After the farce concluded, Shen Mingyi left in a flurry, and Shen Zhinian and Ye Qinghe headed to the cafeteria.
As for the gossip surrounding the Shen family, Shen Zhinian didn’t take it to heart at all.
The Shen family was considered a prominent and reputable name in Jiangcheng.
This was the Shen family’s greatest scandal. If the police hadn’t tracked down Shen Tiancheng, he wouldn’t have bothered bringing him back home at all.
To save face, Shen Tiancheng even lied, claiming he had accidentally lost the child all those years ago.
He had supposedly been searching for him ever since.
He was deeply grateful to the police for helping him find his son.
Whenever Shen Zhinian thought of that hypocritical face of his, pure irritation bubbled up.
Stepping out of the teaching building, Ye Qinghe walked beside Shen Zhinian without uttering a single word.
Though he was a bit curious, it was, after all, someone else’s family background, and a rather unpleasant matter at that, so he didn’t find it appropriate to pry.
After a moment, Shen Zhinian said, “Just now, thanks.”
“Huh?” Ye Qinghe didn’t catch on. “Thanks for what? What am I being thanked for? Where is there anything to thank? Didn’t you help me vent my anger?”
Shen Zhinian looked at him, paused, and said, “I didn’t help you. I simply couldn’t stand the sight of him.”
“Oh. So blunt?” Ye Qinghe said. “Then what are you thanking me for?”
“Thanking you for defending me just now without knowing anything about the situation,” Shen Zhinian said calmly.
“Is that even something to thank me for?” Ye Qinghe laughed. “You’re my roommate, I suppose that makes us friends now, right? We’ve been eating meals together for so many days. Defending you is only natural.”
“Does this count as being friends?” Shen Zhinian asked.
“Doesn’t it?” Ye Qinghe said cheerfully.
“Let’s share a few more meals first,” Shen Zhinian replied.
Ye Qinghe chuckled. “Well, if you really want to thank me, you’re treating this meal.”
“Deal,” Shen Zhinian nodded.
After lunch, upon returning to the dormitory, Shen Zhinian received a message from Bo Chengjing.
Just two words: [Not coming back.]
This marked the fourth consecutive day of not coming back.
Shen Zhinian stared at the message, waited a moment, and sent another: [Where are you?]
[On a business trip out of town.] Bo Chengjing replied.
Shen Zhinian flipped his phone face down on the desk and let out a soft sigh.
It’s over, it’s over!
The sky has fallen!
Since Bo Chengjing wasn’t coming home, Shen Zhinian simply decided not to go back for the night either.
Returning meant being all alone anyway, so he might as well stay in the dorm.
Experiencing his very first true taste of dormitory living, Shen Zhinian gained a whole new perspective.
During military training, discipline had been strict.
Back in the dorms, the hallways were virtually silent.
Now, the hallway outside felt like a night market. Every so often, someone would shout out, accompanied by a group of people brawling and bickering over who was whose daddy.
Somewhere down the hall, a birthday was being celebrated, treating Shen Zhinian to the absolute worst rendition of a birthday song he had ever heard in his life.
Shen Zhinian had his family driver drop off a brand-new set of toiletries.
Taking a quick trip outside just to grab his things gave him a thorough baptism into a brand-new world.
When he got back to the dorm, Ye Qinghe was sitting in front of his computer making a phone call.
Shen Zhinian neatly arranged all his washing supplies, then sat down at his desk and checked his phone.
His chat with Bo Chengjing still rested on those four words: [On a business trip out of town.]
Shen Zhinian scrolled back and forth through their chat history.
It wasn’t like Bo Chengjing had never gone on business trips before; the longest one had lasted over half a year.
But this time felt different.
Shen Zhinian felt that he must have done something to make Bo Chengjing angry. The other didn’t want to lose his temper at him, so he used a business trip as an excuse to avoid seeing him.
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly overheard fragments of Ye Qinghe’s conversation.
Ye Qinghe said, “Do you guys take Bo Chengjing for a blind fool? Why would he ever fancy her?”
Shen Zhinian blinked, turning his head to look at him.
Ye Qinghe’s tone carried a hint of impatience: “I advise you, if you want to talk business, wait until Bo Chengjing comes back and talk business properly. Cut out the useless tricks. Not only will you fail to secure the deal, but you’ll just make fools of yourselves.”
Shen Zhinian couldn’t hear what the person on the other end was saying.
Yet after listening for a moment, Ye Qinghe retorted, “Using such underhanded tactics, aren’t you afraid of being tossed out on your ears? Aren’t you afraid your daughter won’t be able to marry anyone in the future? If you guys keep pulling this stunt, the Ye family’s assets really might end up being inherited entirely by me, simply because I’m the only one left.”
The person on the other side seemed to say something else.
And quite loudly, at that.
Shen Zhinian caught faint snatches of it.
Without waiting further, Ye Qinghe hung up immediately and tossed his phone onto the desk.
