Yu Yanzhuo still wore a composed smile, his finger lightly tapping and unhurriedly tracing circles on the other man’s body. Everywhere he touched left behind a scorching sensation. From this angle, he could not see the expression on Shi Jingyan’s face as he turned away, but he could see his earlobe, which had flushed a vivid crimson.
It was a small trick.
Yu Yanzhuo knew exactly what Shi Jingyan was feeling. It was not just heat; everywhere his finger brushed would continue to bring an increasingly intense, numbing itch, creating a desperate craving for his body heat and a firmer touch.
The man in front of him finally could not help but let out a muffled groan from his tightly pressed lips. Yu Yanzhuo raised an eyebrow, the smile on his lips deepening. He intended to continue, but Shi Jingyan had already turned around, reaching out to grab and tighten his grip on the fingers that were causing trouble.
“That is enough.”
Shi Jingyan’s tone was steady, but it was clearly the result of extreme self-control. He applied slight pressure to push Yu Yanzhuo’s fingers down, lowering his voice before speaking with a hint of warning. “What do you think? Is there a problem with the positioning of the force?”
Yu Yanzhuo remained beaming, completely unbothered by Shi Jingyan’s gaze. Instead, he leaned in closer. “I think I need some private, one on one guidance.”
He kept his voice low and his words light, meaningfully emphasizing certain syllables. Combined with his naturally captivating voice, it made Shi Jingyan feel as though his cheeks were burning. “We will talk later. There are people around.”
Huan Lian, who had been ignored for a long time, heard this clearly. His gaze fell on the two men’s hands, which were inexplicably clasped together. From a visual standpoint, it looked as though the person Yu Yanzhuo had brought was deathly afraid of letting go of Yu Yanzhuo’s fingers.
He cleared his throat, his eyes flashing thoughtfully as they swept over the two. “Are you finished with the guidance? Or do I need to step away for a moment?”
Only then did Shi Jingyan realize he was still gripping Yu Yanzhuo’s fingers. He let go and took a step back to cover his embarrassment, looking away as he whispered, “No need, it is fine now.”
As Yu Yanzhuo’s fingers moved away from his body, the obvious burning sensation faded, and Shi Jingyan let out a sigh of relief. From the moment he released the fingers, Yu Yanzhuo had stepped several paces to the side, looking completely like an uninvolved bystander. He even had the chance to flash an innocent smile when Shi Jingyan looked over.
This person was truly something. Shi Jingyan turned his head away and refused to look at him.
“He probably just was not careful. After all, he was holding a tray.”
“The way he got burned looked terrifying. He probably had no choice but to do that.”
The sounds of discussion reached Shen Wenyu’s ears, causing his expression to shift repeatedly. He had been played by Shi Jingyan again.
It was a fact that the soup in the bowl was much hotter. Everyone who ate at the cafeteria knew that a freshly cooked batch was at a temperature that food sitting on a table for a while could not compare to. Because of this, everyone believed that Shi Jingyan was sincerely apologizing to Shen Wenyu. They thought that because he was overwhelmed by Shen Wenyu’s relentless attitude, he chose to endure a pain even more intense than Shen Wenyu’s to show his remorse.
But Shen Wenyu knew perfectly well that Shi Jingyan did it on purpose. Forget pouring soup on his arm; as long as it made Shen Wenyu suffer, Shi Jingyan would not hesitate to pour boiling water on himself. This lunatic. This lunatic who was crueler to himself than to others. How could a normal person compete with a madman? He could never win against Shi Jingyan.
In a corner invisible to the crowd, Shi Jingyan’s eyes were fixed on Shen Wenyu, dark and terrifyingly cold, filled with gloom and ferocity. His lips curled up into a faint, almost imperceptible arc, carrying the same eerie chill as when they were on the stairs.
Shen Wenyu met his gaze, recalling the words Shi Jingyan had whispered in his ear just now. He suddenly realized that Shi Jingyan was not being so aggressive because of his sarcasm and bitterness.
“Stay away from that person.”
There was only one person who was connected to him while also being related to Shi Jingyan.
