The eldest son of the Zhou Family, Zhou Qingyu, had been born to Zhou Mengshu’s first wife.
After giving birth to Zhou Qingyu, his first wife’s health had remained fragile.
When Zhou Qingyu was eight years old, she passed away.
Not long afterward, Zhou Mengshu married his secretary.
The secretary had a seven-year-old son, who was none other than Li Nanxun.
Zhou Mengshu doted on Li Nanxun as though he were his biological son and had even entrusted much of the group’s affairs to him.
People outside the family understood perfectly well that Li Nanxun was probably Zhou Mengshu’s biological son.
Most likely, Zhou Mengshu had been involved with that secretary long before marrying her.
When Zhou Qingyu was in his early teens, he had gone to Australia with his maternal grandfather.
For many years, he had not returned to China.
Shi Jing guessed that Li Nanxun was afraid he might establish contact with Zhou Qingyu.
The man was probably aiming to seize complete control of the Zhou Family.
Shi Jing had no interest in getting involved in any of that.
Just as he was preparing to get up and leave, a sudden commotion erupted in the distance.
Both he and Li Nanxun paused and looked over.
A young man was walking toward them.
He wore a white suit. His legs were long, his waist slim, and his features were so exquisite that they bordered on beautiful.
His hair was dyed gold.
There was an innate nobility about him.
As he loosened his tie at an unhurried pace, one of Zhou Mengshu’s most trusted secretaries followed closely beside him.
The secretary appeared to be saying something, smiling in a rather flattering manner.
Given that treatment, combined with his young age…
He could only be the eldest son of the Zhou Family.
Zhou Qingyu.
The guests present were all seasoned veterans of social circles.
Each of them was as shrewd as a monkey.
The moment they formed a suspicion, their attention shifted toward the table in the corner where Shi Jing and Li Nanxun were seated.
Shi Jing withdrew his gaze and looked at Li Nanxun, whose smile had visibly stiffened.
Raising an eyebrow, he asked,
“Since you brothers are meeting, should I leave?”
Before Li Nanxun could answer, a clear voice spoke first.
“Who would be brothers with that bastard?”
The disdain in the voice was impossible to miss.
Everyone within earshot was instantly stunned.
Shi Jing: “…”
That was savage.
A trace of gloom flashed through Li Nanxun’s eyes.
He quickly concealed it and rose with a flawless smile.
“Elder Brother. Long time no see.”
Zhou Qingyu let out a mocking laugh.
Ignoring the greeting entirely, he sat down across from them and crossed his legs.
The atmosphere became somewhat rigid.
Shi Jing lowered his eyes and focused on his own breathing.
At that moment, all he wanted was to become mute.
Unfortunately, Zhou Qingyu had no intention of granting that wish.
Resting his chin on one hand, the man shifted his gaze from Li Nanxun to Shi Jing with obvious distaste.
Shi Jing had an appearance that people naturally found pleasant.
His eyes were standard almond-shaped eyes, bright and clear.
His lips were red, and his teeth were white.
Back in high school, whenever he lined up in the cafeteria, the food in his tray was always piled much higher than Qin Yu’s.
The cafeteria ladies loved him.
The moment they saw Shi Jing, their eyes curved into crescents and their smiles became especially radiant.
Unfortunately, Zhou Qingyu was not a cafeteria lady.
His voice was cool as he said,
“So you’re the new little bastard?”
Shi Jing: “…”
When Shi Jing failed to reply, Zhou Qingyu added,
“You do at least look like a decent person.”
“It’s been years, and Elder Brother still talks as unpleasantly as ever.”
Tilting his head, Li Nanxun looked directly at Zhou Qingyu.
The smile on his face grew increasingly pronounced.
“But Elder Brother has become more and more beautiful. Quite captivating, actually.”
That sounded…
Strange.
Instead of discussing the Zhou Family’s affairs, he was commenting on Zhou Qingyu’s appearance…
Before Shi Jing could fully process it—
Crash!
A sharp sound of shattering glass exploded through the room.
The surrounding area immediately fell silent.
Zhou Qingyu wiped his hands.
The wine glass had been smashed onto the floor by him.
He did not even blink.
Expressionless, he stared at Li Nanxun.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
At the neighboring tables, people pricked up their ears, eager to hear the Zhou Family’s hidden scandals.
A moment later, Li Nanxun curved his lips into a smile and spoke as if coaxing a girlfriend.
“Elder Brother, don’t be angry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“…”
At that moment, Shi Jing had only one thought.
He needed to escape.
The Zhou Family’s two sons were both abnormal.
