Chapter 10: Meng Shen

Yu Xi did not go up to the second floor as Gu Chuanzhou had hoped.

The two sisters were quick with their hands and eyes; they intercepted him halfway, hauled him back to the living room sofa to sit with them, and then unceremoniously ordered Gu Chuanzhou to fetch some water.

Gu Chuanzhou looked at them coldly. “If you’re thirsty, walk a few more steps back to your own house and drink there.”

Sheng Yunjuan muttered sulkily, “Fine, I won’t drink, okay?”

Yu Xi looked from one to the other, thought for a moment, and stood up. “I’ll go pour it.”

As soon as he moved, Gu Chuanzhou changed his mind and headed to the water bar himself.

The sisters exchanged a look, passing an interested glint between them. Then, one of them timely pressed down on Yu Xi, who was still intending to go help.

“Little brother, you stay here and chat with us first.”

“Oh… okay.” Yu Xi could only sit back down in his original spot—right in the middle of the two sisters.

This position wasn’t his intention. They had coordinated perfectly, making it seem natural for him to be centered on the sofa. With the twins—identical in looks but different in hairstyle and expression—staring at him from both sides, Yu Xi felt so constrained that he tucked his hands and feet in. He blinked rapidly, utterly at a loss.

If he had listened to Gu Chuanzhou and gone upstairs, he wouldn’t be facing this predicament, but… his own heart wanted to stay, so he had simply followed the flow.

Whether it was their appearance or their seemingly antagonistic yet familiar rapport with Gu Chuanzhou, the answer was sliding toward his suspicion.

Sure enough, he heard the names he had been thinking of.

“I’m Sheng Yunjuan, and she’s my older sister, Sheng Yunshu.” The short-haired girl pointed to herself and her sister. “You can tell we’re twins, right?”

Yu Xi’s hands were clasped tightly, already slick with a layer of hot sweat. It wasn’t just nervousness, but a different, more intense emotion.

He didn’t let it show, trying his best to keep his voice natural. “Yes, you look the same.”

Sheng Yunjuan giggled, leaned a bit closer to Yu Xi, and began to probe. “Are you a friend of Gu Chuanzhou? Whose family are you from? You look quite familiar; maybe we’ve met before…”

Before she could finish her string of indirect questions, the long-haired sister on the other side cut her off decisively.

“Yu Xi.”

Suddenly hearing his name, Yu Xi turned his head in shock, meeting Sheng Yunshu’s eyes—shaped like a cat’s and just as sharp and calm. Her tone was certain: “You’re Xiao Xi, aren’t you?”

Thump, thump. Yu Xi heard the heavy pounding of his own heart. Emotions surged within him, and his lips moved a few times before he managed to squeeze out a short sentence. “It’s… it’s me…”

Sheng Yunshu slowly curved her lips. A ripple of warmth spread through her eyes, and her usually stoic features suddenly became vivid. She said nothing more, only patting Yu Xi’s hands, which were clenched so hard his knuckles were white.

Beside them, once Sheng Yunjuan processed this rapid recognition, she couldn’t hold back any longer. She slapped her thigh and cried out excitedly, “I knew it was you!”

The sudden spike in volume earned a low reprimand from Gu Chuanzhou as he brought the water over: “Keep it down, Sheng Yunjuan.”

Sheng Yunjuan had no time for him. She grabbed Yu Xi’s arm and shook it. “The moment you opened the door, I thought of you, but I didn’t dare believe it! After all, you’ve been gone for so many years. We thought we’d never see you again. There was no news, and we couldn’t find out where your family went. Everyone has been waiting for you until their eyes went dry, Xiao Xi—”

This sincere outpouring moved Yu Xi. He said softly, “I’m sorry.”

“No one forgot you. You should have come back sooner; we could have all played together! Why didn’t you contact us when you returned? And a certain someone too, hiding the news and keeping you all to himself.” Sheng Yunjuan shot a resentful glare in the man’s direction before turning back to Yu Xi with a wronged pout. “A few days ago, we saw a photo of him shopping with some boy in a group chat. Then today we heard someone was living in this house, so we came to take a look and ask what was going on. We only ran into you by pure luck—otherwise, he would have kept us in the dark forever! It’s too much. He’s been like this since he was a kid, always hogging you and never letting us play.”

Yu Xi listened to the string of complaints with a smile, feeling as though he had traveled back to his childhood.

Sheng Yunjuan’s personality hadn’t changed at all. She was the polar opposite of her quiet sister, Sheng Yunshu. Since she was little, she had been a chatterbox with incredibly expressive facial features, constantly grumbling about this person occupying Xiao Xi for too long or that person being too clingy. Especially during that one winter break when he and Gu Chuanzhou became close, her complaints had increased significantly.

Yu Xi didn’t take her words about “Gu Chuanzhou being mean and hogging him” to heart. In his view, he was the one who relied more on Gu Chuanzhou; back then, he was the one who kept sneaking over to the Gu house time and again.

His focus caught on one of Sheng Yunjuan’s words: “What photo? Can I see it?”

The next second, a phone was handed over from the other side. Sheng Yunshu said, “Here.”

She had guessed Yu Xi would want to see it and had already found it.

