Strawberry flavour?
Shu Heng knew that Shu Ning was hinting at something else, he wasn’t really talking about the toothpaste.
Thoughts of fresh strawberries, pink, and alluring, drifted across his mind, the colour was exceptionally wonderful, a sweet taste will definitely linger in his mouth after a taste.
His little brother got very close to him, so close that when his eyelashes trembled, he could almost feel it on his face, his hazy eyes were exceptionally resplendent, as if they could speak to him, tugging at his heartstrings, making his chest feel itchy, as long as he was happy, he wouldn’t want more than to dedicate his all to him.
Shu Heng’s heart started to beat faster. During that one exchange in the washroom, he had borrowed his drunken stupor to forcefully kiss his little brother, and it seems that the thought of it had never left Shu Ning’s mind, it still lingered in his heart. What was he testing? Was he suspecting something? He was only fifteen years old, can he really accept such a relations.h.i.+p, such a taboo in this world?
He loved him too much, and he understood his own heart, so Shu Heng took it slow, he didn’t dare to be careless.
And so……the tip of his nose leaned in close to the little one’s lips, and greedily he brushed himself down, pressed down on his lips, and removed himself. There was no pa.s.sion, no obsession, and of course he did not cross the boundaries.
Shu Heng’s gaze was like an abyss, flooded with a pool of fire:”I can’t make out the smell anymore, if you like it, I’ll use strawberry toothpaste in the future as well, how about it?”
Playing the fool?
The big brother of right now had a look so gentle, that Shu Ning didn’t even know what he should do anymore.
It seems that the beautiful scene of that day was after all, just a beautiful dream, he was drunk, and furthermore He Yu had his head lowered at that time, completely blocking Shu Ning’s figure, that was why he misunderstood, that’s why he kissed him, and lost control after that. After waking from his drunken stupor, Shu Heng regained his senses so naturally he wouldn’t do it again.
But this was fine too, after recuperating from that, the two of them could still remain brothers.
Shu Ning yawned and rested his head on Shu Heng’s shoulder, if he could stick to his chest right now, maybe he could’ve found out Shu Heng’s feelings.
Shu Heng waited for Shu Ning to fall asleep before sitting up and observing the little one with quiet eyes thoughtfully.
First thing the next morning, Shu Heng ate his breakfast and left, flying off to M Country.
Shu Ning was still the same as usual, he was slightly down and couldn’t bear to leave his big brother. Shu Cheng and Shu Gao’s hearts were put to ease considerably, there was finally a smile on the little one’s face.
The winter holidays went by in just the blink of an eye Shu Ning went back to see his uncle halfway through and stayed there for five days, then flew off right this morning back to the capital. The airport was very big, people were coming and going, it made him feel even lonelier.
He Ran did not look for Shu Ning anymore after what happened with He Yu, they would call each other brothers on a normal day, but when something happened to his actual brother, as they say friends aren’t better than family, so it could be estimated that He Ran probably hated Shu Ning very much now.
The school was in a very lively state while the new semester had just begun, and many new faces have shown themselves in the school.
Shu Ning’s internet cafe has already started its business, he had gone over several times to take a look, and it was packed every single time he visited, the first and second floors were built in the form of normal internet cafes with a very good environment, there were smoking areas as well as snack bars, and they were both separated, so it was popular with female university students. There were tons of beauties about, so naturally the guys were plenty too. The third floor was the VIP rooms with exorbitant prices.
The pedestrian block that they had originally planned hadn’t been completed yet, but Pang Qian has already been working very hard, after all this was the first time he was covering such a large scale, and Shu Ning’s requirements were also very high, he needed to maintain both the quality and quant.i.ty, all the storefronts had gla.s.s fronts, the pavements were also very beautiful, there were even transparent roofs so people could browse the area even on a rainy day.
As a result, the cost was also high. Shu Ning had already invested all his money and the money given to him by his brother, this was the benefit of knowing what direction the future would go, he wasn’t afraid of losing any money at all.
Spring flowers were blossoming, Pang Qian invited Shu Ning to meet up at a restaurant. They ate while discussing, then the project started again, everything will definitely be completed this fall.
Shu Ning asked him to recruit more talents since he had his own office, just leaving it there would be a waste.
