Chapter 50

Chapter 50

On WeChat, Shen Lin asked Shen Yan: "What's going on? You refused your own brother but let Hu Chengyu accompany you for your check-up?"

Shen Yan's fingertips felt a little warm as he held his phone. "It's just a check-up, not a pregnancy exam."

Ugh, no way!

Shen Yan glanced nervously at Hu Chengyu, who was driving. Fortunately, he was focused on driving.

Unable to bear Shen Lin's interrogation, Shen Yan recounted what Dr. Shen had said, reassuring him repeatedly that he had no idea why Hu Chengyu had suddenly appeared.

Shen Yan asked, "So, what exactly happened? It's gotten to the point where neither home nor school is safe to return to?"

Shen Lin replied, "The company has been hit with a plagiarism incident. Some bastard bought a hot search and stirred up the controversy. Now, the internet is full of backlash toward the company."

"Especially since Shu Qianfei is a well-known figure in Jing City's business scene, and being a woman, topics involving 'women' are easier to hype up."

Shen Lin continued, "Our identities aren't exactly a secret either. In short, until this is resolved, don't go out unnecessarily. Also, mom asked me to remind you to keep your medication with you."

Shu Qianfei wanted to remind Shen Yan herself, but she's been overwhelmed with calls about company matters.

After understanding the gist of the situation from Shen Lin, Shen Yan ignored Shen Lin's advice of "don't go online recently" and opened Weibo.

Shen Lin was probably worried that Shen Yan would be upset by the online comments.

However, having experienced the various pains and pressures of his previous life, Shen Yan felt no ripples in his heart seeing these malicious comments. He could even discern which comments were from trolls deliberately stirring up the controversy.

The incident started when a newly released G.E. Company winter accessory necklace was found to be identical to one worn by a character in a short video.

The G.E. Company, having reached its current scale, naturally had many loyal supporters.

When a netizen raised this doubt, some fans, with strong attitudes, stated that the G.E. Company's product release date was earlier than the short video's release.

Then people went to confront the video's creator.

The video creator, probably equally confused, after understanding the cause, directly provided the manuscript and contract, showing a date earlier than the G.E. Company's product release.

The fans turned to ask the company officials, but the officials couldn't provide stronger evidence.

Many people began to suspect who the real plagiarist was.

Up to this point, it was still a small-scale incident, but what pushed it to the peak was Fei Wenfang.

Fei Wenfang posted, "Plagiarism is a despicable act" and tagged G.E. Jewelry, also @ing the video creator and supporting the creator's right to defend their work.

Fei Wenfang's post solidified the accusations of plagiarism against G.E.

Maybe because of the poor internet connection on the road, Shen Yan hadn't seen the picture of the necklace labeled as 'plagiarism,' and the name of the video creator that Fei Wenfang tagged felt oddly familiar.

Shen Yan, sitting in the car looking at his phone, felt his eyes becoming uncomfortable. All this information was giving him a headache. He helplessly put down his phone and massaged his temples.

In his past life, none of this would have happened at this point.

Which step went wrong?

Shen Yan didn’t see this as a bad thing. If the person behind the scenes had acted too soon, they were bound to make a mistake.

The only thing he regretted about being reborn was that after the incident in his previous life, he had been entirely focused on keeping the company afloat and hadn’t uncovered the mastermind behind it all.

As for the Bai family, who had always been opposing the company, Shen Yan doubted they had the capability to orchestrate this.

Without the venture capital firm’s support, the Bai family would likely have vanished if they had returned to Zhu City.

Shen Yan suddenly opened his eyes. Venture capital firm?

Could following the clues of the Bai family and the venture capital firm lead him to something?

Since he knew there was an enemy in the dark, remaining passive wouldn’t solve the problem.

Before, his body had been too weak, but now it was gradually improving. Maybe it was time to dig deeper.

Shen Yan was lost in thought when he suddenly noticed the car had stopped.

He glanced outside the window and saw they were in an underground garage.

Hu Chengyu opened the door for him. "We're here."

From the cars in the garage, Shen Yan could tell the residents were likely from wealthy families.

"Where is this?"

Hu Chengyu gave a cryptic smile. "You’ll see once we get upstairs."

Shen Yan had given up on communicating with him. Shu Qianfei had arranged accommodation for him.

After all, on the way here, he had made it clear more than once that he wanted to go to Baohe Road.

In the elevator, Hu Chengyu pressed 8.

As the elevator ascended, the boxy interior, which should have felt roomy, felt claustrophobic with Hu Chengyu’s imposing presence.

Shen Yan was curious now. "How did you know I was in the hospital?"

It was something he hadn’t figured out since getting in the car.

Hu Chengyu looked at him and suddenly took a step closer. "Guess?"

The elevator's interior walls had mirrors, and in the reflection, a tall and muscular man stood next to a slim one, resembling a large wolf blocking a small rabbit.

Shen Yan felt uncomfortable. Why did he need to get so close all of a sudden?

Hu Chengyu had been restless after seeing the news and wanted to see Shen Yan.

He wondered if Shen Yan was hiding somewhere, tears streaming down his face.

But then he thought, doesn’t Shen Yan want to stay away from me? Why should I care so much?

To make things worse, Lu Zhao had been making wild guesses next to him. "Bro, Yan Yan isn’t picking up her phone.

"I went to his dorm and saw him. Gu Jia said he went for a medical check-up. If Yan Yan finds out about all this, will he be angry? And what if Xie Shiyu takes this opportunity to find Yan Yan, stay with him, and comfort him...