One was crazier than the other.
Unfortunately, before he could even stand up, another guest joined the table.
The newcomer wore a light gray casual suit.
He was young, fair-skinned, and the pale-colored suit made him look both refined and elegant while carrying a hint of effortless leisure.
Without hesitation, he sat down beside Shi Jing and greeted him.
“Long time no see.”
Shi Jing stared at him with a complicated expression.
“Didn’t we just see each other this morning?”
The newcomer was Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu glanced at him, looking genuinely puzzled.
Shi Jing let out a sarcastic laugh.
“Don’t even think about pretending you’ve got amnesia—”
He had finally gained the upper hand and was preparing to launch the most vicious verbal attack possible when Zhou Qingyu suddenly spoke in an indifferent tone.
“It has been quite a while. The last time we met was half a month ago in Australia.”
Shi Jing: “…”
Slowly, he turned his head.
His voice sounded eerie as he asked Jiang Yu,
“Who exactly were you talking to just now?”
After a brief silence, Jiang Yu raised a finger and pointed at Zhou Qingyu.
“Him.”
A strange silence followed.
Shi Jing took a deep breath and awkwardly tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Next time, could you maybe use someone’s name when you’re talking?”
Jiang Yu paused before nodding.
“Okay.”
Resting his chin on one hand, Li Nanxun looked at them, then at Zhou Qingyu.
Finally, he smiled at Zhou Qingyu.
“It seems Elder Brother’s life in Australia has been quite lively.”
Zhou Qingyu smiled without warmth.
“Not nearly as lively as yours. How’s your romance with Miss Du going?”
Li Nanxun’s smile disappeared.
Adjusting his posture, he leaned back against his chair.
“That’s not something Elder Brother needs to concern himself with.”
The two brothers exchanged verbal blows.
Meanwhile, Shi Jing sat off to the side, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from a nearby plate, and happily watched the show while cracking them open.
After replying to a message, Jiang Yu put away his phone and behaved as though nothing unusual was happening.
Tilting his head slightly, he leaned over and asked,
“What are you doing here?”
Shi Jing had just endured an extreme social death experience.
Mentally, he felt as though he were standing on top of several luxury villas built from pure embarrassment.
With a lifeless expression, he replied,
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“My father and the groom were college roommates. He couldn’t come because of something else, so he sent me instead.”
After saying that, Jiang Yu asked,
“What about you?”
“The bride is my mom.”
Jiang Yu: “…”
He picked up a glass of red wine and was about to drink it.
Then, seemingly remembering something, he leaned closer again.
“Is the orange juice good?”
Shi Jing looked at him as though he were insane.
“Are we that close?”
Jiang Yu choked on his words.
Shi Jing continued,
“Don’t you have a mouth? Why don’t you taste it yourself?”
Jiang Yu: “…”
He silently lifted the wine and took a sip.
Seeing Jiang Yu rendered speechless, Shi Jing felt a subtle sense of superiority.
Look at that.
So what if Jiang Yu was the provincial top scorer?
Wasn’t he still being completely shut down?
In an excellent mood, Shi Jing grabbed another handful of sunflower seeds and continued cracking them open.
By himself, he finished an entire plate.
Even then, he remained dissatisfied and sent a message to his mother.
[What are you doing?]
Ms. Ye replied:
[Waiting for my entrance. What is it?]
Shi Jing typed:
[The next time you get married, can you buy the original-flavored sunflower seeds? I don’t like caramel-flavored ones.]
Ms. Ye didn’t respond.
Shi Jing waited patiently for five minutes before finally receiving a single-word reply.
[Scram!]
He clicked his tongue and exited WeChat.
Just as he was about to browse Weibo, the person beside him called his name.
“Shi Jing.”
Jiang Yu’s voice was very low.
Shi Jing turned to look at him.
Jiang Yu adjusted the cuff of his suit.
His eyes remained lowered, and his long, curled black eyelashes trembled slightly, casting shadows across his eyelids.
“What major did you choose?”
Shi Jing stared at him silently.
Jiang Yu’s expression was as cold as ever.
Yet for some reason, Shi Jing felt that the current Jiang Yu looked more vulnerable than before.
The strange sensation made him answer honestly without thinking.
“Chemistry. Why?”
“Nothing.”
Jiang Yu spoke calmly.
Just as Shi Jing was wondering about it, Jiang Yu asked another question.
“At Lan University?”
“Yeah.”
Shi Jing nodded.
Jiang Yu seemed to let out a breath of relief.
The tension left his body, and he looked as though a heavy burden had finally been lifted.