Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The Yu family left in disgrace.

He Lansi, having witnessed the ridiculous scene, was about to tease when Yu Jingmo said, "Couple's time. No interruptions."

"..."

Tian Ruan cringed, feigning composure. "Mr. He, you should go home for lunch."

He Lansi shrugged. "I have business to discuss with Mr. Yu. Kid, beat it."

Tian Ruan: "...I'm not a kid."

He Lansi: "Then go whisper in his ear for me to see."

Yu Jingmo interjected, "That's between me and my husband. None of your business."

"Fine. Then let's talk about—"

Yu Jingmo cut him off. "Go back and tell your family’s patriarch that if they don’t secure financing within six months, the cash flow will dry up. By then, even if I wanted to step in, it’d be too late. Better to side with one predator than a whole pack. You should understand this logic."

He Lansi nodded. "That’s exactly why I came to discuss—"

"The original offer still stands."

"..."

He Lansi barked a laugh. "Yu Jingmo, you’re the biggest wolf of them all."

Yu Jingmo deadpanned, "I'll take that as a compliment."

He Lansi waved goodbye, throwing Tian Ruan a wink before leaving. "See you~"

Tian Ruan cringed and turned away, ignoring him.

It was already lunchtime.

Nanny Liu said, "I figured more folks would stay to eat, so I made extra..."

Tian Ruan got an idea. "How about we send these to Yu Shang? He should be done with class in half an hour."

Nanny Liu was shocked. "We can't give the young master leftovers!"

"These dishes haven’t been touched."

Nanny Liu didn't mention that uneaten good dishes usually ended up with the servants.

Tian Ruan asked Yu Jingmo, "Is that okay?"

Yu Jingmo dabbed his mouth with a napkin and deadpanned, "Done with the whispering?"

Tian Ruan: "..."

Nanny Liu watched the couple, barely holding back laughter. "Madam can take care of that tonight."

Seeing Tian Ruan’s ears turn pink, Yu Jingmo finally gave in, he added, "I’ll take you."

So Tian Ruan boxed up some dishes, along with rice and pumpkin soup, in two big containers.

Yu Jingmo looked at the lunchbox the size of a washbasin, "...Yu Shang probably can't eat this much."

Tian Ruan: "He can share it with... his classmates." He nearly slipped and said Zhu Jueshou's name.

The driver headed to the city's only prep school, Deyin High School.

In Tian Ruan's imagination, no matter how wealthy a prep school was, it couldn't be too different from a regular high school. But when they arrived at the school gate, he was stunned—a long row of luxury cars stretched before him.

Rolls-Royce, Maserati, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bugatti, Pagani... not a single one worth less than a million.

The prep school in the original novel was described in detail, but Tian Ruan had never been able to picture it. Now, seeing it with his own eyes, the dazzlingly opulent facade alone blew him away—you could practically smell the money.

Tian Ruan's eyes were burned. This wasn't a school at all, but a castle for princes and princesses.

Even the security guards were dressed like storybook knights, with metal badges of the elite academy pinned to their shoulders. One strode over proudly yet humbly and said, "Mr. Yu, Mrs. Yu, please head to the principal's reception room."

Clearly, Yu Jingmo's secretary had already called ahead.

Tian Ruan had thought they could just call Yu Shang out, give him his lunch, and be done with it. He hadn't expected to have to socialize... Fortunately, he wasn't shy, and people like principals weren't unfamiliar to him in real life.

Back in high school, as one of the top three students in his grade, Tian Ruan had often received praise from the principal.

The prep school was so large it could probably merge four or five ordinary high schools. On the huge manicured lawn stood three fountains, the central one being the largest, with water jets soaring up to ten meters high, fanning out like an umbrella. Atop it stood a statue of Lord Wenchang.

Lord Wenchang is a popular deity overseeing scholarly honors and official ranks, enshrined within the campus where countless students come to pray daily. This statue is arguably the biggest attraction of Deyin High School.

Even Tian Ruan wanted to bow when he saw it...

Just like in the novel, the principal of Deyin High School was a slender middle-aged woman with frameless glasses, surnamed Li—everyone called her Principal Li. There was also a vice principal who also served as the financial director, a man with a goatee known as Director Hu.

Both principals were waiting in the reception room. When Yu Jingmo entered, they greeted him warmly, giving Tian Ruan curious looks.

"This must be your esteemed wife?" Principal Li said with a smile.

Yu Jingmo: "Yes, my wife came to bring our son some food."

"Truly virtuous, gentle, and upright in character."

Tian Ruan: "..." Was it because they were in a school that everyone suddenly started speaking so formally?

Yu Jingmo was indeed skilled at knowing how to talk to anyone—speaking human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts. It was a basic skill for businessmen. "Principal Li, with your years of experience in teaching and nurturing students, you've got a sharp eye."

This was an indirect compliment to Tian Ruan, but unfortunately, Tian Ruan's mind didn't make the connection and he missed it.

Principal Li continued praising to Yu Jingmo, "Yu Shang is a naturally gifted child, ranking first in his grade every time and serving as student council president. He’s definitely Ivy League-bound."

Yu Jingmo: "I plan to send him to an Ivy League business school for a few years of advanced study. Once he returns, he can run the family business."

"Naturally."

The two then chatted for a while about some recent policies implemented at the school. Tian Ruan occasionally threw in a comment, sipping his tea idly.

One entire wall of the spacious reception room was lined with bookshelves filled with English books. Tian Ruan skimmed through them and noticed most were duplicates of the books in the Yu family's collection.

