Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Hu Chengyu failed to get an answer from Shen Shubai, and they remained at an impasse when Shen Shubai received a phone call.

Shortly after, he left in a hurry.

Shen Yan felt neither disappointment nor happiness at Shen Shubai's departure.

Seeing Shen Yan's cold expression, Lu Zhao assumed he was upset and reached out to pat his shoulder in comfort.

But before he could touch Shen Yan, Hu Chengyu stopped his arm.

Lu Zhao was puzzled. "Bro, what are you doing?"

"With your rough handling, you might hurt him," Hu Chengyu said, giving him a sideways glance.

"Bro, you're really funny. Yan Yan isn't made of porcelain."

Seeing Shen Yan's pale face, Hu Chengyu thought he looked even more delicate than a porcelain doll.

Lu Zhao, appearing very busy, greeted Shen Yan and then quickly lowered his head to type rapidly on his phone.

Without Lu Zhao, the chatterbox, Shen Yan felt somewhat uncomfortable facing Hu Chengyu, especially with Hu Chengyu’s gaze fixed on him.

Shen Yan glanced at the stern-faced Hu Chengyu and, after some consideration, decided to speak to Lu Zhao. "Brother Lu Zhao, if you’re busy, feel free to attend to your matters."

There was no need for them to stay and keep him company.

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the gaze on him become sharper.

Lu Zhao looked up from his typing, "Not busy at all. I’ll be done soon."

He then nudged Hu Chengyu, who was beside him. "Bro, you should comfort Yan Yan too."

Without looking up, Shen Yan knew Hu Chengyu’s expression must be unpleasant.

Comforting him was unnecessary.

*

Shen Shubai hurriedly went to No. 1 High School. The earlier phone call was from Shen Lin’s homeroom teacher.

In the office, Shen Shubai immediately noticed the bruise at the corner of Shen Lin’s mouth, who was still wearing his military training uniform.

Apart from being a bit dirty, it was difficult to tell if he had any other injuries.

"I’m Shen Lin’s parent."

When Shen Lin saw Shen Shubai, his eyes lit up, but he soon looked disappointed.

"Dad, why is it you?"

Shen Shubai gave him a brief look and then inquired about the situation with the teacher.

The teacher, noting Shen Shubai’s refined and gentle demeanor, avoided harsh words and briefly recounted what had happened.

"Even if it was the other party’s fault, Student Shen Lin shouldn’t have resorted to violence."

Shen Shubai nodded. "What you said is right, teacher."

The teacher earnestly spoke with Shen Shubai for an hour before letting them leave.

Shen Lin followed behind Shen Shubai and had just sat in the car when he heard Shen Shubai ask in a low voice, "Why did you fight with your classmate?"

Shen Lin's movement of fastening his seatbelt paused slightly. "Didn't the teacher explain it clearly just now? That moron... He insulted Shen Yan, so what’s wrong with me giving him a beating?

"A trivial matter from some forum, and you bring it up to me!"

Thinking of what that person had said, he wished he could kick the guy a couple more times.

Shen Shubai frowned. "What does Shen Yan have to do with you? Do you need to stand up for him?"

Shen Lin’s already angry face darkened even more at these words.

"Of course he’s related to me; he’s my brother."

Shen Shubai started the car. "You treat him like a brother, but does he treat you the same way?"

Shen Lin suddenly grinned. "Dad, I’m curious, what exactly happened between you and Mom?

"Are you trying to drive a wedge between me and Shen Yan?"

"No one is forcing you to be at odds with him," Shen Shubai said, looking ahead at the road, his grip on the steering wheel tightening slightly. "Focus on your studies; adult matters aren’t for you to concern yourself with."

Shen Lin scoffed. "How dull."

Shen Shubai only dropped Shen Lin off at home before heading back to the school in a hurry.

Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed, "Don't tell your mom about the fight. She's very busy lately, don't bother her or make her angry over something small like this."

Even if Shen Shubai hadn’t said anything, Shen Lin wouldn’t have told Shu Qianfei.

He wasn’t a kid anymore.

Back in his room, Shen Lin quickly freshened up, too impatient to tend to his wounds before opening his phone to rapidly browse the A University forum that had been circulating wildly on his friends’ circle.

The more he read, the deeper his frown grew.

Actually, even before the A University forum, people had been mocking Shen Yan on his friends’ circle for claiming he didn’t like Hu Chengyu but still eagerly followed him to the resort.

He had scolded a few people on his friends’ circle and hadn’t given it much thought afterward.

Unexpectedly, by the end of the military training, things had escalated to this point.

When he saw the original poster hinting that Shen Yan had only gotten into A University because of Shen Shubai, Shen Lin laughed.

But after the laughter, a trace of pain appeared in his eyes.

He always complained that Shu Qianfei was unfair, yet he had been turning a blind eye to Shen Shubai’s attitude toward Shen Yan.

