Chapter 8
Duan Yang, living up to his status as an acclaimed actor, quickly composed himself and greeted Su Yunzhe politely as the host.
Shen Yan was hiding in the restroom, straining to listen to the commotion outside.
It seemed that Su Yunzhe had a good relationship with Duan Songtao. After learning that the old man was in good health, he chatted and laughed with him, his demeanor relaxed and friendly.
Shen Yan was quite surprised. The fact that Su Yunzhe came to visit Duan Yang’s grandfather was odd enough. According to the original description of Su Yunzhe in the book, he should be the type of person who, if he disliked someone, would also extend that hatred to everyone associated with them, right?
If he hated Duan Yang, he should also harbor animosity towards Duan Songtao. But listening to the cheerful atmosphere outside, Shen Yan felt that not only did Su Yunzhe not dislike Duan Songtao, but he seemed to respect him as well.
That was indeed strange.
However, this was ultimately none of Shen Yan’s business, so he continued to listen casually. He suddenly remembered that Su Yunzhe had told him to wait at the hospital entrance in half an hour, but half an hour had passed, and this guy actually came inside. With the joyful laughter outside, it didn’t seem like Su Yunzhe was planning to leave in just five minutes.
So, what did it mean for him to call and say to wait for him in half an hour? Did he expect Shen Yan to just stand at the entrance doing nothing?
Shen Yan pouted, feeling annoyed. A life without money was truly difficult; he didn’t even have the luxury of basic rights.
At that moment, he heard Su Yunzhe’s voice saying his goodbyes.
Shen Yan couldn’t help but check the time. Did he really only sit for five minutes?
Su Yunzhe would be going out to the hospital entrance around the time they had agreed upon.
Uh…
Shen Yan scratched his head, feeling like he might have unfairly blamed his benefactor. He felt a bit guilty but suddenly heard a woman’s panicked voice from outside, “Ah… I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, I’m really sorry!”
Shen Yan jumped in surprise. At that moment, as Su Yunzhe was leaving, a nurse happened to rush in carrying various medicines. Maybe she was in a hurry and didn’t see him, crashing right into Su Yunzhe, causing the medicines to spill all over him.
The nurse was also frightened; after all, the patients here were either wealthy or influential, and she couldn’t afford to offend any of them. Now on the verge of tears after this blunder, she seemed almost ready to cry.
Su Yunzhe just waved his hand. “It’s fine.” Then he pointed towards the nearby restroom and asked Duan Yang, “Is that the restroom? I’ll just borrow it for a moment.” As he spoke, he moved towards the door.
“President Su!” Even with Duan Yang’s acting skills, his voice nearly cracked with tension.
If Su Yunzhe went in there, he wouldn’t just have to worry about his hidden marriage being exposed; he’d also have to explain how his lover ended up in this place.
But under the current circumstances, it wouldn’t make sense to stop Su Yunzhe from going in.
“What’s wrong?” Su Yunzhe furrowed his brows, looking disdainfully at the medicines splattered on his clothes and hands.
“Your clothes are all stained; I’ll have Yu Lin get you a new outfit,” Duan Yang suggested, trying to keep calm.
Su Yunzhe glanced at him and shook his head. “No need; I’ll just wash my hands.”
Su Yunzhe genuinely found the smell unpleasant, and without waiting for Duan Yang to respond, he pushed the door open…
“Su—” Duan Yang felt his heart leap to his throat, his voice now betraying his anxiety, but he saw that Su Yunzhe completely ignored him and walked straight into the restroom to wash his hands.
Duan Yang couldn’t help but peek inside, only to see that the small restroom contained only Su Yunzhe.
Where was Shen Yan?
Duan Yang sighed in relief but was also puzzled.
The hospital restroom was incredibly basic, no larger than two square meters. Where could someone hide?
Just then, a gust of wind blew through, and his gaze landed on the open window.
No way! This was the second floor—what girl would dare jump out from here?
In fact, Shen Yan had indeed jumped down.
What choice did he have? He never would have imagined that an innocent nurse would create such a predicament for him.
After hearing what happened outside, he immediately realized that Su Yunzhe was bound to come in.
He couldn’t hide in the restroom, but thankfully, there was a window, and being on the second floor helped.
Without hesitation, he climbed out.
Just as he jumped down, he vaguely heard the sound of a door opening.
That was close!
Once on the ground, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hurriedly found the nearest building. He located another restroom, removed his wig, changed into women’s clothing, quickly used foundation to cover the beauty mark on his eyelid, and then rushed to the hospital entrance to wait. The whole process took less than ten minutes.
Su Yunzhe still hadn’t come out, and Shen Yan seized this opportunity to adjust his breathing. He checked his appearance in the nearby car window, making sure there were no flaws.
“Shen Yan!”
At that moment, a sharp female voice suddenly called from behind him. Shen Yan turned around to see a middle-aged woman in high heels striding towards him with an air of authority, accompanied by a fair, polite-looking young boy.
Shen Yan didn’t know them, but he had already guessed their identities: his stepmother, Wang Li, and his half-brother, Shen Jiaqi.
What a nuisance!