He was not a person who said one thing but meant another, and besides, he had indeed been staring in that direction for a long time. Seeing that Shi Jingyan only looked away without denying it, Yu Yanzhuo’s smile grew even wider. He originally wanted to reach out, but realizing there were two irrelevant people nearby, he merely lowered his voice again.
“I will go find you tonight. You can look at me for as long as you want.”
Shi Jingyan’s cheeks were burning. He was even worried he might embarrass himself by blushing in public like an inexperienced boy. He raised a hand to block his face and gritted his teeth slightly. “Do not say those things here.”
This appearance of his made Yu Yanzhuo’s heart stir slightly.
Lin Yao, unwilling to give up, followed them. Seeing Yu Yanzhuo and Shi Jingyan standing so close together, he felt dissatisfied and tried to move in. “Brother Yan, about what I just said regarding lunch.”
Yu Yanzhuo raised his eyes and glanced at him, nodding thoughtfully. Lin Yao was just about to show a look of joy when he saw Yu Yanzhuo look back at Shi Jingyan with a beaming smile. “Together?”
After class, the hallway gradually filled with people. Shi Jingyan listened quietly to the approaching footsteps. Someone would be arriving here soon.
Shi Jingyan closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the gloom in his eyes had vanished completely. He set aside the stack of homework he was holding, straightened up, and hopped down the steps in three quick strides, arriving at Shen Wenyu’s side with a hurried expression.
“Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
His brow was furrowed, the corners of his eyes drooping. His voice was tense and urgent as he held Shen Wenyu’s shoulder with one hand. His worried expression made him look like a perfectly good student anxious about a classmate being injured. It was as if everything Shen Wenyu had seen just now was an illusion.
Shen Wenyu stared at him blankly, the hair on his arms standing up as a bone chilling cold crawled up his spine and spread through his body. He instinctively wanted to retreat, but his shoulder was gripped so tightly by Shi Jingyan that he could not break free.
“Ah, someone fell!”
The Shi Residence.
A middle aged woman nearly fifty years old sat in a deep gray velvet sofa, lightly holding a porcelain cup with steam still rising from it. Her well maintained fingers showed almost no traces of time, and a jade ring the size of a pigeon egg shimmered slightly.
Shi Yuyang sat with a smile in the position closest to the woman, listening to her speak unhurriedly.
“After Jingyan left, your birthday banquet for the past two years was handled by me. It was done well. Now the date is approaching again; you should start preparing early.”
Hearing Shi Jingyan’s name, a dark glint flashed through Shi Yuyang’s lowered eyes, though his face remained smiling. He nodded slightly. “I understand, Mom. I have already drafted the guest list. I will need you to look it over later.”
The woman nodded and looked out the window, appearing to recall something. She added, “The past two years, Jingyan said he was too busy to make it. This year, I heard his business has stabilized. Remember to tell him to come.”
Shi Yuyang was slightly stunned. Hearing the woman’s nostalgic tone as she mentioned not having seen him for a long time, the hand at his side clenched for a second before slowly relaxing. He had been away from the Shi family for two years, and yet his mother still missed him?
When Shi Jingyan originally left the Shi family, no one had blocked or tried to keep him. On the contrary, after he left, Mother Shi would occasionally mention him with a tone of regret and nostalgia. Shi Yuyang did not understand what his mother was thinking, whether she truly missed him or was simply using it to display her benevolence, but it undoubtedly made him feel threatened.
“Thank you so much.”
Afterward, he turned around and walked down the stairs with that person, disappearing around the corner of the corridor. Shen Wenyu was supported by several others toward the classroom, not even having the chance to look back at Shi Jingyan’s expression.
He knew this spot was the stairs, so he had been careful with his footing as he walked. But at that moment, in that single instant, his foot had tilted to the side uncontrollably. It was as if someone had intentionally tripped him. Yet, he clearly had not felt any direct physical contact with Shi Jingyan, nor had his foot touched anything. It could not have been that he was just careless.
A voice from the side interrupted his thoughts. “Hey, your shoelace is untied. You should tie it, or you might step on it and fall again.” The girl beside him spoke kindly.
With emotions churning inside him, Shi Yuyang looked up at the woman, his smile modest. “I understand, Mom. I will notify Brother later.”
