The wooden cups landed, bounced lightly, and stopped. One face down, one face up.
It was an “approval cup.” Goddess Mazu, granted.
Shao Tingyue’s eyebrows smoothed, satisfied. “Many thanks, Goddess Mazu, for fulfilling this.”
Li Chu felt like he had slept for a long, long time, sinking into it as if he had fallen into a swamp. When he woke up, his head was completely blank, with a sense of trance as if a lifetime had passed.
“Awake?”
A low voice came from the side. Li Chu turned his head and saw Shao Tingyue sitting on the single sofa by the bed. The man was in a black shirt, his long legs crossed, and the morning light outlined his deep brow bone and high, straight nose bridge, as handsome as if he had walked off a movie poster.
Li Chu supported his body, wanting to sit up. Shao Tingyue approached, his dry, warm palm pressed against his forehead. His temperature was normal, but his complexion looked a bit pale, his little face dispirited.
The man lowered his eyes and touched Li Chu’s cheek. “Is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable?”
“Just no strength, my head feels a bit empty.” Li Chu lifted his eyelashes, his amber eyes filled with confusion. “Second Uncle, how did I get back? I only remember the Peninsula Hotel, and I cannot remember anything that happened afterward.”
Shao Tingyue’s gaze swept over the teenager’s rosy lips, the lip bead in the middle swollen high, like a strawberry dripping with freshness.
“You were drugged and your consciousness was unclear. The driver noticed something was wrong, notified me, and then I picked you up.” Shao Tingyue summarized the incident briefly, intentionally omitting a part.
Li Chu furrowed his brow, trying hard to recall the events of last night, but his mind remained empty. “Why did they drug me? I am a man, he…”
Wait, James would not be gay, right?
No wonder! Before, he always looked at him with strange eyes, and often took advantage of opportunities to take liberties.
Li Chu felt a lingering fear. “Th-then, I… I did not do anything strange, right? Or… said anything crazy?” If he accidentally let it slip that he was not from this era, would he be considered a lunatic? And his imposter identity…
Shao Tingyue’s tone was gentle, staring at Li Chu’s little expressions. “No, you were very good last night.”
The images of the teenager hugging and kissing in his arms last night flashed uncontrollably through his mind.
He was simply so good that he touched his heart.
Li Chu breathed a sigh of relief and could not help but scold, “That James looked like a decent person, but he is so evil… If I see him again next time, I must beat him up!”
Shao Tingyue’s tone was calm. “You will not see him again.”
Li Chu’s energy had not fully recovered, so Auntie Mei delivered breakfast and had the uncle and nephew eat on the small balcony, just in time to catch the morning breeze.
The small round table was covered with various Cantonese snacks, sesame rolls, char siu buns, abalone noodles, scallop treasure dumplings… and rice porridge that had been boiled soft, glutinous, and sweet.
Li Chu realized belatedly that his mouth seemed to be swollen, and it felt strange to eat. Especially the lip bead position; he felt pain with even the slightest force.
Shao Tingyue was cooling the porridge for him. Seeing his little movements, he could not help but pause. “What is wrong?”
Li Chu frowned. “Second Uncle, I think I have internal heat. My mouth hurts.”
Shao Tingyue swept over it indifferently. “Hmm, I will have the kitchen cook some herbal tea for you in a while.”
Li Chu nodded and did not take it to heart. It was just that his vision was not very good when he had just woken up, and only now did he notice that Shao Tingyue’s mouth also looked not quite right.
Shao Tingyue put a piece of snack into his bowl and found that the little child was staring at himself with wide eyes. His chopsticks trembled.
“What is wrong?”
Li Chu thought he was seeing things and leaned closer to look carefully. “Second Uncle, why is your mouth also red? And the corner of your mouth is broken… Do you also have internal heat?”
“Hmm, the weather has been dry recently.” Shao Tingyue did not even lift his eyebrows. “If you do not have class these two days, do not go out. Stay at home and wait. I want to spot-check your traditional character practice.”
Li Chu’s face fell instantly. “…”
His brain was still a bit muddled, and he was half a patient, after all! Shao Tingyue had such a ruthless heart, he was even more “tiger-parenting” than the parents in the 21st century!
After finishing breakfast, Li Chu felt his whole person recover quite a bit. The principle that “food is energy” was certainly not wrong. It was just that his head was still a bit dizzy. Shao Tingyue watched him take his medicine and let him go back to sleep.