Pang Qian admired him very much and he wasn’t greedy either, he poured Shu Ning a gla.s.s of juice respectfully. This fifteen year old boy had great temperament, and even more elegance, just like a prince who had walked straight out of a drawing, there were no sparks within his behaviour and he had a pure smile, unlike the smell of metal on his own body. After following Shu Ning, Pang Qian’s worth had risen a lot, he would buy a house in the capital after his project was done, and bring his wife, kids, parents, and the old in-laws over to settle with him, they’ll stay in a small district, so that it’ll be easy for him to take care of them.
Thinking about his bright future, Pang Qian respected Shu Ning even more:”Come, let’s dig in!”Pang Qian rubbed his hands and picked up a big crab, Shu Ning didn’t take even a single bite, it may be because of the sh.e.l.l. Pang Qian was a big man with quite the energy, he managed to open up the sh.e.l.l in just a moment and he put it in Shu Ning’s plate, Shu Ning ate it.
Pang Qian was very happy, and went to bring him some prawns.
Shu Ning’s stared off into s.p.a.ce, he thought about his big brother again, he didn’t allow him to eat food brought to his mouth by others, but it should be fine if it was just to the bowl.
He ended up thinking about him again, they were only separated for three months and occasionally Shu Ning even steeled his heart and answered less of his calls, when his big brother asked him tomorrow he would just say that he had fallen asleep due to exhaustion, having too wild of a night and whatnot.
He thought that things would calm down more and more this way, so he could forget his big brother’s voice and his smile, but in truth, the situation was even worse than he had thought.
Shu Ning had been losing sleep several times because he couldn’t stop thinking about his brother, but he didn’t take any sleeping pills, he went out for a jog until he was so tired that he couldn’t move another step, then naturally he could fall asleep.
After the meal, Pang Qian drove Shu Ning to the square before leaving, Shu Ning had a shop to get the food out of his system before contacting his driver to pick him up, it was already nine when he returned. Shu Cheng called to ask about his situation, and after Shu Ning finished his chat with him, the phone rang again.
It’s Shu Heng.
He keeps calling everyday!
Could he really have to get himself a boyfriend?
No, he’ll think about that after his grandpa’s gone, the old man would probably pa.s.s away prematurely if he were to find out. Shu Gao’s body had always been a mystery, the doctors had already done the checkups but they could only find his heart disease, other stuff like high blood pressure and the likes only showed minimal signs, he didn’t even need to take medicine for them, and Shu Gao had also taken Shu Ning’s advice to exercise, so he would try to put in some exercise in his everyday life.
As for Shu Yao, Shu Ning had never once asked about him, Shu Cheng and Shu Gao had also never once mentioned him, it was very strange.
Shu Heng’s birthday was on the seventeenth of March, whereas Shu Ning’s was on the nineteenth of March. Shu Ning’s birthday had already past when he first entered the ancestral home, and Shu Heng had gone out of the country on the second year, Shu Ning was busy with his studies in the capital and was unwilling to return so he missed it again, the third time was the same, neither of them celebrated, it was just like some kind of tacit understanding, it was the same with the ancestral home, the two young master didn’t celebrate so naturally the third young master couldn’t either, if they gave Shu Yao a big celebration, what are they going to do if Shu Ning returns halfway?
Everyone had to respect the wishes of the elders because the old are wise, even if it was his own brother, the proper rules must still be kept.
As long as Shu Ning does not celebrate for even a day, and no guests were invited, Shu Yao would not be allowed to celebrate.
Even Shu Gao’s birthday was celebrated with a table’s worth of a banquet at home, drinking some alcohol with Shu Cheng, having Shu Ning by his side, and he was satisfied.
The outside world was making guesses without end, what on earth is the main family trying to do? Are they poor? That’s impossible o(╯□╰)o
He Yu had gone out of the country and Shu Zi Xuan had never appeared since his incident, Shu Zi Hui would keep going over to look for Shu Ning with a face full of tears, saying He Ran suddenly didn’t want her anymore, hoping that he could help put in a good word for her, but would Shu Ning acknowledge her? She was immediately thrown out by the bodyguards, if he couldn’t see her then she wasn’t a problem, it wasn’t as if Shu Ning didn’t stop or warn her at the very start. But it was no use, some people are always hungry to look for profit, even if He Ran wasn’t around, they would still look for others.
