When Gu Yu first met Shen Hui, Shen Hui’s relationship with Chen Shenzhi was already exceptionally delicate.
From an outsider’s perspective, Chen Shenzhi treated Shen Hui with boundless indulgence. Everyone assumed Shen Hui would be the future Madam Chen, yet Shen Hui’s attitude toward Chen Shenzhi was utterly perfunctory, bordering on outright aversion.
In public settings, Shen Hui frequently gave Chen Shenzhi the cold shoulder, while Chen Shenzhi absorbed every instance with endless patience.
“So what on earth actually happened between them?” Gu Yu’s curiosity was practically bubbling over.
After all, seeing someone push Shen Hui to that extreme degree was truly a rare sight.
Professor Zhao shrugged and shook his head, signaling he had no idea.
People who tell half a story like this deserve to be slow-sliced outside.
“I only heard that Shen Hui was adopted by the Chen family when he was six. Early on, his relationship with Young Master Chen was quite good, and he was even willing to undergo a glandular modification surgery for him. You have to understand, surgeries back then carried a very real risk of death.”
Gu Yu only knew that Shen Hui had undergone two glandular surgeries, but he genuinely had no idea it was because of Chen Shenzhi.
Thinking of Shen Hui’s usual calm and detached demeanor, the type where the earth could explode and he wouldn’t bat an eye, Gu Yu honestly never imagined he would go to such lengths for someone.
Gazing down the now-empty corridor, Gu Yu suddenly felt a twinge of ache in his chest: “Did he really love Chen Shenzhi that much back then?”
In reality, Shen Hui himself wasn’t entirely certain whether he had ever truly loved Chen Shenzhi.
As far back as his memories reached, he had lived in an orphanage. The affection of every teacher there was divided equally into countless tiny fractions, and even an extra biscuit, a word of praise, or a single embrace had to be fought over.
He remembered once when a much younger child arrived at the orphanage, lying in a crib and crying until his voice grew hoarse. Unable to bear it, Shen Hui stood on tiptoe, scooped the baby into his arms, and coaxed him softly.
Sure enough, the baby stopped crying.
Yet when a teacher saw it, she marched over, snatched the toddler away, put him back in the crib, and strictly forbade Shen Hui from ever holding him again.
Looking at the wailing infant, Shen Hui asked with aggrieved confusion why.
The teacher replied that picking him up every time he cried would make him constantly demand to be held, and she simply couldn’t manage that workload.
In that instant, young Shen Hui felt as though he was looking at his own reflection, lying in a bed, crying loudly, while no one paid him any mind.
So this was how he had grown up, too.
Yet all he wanted was a hug, a whole pack of biscuits, and someone who would treat him and only him with kindness. Was that really so wrong?
Little Shen Hui could only tighten his arms around himself in the dark of countless lonely nights, trying desperately to comfort his own frame.
Chen Shenzhi had appeared precisely during that period. He would share all his food with Shen Hui, sing to him, and protect him when the older kids bullied him.
When Chen Shenzhi was finally picked up to return to his family, he held out a hand to Shen Hui: “Come with me. From now on, I’ll be your only friend.”
For the very first time, young Shen Hui reached out with absolute courage.
Ever since that day, Chen Shenzhi truly treated Shen Hui with faultless devotion. He occupied the entirety of Shen Hui’s field of vision, and for over a decade, Shen Hui remained indifferent to everyone else in the world, yet he could recognize Chen Shenzhi simply by the sound of his breathing.
Yet what on earth did he amount to in Chen Shenzhi’s eyes?
Shen Hui possessed a deeply sensitive mind. He could sense the lingering trace of regret in the depths of Chen Shenzhi’s eyes whenever he looked at him.
That realization led him to agree to the surgery, which ultimately became the catalyst for his living nightmare.
“Bro?”
Yang Bai’s bewildered voice abruptly shattered Shen Hui’s reverie, making him realize he was already standing right outside Uncle Yang’s repair shop.
He had no recollection whatsoever of how he had managed to walk back here.
“Are you alright? Why are you just standing outside the doorway?” Yang Bai immediately hauled him inside, yelling loudly for Boss Yang.
Father and son took one look at an unharmed Shen Hui, then began inspecting him up and down with intense anxiety. The moment they spotted the injury on his neck, their expressions twisted with heartbreak.
