Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The tall, intimidating man relaxed his aggressive stance as soon as he heard the old man’s voice.

Shen Yan suspected that the man and the old man had a more complex relationship than it seemed.

The man stared at Shen Yan for a few seconds, then brushed past him and walked up to the counter, calling out, "Dad."

Shen Yan’s eyes widened in shock.

Shen Yan looked at the tall, unfamiliar man, then back at the thin old man behind the counter. He never would have guessed they were father and son.

The old man sat up, brushed off his hat, placed it back on his head, and repeated, "Get out."

Shen Yan thought the old man was speaking to him and was about to respond when he felt something brush against his hand.

It felt like a finger was gently rubbing against his skin.

Shen Yan glanced up at Hu Chengyu. What was he doing?

Was he trying to calm me down?

Before Hu Chengyu could respond, the tall man shouted fiercely, "Get out!"

Was this place even a real business?

Who kicks out customers like this?

"Mr. Tang, I..." Shen Yan started.

The old man’s voice was rough and deep. "Tang Zhenglin, I told you to get out!" he growled, grabbing a carving knife from nearby and hurling it at the man.

Though Tang Zhenglin was tall, he was quick enough to dodge it.

However, the knife still grazed his face, leaving a trail of bright red blood.

The moment the old man threw the knife, Hu Chengyu had already pulled Shen Yan back a step.

But Shen Yan stumbled, tripped over something, and fell straight into Hu Chengyu’s arms, his nose smashing into Hu Chengyu’s chest. The impact made his eyes water uncontrollably.

Hu Chengyu gave his shoulder a couple of reassuring pats. "You’re okay," he said.

Shen Yan: ... Aren’t you the biggest danger right now?

By the time Shen Yan had recovered from the impact, the tension in the small shop was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Especially Tang Zhenglin, whose face was now dark with rage.

He wiped his face with his hand, which immediately came away stained with bright red blood.

Fearing that Tang Zhenglin might lose control and hurt the old man, Shen Yan pulled out his phone to call the police.

"Pretty boy, if you call the cops, neither you nor your little lover will be leaving here alive," Tang Zhenglin snarled, glaring at Shen Yan.

Shen Yan clutched his phone, but his first thought wasn’t about the threat. Instead, he wondered if Tang Zhenglin had just called Hu Chengyu his... little lover?

Shen Yan glanced at Hu Chengyu’s towering height. How was he supposed to be “little”?

He definitely needed to call the police—if they didn’t, they might not leave this shop alive.

Shen Yan was trying to figure out how to discreetly call the police when Hu Chengyu said in a cold tone, "We only came here to do business with Mr. Tang. We’re leaving now."

With that, he wrapped an arm around Shen Yan and started to lead him away.

Just then, the old man behind the counter interrupted. "Hold on."

"I’ll walk you out."

Shen Yan was confused. The old man had been so hostile just moments ago, but now he was offering to escort them out? What was going on?

When the old man stood, his posture was suddenly upright, all traces of his earlier slouch gone.

Hu Chengyu glanced at the old man and nodded. "Thanks."

Shen Yan was utterly confused.

It wasn’t until they left the shop that Shen Yan understood what Hu Chengyu and the old man meant. Outside stood seven or eight burly men, each with thick arms and waists, holding bats in their hands.

When they saw Shen Yan and Hu Chengyu come out, their eyes all turned towards them.

The pedestrians nearby kept their distance, afraid of getting involved in the trouble.

Hu Chengyu held Shen Yan's hand and softly said to him, "Don't be afraid."

His voice was always low and cold, but this 'don't be afraid' carried a hint of gentleness.

Shen Yan couldn’t quite explain it, but he wasn’t scared at all. If the situation weren’t so tense, he probably would have burst out laughing.

To Shen Yan, it felt like they were being surrounded by a pack of gorillas.

The old man walked ahead, and the intimidating men parted to let them through.

Once they were a safe distance away, the old man stopped and waved them off.

