Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Hu Chengyu stared at Lu Zhao. "Is that how he described it to you?"

Lu Zhao obviously hadn't expected him to ask this on his own and fell into deep thought. How had Yan Yan described it at the time?

'Coarse voice, rapid breathing'—a simple and concise description. Yes, that was it.

Lu Zhao nodded.

A rare smile flickered across Hu Chengyu's usually stern face.

Seeing this, Lu Zhao was startled, as if he had seen a ghost. Every time his brother argued with Uncle Hu, he would remain cold and distant for a long time. How come after this crazy drive, he was smiling?

Did Uncle Hu drive him crazy?

While waiting for Hu Chengyu in the Hu family's living room, he had also seen Hu Tianhong. The grim look on his face made it seem as though the Hu family had gone bankrupt.

Moreover, seeing the injuries on Hu Chengyu's body made it clear that this time, the conflict was worse than usual.

He had been prepared to face a month of Hu Chengyu's icy demeanor.

But in less than half a day, how had his brother's mood improved?

Not only was Hu Chengyu smiling, but he also extinguished the half-smoked cigarette.

"Back to school."

After saying this, Hu Chengyu went to the passenger seat.

Facing Hu Chengyu like this, Lu Zhao felt a bit panicked.

He sat in the driver's seat and asked, "Bro, should I drive?"

He was worried that Hu Chengyu might suddenly have a change of heart and grab the steering wheel.

Hu Chengyu immediately saw through his thoughts and said, "Don't worry, I won't take you with me."

Lu Zhao understood. Even if his brother truly wanted to die, he wouldn't take Lu Zhao with him.

Lu Zhao felt a pang of sadness. He had known Hu Chengyu since they were young. Because of his father's status, many kids would fawn over him when they played together.

But behind his back, they would say things like, 'If it weren't for his amazing dad, I wouldn't want to be friends with him...' and so on. At that time, he had held his cherished secret treasure, wanting to share it with this friend.

That day, he had hidden alone, tears falling, and threw his long-cherished treasure to the ground, unbeknownst to him, Hu Chengyu, who had been sitting in a tree, saw everything.

Hu Chengyu had not only seen him throw things but also witnessed the hypocrisy of those people.

Young Hu Chengyu, already with his usual cold expression, asked, "Do you hate them?"

Young Lu Zhao, not wanting to be seen in such a vulnerable state, felt both anger and embarrassment but answered resolutely, "Yes, I do."

I won't be friends with them anymore!

Young Hu Chengyu said, "Isn't it even more painful to break your own treasure because of someone you hate?"

Young Lu Zhao looked at the mess of 'treasures' on the ground, some beautiful bottles broken, and felt even worse.

Without thinking, young Lu Zhao lashed out at Hu Chengyu, "It's all your fault! Now I feel even worse."

He then put the 'toys' back into the box and ran off with it in his arms.

After just a few minutes, he ran back again, shouting, "I don’t wanna be your friend!"

But later, he would always find excuses to be around Hu Chengyu, using his sticky ways to officially recognize Hu Chengyu as his brother.

At that time, the young Hu Chengyu couldn't do anything about him. Although he had an aloof and grown-up attitude for a child, he was still full of life.

Until later, when Zhu Yao tried to take Hu Chengyu with her when she died, that spark in Hu Chengyu faded away.

At Zhu Yao's funeral, Hu Chengyu didn't shed a single tear.

During that time, Lu Zhao stayed by Hu Chengyu's side, like he was a cold, lifeless statue.

Back then, Lu Zhao was very afraid, scared that Hu Chengyu might give up on life.

Then one day, he actually heard from his parents that Hu Chengyu had fallen into the water.

Upon hearing a word or two, his mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that his brother had indeed jumped in intentionally—it wasn’t just an accident.

As Lu Zhao's parents were talking, they suddenly heard their son screaming at the top of his lungs, "Brother, don’t die..."

Startled, Lu Zhao's mother had to explain at length before he understood that his brother had indeed jumped, but it was to save someone.

The person who was saved, he knew as well, was the sickly but beautiful kid from the Shen family.

She was truly pretty—Lu Zhao had seen her a few times at the hospital with his mother—but her health was very poor. Her pretty face was as pale as powder, and she would be out of breath after just a couple of steps. Even though her legs were fine, she still needed to use a wheelchair.

Lu Zhao admired his brother even more after that, thinking it was amazing that his brother could save someone!

