Chapter 30
Shen Yan couldn’t help but feel a little exasperated. So, this guy, Su Yunzhe, had shown up in the middle of the night, startling him, just to discuss something as absurd as this?
He had bought a cup of brown sugar water, handed it over so earnestly, and then asked, with an innocent expression, if Shen Yan’s “Aunt Flo” had left.
How thick-headed was this man?
Shen Yan wanted to snap at him, but as he caught sight of the weariness in Su Yunzhe’s eyes, the retort he had prepared shifted into something else entirely. “Weren’t you abroad? When did you come back?”
Su Yunzhe nodded slightly. “Just got off the plane.”
Shen Yan froze for a moment, the irritation bubbling in his chest mixing with a strange, irrepressible joy. He found it utterly baffling.
He forced himself to push down that odd feeling and tried to act normal.
“You’ve been on a plane for over ten hours. You must be exhausted. And with jet lag on top of that… President Su, you should hurry home and rest,” he said matter-of-factly.
Su Yunzhe did look tired. “Yeah, I need a good sleep. But…” He paused, his dark eyes landing on Shen Yan’s face as he asked softly, “What about you? Where were you this late at night?”
Shen Yan, already a little flustered since Su Yunzhe had appeared, hadn’t even noticed the slight interrogative tone in his question. Instead, he answered honestly, “Feng-ge wanted me to drink with him. Oh, by the way, Feng-ge—”
As he mentioned Qin Mofeng, Shen Yan thought to bring up the earlier incident, but before he could continue, Su Yunzhe interrupted him. “Qin Mofeng? You two seem pretty close these days.”
Su Yunzhe’s tone was casual, giving nothing away. Yet, for some reason, Shen Yan felt a trace of discontent hidden in his words.
He frowned, puzzled. “What’s the matter? Feng-ge only called me because he couldn’t reach you. He seems troubled about something lately, really stressed. I was just debating whether to tell you. Aren’t you two good friends? You should check in on him.”
Su Yunzhe had been feeling irritated. After all, Qin Mofeng was his close brother, and he knew him well.
But the fact that he had rushed back from abroad, gone straight to Shen Yan’s apartment, and waited downstairs for an hour, only to find Shen Yan had been dragged out by Qin Mofeng for drinks, made him deeply annoyed.
Even if Qin Mofeng was his brother, it didn’t mean he was immune to jealousy.
However, hearing Shen Yan’s concern, Su Yunzhe’s irritation was replaced by a hint of worry. “He did call me yesterday, but I was busy at the time. What’s wrong with him?”
Shen Yan shook his head. “I don’t know either. He asked me to come over, but he didn’t say a word, just kept drinking. It seemed pretty serious. Maybe he didn’t feel comfortable talking to me about it. You guys don’t have those kinds of boundaries—ask him.”
Su Yunzhe nodded. “Alright, I’ll reach out to him tomorrow.” He glanced at his watch—it was already past midnight. “Come on, I’ll walk you home. I’m dead tired and need to crash.” With that, he grabbed Shen Yan’s hand and led him into the alley.
Shen Yan, being pulled along, wanted to pull his hand back several times. After all, they weren’t the kind of friends who casually held hands, were they?
Yet, for some reason, he hesitated to let go. Especially when he heard the fatigue in Su Yunzhe’s voice as he muttered, “I’m exhausted.” It tugged at something in his heart, making him feel unexpectedly tender.
So, he let himself be led, all the way to his door.
Once they arrived, Shen Yan’s mind started spinning again. He stood there, neither bidding farewell to Su Yunzhe nor opening the door to go inside. Instead, he kept his head lowered in silence.
His bangs fell over his eyes, and from Su Yunzhe’s angle, all he could see was the bridge of Shen Yan’s nose and the curve of his pale jaw.
Su Yunzhe gently squeezed Shen Yan’s hand before letting go. “Go inside. I’m leaving. Get some rest.”
