Monday.
Bo Chengjing had to go to work, and Shen Zhinian had to go to school.
At 7:00 AM, Bo Chengjing prepared to head downstairs for breakfast. Passing by Shen Zhinian’s bedroom, Shen Zhinian happened to open the door and come out.
The door opened with a loud creak, causing Bo Chengjing to pause his steps.
Shen Zhinian looked as though he had just woken up; his hair was a mess, and the expression in his eyes was still somewhat hazy. Yet, the moment he opened the door, he looked flustered.
However, upon seeing Bo Chengjing, he seemed to let out a sigh of relief, raising a hand to ruffle his own hair.
Bo Chengjing watched him.
Leaning against the doorframe, Shen Zhinian sighed and said, “You kept scolding me in my dream. It felt way too realistic; I thought you had left.”
“I really do want to scold you,” Bo Chengjing said calmly.
Seeing his stern expression, Shen Zhinian straightened his posture, blinked, and asked, “W-what’s wrong?”
Bo Chengjing watched him.
When he wasn’t smiling, his brows and eyes were cold and sharp, carrying an intense sense of oppression.
Shen Zhinian had been terrified of this look since he was a kid. Panic rushed through his heart, and after a moment of thought, he asked, “Did I… did I do something last night?”
“Don’t remember?” Bo Chengjing asked.
Shen Zhinian thought about it carefully, only to find that his last memory of last night was successfully making it into his own house, avoiding the embarrassment of failing to find his way home outside.
The next memory was waking up to dream about Bo Chengjing constantly scolding him.
“I, I…” Shen Zhinian had no idea what outrageous thing he might have done, nor what could possibly make Bo Chengjing this angry.
The moment Bo Chengjing saw him looking like this, he knew the kid had completely forgotten everything.
“What did I do?” Shen Zhinian asked cautiously.
“Nothing.” Bo Chengjing walked toward the stairs. “I really have to go.”
Shen Zhinian hurried to follow him, asking anxiously, “Where to?”
Bo Chengjing slowly spat out two words: “Work.”
Shen Zhinian: “Oh.”
“And also…” Bo Chengjing glanced at him. “Just a reminder, you have an 8:00 AM class.”
Shen Zhinian’s steps came to a halt. He immediately turned around, bolted back into his bedroom, and rushed to wash up.
By the time he finished washing up and went downstairs, Bo Chengjing had already left.
Shen Zhinian asked the housekeeper, and it turned out Bo Chengjing hadn’t eaten breakfast and had simply left straight away.
For the next three days straight, Shen Zhinian didn’t catch a glimpse of Bo Chengjing.
This made him convinced that he must have done something monumental while he was drunk.
Yet, try as he might, he genuinely couldn’t remember a thing.
Thursday.
Shen Zhinian had two classes in the morning and another class at 2:00 PM in the afternoon.
His schedule for the past four days had been just like this, classes in both the morning and the afternoon.
Because of this, he had been having his lunches at the school cafeteria over the past few days, always eating together with his roommate.
Moreover, his roommate seemed to have already grown used to being his dining companion; the moment class ended today, he walked right over to Shen Zhinian’s side.
Ye Qinghe was also an S-class alpha, about the same height as him, giving off a sunny, cheerful, and gentle vibe.
He was a really great person.
Shen Zhinian had also grown somewhat accustomed to him, so the two of them walked out of the classroom together.
Ye Qinghe walked ahead while Shen Zhinian followed closely behind, lowering his head to send Bo Chengjing a message asking if he was coming home tonight.
Just as the message went through, Ye Qinghe ahead of him suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Catching sight of him stopping out of the corner of his eye, Shen Zhinian hastily halted behind his back, and then he heard a familiar voice.
“Are you blind when you walk or something?” an outside voice barked abruptly.
It was the voice of Shen Mingyi, his half-brother.
Shen Zhinian’s already poor mood flared up the moment he heard that voice, like a firecracker being lit inside his body.
Bang, it exploded with a muffled roar.
“Sorry—” Ye Qinghe’s apology was cut short, choked right back down his throat by Shen Mingyi. Ye Qinghe clicked his tongue lightly. “Did you leave your brain at home when you learned to speak? Were your manners fed to the dogs?”
“What did you say? Say it agai—” Shen Mingyi cut himself off mid-sentence.
He stared blankly at Shen Zhinian standing right behind Ye Qinghe.
Shen Zhinian stepped up beside Ye Qinghe, his dark eyes fixed coldly on him.
