wife. Not that he had any hidden secrets, but he was worried that Tang Li would be hurt by Yuan Yunping's words.

After all, the couple's behavior was very ugly.

And what Yuan Yunping said just now was very harsh. Just hearing Yuan Yunping's derogatory words describing Tang Li, Shen Yu felt a surge of fire lighting straight up to the skies of heaven.

Animals!

Shen Yu cursed in his heart.

When he looked up at Tang Li again, Shen Yu instantly resumed his smile. He waved to Tang Li as usual: "Chestnut, come here."

Tang Li seemed to have not heard Shen Yu's voice and remained motionless.

There was no expression on his beautiful face, and his calm eyes held little emotion. His whole body was quiet, as if he was about to melt into the surrounding air, silent and painful.

"Tang Li." Shen Yu shouted his full name directly, and the hand he held in mid-air did not lower. "Come here."

Tang Li hesitated for a long time, but still took a step down the stairs and finally came to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu touched Tang Li's soft hair, deliberately twisted his eyebrows and scolded him, " Does it make you feel bad just being with me? I won't make you come over any more..."

Tang Li looked at Shen Yu in a daze and opened his lips: "No..."

"Saying no?" Shen Yu sighed, "You have all your thoughts written on your face."

Tang Li raised his hand and touched his own face. Then he lowered his hand in frustration. He whispered, "Don't you want to ask me?"

Shen Yu tilted his head and inquired doubtfully, "What would I ask?"

Tang Li seemed to have no idea that Shen Yu would respond like this. After a long silence, he continued to speak: "The knife wound on Yuan Yunping's body..."

"Oh, you're talking about that." Shen Yu laughed disapprovingly, held out his hands and held Tang Li's small face. He lifted it up gently. Tang Li, who had wanted to avoid his sight, couldn't guard against looking at him. "Do you want to talk about that?"

Tang Li was a little dazzled by Shen Yu's smile. At this moment, it seemed that nothing could be felt.

Only, Shen Yu's warm palm on his face had turned into a scorching heat. His heart thumped and thumped as he burned in it.

His mind was blank, and he answered without thought, "I didn't want to talk about it."

Shen Yu said, "In that case, we won't talk about it."

As a result, Tang Li's words turned around: "But now I want to talk about it."

"Then let's talk about it." Shen Yu let go of Tang Li's face, took back his hands and sat upright. "I'll listen."

Tang Li looked down at Shen Yu's beautiful slender hands. After a moment's loss of consciousness, he whispered, "Yuan Yunping molested his niece. I saw that his niece was only nine years old and she could only ask me for help."

[1] I don't know if it means, here the novel, or here the villa.

Prev ChapterNext ChapterReport chapterChapter 10 – Embrace

Shen Yu wanted to ask Tang Li how he knew the meaning of the word "molest".

But on second thought, that's not the main point.

"And now?" Shen Yu asked, "What happened to that girl?"

Tang Li lifted his lips and saw that Shen Yu did not hesitate to believe his words. The nerves that had been tense, gradually relaxed. He dropped his head to the ground and said in a hoarse voice, "After I caused trouble, her parents came to take her away. She knew why I did that to Yuan Yunping, but when those people asked her, she refused to say anything."

Tang Li narrated the whole story in a very smooth tone, and Shen Yu listened with a gullible heart.

In fact, since Shen Yu read the novel as a reader, he knew that the villain had been raised by his cruel relatives since childhood.

Later, it became the trigger for his obsession with the female lead and the total destruction of his enemies.

The beautiful and kind-hearted female lead could not accept that the villain would get revenge against her guardian for hurting her. After slandering the villain with words, she also asked the male lead to help her get rid of the villain's obsession with her. So, the villain who was already had a jealous nature, did not bother turning back from the abyss of blackening.

But Shen Yu didn't think that the reason behind the villain's future actions would be that the he had experienced such a thing in his past.

Shen Yu didn't know why the villain in the novel never explained this to the female lead, instead letting her misunderstand him.

If Tang Li had not personally explained this past event to him now, he would have thought that Shen Yu had attacked Yuan Yunping in a moment of rage. Now he finally knew that Tang Li was fighting against Yuan Yunping's atrocities.

Shen Yu was very upset.

Although Tang Li didn't say anything, he still felt Tang Li's grievance.

He wanted to comfort Tang Li, saying that the girl was only nine years old and didn't know any better, and that she would choose to protect herself subconsciously in the case of extreme fear.

