Chapter 57

Chapter 57

A loud thud broke the silence in the living room.

The next second, Shen Lin got up from the floor, stepped onto the coffee table, and in two or three strides, crossed to the other side and threw a punch at Hu Chengyu.

Hu Chengyu did not dodge, and the punch landed squarely on his nose.

Shen Lin cursed angrily, "Hu Chengyu, you son of a... What?"

Before Shen Lin could react, he was thrown onto the sofa, his back colliding with the sofa's backrest. It wasn’t painful, but it was embarrassing.

He didn’t even see how Hu Chengyu moved.

"You dare to hit me! I’m going to..." Shen Lin grumbled, but before he could finish, he was once again covered with a blanket, only able to make muffled sounds.

Hu Chengyu, through the blanket, threatened, "If you want Shen Yan to find out, keep making a scene."

Shen Lin, now under the blanket, immediately fell silent.

Just now, in his anger, he made too much noise. If he woke his brother, wouldn’t it be like helping Hu Chengyu confess to him?

Shen Lin noticed Hu Chengyu loosening his restraint on him and haphazardly emerged from the blanket.

Hu Chengyu had turned on a few small lamps, not very bright, but there was enough light for Shen Lin to clearly see the bruise on Hu Chengyu's nose.

Shen Lin snorted and said, "You got what you deserved."

Hu Chengyu didn’t seem to care about the bruise on his nose, his gaze on Shen Lin was somewhat icy.

If it was before, Shen Lin might have been afraid of him, but after hearing him admit that he liked his brother, Shen Lin felt like punching Hu Chengyu again.

Hu Chengyu said, "Want to fight again? Let's go outside, and I’ll fight you."

Shen Lin glared at Hu Chengyu, "Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to."

Hu Chengyu, not following the younger boy's train of thought, showed a rare confused expression, "What?"

"Don’t you just want to get injured and then gain my brother's sympathy? Do you think I’m stupid?"

Hu Chengyu: "Got it."

Shen Lin frowned. "What’s that look supposed to mean?"

"Admiring your intelligence." Hu Chengyu touched the bruise on his nose.

Inevitably, he recalled how Shen Yan had been very obedient when he changed his bandages after an arm injury.

"Hey, wipe that disgusting look off your face."

Shen Lin found Hu Chengyu’s smile unsettling, sending shivers down his spine.

Hu Chengyu managed his expression and pointed to his face, "You can hit me again if you want."

Shen Lin initially thought his words "admiring your intelligence" were sarcastic, but now it seemed he was serious.

Shen Lin took a few deep breaths and quickly calmed down. "Hu Chengyu, I don't understand."

"If I really made things blow up in front of my brother, shouldn’t you be happy?"

Lately, Shen Yan has been insisting he doesn't like Hu Chengyu and has managed to avoid him, but those years when he was chasing after Hu Chengyu weren't a lie.

Shen Lin figured that Hu Chengyu could probably lure his clueless brother away with just a wave of his hand.

Hu Chengyu remained silent for a long time before saying, "You're right."

"He's asleep now, so why don't you wait until tomorrow morning to cause a scene?"

Shen Lin was speechless with anger. "Like you're the only one who cares about him!"

Who’s the real brother here?

They stood there in a tense standoff for what felt like forever before finally going back to the sofa to sleep.

Once the room fell dark again, Hu Chengyu’s tense expression finally eased.

He was afraid.

Afraid that Shen Lin would actually tell Shen Yan. Why did he even confide in Shen Lin?

It wasn't so much telling Shen Lin, but facing himself.

Though it was impulsive, he didn't regret it.

Shen Lin had a stubborn streak; the more you tried to stop him from telling Shen Yan, the more determined he’d become to spill the beans.

As for why he couldn't tell Shen Yan?

Hu Chengyu was certain that if Shen Yan really found out, he might cut off all ties with him completely.

Maybe he’d move to another city or try to force himself to like someone else just to get away from him.

Hu Chengyu could feel that Shen Yan was serious about severing any relationship between them.

Shen Lin also lay staring at the dark ceiling, unable to sleep, feeling annoyed and frustrated.

He always argued with Shen Yan, but he had never imagined that Shen Yan would end up with someone else, someone who would be closer to him than their own blood ties.

For a moment, a sharp pain twisted in Shen Lin’s chest.

Why was Hu Chengyu trying to steal his brother from him?

Don't you have a brother of your own?

Damn it, Hu Chengyu was an only child, not even a cousin, how annoying.

That night, only Shen Yan slept well after taking his medicine.

The next morning, when Shen Yan saw Shen Lin with dark circles under his eyes in the living room, he found it strange.

"Didn't sleep well?"

Shen Lin, "Slept very well, the sofa was soft." Tch, my back and waist are killing me.

"Sofa? Weren't you sleeping in the bedroom?" Shen Yan said, glancing back at the bedroom.

Shen Lin forgot and felt a little embarrassed, "Well, I thought sleeping on the sofa once in a while is also nice.

"Isn't that right? Hu Chengyu."

Hu Chengyu was preparing breakfast—three sandwiches and some milk.

One of the cups was warm.

He glanced at them and nodded, "Yeah, breakfast is ready."

Shen Yan’s eyes immediately landed on the bruise on Hu Chengyu’s nose, and her face twisted in surprise. "Your face..."

Shen Lin, feeling irritated, worried that Hu Chengyu would reveal the truth, let out a forced laugh. "Haha, Brother, you don't know, he fell to the ground in the middle of the night and hit his nose."

Shen Yan raised an eyebrow at Shen Lin’s awkward laugh, suspicious, but before she could ask anything, Shen Lin shoved her toward the dining table. "Eat, eat, I'm starving."

