Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Shen Ju pondered—

Well, nothing seemed particularly out of place.

“Shen Ju! We’re heading off now!”

Han Chengfeng and the others waved goodbye to Shen Ju, who waved back. “Bye!”

Soon, only he and Pei Yan remained.

With no need for the advanced track, and the mission energy gauge having smoothly risen another notch, Shen Ju was so pleased he wanted to chat with Pei Yan. But when he looked up, he saw Pei Yan staring at him, utterly expressionless.

Uh…

Shen Ju slowly realized that Pei Yan seemed… angry?

“Were you trying to follow them to the advanced track just now?”

With no one else around, Pei Yan approached Shen Ju, raising a gloved hand to cup his chin. His fingers, long and slender despite the gloves, weren’t bulky. The fabric brushed against Shen Ju’s chin, creating a faint tickle.

In this state, Shen Ju froze again, just like before, as if rooted to the spot. Only his wide, innocent eyes met Pei Yan’s.

This was a kitten’s way of showing trust.

But Pei Yan narrowed his eyes, yearning for a different reaction from Shen Ju.

He was the “Brother” Shen Ju trusted, the one Shen Ju believed he could rely on, the “good person” Shen Ju had always seen him as—but that wasn’t the real Pei Yan.

Had this child not noticed how others kept a cautious distance around him?

Even Pei Haochuan often measured his words and actions when facing him.

Only Shen Ju, when confronted with him, would unreservedly expose his soft underbelly, allowing himself to be kneaded and molded at will.

But all of this was built on Shen Ju’s “misconception.”

By now, it was making Pei Yan increasingly displeased.

He even harbored dark thoughts that perhaps he should thoroughly “frighten” this child, to make Shen Ju instantly realize the kind of person he truly was.

Then…

“Brother Pei, please don’t be angry.”

Shen Ju spoke softly. He thought Brother Pei was indeed a bit intimidating when he didn’t smile, creating a sense of distance. But it was also because he had been overambitious, wanting to go to the advanced track. If nothing happened, fine, but if something truly did, not only would he be in danger, but he would also cause trouble for others. He hadn’t thought things through, so Brother Pei’s anger was justified.

Moreover, it stemmed from genuine concern for him.

Thinking this way, Shen Ju simply wanted to properly appease Brother Pei.

He even mused to 996—

“I made Brother Pei worry…”

“Brother Pei is truly so good.”

Shen Ju even patted the back of Pei Yan’s hand. “I won’t do this again—no, I promise there won’t even be a next time.”

“………………”

Pei Yan truly wanted to pinch Shen Ju’s cheeks hard, to tease him until he cried.

A good child looked even more endearing when crying.

He felt a genuine stir of impulse.

His palm opened, his thumb and forefinger cradling Shen Ju’s chin, applying slight pressure.

Shen Ju seemed to sense it.

A look of confusion flickered in his eyes.

But even so, he showed no intention of pulling away.

“Brother Pei?”

In the end, Pei Yan couldn’t bring himself to actually pinch him.

He couldn’t predict Shen Ju’s reaction once he learned his true nature.

He still needed to monitor Shen Ju’s mission progress; he needed Shen Ju to remain dutifully by his side.

He couldn’t take the risk.

Pei Yan convinced himself of this and withdrew his hand.

“Wait here for me. I’ll go buy you some hip protection gear.”

Shen Ju knew what that was: “Butt pads?”

“………………”

Well, that wasn’t wrong.

Pei Yan chuckled softly. “Yes, butt pads. What kind do you want?”

Shen Ju wanted to say he could go with Brother Pei.

“I forgot to buy them for you when we came. It’s quite a distance now, and walking would be inconvenient. It’ll be faster if I skate over.”

“Oh, alright.”

Shen Ju nodded obediently. “Then I want the little turtle one.”

Pei Yan hummed in acknowledgment, patted Shen Ju’s head, and then turned to leave.

Shen Ju still felt like Brother Pei was unhappy.

Had he failed to cheer him up properly?

Shen Ju watched Pei Yan’s retreating figure, a bit perplexed.

“What’s your relationship with Pei Yan?”

A voice suddenly broke the silence.

Shen Ju turned his head to see it was Zheng Su, whom he’d met briefly before.

Zheng Su’s expression was grim.

Or rather, he’d rarely looked pleased for quite some time.

For some reason, his company’s projects kept encountering problems—a continuous stream of minor and major issues—leaving him swamped and increasingly irritable. No matter what he did, the troubles never seemed to cease, almost as if someone was deliberately targeting him. Yet, Zheng Su couldn’t uncover anything. It was only in the past few days that the situation had finally started to improve, so Zheng Su decided to get away and relax a bit.

It wasn’t that he particularly wanted to visit the Pei family’s newly opened ski resort. Rather, Zheng Su’s family also ran a resort business—though it couldn’t compare to the Pei family’s—they were still competitors. Because of this, he wanted to come and “experience” the place for himself.

However, the more he experienced, the more uncomfortable he felt, and the more he realized the vast disparity between his own family’s business and the Pei family’s.

It was at this moment, as luck would have it, that Zheng Su spotted Pei Yan not too far away, along with that student he’d seen at the Ant Market. He hadn’t forgotten how the child had defended Pei Yan back then.

And now, he was out alone with Pei Yan?

