OEBSAS |Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Shao Xian and Qian Wenjie returned to the game arcade. Not long after, Chen Baizhou came back and found them.

The three of them were tired from playing, so Cai Yalan and Wang Shufen took them to buy clothes.

Children grow fast, and clothes often stop fitting not long after they are bought.

Cai Yalan also bought several sets for Chen Baizhou, and Chen Baizhou accepted them all gratefully. He had already decided that from now on he would work for Shao Xian, and the kindness he was receiving now, he would repay with a lifetime.

After a day of playing, Shao Xian once again led the little companions into their miserable summer vacation life.

Of course, only Qian Wenjie thought it was miserable.

On the evening seven days later, Qian Wenjie came looking for Shao Xian with a mysterious smile on his face.

“Why are you here again?”

Shao Xian was just about to go to sleep, and Qian Wenjie directly scared the sleepiness out of him.

They had only just parted half an hour ago.

Qian Wenjie asked with a grin, “Do you know that Chen Yu got beaten up?”

Shao Xian was slightly stunned for a second, then asked indifferently, “By who?”

“I don’t know.” Qian Wenjie shook his head.

Shao Xian frowned. “Don’t know?” How odd was that?

Qian Wenjie laughed, “It’s just that nobody knows, that’s why Chen Yu’s dad flew into a huge rage. I heard Chen Yu was beaten up really badly, one leg or the other, I think it was broken.”

“Where was he beaten? You can’t find out anything at all?” Shao Xian asked with a frown.

Qian Wenjie was puzzled. “What’s wrong with you? Chen Yu is so bad, getting beaten up is a really happy thing, isn’t it? I even made the special trip here late at night to celebrate with you.”

“Can’t you call?” Shao Xian shot back.

Qian Wenjie froze for a few seconds, then awkwardly gave a dry laugh and quickly found an excuse: “There isn’t a phone in your room, and I was afraid of waking Aunt Cai.”

“You still haven’t answered my question. Why couldn’t you find out? Chen Yu himself doesn’t know either?” Shao Xian always felt that this matter was a little suspicious.

Qian Wenjie scratched his head. “Chen Yu seemed to have been beaten while a sack was put over his head. He didn’t know who beat him at all. He only heard their voices, and they should be not very old.”

“Oh.” Shao Xian seemed to think of something and gave a perfunctory response.

Seeing him like that, Qian Wenjie didn’t make a fool of himself any further, said hello, and ran back home.

In the next few days, life went on as usual, but Qian Wenjie clearly noticed that his two little friends were a little off.

Shao Xian no longer took the initiative to discuss difficult problems with Chen Baizhou, Shao Xian also no longer let Chen Baizhou apply medicine for him, Shao Xian even did not take the initiative to speak to Chen Baizhou for several consecutive days!

Qian Wenjie said he was deeply shocked.

And as one of the parties involved, Chen Baizhou could feel Shao Xian’s sudden coldness even more.

He didn’t know what he had done wrong, and he didn’t dare ask. He could only lie in bed every night silently shedding tears, and the next day continue being careful and cautious.

It was still Qian Wenjie who could not stand it anymore and decided to talk to Shao Xian.

Just as Chen Baizhou disappeared outside the Shao family’s door with his schoolbag on his back, Qian Wenjie asked Shao Xian seriously and earnestly, “Did you have a fight with Chen Baizhou?”

Shao Xian shook his head. “No.”

“Then why are you ignoring him?”

“When did I ignore him?” Shao Xian’s brows furrowed.

Qian Wenjie widened his eyes. “These past few days, the things you’ve said to him haven’t even exceeded ten sentences! Chen Baizhou doesn’t even dare to talk to you. Every time you turn around, the way he looks at you is really pitiful!”

Shao Xian also felt awful inside. He tugged at his hair somewhat irritably and asked, “What do you think of Chen Baizhou?”

