Chapter 23
It was clearly abnormal for Su Yunzhe to suddenly take such an interest in Shen Yan’s affairs, especially since he had previously shown a nonchalant attitude.
The key was that Shen Yan didn’t dare to let him help. If Su Yunzhe genuinely assisted him, he would inevitably need to find out who Shen Yan was married to.
Not to mention that he had no intention of letting Su Yunzhe know about his connection to Duan Yang. If Su Yunzhe found out, it could lead to trouble for him. And if the fact that he wasn’t actually a girl was exposed, Su Yunzhe would surely want to kill him first!
Sigh!
Shen Yan couldn’t help but sigh internally. What a good opportunity to get rid of Duan Yang, yet he couldn’t accept it.
“Forget it. I won’t trouble President Su. I’ll figure it out myself.” Shen Yan’s refusal was not heartfelt, and fearing that Su Yunzhe might press the issue, he quickly changed the subject. “Are you heading to the company later? Just drop me off at the subway station; I can go back by myself.”
Su Yunzhe glanced at him but didn’t respond, maintaining a calm and expressionless demeanor, just like usual.
Yet for some reason, Shen Yan felt a bit guilty, as if he were a thief caught in the act. He instinctively wanted to explain himself but ultimately held back, turning to look out the window.
The car was enveloped in silence.
Instead of dropping Shen Yan at the subway station, Su Yunzhe drove him home.
When the car stopped at the alleyway, Shen Yan thanked him and got out, but to his surprise, Su Yunzhe followed him.
Confused, Shen Yan watched as Su Yunzhe retrieved the various food containers his grandmother had packed for him from the trunk, effortlessly leading the way ahead.
Shen Yan was slightly dazed. By the time he came to his senses, he saw that Su Yunzhe had already walked quite a distance ahead. He hurried to catch up, saying, “Thank you, President Su. But how could someone like you not have a girlfriend? You’re handsome, wealthy, and so considerate. Any girl would be eager to chase after you! Yet here you are, resorting to having me pretend to be your partner for your family. You must have very high standards, right? I heard at the company that a beautiful celebrity has pursued you for years, and you’ve ignored her.”
Su Yunzhe turned to look at him, a faint smile playing on his lips, his tone suggesting he was in a good mood. “Good eye.”
Shen Yan blinked in confusion, then quickly realized that Su Yunzhe had only caught the part where he praised him.
He couldn’t help but roll his eyes but found himself smiling a little too.
During the latter part of the drive back, Su Yunzhe had been silent, leaving Shen Yan unsure of his thoughts.
Now, seeing Su Yunzhe’s shameless reaction, Shen Yan felt much more relaxed.
He chuckled. “Of course! My taste is always good. The one with bad taste here is you, President Su. You ignore beautiful celebrities and think even Feng Ge’s boss, who is so handsome, is just average. I suspect you might have an aesthetic issue; maybe you can’t even distinguish between beauty and ugliness?”
Su Yunzhe raised an eyebrow, a half-smile on his face. “I think you look pretty good.”
Shen Yan instinctively opened his mouth to thank him, then realized that Su Yunzhe was indirectly calling him ugly!
Damn it!
Shen Yan puffed his cheeks in annoyance. “Sometimes your taste isn’t too bad, President Su!”
A meaningful smile flashed across Su Yunzhe’s eyes as he glanced at him. “No, my taste is indeed poor!”
Shen Yan was left laughing in frustration. “You’ve gone too far, Su Yunzhe! I look like this…”
“Ah… Sorry, Uncle! I didn’t mean to!”
Before Shen Yan could finish his sentence, a small child suddenly dashed out of the hallway.
While Su Yunzhe had been listening to Shen Yan speak, he didn’t notice and ended up colliding with the child.
The kid was small, and Su Yunzhe reacted quickly, so they only bumped into each other slightly. However, it just happened to knock over the container with the shrimp sauce, splattering sauce all over Su Yunzhe’s light-colored T-shirt, leaving a strong smell of shrimp in the air.