Director Hu finally spoke up, saying, "These books were all donated by Mr. Yu. If you're interested, Mrs. Yu, you're welcome to come and read them anytime."

Tian Ruan's interest was piqued. "Anytime?"

"Deyin High School has shares from Mr. Yu. Naturally, it’s always open to you, Mrs. Yu."

"Oh, thank you." Tian Ruan felt a strange sense of disappointment creep over him.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," said Principal Li.

The door opened, revealing someone dressed in an immaculate white uniform, silver buttons neatly fastened, with only a wisp of fog-blue at the collar. The boys of Deyin High wore matching white trousers, while the girls paired theirs with indigo short skirts. As long as their heights were roughly similar, it looked like a sea of long legs.

Yu Shang stood out even among this battalion of long legs, covering the distance to the seating area in three steps. "Dad, Principal, is there something you need?"

Yu Jingmo gestured to the lunchbox on the coffee table. "Your other dad thought you might starve, so he specially brought you food."

Yu Shang: "..."

Tian Ruan scratched his head awkwardly. "Aunt Liu cooked too much, and we couldn’t finish it, so we brought you some."

Yu Shang lowered his gaze. "Some?"

"I mean, you could share it with those in need."

Yu Shang’s expression flickered. "Those in need?"

Tian Ruan, wary of giving away too much and raising suspicion, added, "Or stray cats."

Yu Shang cradled the two heavy lunchboxes. "Alright, I’ll head to the dining commons then."

Listen to that—even the cafeteria in a noble school wasn’t called a cafeteria, but a "dining commons."

Tian Ruan remembered the novel mentioning that Deyin High’s Chinese restaurant was famous for its squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, an expensive dish. The story's protagonist, Zhu Jueshou, loved fish but could only afford to eat it once a month after scrimping and saving.

"...Let’s go take a look at the dining commons," Tian Ruan suggested, hoping to get a look at Zhu Jueshou.

Yu Jingmo didn’t refuse.

Principal Li personally led the way to the dining commons, inviting them to join for a simple meal.

Yu Jingmo politely declined. "We’ve already eaten. We'll just be observing."

Director Hu chuckled nervously. "Mr. Yu, hearing you say that makes me a little tense."

"Deyin’s dining commons is run to four-star hotel standards. What’s there to be nervous about?"

"Of course, of course." Director Hu wiped sweat from his brow. "Given your exalted status, Mr. Yu, please don’t laugh if you see fried rice or the like. It was added after the student council requested it."

Yu Jingmo glanced at Yu Shang, who had fallen a step behind, and smirked. "Food is the people’s primary need. If they enjoy it, what’s there to laugh at?"

Director Hu: "Absolutely, absolutely, haha."

Yu Shang remained expressionless, holding the lunchboxes like an ascetic monk with his alms bowl.

Tian Ruan thought to himself, *It’s all because Zhu Jueshou loves fried rice... If he can’t afford fish, of course the protagonist would find a way to add fried rice to the menu, quietly showing his care.*

He gave Yu Shang a thoughtful look. *Truly, appearances can be deceiving.*

A blue vein pulsed at Yu Shang’s forehead as he averted his gaze. He didn’t have to ask to know the strange ideas brewing in his other dad’s mind.

CRASH!!—Shards of glass exploded in the distance, accompanied by students’ shrieks of alarm.

The group stiffened at the sudden noise. Principal Li gaped in shock at the grand dining commons. "Wh-what in the world?"

In the next moment, a panicked crowd came pouring out from the first-floor dining hall, yelling in terror, "The gas exploded!!"

"..."

Before the others could process what was happening, Yu Shang thrust the lunch boxes into Tian Ruan's hands and bolted toward the dining hall.

"Yu Shang!" Yu Jingmo failed to stop him and had no choice but to hurry toward the explosion site.

Tian Ruan: "!!!"

In the original novel, De Yin High School did experience a gas explosion once.

This explosion didn’t result in any fatalities, but a group of privileged boys and girls, seeing flames leaping through the air and singeing their skirts and hair, along with shattered glass flying everywhere, were utterly terrified by the scene.

As for why such an incident was written, of course, it was to advance the romantic development between the main romantic pair.

At that critical moment, while everyone else was fleeing the dining hall, Yu Shang was the only one rushing in. He lifted the injured Zhu Jueshou from the field of shattered glass and carried him out, braving the risk of a secondary explosion.

When Tian Ruan read this part, he hadn’t felt particularly emotional, knowing the "protagonist immortality rule." But now, witnessing the explosion firsthand, panic gripped his chest.

More importantly, the original text never involved Yu Jingmo.

Tian Ruan had been the one to suggest visiting the dining hall, which brought Yu Jingmo here. Neither of them were protagonists, so they weren’t protected by plot armor. If Yu Jingmo went in now and encountered a secondary explosion—

"Yu Jingmo!" Tian Ruan shouted.

Yu Jingmo froze in his tracks and turned back. "Don’t follow me."

Tian Ruan, still holding onto the lunch containers, ran over and grabbed him. "Don’t go."

"Yu Shang is inside."

"He'll be okay."

"How do you know?"

"I know it." Tian Ruan couldn’t hide his anxiety as Yu Jingmo tried to push his hand away. "He’ll come out soon."

"That’s my son. I can’t just stand by." Yu Jingmo’s brows furrowed deeply, his gaze icy.

Gritting his teeth, Tian Ruan suddenly threw his arms around Yu Jingmo from behind. "I won't let you go!"

Yu Jingmo: "...Let go."

Tian Ruan’s thoughts were racing, and the words tumbled out: "If you die, I’ll be widowed. I don’t want to be widowed!"

"..."