Jian Chi crashed for a few seconds and didnât understand what the sentence âI didnât tell himâ meant, but looking into Shen Shutingâs eyes, he clearly understood it subconsciously, and couldnât believe it.
Shen Shuting didnât answer, his silence treated as an answer for this question. He turned his head and said to Bai Yinnian, who was sitting next to them, watching the play, âHe needs to go back with me.â
The words were clear and eloquent, with indifference and decisiveness that cannot be rejected by the other party.
But this kind of resoluteness was greatly compromised here with Bai Yinian. He didnât even get up, and raising his chin did not weaken his calm temperament at all, âI didnât promise that.â
Jian Chi thought that Shen Shuting was probably rarely rejected so mercilessly, and his expression was comparable to that of a refrigerator. For the first time, Jian Chi saw that Shen Shuting was obviously angry but had to suppress it for some reason. He silently moved aside a little, not wanting to be affected by the cold air around him.
However, this action was somehow captured by Shen Shuting keenly, âDo you want to stay here?â
Jian Chi shook his head without hesitation.
The feeling of these two words coming out of Shen Shutingâs mouth was not the same as that of Bai Yinnian. It was not like treating a pet casually, but coldly biting the ending word, making Jian Chi feel that if he didnât go over, Shen Shuting was likely to find someone to carry him over, or use his eye knife to poke holes all over his body.
There should be no hostages worse than him. Jian Chi walked towards Shen Shuting while slandering him, not forgetting to leave a safe distance between them.
âI donât want to repeat my words.â
Bai Yinian came and put a hand on Jian Chiâs shoulder, as if he was hugging him naturally, but Jian Chi felt that he was tightly clasped in place and could not move his legs. The warm temperature passed through Bai Yinianâs palm to his cloth revealed an obvious aggressiveness, like a transparent barrier; no one could see it, but it actually shrouded Jian Chi.
âDoes your Bai family treat guests like this?â Shen Shuting said, âLet him go.â
âI thought you had no objection to our previous deal, it seems I was wrong.â
Bai Yinianâs expression was calm and steady from beginning to end, and he didnât show any displeasure in the face of Shen Shutingâs orders, which was more like silent oppression than an answer. Jian Chi was not used to such an excessively close distance, and even Bai Yinian could clearly feel the slight tremor in his chest when he exhaled, so he couldnât help but open his body sideways.
Under the silent confrontation, Shen Shuting stared at Bai Yinianâs face, took steps to pull Jian Chiâs wrist, then his expression seemed to freeze for a moment, but it was not obvious on his already cold face, âJian Chi, letâs go. â
Jian Chi also wanted to leave. At this time, he didnât even care how Shen Shuting overcame his mysophobia and came to touch him. However, the shackles on his shoulders suddenly became heavy and clear, making Jian Chi, who was already inconvenient to move, only take two steps forward. Forced to stop, one arm was pulled tightly by Shen Shuting, and the other shoulder was held down by Bai Yinnian, Jian Chiâs scalp was numb, and he felt that he would be split in half from the middle in the next second.
âLet go.â Shen Shuting said to Bai Yinnian.
âYou should let go first.â This was Bai Yinianâs answer.
Jian Chiâs arm was sore from being pulled, and his injured foot had to hang in the air. He couldnât bear it any longer: âWhy donât you all let go, I wonât be able to stand up.â
In the stalemate, Shen Shuting saw that Jian Chiâs left leg was indeed trembling slightly, he pursed his cold lips and let go of his hand. Jian Chi, who lost his balance, staggered back uncontrollably, and slammed his back into Bai Yinianâs chest.
Hard, it hurts to hit it.
âIâm sorryâŚâ After blurting out an apology, Jian Chi did not realize that he was the victim, so why did he become the one who apologized?
Bai Yinnian lacked focus for a moment, too fast to capture. Jian Chi couldnât see his expression, but he could feel Shen Shutingâs dark eyes locked on him and Bai Yinnian, and he could feel the billowing low pressure.
Looking at the closed study door, Jian Chi felt a familiar scene. The short ten minutes was as long as ten hours. When the door opened again, the expressions of both of them were as calm as when they entered.
Shen Shuting was a little shorter than Bai Yinian, but walking together, it would not make people feel overwhelmed. They were two completely different types, one was mature and cold, the other was noble and quiet, like a prince described in fairy tales. When such a face was enlarged in front of his eyes, Jian Chi couldnât help but freeze for a moment.
Shen Shuting⌠Was he this close before?
