Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The girl, seemingly surprised to find someone here, quickly lowered her head when she saw Shen Yan.

Shen Yan recognized the girl. She was the second daughter of the Bai family.

He also instantly understood the identity of the man from earlier. He was the eldest son of the Bai family.

The girl, like a frightened little animal, shivered and hunched her shoulders.

Then she quickly fled, but after a few steps, she turned back and whispered, "Can you keep what just happened a secret?"

Shen Yan looked at her silently and nodded after a moment. "Yes."

The girl seemed pleased and smiled slightly.

Only after Bai Yuan left did a coldness appear in Shen Yan's eyes.

So, it had already started this early? The targeting of the Shen family.

No, in his previous life, he and Shen Lin never came to the resort, so this must have been a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Shen Lin detested parental favoritism, so these two siblings' true target was actually Shen Lin.

Shen Lin had personally explored everything beforehand to find a quiet place for Shen Yan to rest.

This bamboo grove was no exception.

They likely staged this act, assuming Shen Lin would be here at this time.

They intended for Bai Yuan to get close to Shen Lin.

He was frail, and the mastermind wouldn't arrange anyone near him.

First, his affection for Hu Chengyu was widely known.

Second, although Shu Qianfei doted on him, she wouldn't discuss company matters with him due to his fragile health.

Shen Lin was an easy target, a young man full of passion.

Additionally, a child who wasn't favored.

It seemed the mastermind knew a bit about the Shen family, but not much.

Shen Lin was jealous of Shu Qianfei's favoritism, but didn't he also envy Shen Shubai's favoritism toward Shen Lin?

Their family was indeed a bit peculiar.

Shen Yan was lost in thought, unaware of someone approaching.

"Is this a necklace?" Hu Chengyu's voice was somewhat deep.

Shen Yan was taken aback.

Seeing his reaction, Hu Chengyu chuckled softly. "That's the genuine reaction of being startled. The earlier act wasn't convincing."

Shen Yan asked in surprise, "When did you arrive?"

"Before you did."

Shen Yan asked, "Then what did you hear?"

"You want to know what happened before they started acting?"

Shen Yan's tea-brown eyes sparkled as he nodded.

"I heard the same things you did. You were here for a while before they started arguing."

Shen Yan looked somewhat disappointed.

"We can pretend their plan worked and let them think it succeeded. You’ll be out in the open, while they’ll remain hidden," Hu Chengyu said, leaning against a bamboo tree, his expression indifferent.

However, this plan was risky. Who knows what their true intentions are?

If they were just trying to steal something, it would only result in a financial loss. But if they have malicious intentions and tamper with things in secret, it could be a matter of life and death.

Shen Yan’s concerns were not unfounded.

In his past life, after Shu Qianfei was imprisoned, Shen Shubai vomited blood upon hearing the news. Although he was saved at the time, he didn’t last long before passing away.

Though they were father and son, their relationship was as distant as Shu Qianfei’s was with Shen Lin.

Shen Shubai’s death, intertwined with other issues, left him with unresolved doubts.

He couldn’t participate in the funeral arrangements at all.

Shen Shubai was a university professor with a good routine and a focus on health. Especially with someone as frail as him in the family, their diet was particularly healthy.

He had reviewed Shen Shubai’s medical records before his death and found no underlying diseases besides chronic conditions like shoulder arthritis.

"What are you thinking about so deeply?"

A faint pink flashed in front of Shen Yan, standing out in the lush green bamboo forest.

It was a strawberry milk, the same kind from that night.

Shen Yan said, "...I’m 19, not 9. Even a 9-year-old wouldn’t be pacified by a bottle of milk."

Uh, what did I just say?

Was I throwing a tantrum just now?

Shen Yan felt a bit regretful. Had he often embarrassed himself in front of Hu Chengyu?

Hu Chengyu asked, "How about two bottles then?"

Shen Yan couldn’t understand why Hu Chengyu always managed to provoke him so easily. "Won’t be pacified!"

Shen Yan pushed his wheelchair away forcefully, forgetting for a moment that he could actually walk.

Hu Chengyu stood alone in the bamboo forest, the milk still in his hand, undelivered.

The kid was hard to pacify now.

He was just about to remind the kid that the wind had picked up.

As he turned to leave, a white piece of paper caught his eye. It was Shen Yan's sketch paper.

Shen Yan's sketchbook was a loose-leaf one. He wondered when that sheet had fallen out.

The picture on the paper was indeed a necklace, with the pendant being a small bamboo segment, and beside it was written: "Bite the green mountain, never let go."

Shen Yan returned to his room and only then realized that a sheet of paper was missing, but it was just something he had sketched, so he didn’t pay much attention to it.

At noon, he had made plans to have lunch with Shen Lin, but to his surprise, Shen Lin also looked angry.

Shen Yan was puzzled: "Who got on your nerves?"

Shen Lin scratched his hair, looking frustrated: "It’s not that someone got on my nerves."

He looked around before whispering, "A girl was strangely clinging to me today and saying some weird things."

Shen Yan raised an eyebrow: "What does she look like?"

Shen Lin: "Long hair, wearing a white dress."

Not a very distinctive description.

But with just those two details, Shen Yan had already figured it out.

When Bai Yu appeared in the bamboo forest, she was wearing a white dress, and her hair was longer.

Shen Lin continued to rant: "She followed me everywhere, looking like she was about to cry but holding back."

It annoyed him quite a bit.

