Chapter 69

Chapter 69

After hanging up, Shen Yan checked the venue for Hu Chengyu's competition.

Competitions like this were rare, and he had heard from Xie Shiyu that besides the competition, there was also a large-scale exhibition.

After entering the time and relevant keywords, a series of results popped up.

Sure enough, it was in a tech museum.

His villa was located in the southern part of Zhu City, while the tech museum happened to be in the northern part.

The distance between the south and north wasn't short, and tomorrow was the competition day.

Shen Yan breathed a sigh of relief, as Hu Chengyu wouldn't have time to come and find him.

After a good night's sleep, Shen Yan had breakfast with his younger brother and Madam She.

While they were talking, Assistant Xu led a young man into the room.

Shen Yan found him familiar and soon recognized him as Fang Jin, a man he had met once in his previous life.

However, in this life, he hadn't become Madam She's disciple, so he couldn't call him Brother Fang.

After Madam She introduced the three of them, she left with Assistant Xu.

Shen Lin was very curious about Fang Jin, "Brother Jin, why didn't you follow your family's tradition of learning Chinese medicine and instead learned to make gold jewelry?"

Shen Yan immediately frowned and tapped him on the forehead, "What nonsense are you talking about? Have you ever studied jewelry design?"

Shen Lin didn't get angry when he was tapped but instead put his arm around Shen Yan's shoulder, "Bro, our family is in business. Mom made me study a lot of documents with Suri."

"The one who really strayed from the path is you."

Fang Jin watched the exchange between the brothers and said with a smile, "I was in poor health when I was young. Being surrounded by herbs all day drove me crazy, and I couldn't calm down to learn medicine."

Shen Lin, looking at Fang Jin's height of over 1.8 meters, brightened up and asked about his childhood health.

Fang Jin said, "I used to drink herbal teas like water and take pills like they were food."

Although a bit exaggerated, it was true that he took medicine daily.

"If only I'd met Brother Jin sooner, and Mom had sent me to take medicine with you, maybe I'd be as tall as you now."

As Shen Lin finished speaking, Shen Yan stepped on his foot, causing him to hiss in pain.

Shen Yan didn't know that Fang Jin, like himself, had been weak since birth.

Perhaps because of their similar experiences and Fang Jin's gentle personality, the three of them had a great time together.

*

On the second floor of the Tianhong Technology Museum in Zhu City, the floor was divided into five competition areas. The first round of the competition was about robot intelligent recognition.

This was quite simple for Hu Chengyu. The robot he made, originally named Xiao Yan and now renamed Xiao Ming, could already perform simple tasks like cleaning up garbage.

It took Shen Yan a long time to come up with the name, which was easy to remember and highlighted its intelligence.

The track was an irregular loop, with the first challenge being obstacle recognition, the second being uphill and downhill...

The final challenge was kicking a small ball into a goal.

Each step wasn't too challenging; it was just a friendly match.

The winner was determined by the fastest time.

If Xiaoming were to participate, it would be like a college student taking a middle school exam.

But Xiaoming was built using top-tier materials and programming, developed by Hu Chengyu with the help of some top professors in the field, at no small cost.

Back at the competition site, after measuring the track and modifying the provided prototypes, the first round started in the afternoon.

Even though Lu Zhao usually liked to joke around, he took things seriously when it mattered, his eyes glued to the robot on the track.

Even though it was just a friendly match.

The first obstacle was pretty straightforward, but many robots still struggled with it.

The second challenge, which involved navigating uphill and downhill, was significantly harder.

Hu Chengyu's team wasn't the fastest, but they were rock solid. The other man in the group glanced at the other tracks and nervously muttered, "Faster..."

However, just as he finished speaking, the robot on track 3, which had reached the top of the slope, fell down, its limbs still moving mechanically.

The only girl in the group chimed in, "That was quick—like a cliff dive!"

The teacher shot them a stern look, and they quickly quieted down, looking sheepish.

Before the uphill, Hu Chengyu's team was in third, but they surged to first after the downhill.

After the mishap on track 3, the tension in the competition ramped up.

Watching the robot kick the small ball into the basket, Lu Zhao finally relaxed. Hu Chengyu and Xie Shiyu also visibly relaxed.

On the first day of the competition, they easily secured first place.

Lu Zhao pumped his fist and whispered, "Yes!"

After that, his eyes darted around, scanning the competition venue.

The coach, still grinning, noticed and asked, "Lu Zhao, what are you looking for?"

Lu Zhao: "Nothing much, I'm looking for someone. I have two friends also in Zhu City; I thought they'd come to the venue."

"Are you talking about Shen Yan and his brother?"

Having been found out, Lu Zhao readily admitted, "Yes."

Hu Chengyu's expression turned colder.

The smile that Xie Shiyu often wore also faded slightly.

The girl in the team said, "Shen Yan and the others went to the Dinosaur Park."

As soon as she finished speaking, she realized that both Hu Chengyu and Xie Shiyu were looking at her.

Being stared at by two handsome guys, the girl became nervous.

Lu Zhao: "How do you know?"

"Before the competition, I took a look at my social media feed." The girl raised her hand and promised, "I just did it to relieve some stress, not because I wasn’t focused on the competition."

The teacher, sensing the tension, quickly changed the subject: "Tomorrow afternoon is the competition. If you'd rather skip the exhibition today, you can check out Dinosaur Park instead. It’s supposed to be a must-see spot in Zhu City."

Lu Zhao chimed in, "Yes, yes!"

The girl grabbed another boy in the team and said, "Teacher, we want to visit the exhibition."