“What do you mean, what do I think?” Qian Wenjie was baffled, but seeing Shao Xian’s serious expression, he thought about it and said, “He looks good, he’s smart, doesn’t talk much, and overall he’s pretty easy to get along with.”

Shao Xian secretly sighed. That was indeed true.

The kid was obedient and sensible, how could he not be likable?

“Xian Xian, what exactly is wrong with you?” Qian Wenjie really couldn’t figure it out.

Shao Xian smiled. “Nothing much, go home.”

Qian Wenjie had no choice but to leave the Shao family, turning back three times with each step.

At night, Shao Xian lay on the bed unable to sleep.

To be honest, he was not the kind of person who could do cold wars in the first place, and these past few days had nearly suffocated him. The reason it had turned out like this was because he did not know how to face Chen Baizhou.

Who beat up Chen Yu was not important. What was important was who instructed those kids.

The day they went to the game arcade, they went to the restroom halfway through.

In the restroom, Shao Xian saw a few children, and it was precisely because of these few hooligan-looking children that Chen Baizhou pretended to have a stomachache and deliberately stayed a few extra minutes.

The kid was still too young, and his stomachache act wasn’t convincing at all, and when he saw those little punks, his expression clearly changed.

It was just that Shao Xian had not thought much of it at the time.

Later, after a week had passed, Chen Yu suffered a brutal beating by unknown people, breaking one leg and looking extremely miserable and pathetic.

Shao Xian almost immediately thought of Chen Baizhou.

You have to know that in his previous life, Fu Baizhou did not leave the Chen family any way out at all. Even several families that were on good terms with the Chen family were heavily hit one after another.

The Shao family had some business dealings with the Chen family back then. Although they did not suffer any major losses, they did lose some face. It was precisely because of this that Shao Xian had gone head-to-head with Fu Baizhou.

At that time, almost nobody knew that Fu Baizhou was the former Chen Baizhou. Even if they had suspicions because of the name, they still did not dare to be certain.

After all, Chen Baizhou was the ant they had casually kneaded in their childhood. How could he possibly become Fu, the one in power in the Fu family who stirred up the world?

Even if someone recognized him, they did not dare to say it out loud.

Moreover, the real information from Fu Baizhou’s childhood had been deliberately erased. Shao Xian did not find out much either. On top of that, everyone was speculating that the Fu family wanted to seize market share in China, which was why they chose the Chen family, the most suitable target, to make an example of. So Shao Xian had simply never thought of Fu Baizhou’s background.

Looking at it carefully now, Fu Baizhou should have already harbored the intention of destroying the Chen family long ago.

This could not be said to be wrong, but the methods Fu Baizhou used back then did not quite fit Shao Xian’s principles of conduct.

Otherwise, just because some small projects of the Shao family had suffered setbacks, Shao Xian would not have become so narrow-minded as to go head-to-head with Fu Baizhou.

Now, having personally witnessed the abuse the child suffered in the Chen family, both emotionally and logically, he stood on Chen Baizhou’s side.

He understood Chen Baizhou’s psychology of wanting revenge on Chen Yu, but he did not agree with his method of doing things.

The Shao family had always been open and aboveboard, and did not like using some underhanded tricks. Chen Baizhou secretly had people beat up Chen Yu, which made Shao Xian somewhat unhappy.

He thought it over for the entire night, and the next day he directly turned into a national treasure, which distressed Cai Yalan terribly.

“Xian Xian, you don’t seem happy these past few days. What’s wrong? Can you tell Mom?”

Shao Xian drank milk and said gloomily, “Mom, if your friend did something you don’t agree with, but you understand the other person’s way of doing things, yet have no standing to say anything, what should you do?”

“What is that little head of yours thinking about every day?” Cai Yalan was both concerned and reproachful. “Then tell me, why don’t you agree?”

Shao Xian stopped talking.

Cai Yalan could not help but laugh. Her son had grown up and had his own little secrets now.

“Since you are friends, how can you not have standing to say anything? Say whatever you want to say, and don’t ever keep it bottled up inside.”