Shu Zi Hui was very miserable, she was still quite happy when He Ran didn’t want her at first, the He family wasn’t in the best condition but it was still good to be able to stick a head in, Shu Zi Hui had to bear the glares and foul expressions in the He family for so long and finally get a stab back at He Ran with her head high, getting him to cut her name out of the family in high profile and what not, making a ton of noise.
The outside world thought that He Ran had been getting many low cla.s.s girls, breaking Shu Zi Hui’s heart.
The He family was filled with troubles, naturally they weren’t willing to offend the second house of the Shu family since they’ve lost quite a considerable amount of money, but it was good for them to be separated as well. But not long after, a strong whirlwind had blown across C City, the He family’s eldest was going to marry with the Wen family, it was the Wen family’s eldest young lady! Although she was a fool, she had beautiful looks and pure innocence, she had a strong and reliable big brother above her and she was very caring towards her little sisters.
Now the He family had a new backer, and they were more amazing and more powerful than their previous backer, they had a long history and was deeply rooted in the capital, they were recognized as one of the major families.
Those of the second house had their regrets now, they went looking for the main family to discuss about it. Shu Cheng didn’t care about Gu Ya at all, and Gu Ya had no way around that, all she could do was fly off on a plane to go looking for her “fake husband” for help. Previously, he had taken the initiative to help out despite nothing being asked from him, but right now it was such a big issue, they should be looking to him for help. The idea was great, but Shu Ling Yun wasn’t willing to do it even if faced with death, this had gone past Gu Ya’s expectations.
“That’s your daughter!”
Shu Ling Yun kept a cool look on his handsome face and kept silent, his lover was calmly drawing just a few meters away, wearing a white s.h.i.+rt and a pair of overalls, she was clearly over forty but she looked like a little lady, with a pale and dewy face, there were no traces of her years present. Even if a fight had started beside here, she wasn’t bothered by it by the slightest.
“You’ve never given me any helped, are you still reluctant even if it’s to help your own daughter?”
“Gu Ya, it’s not like I don’t want to help you but you know how I’m doing here, if I show up, things would get serious.”
“Would it kill you to show up? Aren’t you just reluctant to leave behind your happy and easygoing life? The only thing I can hope for is for you to give big brother a call, who do you think you are? Do you think you can make the He family change their minds?”
“Gu Ya! Don’t push it!”
“Me? Pus.h.i.+ng it? As long as Shu Cheng is willing to show his face, we still have a chance to turn over Zi Hui’s issue, she’s young and not sensible yet, she doesn’t know what it’s like to share hards.h.i.+ps with someone else yet, actually He Ran had already…… to her……You’re her father, can’t you even give her one call?”
“I’ve already begged him last time, and now……”
Seeing how uneasy the man was, Gu Ya smiled:”Shu Ling Yun, so you’re actually scared of being indebted to someone? I’ve really gone blind back then, before I die I told myself to get divorced, and wish the both of you well, there’s no way I want to be a widow for someone like you.”
Divorce? The woman who was drawing was startled for a moment, the drawing was destroyed, but as one could imagine she wasn’t as calm as she seemed to be on the surface.
Shu Ling Yun flew into a rage and clenched his hands tightly into fists:”Leave, I don’t want to have to hit a woman.”
Gu Ya shot a sneer at him but when she turned to leave, her eyes had started to redden, but she held them in, not letting her tears fall. When she reached the door, she had a slight pause, Shu Zi Xun was standing there obediently, he who was already twenty-one years old had grown even taller and more handsome, just like Shu Ling Yun. Gu Ya had him wait outside because she wanted to discuss about the matter with her daughter first before letting him in to reminisce with his biological mother, after all it wasn’t too proper for them to do that with her around, she had to give them s.p.a.ce.
But she didn’t expect this to be such a wise move, she didn’t let this pitiful child hear their bickering, and seeing her sorry sight.
“I’ll wait for you in the car, go and have a look at her.”
“Mom, are you alright?”