Mother Shi nodded in satisfaction and chatted casually with Shi Yuyang about trivial family matters, such as how the company affairs were going and telling him not to overwork himself. Shi Yuyang nodded obediently in agreement until the hands of the clock turned a few times and he rose to take his leave.
The driver opened the rear door of the car for Shi Yuyang. The moment the door closed, the smile on Shi Yuyang’s face vanished completely. His phone rang, and he pressed the answer button. Without waiting for the other side to speak, he asked first, “Is it done?”
“Yes, President Shi. I have already sent someone to sign the agreement with the supplier. We have bought out their raw material supply at double the price; from now on, they can only supply Huayuntang. We have also pressured the secondary and tertiary suppliers to significantly raise their prices. Even if Shi Jingyan wants to get goods, he will have to pay a much higher cost.”
Listening to the voice on the other end, the corners of Shi Yuyang’s mouth slowly curled up into the most genuine smile he had worn all day. “Good, well done.”
He praised them briefly, hung up the phone, and stared at his reflection in the darkened screen.
The sharp, piercing school bell rang in his ears, its urgent tone feeling as though it were striking directly at his heart. Shen Wenyu’s body suddenly stiffened, and he slowly lowered his head. He was wearing sneakers, and his shoelaces had come undone at some point. Because he was carrying a stack of homework that reached his chin, he had not seen it or felt it at all.
Shen Wenyu stared at his shoes. On the white shoelace, there was a very faint but faintly visible mark. A footprint.
A chill rose from the soles of his feet to his spine, his nerves focusing on the hair suddenly standing up on the back of his neck. Shen Wenyu’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he instinctively touched his arm, which was now covered in goosebumps. The smile he saw on Shi Jingyan’s face before he fell appeared in his mind again. Everything happened so fast that he could not even confirm if it was a hallucination. When he saw Shi Jingyan sitting beside him with a worried look, he felt that Shi Jingyan simply could not do such a thing.
He was wrong.
Shi Jingyan lowered his head slightly, his eyelashes drooping as he looked down at the floor, his face devoid of expression. Exercise books were scattered everywhere, spread messily across the stairs. Some slid down uncontrollably due to their center of gravity, finally stopping at the last step.
Shen Wenyu gripped the iron pillar of the stair railing tightly with his right hand, the veins bulging from the force. He sat on a step about two or three meters away. His ankle was bent at a slight angle against the next step, using all his strength to steady himself. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead from the pain, and his expression was one of complete disarray.
Ah, fast reflexes. What a pity.
Shi Jingyan stared at his face, which was distorted by pain, his expression indifferent. If Shen Wenyu had not been quick enough to let go of the homework and grab the railing, Shi Jingyan was not an introverted, lonely, or easily bullied good student at all. He was more sinister and ruthless than himself or anyone could have imagined. What if he had not grabbed the railing in time? What if he had really fallen backward, face up?
Shen Wenyu’s hand could not stop shaking, and his throat felt as if it were blocked; for a moment, he could not say a single word.
“Hey, are you all right?” The girl saw Shen Wenyu sitting stiffly, staring at his shoelaces for a long time, and could not help but call out to him.
Hearing this, Shen Wenyu looked up and barely forced a smile that looked worse than crying. “I am fine. Sorry to bother you all to take me back.”
After placing the homework on the teacher’s desk in the office, the boy turned and smiled at Shi Jingyan. “It is easiest to fall when carrying homework down the stairs. I did it before too, not seeing where I was going and falling accidentally. You should be careful too. Our school stairs are so steep; rolling down is no joke.”
“Mhm, I will be careful.” Shi Jingyan nodded and stared at the boy, enunciating each word. “Try not to be careless in the future.”
He curled his lips and smiled gently at the boy. In the position he had fallen in, it would not have been just a sprained ankle.
Shi Jingyan had indeed done well, completely breaking away from the Shi family and creating his own brand in just two short years; even he might not have been able to achieve that. But compared to the Shi family’s own industries, it was still not up to par.
He originally had not taken it seriously, as given the status of the Shi family’s industries, cutting off his supply would not be difficult. He just wanted to wait a little longer before taking action. But now, the situation had changed.