He and Shen Yan were a perfect match, destined to be brothers for life.

He found Shen Yan’s phone number and dialed it. No one answered the first time.

He tried again, and this time the call was answered quickly.

"Shen Yan, I need to tell you something..."

"Sorry, Shen Yan can’t take calls right now. This is Hu Chengyu."

Shen Lin’s voice paused, his brows almost knitting together as he suddenly sat up from the bed. "What did you do to my brother?"

A series of images flashed through Shen Lin's mind. Did Hu Chengyu believe those rumors, kidnap Shen Yan, and threaten and abuse him?

That’s why Shen Yan’s phone ended up in Hu Chengyu’s hands.

Before Hu Chengyu could speak, he heard Shen Lin urgently ask, "How much money do you want to release my brother?"

Shen Yan, who had just returned from the bathroom, heard Shen Lin’s amplified voice over the phone and looked puzzled.

Lu Zhao, who was standing nearby, was taken aback, then burst into laughter, doubling over.

Shen Yan had a minor mishap at the café; someone bumped into him, spilling coffee on his clothes.

After returning with Hu Chengyu, he realized he had forgotten his keys, and Gu Jia was still at the library.

He decided to go to Lu Zhao’s dormitory across the hall.

As for Hu Chengyu, Shen Yan couldn’t just kick him out of Lu Zhao’s dorm.

While he was dealing with the coffee stains on his clothes, Shen Lin called again.

Shen Yan’s hands were wet, so he couldn’t answer the phone and planned to call back later, but Shen Lin called again.

He had initially wanted to ask Lu Zhao to answer the phone, but Lu Zhao directly told Hu Chengyu to take it.

When did Lu Zhao start bossing Hu Chengyu around?

Once Lu Zhao’s laughter subsided, Shen Yan cleared his throat and asked, "What’s the matter?"

Realizing his mistake, Shen Lin spoke faster, a bit embarrassed, "Can I come to your room to look for something?"

Shen Yan didn’t ask any more questions and agreed immediately.

There was nothing in his room that couldn’t be seen.

Shen Yan: "I’d like to apologize on behalf of Xiao Lin for what just happened."

Lu Zhao looked at Hu Chengyu, trying to stifle his laughter.

Hu Chengyu replied calmly, "It’s okay."

Seeing that Hu Chengyu wasn’t holding a grudge, Shen Yan let out a sigh of relief.

"I hope you can explain our relationship to him clearly to avoid such misunderstandings in the future."

Shen Yan: … (pause)

Shen Yan stayed at Lu Zhao’s dorm for about an hour before Gu Jia returned.

Gu Jia looked deeply worried and exuded a gloomy aura when he saw Shen Yan.

Not until the door of room 202 closed did Gu Jia ask, "Did they bully you?"

He carefully examined Shen Yan’s arms for any signs of injury.

If not for Shen Lin’s phone call, Shen Yan might have been confused, but at that moment, he only felt a headache.

It seemed that in everyone’s eyes, his relationship with Hu Chengyu was really strained.

"By the way, what did they want with you?"

Shen Yan gave a brief account of what happened at the café.

Only then did Gu Jia notice that Shen Yan was wearing different clothes from when he left. It was a new T-shirt, but the style wasn’t quite his.

Shen Yan typically wore light, pale-colored clothes without large patterns.

The T-shirt he was wearing now had a large, silly dog face meme on the back.

Gu Jia scratched his curly locks. "Have you figured out how to handle the forum issue?"

"I’ve reported it multiple times, but it hasn’t been removed."

"Instead of focusing on deleting the post, I’m more curious about who’s behind it," Shen Yan said, sitting down and pouring a glass of warm water to moisten his dry lips.

Finding someone to investigate was proving difficult for Shen Yan. Due to his frequent illnesses, he rarely had the chance to make friends. And whenever his health improved, he was always preoccupied with Hu Chengyu.

He had never built a network of contacts.

In fact, it was only after Shen Lin’s incident in his past life that a few close friends offered some help.

While Shen Yan was deep in thought, he suddenly heard Gu Jia exclaim, "Wow!"

"Yan Yan, I didn’t know you were this amazing! Things are starting to turn around. The post has been deleted!"

"That’s fantastic!" Gu Jia was so excited he even did a little dance step.

Before Shen Yan could even check his phone, Gu Jia had already thrust his phone in front of him.

"Yan Yan, this must be one of your fans! Not only did they list all the awards you’ve won, but they also know your scores from every major high school exam!" Gu Jia said, looking at Shen Yan with starry eyes.

Shen Yan carefully read it. Indeed, it not only listed every award he had won but also included a picture for each one.

OP: To all those who doubt Shen Yan, what did you score on the college entrance exam? How many awards do you have?

The tone was undoubtedly arrogant.

Through the screen, Shen Yan could almost picture Shen Lin’s sharp features and haughty expression.

Author’s Note:

Just a small update for now. _(:з」∠)_