However, before he could speak, he swallowed his words when he remembered that Tang Li himself was only a ten-year-old child.

He knows the meaning of the word "molest". He also knows how to use violence to intentionally make trouble so that the girl's parents would come and pick her up.

Why did the nine-year-old girl not know how to be grateful?

Shen Yu took a deep breath and suddenly pulled Tang Li into his arms. He put his chin against Tang Li's head, rubbed Tang Li's hair and whispered, "That's all in the past. You're part of our Shen family now. No one will ever dare to bully you again."

Tang Li suddenly fell into Shen Yu's arms. In an instant, his whole body froze as if someone pressed the pause button.

It seems like the whole world sat still.

No one knows, but Tang Li's parents were strict with him when they were alive. They never held him or praised him, and never allowed him to act spoiled. Ever since he could remember, he has only known a world filled with countless lessons and tutors, as well as bamboo sticks that would fall if he did not finish his homework.

Then his parents died, and his relatives treated him like a rat crossing the street, only complaining and scolding.

He would resist and fight back violently, but his efforts were only met with more brutal beatings and relatives that wanted to dispose of him.

In fact, this is the first time that he has been embraced since he was born. Nevertheless, he was currently being embraced by a person who has no blood relationship with him and who was only recently a complete stranger.

Tang Li's nose started to sting.

The huge and lofty iceberg in his heart seems to have a corner silently melting.

Shen Yu's embrace is warm...

It's very fragrant.

It's the fragrance of bath gel.

When Shen Yu let go of the little villain in his arms, he saw Tang Li's moist reddish eyes, and uncomfortable expression.

Shen Yu could not help but to lift his lips and laugh, but still, he did not have the heart to call out Tang Li, who was pretending nothing had happened. He only patted him on the shoulder and said, "Come on, it's time for dinner."

————————

Time flies.

Early October

It will be National Day in a flash.

Every morning, Tang Li's training commenced in an orderly way. Shen Yu would watch Tang Li's training with his own eyes before returning to his study to start his work.

Uncle Zhang's work was also done efficiently. He consulted with the principal of a private, high-class school and got Tang Li into Class A of Grade Four as a transfer student.

Of course, the only reason why the principal so readily promised to admit Tang Li was that Shen Yu not only stuffed a lot of money into the principal's pocket, but was also willing to donate two libraries and a dormitory building.

At the time this was negotiated, the principal's smile blossomed, sending Uncle Zhang out of the school respectfully.

In order to compensate for Tang Li leaving school for more than a year, Shen Yu specially ordered Uncle Zhang to invite some tutors to come teach Tang Li.

Morning training, afternoon tutoring, and in the evening, homework that was left by the tutor – the little villain had a very full day. Naturally, there was no time and energy for him to continue being Shen Yu's little follower.

Shen Yu was relaxed and devoted himself to preparations for the court hearing.

On the other side, when Tang Li's relatives received the court summons, they panicked like ants in a hot pot [1]. They came to Shen Yu in droves. After being refused by Uncle Zhang, they moved their tents and other picnic appliances to stay outside the villa area and squatted. They even posted tragic statements on the Internet.

Shen Yu ignored all those people's dying struggles and instead, handed them all over to Uncle Zhang and Kang Lin.

Less than two hours later, the group of people who were reluctant to leave the villa area were driven away by police and security forces. Even the online posts and microblog topics denouncing Shen Yu completely disappeared.

The day of the court hearing was also the day of Tang Li's entrance to school.

Shen Yu personally took Tang Li to the school gate. Before the car stopped, he looked through the window and saw a middle-aged man with a warm smile and several men and women waiting on the roadside.

After seeing Uncle Zhang, who was in the driver's seat, get out of the car, the middle-aged man rushed forward with the teachers following behind him. His eyes were filled with joy. Looking at Shen Yu was like looking at a huge money-throwing tree.

"Hello, Mr. Shen." The middle-aged man stretched out his hand and laughed, scrunching up the folds near his eyes. "It's my lifelong honor to have heard Mr. Shen's name before, but I didn't expect to personally have a few words with Mr. Shen today."

Shen Yu sat in a wheelchair, out of habit he painted on his official smile, raised his hand and shook the principal's hand: "Hello."

"My surname is Li, the principal of Shenghua [2] International School." Principal Li quickly introduced himself.

"Principal Li." Shen Yu touched the soft black hair of the little villain and said, "From now on, we ask that you take care of our family's child."