After a brief flash of surprise, Shen Mingyi said, “Why are you here?”
“Get lost,” Shen Zhinian uttered a single, cold word.
Ye Qinghe tilted his head to look at Shen Zhinian, his previously indignant expression shifting into one of slight surprise.
Through their recent gathering and the past few days of hanging out, he had always felt that Shen Zhinian was just a cold, unfeeling person who was hard to approach.
In reality, the guy was a great person, very polite and easy to talk to.
Today was the first time he felt that… his judgment might not have been entirely accurate.
This overwhelming, crushing sense of oppression—
It was almost making him a little scared.
“Y-you, you…” Shen Mingyi glanced at the surrounding people and said, “What right do you have to be here? What right do you have to tell me to get lost? What is someone who couldn’t even get an admission letter doing at a place like this?”
Shen Zhinian truly didn’t want to lay eyes on this mentally handicapped idiot. “Yeah, I want you to get lost. Go run back and complain to your dad, tell him I scolded you again.”
With that, Shen Zhinian walked forward.
Watching him approach, Shen Mingyi instinctively stepped aside to make room.
Shen Zhinian was half a head taller than him. Passing right by him without sparing even a glance, Shen Zhinian kept walking straight ahead.
Ye Qinghe was right behind Shen Zhinian. When he reached Shen Mingyi, he paused, shot him a look, and let out a scoff. “Next time you walk past here, remember to bring your eyes and your brain.”
After saying that, he happily trotted to catch up with Shen Zhinian.
Humiliated in front of so many fellow students, Shen Mingyi stared at Shen Zhinian’s retreating back and suddenly shouted, “Shen Zhinian! You rebel against your father, brought outsiders to the house to terrorize him, and even tried to raise your hands against him! You’ve driven our father to the point where he can’t eat or sleep for days, aren’t you going to go back and check on him?”
Shen Zhinian came to a halt.
The students watching the spectacle began whispering among themselves.
“Is that true? Beating your own father? How could he? Aren’t you afraid of retribution?”
“He looks like trouble anyway. Shen Mingyi is well-liked by everyone, and it feels like he’s not the type to lie. Plus, Shen Mingyi treats everyone nicely except for him. There’s definitely a reason.”
“Quit talking nonsense, Shen Zhinian is a great guy too. You don’t even know him, are you just gonna jump to conclusions based on what someone else says?”
“He’s in your class, of course you’re defending him. What? Do you have a crush on him?”
“Shen Mingyi is in your class too, didn’t you guys defend him? What? Do you have a crush on him?”
Ye Qinghe stopped walking as well. He looked at Shen Zhinian’s back, listened to the surrounding whispers, and then took a few steps back to stand beside Shen Mingyi. Staring right at him, Ye Qinghe said, “Are you… naturally this good at disgusting people? Are you a fly or something?”
Shen Zhinian pulled Ye Qinghe back slightly. “He’s much more disgusting than a fly.”
Seeing Shen Zhinian step over, Ye Qinghe took a small step to the side.
“Shen Zhinian! Don’t push your luck!” Shen Mingyi glared at him.
Shen Zhinian let out a cold scoff, his eyes filled with absolute contempt. “Shen Mingyi, words require accountability, you know. Why don’t you call your dad over and ask him if that’s what happened? Is he losing sleep and skipping meals? With me finally out of the Shen family, he’s probably celebrating with song and dance, shaking off his old bones with joy.”
Shen Mingyi’s lips twitched, but he didn’t dare say anything back, only glaring daggers at Shen Zhinian.
He didn’t believe Shen Zhinian would dare start a fight right here in front of so many people.
Yet, he could never quite pin Shen Zhinian’s character down.
“And another thing… your father sold me,” Shen Zhinian stated flatly. “The Shen family’s current wealth and standing were built using the startup capital from selling me.”
Shen Mingyi’s eyes widened in sheer horror.
He never expected Shen Zhinian to just blurt out a secret like that.
The blood in his entire body felt like it ran cold for a second.
The Shen family’s biggest secret, the family’s ultimate scandal…
He didn’t care about the Shen family’s reputation at all. No matter what, he still bore the Shen surname, the fall of the Shen family would bring him zero benefits.
“Let me remind you one more time,” Shen Zhinian stepped a pace closer to him, lowering his voice. “Watch your status. What status you and your mother used to enter the Shen family, I hope you keep that in mind at all times. I also hope you tuck your tail between your legs and stop strutting around in front of my eyes. Otherwise, I’ll make sure neither you nor your mother gets a single cent.”