Gu Ya smiled bitterly at heart, she who had been born in a big family was n.o.ble and reserved to the very marrow of her bones, even if she wanted to cry, she would still hold her smile:”I’m fine, go on, mom……will wait for you no matter how long you’ll need.”
The two inside thought that they’ve left so they didn’t hold themselves back while talking. Shu Ling Yun’s words of comfort to his lover came out one by one, although it wasn’t too clear, Gu Ya had still faintly understood.
Me? Cold-blooded? Unreasonable? You were forced to marry me then so divorce was a good option, just that he would’ve done his family wrong so he had been enduring it and waiting, he told his lover not to be sat, that everything will be fine, so just hold on.
A change finally appeared in Gu Ya’s complexion, she lowered her head, ashen with anger, even her hands were shaking. If Shu Zi Xun weren’t around, she would’ve definitely rushed in and showed them what for.
Unexpectedly, Shu Zi Xun walked straight in.
Gu Ya had been too shameful today, so she hurried forward, she didn’t want to hear anything more that could make her feel unbearable.
But she didn’t expect that Shu Zi Xun would start to bicker with those inside. Gu Ya was shocked, and immediately took a few quick steps back to the side of the door, she was very surprised.
Shu Zi Xun was raised by Gu Ya, Shu Ling Yun’s lover had left the hospital not long after her child was born, and disappeared somewhere with Shu ling Yun, leaving her child in the hospital. Gu Ya had to accept that child at that time, if not what else could’ve been done? Turn their family into a joke? After all this was the child of her husband, she took the baby back personally and raised him up.
It had to be said that Gu Ya had also been selfish regarding that, she wouldn’t give Shu Zi Xun priority over her own children, she gave him all she should, and taught him all she should, but he still had the treatment of a proper young master, he just won’t be managing the business of the second house in the future, Shu Zi Xuan was the only heir of the second house.
Shu Zi Xun had thrown a tantrum in his childhood one time, asking why Gu Ya wasn’t his mom, and where his mom was at. But after he grew up, and found out what happened with his biological parents, his temper had become very calm and wasn’t clingy anymore, he had become even more hardworking in his studies and even had the idea of joining the army after his studies, this made Gu Ya worried for quite some time.
Shu Ling Yun was dumbfounded, Bao Mei Ling was the same as well, her tears came down in droughts saying that she couldn’t take care of him because she had her own troubles too.
Shu Zi Xun was also yelling, if you had the time to draw and open a gallery, why didn’t you have time to take care of your child? These were all excuses, selfish excuses, right now my little sister had come in trouble and you lot didn’t even care at all, how could you be so cruel? Like they say, just cause you were my biological parents didn’t mean you were any special, you make me sick. You’ve been out travelling all these years opening galleries spending so much money, and you know how much you’ve earned from it. You’re actually looking down on my mom, so don’t spend a single sent from my mother from today, if you’ve got the power then get your own money to raise your mistress, don’t take other people’s efforts for nothing, my mom doesn’t owe you anything, if you really can’t do it then you can shamelessly ask money from grandpa!
Shu Ling Yun raised his hand and slapped him across the face, Shu Zi Xun wasn’t afraid at all and he glared at him fiercely, while Gu Ya had rushed in and also gave Shu ling Yun a slap:”You’re not fit at all to be his father, in the future these three kids will be my, Gu Ya’s children, they will have nothing at all to do with you, take your lover and p.i.s.s off, I’ll freeze all your cards so deal with everything yourself.”
Shu Ling Yun wanted to chase them but his lover had turned into a puddle of tears, holding her face while on the floor, she seemed very upset as she stomped her feet. He still chose to stay at the end and comforted Bao Mei Ling in his arms:”It’s that woman who’s too pushy, it’s all her fault, I’ve never loved her so don’t be sad, Xiao Xun had only been fooled by her, but things will be fine when he grows up, he’ll come back after knowing your pains.”
“Brother Yun~ But~ But she wants to freeze your cards, I don’t really care since I was originally the daughter of a poor family, but you can’t live a bitter life, if that really happens, it’s better for us to……”Bao Mei Ling hugged Shu Ling Yun painfully, and tightly:”Being able to stay with you for so long, it was enough, it’s already the greatest happiness I’ve had in my life.”