He turned to leave but suddenly stopped, as if remembering something. Looking back at Shen Yan, his tired eyes gleamed with seriousness. “Don’t go out drinking or eating alone with Qin Mofeng again.”
This guy—did he even realize what kind of state he was in after drinking?
While it wasn’t as exaggerated as he claimed, where Shen Yan might get “hugged and kissed,” that soft, drunken state of his was something Su Yunzhe would never allow others to witness—not even his closest brother.
Shen Yan looked up at him in surprise, blurting out, “Why not?”
Wasn’t Qin Mofeng his good friend? Were they only friends on the surface?
“No reason. But if you don’t listen, our contract is off!” Su Yunzhe raised a brow, his expression smug, like a boss asserting dominance.
Shen Yan rolled his eyes at him, annoyed. “All you do is threaten me with that! Hmph, fine, cancel it—”
He almost said he didn’t care anymore. With the 70,000 yuan he had from selling his bags and the decent numbers his new book was pulling, it wouldn’t be long before it went pay-to-read. Based on his previous earnings, he wasn’t likely to face financial troubles again.
So, even if he quit being Su Yunzhe’s special assistant, he wouldn’t starve.
But for some reason, he swallowed the words. Instead, he huffed, “I only went because he’s your friend! Why do you have to act like this? Good intentions treated like dirt!”
Shen Yan stormed into his apartment, fuming and ready to slam the door shut to block out Su Yunzhe’s inexplicable antics. But for some reason, his hand froze on the doorknob, unable to follow through.
Su Yunzhe, standing just outside, looked at him through the open door, puzzled.
Shen Yan didn’t understand his own actions either. After glaring at Su Yunzhe for what felt like an eternity, he suddenly gave in with a sigh, stepping aside and pulling him into the apartment. As he did, he grumbled, “What is wrong with you? You’ve been on a plane for more than ten hours—aren’t you exhausted? Why didn’t you just go straight home? Why show up here in the middle of the night? Now, if I let you drive back this late, it’ll make me look like a heartless jerk. Fine! Stay here. But there’s only one bed, so you’re sleeping on the floor!”
Su Yunzhe let himself be dragged inside, standing dumbfounded in the modest living room, processing what just happened.
The truth was, he hadn’t come here with the intention of staying over. He just couldn’t resist the urge to see Shen Yan after being away for so long. His driver was still parked nearby, and if the drive home was too far, he had already planned to stay at a hotel.
But now Shen Yan was actually offering to let him stay.
As Su Yunzhe looked around the small, simple apartment, an involuntary smile spread across his face. Compared to his luxurious seaside mansion, this place was almost laughably basic. But right now, he couldn’t have been happier.
Meanwhile, Shen Yan had rushed into his bedroom, yanked the only padded blanket off his bed, and carried it out.
When he had moved in, he’d been broke and barely managed to scrape together the essentials. He’d only bought one set of bedding—one blanket to sleep under and one to lay on. Thankfully, his mattress was soft enough to make do without padding, so he unselfishly offered his only spare blanket to Su Yunzhe.
But when he came back, arms full, he found Su Yunzhe still standing there, dazed.
“Hey! Don’t just stand there! Help me move the couch and table so we can make room for your bed.”
Shen Yan’s apartment was tiny, and the only way to make space for a makeshift bed was to shove the furniture aside. Luckily, there wasn’t much to move, and soon they had a simple sleeping area set up.
Shen Yan grabbed a throw pillow he usually kept on the couch, along with a thin towel blanket, and tossed them onto the makeshift bed. It looked functional enough, though perhaps a little shabby.
But when he thought about Su Yunzhe’s lifestyle—the man lived in a sprawling mansion with panoramic ocean views—this floor setup felt downright pathetic.
Shen Yan hesitated, second-guessing his decision. He glanced at Su Yunzhe uncertainly. “Are you… okay with this? Just a blanket on the floor—will it be too uncomfortable? I really don’t have anything else. If it’s too much, I can call a driver to take you home.”