Shi Yuyang recalled the scene at Yunding that day, his lips thinning and his gaze turning dark. Afterward, he had used various carefully manufactured coincidences to integrate himself into Yu Yanzhuo’s circle, and he had also asked Yu Yanzhuo about Shi Jingyan in a roundabout way. Yu Yanzhuo’s attitude seemed to show no particularly special interest in Shi Jingyan, treating him no differently than the crowd that usually surrounded him. This allowed Shi Yuyang to breathe a sigh of relief, but thinking about the frustration of that day, he still felt his nominal brother should suffer a little.
He put away his phone and closed his eyes, speaking calmly to the driver, “To the company.”
“Are you saying the phone got water in it and will not turn on?” The balding boss in a loose T-shirt leaned lazily against the glass counter, fiddling with the phone in front of him.
“Mhm, soup spilled and soaked the phone. Now the screen is just black.” Shi Jingyan stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the boss with a distressed expression.
“It is fine, leave it to me. Let me check if the motherboard has water in it first.” The boss looked relaxed as he took out a familiar toolbox, skillfully unscrewed the screws, lifted the phone cover, and observed carefully. “It is not a big problem. The main parts are not damaged, and the motherboard does not even need to be replaced. It might have just overheated and shut down. I will clean it up for you.”
Shi Jingyan nodded, his brow furrowing as if he were very conflicted. After a long while, he spoke, “How much will it be?”
“I will not charge you much; twenty will do.” The boss waved his hand generously as he worked, then looked up at Shi Jingyan. “Are you a student at this school?”
Shi Jingyan nodded.
The view from the private room was excellent, easily overlooking the entire city’s scenery. Shi Jingyan was currently in no mood to enjoy it. His face was expressionless as his gaze swept over the people in front of him.
Huan Lian had already left, claiming he had things to do. In front of him was a boy leaning as far as possible to the side and casting a very unfriendly look toward him. He remembered the name was something like Lin Yao. And there was Yu Yanzhuo.
“What are you daydreaming about?” Yu Yanzhuo’s lips curled slightly as he rested his chin on his hand and looked over, blinking at the moment he met Shi Jingyan’s gaze.
Shi Jingyan paused and abruptly looked away to avoid his smiling gaze. He immediately felt Lin Yao’s unfriendly look toward him become even more hostile. He had not intended to agree to Yu Yanzhuo’s invitation to join them, but the moment he met those golden eyes, his rejection turned into agreement. It was only after sitting here that Shi Jingyan barely realized what he had agreed to.
“I thought so. Students at this school are all good students. If only my kid could get into this school.” The boss chatted with him happily and quickly fixed the phone. He pressed the power button to confirm the phone was working normally, then placed it on the counter for Shi Jingyan to take.
Shi Jingyan did not pick it up. He stared intently at the boss and suddenly spoke. “I want to ask, can you install a tracker in the phone?”
The boss froze, his gaze showing a hint of suspicion. “I can, but what are you planning to do?”
Students often came to him to unlock passwords or hack devices, and he usually turned a blind eye since it was a gray area. But a request like installing a tracker was rare. The boss looked the boy up and down, but felt he did not look like the kind of kid who liked to cause trouble.
“Oh, it is like this.” Shi Jingyan put his thumb to his mouth, lightly biting it as he showed a nervous and worried expression. “This phone is my grandmother’s. She has Alzheimer’s and does not like to answer the phone.”
Even the seating was the same. Upon arriving at the private room, Shi Jingyan instinctively walked toward the seat furthest from the door, while Lin Yao predictably grabbed Yu Yanzhuo’s arm and clamored to sit with him. Yu Yanzhuo looked up at him, his finger lightly tapping the seat beside him. He was still smiling, his tone light and casual. “You sit here.”
In the eyes of others, the result was that as soon as Yu Yanzhuo spoke, Shi Jingyan obediently walked over and sat beside him. How embarrassing.
Shi Jingyan pressed his temple and let out an imperceptible sigh, speaking calmly, “It is fine.” It was a response to Yu Yanzhuo’s question.
Yu Yanzhuo gave an oh. Before Shi Jingyan could react, Yu Yanzhuo leaned in closer to him again. Shi Jingyan’s elbow brushed against his chest; he paused slightly and uncomfortably moved to the side. “If you are going to talk, just talk. Why do you have to lean so close?”