âI will explain your injury to the school and approve that you do not have to go back to class for the time being,â Shen Shuting said. âWhen you recover, I will come to pick you up again.â
Jian Chi didnât understand how Shen Shutingâs decision had changed so much in just ten minutes. Just as he was about to speak out, Shen Shuting had already seen through his thoughts, a dim light flashed in the depths of his emeraldâs pupils, and he said slowly: âI wonât break my word.â
Somehow, such a Shen Shuting revealed a softness that had never been seen before, and it was revealed very quickly for a moment and then was re-wrapped by a hard shell. Jian Chi seemed to be strangled by his throat, so he couldnât open his mouth to continue asking.
A warning glance at Bai Yinnian who closed the door with his backhand, Shen Shuting pulled the corner of his lips, and whispered with a hint of irony: âBe careful of Bai Yinnian, he is not a good person.â
Jian Chi, who had already understood this point, nodded without rebuttal, and his ears were slightly numb.
Itâs very strange, everything was very strange, why did Shen Shuting, who never used to look at him, find him first? Why didnât he want to tell Ji Huaisi the truth? What deal did Shen Shuting make with Bai Yinnian? While thinking about it, Jian Chi finally remembered where the familiar scene came from.
On the night of the birthday, the conversation between Shao Hang and Wen Chuan at the door of the dormitory made Jian Chi unable to tell whether it was a dream or reality.
Unconsciously, there were many things around him that he was not clear about, what was it this time?
When he pulled out the chair and sat down, Jian Chi paused when he heard these words. It had been two days since Shen Shuting left, and he still couldnât let go of his grudge against Bai Yinnian. The breakfast in front of him was different every day, but today there was an extra plate of fried dumplings that appeared yesterday. Jian Chi remembered that he ate a lot yesterday.
Bai Yinnian wasnât annoyed when he didnât get an answer, âAre you still angry?â
This question sounded like he was making a fuss, but him making trouble for Bai Yinnian, this feeling was strange no matter how he thought about it. Jian Chi could only say, âNo.â But he didnât conceal his half-hearted harsh words.
âI wanted to tell you to go out with me later, but if you are in a bad mood and want to stay at home, I have no problem.â
When Jian Chi heard the word âgo outâ, he raised his head abruptly, with half a fried dumpling stuffed in his mouth that he didnât have time to swallow. When he met Bai Yinianâs eyes mixed with a leisurely smile, he lowered his head to cover up the embarrassing stance, his ears warmed slightly because of annoyance, âAre you serious?â
Bai Yinian didnât want to answer meaningless questions. He placed down the empty coffee cup, put on the suit jacket on the back of the chair, turned around and when he walked to the entrance, he couldnât tell whether he was joking or saying the truth: âDo you want me to carry you over?â
Jian Chi got up quickly and followed with the fastest speed.
Although he still didnât know where the destination was and why Bai Yinnian did it, nothing could be more tempting than âgoing outâ right now.
When the car was parked in front of the towering building, Jian Chi realized from the icon above that the place Bai Yinian brought him turned out to be the company.
To be honest, Jian Chi didnât know much about this circle, and only heard a thing or two from Zhang Yangâs usual gossip. The Bai family dabbled in a wide range of fields. At first, they made their fortune by relying on the industry in the dark zone. Later, they got on the right track and began to do business. Bai Yinianâs father, Bai Shengying, was a romantic playboy when he was young. This was not Jian Chiâs evaluation, but a fact that everyone recognized when talking about the Bai family. This old man, who was over 50 years old, had more media gossip in his youth than his own career achievements.
If one wanted to go back a little deeper, thanks to the rich family background left by Bai Yinnianâs grandfather, the young and vigorous Bai Shengying did not lose his family business. Later, it was the familiar drama of the prodigal son. After having a family, he began to study company management seriously. The Bai family continued to expand in the hands of Bai Shengying, and climbed steadily. At the peak of its prosperity, almost everything everyone used for food, shelter, had a part of itâs investment from the Bai family. Over the past few decades, it had already earned an astronomical amount that ordinary people canât imagine.
The information about Bai Yinnian was far less abundant than that of his father, which was one of the reasons why Jian Chi canât see through Bai Yinnian. Thoughts drifted away, Bai Yinianâs voice came from the front, and dropped two short words: âFollow along.â
After regaining consciousness, Jian Chi walked up slowly, passing men and women in business attire. The air was filled with fresh perfume. Jian Chi felt that he was out of place when he was dressed in casual clothes and injured.