“Which heartless bastard did this? I’m going right now to settle the score!” Yang Bai rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to storm outside in a fury until his old man grabbed him by the back of the collar.
“You idiot! Where do you think you’re going?”
Thinking his dad was trying to hold him back, Yang Bai was stunned when Boss Yang yanked out a thumb-thick steel rebar and shoved it into his hands: “Take this, and let them know the price of bullying Yang Chengping’s son.”
With that, Boss Yang grabbed a length of steel for himself, and the father-son duo prepared to charge out the door.
Watching them, Shen Hui experienced a momentary flash of astonishment. It felt as though all the biting frost of the outside world had instantly dissolved in this space, sending a warm, tingling current rippling from his fingertips straight to his heart.
“Come back, stop messing around.” Watching the two of them execute exaggerated high-knee marching steps, Shen Hui called them back with a helpless sigh: “I’m fine.”
Only then did the two drop their iron bars and crowd around him again: “You’re finally talking.”
“The way you looked completely spaced out just now scared the hell out of us.”
Boss Yang studied Shen Hui’s complexion closely: “Did something happen?”
Facing their genuine concern, the words Shen Hui had intended to speak stuck firmly in his throat.
He took a deep breath and shook his head: “I’m alright.”
His own troubles must never drag these people down. Let the storms of the outside world remain outside, and let the one who brought those storms finally take his leave.
Sensing that Shen Hui had no intention of talking, Boss Yang chose not to press him: “You haven’t eaten yet, right? Should I boil some dumplings for you?”
“No need.” Shen Hui stopped Boss Yang as he headed toward the kitchen: “I’m leaving.”
Boss Yang froze mid-stride, and Yang Bai stopped dead in his tracks as well.
Lowering his gaze, Shen Hui said softly: “Thank you for taking me in over the past three years.”
Panic instantly flared in Boss Yang’s eyes: “Why are you suddenly leaving when everything was fine?! Is it because Xiao Bai didn’t protect you properly? I’ll beat him right now.”
Shen Hui shook his head, fabricating an excuse on the spot: “I found my family.”
Boss Yang opened his mouth, swallowed back all the words crowding his throat, and didn’t even ask for details about his family: “Then let me pack your luggage.”
“There’s no need. I’ll figure out a way to resolve the Zhongshi Village demolition issue. Thank you.”
Solemnly, Shen Hui bowed to Boss Yang before turning on his heel and striding away.
Crying out, Yang Bai made to give chase: “Bro! Where are you going! Bro!”
Boss Yang immediately grabbed his son and held him back, while Yang Bai burst into frustrated tears.
“His family didn’t give a damn about him before, what kind of good people could they possibly be? What if they abandon him just because he’s sick?”
Watching Shen Hui’s retreating figure, Boss Yang remained silent for a long time before muttering: “Don’t talk nonsense. His family must be good people.”
After leaving the Yang residence, Shen Hui walked along the main avenue of Zhongshi Village for a long time.
This crowded, bustling, aging urban village served as a clear dividing line that cleaved his past life in two, yet three short years here had managed to mend every single regret he carried.
He glanced back one last time at the repair shop half-hidden among the street stalls: “I will protect you.”
When he turned back around, his expression had reverted to the cold, lethal composure of his usual self, resembling precisely the blade he wielded six years ago.
Two hours later, Shen Hui stood within the grounds of the Qinghai Psychiatric Hospital and Asylum, utilizing a visitor’s pass to locate Professor Li, Li De, the man who had administered his catalyst years ago.
Shen Hui’s original intent had been to squeeze information out of him regarding Chen Shenzhi and the details surrounding Reagent Number One, but the sight that greeted him in Li De’s room instantly caused his brows to furrow.
Professor Li, once a prominent and respected figure in academic circles, was strapped tightly to a hospital bed with restraint bands and gagged with a bite block. Upon seeing visitors enter, his expression turned wildly manic, his thrashing sending the entire bed frame violently rattling.
“When was he brought in here?”
“Two months ago,” the orderly complained with a weary grimace: “For someone his age, not only is his strength freakishly huge, but every single day he…” The orderly paused, recalling something, and spat a glob of phlegm in absolute disgust.
Following the orderly’s line of sight toward the noticeable bulge beneath Li De’s restraints, Shen Hui’s expression darkened further.
“How did he end up like this?”
