Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Shen Yan hoisted Xie Shiyu's body a bit higher; the drunk Xie Shiyu was quite heavy.

Xie Shiyu's head rested in the crook of Shen Yan's neck, his breath warm against his skin.

Under the dim streetlight, Shen Yan examined Xie Shiyu's features carefully. His lashes were long, his nose tall and straight.

His lips were a bit thin, and like Hu Chengyu, he had a pronounced cupid’s bow.

Shen Yan half-carried Xie Shiyu to a public bench and sat down. Could it be that they would really have to spend the night on the streets?

Even this short distance left Shen Yan breathless, his chest heaving.

Even though it was already November, the night in Zhu City wasn't cold.

There was a faint fragrance in the air; he couldn't tell what kind of flower it was.

Spending the night outside wouldn’t be a big deal for him, but Xie Shiyu had a match tomorrow. Would it affect him?

While the match wasn’t directly his concern, it was a team event, and canceling it because of Xie Shiyu would be unfair to everyone else.

Shen Yan's mind wandered, but when he noticed the bruise on Xie Shiyu's lip, he sighed.

He wondered who had beaten him?

If Coach found out, would Xie Shiyu face punishment?

Over the time they’d spent together, Shen Yan had grown to like Xie Shiyu and didn’t want him to get in trouble.

While Shen Yan idly fiddled with his fingers, Xie Shiyu, who was leaning on his shoulder, opened his eyes a crack.

He had considered taking advantage of his drunkenness to make a move on Shen Yan, but the feeling of being taken care of by Shen Yan was too comfortable.

He just wanted to rest quietly against Shen Yan, not doing anything at all.

Shen Yan had a faint milky scent, like the bath gel prepared by hotels for children.

If anyone else used it, it would probably seem strange, but on Shen Yan, it felt soft and fragrant.

In ten minutes, he’d be sober enough.

Shen Yan hadn’t given up on hailing a cab and still waved at passing empty cars, but without success.

Just as he was feeling discouraged, five or six unsteady men and women passed by them.

Shen Yan didn’t pay much attention, but two of them turned back and stood in front of him.

Shen Yan instantly went on high alert and discreetly prepared to use the emergency alarm.

"Hey, isn’t this Xie Shiyu?" one of the shorter, stocky men asked in a hostile tone.

Xie Shiyu, who had been pretending to sleep, opened his eyes as soon as he heard the voice.

He looked coldly at the two men in front of him.

Shen Yan's full attention was on the two men, and he didn’t notice that Xie Shiyu had 'woken up.'

The two men were taken aback by Xie Shiyu’s cold stare.

He then looked furious.

The four people ahead noticed the commotion and turned back.

These people clearly recognized Xie Shiyu. One of the girls pulled the short and chubby man and said, "Bro Wang, let's go. Haven't you had enough this afternoon?"

Shen Yan was slightly stunned. It sounded like he had been beaten by them earlier.

He looked closely and indeed saw that the short and chubby man and his lackey had injuries on their faces.

The other two men didn’t look much better, and they were clearly scared.

If the short and chubby man had been sober, he would have just thrown out a couple of harsh words and left.

After all, Xie Shiyu fought like a madman, as if he didn’t care about his life.

While his face looked fine, his body was covered in bruises and purple marks.

Xie Shiyu targeted areas that wouldn’t show.

Already buzzed from drinking, the short and chubby man was still fuming over losing to Xie Shiyu earlier that afternoon.

He boasted that next time he saw Xie Shiyu, he would teach him a lesson.

He hadn’t expected to run into him again so soon, just hours after noon.

Especially since Xie Shiyu was also drunk, the short and chubby man felt more confident.

The short and chubby man brushed off the girl in the short skirt, who had been trying to calm him down. "Why should we leave? Haven't you forgotten about this kid? Can't you see he's found a celestial beauty?"

Shen Yan, tense, was confused: "Dude, what are you even talking about?"

