CH 73

TL: Hua

White sunlight filtered in from the balcony window. As soon as he opened his eyes, the world in front of him seemed slightly unfamiliar. Shen Boyan supported his hangover brain and gradually remembered that this was the guest room.

He wasn’t dissatisfied because he was thrown into the guest room last night. It would be terrible if Xia Shu’an felt uncomfortable because of the scent of alcohol on his body.

Shen Boyan walked down from the bed barefoot. His diligent exercise in his twenties allowed him to quickly recover from his hangover. As he was about to walk towards the bathroom, his phone, placed by the bedside, rang.

Shen Boyan raised his eyebrows. It’s too early in the morning for this.

“what’s the matter?”

On the phone, the man said solemnly:

“Due to the impacts of previous hot searches, a major client in Beijing has raised concerns about the stability of our company. At Monday’s shareholders’ meeting, they will renegotiate whether to cooperate with Wenhui. The top management of the Beijing office suggested President Shen immediately fly to Beijing and explain the situation to the client in person.”

Shen Boyan’s expression gradually became serious.

“Okay, where are you now?”

“In the company.”

“You ask Old Chen to drive you here, and we will go to Beijing together.”

“Understood; I’ll head over immediately.”

Shen Boyan put down his phone. It’s expected that Assistant Qi will arrive in just over half an hour. In such a short time, he only has time to go downstairs and ask Xia Shu’an for a hug. If everything goes smoothly, he can also have breakfast.

After briefly washing up, Shen Boyan walked down the stairs. Xia Shu’an was sitting in the dining room, holding a glass in his hand. When he saw him coming down, he turned to look at him.

A smile appeared on Shen Boyan’s lips, and he stepped forward briskly, opened his arms, and hugged Xia Shu’an tenderly but with strength.

“Good morning.” My baby.

Xia Shu’an was stunned in his arms. He moved his lips as if he had something to say, but in the end, he didn’t speak. Finally, he said, “Let’s have breakfast.”

“Okay.” Shen Boyan said happily.

Shen Boyan was so busy in the first few days when he came back that he didn’t even have time to sit down and have a meal with Xia Shu’an. Faced with the long-awaited breakfast time, he felt delight both physically and mentally.

Xia Shu’an had already had breakfast and quietly watching Shen Boyan eat.

Because he still had to go on a business trip, Shen Boyan ate quickly, put down his cup, and said, “I have something to tell you.”

Xia Shu’an nodded. “Really? I happen to have one too.”

Shen Boyan gentlemanly offered, “Then you go ahead and say it.”

Xia Shu’an nodded, stood up from the chair, walked to the side, picked up the file bag placed on the table aside, and handed it to Shen Boyan.

There was some confusion on Shen Boyan’s face as he pulled out the documents inside. After seeing the events described above, a trace of panic flashed across his face. As the statement continued, he slowly opened his mouth wide and looked at the last line of the document with an expression of disbelief:

[The investigation results show that the person who found Shen Boyan in the alley on March 21, 2014, and called an ambulance was not Xia Shu’an.]

“…”

“Shen Boyan.”

The man instinctively raised his head, and the young man across from him looked at him calmly, enunciating each word clearly: “I wasn’t the one who saved you in the alley back then.”

“No, I……”

Shen Boyan tried to explain, but his brain seemed to be suddenly disconnected, and his face went blank.

He couldn’t even refute.

Xia Shu’an looked at his deeply shocked appearance and thought that he didn’t blame him. He already had a few days and a whole night as a buffer to accept this fact. For Shen Boyan, this was unexpected news, and that’s why he acted so overwhelmed.

Xia Shu’an took a step back slightly, keeping an appropriate distance from the man.

He said sincerely, “Shen Boyan, although it’s difficult for you to accept it right now, this is the fact. If you don’t believe it, you can investigate it yourself. Can’t you find everything?”

Having said this, Xia Shu’an seemed to be complaining a little bit, but he quickly restrained the emotions that were about to overflow from his heart and said calmly: “By the way, what do you want to say?”

“It’s not-” Shen Boyan grabbed Xia Shu’an’s shoulder hard.

“That’s not it…this is not the reason why I like you…”

“What’s the reason?” Xia Shu’an stared into his eyes and asked the question he had asked many times: “If it wasn’t for this, why do you like me?”