"Of course." Principal Li clapped his chest and assured him, "Mr. Shen, our school's teaching resources and educational level are first-class in the whole country, we will never let you down."

Shen Yu nodded and said, "Our Chestnut is young, bad-tempered and impulsive. If he makes mistakes carelessly, we also ask Principal Li to directly call Uncle Zhang. I am willing to close the door and teach him myself, however I don't want him to be falsely wronged."

"..." Principal Li grinned stiffly.

Shen Yu spoke the words so clearly that if he hadn't understood them, he would not be able to sit in the principal's position.

At this point, Principal Li couldn't suppress his surprise and looked down at the little boy, who was standing next to Shen Yu without saying a word.

This child is the Tang family orphan who set off a storm in the upper circle a few days ago, right?

No one had ever thought that an orphan who seemed to be ordinary and full of cruelty would be looked favorably upon by Shen Yu, who was someone above all others, and really be raised as his own son.

It's a natural choice.

God wants him to shine, so nobody can stop him.

He really didn't know what Shen Yu was thinking. Although his fiancée ran away with another man and his legs are disabled, the world was still full of women who are desperately trying to give birth to his child. Why does he want to raise an orphan?

Principal Li secretly shakes his head and admires Tang Li's good fortune.

"I understand, I understand." Principal Li's bowed his head several times [3] and repeatedly assured him, "We will do our best to ensure his campus life. If there are any problems, we will contact Mr. Zhang immediately."

"Then we will inconvenience you." Shen Yu said.

In fact, he is not very worried about Tang Li's campus life, but afraid that after he decides to change the main line of the plot without authorization, the villain will meet the male and female lead of this novel in advance. Even if he is in a good position now, he still can't mess with the protagonists of this world.

Shen Yu was a little nervous. After handing Tang Li over to Principal Li and the others, he urged Uncle Zhang to monitor Tang Li. It would be better if he could get a list of all of Tang Li's friends.

"..." Uncle Zhang looked at Shen Yu's figure and was silent for a long time. He sighed, "All right, sir."

After returning to the car, Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang were ready to leave for court.

Shen Yu turned his head to see Tang Li still standing in place, looking at him. Although Tang Li was surrounded by Principal Li and several teachers, Shen Yu could still feel a strong sense of loneliness from the little villain.

Ah...

It's too hard to be a parent.

Less than a minute apart, I have inexplicably begun to miss you.

Shen Yu, this single father, has not yet experienced the feelings of marriage and childbirth, so for the first time, he had the taste of being a parent.

It really is bittersweet. [4]

He waved to Tang Li.

The expressionless Tang Li was overjoyed in an instant and ran like a little puppy called by its owner.

Tang Li was not very tall. His head just reached the height of the car window. So, he stood on tiptoe and put his two small hands on the big open window. Only a pair of round eyes stared at Shen Yu.

Shen Yu couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

He could have never imagined that the enchanting Phoenix eyes could be so round.

"I'm going to do some work. When you finish school this afternoon, I'll come pick you up, OK?" Shen Yu moved closer to the window; his peach blossom eyes became curved crescent moons as gentle laughter continued to spill over.

Tang Li stood motionless in front of the window and looked a little pitiful. If he was really a puppy, then in this moment he would have had two furry ears hanging down on his head.

After all, Shen Yu had personally raised this child for more than half a month already, so he was reluctant to part with the little villain.

Shen Yu thought about how Tang Li was about to enter a new setting by himself. Faced with the new campus environment, he might be excluded by his classmates who had already formed their own groups by this point. He felt his heart twist. After thinking about it, Shen Yu took out his own mobile phone, input Tang Li's fingerprints as the passcode, and then handed it to Tang Li.

"If you feel scared, call me." Shen Yu said, "Just dial Uncle Zhang's number. I can get your call from there."

Tang Li's eyes shimmered slightly. The hands lying on the window loosened, and he took the mobile phone carefully.

Shen Yu laughed and said, "Go on, the principal and teachers are still waiting for you."

Tang Li took another long look at Shen Yu, turned around and ran away.

[1] 热锅上的蚂蚁, "ants in a hot pot". Meaning people who are panicked and scattered.

Ants in a pot

[2] 盛华 [shèng huá, meaning "greatly flourishing".

[3] The original analogy used is 小鸡啄米似的点着脑袋, which basically means "a chicken pecking at rice". So someone who is bowing their head quickly and repeatedly.

[4] Originally 糖中找玻璃渣, which means, basically, "to find glass shards that are mixed with sugar."

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