Aside from admiring his brother, he didn’t have any other thoughts.

Until one day, he suddenly realized that his brother would smile at that sickly but beautiful girl from the Shen family.

Lu Zhao had to admit, he felt a pang of jealousy.

After all, he was his brother's best friend.

Later, he noticed that his brother was no longer lifeless. That former vitality had returned.

He would even tease the young Shen Yan, a faint smile appearing on his face.

He thought that his brother had moved on from Zhu Yao's death.

But soon after, he found that his brother had reverted back to his previous state.

During that time, he could sense that his brother was avoiding Shen Yan.

Then, after using a little trick, he got Shen Yan to see Hu Chengyu, and sure enough, the next day, Hu Chengyu returned to normal.

At that moment, he thought that from then on, Shen Yan would also be his brother!

But his happiness didn’t last long, as his brother soon warned him.

"If you ever let Shen Yan see me again while I'm emotionally unstable, we won’t hang out anymore."

The 'we' here referred to Lu Zhao and Hu Chengyu themselves.

Lu Zhao felt wronged. Being young and not fully understanding, he simply felt that his brother treated Shen Yan differently.

He later discovered that every time his brother argued with Uncle Hu, he would become listless.

Since then, he never took it upon himself to tell Shen Yan anything again.

So today, upon learning his brother had been beaten, he initially thought it would be the same as before, but suddenly seeing his brother's change, it was genuinely unsettling for him.

After thinking about the past for a while, Lu Zhao asked worriedly, "Bro, are you okay?"

Should he break his usual habit and tell Yan Yan this time?

He was very worried about his brother's mental state.

After calming down, Hu Chengyu finally noticed the aching pain from the injury on his back, a stinging and burning sensation.

Assuming Lu Zhao was asking about the injury, Hu Chengyu replied, "It's just a minor injury."

Lu Zhao: "Then, should we go to the hospital first?"

Hu Chengyu: "No need."

Lu Zhao felt relieved that his brother was still willing to talk, which meant his condition wasn’t too bad.

In the past, even if Lu Zhao spoke ten times, Hu Chengyu rarely responded.

Lu Zhao's mind was in chaos, thinking about this and that.

"Take a photo for me."

Just as he was about to start the car, Lu Zhao said, "Ah?"

Hu Chengyu: "Take a picture of the injury on my back."

Lu Zhao understood, took Hu Chengyu's phone, and casually asked, "Bro, what's the point of this photo?"

Online consultation?

"To send to Shen Yan."

Lu Zhao: "Oh, to send to Yan Yan."

He didn’t bother with any special angles and simply took a candid photo of Hu Chengyu’s back.

Hu Chengyu's muscles could already be faintly seen through his clothes, and now with his bare back exposed, the muscle lines were even more defined.

Subtle yet clearly visible.

Only after taking the photo did Lu Zhao realize what he was being asked to do, and he asked in surprise, "Send it to Yan Yan?"

His brother rarely contacted Shen Yan after arguments with Uncle Hu, right?

And this time, things escalated to physical violence!

Hu Chengyu put his shirt back on, leaving the collar unbuttoned, which revealed not only his collarbone but also hints of his chest muscles.

"Yes, I want him to know."

Lu Zhao struggled to find his voice. "Why, why do you want Yan Yan to know?"

Hu Chengyu glanced over: "Lu Zhao."

Lu Zhao, having been sternly called by his name, sat up straight and looked at Hu Chengyu.

As if he were a student being called on to recite, feeling nervous.

"I understand why you've been single all this time."

Lu Zhao: "?"

Why the sudden jab?

Hu Chengyu continued: "Of course, it's to make him feel bad."

If he feels bad, it means he cares.

Lu Zhao turned off the car and, uncharacteristically serious, asked: "Bro, do you mean what I think you mean?"

Hu Chengyu was equally serious: "Yes."

Lu Zhao's mood suddenly became complicated, but more than that, he was happy.

If only his brother had figured this out two months ago.

He knew Shen Yan was avoiding Hu Chengyu.

When his brother had his birthday party, Lu Zhao had thought Shen Yan's words were just a kid throwing a fit.

But over this period, he had come to understand that Yan Yan was serious.

He sighed softly, then felt relieved.

Maybe if Yan Yan hadn't been avoiding his brother, Hu Chengyu wouldn't have come to this realization so quickly.