Shen Boyan opened his mouth dumbfounded; no sound came out of his throat; only a struggling and bewildered look came out of his eyes.

Xia Shu’an slowly loosened his fingers.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a car in the quiet yard. Xia Shu’an looked outside and saw a commercial Mercedes-Benz parked outside the door. Assistant Qi got out of the car and walked in quickly.

“President Shen.”

Assistant Qi walked to the door of the dining room, looked at the two people confronting each other inside, paused in his steps, and said politely, “President Shen, Mr. Xia.”

“Are you going out?”

The two had been together for so long that Xia Shu’an could also read the actions represented by specific scenes.

There was a faint smile on his lips, and he said warmly, “If you’re busy, you can go first. Don’t worry, I won’t run away.”

Although Xia Shu’an wanted to draw a clear line with Shen Boyan, it was clear that the person who never had a choice was himself. Besides, the man looked so aggrieved and sad.

In front of Assistant Qi, Xia Shu’an didn’t want to embarrass Shen Boyan, so he kindly smoothed his collar and said softly, “You go and get your work done first, and we’ll talk about it when you come back if you have anything else.”

Assistant Qi outside the door had already percieved the strange atmosphere. He retreate a few steps back and stood at a distance not close enough to hear their conversation, looking at the stairs opposite with condensed eyes.

Shen Boyan’s eyes moved slightly, and there was a struggle in his eyes, but after a while, he still lowered his head and whispered, “When I come back, we… will talk about this matter again.”

“Okay?” Xia Shu’an said nonchalantly, “I’ll wait for you to come back.”

Shen Boyan had asked Auntie to pack his luggage beforehand. He took the suitcase and handed it to the driver. Xia Shu’an stood at the door and saw him off. Shen Boyan bent down and was about to get in the car. Suddenly, he turned around, took a few steps forward, and forcefully hugged Xia Shu’an at the door.

“When I come back, we can solve this matter together.”

“…”

Xia Shu’an lowered his eyelids slightly and watched the car carrying several people quickly drive away. The two aunts felt the subtle atmosphere between the two masters at the last moment and hesitated: “Mr. Xia…”

“It’s nothing, Aunt Qiao; please clean up the dining room.”

“Oh, okay.”

Xia Shu’an walked upstairs in silence. He walked all the way to the third floor and stood on the roof balcony, looking at the scenery in the distance, before stopping.

Two days after seeing the investigation report, he was mentally prepared. When he heard Shen Boyan’s drunken answer last night, he lay on the quilt and adjusted himself for more than an hour or two.

When he mentioned this matter casually in the morning, he thought he had accepted the fact.

But it turned out that after just a little while—ten minutes, twenty minutes, an hour …… he would be angry again.

He has always been proud, with the pride and perseverance of coming from a wealthy family. In his life, probably from the moment he had his own thoughts, he never thought he would ever be a stand-in for another person, to be treated as if he were another person, accepting another’s good or bad as he deserved to be.

If he had known this in his previous life, he would have been even more angry. He would feel angry and ridiculous at the same time. He had wasted five years because Shen Boyan inexplicably recognized the wrong person.

But at this time in this life, it seems that even the debts from the previous life are no longer clear. Shen Boyan “exploited” himself for five years, but at the same time helped his family pay off the debts in two lifetimes.

He died because Shen Boyan was investigating Yang Han, but he was investigating Yang Han for himself and even cleared the Xia family’s grievances. He believed without a doubt that Shen Boyan in his previous life must have given Yang Han a punishment that was ten times worse than in this life.

All of it seemed like a puddle of bad debts, yet it seemed as if it had all been repaid clearly.

Xia Shu’an suppressed the raging emotions in his chest and took a deep breath in the air, mixed with the faint fragrance of flowers.

……

……

So what kind of fool was Shen Boyan to even get his savior wrong! Could there really be such a stupid b*stard in the world!!!!

“Hiya, Mr. Xia, what are you going to do?!”

On the Luchuan Expressway, the 7-seat business Mercedes-Benz had merged into the traffic flow, and the car drove forward quickly and smoothly on the middle road.

In the car, noticing that the boss wasn’t in a happy mood, Assistant Qi pondered for a moment and said softly, “Mr. Xia…”

Shen Boyan held his forehead and said, “He’s fine.”

