Chapter 62: Leaving

Translated by IAllsIsAwe

Proofread by Kyeopchi

Shen Yu waited for a day, but he wasn’t waiting for any news regarding Tang Li.

On the contrary, he was waiting for a phone call from Elder Shen in the evening.

Due to this informer―spy― Uncle Zhang, Elder Shen naturally knew exactly all Shen Yu’s moves during this period. However, he did not find fault with him because he frankly spoke his reasoning.

“I know you love Chestnut dearly, but there are numerous eyes around watching us. The most irrational thing at this time is because you are using emotions when dealing with such matters.”

Shen Yu leaned on the sofa. His eyes were staring dazely at the ceiling.

Once Elder Shen finished talking, he absent-mindedly responded.

Elder Shen knew that Shen Yu would turn deaf to what he said. He sighed, but he continued, “I really don’t want to do anything to Chestnut. I keep him just for a show to those people to see. Do you think I will hurt him?”

Shen Yu pursed his lips repeatedly, “…Grandpa, this matter is already over. “

He didn’t want to discuss it anymore.

As long as Tang Li’s name was mentioned, he became upset.

It was vexing.

It felt like a wound that he managed to hide secretly with great difficulty was being pointed out by others and furthermore, sprinkling salt on his wound.

Shen Yu took a deep breath. He was somewhat shaking.

Elder Shen on the other side of the phone seemed to guess Shen Yu’s state of mind. The explaining tone abruptly came to an end. After a good while, he sighed and said, “Xiao Yu ah, you are becoming more and more immature now.”

It was the same thing again.

Yesterday afternoon, Uncle Zhang also said the same thing to him.

They were able to express their disappointment and dissatisfaction in such a straightforward way, however, for Shen Yu, he could only hold back. He swallowed all the injustice and annoyances into his stomach and pretended as if nothing had happened.

He knew that even if he would talk, it’d be impossible for anyone to believe him.

Shen Yu’s face was pale. He placed his hand on the sofa and grasped it tightly. Then, he slowly breathed out and compromised, “Sorry, Grandpa.”

Sorry.

He was not the real Shen Yu.

He didn’t have the original owner’s ability and resolution. Seeing the Shen family’s company started to decline, he could only  helplessly worry and watch. He had one’s hands bound and was unable to do anything about it [1]. He couldn’t think of a way.

{TN: [1] 束手无策/shùshǒuwúcè is idiom means helpless in the face of a crisis}

Elder Shen kept silent for a moment. He then said, “You can deal with the Jincheng Branch’s business. All the needless expenditure will be saved. Later on, we will try to open a water source and reduce outflow [2]. Furthermore, there are also two branches in the southwest area. Dissolve them. They have been losing money for three years. No matter how much you support them, they will only continue to suffer more losses.”

{TN:[2] 开源节流/kāiyuánjiéliú is an idiom means increase income and save on spending / to broaden the sources of income and economize on expenditure}

Shen Yu was stunned, “Are we going to give up the entire southwest market?”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking currently.” Elder Shen said, “The company’s performance was not as good as it had been for the past year. If it keeps on developing like this, it will become an empty shell sooner or later. It’s better to focus on the development of star projects in the company. As for the new ideas that those people come up with, it will be vetoed for the time being. We need to take a stable route.”

Shen Yu obediently agreed, “Alright.”

Just when Shen Yu thought that Elder Shen was going to end the conversation, he suddenly heard the other side ask, “Oh, by the way, how are your two dessert shops doing?”

Shen Yu didn’t expect Elder Shen would jump to another topic so fast. After a while, he replied, “Business is still pretty good. I’m about to open another branch in the city center of a business district. Last month, I went with Kang Lin to look at the shop. Now, I’m negotiating with the landlord. If everything goes well, maybe the shop will open at the end of this year.”

Talking about the dessert shop, Shen Yu swept away his depressed mood earlier and started to lively chatter about a lot of things.

It was until Shen Yu’s voice slowly died down when he realized that Elder Shen hadn’t spoken a word. From the beginning, he only listened to him quietly.

Shen Yu was a little embarrassed, “…Sorry. “

“It’s alright. I like hearing you talk about it.” Elder Shen chuckled, “You only become energetic when you talk about these things.”

Shen Yu was speechless.

“Keep it well.” Elder Shen said jokingly, “Once your side job expands later, we, both grandfather-grandson, would not be stranded on the street.”

“En.” Shen Yu closed his eyes and his heart felt unwell.

The afternoon the next day.

Shen Yu finally received a call from Tang Li.

Tang Li not only made a phone call, but also arrived at Shen family’s home within half an hour after he hung up. He was followed by Tang family’s servants and Tang Ming, who had once met Shen Yu in Jincheng.

Tang Ming was still fair and thin as he can remember. His skin was so clean that it was almost transparent under the sun. His facial features and temperament did not change much from five years ago, but his body exuded a lot of composure.

This group of people were led into the living room by Aunt Chen.

The Tang family’s servants brought their own luggage and packing boxes. With Aunt Chen’s consent, they went straight to Tang Li’s room on the second floor.

Shen Yu was dressed casually at home. He sat on the sofa without any movement. The air conditioner in the centre was blowing strong cold air, which made his whole arms have goosebumps.

However, it was as if Shen Yu couldn’t feel cold. Ever since Tang Li stepped into the living room, his eyes were fixed on Tang Li right away.

His line of sight moved along with Tang Li’s footsteps.

Afterwards, he watched Tang Li go towards the power switch of the air conditioner. He knitted his eyebrows and reached out to push the button to increase it.

It didn’t take long for the temperature in the room to rise a little.