Shen Yan glanced back at Tang Zhenglin, who had followed them out, and asked worriedly, "Mr. Tang, are you—"

Before the old man could respond, Tang Zhenglin sneered. "Pretty boy, you should be worrying about yourself."

"Today, my dad’s here. Next time, I won’t be so lenient."

*Whoosh!*

A carving knife whizzed through the air and embedded itself in the wooden doorframe behind Tang Zhenglin.

Hu Chengyu’s voice was icy. "If you even think about touching him, next time this knife won’t be sticking in wood."

The moment Hu Chengyu finished speaking, the thugs began closing in on them.

Tang Zhenglin’s face turned pale, but he still managed to say, "Let them go."

Hu Chengyu tugged Shen Yan away, but Shen Yan kept glancing back at the old man.

Tang Zhenglin must have said something to the old man, because the old man’s fists clenched tightly behind his back.

*

Shen Yan asked, "Are we really just walking away from this?"

"Tang Zhenglin’s a local thug. Even if we call the cops, they’ll probably just pay lip service," Hu Chengyu said, his eyes cold.

Besides, the people around them seemed more resigned than scared. This clearly wasn’t the first time this had happened.

Shen Yan frowned. "But we need to figure out a way to handle this, don't we?"

"We're not familiar with the area, so we don’t really know what to do."

Shen Yan let out a soft sigh, then, remembering the engraving knife Hu Chengyu had tossed earlier, asked curiously, "When did you get the knife?"

Hu Chengyu: "After Tang Zhenglin came into the shop."

Shen Yan was somewhat surprised. "You really think ahead, huh?"

Hu Chengyu glanced at Shen Yan. Actually, that wasn't it. He had grabbed the knife only after noticing the way Tang Zhenglin was leering at Shen Yan.

Tang Zhenglin probably let them go because he didn’t suspect Hu Chengyu had any more knives on him.

Shen Yan pulled his hand away from Hu Chengyu and quickly pulled out his phone to search for something.

"What are you doing?"

Shen Yan: "I’m checking if we can hire some reliable bodyguards. Tang Zhenglin’s got a lot of people with him, and if we run into them again, it could get dangerous."

Hu Chengyu took the phone away from him. "Don’t worry about it."

A scooter zoomed past Shen Yan, and Hu Chengyu yanked him into his arms.

Shen Yan: ...

This was the second time, and it really stung.

Hu Chengyu: "Pay attention to where you're going."

Shen Yan was too focused on rubbing his nose to hear Hu Chengyu clearly and forgot to ask why they didn’t need bodyguards.

When they got back to the inn, the last guests had just arrived for the final room.

It was a family of three—a young couple with a cute little girl.

The little girl was laughing and running around the lobby when she suddenly bumped into Shen Yan.

Shen Yan stumbled backward when the little girl collided with him, but a large hand steadied him from behind.

The little girl looked up, her eyes wide with apology. "Sorry, big brother."

Her cheeks flushed as she ran back to her mother.

The innkeeper chuckled. "Is little Duoduo shy?"

The little girl buried her face in her mother’s arms and said in a childish voice, "Uncle is mean!"

The innkeeper stopped teasing her, knowing she might start crying if he pushed too far.

"Did you see Tang the Mute?" the innkeeper asked, changing the subject.

Shen Yan nodded and walked over to the innkeeper’s desk, sitting down. Hu Chengyu pulled up a chair beside him and sat down too.

The innkeeper clicked his tongue. "You two are pretty close, huh?"

Shen Yan was distracted by Hu Chengyu and didn’t catch what the innkeeper said.

It wasn’t until Hu Chengyu sat down that Shen Yan asked, "Aren’t you bored just staying by my side all the time? You could go for a walk if you want, Mr. Hu."

Hu Chengyu gave him a sidelong glance. "What, trying to bite the hand that feeds you before you even get what you want?"

The boss groaned, "Oh, come on, don't start with the sweet talk in front of me, I'm too old for this kind of stuff."

Shen Yan blinked in surprise and quickly tried to explain. "Wait, we're not—"

"Hey, boss, do you know Tang Zhenglin?" Hu Chengyu suddenly asked.

