Chapter 19: Leaving

Chapter 19 Leaving

In the darkness, Shen Ci silently clenched his fist.

He clenched so hard his nails nearly pierced his skin, leaving crescent-shaped indents on his palm, but he didn’t notice.

Xie Yu lay beside him, warmth radiating through the blanket. A slight shift would land him in Xie Yu’s arms.

The sleeping Young Master Xie was easy to manipulate—easy to hold or let go on command—but Shen Ci simply gazed at him quietly, his dark, tea-colored eyes lowered, emotions veiled behind his gaze.

The hotel's air conditioning made the bedroom as warm as a charcoal stove. The blanket was filled with premium down from white geese in the Siberian tundra, incredibly fluffy and warm.

But Shen Ci still felt a chill.

*

The next morning, when Xie Yu woke up, Shen Ci had already left.

Spitting out toothpaste, he mumbled to the system, "Why didn’t he wait for breakfast?"

Shen Ci had initially left directly, then waited for him to eat breakfast for a while, and now he was leaving again.

The system powered down after the plot ended, even more clueless than Xie Yu: "What’s going on? I don’t know."

Xie Yu waved his hand. "Whatever, no big deal."

He went about his usual routine, dining out, strolling around, living the life of a spoiled rich kid. The system also remained silent for a long time, only reappearing by Xie Yu’s side over two weeks later.

"Two updates, which one do you want to hear first?"

Xie Yu: "Doesn’t matter."

System: "Over the past half month, Shen Ci has visited Lin Yin in the hospital again."

Xie Yu hummed in acknowledgment. In the original story, Shen Ci was no ordinary person, always seizing opportunities. He wasn’t surprised.

"What else?"

"Also, Xie Yuanshan has found out about your investments. He had a major meltdown in the company's meeting room in Los Angeles, booked a flight back, and is rushing here."

Xie Yu casually opened a shopping website, tried to pay with his credit card, but the screen showed payment failed.

His card was frozen.

Xie Yu wasn’t worried at all. Xu Qingshan had helped him set up an overseas account with a few million in cash, enough to live large for years.

Sure enough, that evening, his phone blared. He pressed to answer, and Xie Yuanshan’s voice came through, laden with fury, almost biting: "Xie Yu, get your ass home now."

Xie Yu hummed in agreement, saying yes in a perfunctory manner.

At that moment, he was eating wontons at a stall. After hanging up, he leisurely finished his wontons, even sipped some soup, then got into his car and drove home.

Xie Yuanshan was so angry that he wanted to hit him the moment he saw him. But Xie Yu was no longer a weak child. Standing over six feet tall, he towered over Xie Yuanshan by a head. To slap him, Xie Yuanshan would have to stand on tiptoe.

Xie Yuanshan sized him up. Xie Yu stood in the shadow of the wall corner, his dark, tea-colored eyes hidden in the darkness, cold and indifferent, as if he wouldn’t hesitate to strike back if Xie Yuanshan dared to hit him.

"..."

Xie Yuanshan withdrew his gaze, abandoning the idea of hitting him, and spoke stiffly, "Hanging out with those good-for-nothing friends all day, what have you become? Pack your bags and get the hell out to C City."

Xie Yu, hands in his pockets, completely unfazed by the punishment, asked, "When’s the flight?"

Xie Yuanshan was completely fed up with Xie Yu and wished he could ship him off abroad immediately. The secretary checked the system and booked him a flight for the next afternoon.

Xie Yu was well-prepared and accepted it calmly. That night, he packed all his belongings and, staying in character, called He Zhiyuan and Zhou Yang one by one, lamenting his plight and inviting them to a farewell get-together the next morning.

Of course, Xie Yu couldn’t cry. He pinched his nose and forced out a couple of sobs: "Guys, I won’t be able to see you for a while."

The system watched, cringing in discomfort. It was kind of gross.

After the Lin Yin incident, He Zhiyuan, feeling ashamed, had retreated to his family’s ancestral home in the capital and hadn’t returned to Jiangcheng for a long time. Now, his family was keeping him on a tight leash, so he couldn’t make it tomorrow.

Zhou Yang, however, agreed without hesitation. After a quick chat, they decided on their usual riverside bar.

In the original story, Shen Ci was hospitalized at this point. No matter how much Young Master Xie loved to party, he wasn’t about to risk a disaster, so Shen Ci was left out of tomorrow’s gathering, making it just Xie Yu and Zhou Yang.

Xie Yu disliked He Zhiyuan and was neutral about Zhou Yang—not particularly fond, but not bothered either. After a few cocktails at the bar, they took a walk along the river.

Zhou Yang asked, "You’re really leaving for five years without coming back?"

Xie Yu smiled, "Yeah, really going."

Zhou Yang took a drag, blowing smoke rings toward the river: "Your dad’s a real piece of work... By the way, I heard he froze your card. Need some cash? I can spot you."

Xie Yu shook his head, "Nah, I’m good on money, but there’s something I need you to do for me."

