Chen Shu didn't stay at Zhuang Yihan's house for too long. He left when it was about time. After all, their relationship hadn't reached that stage yet. Staying overnight rashly would only make him seem too purposeful. He had seen the person he needed to see and said what needed to be said. That was enough.

With Zhuang Yihan's arrangements, Father Chen's surgery was a success. The doctor said he could be discharged after two weeks of observation in the hospital, but he would need regular check-ups and couldn't go off his medication. It was obvious he couldn't do the heavy farm work at home anymore.

From the day he woke up, Chen Dazhou couldn't hide his anxiety. Whether it was the elegant private ward or his simple-minded second son telling him the surgery fees were all paid for but couldn't explain where the money came from, everything made him feel uneasy.

"Tell me the truth, did you sell the house back home?! You little bastards, I'm not going to live much longer anyway, what's the use of this damn surgery? That house was left by our ancestors! If you sold it, where will you live in the future? Are you planning to go back and starve?!"

Chen Dazhou had no real concept of how much the surgery cost. The most valuable thing he could think of was their old house. He was instantly shocked and furious, and started cursing at Chen Ji, who was by his bedside.

Chen Ji was startled and quickly held him down. "Dad, you just had surgery, don't get so worked up. The house back home is still there, we didn't sell it! Really, if I'm lying, I'm a bastard!"

Chen Dazhou grabbed his hand, his dark face filled with tension. "Then how did you pay for the surgery?! Tell me, where did you get the money?!"

"I borrowed it from a friend, alright?"

A low, indifferent voice sounded from the side, finally interrupting Chen Dazhou's fury.

Chen Shu watched this farce quietly like an uninvolved bystander. He held an apple in his hand, his eyes lowered as he methodically peeled it with a small knife. The thin peel fell away evenly, revealing the clean white flesh inside:

"I've bought your tickets. When you're discharged tomorrow, you and my younger brother will go home together. The doctor said it's best to have a check-up every three months for your condition. The conditions in the countryside aren't good, so I've already asked Aunt to help look. I'll pick out a suitable house in the County Town and buy it. The transportation there is convenient, so it'll be easier to come here for check-ups by high-speed rail or plane."

The houses in their hometown's County Town were very cheap; one could be bought for five or six hundred thousand. Although it couldn't compare to the prosperity and development of a big city, it had all the necessary medical facilities, which was better than being stuck in the village.

Hearing this, Chen Dazhou started coughing in anger, becoming even more certain that the family house had been sold. Their ancestors had once been wealthy, and that courtyard was large and filled with flowers; it could even be described as a vibrant little garden. If they were really willing to sell it, there would be buyers. The year before last, several tourism developers and B&B owners had come to ask for a price, but Chen Dazhou had never agreed.

"You... cough, cough, cough, cough... You bastard... When did it become your place to make decisions for me! You sold the house, are your younger brother and sister supposed to sleep on the streets?!"

Chen Ji said anxiously, "Dad, didn't I tell you we didn't sell the house? Without your signature, we can't sell it even if we wanted to! Big brother borrowed money from his friend for your surgery. That friend is really rich and lent him a lot. After paying for the surgery, the remaining money is enough to buy a house in the County Town. I'll be able to work in two years, and then Big Brother and I will save up together to pay him back. We'll be able to pay it all back eventually!"

Only then did Chen Dazhou remember that the house was in his name. Without his signature, these two brats couldn't sell it even if they wanted to. He looked at Chen Shu with suspicion and uncertainty and asked, "Did you really borrow this money from a friend? Where did you get such a rich friend? Don't be getting mixed up with shady people out there."

At these words, Chen Shu's apple-peeling motions stopped. He looked up at him, his expression a half-smile that, upon closer inspection, carried a faint trace of mockery. "It's enough that there's money for your surgery. Why ask so many questions?"

Chen Shu and his father's relationship had never been good, one could even say it was quite terrible. For instance, today, if it weren't for delivering their tickets and explaining a few things, he wouldn't have come even if it killed him.

And as he expected, the situation only turned unpleasant.

Chen Dazhou was furious. "What kind of attitude is that to talk to your father?! Believe it or not, I'll beat you to death with a stick! You think you're so great after reading a few lousy books that you don't even respect me anymore?! You dare to borrow money? Does borrowed money not need to be paid back? You better confess, just how much did you borrow!!"

Clang—!

Suddenly, without any warning, Chen Shu threw the fruit knife in his hand to the ground. The force was so great that it even scratched his skin, and a distinct line of blood immediately appeared on his fair wrist. Perhaps it was because his cold gaze was too piercing, but the ward fell silent for a moment. Even Chen Dazhou's voice died down as he stared in shock at this son who seemed somewhat different from before.

Without even looking at the wound on his hand, Chen Shu slowly pulled back his chair and stood up. The scraping sound of the chair legs was abrupt and harsh. Worried that his brother would lose his temper, Chen Ji quickly got up and stood in front of the hospital bed, explaining frantically, "Brother, Dad didn't mean it like that..."

Chen Shu hadn't planned on doing anything in the first place. He silently watched Chen Ji, who was sweating with anxiety, and thought to himself that this younger brother of his wasn't completely useless; his strong point was his exceptional tolerance. In any case, he himself couldn't stand this kind of frustrating treatment. After a few seconds, he spoke in a toneless voice, "I still have classes at school. I won't see you off when you go back home tomorrow. Remember to send me a message to let me know you've arrived safely."

After speaking, he bent down to pick up the shopping bag from the floor, placed the new clothes and snacks he had bought for his younger siblings on the table, and then turned to leave the ward.

