Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Seeing that Shen Yan was busy replying to messages, Shu Qianfei said, "Goodnight," and told the brothers to get some rest before heading upstairs.

Shen Lin was curious about who had sent a message to his brother.

When he found out it was a man in his sixties or seventies, his interest quickly faded.

He muttered, "What's there to talk about with an old man?"

Shen Yan shot him an unhappy glance. Shen Lin, knowing he was being impolite, immediately raised his hands in surrender. "Ahh, I'm sorry, Mr. Old Man, okay?"

Shen Yan ignored him, confirmed the time with Tang Yun, and then checked Hu Chengyu's message.

She Wenjun had wanted to visit Shen Yan in Jing City, but the distance between Zhu City and Jing City is over a thousand kilometers, making even a flight take more than three hours.

Shen Yan felt it wasn't appropriate for him, as the younger one, to ask the elder to come see him.

But he couldn't go to Zhu City alone, and even if he thought it was fine, Shu Qianfei wouldn't agree.

Shen Lin shifted uncomfortably under his brother's gaze. "What are you staring at?"

"Are you free on the weekend in two weeks?"

With his laid-back personality, Shen Lin could plan for three days but never more than five.

Of course, he had no plans for the weekend in two weeks.

Shen Yan, unable to wait for his answer, asked directly, "Can you accompany me to Zhu City?"

Shen Lin's eyes lit up. "Are we going to teach Fei Wenfang a lesson? We don't need to wait two weeks; let's go next week."

If his brother was willing to skip class, he'd prefer to go tomorrow.

Before we go, I need to buy a mask online so I don't get recognized when we confront him.

Shen Yan, who could easily see through his brother's thoughts, was exasperated. "If I remember correctly, Fei Wenfang is in Jing City right now.

"Also, have you forgotten everything Mom said?"

Shen Lin pouted. "I'm sixteen, not six. I'm not Mom's baby anymore."

Shen Yan knew Shen Lin was subtly mocking him. Annoyed but unable to win against his brother, he grabbed a nearby cushion and threw it at him.

He fiercely threatened, "If you misbehave, I'll, I'll..."

"What?" Shen Lin found Shen Yan's slightly angry expression unusually attractive.

Like teasing a cat, he deliberately riled him up.

Of course, he knew Shen Yan wouldn't really get mad. Shen Yan took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. "I'll ask Mom to cut off your allowance.

"If you want money, you'll have to beg me!"

Shen Lin was momentarily speechless, unwilling to admit that he was completely at his brother's mercy. Knowing how Shen Yan could get Shu Qianfei to genuinely care about him, Shen Lin had no doubt about the effectiveness of his brother's threat.

Once Shen Lin calmed down, Shen Yan continued looking at his phone. His expression froze in shock, then turned to disbelief.

While horsing around with Shen Lin, he accidentally tapped an emoji.

The emojis were all from the same set, and about a third of them were couple-themed.

Shen Yan had unfortunately pressed the most intimate one: Kitty Rolling Over for Kisses.gif.

Bad news: It had been over two minutes, so he couldn’t take it back.

Good news: The other person hadn’t replied, so maybe they didn’t see it.

However, the next second, Shen Yan saw ‘typing…’ appear in the chat box.

Hu Chengyu: ?

The only thought in Shen Yan’s mind was that he had seen it!

Before Shen Yan could think of a response, Hu Chengyu sent another message, a rabbit kissing a cat GIF from the same set.

Shen Yan: …

Isn’t this just like flirting between couples?

Shen Yan caught Shen Lin standing up out of the corner of his eye and shot him a glare.

Shen Lin felt confused. I’m the one who’s going to lose my allowance, so why are you glaring at me?

Shen Yan steeled himself and explained to Hu Chengyu: That message was sent by mistake. Please delete it.

Hu Chengyu: Oh.

Shen Yan raised his eyebrows. What did ‘oh’ mean?

Hu Chengyu: Come to my dorm tomorrow, or I won’t delete it.

Shen Yan frowned: Can we change the location?

Although he had been to Hu Chengyu’s dorm many times, and it was right next to his own, meeting alone in the dorm felt strange.

But Hu Chengyu’s thought process might just be different from ordinary people’s.

Who would send a kissing emoji back when a usually cold person gets a ‘kiss request’ from someone of the same gender?

Hu Chengyu: No change.

Hu Chengyu: Non-negotiable.

Thinking from another angle, based on the development of the previous life, Hu Chengyu should have already developed feelings for Xie Shiyu by now.

Actually, according to the previous life’s development, Hu Chengyu should have had feelings for Xie Shiyu when they met at the start of the semester.

But this time, something had gone wrong. The two hadn’t met at the beginning of the semester.

This also led to a much slower progression in their relationship.

So why was he afraid of being alone with Hu Chengyu?

Hu Chengyu wasn’t a beast, after all.

Shen Yan knew he needed to restrain himself and not let the events from his past life affect him.

He stared at the two emojis in the chat interface, his thoughts drifting. Could it be that he was still under the influence of the plot?

Otherwise, why would he randomly send the "begging for a kiss" emoji when there were 24 others to choose from?

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he dismissed it.

If that were true, wouldn't it mean he couldn't change the ending?

But his relationship with Shen Lin was improving, and the dynamic between Shen Lin and Shu Qianfei was gradually changing as well.

Even Shen Shubai, who used to be so strict, had mellowed out.

Shen Yan had even given Shen Lin a birthday gift and secretly asked Aunt Wang to deliver another gift to his room.

