Ch.38 – Background

If Shen Yu did not want to expose Tang Li’s lies in front of him, he had to face up to the old man’s accusations.

When Elder Shen had vented enough, he stared at Shen Yu with a sigh and asked, “How’s your legs?”

“Ah? Oh…” Shen Yu said in a daze, “The recovery effort is going well. Doctor Liu said that if I continue improving at this speed, I should be able to walk normally in two or three years.”

Elder Shen frowned. “It’s so slow.”

“I’m used to it.” Shen Yu smiled bitterly and consoled himself. Sometimes it’s very convenient to sit in a wheelchair, at least he never became tired from walking.

It’s just when thinking of the pain of the rehabilitation program…

Shen Yu instantly became very depressed.

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Elder Shen naturally saw what Shen Yu was thinking. After a moment of silence, he changed the topic and said, “By the way, did you arrange Kang Lin over in Jincheng?”

“Well…” Shen Yu smiled and then nodded, but his eyes were full of frost.

It seems that Shen Rong had called Elder Shen.

Uncle Zhang said that the biggest reason why Shen Rong’s parents were willing to take the initiative to dissolve their marriage contract with the Du family was that the Elder Shen personally talked to them.

So Elder Shen carried a sense of guilt in his heart in regards to Shen Rong, otherwise he would not care about Shen Yu’s intentions towards Shen Rong.

Shen Yu thought that Elder Shen wanted to speak up for Shen Rong and was thinking about how to persuade the Elder when he heard the other say: “No matter how big the conflict is, try not to make a scene on the surface. If there are any problems, just settle them quietly.”

Shen Yu looked at Elder Shen in surprise.

Elder Shen put down his bowl and chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a cloth towel. Then he rose and said, “I have an appointment with Lao Yang for fishing this afternoon. You are free to go play.”

Shen Yu watched Elder Shen walk away and felt a little funny.

It is said that a man whose heart is not content is like a snake which tries to swallow an elephant; eventually it will cause more harm than good.

Shen Rong has become accustomed to living independently while still using the name of the Shen family, which makes many elders, including Elder Shen, complain about him.

The elders will certainly not take the initiative to cause trouble, but if someone else does something to Shen Rong, they are likely to stand idly by.

——————–

Shen Yu and Tang Li continued to live at Elder Shen’s house for the time being.

Just after the New Year, Shen Yu inevitably felt lazy. He didn’t want to work on the dessert shop or deal with the company’s affairs, he just wants to stay at home and watch dramas and play games. He sometimes even pulls Tang Li out from cram school to go out shopping and playing.

Time flies, and finally it was the night when Shen Yu and Yi Hua’s dinner meeting.

On the way to the restaurant, Shen Yu looked at Kang Lin’s e-mail.

He did not guess wrong. Yi Hua’s young son, Yi Heng, is the male lead in the original novel.

But for now, the chosen son is only in his early teens. He’s about the age of Tang Li and hasn’t developed his male lead aura yet. He’s just a plain little boy.

Shen Yu scanned to the end of the email and saw some pictures of Yi Hua’s family.

The picture showed a happy family of four, Yi Hua sitting on the lawn and his wife holding a pair of children, smiling brilliantly at the camera. The girl lying in their arms is standing tall and graceful. The boy who was standing next to the girl had a handsome face. The little male lead had a slightly raised eyebrow and a slightly raised chin in the picture, already showing some arrogance.

Shen Yu had to admit——

Yi Heng truly is a male lead. His face value is equal to that of Tang Li, the villain, and his temperament is even more pleasant than that of Tang Li.

After all, sometimes Tang Li’s expression is too gloomy and frightening, and as ex-convict whose stabbing relatives, even the servants in the villa don’t dare to causally approach Tang Li.

Considering this, Shen Yu couldn’t help turning his head to look at Tang Li.

