Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Shen Yue got into a fight with Zhou Yutang.

To put it another way, it was a one-sided beating delivered by Shen Yue.

He moved swiftly and unexpectedly, his hand reacting faster than his mind. By the time he realized what had happened, Zhou Yutang’s jaw was already swollen with a red bump, making him look like quite a sorry sight.

"Sorry."

Holding his slightly numb right wrist with his left hand, Shen Yue watched calmly as Zhou Yutang turned his head away, disbelief written all over his face as he covered the spot where he had been struck. Shen Yue’s voice was flat. "I didn't hit you hard enough. I’m afraid you still won’t learn your lesson next time."

Zhou Yutang lowered his head, his gaze darkening. "Why?"

"I thought you’d at least have some self-awareness," Shen Yue suppressed the disgust in his heart. "Zhou Yutang, you’ve crossed the line."

Shen Yue was someone who held grudges but also remembered kindness. When ordinary friends accidentally offended him, he usually let it slide. But as for Zhou Yutang... given their current relationship, Shen Yue saw no reason to hold back.

Zhou Yutang looked at him quietly, not even bothering with the injury on his face, and actually managed a smile. "You’ve changed."

Shen Yue met his gaze, watching as the confidence in those eyes shifted from absolute certainty to disbelief, then to the self-mocking melancholy it held now.

Shen Yue didn’t understand why people like him always had so much nostalgia to dredge up. After all, it was Zhou Yutang who had abandoned their relationship in the first place. Eight years later, this man reappeared before him, spouting inexplicable words as if Shen Yue were the one who had wronged him.

Shen Yue couldn’t help but wonder if he had held a knife to Zhou Yutang’s throat while he was asleep back then, forcing him to delete and block him. Was that why Zhou Yutang held so much resentment, haunting him relentlessly upon his return?

"People change," Shen Yue said. "Of the three of us, only Zhao Lian would stay exactly the same, waiting for us in the same place. But the world is vast—you spent eight years in Germany. Did you ever meet another Zhao Lian?"

Zhou Yutang fell silent for a moment. "We grew up together. I thought we were different."

Shen Yue picked up the lighter and half-smoked cigarette that had fallen to the ground during the scuffle and elegantly tossed them into the trash. "I told you back then to cut down on those shonen manga. They mess with your head—read too much, and you’ll start thinking you’re the protagonist of the world."

He didn’t want to stay with Zhou Yutang any longer, eager to escape this damn suffocating place. But a hand grabbed his wrist from behind, unwilling to let him leave.

Shen Yue was both angered and amused by his persistence. He yanked his hand back forcefully. Though he was usually sensitive to pain, he didn't even flinch when his wrist stung from the force. "What else do you want?"

"What happened today was my fault. I went too far with my words, and I apologize."

Zhou Yutang blinked, trying to appear somewhat innocent. "But my feelings for you are real. And you liked me back then, didn’t you?"

"I liked you?"

Shen Yue’s temples throbbed. It sounded like a ridiculous joke to him. He knew that kiss before Zhou Yutang left had led to misunderstandings, and if he didn’t clarify, Zhou Yutang would never let it rest, pestering him endlessly.

He pressed his fingers to his temples, his voice a mix of anger and sarcasm. "What makes you think I liked you? Just because I kissed you?"

Zhou Yutang’s confidence wavered under his firm tone. He paused. "Wasn’t it?"

Then Shen Yue shook him off and said indifferently, "A kiss doesn’t mean anything. To me, it’s just routine. I dislike you now, but I could still kiss you. It’s just an action. If it kept you up at night for eight years abroad, then I’m sorry."

His tone lifted teasingly at the end.

Zhou Yutang realized something was the opposite of what he'd guessed and felt unsteady. "Impossible. Back then, you..."

He wanted to say how innocent Shen Yue had been back then—never even holding a girl’s hand, blushing crimson at mere mentions of a "fiancée," yet incapable of anything truly aggressive. Perhaps kissing was routine for him now, but eight years ago, Shen Yue hadn’t yet mastered the art of toying with people’s hearts.

Shen Yue seemed to guess what he was about to say and chuckled softly.

The laugh carried an ominous warning.

Zhou Yutang loved seeing him smile. Those peach blossom eyes would curve into a beautiful shape, like a flower blooming amidst towering, frozen snow. But now, Shen Yue’s smile, though as captivating and nonchalant as ever, felt deliberately provocative. He had a natural talent—just a slight curl of his lips could make someone willingly sacrifice their life.

Shen Yue tilted his head and finished the sentence for him. "I was young back then and didn’t understand feelings. I dreamed of a man and had a reaction. I was panicked, so I wanted to know whether I liked men or women.

"So I had to test it on someone. The three of us were closest. I couldn’t exactly test it on the person in my dream, and since you were going abroad, I had to use you as the guinea pig."

Shen Yue watched as Zhou Yutang’s lips grew pale. "Understand? It wasn’t you I liked. It was Zhao Lian."

Zhou Yutang’s heart ached with each beat. He had never felt so humiliated, not even caring about his image anymore. "Impossible! You and Zhao Lian... you two were... How could you like him?"

"Who knows?" Shen Yue shrugged. "If you can like me, why can’t I like him?"

Zhou Yutang shook his head repeatedly, unwilling to listen or believe Shen Yue’s words. But only Shen Yue knew the truth. No matter how much he speculated, his deductions were rendered meaningless by Shen Yue’s resolute statements.

Zhou Yutang left, utterly dejected.

Shen Yue watched his retreating figure and suddenly found it all dull. He reached for another cigarette but found the box empty—the last one had been taken by Zhou Yutang.

What rotten luck.