Tang Li came to face Shen Yu again As he knelt down the ground, he held Shen Yu’s ice cold hands and gently kneaded them. His tone was mixed with helplessness, “Next time, don’t keep the temperature too low. Your health is not good, you might catch a cold when it’s freezing.”

Shen Yu’s eyes drooped. He carefully looked at Tang Li’s appearance.

He discovered that Tang Li had slimmed down and tanned.

He still remembered that time during summer vacation before. Tang Li often ran around with Shen Yu’s assistant, bathing in the sun till his skin turned bronze. When night fell, he could only see his clothing and his rolling eyes.

Thinking about it, Shen Yu went soft.

“Thin.” He caressed Tang Li’s face. “It’s better to be fat.” Kneading it with his hand felt good too.

Tang Li looked at Shen Yu with his dark eyes. His eyes flashed. There were unknown surges such as tides in them. Then, he suddenly lifted his hand to hold Shen Yu’s hand that was touching his face. He closed his eyes and gently rubbed against Shen Yu’s palm.

Still, he seemed to resemble a kitten.

“I’ll be fat again soon.” Tang Li laughed. He even had a small canine tooth showing, “I get fat easily.”

Shen Yu chuckled and smiled. He was about to speak, but he suddenly saw a figure behind Tang Li.

It was Tang Ming.

“If you have a weight-gain type of physique, how about us then ah?” Tang Ming jokingly grumbled. Then he looked at Shen Yu with a smile and greeted him, “Mr. Shen, long time no see.”

Shen Yu’s smile vanished and then nodded,  “Yes. Long time no see.”

Tang Ming looked at Shen Yu’s legs and said with concern, “I heard Tang Li said that your legs can freely move now.”

Shen Yu said with a smile, “I can barely walk.”

During their chat, the people upstairs had already finished packing Tang Li’s belongings. They moved all of it and started the car.

Tang Ming followed the servants to return to the car to give space for Tang Li and Shen Yu.

The living room that was lively earlier, instantly quiet down.

Shen Yu thought that Tang Li would have a lot to say to him. However, after a long time waiting, Tang Li still hadn’t spoken. He raised his head just in time to see Tang Li’s eyes. Both people were staring at each other with their eyes wide open.

Both of them ‘smelled’ the awkward trail on the air.

Finally, Tang Li broke the silence, “I’m sorry.” He softly said.

Shen Yu shrugged, he pretended and lightly laughed, “It’s alright.”

After a while, Shen Yu asked, “Are you planning to transfer to another school?”

Tang Li shook his head and replied, “Tang Ming and Tang Wenjing are both studying at the same school. I ought to continue attending it until I graduate from high school.”

“Very good then.” Shen Yu smiled. When he looked at Tang Li who’s crouching down and didn’t want to get up in front of him, he patted Tang Li on the shoulder. “If they are bullying you, come back right away. The Shen family’s door is always open for you.”

With that, Shen Yu realized what had happened before, and quickly changed what he’s about to say, “Anyway, the door here is always open for you.”

Tang Li grasped Shen Yu’s hand.

He held it very tightly.

Then, he slowly let it go.

“I will go now.” Tang Li stood up to leave. “They’re waiting outside.”

“Go on then.” Shen Yu said.

Tang Li was really gone.

He moved out from the Shen family’s house and took all his belongings.

The current Tang Li wasn’t someone who’d throw things or people away. Except for the bedroom he used to stay, there was almost no trace of him.

Soon, the bedroom was cleaned by Aunt Che. When Shen Yu went to look at the room again, he found that even a little bit of trace left by Tang Li had finally been erased.

There were numerous times that Shen Yu woke up in the middle of the night, feeling that everything happened before was like a dream.

That he and Tang Li knowing each other was a dream.

Watching Tang Li growing up was a dream.

Him helplessly seeing Tang Li leave was a dream.

Everything. All of it was a dream.

Maybe one day when he wakes up, he’d see a familiar little apartment. He might also receive phone calls from his friends. Everyday, he would be vexed about those girls who were crazily pursuing him.

Transmigrating into a book was just a dream.

Time passed by little by little.

A month later, the news that Tang Li left the Shen family’s household started to spread among the upper class circle as well as the media ever since. Even Yang Jenny, who had not been contacted for a long time, heard the news. She intentionally made a phone call to console Shen Yu.

This time, Yang Jenny called Shen Yu directly from her father’s cell phone.

Shen Yu looked at Yang Jenny’s father’s name displayed on the screen. He deeply sighed, despite his heart being unwilling, he had no choice but to be sensible and pick up the phone.

“Are you all right?” Yang Jenny asked in a gentle voice that overflowed with concern, “I heard about Tang Li and Shen Rong.”

Hearing this, Shen Yu frowned.

He thought about how to tear Shen Rong’s body again.

Before Shen Yu was able to say anything, Yang Jenny grumbled, “I knew that the child was not easy to teach. When he was a child, there was a serious accident in his family. His mind had been twisted for a long time. No matter how much you teach him, it was impossible for him to get back to normal. Fortunately, this time Shen Rong’s injury wasn’t that bad and nothing serious had happened…”

As she spoke, Yang Jenny breathed out a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, the talk halted and she was suddenly interrupted by Shen Yu’s cold voice.

“Who told you that?”

For a moment, Yang Jenny blinked stupidly, “What?”

“Who told you all these things?” Shen Yu asked firmly word by word.

Yang Jenny was shocked by Shen Yu’s sudden change of attitude. She was speechless for a long while before she weakly responded to him, “I-It was said by the Shen family.”

Awe Hidden Corner: Urghh.. I don’t really like how Tang Ming interrupts their sweet time ah.