After leaving, Chen Shu didn't go anywhere else. He found a seat at a coffee shop near the hospital. Although he said nothing, his lightly closed eyes inadvertently revealed a hint of gloomy emotion.

He was using Zhuang Yihan's money to treat his father's illness, buy a house, and even support his younger siblings' education.

But in the near future, he would need to find a way to make the other man fall in love with him, and then cruelly dump him.

How could such a malicious thought, such a malicious person, exist in the world?

Chen Shu closed his eyes, pressing his fingertips to his temples and rubbing slowly. As he thought this, the corners of his lips curled up uncontrollably. He often heard people say that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished. But what about Zhuang Yihan? With him around in this life, would the other man really receive a good reward?

It was unclear when the Black Snake had appeared. It slithered slowly around Chen Shu's shoulder, finally coiling around his right hand, and extended its scarlet tongue to pierce the wound accidentally made by the fruit knife.

Hiss—!

A sharp, tearing pain shot through him instantly. Chen Shu's eyes snapped open, and he glared coldly at the Black Snake. "What are you doing?!"

The Black Snake unhurriedly retracted its tongue. "My dear Host, please don't be too agitated. I just saw that you were injured and wanted to help you."

As soon as it finished speaking, the wound that had been bleeding profusely just moments ago healed without a sound, leaving the skin smooth and clear, as if nothing had ever happened.

Chen Shu stared at the smug Black Snake, his voice low and sarcastic. "But you made me feel more than ten times the pain. I would rather have waited for it to heal on its own."

"So you're afraid of pain?"

The Black Snake seemed to have a realization, but it laughed even harder, its black body trembling slightly,

"In that case, you should be even less soft-hearted. Otherwise, watching yourself slowly rot and turn into a corpse will be thousands, tens of thousands of times more painful than today's wound, hmm?"

Soft-hearted?

Hearing this, Chen Shu tilted his head slightly, suddenly finding it rather amusing. After all, how could a person without a heart be soft-hearted? He looked at the Black Snake and said in an emotionless voice:

"I was just thinking, since Zhuang Yihan likes helping me so much, why not just let him continue..."

After all, Zhuang Yihan had always been one to give his all to the people he liked.

The Black Snake praised in satisfaction, "As it should be."

The end of its voice curled up slightly before it dissipated into a cloud of black smoke and vanished. Outside the cafe, the awning cast a shadow, but it was still difficult to block out the slightly scorching midday sun.

Bzz—

Zhuang Yihan's call came at that very moment. The phone vibrated incessantly on the table. Chen Shu stared at the caller ID, not picking it up for some reason. It wasn't until the other party persistently called for the third time that he finally picked up the phone and answered, "Hello?"

"Why did it take you so long to answer?"

Zhuang Yihan's low and calm voice came through the receiver. Even though they weren't meeting in person, it wasn't hard to imagine him sitting in his office with a slight frown.

Ever since they got together, Chen Shu had always "doted on" Zhuang Yihan. Asking about his well-being was just the bare minimum; it was the attitude of always putting him first in his heart that was most moving. Zhuang Yihan had grown accustomed to this subtle, nurturing kindness, so when something unusual happened one day, he was more sensitive than others would be.

In the past, when he called Chen Shu, the call would be answered immediately, before it could even ring three times.

But today, he had called three whole times.

Chen Shu sank back into his chair without a word, tilting his head up. The weary early autumn sun was still a bit glaring, making him unable to resist lazily squinting his eyes. "I was at the hospital just now, didn't hear it ring. What's up?"

He gave a suitable reason, but that was all. His tone was listless, as if he hadn't noticed the subtle displeasure in Zhuang Yihan's voice on the other end of the line.

Zhuang Yihan frowned imperceptibly, but then he remembered that Chen Shu had gone to the hospital to visit his father today, and his tone softened. "How is it, have you seen your dad? I heard from Xue Miao that the surgery was a success."

Chen Shu: "Xue Miao?"

Zhuang Yihan: "He's that friend of mine who studies medicine. He had his family help arrange the surgery. Next week is his birthday, and he's treating us to a meal. You should come with me and give him a gift."

Chen Shu nodded, naturally not refusing. "My dad is recovering well. He's being discharged tomorrow to go back home. What does your friend like? I'll prepare a gift in advance."

Of course, Zhuang Yihan wouldn't let Chen Shu pay. "He has relatives in politics, so he usually keeps his birthdays low-key and rarely makes a big deal out of it. It's just friends getting together for a meal. The gift doesn't need to be too expensive. He likes to collect paintings. We can just buy one from Fang Yiting later."

Fang Yiting was the friend they had met at Xiangming Pavilion last time. His family was in the art gallery business, so he had the most resources of this kind.

Speaking of which, Zhuang Yihan remembered something. "He asked me to have dinner with him this afternoon. You should come along too."

Completely different from his past life, Zhuang Yihan didn't hide Chen Shu at home to be forgotten. Instead, he brought him out to meet people more and more frequently. Having dinner with Fang Yiting, attending Xue Miao's birthday party—although these two things might not seem like much, in a way, they marked his real entry into Zhuang Yihan's core social circle.

If it were the Chen Shu from his past life, he might have been very happy.

But what about this life? Should he be moved to tears with gratitude?

Chen Shu seriously tried to feel for it and suddenly realized he didn't seem to have that emotion. He asked with great interest, "What if I say I don't want to go?"

...

Hearing the question from the other end of the line, Zhuang Yihan keenly sensed Chen Shu's slightly distant attitude towards him today. He sat on the leather chair with his legs crossed, his expression turning cold bit by bit. His low voice was inexplicably terrifying:

"Chen Shu, what do you mean"