Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The arguments continued, and Shen Tingzhou couldn't bear to listen anymore, so he retreated back to the entrance.

After waiting at the door for two minutes, Shen Tingzhou composed himself and entered again, this time making loud footsteps.

He kicked the ground lights twice along the way and coughed several times, finally getting Song Qingning and Li Muye to notice his arrival.

Although they stopped arguing, the atmosphere remained tense, with neither of them looking at each other in the courtyard.

Song Qingning dared not look, fearing that Shen Tingzhou might discover something amiss.

Li Muye, on the other hand, held his head high, turning it forcefully to the side, still breathing heavily with lingering anger.

Shen Tingzhou feigned confusion, "Hmm, why are you both standing here?"

Song Qingning stammered, unable to speak, and after a while, managed to say, "Doctor Shen, his hand is injured."

Li Muye's hand was covered in blood, with tiny shards of glass embedded in his knuckles, as if he had punched something in a fit of rage.

With his eyes closed, looking utterly dejected, he said hoarsely to Song Qingning, "Go away. I don't want to see you."

Song Qingning's eyes welled up, trembling slightly as she looked at him helplessly.

If they continued like this, it would likely start raining soon.

Shen Tingzhou quickly stepped forward and said to Song Qingning, "Go inside first. I'll take care of Muye."

Song Qingning glanced at Li Muye one more time, but he still refused to look at her. She lowered her eyelashes and silently went back inside.

As soon as she left, the cold facade Li Muye had put on crumbled, and he looked desolate, staring blankly at a ground light with a sharp jawline, as if ready to stab Shen Tingzhou.

There was a soft plop.

A raindrop fell from the sky onto Shen Tingzhou's face.

Sure enough, it started raining!

Now his mind was filled with the thought—let all the rain fall, let it hide my struggle.

Soon, the rain began to pour down heavily.

Shen Tingzhou pulled the sulking Li Muye and hurriedly took shelter under the porch.

Li Muye's face was wet with rain, his expression dejected and gloomy. "Why is liking someone so painful?"

Shen Tingzhou thought, Why am I listening to this instead of sleeping?

Shen Tingzhou bent down to remove the glass shards from his hand. Lost in heartbreak, Li Muye seemed to have lost all sense of pain, not even frowning.

After a long while, Li Muye couldn't help but vent his sadness.

"Doctor Shen, I have a friend—"

Shen Tingzhou paused, recognizing the classic "I have a friend."

Li Muye, struggling to speak, said, "This friend of mine, he and his... brothers like the same person."

Shen Tingzhou decisively replied, "Don't like her; it won't work out."

Li Muye protested, "Why should he be the one to give up?"

Judge Xiao Shen ruled, "Have your friend and his... brothers all step back."

Li Muye retorted fiercely, "But he really likes that person."

Shen Tingzhou thought, Then the three of you should just live together happily.

Seeing that Shen Tingzhou hadn't responded, Li Muye looked over, "Doctor Shen?"

Shen Tingzhou took a deep breath and calmly said, "Ask the person your... friend and his buddies like what they think. Get their opinion."

Li Muye whispered, "This is something to fight over."

Shen Tingzhou: ?

Li Muye continued, "Right now, he has feelings for... my friend and his buddies, but not love. Whoever gets to be with him first and spends more time with him might win his love."

Shen Tingzhou: ...

I thought you were talking about a passionate winter romance, but it turns out to be an elimination game.

Li Muye added, "He only feels grateful towards... my friend's family."

Shen Tingzhou knew this story. Song Qingning, born into a wealthy family but mistakenly switched at birth, had been overshadowed by the fake heir, receiving no recognition.

When the Song family declined, it was Li Muye's father who invested in and helped transform their business, saving the company.

It was then that Song Qingning married Li Muye's father.

This marriage was akin to a tribute of beauty from an ancient tribe, with Song Qingning being that beauty, that sacrifice.

Looking at the abundant rain falling in the night, Li Muye murmured softly, "Should I have yelled at him just now?"

Shen Tingzhou: !

Brother, did you slip up and reveal something?

Li Muye clearly realized his mistake and hastily corrected himself, "I meant me and Ning Ge, not my friend's situation."

Shen Tingzhou closed his eyes and replied, "Yeah, I know."

Li Muye brought the topic back, "My friend believes that if he continues to be nice to him, the other person will definitely like him back."

Seeing his newfound confidence, Shen Tingzhou couldn't help but dampen it again, "Your friend's buddy?"

Li Muye deflated in a second but quickly became angry again, "They just slept together once. It must have been my bro... who forced him. I don’t care."

Oh, great.

What kind of explosive development is this?

Shen Tingzhou couldn't believe it, "Are you sure?"

"Someone saw them at a hotel..." Li Muye couldn't continue and turned his face away.

A hotel?

Could it be that time?

Shen Tingzhou cautiously asked, "Which hotel?"

Li Muye muttered, "The Boyue."

If it was the Boyue, it might have been a misunderstanding.

Shen Tingzhou spoke casually, "Oh, the Boyue? On the twelfth of last month, your brother drank too much, so I went to the Boyue Hotel to give him an injection of glucose solution."

Li Muye immediately perked up, his eyes shining, "Really? The twelfth of last month, at the Boyue Hotel?"

Shen Tingzhou smiled and nodded, "Yes."

Li Muye was overjoyed but then asked, "Was your brother alone when you got there?"

Shen Tingzhou didn't hide anything, "Mr. Song was there too."

Li Muye laughed, "I see, I see."

Shen Tingzhou thought, _Finally, the misunderstanding is cleared._

Today’s karma +100.

But the next moment, Li Muye looked over, "Doctor Shen, when did you leave?"