Shao Mingzhu came by at noon, carrying a huge fruit basket, wanting to apologize to Li Chu in person.
She really had not expected James to be this kind of person! He had dated a girlfriend in the UK before, a hot foreign girl, so how did he suddenly change his orientation, set his sights on Li Chu, and fortunately had not caused a major disaster…
“Uncle Ming, could you please help me? Please tell Chu Zai that I will not let James off. I will definitely help him vent this anger!”
Uncle Ming was an elder of the Shao family and could be considered to have watched Shao Mingzhu grow up. Knowing that although this eldest miss of the second branch was a bit spoiled, her heart was definitely not bad, he advised her a few times. “Miss Mingzhu, Second Young Master is very angry this time. He has strictly forbidden you from seeing Young Master Chu again. I suggest you go back to the UK to avoid the limelight. Maybe it will be fine after a while when Second Young Master’s anger fades.”
Shao Mingzhu also knew that Shao Tingyue was truly angry this time. He not only demanded that Daddy send her away immediately but also cut her allowance in half.
Uncle Ming spoke a lot with her at the door, but there was no intention of inviting her inside. Shao Mingzhu looked longingly toward the main building and put down the fruit basket.
“Then Uncle Ming, I am leaving. I still have to catch a flight tonight. Please tell Chu Zai I am sorry.”
Li Chu recently discovered that he was restricted from going out.
Since the Peninsula Hotel incident, Shao Tingyue began forbidding him from going out alone, and even on the way to and from school, he was followed by two expressionless bodyguards in black.
His classmates’ looks at him had all changed. Except for Judy, who would still enthusiastically talk to him, everyone else treated him with a touch of distance.
Moreover, Shao Tingyue would come to pick him up from school as long as he was free. The unique Hong Kong license plate combined with the Rolls-Royce Silver Spur made it truly difficult to be low-key.
Li Chu stopped talking as soon as he got into the car. After the man called him twice to no avail, he directly pinched his cheeks and turned him over.
“What temper are you throwing today? Did I not already have the bodyguards try not to appear in front of your classmates? Or do you feel it is embarrassing for Second Uncle to pick you up?”
“What is embarrassing…” Was it a question of being embarrassed? It was a question of personal freedom! How was this any different from monitoring him?
Li Chu struggled in his palms, unable to speak clearly, his eyes wide open. The child had been eating well lately, and his cheeks had grown a bit of meat, feeling soft and chubby when pinched. His light pink lips were slightly pouted, like a little goldfish.
Shao Tingyue stared at the person before him, his breathing deepening for a moment, restraining the urge to kiss him.
“Alright.” Shao Tingyue let him go. “What do you want for lunch? I will have Liang Wei buy it and bring it to the company. I have another meeting in the afternoon; stay in my office and do not run around.”
Li Chu rubbed his face that had been pinched red, increasingly feeling that Shao Tingyue was like his father. No, his biological father did not even manage him like this!
Li Chu did not understand why Shao Tingyue was recently fixated on keeping him under his nose. He was obviously as busy as a top, yet he had to come specifically to pick him up. But thinking about it, he had no need to go against delicious food, so he shamelessly reported a big list of dishes. They spanned several districts of Hong Kong and could be called willful.
“Oh right, I also want to eat the egg tarts and watercress honey from that tea restaurant at Sitong’s place.” Li Chu smiled, like a little cat who had succeeded. “Second Uncle, you do not find it troublesome, right?”
Shao Tingyue had no trace of impatience. On the contrary, he really liked that Li Chu was becoming more and more self-centered in front of him. He smiled with curved eyebrows when he liked something, pouted and ignored people when he disliked something, would get angry, talk back, and throw little tantrums.
He had always been a little pearl, and now he was getting brighter and more dazzling. Every smile and frown was so vivid that one could not look away.
The man lowered his eyes, staring at his lips. “As long as you are obedient, nothing is troublesome.”
Soon they arrived at the Shao Group building. Li Chu had been there a few times, and everyone in the company had seen this young master.
There were people who had discussed behind his back that the uncle and nephew did not look alike, but there were plenty of secrets in Hong Kong’s wealthy families, so they chatted about it as gossip and left it at that.
The first time Li Chu entered Shao Tingyue’s office, he was attracted by the huge silver arowana in the fish tank. He could stare at it swimming around for a whole day without being bored. Later, when the novelty wore off, Shao Tingyue had someone buy him a pile of reference books and comics to keep in the office.
