Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When Shu Qianfei rushed home, she saw only Shen Lin sitting in the living room watching TV.

"Where's your brother?" Shu Qianfei asked, her expression stern and serious, making the maid cleaning the room move more cautiously.

Shen Lin glanced at her. In the past, Shu Qianfei rushing back would only inquire about Shen Yan, and he would have felt a little upset. But today, haha!

Forgive him, Shen Yan was really hilarious.

Shu Qianfei was confused by his laughter. "I heard you were bullied at the Hu family's banquet?"

Shen Lin's expression darkened immediately. "Why do these people enjoy spreading rumors?"

Who would dare to bully him? His fists aren’t just for show.

Seeing that he didn’t look like someone who had been wronged, Shu Qianfei asked again, "Where's your brother?"

Shen Lin: "In his room."

After returning his gaze to the TV, he kindly added, "Friendly reminder, it’s best not to see him now."

Shu Qianfei clearly didn’t take his words to heart and headed straight for Shen Yan's room.

Shen Yan's bedroom was on the first floor. At his weakest, he even needed a wheelchair to get around.

When he was younger, it was fine; he could be carried up.

As he grew older, Shen Yan felt embarrassed and moved his bedroom to the first floor.

Fortunately, as he grew up, except during seasonal changes when he fell seriously ill and needed a wheelchair, he could walk freely most of the time.

Originally, his health should have improved after he came of age.

But the former Shen Yan, indulging in the care he received from Hu Chengyu when he was sick, didn’t take his medicine properly even when he was sick.

Shen Yan lay in bed, a pale, thin arm over his forehead, covering his eyes.

No wonder Hu Chengyu didn’t insist on taking him to the hospital and didn’t object when he asked to ride in the Shen family’s car; he knew Shen Yan was pretending to be sick.

Liking Hu Chengyu so much in his past life wasn’t entirely his fault.

Hu Chengyu, a cold person, would only show a bit of gentleness when Shen Yan was sick.

Especially with Hu Chengyu's handsome, resolute face, who wouldn’t be charmed?

Shen Yan suddenly opened his eyes. No matter what happened in the previous life, he mustn’t make the same mistakes again.

When Shu Qianfei entered, she saw him looking resolute.

But on that delicate face, there was still a hint of sickness.

Shen Yan was a little surprised to see Shu Qianfei and immediately sat up properly, even with a hint of obedience.

Shu Qianfei's slender eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and even in a casual sitting position, she exuded a sense of pressure.

Shen Yan didn’t know what to talk about with Shu Qianfei, and the room fell into an awkward silence.

In the past, he was afraid of Shu Qianfei, mostly answering her questions.

After Shu Qianfei was incarcerated, she refused to see anyone, and Shen Yan lost the chance to speak to her.

"Yan Yan, you..." Shu Qianfei rarely hesitated.

She had heard some news that the Hu family was hosting a birthday party on the surface, but in reality, they were arranging a match for Hu Chengyu.

Although she hadn't witnessed it herself, she had heard about what happened at the Hu family tonight from friends in the circle.

But halfway through, there were always personal assumptions in what one heard.

Especially after returning home and observing that Shen Yan was not as ill as others claimed, she became more certain of her thoughts.

Shen Yan must have heard that the Hu family was arranging a match for Hu Chengyu and thus intentionally disrupted the birthday celebration.

Shen Yan didn't have the ability to read minds, but if he knew her thoughts, he would strongly deny them.

Not to mention that once school resumed in September, Hu Chengyu would meet Xie Shiyu, so even if Hu Chengyu was on a blind date now, it had nothing to do with him.

Unaware of Shu Qianfei's thoughts, Shen Yan felt a little nervous under her piercing gaze, which caused his throat to itch, and he coughed lightly a few times.

Coughing, the more you try to suppress it, the harder it becomes to control. Soon, he had to bend over and cough laboriously, his pale face flushing.

Shu Qianfei came forward, patted his back, and handed him a cup of warm water. After a few minutes, the coughing finally stopped.

Shu Qianfei's favoritism towards Shen Yan was obvious. She would give him anything he liked.

Unfortunately, apart from Hu Chengyu, Shen Yan rarely showed interest in anything else. Were it not for the Hu family's extensive influence, Shu Qianfei would have tried to snatch Hu Chengyu for Shen Yan.

But in a lawful society, she had to follow the law and couldn't bring Hu Chengyu back to the Shen family.

Recalling what the psychologist had said, Shu Qianfei wondered if taking Shen Yan on a trip might help him gradually release this emotional bond.

Shen Yan's chest heaved as he still wasn't used to being this close to Shu Qianfei, and he took a step back. "Mom, I'm fine. Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Shu Qianfei looked at the distance between their hands, slightly lost in thought. "Yan Yan, with some time before school resumes, would you like to go on a vacation?"