Annoyed, Shen Yue kicked the base of the wall, straightened his appearance, and prepared to return to the nearly concluded banquet.

But as he stepped inside from the balcony, he unexpectedly spotted Zhao Lian hiding behind the curtains.

"Haha, what a coincidence! The moon’s really round tonight, I..."

Zhao Lian, who had been eavesdropping for who knows how long, was now flustered, not knowing where to put his hands or where to look.

Shen Yue looked at him disdainfully. "I made all that up earlier. Act normal."

"Oh, it was made up?" Zhao Lian sighed in relief, patting his chest and shooting Shen Yue a reproachful look. "Why didn’t you say so sooner? You scared me to death."

"How was I supposed to know you were eavesdropping?" Shen Yue asked. "How much did you hear?"

"Just the part where you confessed. I was thinking, wow, I must be really charming—even though we’re both tops, you’re still hung up on me." Zhao Lian nudged him curiously with his elbow. "So you were lying to him just now? Did you really kiss him the night before he went abroad? Do you like someone like him?"

Still finding it hard to believe, Zhao Lian had always thought the three of them shared a pure, evil capitalist alliance. He never expected those two to sneak around behind his back. For all he knew, they might have been sneakily engaged in some long-distance, tragic romance over the past eight years. The thought made him feel left out.

But Shen Yue shot him a sidelong glance and denied it. "It was fake."

Zhao Lian froze. "Fake?"

But Shen Yue’s story had sounded so convincing earlier. If he hadn’t been one of the people involved, he might have applauded Shen Yue’s deep affection.

Shen Yue nodded, not bothering to explain further. Zhao Lian racked his limited brain cells and suddenly realized, "Wait, you can say you don’t like him, but why did you kiss him? Are you sick?"

Shen Yue scowled at him. "Like I said, I kissed him to figure out my sexuality. That part was true."

"No, I mean..." Zhao Lian was thoroughly baffled and wanted to press further, but Shen Yue refused to answer. He enjoyed watching Zhao Lian get all worked up, which cheered him up after Zhou Yutang had disturbed his peace.

He had told the truth and lies alike.

The highest form of lying isn’t to deceive entirely but to mix truth with falsehood, making others overlook the truth and believe the lies. Even if they later realize, the truth can be used as an excuse, leaving no room for rebuttal.

Shen Yue using Zhou Yutang to test his sexuality—that part was true.

Him liking Zhao Lian—that was false.

He dreamed of a same-sex encounter, got aroused, woke up in a panic, and was desperate to find out if it was real.

But it wasn’t.

Back then, unlike now, he had zero romantic experience. He had fallen for someone he shouldn’t have, had an inkling about his own sexual orientation, and stole a kiss from Zhou Yutang—not to confirm it,

but to see if he could like someone else.

After the banquet ended, Shen Yue didn’t return to any of the other properties he owned but stayed overnight at the family estate.

The Shen matriarch had spent the evening listening to flattery, and even after dealing with all those trying to suck up to her, she wasn’t tired. She called Shen Yue over alone.

Shen Cuo immediately frowned. “It’s so late, Grandma…”

“What, my words don’t carry weight anymore?”

The Shen matriarch tapped her cane forcefully on the ground, giving Shen Yue a dirty look. “You tell me.”

Shen Yue knew this wouldn’t end well. He smiled reassuringly at Shen Cuo. “I’ll just have a few words with Grandma. You go rest first, Brother. You must be tired after being busy all evening.”

Shen Cuo stared him down.

Shen Yue deliberately avoided his gaze, helping the Shen matriarch toward her room. “Go on, Brother. It’s not like Grandma is some child-eating witch. What are you so worried about?”

Shen Cuo had no choice but to leave.

The Shen matriarch’s room was on the third floor. The early autumn night was chilly, and even with the villa’s heating fully on, Shen Yue didn’t cut corners. After she sat down, he draped a blanket over her legs.

The door was shut tight, leaving just the two of them in the room. The Shen matriarch looked up at him, and though she was looking up from her seat, it didn’t make her seem weak.

She took a sip of water. “You should know why I called you here.”

Shen Yue shook his head. He didn’t know.

Infuriated by his indifferent attitude, the Shen matriarch suddenly said, “The Duan family wants to marry their daughter to your elder brother.”

Shen Yue was confused. “Then let them get married. Why are you telling me?”

“But your brother doesn’t want to marry her. He’s using you as an excuse, saying he won’t consider marriage until you’re married.”

“That has nothing to do with me. Besides, since when does the younger brother marry before the elder? My brother is throwing me under the bus. Are you really blaming me for this?”

He felt he was getting the short end of the stick. Ever since his grandfather passed away, his grandmother had been on his case about everything. He could let the previous incidents slide since he had indeed been fooling around with guys and it had become public. But this time, he was truly innocent. Shen Cuo was the one who didn’t want to marry and was using him as an excuse—it wasn’t like Shen Yue was keeping Shen Cuo to himself and preventing him from marrying.

“I don’t know what’s going on between you and your brother—not that I’m completely unaware, but I’d rather not know.” The Shen matriarch looked at him gravely, her voice suddenly rising. She slammed her empty cup on the table with a sharp, jarring sound.

She said firmly, “I pretend not to notice some things because I still want this family to maintain some dignity. It doesn’t mean I’m actually deaf and blind, letting people push me around and act high and mighty!”

“But what did you do? What crap did you spew in front of Song Cunyi today? I don’t care whether you like men or women, but are you really so desperate to prove yourself in front of so many people? If those words get out, how will people see me? How will they see the Shen family? How will they see your brother?”

She stared at Shen Yue with a mix of hatred and intensity, as if she could burn a hole through him. “Your parents raised you like their own all these years. Is this how you repay them? Is this how you repay me?!”