He saw Hu Chengyu directly send the photo, then wait for a reply, staring at his phone.

Lu Zhao didn't know what to say.

"Bro, are you just going to send it directly to Yan Yan like this?"

Hu Chengyu didn't take his eyes off his phone: "What else should I do?"

"Sigh, I didn't think this through just now." Lu Zhao began offering Hu Chengyu advice: "I should have posted it on my feed, with a few words, so Yan Yan could see it.

"If he asked, I could bring it up casually. If you send it directly like this, what if he sees it and ignores it?"

Hu Chengyu: "Are you telling me to trick him?"

Lu Zhao was taken aback. Yeah, that would be a trick.

Hu Chengyu: "These past few days, I've been straightforwardly showing him kindness. Do you know what he asked me?"

Hu Chengyu didn't wait for his answer and continued: "He asked if Shen Lin had offended me."

As soon as Hu Chengyu started, Lu Zhao immediately understood. Yan Yan probably thought you were buttering him up so you could later lay down the law with Xiaolin.

That's how some people in their circle liked to handle things.

The message needed to be sent, but not in a way that made things too messy.

Lu Zhao's eyes flickered, and he realized he had misunderstood Hu Chengyu before.

Lu Zhao agreed, "Brother, you're right. It's better to be straightforward."

However, his expression was still uncertain.

Hu Chengyu glanced at him, "Speak directly."

Lu Zhao no longer hesitated, "What if being too direct makes Yan Yan avoid you even more once she figures it out?"

Hu Chengyu didn't answer immediately, and Lu Zhao thought his brother didn't want to talk about it.

But after a moment, Hu Chengyu said, "Before I win her over, I won't admit it."

Lu Zhao understood. It was like slowly warming up to her, but the water was a bit too hot.

At that moment, neither of them realized that plans often don't keep up with changes.

As Lu Zhao had guessed, Yan Yan didn't reply.

After having dinner with Shu Qianfei, Shen Yan decided to go home with her, as it had been several days since he last visited.

*

But his mind was preoccupied, and he kept zoning out even while talking to Shu Qianfei.

When he got home, he first went to see Aunt Wang. Aunt Wang wasn't seriously hurt, but the shock had left her visibly shaken and thinner.

Aunt Wang smiled and joked, "I look better now that I've lost some weight, right?"

Shen Yan chatted with Aunt Wang for a while, and soon saw Shen Lin returning in a hurry.

In addition to Shen Lin, Shen Shubai, who hadn't been seen in days, also returned.

After the incident at home, Shen Shubai had taken leave to come back once.

He was scolded by Shu Qianfei for abandoning his work to rush back.

Strangely, Shen Shubai didn't mind being scolded; in fact, he seemed happy about it.

When Shu Qianfei mentioned this to Shen Yan, she wasn't trying to put in a good word for Shen Shubai in front of him.

She just felt unaccustomed.

Shen Shubai, to put it kindly, had the pride of a scholar. To put it bluntly, he cared more about saving face than anything else.

Whenever he argued with Shu Qianfei, his face would turn red, and he couldn't win against her sharp tongue.

Shu Qianfei said, "I just love seeing your dad, angry but unable to argue with me."

Shen Shubai would helplessly retort, "That's a fallacy, it's not right..."

Shen Yan didn't understand the fun his mother found in this.

Nowadays, besides focusing on the company, Shu Qianfei also paid attention to their two sons.

Despite their differences, there was a mutual respect between her and Shen Shubai.

Rarely sitting together as a family, Shen Lin tried to ignore the strange atmosphere between his parents.

Shen Lin whispered to Shen Yan, "Do you think there's something wrong with Dad?"

Shen Yan gave Shen Lin a sideways glance.

Shen Lin continued, "In the past ten minutes, he's been looking at Mom like, seven or eight times."

Shen Yan said, "Stay out of it."

Shen Lin pouted, "I don't want to deal with it."

Right then, Shen Yan's phone received a message. Without thinking twice, he opened the message from Hu Chengyu.

He didn’t even try to hide it from Shen Lin, who was right next to him.

They both froze when they saw the photo of a bare back on the screen.

They could clearly see the red, swollen marks on the back.

Shen Lin dropped the apple he was holding and stammered, "Bro, I didn’t know you were into this kind of thing...?"

Shu Qianfei, who was watching TV, turned and asked, "What kind of thing?"