Before Shen Yan could respond, she quickly added, "You can go alone or with a friend."

As long as the friend wasn't Hu Chengyu.

Shen Yan thought Shu Qianfei would mention what happened tonight, but instead, she suggested he go on a trip?

In his past life, he had quarreled with Shen Lin around this time and had been bedridden for a long time, only recovering just before school began, leaving no time for a trip.

Thinking about the busy last two years of his previous life, a trip might be beneficial.

After all, based on the timeline of his past life, the Shen family business hadn't faced any issues yet, so remaining by Shu Qianfei's side had no practical benefit.

Shen Yan thought for a moment and replied, "Sure, that sounds good."

Noticing Shu Qianfei's relieved look, he added softly, "Thank you, Mom."

Shu Qianfei was visibly stunned for a moment and revealed a rare smile. "You don't need to thank me. It's what a mother ought to do."

"There’s a new resort in the neighboring city. The environment is quite nice, by the mountains and the sea. You might want to consider it."

"Mom, we're both your sons. You shouldn’t show favoritism, right? I want to go too." Shen Lin had walked over when he heard Shen Yan's heart-wrenching coughs and now leaned half-against the doorframe, watching their mother-son bonding.

Strangely, where he would have been angry in the past, now he only felt a mild annoyance.

Could it be that Shen Yan has influenced you?

Shu Qianfei: "Your brother is going there to recuperate. What do you need to go for? If you want to go out, can't you go somewhere else?"

This time, both Shen Lin and Shen Yan found it strange.

Previously, when Shu Qianfei was angry at Shen Lin, he could understand it was a misunderstanding at the time.

But now, given Shu Qianfei's attitude, he began to doubt if Shen Lin was really her biological son.

Shen Lin was clearly accustomed to this. In the past, he would have left with a cold face.

But now?

"If my brother goes alone and something happens at the resort, he'll have no family around. How scared would he be?

"If I go with him, I can look after him." Shen Lin deliberately insisted on going on vacation with Shen Yan.

Shu Qianfei showed no leniency: "Are you sure you won't be the one to make your brother sick?"

Shen Lin was certain that without these days of bonding, going on vacation with Shen Yan would definitely end up in arguments. And that would lead to a hospital visit soon enough.

Shen Lin had no intention of giving up. He was now too curious about Shen Yan.

"Mom, isn't it your fault? If you always kept us apart, how could we have a good relationship?

"Without spending time together, how can there be any bond between us?"

Shu Qianfei looked at Shen Yan and then at Shen Lin, finding some truth in his words, but still asked Shen Yan for his opinion: "Yan Yan, what do you think?"

Shen Yan looked at Shen Lin and smiled with his eyes: "Sure."

Although in the previous life, things went wrong for the Shen family, the only solace was that he and Shen Lin supported each other.

That was probably the magic of blood ties.

In the study of the Hu family, Hu Tianhong glared at Hu Chengyu, "You're letting that sickly boy from the Shen family cause trouble. Do you like him?"

*

Hu Chengyu's expression remained indifferent: "You're overthinking. I just don't want to deal with tedious matchmaking."

"Hu Chengyu, since you were born into the Hu family, it's not up to you whether you like it or not.

"I've had the secretary arrange a meeting with the daughter of President Chen from Shengtian Real Estate. Be there at 3 PM tomorrow, and don't be late.

"I don't want today's incident to happen again. Now, leave." Hu Tianhong didn't look at Hu Chengyu again and opened the file on his desk.

Hu Chengyu paused for a few seconds before leaving the study.

Downstairs, the hall had been cleaned by the servants, and today's events seemed to have left no trace, as if they never happened.

Lu Zhao, who was sitting on the sofa, approached him: "What did Uncle Hu want to talk to you about?"

Hu Chengyu didn't greet anyone and headed out with his car keys in hand. Lu Zhao quickly followed, persistently asking.

"Shut up, you're being annoying."

Lu Zhao paused for a moment but soon doggedly continued to chase after him: "Sigh, every time you're called to the study, you come back in a foul mood."

As soon as Chengyu opened the car door, Zhao quickly slid into the car.

Chengyu gave him a glance but didn’t ask him to leave.

Zhao buckled up and said, "Bro, do you have any plans before the semester begins?"

The car remained silent.

Seemingly accustomed to Chengyu’s aloofness, Zhao continued, "Cheng Xu has invited a few friends to go on a beach vacation. Do you want to join us, bro?"

After a brief pause, Chengyu asked, "When are we leaving?"

Zhao, seeing this as agreement, replied, "We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon and will arrive by evening."