The little villain sitting next to him remained quiet throughout this entire time. He had no expression on his face, drooping his eyelids, his long-curled eyelashes cast a shallow shadow on his clean skin.

Perhaps it’s Shen Yu’s illusion, but he seemed to sense a lonely atmosphere from Tang Li.

“Chestnut.” Shen Yu reached out his hand and put it lightly on Tang Li’s shoulder.

Tang Li looked back at Shen Yu with his beautiful black eyes.

There was no light in the car, only the shadows outside the window jumped over Tang Li’s face from time to time. His eyebrows were filled with a cool breath, but the eyes of the little villain were warm.

“It’s all right.” Shen Yu’s voice was soft, rubbing Tang Li’s hair and grinning, “Just wanted to say your name.”

Tang Li didn’t speak. Instead, he closed his eyes and rubbed Shen Yu’s palm with a slightly cold cheek, like a sticky cat.

Shen Yu sighed.

No matter what image Tang Li held in other people’s eyes, this is the child he’s trying his best to raise, and also the most obedient child in the world.

Anyway, his bais for Tang Li is very strong.

Shen Yu pulled his hand back, turned off his cell phone, and idly reclined in the wheelchair.

Before long, Uncle Zhang, who was driving, woke Shen Yu up and said that they had arrived.

Because Shen Yu was afraid that Uncle Zhang would find something strange about the meeting, he let Uncle Zhang wait in the car. He alone took Tang Li under the guide of the restaurant host and went to the privately booked room.

Opening the door, he could see a family of four neatly sitting at the table.

Yi Hua and his wife were so enthusiastic that they got up and greeted him. Their faces were filled with pleasant smiles, and they bowed slightly and shook hands with Shen Yu.

Shen Yu is embarrassed. When remembering of the description of their son as an adult in the original novels, he couldn’t adapt to the humble attitude of the couple.

However, the couple not only did their best to flatter Shen Yu, but also greeted Tang Li with a similar level of enthusiasm. They also urged Yi Jiaying and Yi Heng, who sat motionless the dining table, to come and say hello to Shen Yu and Tang Li.

“This is Uncle Shen Yu, and this is Brother Tang Li.” Yi Hua said, embracing the pair of children.

Yi Jiaying is a little taller than Tang Li. When facing two exquisite-looking males, a young girl will inevitably feel shy. She bashfully called out, “Uncle Shen Yu… Brother Tang Li…”

Yi Heng, who was also pulled over, was not as good a talker as Yi Jiaying.

Yi Heng was short, even half a head shorter than Tang Li. His appearance and atmosphere are not as aggressive as Tang Li’s. Instead, he radiates cold indifference, as if nothing in the world could not enter his eyes.

Shen Yu was stared at by Yi Heng with a cool gaze, and he immediately felt goose bumps all over his body.

Intuition told him that the male lead is much more difficult to deal with than the villain Tang Li.

Yi hua waited for a long time for Yi Heng to make a noise. He was a little anxious. He pushed him on the shoulder and said anxiously, “Little Heng, please say hello to Uncle Shen Yu and Brother Tang Li. Why are you acting disobedient, huh?”

Shen Yu saw Yi Hua become anxious, like an ant in a hot pot. He pushed Yi Heng several times in panic. For a moment, his heart almost jumped out of his chest in nervousness.

“The shyness of a child is inevitable; Mr. Yi shouldn’t force him.” Shen Yu quickly prevented Yi Hua from pushing Yi Heng forward. Under Yi Heng’s cold gaze, he pulled up the corners of his mouth and said with a reluctant smile, “My Chestnut is just eleven years old. Is he younger than your children?”

As soon as this was said, both Yi Hua and his wife fell silent at the same time.

For a long time, Yi Hua looked at his wife and scratched his head, trying to hide the embarrassment in the atmosphere with dry laughter: “Ha ha ha ha…It seems that Little Heng is thirteen years old and Jiaying is almost fifteen years old, isn’t that right Lanlan?

