Chapter 33 Shen Sinian

Chapter 33: Shen Sinian

After crying, Shen Ci was wrapped in happiness and the sweet-and-sour scent of strawberries.

Once home, he washed the sugary residue from his hands and carefully hung each piece of his pile of new clothes into his small wardrobe.

The door to his room was open. Shen Shiyan was sitting on the sofa, talking on the phone with Qi Zizhu.

"Yeah, that's right, focus on investigating the logistics parks in the suburbs," he gave a couple of instructions, occasionally glancing idly at the busy Shen Ci.

Around noon the next day, based on the information from Qi Zizhu, Shen Shiyan and Song Xianghan scouted out two somewhat suspicious logistics parks and finally zeroed in on a transfer logistics park on the outskirts, about fifteen kilometers from Yunhai.

It wasn't far from the Yuncheng highway exit. Medium and small trucks entered and exited the park at fixed intervals, every two hours. The truck containers were covered with thick white tarps, which didn't look very standard.

From the back seat, Song Xianghan looked over and raised an eyebrow. "A logistics park in this location is one thing, but there's actually an auto repair shop next to it."

They didn't dare drive too close, worried about tipping someone off, so they kept their distance. Squinting, Shen Shiyan could barely make out the words "Changyun Auto Repair" on a shabby sign.

As he pondered this, another small truck drove out from the park entrance.

He waited until the truck merged onto the main road before starting the car and tailing it cautiously.

After winding through unmonitored suburban roads for forty minutes, they entered the city via a side road with light traffic, finally stopping near a small-scale charity foundation in an urban village.

Shen Shiyan parked the car a block away, got out, and peeked around the corner of the wall.

Sure enough, the truck wasn't transporting any goods. Over a dozen people filed out of the back compartment—some chatting, some looking delighted, others dejected.

After the crowd dispersed, Song Xianghan took off her sunglasses and gave Shen Shiyan's back a tap. "See the guy with the beer belly?"

Shen Shiyan turned. "There are a few in that crowd."

Song Xianghan folded the sunglasses' arms and slipped them into her shirt pocket. "The one in the brown jacket, carrying a black briefcase."

"Yeah, know him?" Shen Shiyan nodded. The man in the brown jacket walked at the front, looking very pleased with himself. His briefcase was bulging, packed with who-knows-what.

Song Xianghan opened the back door and got in. "General Manager of Chuangjie Company, does foreign trade, cooperates with Xingtu."

Shen Shiyan backed the car up while asking, "High profits?"

"Average," Song Xianghan rested her elbow on the car window edge, resting her chin in her hand. "Not a big company."

"Start with him," Shen Shiyan glanced in the rearview mirror.

Song Xianghan looked thoughtfully out the window and said, "No rush. The cooperation still has six months left. Let's investigate this park and the foundation first."

Shen Shiyan gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry for the trouble, Miss Song."

It couldn't be helped. He had virtually no connections in Yuncheng and could only rely on Song Xianghan. He'd just have to repay the favor someday.

Song Xianghan laughed for a moment, then waved generously. "We've known each other for almost three months, and you're still so polite."

Shen Shiyan parked the car steadily under the Xingtu building and turned off the engine. "One thing at a time."

Just as Song Xianghan got out, Song Qiuchi ran out from the Xingtu lobby, followed by Gao Mengying holding a coat.

The little girl had a sulky look on her face. Her initial impulse to throw herself into Song Xianghan's arms stopped when she saw Shen Shiyan, and she greeted him stiffly, "Brother."

Song Xianghan took the coat from Gao Mengying and draped it over Song Qiuchi's shoulders, booping her nose. "Who made our Miss Song angry again?"

Song Qiuchi pouted. "I want to learn skateboarding! Your big brother insists I learn piano!"

"It's fine, ignore my big brother," Song Xianghan took a bank card from her bag and handed it to Song Qiuchi. "Wherever you want to learn, your aunt will pay!"

Song Qiuchi's scrunched-up face immediately relaxed, and she took the card without hesitation.

Shen Shiyan watched from the other side of the car with a faint smile, thinking of Shen Ci.

The two-month winter break wasn't particularly long, but since he had to work, Shen Ci was alone at home every day, which inevitably got boring.

He wondered if Shen Ci wanted to learn skateboarding.

Shen Shiyan imagined Shen Ci from last summer when he still had long hair. If he were skateboarding, his hair would flutter in the wind. It would probably look very nice.

"Brother," Song Qiuchi had already walked around the front of the car to stand before Shen Shiyan. "Shen Ci and I want to go to the amusement park, but he said he has to ask his daddy, and that he won't go if you don't."

"......"

After a long moment, Shen Shiyan snapped back to reality and asked, "Which day of the week did you plan? I'll take him there."

Song Qiuchi said, "We haven't decided yet. He said he hasn't asked you."

For the first time, Shen Shiyan showed a somewhat flustered expression in public and fell silent.

Song Xianghan checked her work schedule on her phone and came to Shen Shiyan's rescue. "Let's all go together this Sunday. Assistant Gao and Assistant Qi can come too."

Before Shen Shiyan could figure out a response, and before Gao Mengying could refuse, the matter was already settled by Song Xianghan and Song Qiuchi.

"I'll go back and ask Assistant Qi. See you later." Shen Shiyan helplessly waved at the group and got into the car.

Chonghe's recent cooperation had been stable, and the company's core team was mature. Apart from decision-making parts requiring Shen Shiyan and the occasional meetings, the workload was relatively light, so he still spent most of his time at Yuhe.

It was about a twenty-minute drive from Xingtu to Yuhe. As he neared the company building, Shen Shiyan saw two figures, one tall and one short, familiar yet strange, standing at the company entrance.

When the tall, thin figure pushing the wheelchair turned around, Shen Shiyan's brow twitched, and his mind seemed to explode with a buzzing noise.

The lingering winter sunlight seemed tainted with coldness, shining on those two people, on their faces. The sky was still bright in the late afternoon nearing evening, yet Shen Shiyan felt like he was seeing some monstrous apparitions.

His hands tightened on the steering wheel, his fingertips trembling visibly as he mechanically parked the car.

Shen Sinian.

The figures drew closer. Shen Shiyan couldn't make out the features through the car window, only feeling that the nose, eyes, and mouth were all distorted. A deathly silence filled the car, broken only by the sound of Shen Sinian violently yanking the door handle.

The car's soundproofing was decent, but Shen Shiyan still heard that voice he never wanted to recall in his lifetime, overlapping with the memory of curses and reprimands.

Just as the figure in front of the car window raised a brick to smash it, Shen Shiyan was finally jolted back to reality. He made a stopping gesture at the person, unlocked the car, and slowly got out.

*Slap!*

What touched Shen Shiyan's face before the cold wind was Shen Sinian's slap.

Swift, merciless, without the slightest hesitation.

Shen Shiyan's head turned to the side, and he habitually wiped the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.