“…”

As soon as he finished speaking, the mobile phone placed on the small table rang. After the call was connected, Aunt Qiao’s worried voice came from the earphones: “Sir, Mr. Xia is packing his luggage now. He said he’s going out for a few days ……”

“……It’s fine.”

Shen Boyan whispered, “He’s too bored when I’m not at home, so he went to see his friends. Don’t worry.”

“So that’s the case…”

After appeasing the aunties at home, Shen Boyan threw the phone aside, leaned back, and frowned deeply.

Assistant Qi turned to look out the window. The eyes observe the nose, and the nose observes the heart1An idiom refers to the attitude of being focused and not distracted..

Xia Shu’an didn’t want to stay in this “home” for a moment. He didn’t want to be a thief, even passively.

He promised Shen Boyan that he would wait for him to come back, but waiting in this house is the same as waiting in Rongchuan. He didn’t run away, right?

Xia Shu’an packed his luggage that day. In fact, he only packed two pieces of clothing and checked into Chu Wenzhi’s house. Chu Wenzhi now lives alone in a bachelor’s apartment. He doesn’t have a girlfriend yet, so he’s the perfect person to take Xia Shu’an in.

Chu Wenzhi looked at his simple luggage and frowned. “Are you having trouble with Shen Boyan?”

“Did he bully you?”

“No.” Xia Shu’an said expressionlessly, “We just… separated for a while.”

This “no” and “separated for a while” are definitely problems. Chu Wenzhi complained in his heart but still open-mindedly accepted his friend’s request for help.

They’d traveled out together as students and also lived together then. Neither of them were difficult people to get along with. It was the weekend, so they went to play ball together and stopped at the supermarket on the way back.

Neither of the two bachelors knew how to cook, but on the rare occasion that there was someone else in the house besides himself, Chu Wenzhi was very excited and decided to show off his skills. Xia Shu’an didn’t pour cold water on him either, and he expressed great encouragement for his friend’s hobby.

Chu Wenzhi wanted to cook Italian food in the evening, so he put on an apron and went into the kitchen alone with all the equipment.

A few minutes later, he ran out of the kitchen, which was full of fumes.

“Cough cough cough cough.” The man coughed and shed tears.

“How about we order takeout?”

Xia Shu’an looked up from the sofa and said, “I’ve already looked around at the restaurants in the neighborhood; I can recommend a few good ones.”

The two of them sat on the floor on the blanket and browsed through the takeout places. Xia Shu’an seemed very comfortable, even in a good mood, and was very picky about what he ate. Chu Wenzhi saw that he often wandered between sweet local dishes and couldn’t help but wonder, “I thought you didn’t like sweets much?”

“I just don’t like sweet foods as much as light foods, but it is said that sweet foods can make people feel better. I want to make myself happier.”

Nothing is worth making him unhappy.

The two of them had already chosen a store and were about to place an order when suddenly there was a knock on the door outside. Chu Wenzhi stood up and said doubtfully, “I haven’t bought anything recently.”

He stepped forward and opened the door, revealing the face of a gentle and harmless middle-aged woman. She was holding a thermos bucket in her hand and asked very politely, “Is Mr. Xia here?”

Chu Wenzhi: “…”

He stepped aside slightly.

“Mr. Xia!”

The woman shouted in surprise. Xia Shu’an walked out of the room and looked at the person at the door in surprise.

“Aunt Yu.”

When Aunt Yu saw Xia Shu’an, she immediately said cheerfully, “Sir, I’ve made you soup and some snacks, all of which you like to eat.”

Chu Wenzhi and Xia Shu’an: “…”

Xia Shu’an immediately took the thing in her hand. The soup was heavy, and he knew it was a good product as soon as he picked it up. Aunt Yu didn’t come in either. After giving him the thermos bucket, she said, “Then I’ll go back.”

Xia Shu’an: “Well, please be careful on the road.”

Aunt Yu smiled and nodded, then bowed politely to Chu Wenzhi and said, “Mr. Chu, please take care of our family’s Mr. Xia.”

Chu Wenzhi hurriedly returned the bow.

Two men of about the same age stood at the door and watched the woman enter the elevator. After a while, Chu Wenzhi looked at the thermos bucket, then at Xia Shu’an, and then at the thermos bucket.

Him: “The young master who ran away from home?”

Xia Shu’an: “No!”