Li Chu was prone to drowsiness after being full. When his head was nodding while holding a book, Zhong Yili, whom he had not seen for a long time, pushed the door and entered.
“What a coincidence, Chu Zai is here too.” His eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, but he quickly pressed it down and said politely, “I have some things to discuss with your Second Uncle. Is it convenient for you to go out for a while? It will not take very long.”
Shao Tingyue frowned, but did not say anything. Li Chu obediently carried the book and went out, even thoughtfully closing the door.
Between the office and the secretary’s office outside were two soundproof glass walls. Li Chu found a seat outside and continued reading his book.
Zhong Yili pulled out a chair and sat down. “It seems you have been cultivating your uncle-nephew relationship quite well recently. You have brought him back for so long; it is time to arrange him into the genealogy, is it not? After all, he is Elder Brother Tingzhao’s only bloodline; you cannot treat him poorly as an uncle.”
Shao Tingyue’s brow pressed down slightly. “Did you come specifically just to say this?”
Seeing his friend was starting to get impatient, Zhong Yili smiled and went straight to the point. “Have you heard? The Chen family’s youngest son, James, has been missing for a week.”
Shao Tingyue put down the fountain pen in his hand, only lifting his eyelids slightly, without speaking.
“Yesterday, he was finally found near a pile of trash in a back alley on Portland Street in Mong Kok. His limbs were intact, and other surface wounds could heal. It is just heard that that area is ruined. Several private doctors shook their heads. Mrs. Chen did not care much, since he was not her own; Director Chen fainted from anger several times.”
Zhong Yili adjusted his sitting posture and continued, “Although the Chen family has declined in recent years, they were glorious in their early years. They produced two Justices of the Peace and still have some foundation in Hong Kong. Who do you say his son offended, that the other party could take such ruthless action without caring about the Chen family at all?”
The office was silent for a while. Shao Tingyue said calmly, “Yili, what are you trying to say?”
Zhong Yili stopped beating around the bush. “That matter with James—does it have anything to do with you?”
Shao Tingyue put down the fountain pen in his hand and leaned back in the chair. “And if it does?”
Zhong Yili wore an “as expected” expression. Having been family friends with him since childhood, and good friends since they were old enough to understand, he understood Shao Tingyue’s character better than anyone.
In the past, no matter how ruthless his methods were in the business world, they were for the big picture and related to the honor of the family for generations. But this matter was filled with oddities everywhere.
“How on earth did he offend you, just because he was intentionally or unintentionally getting close to Chu Zai? I saw last time that you did not like him. It is not that I want to tell you off, but you should not interfere too much in young people’s affairs as an elder. Although I also do not like Director Chen’s kind of person, you should also know that James is his only heir for three generations. Are you truly not afraid that the old man will go jump into Victoria Harbour tomorrow?”
After Zhong Yili finished speaking, he rubbed his forehead. He truly had a headache. Originally, he was supposed to accompany Huo Ziqing to try on wedding dresses today, but after hearing about this, he immediately thought of his good friend.
Shao Tingyue said in a low voice, “He made excuses to hold a birthday party and drugged Chu Zai…”
“Wha—” Before he could finish, Zhong Yili stood up abruptly.
“Fortunately, I arrived in time; Chu Zai is fine.” Shao Tingyue finished his sentence.
Hearing that the person was fine, a stone in Zhong Yili’s heart fell. Then he frowned and said, “So this is your reason for taking action? It is not that I do not feel bad for Chu Zai, but the other party is, after all… Forget it. Ruined is good. Someone like this leaving him behind is a scourge to others; it might not even be the first time.”
“Liang Wei has already checked; he had a criminal record when he was studying in the UK, but he settled it with money in the end.”
“A big tree has withered branches. The Chen family’s two daughters are clearly very outstanding, yet they have to pin their hopes on James, this piece of trash. It is only a matter of time before they fall.”
“Hmm.” Shao Tingyue no longer spoke more, saying calmly, “Do you have anything else?”
Zhong Yili could hear the meaning of his chasing guests, shrugging his shoulders. “I have found that ever since you had Chu Zai, you have become more and more cold to me. Do you still remember that I am your good brother?”
Shao Tingyue: “Scram.”
“Fine, fine, fine, I will scram, I will scram.” Zhong Yili stopped pestering him, but before leaving, he still said earnestly, “Even a rotten ship has three pounds of nails. You still have to be careful with the Chen family.”