The two accompanying teachers were also involved in related fields, but in the end, only Hu Chengyu, Lu Zhao, and Xie Shiyu decided to visit the exhibition the next day.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Lu Zhao looked at Xie Shiyu, who had already gotten into the taxi, and said with some confusion, "Xie Shiyu just said something about going to Tianya Cave? What’s that place? Is Tianya Cave closer to Dinosaur Park?"

Lu Zhao had borrowed the car from a friend after arriving here yesterday, originally planning to visit Shen Yan, but Shen Yan lived too far away.

Hu Chengyu said, "Xie Shiyu is from Zhu City."

Lu Zhao had already started the car, "Huh?" Why’d you bring that up?"

A few seconds later, Lu Zhao reacted and looked at Hu Chengyu in surprise, "Bro, are you saying Tianya Cave is where Xie Shiyu’s from?"

"I thought he’d go see Yan Yan. But isn’t he an orphan? Does he have family here?"

Hu Chengyu ignored him and closed his eyes to rest.

Dinosaur Park wasn’t too far from the science museum, about a fifty-minute drive.

On the way, seeing that his brother was sleeping, Lu Zhao decided not to call Shen Yan.

However, after entering the park and looking at the map, Lu Zhao thought, This Dinosaur Park is huge!

He quickly pulled out his phone and called Yan Yan, otherwise they might not bump into each other even if they stayed in the park all day.

Lu Zhao looked at his phone, frowning.

Hu Chengyu: "What is it?"

"Yan Yan's phone is off."

Hu Chengyu, looking at the crowd in the park, was silent for a moment: "What about Shen Lin?"

"Shen Lin as well!" Lu Zhao quickly dialed Shen Lin's number, everything seemed fine.

Except, no one picked up.

Lu Zhao: "What’s going on with them? I can't reach either of them."

Hu Chengyu looked at the map and located the visitor center.

About ten minutes later, a missing person announcement came over the park’s intercom: "Yan Yan, Yan Yan, your brother is waiting for you at the visitor center!"

Repeating…

Yan Yan, who was riding the bumper cars, paused mid-game when he heard it. Brother?

I don’t have a brother!

Shen Lin also glanced at Yan Yan, equally confused.

But in the next second, as if the announcement had somehow read his mind, it announced the last few digits of the phone number.

Fang Jin noticed the brothers had stopped and looked puzzled. "Yan Yan, is someone looking for you?"

Shen Yan nodded. "Probably."

Shen Lin pouted. "I bet it's Hu Chengyu and his crew."

Shen Yan, feeling embarrassed by the announcement, wanted to resolve it quickly.

"I'll go check."

Fang Jin said, "I'll come with you."

Shen Lin replied, "I'll wait here for you guys."

Lu Zhao bought two cups of juice and handed one to Hu Chengyu. "Bro, I think you should have used the 'boyfriend' card. Why just 'brother'?"

Hu Chengyu chuckled. "Do you think he'd book a flight back to Jing City the moment he hears that?"

Lu Zhao thought about it and found his brother's words made sense.

The two stood on the second floor, scanning the crowd below, eager to spot Shen Yan.

Sure enough, about seven or eight minutes later, Lu Zhao pointed and said, "Bro, isn't that Yan Yan?"

Hu Chengyu looked in the direction Lu Zhao was pointing, and his usually stern expression softened slightly.

As Shen Yan approached, Lu Zhao noticed, "Where's Xiaolin?"

A little boy, about waist-high, barreled into Shen Yan, causing him to stumble. Hu Chengyu frowned.

Just as Shen Yan stumbled, a tall man caught him by the waist, pulling him into his arms. He also steadied the little boy who had bumped into Shen Yan.

Lu Zhao instinctively glanced at Hu Chengyu, expecting to see him frowning.

Instead, he saw his brother looking surprisingly calm.

The boy's parents apologized to Shen Yan and left with the child.

The tall man let go of Shen Yan, and after saying something to him, Shen Yan smiled at the man.

This time, without needing to look back at his brother, Lu Zhao could feel the coldness emanating from him.

After finishing his conversation with Fang Jin, Shen Yan looked up, sensing something, and locked eyes with Hu Chengyu, whose gaze was filled with coldness.

Shen Yan's smile faltered, and then he realized Hu Chengyu was actually staring at Fang Jin.

Why was Hu Chengyu looking at Fang Jin with such hostility?

Lu Zhao was already waving at Shen Yan. Fang Jin asked Shen Yan, "Yan Yan, is that person waving at you?"

Shen Yan nodded. "Let's go up."

If it weren't for Hu Chengyu holding him back, Lu Zhao would have run to the staircase to wait for Shen Yan.

Lu Zhao shot a cautious glance at Hu Chengyu, who was clearly seething.

Lu Zhao was feeling restless, wondering who the man next to Yan Yan was.

Could this be the person Yan Yan came all the way to Zhu City to meet?

What kind of relationship was this that made Yan Yan come in person?

Lu Zhao was puzzled as Shen Yan and the other person arrived at the second floor and walked toward them.

"Brother Lu Zhao," Shen Yan called out, then looked at Hu Chengyu. His lips parted, but he hesitated to speak.

Hu Chengyu's stern expression made Shen Yan hesitate.

The tension in the room was palpable. Lu Zhao gently guided Shen Yan to sit next to Hu Chengyu, then took a seat himself. "Yan Yan, this is?"

Shen Yan felt uneasy, almost uncomfortable, sitting so close to Hu Chengyu. He started to rise, but his body froze mid-movement.

Lu Zhao, still holding Shen Yan's shoulder, noticed the stiffness and asked, "What's wrong?"

Shen Yan's face flushed, and his eyes betrayed a hint of panic. "It's nothing. This is Fang Jin, Madam She's disciple."

Under the table, Shen Yan struggled to free his hand from Hu Chengyu's tight grip.