Zhou Yang raised an eyebrow, "We’ve been friends for what, ten years? Just spit it out."

Xie Yu said, "Keep an eye on He Zhiyuan and make sure he doesn’t get near Shen Ci."

Zhou Yang’s cigarette hand froze.

In the original story, He Zhiyuan had his way with Shen Ci. He was the type to lose interest fast—once he got what he wanted, he moved on and left Shen Ci alone. But this time, Xie Yu was on guard and didn’t let him anywhere near. He Zhiyuan was itching to make a move, and who knows what he’d pull.

Zhou Yang was stunned, "First time I’ve seen you so worked up... Fine, I’ve got your back. He Zhiyuan won’t touch him while you’re gone."

"Thanks."

"Don’t mention it." Zhou Yang teased, "But Young Master Xie, if you’re that into him, why not leave him some cash?"

"I did."

Given the original character’s personality, leaving money for Shen Ci wasn’t an option. So Xie Yu reached out to Xu Qingshan and had him earmark some of the mental hospital donations as a safety net. If Shen Ci’s grandmother ever needed emergency cash, it could be pulled from there. If Shen Ci ever asked, it’d be chalked up to a charity donation that just happened to go to his family.

Shen Ci didn’t know Xu Qingshan had any connection with him and wouldn’t associate it with Xie Yu.

The two chatted about this and that before parting ways.

Xie Yu picked up his luggage from the hotel—two large suitcases. He checked each important item one by one. The small kraft paper bag he had found earlier was carefully stored in the suitcase's inner compartment, padded with a layer of lining paper.

The system curiously observed, "What is this exactly?"

Xie Yu pushed it aside, locked the suitcase, and carried it downstairs.

He got into the secretary’s car and headed to the airport. After passing through security and sitting at the gate, he pulled up the system screen and opened the novel page.

Before going abroad, Xie Yu had one last piece of the plot to complete.

He took a deep breath and dialed the number.

The phone’s default ringtone went off, and after three seconds, the call connected. Shen Ci’s voice came through, low and quiet: "Xie Yu?"

He sounded like he was in the lab, speaking softly, with the background noise of glass test tubes clinking and the sound of a pen scratching on rough paper... The sounds were soothing, like ASMR white noise.

Xie Yu held the phone, seemingly lost in thought, and didn’t speak for a long time.

Shen Ci called again. He must have stepped out, as the rustle of fabric as he folded his lab coat came through the receiver, followed by the swipe of a card, footsteps, and finally, the chirping of birds.

The long silence made Shen Ci a bit uneasy. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "...What's wrong? Do you want me to come to the hotel?"

"No need," Xie Yu heard his own calm voice say. "You don’t need to see me anymore."

"..."

There was a long silence.

The line was quiet, except for the bustling background noise of the campus.

After a while, Shen Ci finally asked softly, "What do you mean?"

Xie Yu: "I’m leaving the country this afternoon and won’t be back for five years. The deal’s off."

After a pause, he laughed again, adopting the tone of a carefree playboy: "Congrats, Teaching Assistant Shen, you’re free."

These were his exact words. Before leaving, Young Master Xie couldn’t resist mocking the poor canary, his tone should have been cold and twisted, but Xie Yu was serious.

He genuinely meant it—Shen Ci was finally free.

"..."

Another silence stretched on.

After a while, Shen Ci spoke again. His voice came through, clear but slightly muffled: "What time’s your flight? Want me to see you off?"

"No need, I’m already at security."

This wasn’t part of the original script, but Xie Yu thought for a moment and added, "Goodbye."

Xie Yu hung up the phone.

Next time they met, it’d be in a mental hospital.

The phone screen went dark, reflecting Xie Yu's face. The young man’s brow and nose had a striking, elegant curve, his eyes hidden in the shadows, dark and subtle.

"Attention passengers for City C, your flight JC5846 is now boarding, please proceed to..."

The announcement came on. Xie Yu looked up, pocketed his phone, picked up his ticket, and boarded the plane.

The flight was twenty hours long. Xie Yu leaned against the window, the screen showing they flew over Japan, passed through the Aleutians and Alaska, and crossed the Pacific Ocean. Looking down from the window, the deep blue sea stretched endlessly, meeting the sky.

The system nudged him quietly: "Aren’t you happy, Su Zhu? We can travel the world now!"

It was a new system, inexperienced, and immediately pulled up hundreds of travel guides online, spreading them out in front of Xie Yu, excitedly saying, "Look at this, a seven-day, six-night trip to Iceland, including the Blue Ice Cave and the Blue Lagoon. And this, a first-time experience at a Las Vegas casino, with beautiful dealers in uniforms..."

Xie Yu lazily pushed it aside: "We're on a plane. Can you connect to the internet now?"

The system: "...Huh?"

Xie Yu: "Shut it down."

The system: "."

It tried to explain its high-tech internet wouldn’t interfere with the plane, but Xie Yu had already spread a magazine over his face, refusing to engage further.