“You didn’t know?” Finding someone handsome and normal to talk to, the orderly was more than happy to linger: “Word is that even at his age, he married some teenage omega, drugged her to death right on the bed, and then completely lost his mind.”
Shen Hui’s heart sank, a heavy sense of foreboding gripping his chest. At that exact moment, the orderly’s phone rang. After taking the call, the orderly cast Shen Hui a bizarre look and handed the phone over.
“It’s a family member of the patient. He says he’s looking for you.”
“Do you like this gift?” Chen Shenzhi’s gentle voice drifted through the phone.
Shen Hui: “Did he offend you?”
Chen Shenzhi let out a light chuckle: “You could say that. If he hadn’t arbitrarily altered your dosage into a non-directional catalyst back then, you’d be my omega right now. By that calculation, he certainly offended me quite thoroughly.”
Shen Hui: “How did you turn him into this?”
Chen Shenzhi’s voice grew even more pleased, as if he had been waiting precisely for Shen Hui to ask that question: “It’s a replica of Number One.”
Shen Hui’s breath hitched.
Chen Shenzhi: “The very same Number One you forcefully injected into Yan Jiu. Do you know why Number One never even had an experimental code name? Because it originates from a long-sealed, top-secret experiment. Every single alpha who participated in that experiment ended up exactly like the Li De you’re looking at right now, dying in a state of absolute madness.”
Shen Hui: “Why should I believe you?”
“Haven’t you already seen Yi? Do you really think a 100 percent compatibility rate is a coincidence?”
Shen Hui clenched his fists: “Where are the experimental records?”
“They’re all with me.” Chen Shenzhi’s voice dropped to a low murmur, sounding like a demon whispering in the dark: “If you want them, come find me.”
Without giving Shen Hui a chance to respond, he disconnected the call.
For once, a rare wave of anxiety spiked within Shen Hui. Unable to find a suitable curse word in his frustration, he simply returned the phone to the orderly and pulled out his own device to call Gu Yu.
Gu Yu answered on the first ring: “Where are you?”
Shen Hui rattled off the hospital’s location. Hearing Professor Zhao’s voice in the background near Gu Yu, he immediately instructed the research institute to dispatch a team to pick up Li De.
Upon hearing the news, Professor Zhao didn’t waste a second before going to secure Li De, intending to track down Shen Hui afterward to launch another attempt at convincing him to become their boss lady.
Instead, he found Gu Yu skulking like a stealthy dog outside the window of Yan Jiu’s private recovery room. Just as Professor Zhao opened his mouth to bark at him, Gu Yu clamped a hand over his mouth with lightning speed and signaled for him to keep quiet and look inside.
Inside the recovery room, Shen Hui sat quietly beside Yan Jiu’s bed. His gaze was soft and distant, and he reached out as if to stroke Yan Jiu’s sleeping face, only to halt his fingers just inches away.
Gu Yu lowered his voice to a whisper: “What are the odds your boss actually conquers Shen Hui purely based on his face?”
“Hard to say,” Professor Zhao replied, drawing on years of accumulated experience: “After all, when Consultant Shen checks his reflection in the mirror while washing his face every morning, he can probably immunize himself against 99 percent of beauty traps.”
That reasoning was so sound it left zero room for counterarguments.
Just when both of them assumed the moment had passed, the statue-like Shen Hui suddenly stirred.
He leaned in and pressed a light, fleeting kiss to Yan Jiu’s lips, a mere dragonfly skimming the water’s surface.
“I’m sorry,” Shen Hui murmured softly: “I’ll save you.”
With that, Shen Hui rose with crisp, decisive movements and headed toward the door. The two eavesdroppers scrambled to run away only to get caught red-handed, turning back to face Shen Hui with awkward expressions full of desperate anticipation.
He kissed him, so he definitely loves him, right? No surgery needed anymore, right?
Meeting their expectant gazes with absolute calm, Shen Hui looked straight at Professor Zhao: “Monitor your boss’s condition. The moment he shows signs of waking up, administer a sedative. Make sure he won’t wake up until after I’ve left.”
Professor Zhao?!
Without missing a beat, Shen Hui shifted his gaze to Gu Yu: “Prep the glandular surgery suite. Once it’s done, have someone ship me directly to this address.”
Gu Yu glanced at the address Shen Hui handed him, which was Chen Shenzhi’s overseas villa.