The girl in the short skirt gave Shen Yan a resentful look, as if Shen Yan had stolen the person she liked.

Even Shen Yan, who wasn’t the quickest thinker, realized that these people knew Xie Shiyu.

Xie Shiyu looked like he had just woken up, rubbed his eyes, and winced, as if moving had aggravated his injuries.

At the same time, Shen Yan felt a lightness on his shoulder.

Shen Yan’s eyes brightened. "You're awake?"

Xie Shiyu hummed in response and then looked at the short and chubby man. "Wang Cheng?"

Wang Cheng, also known as the short and chubby man, and his lackey had noticed Xie Shiyu waking up earlier. They now looked as if they had seen a ghost.

Wang Cheng was so angry that his eyebrows almost stood on end as he grabbed Xie Shiyu’s collar.

Shen Yan was about to call the police, but Xie Shiyu seemed to have noticed his action. "Yan Yan, I can handle this."

He looked back at Shen Yan with a pleading expression.

The girl in the short skirt was stunned.

She became even more convinced that this beautiful, gender-neutral person had a relationship with Xie Shiyu.

After reassuring Shen Yan, Xie Shiyu turned back to the short and chubby man with a still-smiling face, but coldness in his eyes.

"Fight me again."

Xie Shiyu didn't give the man much time to react, grabbing the hand that was clutching his collar, twisting it, and turning it before delivering a kick to the man's side.

A sharp cry of pain!

The scream of pain drew the attention of a few passersby.

Xie Shiyu pressed down on his body, putting a foot on his shoulder. "Still want to fight?"

The short, stocky man couldn't figure out what went wrong. In the afternoon, he had been able to put up a fight, so why was he unable to fight back at all against a drunk Xie Shiyu?

The other few people, except for the two girls, had also been beaten by Xie Shiyu before. Now, seeing him again while he was drunk, their legs felt weak.

Wang Cheng was in too much pain to speak. After waiting a long time for an answer, Xie Shiyu finally grabbed his neck.

Shen Yan watched helplessly as the man on the ground, pale from pain, started turning a dark purple.

He couldn't see the growing madness in Xie Shiyu's eyes. Reaching out, he grabbed Xie Shiyu's wrist. "Xie Shiyu, that's enough."

A few seconds later, Xie Shiyu's eyes cleared up again, feeling the warmth of Shen Yan's skin on his wrist.

Xie Shiyu kicked Wang Cheng aside. "Get out of here."

The others quickly helped up the coughing Wang Cheng and hurriedly left.

Only the girl in the short skirt glanced back and saw Xie Shiyu tilting his head, smiling at someone beautiful.

She knew that they were no longer the kids who grew up in the same courtyard.

After everyone left, Shen Yan let out a sigh of relief. Even though Xie Shiyu was still smiling, Shen Yan could tell he was upset.

"You don't have to force a smile if you're not feeling it."

Hearing this, Xie Shiyu's smile stiffened. "It's a habit."

"Everyone likes kids who smile."

After a moment of hesitation, Shen Yan still asked, "Do you know those people?"

He was certain that Xie Shiyu knew them, but directly saying so might kill the conversation. It was better to ask a question to keep things going.

"Yeah."

Shen Yan: ... Xie Shiyu doesn't follow the rules.

Xie Shiyu answered, "I know them." He could have asked, "How do you know them?" but now how should he continue the conversation?

Xie Shiyu: "We've known each other since childhood. We grew up in the same courtyard."

"It's not right to say we grew up together. I moved into an orphanage when I was ten."

Shen Yan patted his shoulder.

Xie Shiyu suddenly grabbed his hand. "Yan Yan, can you come with me to a place?"

Shen Yan instinctively tried to pull his hand away. He didn't like holding hands with others.

But Xie Shiyu's grip was too strong, and Shen Yan couldn't pull away.

He couldn’t say no to Xie Shiyu’s bright, expectant gaze.