Shen Tingzhou thought for a moment, "Around one o'clock in the morning."

Li Muye lost his smile again, "But they came back at noon the next day."

Shen Tingzhou: ...

Li Muye tried to stay positive, "But it doesn’t matter. I believe sincerity wins sincerity. As long as I am sincere with him, he will see it, right, Doctor Shen?"

Right, what about your "friend"?

Shen Tingzhou feigned confusion, "You’ve confused me. Are you talking about Mr. Song or your friend?"

Li Muye’s expression faltered, "…Earlier, I was talking about my friend, later about Brother Ning."

Shen Tingzhou played along, showing realization, "Ah, I see."

Seeing no abnormality in Shen Tingzhou, Li Muye relaxed but didn’t dare to chat more with him.

Shen Tingzhou, even less inclined to chat, quickly finished treating the wound.

-

The rain outside had subsided, and Shen Tingzhou packed up the medical kit, preparing to dash back to the car through the rain.

Beside him, Li Muye suddenly said, "Doctor Shen."

Shen Tingzhou turned his head and, seeing the hesitant expression, thought it wasn’t good.

Li Muye: "Doctor Shen, you and Brother Ning were in the same high school, right?"

Shen Tingzhou: "Yeah."

Li Muye: "Do you know someone named Shen Yu? He should be in the same year as you."

Shen Tingzhou: "Uh, why do you ask?"

Li Muye’s tone was sour, "Nothing, just that the person my friend likes might like him, so... my friend wants to know what kind of person he is."

Shen Tingzhou: !!!

Formerly known as Shen Yu, now Shen Tingzhou, he was sweating profusely.

Shen Tingzhou struggled, "This... could there be some misunderstanding? I mean, Mr. Song and I are two years apart. If that Shen Yu is in the same year as me, then he and Mr. Song are also two years apart. How would they know each other?"

Li Muye angrily said, "It must be because Shen Yu saw the junior student was handsome and started harassing him frequently!"

That’s a serious accusation!

He had always lived a clean life; how could he have harassed a junior student?

Of course, if he were that Shen Yu.

Li Muye added more information about Shen Yu, "He seems to be in the student council. I saw Brother Ning keeping his diary."

Shen Tingzhou was indeed in the student council in high school, but he was a decent person who never wrote diaries.

Looks like it’s not him.

Shen Tingzhou had just let out a sigh of relief when he heard Li Muye say, "That old notebook was a prize from some provincial essay competition in junior high. How shameless can someone be? Bragging about a minor award from junior high in high school and even giving it to a junior."

Shen Tingzhou: ...

Shameless Xiao Shen, tsk. The first-place winner of the junior high provincial essay competition, Dr. Shen, twitched at his temple amidst Li Muye's criticism.

Back then, the first prize was two thousand yuan and a pile of stationery.

Just diaries alone, they gave him over ten. He didn't finish using them all in junior high, so he used them for notes in high school. What's so shameless about that?

What’s shameful about it!

And those were notebooks, meant for jotting down important information, not diaries.

As the perennial top student, Shen Tingzhou's notebooks were not only widely circulated among his peers but also coveted by juniors.

Shen Tingzhou himself didn’t even know where his notebooks had ended up.

Listening to Li Muye's endless complaints, Shen Tingzhou felt increasingly weak.

From the various pieces of information Li Muye revealed, it was almost certain that Shen Yu was him.

Shen Tingzhou said awkwardly, "Actually, keeping the notebook might not be because of fondness..."

Li Muye countered, "Would you keep your high school diary? For so many years, and it’s not even yours!"

Shen Tingzhou: I’ve already said it’s a notebook!

Li Muye continued to grumble, "Not just the notebook, but also pens, correction tapes, and paper he used."

Shen Tingzhou was horrified, "Paper?"

Li Muye nodded with a dark expression, "Used..."

Shen Tingzhou nearly lost his composure; it was paper he had used.

This Xiao Song, how did he ever find him so obsessive!

Li Muye added, "Draft paper."

Shen Tingzhou: ... You sure know how to breathe deeply.

Using draft paper is understandable, though still a bit creepy, but at least it’s hygienic.

Li Muye: "There were also a few dried petals. I wonder if that old pervert sent them."

Shen Tingzhou has never given Song Qingning flowers, or anyone else for that matter!

Shen Tingzhou defended himself, "Maybe he didn’t send them. Perhaps he just touched the flower, and the other person picked it after seeing him."

Li Muye grew even angrier, and Shen Tingzhou could hear him grinding his teeth.

For the first time, Shen Tingzhou found himself implicated in gossip, and he covered his face, feeling a toothache.

Li Muye softened his expression, showing relief, "Good thing they don’t have any contact now."

Shen Tingzhou: Eep.

Still... they do have contact.

-

After venting his emotions, Li Muye looked visibly refreshed, his eyes clearer.

Forced to listen to gossip involving himself, Shen Tingzhou left in a daze, feeling both muddled and exhausted.

The heavy rain turned into a drizzle, and Shen Tingzhou carried the medical kit through the courtyard when suddenly a black umbrella appeared above his head.

Turning around, he saw Song Qingning holding the umbrella for him.

"Dr. Shen, take this umbrella back," Song Qingning's voice was gentle, her dark eyes blending into the night, making it hard to discern her emotions. "Be careful not to catch a cold."

Shen Tingzhou tried to smile, wanting to say thank you, but his expression changed abruptly.

Li Muye, who had approached without notice, stood between two ground lamps, bathed in an eerie green light.

Shen Tingzhou: Stop glowing green, I’m leaving right now!

Author's note:

Li Muye: Feels like singing a song called Green Light for himself.

Dr. Shen floated past innocently.