As he spoke, he glanced at Shen Yan. He had seen Shen Yan with tears welling in his eyes.

As a guy who liked science, he couldn’t find the right words, but he thought it was beautiful.

After seeing his brother, everyone else seemed less appealing in comparison.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Shen Lin quickly averted his gaze.

Shen Yan reached out and touched his forehead, and Shen Lin jerked away, almost toppling backward: "What are you doing?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. The way you were looking at me just now..."

Shen Yan took a sip of his light soup before continuing: "It was really off-putting."

"What the hell, Shen Yan! Go to hell!" Shen Lin was furious.

Who was being off-putting?

Seeing Shen Lin’s reaction, Shen Yan laughed heartily, and Shen Lin felt inexplicably guilty.

They stayed at the resort for a few more days before packing up and heading home.

Shen Lin had to return to school early for the military training.

Shen Yan wasn’t particularly concerned about Hu Chengyu’s schedule, but coincidentally, they ran into each other again as they were leaving.

Shen Yan deeply felt this was a karmic connection.

But his karmic connection with Hu Chengyu was about to end.

After the start of the new semester, Huo Chengyu, who was a first-year graduate student, met Xie Shiyu, who had also been admitted to A University's graduate program.

*

Shen Yan had been eating nutritious meals and sleeping regularly at the vacation resort, and he looked much healthier now than before he left home.

Shu Qianfei knew they were coming back today, so she deliberately stayed away from the company.

Shen Lin was pushing two suitcases while mocking Shen Yan, calling him 'Little sick cat.'

When a servant came to take the luggage, he reluctantly handed it over.

Shu Qianfei was sitting in the living room, and before she saw them, she heard Shen Lin's teasing 'little sick cat.'

"Shen Lin!"

This shout didn’t startle Shen Lin, but it did surprise Shen Yan.

Shen Lin laughed and raised his voice, "Mom, be gentler, look what you’ve done to scare my brother."

"Qianfei, be more patient with Xiaolin."

Shen Yan walked ahead of Shen Lin, and as Shen Shubai’s voice fell, he saw him.

It was the same man from his memory, wearing thin black-rimmed glasses, a refined middle-aged man.

As soon as Shen Shubai turned around, his eyes met Shen Yan’s.

Shen Yan’s last memory of Shen Shubai was the black-and-white photo where Shen Lin was holding him in his arms.

Although when they were young, Shen Shubai only let Shen Lin sit on his shoulders, took him to the store, secretly gave him pocket money, and brought him fishing and to the amusement park…

Despite their lack of closeness, seeing his father standing in front of him still made Shen Yan hold back tears.

Shen Lin, sitting on a suitcase, didn’t stop in time and bumped right into Shen Yan’s back.

Looking up, he saw a tear trail down Shen Yan’s cheek and felt a sudden surge of panic. "Hey, I barely bumped into you, why are you crying now?

"I’ll buy you strawberry milk! How about a whole box?" Shen Lin stammered, scratching his hair in confusion.

Shen Yan gave a sharp look.

It wasn’t fierce at all, especially with tears still clinging to his lashes, which made Shen Lin strangely feel his face heat up.

"Mom, Dad, I’m quite tired, I’m going back to my room."

After Shen Yan closed the door, Shu Qianfei, looking coldly, crossed her arms and stared at Shen Lin. "Did you make Yan Yan upset?"

Before Shen Lin could respond, Shen Shubai spoke first, "Qianfei, how can you just assume it’s Xiaolin’s fault without even asking? This will make Xiaolin feel bad."

Hearing Shen Shubai’s words, Shen Lin, snapping back to reality, furrowed his brows. This scene seemed familiar.

Whenever Shen Yan was unwell, Shu Qianfei would defend him like this.

This isn’t right.

Shen Lin, before he could finish, Shen Yan opened the door and said to Shu Qianfei, "Mom, Xiaolin has been very caring towards me these days."

Shu Qianfei looked at her younger son with a hint of scrutiny in her eyes, "Shen Lin, did you threaten Yan Yan?"

Shen Lin: ……

Shen Yan felt equally powerless. He had originally planned to process the pain from his previous life alone, but that opportunity had been completely ruined.

"Mom, Xiao Lin is really good."

Shu Qianfei's eyes still held suspicion.

Shen Shubai, seeing how Shen Yan was defending Shen Lin, showed no sign of relief. Instead, his expression was solemn.

He walked over to Shen Lin, pulled him aside, and whispered, "Xiao Lin, use your head. Don't think Shen Yan is genuinely praising you. He is..."

"Dad!" Shen Lin interrupted, unable to bear it anymore. "What's wrong with you two? In other families, parents hope their sons get along. Are you just pushing us to turn against each other?"

While Shen Yan didn’t fully understand Shu Qianfei and Shen Shubai's parenting methods, he could guess that it had something to do with their relationship.

Shen Lin walked over to Shen Yan and took his arm. "Bro, let's move out. We’ll return once they’ve resolved their issues."

Shu Qianfei: "How dare you! If you step out that door, I will..."

"Mom, what are you going to do? You know my brother’s condition best. If you freeze our bank cards, I’ll take him to live under a bridge!"

Shu Qianfei: "Shen Lin, are you getting brave? Using your brother to blackmail me?"

She then glared at Shen Shubai. "Look at the son you’ve brought up."

Although Shen Shubai was biased toward Shen Lin, he couldn’t really ignore Shen Yan's health.

"Xiao Lin, talk reasonably. Your brother can’t handle too much stress."