In just a few days, it would be Grandpa Shen’s birthday banquet, which will be held by Shen Yu, the only grandson.
Due to time constraints, Shen Yu has spent almost all his energy on planning the event. The birthday banquet wouldn’t be held at Shen Yu’s home, but a hotel owned by the Shen Company. As early as a month ago, Shen Yu instructed the hotel managers to suspend business for a week when the time came and arrange for the banquet wholeheartedly.
As for the list of invited guests
Shen Yu had developed an ongoing headache for this matter.
When Tang Li was first taken in, Elder Shen still had the intention to arrange a match for Shen Yu but overtime he had been fooled by Tang Li so that no match ever took.
Later, Shen Yu simply told Elder Shen that he had promised Tang Li that he would not find a girlfriend until the little villain became an adult.
After hearing this, Elder Shen was angry for a long time. He accused Shen Yu of not being mindful of his responsibilities. He actually missed the event he had been planning ever since Shen Yu was born for the sake of a half-way adopted child.
Shen Yu was not upset either. He listened quietly to Elder Shen’s complaints before slowly and calmly saying,
Didn’t Grandpa tell me to take good care of Chestnut? I’m just doing what you said.
Hearing the words, Elder Shen was so angry that it seemed like smoke was coming out of his ears. He picked up the tissue box on the tea table and threw it at Shen Yu.
Shen Yu did not bother to evade the tissue box, so he was hit in the middle of his chest.
Really, such a thing wouldn’t hurt anyway.
You really piss me off! I asked you to take care of Chestnut, but I didn’t ask you to throw away life and become a monk for Chestnut! Are you going to spend your life with him? Do you think Chestnut is willing to do that?! Later on Chestnut will find a girlfriend to marry and have children with! And you… you can only wait for a lonely death!
Elder Shen pointed at Shen Yu and scolded,
If your parents could hear your disgraceful remarks, they would tear off one of your legs!
Shen Yu, with an absent-minded smile on his face, did not listen to Elder Shen’s words at all. He sighed,
Even without their help, my legs are no different from broken ones.
Elder Shen:
…
Elder Shen typically eats soft but does not eat hard[1]. Although he usually scolds Shen Yu and complains that Shen Yu doesn’t come to see him very much, once Shen Yu’s sad face of self-abandonment appears, it was like his anger was a balloon punctured by a needle. The whole person’s momentum will soften instantly.
I’ll give you five more years.
Elder Shen made a final concession and said with a serious expression,
I won’t nag you in the next five years, but if you haven’t solved your marriage problem by then, don’t blame this old man for his meddling. You are the only child of our Shen family. I’m under such great pressure to support you every day, and it’s time for you to do the same.
I already talked about it with the rest of our Shen family.
Shen Yu pinched his lips together into a polite smile and did not promise or refuse.
Now, five years have passed.
As he had promised, Elder Shen began to look for Shen Yu’s wife with great fanfare.
The elder was old and disliked the fake politeness and excessive atmosphere such banquets required. However, in order to find a suitable wife for Shen Yu, he told his old friends that he was going to have a party on his birthday and advised them to bring their younger generations with them. Whether it’s a daughter or a granddaughter or a niece, the visitors will not be turned away.
The old friends instantly understood the implications of Elder Shen’s words and nodded their heads.
So when Shen Yu browsed through the guest list compiled by Uncle Zhang, he saw a lot of strange names, and could tell at first glance that most of them were woman, and a small number of the names had talked about by Elder Shen several times before.
Shen Yu’s face was covered with black lines. Even if he only had a single brain cell left, he could guess what kind of thoughts Elder Shen had when he decided to hold a birthday party.
These people –
Shen Yu pointed out a few names on the list and drew several circles around them. He raised his head and told Uncle Zhang,
Take out their names and don’t send them invitations.
Uncle Zhang hesitated slightly:
It seems that they will all come with their elders, who are all friends personally invited by Master Shen.
It’s all right.
Shen Yu shook his hand disapprovingly and laughed at himself.
Even if we don’t send invitations, they will come unasked. I just want to let them know my attitude.
Understood.
Uncle Zhang replied.
That’s it.
Shen Yu closed the directory and handed it to Uncle Zhang.
How are things going over at the hotel?
Uncle Zhang answered,
The arrangement has been laid out, we’re waiting for the host and the performers to gather for rehearsal. Would you like to see it?
No, I’m too lazy to go.
Shen Yu closed his eyes and leaned back on the the chair. He rubbed his temples and looked tired.
You can go instead in my place.
Uncle Zhang nodded, collected the list, and then turned and left the study.
Suddenly there was only Shen Yu in the study. He sighed listlessly. He felt the silence around him as if he could hear the sound of the air flowing. Over the years, he was used to Tang Li’s lively chirping. Now the little villain was at school, and he felt very uncomfortable.
It seemed like his life suddenly lacked something important.
How strange.
—
Weekend.
Uncle Zhang drove Shen Yu and Tang Li to a scenic spot in the suburbs to see cherry blossoms.
Currently, it was the height of cherry blossom season, many people came to visit. The parking lot is almost full, so Uncle Zhang followed the guidance of staff to find a temporary empty parking space.
After getting out of the car, Tang Li instantly regretted it.
He didn’t expect so many people to come here to play, even to the point where the ticket office is crowded.
Shen Yu clutched his crutches. It was hard to walk in the crowd without a lot of inconvenience.
Shen Yu turned his head to see Tang Li’s ugly face and guessed what he was thinking. He smiled and reached out to pinch Tang Li’s face, but before his fingertips touched Tang Li’s skin, again he paused in realization before dropping his hand to Tang Li’s shoulder.