Cai Yalan had also more or less seen something these past few days. That child Xiaozhou already had heavy thoughts to begin with, and being treated coldly by her own son like this, who knew how awful he would feel.

After breakfast, Chen Baizhou and Qian Wenjie came to the Shao family together.

Shao Xian, as usual, took them upstairs to study. After Chen Baizhou called out “Aunt Cai,” he did not say another word.

Qian Wenjie also became much quieter under this strange atmosphere.

The room was utterly silent, with only the rustling sounds of turning pages and doing problems.

After a while, a sudden “gugugu” sound rang out. Shao Xian’s hand holding the pen paused, then he stood up and opened the door to go downstairs.

Chen Baizhou kept his head lowered, staring deathly at the exercise book, his heart aching terribly.

Over and over again, he thought, had Shao Xian started to hate him? He really was not likable at all. Sure enough, nobody would like a bastard who did not even know who his biological father was.

Qian Wenjie glanced at Chen Baizhou’s lonely figure and let out a long sigh in his heart.

It was clearly a cold war between two people, so why did he have to bear this kind of oppression?

Not long after, the door opened again, and Shao Xian’s footsteps sounded.

Chen Baizhou sat blankly at the desk, and the hand holding the pen was even a little trembling.

Suddenly, a plate of bread slices appeared in front of him, and along with it came a cup of warm milk.

“You didn’t eat breakfast, did you? Eat quickly.” In the end, Shao Xian could not bear to see the child suffer.

Chen Yu is injured and hospitalized right now, and the Chen family is simply not paying attention to whether Chen Baizhou lives or dies.

Shao Xian waited for half a minute, but Chen Baizhou still did not move at all. He still had his little head lowered, seeming to be silently protesting.

“Chen Baizhou, you…”

The second half of the sentence was successfully swallowed back down by him.

Shao Xian stared blankly at the few tear marks on the exercise book, and a sour and self-reproaching feeling suddenly surged in his heart.

He was a thirty-year-old man. What was he getting so hung up on with a ten-year-old kid?

After being silent for a few seconds, Shao Xian’s tone became much gentler. “If you don’t drink the milk now, it’ll get cold.”

“I’m sorry.” Chen Baizhou suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with tears and guilt.

He blinked lightly, and the tears instantly rolled down.

“Shao Xian, I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”

The child was quiet and still, without a single sound of sobbing. Qian Wenjie, who had his back to him, had no idea that he was crying.

Shao Xian’s heart suddenly ached, and he looked at the baffled Qian Wenjie. “Didn’t you just say your book was left at home? Why haven’t you gone back to get it yet?”

“What?” Qian Wenjie looked blank.

Shao Xian gave him a look.

“Why are you still not going?”

Qian Wenjie finally understood. “Oh right, I left a book behind, I need to go back and get it, see you later!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he fled the room in a gust of wind.

Shao Xian put the milk into Chen Baizhou’s hand. “Eat first, then talk.”

Chen Baizhou held the cup, and seeing that Shao Xian did not seem to be angry anymore, his mood immediately brightened. He quickly lowered his head to wipe away his tears, and did not forget to say “sorry.”

But he heard Shao Xian say solemnly, “You did nothing wrong. I should be the one saying sorry.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Baizhou could not care about drinking milk or eating bread. He hurriedly shook his head and said, “It’s my fault, Shao Xian, don’t be angry, and don’t ignore me either.”

“Mm, I won’t ignore you.” Shao Xian reached out and rubbed his soft hair.

Chen Baizhou was greatly reassured, and after hastily finishing the bread and drinking the milk, he wanted to make things clear with Shao Xian as soon as possible.

With heartache, Shao Xian felt even more self-reproach.

After weighing it for a moment, he finally opened his mouth and asked, “Baizhou, was the one who taught Chen Yu a lesson the students from Ruihong Primary School? Were they the same ones we ran into at the game arcade before?”