Xie Shiyu took Shen Yan’s hand and crossed two streets before stopping at a residential building.

The buildings formed a square around a central courtyard.

It wasn’t the first time Shen Yan had seen this kind of architecture, so he wasn’t particularly curious.

Xie Shiyu explained that it was modeled after northern architecture and was considered a local specialty in this area.

As they went up the stairs, Shen Yan could feel Xie Shiyu’s grip tightening, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his palm.

Xie Shiyu stopped at the fourth floor, standing in front of a door.

Shen Yan guessed this was probably his former home.

Sure enough, the next second, Xie Shiyu took out a key, opened the door, and led him inside. The interior had a very old-fashioned feel.

Xie Shiyu: "This is where my mother... took her own life."

Shen Yan: !

Shen Yan’s skin crawled, and if Xie Shiyu hadn’t let go of him, he would have felt Shen Yan shaking.

Why would he bring this up in the middle of the night?

But Xie Shiyu seemed to have opened a floodgate. "I used to have a pretty good relationship with Wang Cheng. Even though he was a few years older than me, he was decent to me in the courtyard."

Shen Yan, still adjusting to this unfamiliar place, was slow to catch on. After a moment, he realized Xie Shiyu was referring to the short, pudgy man who had been beaten up.

"Then why did you fight?"

Xie Shiyu gestured for Shen Yan to sit down. Though he didn’t come back often, he had asked the old lady across the way, Granny Huang, to help keep the place clean, so it was still relatively tidy. There was also some bottled water left over from the last time he visited during the New Year.

He opened a bottle and handed it to Shen Yan.

Shen Yan nodded thanks.

Xie Shiyu: "Because of my mother and his father."

Shen Yan had just taken a sip of water but choked and started coughing because of Xie Shiyu’s words.

Xie Shiyu had to pause and pat Shen Yan’s back.

After a while, Shen Yan felt like water had gone up his nose, but he finally stopped coughing.

Xie Shiyu chuckled. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost!"

He straightened a small photo frame on the coffee table, and Shen Yan could clearly see the young woman in the picture.

She was very beautiful, with thick long hair and large almond-shaped eyes, yet she had a small, delicate heart-shaped face. If she were alive today, she’d easily be a movie star.

Xie Shiyu looked about 70-80% like the woman in the photo.

Shen Yan thought, so Xie Shiyu takes after his mother.

Xie Shiyu: "This story is actually a long one..."

Growing up hearing how beautiful she was, she naturally became a bit proud and yearned to see the world beyond.

Xie Mama, who had always dreamed of living a glamorous life away from home, returned a few years later looking worn out and tired.

It wasn't long before the neighbors found out that Xie Mama had an illegitimate child, which, back then, was a huge scandal.

Xie Mama cut ties with her family and gave birth to Xie Shiyu.

Xie Shiyu: "My mom was always waiting for him to come back, but he never did."

Shen Yan understood; Xie Mama had met a real jerk.

Shen Yan looked again at the photo of the beautiful Xie Mama and felt a bitter taste in his heart.

Someone as beautiful as her deserved someone who truly loved her.

Xie Shiyu: "Later, my mother raised me alone, but because she was good-looking, even with a son like me, there were still people who were interested in her."

"Fang Cheng's father was one of them."

When Xie Shiyu said this, something seemed to cross his mind, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Uncle Fang was square-jawed but short and chubby."

"As a kid, I got bullied a lot by the other kids in the neighborhood because I didn't have a father."

But I made sure to get payback on anyone who messed with me.

Seeing the sadness in Shen Yan's eyes, he decided not to tell him more.

Shen Yan didn’t realize that from the moment he walked into the bar, ran into Wang Cheng and his crew outside, and came into this old house, everything had been photographed.

"I wonder how Hu Chengyu will react when he sees these photos?"

The person dragged the photos into an email with slender fingers, clicked send, and as the message was successfully sent, a smile tugged at the corners of their lips.