Chapter 15

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Afterward, Shu Shiyun had no idea how he left the private room. But when they returned to their own room, Fang Jiahua, who had originally looked ready to smile and speak upon seeing them enter, froze. She glanced at him, then at Shu Yanshen, and finally fell silent.

The meal was utterly tasteless. In truth, Shu Shiyun did not think it was such a serious matter.

He and Shang Cheng had only just confirmed their relationship. Perhaps they had not yet reached the point where they needed to tell their parents. But when he thought about it carefully, he still felt somewhat miserable.

More importantly, he was worried that Shu Yanshen would consequently form a poor impression of Shang Cheng.

After a moment of unease, he saw that Fang Jiahua had nearly finished eating and said, “Jiahua, order some more desserts and have them sent to the studio. Ask them to pack everything up.”

Fang Jiahua nodded, rose, and fled the private room as if making her escape.

Silence settled over the room once more. Shu Shiyun was just about to turn and speak to his uncle when he heard the man beside him let out a cold laugh.

“I haven’t even asked you anything yet, and you’ve already prepared your excuses. Just how irresponsible is Shang Cheng?”

Hearing this, Shu Shiyun felt sweat bead on his forehead. For a moment, he could only sigh helplessly. “Uncle, how are you so clever?”

Although it was meant as praise, Shu Yanshen’s mood did not improve because of that simple remark. Instead, his expression darkened further.

With no other choice, Shu Shiyun blurted out everything he had prepared to say.

“We haven’t been together for very long. We really haven’t reached the point where we need to meet each other’s families, and it’s perfectly normal that Uncle Shang doesn’t know me.”

Shu Yanshen drew a deep breath, picked up the teacup on the table, and drained it in one swallow. He looked as though he were forcibly suppressing his anger.

“Uncle…” Shu Shiyun grew anxious.

Shu Yanshen’s expression was icy. Though his tone softened somewhat, his words remained merciless. “You were practically ready to announce it to the entire world, yet he’s still hiding you from his own family.”

He seemed about to say more, but when he saw the innocent look on Shu Shiyun’s face, he let out a heavy sigh and stopped.

Even without hearing the rest, Shu Shiyun understood what he meant.

Though he had spent a long time comforting himself inwardly, he was still somewhat disappointed. He genuinely wanted to be with Shang Cheng. When he had said that he would be willing to marry Shang Cheng if the other man wanted to, it had not been a momentary whim. Yet Shang Cheng seemed not to have taken his words particularly seriously.

Though Shu Shiyun tried his best to ignore that disparity, he still could not fully stop himself from caring.

Seeing that he had fallen silent, Shu Yanshen sighed and did not take the opportunity to say anything more.

“When will you be free? Arrange for us to meet.”

Shu Shiyun was briefly stunned before understanding. “Uncle, you want to meet Shang Cheng?”

“Who else would I mean?” Shu Yanshen snapped. But when he turned to look at him, he shook his head. “You really should have Shu Lian come back for a visit. If she saw you like this, she’d go mad.”

Shu Shiyun was amused by his exaggerated remark. In his impression, his mother had always been remarkably steady in her emotions, as though no scene could ever make her lose her composure. Even if she misunderstood him as his uncle had, assuming that falling in love had made him lose his mind, she would never say anything so harsh.

At most, she would trick him onto a plane and take him far away.

After hearing his naïve response, Shu Yanshen’s exasperation at his hopelessness deepened.

When they left the private room again, they happened to run into Shang Tingye, who had also just finished his meal and come outside.

The man seemed to have been waiting there deliberately. The large golden retriever at his feet was sprawled on its back in the sun. At the sound of approaching footsteps, it rose, wandered over to Shu Shiyun’s legs, and finally plopped itself down squarely on his shoes.

“Uncle Shang.” Shu Shiyun greeted him politely before nudging Linda’s rump with the tips of his toes.

Linda was rather heavy. It took her a long while to stand up, reluctantly freeing his feet.

“Do you have any plans afterward?” Shang Tingye asked with a faint smile. “We’re going fishing. I wonder whether you’d be interested.”

Shu Shiyun’s heart stirred. He glanced at his uncle and said, “What a coincidence. My uncle loves fishing, and he’s very good at it.”

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No fisherman could resist hearing such words. Shang Tingye’s expression barely changed, but interest quickly surfaced in his eyes.

“Brother Yanshen, I have all the equipment at my place. Since you’ve finally returned home, let’s have a little competition.”

Shu Yanshen naturally had no reason to refuse. After agreeing, he glanced at Shu Shiyun. “Do you have plans this afternoon?”

Shu Shiyun lowered his head guiltily and made up an excuse. “I have an appointment this afternoon. I’m going out to dinner with a friend tonight.”

There was nothing wrong with the statement itself, but his expression made it obvious that he was hiding something.

Shu Yanshen turned his head away with an almost disdainful air. Shang Tingye nodded knowingly. “Young people have dates to attend. We old folks can amuse ourselves.”

Shu Shiyun did not dare say anything more. He saw the two men to the entrance and watched as Shu Yanshen got into Shang Tingye’s car and drove away. Only then did he let out a long breath.

Fang Jiahua came out after paying the bill and, upon seeing that Shu Yanshen was no longer in the car, released a sigh of relief.

“Take me to Chengjia.” Shu Shiyun reached out and fastened his seat belt.

Fang Jiahua started the car. As she drove, she could not resist indulging in some gossip. “Boss, why do I feel that your uncle has something against Mr. Shang?”