All Tang Li’s attention was focused on Shen Yu. So, he naturally perceived Shen Yu’s cautious and awkward movements.
He squinted slightly, and something dark flashed in his his eyes before it quietly blended back into his thick black pupils.
Shen Yu did not notice the flash and instead patted the little villain on the shoulder, smiled and comforted him, saying,
I haven’t been out for several days. It will be nice to visit a crowded place and experience a lively feeling.
Tang Li murmured and leaned close to Shen Yu.
This park is a major feature of S city. Not only is it too large to walk around the perimeter in a single day, but cherry trees are planted in all corners of the park. Even beside the bathroom, which is relatively concealed, brilliant cherry blossoms can be seen.
The park was also divided into popular spots and less popular spots.
The popular spots have only recently caught fire on the microblogs. Marketing slogans claim that they are one of the places that tourists have to visit when they come to S City. So most tourists go directly to those places when they enter the park, which meant that almost no one went to the less popular spots.
Shen Yu didn’t like to make a spectacle of himself. When he heard the girl talking about the microblogs as she passed by, he said nothing and led Uncle Zhang and Tang Li to a less populated place.
Who could have known that the park was just too big?
Even before reaching his destination, Shen Yu was exhausted and almost collapsed to the ground.
Today’s amount of exercise was far more than he had pushed himself to do before.
Shen Yu leaned against a tree and refused to go any further.
Tang Li approached, unscrewed the bottle cap of mineral water in his hand, and handed it to Shen Yu:
Drink some water.
Only then did Shen Yu realize that he had been dry-mouthed. He didn’t bother refusing out of politeness before he took his two crutches in one hand and freed up his other hand to take the mineral water bottle. He turned his head up and drank two mouthfuls.
When the cool liquid slipped through the throat, Shen Yu wanted to breath a relief. At last, he felt a lot of dryness, heat, and exhaustion go away.
Shen Yu wiped the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand and reached out to ask Tang Li for the bottle cap.
Instead of giving it to him Tang Li asked,
You don’t want anymore?
No, I’m fine now.
Tang Li said,
Then I’ll take it.
Shen Yu thought that the meaning of Tang Li’s sentence was to help him take the bottle of water so he could free up his hands. After all, it was really inconvenient to hold both crutches and the bottle, so he handed Tang Li the remaining mineral water.
As a result, Tang Li took the mineral water and directly took a drink from it.
In a few moments, most of the water was gone.
Tang Li naturally twisted the cap of the bottle back on and raised his right hand and threw it. The empty bottle drew a semi-circular arc in mid-air, and landed in the garbage can that was not far away.
When Shen Yu saw this scene, his whole body felt unwell.
Although he is not mysophobic, he has been trying to avoid both direct and indirect contact with Tang Li in the process of raising him.
He didn’t give Tang Li something he ate from, didn’t use his own chopsticks to add vegetables to Tang Li, and so on…
It wasn’t really in consideration of a hygiene problem, but he clearly remembered that Tang Li in the original novel grew up to be a very critical person and had a slight case of mysophobia. Once his assistant prepared him a pair of unsterilized chopsticks, and he was scolded in front of the rest of the employees.
So naturally after remembering that scene, Shen Yu maintained the mentality of avoidance.
Looking back and seeing that Shen Yu’s eyes were as wide as saucers, Tang Li, who originally had no expression, suddenly drew his lips up, and the smile in his eyes almost overflowed.
He copied Shen Yu’s previous actions and reached out his index finger to poke Shen Yu twice on his cheek.
What’s wrong?
Tang Li asked.
Oh, nothing.
Shen Yu looked back and blinked his eyes. He even forgot to move Tang Li’s hand away from his face before hesitantly asking,
Why did you drink my water?
Tang Li calmly retracted his hand and said innocently,
You said you didn’t want to drink anymore.
Shen Yu said gloomily,
I meant that I didn’t want to drink it now. I’ll drink later when I’m thirsty.
It’s all right.
Tang Li comforted him.
If you’re thirsty later. I’ll buy you another one.
Shen Yu didn’t know whether to cry or laugh,
Actually, I didn’t mean that…
Tang Li tilted his head slightly, with some doubts in his eyes. He was puzzled by Shen Yu’s words.
Shen Yu wiped his lips and hesitated for a long time before he whispered,
I drank from the bottle, so my saliva is on it, then you drank it. It’s not very hygienic.
Tang Li began to laugh, and his beautiful black eyes seemed to be full of speckled lights.
It doesn’t matter. Besides, the water you drink from is sweeter.
Tang Li added this sentence silently in his heart, but he dared not speak it out loud.
After more than ten minutes of rest, Shen Yu said that he could move on.
Shen Yu wanted to reach for the two crutches beside him when he was the light in front of him dim. When he looked up, the two crutches were in Tang Li’s hand.
Tang Li handed his crutches to Uncle Zhang and squatted down in front of Shen Yu.
Get on, I’ll carry you.
Shen Yu was stunned and immediately refused,
No, I can go myself.
However, the rejected Tang Li didn’t intend to give up. He squatted half-way in the same place without moving. The little villain was positioned so that Shen Yu could not move unless it was to get on Tang Li’s back.
The two men stood still for a long time under Uncle Zhang’s helpless gaze, and finally Shen Yu compromised. He staggered forward half a step and carefully leaned on Tang Li’s back.
Perhaps it was Shen Yu’s illusion, but it seemed like Tang Li’s tight body suddenly relaxed and seemed to be relieved but still trembled with nervousness.
Tang Li’s hands passed behind Shen Yu’s knee and easily lifted him up, then he slowly stood up and said,
Ready?
Shen Yu said,
Let’s go.
[1] Meaning he can’t scold Shen Yu with serious intent.