He had discovered this by chance when he "tutored" Shen Lin on his assignments that day.

So the emoji incident must have been a coincidence.

While Shen Yan was deep in thought, new messages continued to pop up on his phone, but this time it wasn't from Hu Chengyu—it was from Xu Tong.

Xu Tong: Wow wow wow! Yan Yan, quick, look, you guys are becoming popular before it's even released!

Xu Tong: The GIFs they edited made even my heart flutter. How about arranging for you and Shi Yu to play rivals with a complicated relationship next time?

Xu Tong: I've already thought of a rough plot. A sickly beauty raises a sinister villain, thinking she has raised a human "weapon," but the young wolf is only after the sickly beauty's body!

To prove how much she loved this ship, she sent over a dozen GIFs of interactions between him and Xie Shiyu.

Shen Yan was about to laugh and refute Xu Tong's suggestion, but as he looked through the GIFs, if he weren't one of them, he might have thought there was something between the two as well.

Just as Shen Yan was lost in thought, Lu Zhao also came across the GIFs of him and Xie Shiyu and immediately sat up straight, his hands moving quickly to share them with Hu Chengyu.

"Bro, bro! What's going on with Yan Yan and Shi Yu? Are they really together?"

While waiting for a reply, Lu Zhao also started digging into where these GIFs came from.

The original Weibo post clearly stated that it was a micro-film shoot for a school club.

Lu Zhao's unsettled heart finally calmed down.

Just as he was about to explain to Hu Chengyu, he received a short chat record from Hu Chengyu:

Hu Chengyu: Want to meet tomorrow?

Shen Yan: Little cat rolling and begging for a kiss.gif

Hu Chengyu: Kiss.gif

It was just three short messages, but they packed a lot of meaning for Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao: Brother, brother! What's going on between you and Yan Yan?

Hu Chengyu: Oh, it's nothing, he just clicked the wrong thing.

Lu Zhao: ……

Was he just messing with me?

Lu Zhao: Brother, the GIFs I sent you just now are from a film shoot by their Micro Film Club.

Hu Chengyu: I know.

Lu Zhao slapped his forehead, realizing that Hu Chengyu had been there when they filmed, so of course, he knew.

But despite knowing, Hu Chengyu couldn’t shake his irritation.

Looking at the GIFs on his phone, Hu Chengyu found them irritating.

After closing his eyes and pondering for a moment, he sent a message to Shen Yan.

Shen Yan was politely turning down Xu Tong. He’d rather be the art director than act in front of the camera.

Xu Tong was disappointed but didn’t pressure him.

After sending Xu Tong a message of gratitude, Shen Yan received Hu Chengyu's message agreeing to meet at a different location.

Hu Chengyu: Meet me tomorrow at 12, Room 502 in Yisi Building.

Considering Shen Yan's health, he added: You can wait for me on the first floor if you prefer.

Shen Yan was confused. Didn’t he say they weren’t changing the location?

When did Hu Chengyu develop the trait of being so changeable?

*

The next day, Shen Yan had no classes, so after breakfast, he headed to school, arriving three hours before noon.

Going back to the dormitory and then heading to Yisi Building would waste too much time.

It would be better to kill time at the nearby library.

Shen Yan felt uneasy. As he walked from the school gate to the library, people kept sneaking glances at him.

Every time he turned around, they quickly looked away, which made him feel even more annoyed. All he wanted was a quiet place to sit.

However, even after sitting down in the library, he could still feel eyes on him, vaguely.

But compared to outside, the gazes in the library were almost negligible.

He vented his frustration to Gu Jia.

Gu Jia: Whoa, Yan Yan, are you turning into a celebrity or something?

Shen Yan: ...

Thanks, but I’d rather not live in the spotlight.

He explained his troubles.

Being the understanding and sweet person he was, Gu Jia immediately offered a solution: Maybe you should wear a mask and a baseball cap to blend in?

Although Shen Yan didn’t think the idea was clever, he decided to follow it.

At 11:20, when Hu Chengyu came out of the classroom, he saw someone wearing a mask and a baseball cap.

When Shen Yan saw Hu Chengyu, he decided to test whether his disguise would fool someone who knew him.

He deliberately avoided greeting Hu Chengyu.

Hu Chengyu was walking towards him, and as he got closer, Shen Yan suddenly felt a twinge of nervousness.

Was he hoping to be recognized, or not?

Hu Chengyu stopped one meter away from him and looked at him.

Shen Yan thought, "Ah, he must have recognized me."

But the next second, Hu Chengyu just left?!

Why did it feel a bit disappointing that Hu Chengyu didn't recognize him?

Not being recognized meant his disguise was effective, so he should have felt proud, right?

"Aren't you leaving yet?" Hu Chengyu, who had returned behind him, asked while directly grabbing his wrist.

Shen Yan was stunned and confused, "Ah? You recognized me?"

Just at that moment, Lu Zhao also came out from the classroom, his eyes lighting up. "Yan Yan! No wonder my brother didn't wait for me. You're here!"

Hearing his voice, Shen Yan remained stunned. In the same classroom, Xie Shiyu, who was packing up, paused in his actions.

Shen Yan suspiciously raised his other hand, which wasn't being held, and touched his hat and mask. "You could still recognize me even like this?"

Hu Chengyu said, "Even if only that strand of your signature hair is showing, I can still recognize you."

Let alone when you're standing here in plain sight.

Xie Shiyu had sped up his packing, but by the time he left the classroom, he only saw the three of them walking away.

It looked like Hu Chengyu was holding Shen Yan's hand.