Shen Yan had no desire to have any dealings with these people, yet it seemed fate had other plans.
“Hello, may I ask who you are?” He felt troubled inside but maintained a smile on his face, inquiring politely.
Wang Li and Shen Jiaqi were clearly taken aback by his reaction. After a moment, Wang Li angrily exclaimed, “Shen Yan, don’t pretend to be foolish! Do you think we wouldn’t recognize you just because you’re wearing a wig and dressing like a woman? I’ll tell you, stop with these tricks and go back home quietly, or else your father will beat you to death!” She reached out as if to grab Shen Yan.
Shen Yan stepped back, dropping the smile. “Is this lady out of a mental hospital? You think you can just grab anyone on the street and go crazy? Do I look that easygoing?”
His speech was calm and measured as he raised an eyebrow, wearing a look of incredulity.
Wang Li was taken aback again and turned to look at Shen Jiaqi, clearly losing her earlier confidence.
Shen Jiaqi was the same age as Shen Yan, twenty-two, and had a youthful appearance. People who didn’t know him would often mistake him for a high school student.
Shen Jiaqi looked at Shen Yan, his eyes glimmering with timidity, resembling a frightened rabbit.
“Bro, you—”
“Wow, what’s wrong with this little brother? How can someone so young have such poor eyesight? Oh, we’re in a hospital—better hurry and get an eye exam!” Shen Yan tossed his hair and turned to leave.
He genuinely didn’t want to have anything to do with the Shen family. He was no longer the original character, so he had no intention of avenging how they bullied him in the past. He just wanted to avoid these kinds of people.
“Shen Yan, you—” Wang Li couldn’t tolerate someone insulting her precious son and was about to retort, but she was interrupted by Shen Jiaqi.
Shen Jiaqi hurried to catch up with Shen Yan. “Bro, I know you’re upset because I’ve been close with Brother Yang, but I won’t hang out with him anymore, okay? Please don’t be stubborn; let’s go home. Brother Yang is really worried about you. Besides, you like him so much; now that you’ve finally gotten married, what if Brother Yang really gets mad and wants a divorce?”
What a welcome idea!
Shen Yan silently thought this to himself, feeling impatient as he turned to glare at Shen Jiaqi. “Hey, little brother, do you have a crush on me or something?”
“…” Shen Jiaqi was caught off guard and momentarily speechless.
Shen Yan smiled slightly. “Then why are you following me around?”
“Bro…”
“I see you’re not that old; a high school student? Give it up already. I’m not interested in kids your age.” Shen Yan interrupted him again, speaking as he shot him a playful glance. “You’d be better off going home and studying a few more practice tests.” He turned to leave once more.
Shen Jiaqi stood frozen, not because he was enamored by Shen Yan’s glance but because he began to question the identity of the woman in front of him.
Could it really be that she wasn’t Shen Yan?
She looked like him, but her whole demeanor felt entirely different. Would the old Shen Yan have ever flirted with him like that?
No, that’s impossible!
The old Shen Yan would have paled at the mere sound of his mother raising her voice; how could he have dared to call her “Auntie” and insult her?
But then again, how could the old Shen Yan have run away from home?
So, were they really mistaken about who he was, or was Shen Yan just not who they thought he was?
Before Shen Jiaqi could reach a conclusion, Wang Li, seeing her son being insulted, rushed up and grabbed Shen Yan’s hair, shouting furiously, “I told you to stop pretending, to stop… pretending…”
Huh? It’s not a wig? Why can’t I pull it off?
Wang Li was taken aback, while Shen Yan was already seething with rage!
He had asked the hairdresser to make the extensions extra secure so that they would last longer. Now, with Wang Li yanking at them, he felt as if his scalp was about to tear off!
He whipped around, shaking off Wang Li’s grip, and glared at her. “You want to fight? I’m game!” He tossed his backpack onto the grass beside him.
At that moment, Su Yunzhe had just stepped out and caught sight of Shen Yan’s furious demeanor from afar. The middle-aged woman in front of him looked like she was too frightened to move.
Su Yunzhe raised an eyebrow, finding the situation amusing. Duan Yang, who had accompanied him, rushed over.
So, Su Yunzhe leisurely walked over. Upon reaching them, he heard Duan Yang apologizing to Shen Yan, while Shen Yan remained visibly angry, staring fixedly at Wang Li.
“What’s going on?” Su Yunzhe asked.
Shen Yan didn’t even glance at him, simply tossing out, “Fighting!” Then he turned to Duan Yang, saying, “Duan Yang, this has nothing to do with you; step aside!”
“Miss Shen, it’s a misunderstanding…”
“What happened to your hand?”
Before Duan Yang could finish his sentence, Su Yunzhe grabbed Shen Yan’s wrist and saw that the fingertip of his ring finger was cut and bleeding.
Shen Yan wasn’t paying attention to that at all; he tried to shake off Su Yunzhe’s grip, but Su Yunzhe tightened his hold. His gaze shifted from Shen Yan’s hand to Wang Li’s face as he asked, “Did you do this?”
Su Yunzhe’s voice was not loud, and the ending even rose slightly, but Shen Yan could clearly sense the underlying anger.