Unbelievable.

So, as soon as Pei Yan left, Zheng Su immediately stepped forward and posed that question.

But his true aim wasn’t to genuinely discover the relationship between this child and Pei Yan. Rather—

“Did you know Pei Yan is mentally disturbed?”

Shen Ju initially had no intention of engaging with Zheng Su, but upon hearing Zheng Su’s next words, his expression instantly changed. His face tightened, and he frowned. “What nonsense are you spouting?!”

“Nonsense?”

Zheng Su chuckled, quite pleased with Shen Ju’s reaction.

He continued, “Why don’t you go ask around about what happened in the Pei family?”

“I don’t want to—”

“A child who watched his own mother slit her wrists, who didn’t cry or make a fuss, and stayed with her corpse in the bathroom for an entire day—how could anyone like that be normal?”

Shen Ju’s voice abruptly ceased, and a look of bewilderment even appeared on his face.

Zheng Su laughed even more gleefully.

He even lowered his voice and said, “Did you hear clearly? I said ‘stood by watching.’ That means Pei Yan could have called for help when his mother was slitting her wrists, but he didn’t.”

“I heard this happened in the Pei family during Chinese New Year.”

“Pei Yan was only five years old at the time. A five-year-old child, watching his own mother die in front of him, then sitting beside her corpse until someone found them—”

“Until what?”

A cold voice came from nearby.

Unnoticed, Pei Yan had returned, holding a green turtle-shaped butt pad.

His expression was blank as he looked at Zheng Su and continued, “Why don’t you keep going?”

Zheng Su’s face twitched. He hadn’t expected Pei Yan to return so quickly.

But he quickly blustered, “These things have long been common knowledge in their social circle, alright? Even if no one brings it up much now, anyone who asks around can still find out. It just takes a little effort…”

“So you took it upon yourself to advertise for me?”

Pei Yan even let out a laugh, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“But some of the details are incorrect.”

Pei Yan said, “Would you like me to help you correct them?”

Zheng Su instinctively took a step back.

“You—”

“Let me think.”

As Pei Yan spoke, he seemed to genuinely drift into memory.

“Oh, right. When they found me, I said to them—‘I’m hungry.’”

Pei Yan looked at Zheng Su. “And then they really did call a psychologist for me.”

Zheng Su couldn’t help but swallow hard. The bravado on his face clearly morphed into nervousness.

There was even a trace of fear mixed in—

“What else would you like to know?”

Pei Yan continued, “I can—”

“Stop talking!”

Shen Ju’s voice rang out, trembling slightly.

Pei Yan abruptly stopped speaking.

He still didn’t look at Shen Ju, instead maintaining eye contact with Zheng Su.

Zheng Su instinctively took another step back.

Without realizing it, a cold sweat had broken out on his back. As the cold wind blew, it cut through the fabric of his jacket, feeling especially chilling.

He regretted it.

Regretted impulsively saying those things.

Especially since Pei Yan had heard him outright!

What would Pei Yan do to him?!

Zheng Su didn’t dare imagine.

He parted his lips, wanting to say something.

“By the way.”

Pei Yan added, as if remembering something else, but he didn’t dwell on his past. Instead, he asked, “How’s your company doing these days?”

Zheng Su’s eyes went wide suddenly, as if connecting the dots. “You—”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be in the mood to go out and have fun.”

Pei Yan’s face was cold as he spoke lightly, “After all, a single day’s expenses here are quite steep.”

What was he implying?!

What was Pei Yan trying to say?!

He could easily afford not just one day, but even a week of expenses here!

Why would Pei Yan say something like that?!

As if he had to watch his spending…

Zheng Su didn’t dare think too deeply about it. He stumbled, couldn’t stay any longer, and hurriedly turned to leave.

After Zheng Su left, only Shen Ju and Pei Yan remained.

But the atmosphere this time was noticeably heavier than before.

Pei Yan now looked at Shen Ju.

He saw that the child’s face had gone pale.

Must have scared him.

Well… even Pei Tai had looked at him as if he were abnormal.

This was also why Pei Haochuan was often afraid of him.

Because Pei Haochuan knew better than anyone what he had truly been like when he was in the Pei family.

Pei Yan found it quite ironic.

Just moments ago, he had been telling himself—it’s better not to let Shen Ju know his true nature yet.

But in the blink of an eye, he had “exposed” himself.

“Everything he said is true,” Pei Yan said.

“If you want to know more, you can ask Pei Haochuan.”

Shen Ju opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

There was no sound, no conversation with 996.

Pei Yan was still holding the green turtle in his hand.

Its shell was thick and large, while its head and limbs were small, making it look like it was trying to shrink inside.

Snow began to fall from the sky.

Pei Yan blinked, wanting to say that if Shen Ju was truly scared, he could leave now.

Or perhaps…

He could play the pity card.

But Pei Yan almost instinctively ruled that out.

It was almost as if he was punishing himself.

Not only did he not refute anything, but he also wanted to make sure Shen Ju understood even more clearly.

“Or you can keep questioning me now.”

“When they found me and… me, I was still reading—”

“I told you to stop talking!”

Shen Ju yelled, then suddenly stepped forward and threw his arms around Pei Yan.

Pei Yan stood frozen.

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Author's note: There will be a second update today [lazy dog]