“Are you kicking me out now?” Su Yunzhe interrupted with a laugh. “You’ve already invited me to stay—no take-backs.”
Seeing how relaxed Su Yunzhe seemed, Shen Yan stopped overthinking. “Alright, if you don’t mind. But I don’t have any clothes for you to change into, so…” He trailed off, considering the awkwardness of Su Yunzhe having to either skip a shower or wear the same dirty clothes.
Before Shen Yan could finish, Su Yunzhe said, “Oh, my luggage is in the car.”
Having come straight from the airport, Su Yunzhe hadn’t brought his bags upstairs. But he wasn’t about to take a shower and put his old clothes back on, so he went down to retrieve them.
When he returned, Shen Yan had just finished showering. His damp hair fell loosely around his shoulders, water dripping from the tips and sliding down his skin, disappearing into his pajamas. The small room was filled with the fresh scent of shampoo.
Su Yunzhe’s eyes darkened as he stood there, feeling an unexpected warmth creeping up his neck. He licked his lips and muttered, “I’m a little worried.”
Shen Yan, holding a hairdryer, turned to him in confusion. “Worried about what?”
Su Yunzhe’s expression was deadly serious. “Worried you might have some improper intentions toward me.”
Shen Yan froze, wondering if he’d misheard. “…What?”
Su Yunzhe kept a serious expression. “Think about it. It’s the middle of the night, and you insisted I stay over. Don’t you think that’s a little suspicious? What kind of girl invites a man to stay the night like this? And let’s not forget what you tried to do to me last time. Who’s to say tonight you won’t…”
“Su Yunzhe, you’re impossible!” Shen Yan roared, resisting the urge to throw his newly bought hairdryer at him.
He finally understood—this guy was implying that he had designs on him!
Was this man reincarnated from a peacock? How narcissistic could one person be? Always assuming Shen Yan wanted to seduce him!
At this point, Shen Yan regretted everything. Why had he let this guy stay over in a moment of weakness? He should’ve sent him packing, fatigue be damned!
Now, instead of being grateful, Su Yunzhe was smugly accusing him of ulterior motives.
But Su Yunzhe, ever the provocateur, remained as serious as before. “Why are you so mad? Did I hit a nerve? Maybe I’m right, and now you’re angry because you’ve been found out.”
“You…” Shen Yan was livid, taking a deep breath to calm himself before retorting, “Listen carefully, Su Yunzhe. I let you stay because you just got off a long flight, looked exhausted, and I was worried you might get into an accident if you drove home tired. That’s it. And let’s be clear—you’re the one trying to sugar-daddy me. If anyone should be worried about someone else’s intentions, it’s me worrying about you!”
Su Yunzhe nodded with maddening composure. “Exactly. I’ve made my intentions clear from the start—I want to take care of you. I’ve never denied it. But you? You know my intentions, and yet you’re still letting me stay. Doesn’t that imply something?”
Shen Yan froze, his anger morphing into frustration. “If you don’t want to stay, then just go home!” He spun on his heel, intending to storm off to his room, but before he could take a step, Su Yunzhe caught his wrist.
Turning back with a glare, Shen Yan said nothing, his temper still simmering.
But Su Yunzhe’s demeanor softened. The serious look disappeared, replaced by a warm, teasing glint in his dark eyes. His voice was uncharacteristically gentle, even tinged with a hint of pleading. “Yan Yan, I was wrong, okay? Please let me stay the night.”
Shen Yan was stunned into silence. His heartbeat quickened uncontrollably, thudding against his chest, and all because Su Yunzhe had called him by name.
Su Yunzhe had never addressed him so intimately before. Sure, he’d joked around with nicknames like “pretty boy,” but he’d never seriously called him “Shen Yan” or even his childhood nickname, “Yan Yan.”
“Yan Yan” was what Shen Yan’s family and close friends had always called him. He was long accustomed to hearing it—so why did it feel so different coming from Su Yunzhe?
Why did it make his heart race like this?