Shu Ling Yun was coaxing her in loving pity:”None of that nonsense, we have to stay together through life and death, we’ve promised to be a couple for our entire lives, she may be fierce but that’s just a front, freezing my cards? She’s dreaming, the seniors of the Shu family are still around, her Gu family’s people can do nothing so don’t worry, I’ll give dad a call, and naturally someone will take care of her.”
“Mm, Brother Yun~ You’re the best, the best, meeting you was the luckiest thing that ever happened in my life.”
“Me as well.”
……
A pair of dogs, and you still want to be a couple for your entire lives? What about your kids? Your families? What do you take your wife as? What are you doing with the family business?
Shu Ling Yun really gave Shu Yu a call, and just hearing to the opening sentence, Shu Yu had already hung up the call then asked Gu Ya to see him. Gu Ya returned home at night and entered the room, Shu Yu had taken out the last bit of his shares for his daughter-in-law, this made Gu Ya so shocked that she was unable to speak. Shu Yu had never been talented since he was young, it was already hard for him to keep even this small bit of the shares, and it was all because Shu Gao was still around so n.o.body dared to make him a target.
“In the future, you’ll be taking care of this house, I’m old now, you’ve taught Zi Xuan and Zi Xun well, and that puts me at ease.”
He didn’t mention Shu Zi Hui, Gu Ya understood why. It was definitely rare for someone of a different surname to receive this, so naturally she was very moved.
Actually Shu Yu was also quite helpless in this matter, he had a fine daughter-in-law who was respectable and took care of the family, he had been treating her as if she was his own daughter, but as for his son? He was out all the time and wasn’t filial, so he just pretended he was dead.
After the He clan’s engagement with the Wen family, they’ve instantly recovered back to their former glory and was once again back at the top, and started their revenge. The Shu family couldn’t make any moves at this moment so they’ve been making certain moves as warnings to others, the strength they held was great, and it struck fear in people’s hearts. The Shu family was cool as a calm breeze, they still didn’t have the He clan in their eyes, whereas the second house had constantly been falling into misfortune, bad things may be happening soon.
He Ran was really too lawless now, when he liked Shu Zi Hui, he could even give her the stars in the sky, and during the engagement, everyone in the He family opposed it but they still couldn’t force it no matter how much the Shu family’s second house rushed it now could they? For it to come true had a big deal to do with He Ran’s willingness. Shu Zi Hui’s treatment in the He family was also related to He Ran’s att.i.tude.
But after he had fallen out of interest for her?
The disparity was even worse than heaven and h.e.l.l.
Right now, a bunch of indecent photos were being spread wildly which greatly ruined Shu Zi Hui’s image. Shu Zi Hui had done Shu Ning wrong in his past life but she had never really hurt He Ran, she kept crying at home, there was no way for her to go outside anymore. Those indecent photos were too much, they exposed too much and the shots were very clear, they were all of Shu Zi Hui with other boys, some were even hard to describe, and none of the boys had their faces shown.
When Gu Ya asked about them, even Shu Zi Hui herself was not sure, He Ran played his cards fiercely, he would always find a bunch of people to go wild with at the villa, and when everyone was drunk at night or if their houses were too far, they would just sleep in the villa. Shu Zi Hui did not know at all who had slept beside her when she woke up in the morning, they’ve already left, and besides they were in the master bedroom so naturally He Ran must’ve caused it.
Retaliating against a fourteen year old girl again? It was simply hard to think of, the He family and the Shu family was completely hostile towards each other.
Gu Ya didn’t know about what happened between Shu Ning and He Yu, she could faintly tell that He Yu going overseas after being gravely injured had something to do with the main family of the Shu clan, but there were no noises coming up in the outside world and she herself didn’t dare to investigate. She had already gone looking for Shu Cheng before this to fix the relations.h.i.+p between Shu Zi Hui and He Ran, but the ancestral home had closed their doors and didn’t care at all, and she couldn’t meet them in the office, Gu Ya ended up b.u.mping around like a headless fly in the end.
But now that the photo incident happened, what could she do?
Suddenly, after a night’s worth of effort, the photos were gone and the ones uploaded online were deleted, as if it had never even existed.