Lin Lan, Yi Hua’s wife, could only giggle.

Fortunately, the topic passed quickly and everyone took their seats.

Tang Li thoroughly solidified his character of silence in front of the outsiders. During the whole dinner, a person could count the number of his words with one hand and they were all used to thank Shen Yu for serving him food.

Shen Yu used to think that an “antisocial child” like Tang Li was a rare case and that a second case would never appear. How could he know that reality always likes to ruthlessly slap face?

At this moment, sitting opposite Shen Yu, was the second “antisocial child” he met since coming to this world, Yi Heng.

Yi Heng bowed his head and ate his dinner at his own pace, sending out his regular cold air aura that nobody was allowed to enter. This was a sharp contrast to the smiling Yi Jiaying who was sitting next to him.

The male lead’s current appearance is not much better than that of Tang Li when he first came to the Shen house.

It was almost if he was isolated from the rest of the world.

On the surface, Shen Yu discussed details of the Qingli Yuan project with Yi Hua and Lin Lan, but secretly he was paying attention to the little male lead.

The character of Yi Heng this evening was beyond Shen Yu’s expectation.

He remembered that Yi Heng was already grown up when he appeared in the original novel. Although he was proud and cold at that time, he handled the world’s affairs well, and had good popularity and plenty of good friends. Why is it like this now?

Shen Yu’s eyebrows twisted slightly.

He always felt that there was something out of his range of knowledge, but for a while he could not say what was wrong.

This strange feeling lasted through the end of the meal.

Although Shen Yu listened to Yi Hua and Lin Lan’s detailed introduction of the Qingli Yuan project, he had no real experience doing business and could not accurately judge whether the project was good or bad.

But the couple didn’t need much money, so it was a matter of numbers for Shen Yu. In the end, he agreed to request a reinvestment of the project and said he would let the assistant contact them in two days.

With Shen Yu’s assurance, Yi Hua and Lin Lan were pleasantly surprised and almost jumped up from their chairs.

“Thank you, Mr. Shen. Thank you very much. This time you’re really helping us out, Lanlan and I won’t forget your kindness!” Yi Hua held Shen Yu’s hand tightly, and by the end of his speech, he could not help but feel tears of happiness forming in his eyes.

Lin Lan was so moved that she silently patted Yi Hua on the back to comfort her husband.

While leaving the restaurant, Yi Hua intentionally followed Shen Yu out.

When Lin Lan and the children, who were walking in front of them, weren’t paying attention, Yi Hua uneasily apologized to Shen Yu: “Mr. Shen, Lanlan and I both got remarried to each other, Little Heng followed me from my first marriage and doesn’t seem to accept the situation.”

After a pause, Yi Hua sighed, “In fact, he was not such an impolite child before. I hope Mr. Shen can forgive his earlier rudeness.”

Shen Yu was surprised inside, but calmly smiled on the surface. “It’s all right. Little Heng’s character is similar to my Chestnut.”

Yi Hua followed this statement with an awkward laugh: “… It’s quite like that.”

The Yi family walked Shen Yu and Tang Li to the car and watched Uncle Zhang drive away before turning to look for their car.

Shen Yu’s eyes were staring passing streetlight outside the car window, thinking of things in silence.

He took out his mobile phone and opened the e-mail sent to him by Kang Lin. He skipped to the middle part in one breath and looked closely at it. The dense text actually wrote that Yi Hua and Lin Lan were the product of a second marriage.

Kang Lin is a man who does everything in his life thoroughly. He not only investigated Yi Hua, but also investigated the identity of Yi Hua’s ex-wife.

Shen Yu found the key information and read it silently.

Suddenly, Shen Yu saw something that shocked him.

It turned out that Yi Hua’s ex-wife had often beaten his child. Some neighbors said that Yi Heng had been beaten so badly by his biological mother that he had been sent to the hospital four or five times and once his head was even covered with blood after she had thrown a teacup at him.