Uh-oh…
This was trouble.
They certainly couldn’t blame a seven- or eight-year-old child, but Su Yunzhe couldn’t go home looking like this either.
As a prominent figure, if he were to run into someone he knew, it could ruin his image entirely.
“How about this… You can come to my house and change your shirt. It’s warm, so it’ll dry quickly.”
After sending the child away, Shen Yan made his suggestion.
Su Yunzhe didn’t object. Rather than risk ruining his image, what he couldn’t stand the most was the lingering smell of shrimp sauce on his shirt.
Once inside, he quickly took off his T-shirt and tossed it aside. “Where’s the bathroom?”
Shen Yan turned on the air conditioning with the remote and then glanced back, only to see Su Yunzhe completely shirtless. He couldn’t help but marvel internally: his physique is really impressive!
He rushed over to push open the bathroom door. “This way. But are you planning to take a shower? I don’t have any clothes for you to change into. Also, the hot water in this bathroom… the heater runs on solar energy. It’s been raining since last night, so I doubt there’s any hot water right now.”
The apartment Shen Yan rented was quite small, and aside from the toilet, sink, and washing machine, there was barely enough space for one person to stand in the bathroom.
With Su Yunzhe’s height, he had to bend slightly just to enter, and even with the showerhead adjusted to its highest setting, it wouldn’t reach his head.
If he actually tried to shower here, it would be quite awkward.
Seeing this, Su Yunzhe had to give up on the idea of taking a shower. However, the smell on him was indeed unbearable, and he couldn’t tolerate it.
“Just give me a towel to wipe off,” he said.
Shen Yan casually tore off his bath towel and handed it over. “Make do with mine. I just moved in, so I haven’t bought many things yet.” After that, he turned and walked out.
Su Yunzhe tossed his T-shirt onto the sofa, and after hesitating for a moment, Shen Yan picked it up and headed to the balcony.
When Su Yunzhe emerged, he found Shen Yan crouched on the balcony, preparing to wash his shirt with soap.
His long fingers looked delicate and white as jade in the sunlight.
Su Yunzhe frowned and walked over, bending down to pick up the basin. “Just throw it in the washing machine.” He turned and took the shirt to the washing machine himself.
Shen Yan followed him in, laughing, “I was just afraid the washing machine would ruin President Su’s clothes. If you don’t mind, just say so.”
Shen Yan wasn’t particularly industrious; he never hand-washed his own clothes. However, given that Su Yunzhe was essentially his benefactor and had gotten his clothes dirty while bringing him something, it was only right for Shen Yan to show a bit of consideration.
Fortunately, Su Yunzhe didn’t mind a machine wash, which made things easier for Shen Yan. He went to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and handed it to Su Yunzhe, fulfilling his duty as a host.
It was fortunate that Su Yunzhe had only visited today; even if it had been yesterday, there wouldn’t have been a single bottle of mineral water available at his place.
Su Yunzhe probably had some work arrangements scheduled for the afternoon, as his phone kept ringing one call after another.
Seeing this, Shen Yan went into the kitchen to organize the various delicacies he had brought back from his grandmother’s.
His fridge wasn’t large, but aside from milk and water, it was almost empty. Now, after putting in the food containers, it looked pleasantly full and particularly satisfying.
When he stepped out, Su Yunzhe had already finished a call and was pointing at the computer on the table. “Is it okay if I borrow this?”
Shen Yan nodded. “Sure! But I just bought it yesterday, so I haven’t installed many programs yet.”
“I need to reply to a few emails.” With that, Su Yunzhe opened the computer, sat down, and began to work.
Having witnessed how seriously Su Yunzhe worked, Shen Yan knew he would be very focused. So, after hanging up Su Yunzhe’s clothes, he settled down on the sofa and quietly began typing away.