Shu Shiyun disliked sharing family matters with other people, but Fang Jiahua was one of the assistants he trusted most. When it came to such things, he had never hidden anything from her.

“It’s just a misunderstanding,” he explained briefly, then thought for a moment before adding, “It’ll be fine once they get to know each other.”

Fang Jiahua looked doubtful. “Really?”

Yes.

Shu Shiyun was certain that the only reason his uncle objected to Shang Cheng was that the two of them were unfamiliar with each other, leading his uncle to mistakenly believe that Shang Cheng was a man of poor character.

Once they met and talked, that prejudice would surely fade. Besides, his uncle liked workaholics who resembled him. Shang Cheng had achieved considerable success in his career and was mature and steady. The two of them should have plenty to talk about.

Before long, Shu Shiyun arrived at Chengjia. Yet after entering the building, he was once again informed that Shang Cheng was in a meeting.

Since he had been there before, the assistant escorted him into the office to wait.

He had eaten a great deal at lunch and did not order anything to drink. He simply sat quietly on the sofa, waiting without moving around.

There was a camera near the entrance, aimed only at the reception area outside. Shu Shiyun therefore remained seated beneath its field of view, motionless and polite.

Meanwhile, in the large conference room on the same floor, the vice president of the branch office was speaking at length when he saw the boss, who had been listening sternly from the head seat, lower his head and begin looking through his phone.

The vice president instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

What was wrong? Was the concept for the new product too old-fashioned? Had he made an error in the details of his report?

Countless questions flashed through his mind. But a moment later, he saw the boss gazing down at the phone screen, the corners of his lips curving into a faint smile.

What?

Having noticed his gaze, everyone in the room involuntarily turned their attention toward Chairman Shang. Seeing him looking down and scrolling through his phone, they were all stunned as if they had seen a ghost.

Wasn’t it strictly forbidden to lose focus during meetings?

How had he been the first to break the rule himself?

Before long, however, Shang Cheng raised his head. Everyone hurriedly turned away in unison, while the vice president stumbled over his words as he explained the product’s performance.

The meeting finally continued. No one dared look at the phone resting beside Chairman Shang’s water glass to see what was playing on its screen.

After all the reports had been delivered and the discussion concluded, Shang Cheng lowered his eyes to glance at the phone. His brows drew together slightly.

“Assistant He.” He turned his head and gestured.

The assistant, who had been waiting in the back for a long time, stepped forward. He instinctively began imagining what his employer might say. Was he dissatisfied with the new product, or perhaps—

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“Go to the lounge in my office and get a clean blanket. Cover him with it.” Shang Cheng’s voice was low.

Though he had not spoken loudly, those sitting nearby still heard him.

Him? Who was he?

Assistant He froze. Then he saw that the phone screen displayed the surveillance feed from the reception area outside the chairman’s office, where a figure was curled up on the sofa.

“All right.”

He hurried out of the conference room.

Only after he saw Shu Shiyun asleep beneath the blanket in the surveillance footage did Shang Cheng raise his head again.

“Continue.”

Only then did voices begin to fill the previously silent conference room once more.

—

Half an hour later, Assistant He followed behind the man, reporting the evening’s and the following day’s schedule.

“Understood.”

The lengthy meeting had left Shang Cheng somewhat exhausted. When he entered the office, his steps paused. He raised a hand, signaling the assistant to be quiet.

Assistant He immediately fell silent. Realizing that someone was sleeping in the office, he instinctively lightened his footsteps as well.

Shang Cheng glanced at the empty coffee table and instructed, “Pour a glass of hot water.”

Assistant He nodded and turned to find a glass.

After arranging everything and placing the documents on the desk, he left as quietly as possible.

Once the door had closed, Shang Cheng slowly approached the sofa and gently pulled the blanket away from Shu Shiyun’s face.

The sleeping man let out an uncomfortable murmur and instinctively tried to pull the blanket back up.

“Be good. You won’t be able to breathe with it covering your face.” Shang Cheng spoke softly as he tucked the blanket securely around him. When he withdrew his hand, he saw the mass of fluffy, disheveled black hair and could not resist reaching out to smooth it.

Perhaps finding the touch soothing, Shu Shiyun instinctively rubbed his head against Shang Cheng’s hand and no longer tried to pull up the blanket.

The sight amused Shang Cheng. He watched the long lashes resting against that exquisite little face, resisting the urge to reach out and touch them.

Shu Shiyun was undeniably beautiful. Whenever he livestreamed, the “no beauty filter” notice was always clearly visible in the lower-right corner, and in person he looked even better than he did on camera. His eyebrows and eyelashes were both beautifully shaped, his nose straight, his lips a soft red. His face was small enough to fit in one hand. Most striking of all, when he smiled, the corners of his eyes lifted ever so slightly, giving him an air of complete confidence.

Shang Cheng lowered his eyes to look at him. The fatigue he had felt moments ago seemed to vanish without a trace, replaced by a restless stir in his heart.

Seeing how deeply Shu Shiyun slept, he did not want to disturb him. But when he rose to deal with the evening’s work, he noticed that Shu Shiyun’s body was slightly curled inward, a posture that betrayed a profound lack of security.

As if sensing that Shang Cheng was about to withdraw his hand, his brows tightened as well, and a trace of panic appeared between them.

What was he dreaming about?

The question that had lingered in Shang Cheng’s heart ever since that day at Skywater Pavilion surfaced once more. He had always felt that Shu Shiyun seemed unhappy, as though he were concealing some worry that he could not tell anyone about.

What could have left him in such a repressed state of mind?