Shen Yu: “…”

No wonder Yi Heng is such a character…

Moreover, Shen Yu believes that the experiences of Yi Heng and Tang Li are somewhat similar in many respects.

Only Yi Heng had better luck, and there was a father who decided to divorce in order to protect him. Tang Li had nothing; it took more than a year for him to come to Shen’s house.

At the same time, Shen Yu was surprised.

Unexpectedly, the male lead’s important life background had actually not been written out by the author. Of course, it may be that the author wrote a few words, but Shen Yu, who read ten lines at a single glance, neglected them.

After the holiday was over, Shen Yu returned to the villa with Tang Li.

The warehouse was full of all kinds of precious gifts left by visitors. Shen Yu did not want to be short-handed. What he needed most right now was money. He asked Uncle Zhang and Aunt Chen to count the gifts and return something of equal value to each giver.

After living outside the house for nearly a month, Shen Yu fully realized the true meaning of the saying “Golden and silver nest is not as good as his dog’s nest” – or that it is most comfortable to live in his own home.

After the vacation, Shen Yu began to be busy.

The company had piles of documents to deal with, the two newly opened dessert stores also needed some attention, and Yi Hua, from time to time, would come to the company to find Shen Yu to deal with problems on the project.

Shen Yu’s responsibilities are too big. He is too busy to take a break for a second.

During this period, Elder Shen heard rumors about Shen Yu’s dessert store. He came to the villa to warn Shen Yu to run his company well, don’t let the people who tightly watched him drill holes for other messy things [1].

Shen Yu knew that what the Elder Shen meant by “those people” was Shen Rong and the other relatives, but he had to consent, and then left all the affairs of the dessert shop to Uncle Zhang.

While Shen Yu was too busy to touch the ground, Tang Li was almost invisible from day to night.

During the winter vacation, Tang Li was busy making up lessons and exercising. After school began, Tang Li was busy studying and doing homework. The degree of business was no less than that of Shen Yu..

To Shen Yu’s eternal gratitude, Kang Lin perfectly demoted Shen Rong from managing the whole area, to deputy manager of the market department. He had no real power, and the people in the company would not look at him the same as before. By the time he returned from Jincheng it was already May.

Shen Yu, who was about to become a dead dog from all the work rushed to hand over the Qingli Yuan project to Kang Lin.

Since Yi Hua’s matters were handed over to Kang Lin, Shen Yu never again saw Yi Hua wandering in front of him, and gradually forgot the existence of the male lead Yi Heng.

Life was so busy and each day flew by. Before summer came, Tang Li finally received a notice to participate in the English Competition in Jincheng.

It is said that in the whole school, there are no more than five students qualified for the final. Tang Li is one of them.

When he learned the news from the head teacher, Shen Yu was very happy and proud. He immediately decided to put down his work and pack up his luggage to accompany Tang Li to Jincheng for three days.

But the students who took part in the competition were guided by the school. They flew to Jincheng by air together and stayed in the same hotel.

If Shen Yu wants to accompany Tang Li, he needs to follow their team at his own expense.

Of course, Shen Yu can also take Tang Li to Jincheng alone.

However, by doing things this way, it would lead to a lack of timely communication between the school, competition, and Tang Li. Even if the school leaders agreed, Shen Yu would not inconvenience the little villain.

In order not to cause trouble to the school people, Shen Yu only took Uncle Zhang on the trip. The round-trip flights and hotel rooms were all in accordance with the school’s itinerary.

The three arrived at the airport at 4 p.m., half an hour before boarding. The school leaders and teachers, along with the other four students were already in the waiting room.

Before he could get close, Shen Yu found a familiar figure among the four students.

Oh-ho.

Isn’t that Yi Heng?

The hero and the villain of this novel are actually in the same school!

[1] Meaning don’t give his enemies a chance to attack his credibility.