Hu Chengyu set the warm milk down in front of Shen Yan.

Shen Lin, biting a sandwich and glaring at Hu Chengyu, muttered under his breath, "Don't push it."

Hu Chengyu said, "Just eat your breakfast."

Shen Yan’s gaze flicked between the two, sensing that something was off.

After shooting Hu Chengyu a warning glance, Shen Lin took out his phone and instinctively started scrolling through the news.

"Finally!" Shen Lin, too excited to keep eating, thrust his phone at Shen Yan across the table. "Brother, look, the Jing City police report, this 'Ji Mou Lin' is the designer Qinglin Ji, right?"

Shen Yan quickly glanced at the phone and nodded with a smile. "Yes, it's him."

Hu Chengyu also leaned over to look at the screen.

Shen Lin, seeing Hu Chengyu getting close to Shen Yan, with their faces almost touching, felt a surge of anger. "Don't you already have a phone?"

"Shen Lin, you're being too rude," Shen Yan said seriously, looking at her brother.

Why are you getting so worked up over this? Hu Chengyu was just looking at the phone.

Shen Lin, seeing Hu Chengyu’s amused smile, grew even more irritated.

Hu Chengyu said, "It's okay."

Shen Lin was so angry he wanted to bite Hu Chengyu.

Hu Chengyu knew when to stop and didn't provoke Shen Lin further.

"Shen Yan, did you know in advance that this Qinglin Ji was a corporate spy?"

Indeed, the Jing City police report revealed that the designer Qinglin Ji, who had been accused of plagiarism at G.E. Company, was actually a corporate spy.

Originally, his goal had been to steal confidential files, but he became notorious online for plagiarism before even reaching a higher position in the company.

Hearing this, Shen Lin also immediately looked at Shen Yan. "Brother, you knew about this?"

Shen Yan nodded. "Actually, I only found out last night."

The previous night, Shu Qianfei had contacted him. Besides reassuring him that she was safe, she had mentioned this matter.

In fact, Shu Qianfei's suspicion of Qinglin Ji had something to do with Shen Yan.

On Shen Lin's birthday, Shen Yan had overheard a conversation between Shen Lin and Shu Qianfei, then had a relapse and uttered a name.

This person was a business partner of the company. Shen Yan had less contact with the company than Shen Lin, yet Shen Lin didn't know this person. Still, Shen Yan had subconsciously called out that person's name.

Shu Qianfei wouldn't suspect Shen Yan; she would only suspect that there was a problem within the company.

Coincidentally, Ji Qinglin wanted to join the company's management team and needed to deliver results, which caught Shu Qianfei's attention.

When Shu Qianfei realized there was something off about Ji Qinglin, she felt a bit regretful, as his design of "Lover's Bone" was indeed impressive.

However, no one expected it to spark a plagiarism scandal for the company.

Shu Qianfei didn't expose the matter immediately because she wanted to draw out the mastermind behind it.

Unexpectedly, the mastermind was playing it cool and still hadn't surfaced.

The company linked to Ji Qinglin did have a past grudge with G.E.

Further investigation only revealed that the other company had connections with the Bai family.

Shu Qianfei didn’t go into further details with Shen Yan.

She just told him that the reporters would be gone by today, and he and Shen Lin could head back to school.

*

Hu Chengyu drove Shen Lin back to school first. On the way, Shen Yan couldn't help but remind him, "Be careful at school. Although most reporters have left, there might still be some tabloid journalists looking for news.

"If anything goes down at school, even if you can't reach Mom, you can contact me or Sister Suri."

Hu Chengyu: "You can also contact me."

Shen Lin: "...What’s it got to do with you?"

Shen Yan wanted to slap a hand over his little brother's mouth. Why did he have to tick off Hu Chengyu?

Was he trying to get himself into trouble like in those drama shows where the hero falls from grace?

Shen Lin then looked at Shen Yan, "Our school won't let reporters in. You should be careful yourself.

"If something happens, you can call me. Don't 'bother' Mr. Hu."

The term 'Mr. Hu' was something he picked up from Shen Yan.

Shen Yan watched Shen Lin enter the school, then breathed a sigh of relief. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hu Chengyu looking at him and immediately sat up straight. Thinking of Shen Lin's messy words, he felt a bit awkward, "I’ll apologize for him, and also, thank you for this time."

Hu Chengyu: "That’s it? That’s your thanks?"

"How about... I treat you to a meal?" Shen Yan was a bit confused, clearly not expecting Hu Chengyu to 'ask for a favor in return.'

Hu Chengyu started the car, "Forget the meal, think of another way to thank me."

Shen Yan: "What?"

"Call me 'Bro' again."

Shen Yan remained silent.

Hu Chengyu felt a sudden irritation, "Forget it, just don't call me Mr. Hu."

Shen Yan smoothly said, "Bro."

Hu Chengyu: "...Shen Yan, do you believe I'll drive this car out to the suburbs?"

Shen Yan didn't react, "Why go to the suburbs?"

"Damn..."

Hu Chengyu noticed his clear, bright eyes through the rearview mirror.

"Watch out for the wolves."

Shen Yan had felt a brief moment of danger, but it passed quickly.

Shen Yan sobered up and called out, "Hu Chengyu."

A small smile tugged at Hu Chengyu's lips, and his eyes sparkled with happiness.

Neither of them spoke again until they got to school.

Due to the recent news, Shen Yan had packed a disposable mask and a baseball cap.

Once out of the car, he geared up.

Hu Chengyu walked over and adjusted his cap.

Just as he was about to leave, Shen Yan grabbed his sleeve and said, "Wait."

Shen Yan then reached into his bag and pulled out a band-aid.

It was a light pink band-aid with tiny strawberry designs. "Stick this on the bridge of your nose."