When they saw Bai Yinian, everyone stopped and said âGreetings Chief Baiâ. Eyes fell on Jian Chi, but compared to the undisguised look at Sainston, it can be regarded as friendly and restrained, more of a curiosity. Jian Chi found that some people even smiled at him.
It was probably because of Bai Yinianâs face, but this really relieved Jian Chiâs nervousness.
After coming out of the special elevator, he was greeted by a man also wearing a suit. His hair was meticulously combed, a pair of black-framed glasses were on the bridge of his nose, and he was holding a tablet and talking to Bai Yinian about todayâs itinerary. Jian Chi originally wanted to slow down and step back, but after listening to it, he realized that it didnât matter if he didnât, because he couldnât keep up with the manâs speech rate and the professional terms in it.
This should be the most common job content for Bai Yinnian. After replying a few words, he stopped at the door of the office, then as if he finally remembered Jian Chi after getting up, he looked at him, âHan Zheng, make arrangements.â
He didnât clarify the arrangements, but Han Zheng already answered yes and put on a polite smile at Jian Chi, âMr. Jian Chi, come with me.â
Jian Chi followed without a choice. On the way, he remembered something, âAre you⌠Assistant Han?â Jian Chi had an impression of this voice.
âYes, I answered your call at the time.â Han Zheng replied politely.
At that time, Bai Shuyun had an accident. Bai Yinnian gave him a business card with a phone number on it. Jian Chi dialed it and talked with Assistant Han for several minutes. In the end, because the other party was too restrained, he didnât ask anything.
Although the beginning was not very good, it was better to have an someone we have crossed paths with before than a stranger. Jian Chi asked, âWhere are we going?â
Han Zheng gave him the same polite smile as before.
His mouth was still as tight as last time.
The destination was actually not far from Bai Yinianâs office. There were several pots of orchids for decoration in the spacious reception room, which was empty. Han Zheng left after saying âplease wait a momentâ, not giving Jian Chi a chance to talk.
Holding the slightly hot paper cup, Jian Chi looked at the room, lowered his head and took a sip of hot water, then suddenly there was the sound of the door being pushed open behind him.
âI donât have much time, sit down.â
Jian Chi almost sprayed out hot water in his mouth, looking blankly at Shen Shuting who walked in front of him, wearing a windbreaker to cover the suit and uniform inside. Apparently he just came out of school as he took out his laptop in his bag and placed it on the long table in the reception room.
Shen Shuting raised his eyes, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary here, âJust because you donât go to school, doesnât mean you can drop the course. I applied with the school and will help tutor you for two hours a day.â
After speaking, without waiting for Jian Chiâs response, he sat down and put on the pair of rimless glasses. When he looked up again, he felt a little more bookish and said to Jian Chi, who was still in a daze: âCome here.â
Something is wrong with Shen Shuting â such a sentence emerged in Jian Chiâs mind.
Full of doubts and anxiety, Jian Chi sat over and watched Shen Shuting take out his computer, books⌠Everything was normal, and it seemed like he was really ready to give a lecture to him. However, it was this kind of normality that made Jian Chiâs heart flutter, âShen⌠President, why are you doing this? I thought you hated me.â
Shen Shuting paused, then said, âI do hate you.â
Although he had been prepared for a long time, Jian Chiâs heart still felt as if he had been pricked by a needle.
Shen Shuting said the second half of the sentence: âThis does not conflict with what I am doing now.â
âThen why did you come find me?â Jian Chi couldnât help asking, âWhat did you and Bai Yinian talk about that day?â
He didnât want to be self-indulgent, but it was obvious that the conversation was about him.
Shen Shutingâs eyes were on the computer screen, but there was nothing else on it except the power-on password input box. Shen Shuting frowned slightly, and there was a silence as if he couldnât answer it himself. After entering the password, his slender fingers pressed ok, and the keyboard made a crisp sound, and his voice flowed into Jian Chiâs ears.
âI really do hate you, so I donât know why Iâm doing this. Jian Chi, Iâm looking for answers.â
Under the lens, those gem-like eyes were filled with a dark color that Jian Chi had never seen before, as if breaking his long-standing coldness; walking slowly from a high place to the front, with every twitch of his eyelashes and making him tremble.
âAfter I found out that you were gone, I thought I could stand by and watch them be in chaos, but in fact, I was no different from those people.â
Shen Shuting lowered his eyes and evoked a self-deprecating smile.
âIâve laughed at you so many times, now, itâs your turn to take revenge.â