The boss's expression froze, and the easygoing smile on his face disappeared in an instant.

"You ran into him? Wait, doesn't he usually only show up around the 20th to see Tang the Mute?" the boss said, scratching his head.

Shen Yan pressed, "Boss, who exactly is Tang Zhenglin? And didn't you say Mr. Tang can actually speak?"

The boss flipped open two teacups and poured a cup of tea for both Shen Yan and Hu Chengyu. "Tang the Mute is just a nickname. When he first came back, he didn't speak for a few years—not even using sign language."

"Later, the neighbors figured out he was just too lazy to talk and was faking being mute. By then, everyone was already used to calling him Tang the Mute."

"Even after he started talking, people kept calling him Tang the Mute. As for Tang Zhenglin, he's Tang the Mute's son, but he's nothing but trouble. The Tang family's problems aren't exactly earth-shattering, but they're not small either..."

"Tang the Mute's ancestors were wealthy landlords, and it's said they had a rare jade carving passed down as a family heirloom."

"But no one has ever actually seen it."

"Every month, Tang Zhenglin would stir up trouble at Tang the Mute's shop, all in an effort to find that jade carving."

The boss let out a soft sigh. "Back in the day, besides people coming to ask Tang the Mute to make jewelry, some were offering big money to buy the family heirloom."

"If Zhenglin were a decent kid, Tang the Mute might have handed it over by now, but Zhenglin never does anything right."

The boss sighed heavily after every sentence.

After their conversation with the boss, Shen Yan and Hu Chengyu headed back to their room.

Back in the room, Shen Yan was sketching out a design, but his mind was elsewhere, and the lines were all over the place.

Setting aside the deal he wanted to strike with the old man, the old man's son was clearly no good.

If he ever lost his patience, would he lash out at the old man?

There are plenty of news stories about ungrateful sons abusing their elderly parents.

Shen Yan anxiously tugged at his hair, feeling more frustrated by the minute, when he suddenly heard a door close outside.

From the sound, it seemed like it was coming from next door.

Wasn't that Hu Chengyu's room?

What was he doing, going out so late? Was he heading to the night market?

The night market here was pretty famous.

Curious and a little worried, Shen Yan grabbed his phone and texted Hu Chengyu. "Are you asleep?"

A few moments later, Shen Yan got a reply: "Yeah, just about to sleep."

Hu Chengyu was definitely lying!

Shen Yan slipped on his shoes, quietly opened the door, and found the hallway empty.

As Shen Yan walked through the corridor, he spotted Hu Chengyu already standing in the hall, head down, engrossed in his phone.

Almost immediately, Shen Yan’s phone chimed with a ‘ding,’ which rang out loud and clear in the otherwise silent space.

Panicking, Shen Yan fumbled for his phone, nearly letting it slip from his grasp.

Luckily, he managed to catch it just in time, preventing it from hitting the floor.

Just as he exhaled in relief, he looked up to see Hu Chengyu watching him with a faint smile.

Shen Yan was momentarily speechless.

Hu Chengyu raised an eyebrow. "Were you following me?"

"I, I wasn’t," Shen Yan stammered, his voice trembling and his confidence waning.

Suddenly, Shen Yan lifted his chin and demanded, "Why did you lie to me? What are you planning to do?"

This time, it was Hu Chengyu who fell silent.

After a moment, just as Shen Yan was starting to think Hu Chengyu wouldn’t respond, he finally spoke. "I have some business to attend to."

Shen Yan instinctively pressed, "Is it about Mr. Tang Yun?"

He quickly moved to Hu Chengyu’s side. "I’m coming with you."

Hu Chengyu took a step back, his gaze raking over Shen Yan from head to toe.

Under Hu Chengyu’s scrutinizing gaze, Shen Yan felt uneasy, assuming he was being judged for his frail appearance. He quickly added, "I’ll behave, please, can you take me?"

Hu Chengyu: "You’re going out dressed like that?"

Shen Yan glanced down at himself, realizing his bright lemon-yellow pajamas were way too conspicuous.