Shu Gao had gotten Shu Cheng to deal with it, after all this was a lady of the Shu family, if her reputation had been ruined in the country, then she could just be sent overseas. Gu Ya came over to the ancestral home to give her thanks, she didn’t get to see Shu Gao so she had Shu Zi Hui kowtow in front of Shu Gao’s big portrait. And just like that, Shu Zi Hui went off awkwardly overseas to study, to think that the her who had lived to proudly in his previously would see a day like this?
Shu Ning didn’t partic.i.p.ate in this, he had only heard about it from the people at school, especially s.h.i.+ Lang, he would always try to find an opportunity to one up him.
“Hey hey hey, did you know? Something happened to your sister.”While speaking, s.h.i.+ Lang took out his phone and showed the photos one by one to Shu Ning, Shu Ning had already stopped caring at the first look, after all he was gay so he had no interests in women. It was all Shu Zi Hui’s own fault so she couldn’t blame it on anyone, if she really cared about herself, He Ran would’ve never found such a chance, and her bodyguards weren’t there as decorations either!
Many people were curious and came to watch, and a wave of excitement rose up, then all sort of strange looks landed on Shu Ning, but Shu Ning didn’t care either. When he took out his phone, s.h.i.+ Lang had seen it, and thought to himself was he trying to call for help? Heh heh, it’s no use, I’ll kick your reputation into the dirt. After all, Shu Zi Hui and He Ran’s middle school was just nearby, almost all the boys who were the closest to He Ran had touched Shu Zi Hui’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and they’ve definitely been talking about it behind her back, so it was even hard for people to not know.
Many people knew that Shu Ning was of good birth so they didn’t dare to offend him to his face, but now that something happened to his little sister, they were all waiting to make a joke out of him.
But unfortunately, before s.h.i.+ Lang was done with being proud about himself, the police had come during cla.s.s!
It was illegal to spread p.o.r.nographic videos, and this was a serious crime, if too much of the content was found in his phone, he’ll definitely be hauled off to jail.
Shu Ning was only fifteen while s.h.i.+ Lang was seventeen, although he wasn’t of age yet, the minor’s labour camp still welcomes him!
WHen they arrived at the police station, not only was s.h.i.+ Lang terrified, he had even cried, he was very scared. Because the police had found a large number of nude images in his phone, and there were even pirated disks in his bag, when asked about it, s.h.i.+ Lang had blabbed it all out, he had even implicated a lot of his cla.s.smates, it was very normal for a seventeen year old boy to be curious towards such subjects.
In one go eight or nine boys were swept into the water, after they’ve had their lunch, they were all brought away by the uncles of the police force.
After they each called home, the s.h.i.+ family’s seniors also had a slap in the face, but it was just a small matter, it was fine even if too much was involved, after all kids aren’t very sensible. With the s.h.i.+ family’s status, they just needed to have a good talk and give them some goods and they could take him out. But they would’ve never thought that the Wen family would appear, and even gave the s.h.i.+ clan’s main family some benefits, and so s.h.i.+ Lang went off to the labour camp, the others only had a talking to and they were allowed to go home.
Why did the Wen family appear? Because He Jiong was very good.
The Wen family’s eldest miss was afraid of strangers, her mental age was only at six years old and she only knew how to add and subtract numbers no larger than ten, she could recognize people, and could settle her own nature callings and so on, as long as a six year old child could do it, she could too. After He Jiong arrived at the Wen family, he was very taken to eldest miss, and he didn’t even care that she was slow in the head, he would tease and coax her with care, and tell her stories, this helped to alleviate the Wen family’s eldest miss’ wariness, and they got along well together.
And so before He Ran could cheat on Shu Zi Hui, the Wen family had already made their move, but n.o.body knew, they all thought that Shu Ning was too powerful so everyone held their tongues. After that, people would keep silent everywhere Shu Ning pa.s.sed.
At night, he missed his brother so much he could’ve gone mad, nine o’clock was the time where his big brother would call. Normally he didn’t like picking up his calls but if he doesn’t call, this made Shu Ning stare at the phone with even more gloom in his heart, even his eyeb.a.l.l.s were nearly popping out of his eyes.