"Hey? Bro, I’m not done talking yet. Where are you going? Take me with you..."

The response to Lu Zhao was a loud 'bang' as the door slammed shut, almost hitting him.

At that moment, Hu Chengyu, noting Shen Yan's calm expression, felt a mischievous urge. He lightly tapped the small, delicate crimson mole at the corner of Shen Yan's eyebrow. "Do you know why you have a mole here?"

Shen Yan gave him a side-eye, thinking it was just something natural. What's with all the questions?

"Move your hand!"

Hu Chengyu, unfazed by Shen Yan's glare, let go swiftly and murmured, "Actually, when you were little, I had a doctor implant a small tracker there while you were sleeping. That's why it's crimson, and that's how I've always been able to find you."

His voice was low and seductive, almost like a whisper from a demon.

Shen Yan's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're serious?"

Hu Chengyu: "Of course."

But the next second, Shen Yan's face darkened, and he viciously stomped on Hu Chengyu's shoe, twisting it for good measure.

The elevator reached the 8th floor, and Shen Yan, with a cold expression, said, "Hu Chengyu, I'm nineteen, not three."

Hu Chengyu, after being stomped on, merely raised an eyebrow.

He watched as Shen Yan's expression shifted from shock to cold indifference.

Shen Yan, hearing no footsteps behind him, looked back to see Hu Chengyu lightly pressing his right hand over his heart.

Hu Chengyu slightly raised an eyebrow. "What? Did I step on your heart?"

Realizing how odd the statement sounded, Shen Yan turned away with a disgruntled expression.

Hu Chengyu chuckled; he wasn't sure why, but thinking about Shen Yan's vivid expression just now, his heart started racing uncontrollably.

Maybe it really was because he was stepped on in a strange place?

Shen Yan actually understood Hu Chengyu's intention; he was trying to divert his attention, to keep him from overthinking.

But the more he knew, the more awkward it felt.

Why did Hu Chengyu always forcefully appear before him whenever he tried to distance himself?

One corridor with two apartments, Hu Chengyu turned left. "The password is 0101, got it?"

Shen Yan thought to himself, Is this password supposed to keep burglars out?

The room was spacious, and the decor—like Hu Chengyu himself—felt cold and impersonal. The monochromatic palette of black, white, and grey gave it a showroom-like feel.

"Hello, I am Xiao Yan, pleased to serve you."

Shen Yan was startled by the sudden appearance of the small robot.

It took him a moment to react. "What's your name?"

The robot had a round head, and on its screen were a pair of cute cartoon eyes. "My name is Xiao Yan."

Shen Yan immediately looked at Hu Chengyu. Don't you have any explanation for this?

Hu Chengyu showed no hesitation, taking off his jacket in front of Shen Yan and casually pouring two cups of water. He handed the warm cup to Shen Yan.

"What's the problem?"

Shen Yan pointed at the robot, "Why is it named Xiao Yan?"

Hu Chengyu replied, "I hope it talks less and works more. Is there an issue?"

Shen Yan:……"So it's the character for 'speech' instead of 'name.'"

He didn’t doubt Hu Chengyu for a second. Telling the robot to talk less was indeed something Hu Chengyu would do.

Hu Chengyu said, "Don't worry about those things online. Aunt Shu will handle it.

"You'll stay here for the next few days. I'll tell Aunt Shu."

Shen Yan nodded.

Xiao Yan: "New friend, are you hungry?"

Xiao Yan: "New friend, which room would you like to stay in?"

Xiao Yan: "New friend..."

Shen Yan was annoyed by the robot's electronic voice. If this were a real person, he’d have covered their mouth already.

But it was just a cute little robot.

Xiao Yan kept chattering, "The master bedroom is the largest, with a walk-in closet and en-suite bathroom. It's perfect, except the king-sized bed will have to be shared with... oops~"

Shen Yan finally couldn't take it anymore and pressed the robot's mouth icon on its screen.

The robot really did stop talking, as if someone had covered its mouth.

Is it seriously this smart?

Shen Yan said, "If I let go, you won't talk?"

The big, cute eyes on the screen blinked adorably, like Pikachu.

Shen Yan's heart melted and he let go.

"Shared with the owner, sleep with the owner~"

Shen Yan’s hand shot out just as fast as it had pulled away, giving Hu Chengyu a dark look. "Where's the power switch?"

The big eyes on the screen turned into a pitiful expression, brimming with tears.

A few minutes later, Shen Yan sat on the couch, with Xiao Yan standing next to him. The robot's mechanical fingers moved with surprising grace as they peeled a banana and offered it to Shen Yan's mouth, "New friend, please eat."

Shen Yan gave a soft huff.

The screen wobbled, like it was trembling in fear.

Shen Yan asked, "Did you make this robot?"

He hadn't forgotten Hu Chengyu's expertise. Hu Chengyu studied robotics, but his work usually focused on large-scale projects.

It was normal for Hu Chengyu to create a household robot, but was this one a bit too chatty?

Hu Chengyu's playful and energetic personality is nothing like Hu Chengyu at all.

Hu Chengyu clearly has a preference for lively and outgoing personalities.

Hu Chengyu: "Isn't it just like you?"

Shen Yan looked at the round, chubby Xiao Yan, then glanced down at himself: "How so?"

"Its playful and stubborn nature, just like yours." Hu Chengyu tapped the robot. "That's why I named it Xiao Yan."