He looked thoroughly pissed off. After taking a while to calm down, he turned his head to look at Shen Zhinian.
The moment he turned, his expression was back to a calm facade, emotions stabilizing rapidly: “Sorry, family matters. Did I disturb you?”
“Are you from Jiangcheng too?” Shen Zhinian asked.
“Oh, my heavens,” Ye Qinghe laughed. “You finally remembered to ask where I’m from? Shouldn’t that be the first thing people ask when they meet?”
“I just prefer asking now,” Shen Zhinian said.
Ye Qinghe chuckled. “Local.”
“Do you know Bo Chengjing?” Shen Zhinian asked.
“Never heard of him,” Ye Qinghe shook his head. “Where would I even get to know him? That’s Bo Chengjing we’re talking about. Bo Chengjing of the Jingnian Group.”
Hearing the tone of absolute worship in his voice, Shen Zhinian stayed silent.
Plenty of people knew the name Bo Chengjing.
Yet very few actually knew what Bo Chengjing looked like.
Even though photos of Bo Chengjing picking him up after military training, capturing the walk from the dorm building all the way to the school gates, had been snapped and posted on the campus forum.
During the class get-together on Sunday, someone had even asked Shen Zhinian who the person picking him up on Friday was.
He had only said it was his older brother.
He hadn’t mentioned any names.
“My old man has a partnership he wants to pitch to the Jingnian Group,” Ye Qinghe said, frowning slightly before cutting himself off and shifting gears to vent. “Treats me like air most of the time, but remembers to talk to me about this kind of crap. Are they afraid I don’t know they’re about to pull something that will shame our ancestors eighteen generations deep? Flaunting it to me like they’re holding a winning hand, acting like his daughter is about to enter the palace as the empress.”
Shen Zhinian offered no commentary.
After all, there were far too many families hoping to form a marital alliance with Bo Chengjing.
Sometimes, they were bound to resort to dirty tricks.
Because if they actually pulled it off, as Madam Bo, who would dare say a word against them?
After a moment, Ye Qinghe’s phone chimed with a notification. He glanced at it and said, “My girlfriend’s downstairs, I’m heading out.”
“You’re in a relationship too?” Shen Zhinian asked.
“Yep,” Ye Qinghe said with a hint of pride. “Don’t worry, to spare the feelings of a single dog like you, I’ll try my best not to show too much PDA.”
“Vanish from my sight within one second,” Shen Zhinian said.
Ye Qinghe cleared out instantly.
And no sooner had he left than Shen Zhinian’s own phone began to ring.
Shen Zhinian picked it up to check, it was a call from Bo Chengjing.
Without even realizing it himself, he answered the call at lightning speed.
Yet once connected, he remained silent.
Bo Chengjing’s voice came through: “Young Master, what are your orders?”
“Huh? What do you mean? Didn’t you call me?” Shen Zhinian spoke as he pushed open the balcony door and stepped outside.
“You called me,” Bo Chengjing said. “You connected and then didn’t say anything, so I called you back.”
Shen Zhinian exited the call interface and checked his call logs.
One minute ago, he really had dialed Bo Chengjing’s number.
Call duration: forty-nine seconds.
Shen Zhinian: “I flipped it face down on the desk, must’ve pressed it by accident.”
“Hmm.” Bo Chengjing’s voice remained as gentle as ever. “What are you doing?”
Yet for some reason, amidst that gentleness, Shen Zhinian caught a trace of coldness and alienation.
“I didn’t home, I’m in the dorm.” Shen Zhinian looked down from the balcony and spotted Ye Qinghe alongside a young woman.
Ye Qinghe gave her a hug, and then the two of them walked away hand in hand.
“Aside from talking to you on the phone right now, I’m also watching my roommate fall in love,” Shen Zhinian said.
Bo Chengjing chuckled. “Getting along well with your roommate, I see.”
“Yeah. It’s alright,” Shen Zhinian said.
“That’s good,” Bo Chengjing said. “I’m attending a dinner banquet right now. If there’s nothing else…”
“Brother!” Shen Zhinian caught him just in time. “Wait.”
“Hmm,” Bo Chengjing said. “Go ahead.”
“When are you coming back?” Shen Zhinian asked.
“Not sure yet,” Bo Chengjing said.
Shen Zhinian fell silent for a beat, then blurted out quickly, “I’m sorry.”
Bo Chengjing went silent.
Shen Zhinian said, “I don’t know what I did on the weekend night, but… I’m sorry, don’t be mad anymore.”
Bo Chengjing still didn’t speak.
Shen Zhinian waited quietly for a moment, then called out with a somewhat aggrieved tone, “Brother.”
Bo Chengjing let out a soft sigh. “Hmm. Anything else?”
“Yes,” Shen Zhinian said.
“Hmm,” Bo Chengjing said gently. “Tell me.”
“I…” Shen Zhinian watched another couple passing by downstairs and said, “I miss you. When are you coming back?”
Bo Chengjing fell silent once more. After a pause, he answered: “Tomorrow.”