Yu Xi thanked her and took the phone. The photo was indeed of him and Gu Chuanzhou. Both only showed a blurry side profile; it had been taken secretly while they were picking out hats.

He realized who might have taken it. While it didn’t matter much to him as an ordinary person, he was afraid of it affecting Gu Chuanzhou.

Gu Chuanzhou had already glimpsed the screen. “I’ll handle it.” With that, he left the living room while making a call.

As soon as he left, Sheng Yunjuan started “whispering” loudly: “He should have handled it long ago. I sent him a message days ago and he didn’t even look. Now look at this—this photo has already spread through the entire circle.”

Yu Xi was a bit worried. “Is it serious?”

“It’s not that it’s serious, it’s just…” Sheng Yunjuan glanced at Gu Chuanzhou on the balcony. “With his current status and position, people are constantly watching his movements. Not to mention his cold, ‘dog’ temper is already world-famous. So when a beautiful new face like our Xiao Xi suddenly appears by his side, of course it causes a stir.” As she spoke, she playfully scratched Yu Xi under the chin like one would a kitten.

Yu Xi’s cheeks warmed. Since they were kids, Sheng Yunjuan had always said exaggerated things to make him blush. He hadn’t expected her to stay the same. His immunity to this had been reset to zero over the years. He dodged slightly and said, “I didn’t mean to cause him trouble.”

“How is this causing trouble? If anything, it’s his fault for not protecting you well.” Sheng Yunjuan “tched” toward the balcony again. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she got, and she hugged Yu Xi’s arm tight. “Yeah, it’s his fault. Let the photo spread, and only handling it now? What’s the point? Now everyone has seen Xiao Xi, and they’re going to try to snatch you from us. I don’t care—Xiao Xi, you have to put us at the top of the list. Even if you make new friends, you absolutely can’t neglect us!”

Sheng Yunshu, holding Yu Xi’s other arm, nodded in agreement.

When Gu Chuanzhou finished his call and returned to see this scene, his brow furrowed even deeper. “Don’t crowd him.”

“Is this crowding? It’s just ‘sticky-sticky.’ We did this all the time when we were kids. Is there a problem?” Sheng Yunjuan’s tone was righteous, but she was still instinctively afraid of Gu Chuanzhou’s gaze, so she quickly hid behind Yu Xi.

Sheng Yunshu didn’t let go either, meeting Gu Chuanzhou’s eyes with a calm, unruffled stare.

Inexplicably, Yu Xi smelled the faint scent of gunpowder in the air. Just as he was feeling troubled, a new guest arrived at the Gu house.

Before the others could react, Sheng Yunshu had already quickly gotten up to open the door. Then she beckoned to Yu Xi: “Xiao Xi.”

Yu Xi obediently walked over. Once he rounded the partition, he saw the person outside.

It was a very tall young man. If he weren’t slightly hunched, his head would likely hit the top of the doorframe. In the sweltering heat of midsummer, he was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt. His shoulders were incredibly broad, and his hands were a size larger than the average adult male’s. Because the hood was pulled low and his head was bowed, his full face wasn’t visible—only a sharp jawline and bloodless lips.

The sheer size of his frame carried a natural intimidation. Yu Xi stopped half a meter away, casting a pleading look at Sheng Yunshu.

Sheng Yunshu walked over, took his hand, and led him closer. She said to the person outside, “Say hello.”

Then, Yu Xi saw the man go completely rigid. The hand hanging by his side clenched into a massive fist. For some reason, he kept his head down and didn’t utter a sound for a long while. Only his slightly heavy breathing could be heard.

It seemed like… he was shivering.

Yu Xi looked at Sheng Yunshu.

Sheng Yunshu sighed softly. “Come in first.”

Once in the living room, the tall youth silently chose a single armchair that wasn’t touching anyone else and sat down. For a normal person, the chair would be spacious, but he looked crowded in it—like a giant Saint Bernard squeezed into a cardboard box with only its four paws inside.

Gu Chuanzhou seemed to have expected his arrival. His face was grim, but he said nothing.

“Sis, you really don’t forget him whenever there’s something good.” Sheng Yunjuan made a sarcastic comment, then asked Yu Xi with a smile, “Did Xiao Xi not recognize him?”

Yu Xi was stunned for a moment. After blinking, he realized what she meant and turned to look at the person in the armchair again.

Sensing his gaze, the man’s rigidity reached a new level.

Sheng Yunjuan’s smile widened. “It’s no wonder you don’t recognize him. This kid is worlds apart from how he was as a child. It’s like an ant turning into an elephant.”

Worlds apart from childhood… Yu Xi searched his memory for the answer.

Gradually, he began to overlap the massive, tense, and speechless figure before him with a certain small, frail shadow that used to follow closely behind him. It was unbelievable, but…

“Is it… A-Shen?”

The moment he called out the name, the man’s whole body jolted. He lifted a face that was mostly obscured by the hood and his hair. It was unclear if it was excitement or nervousness, but his hands shook violently. Finally, he managed to force out a sound.

“Xiao… Xiao Xi…”

The answer confirmed, Yu Xi’s eyes danced with light. Joy filled his heart, and without thinking, he walked over and grasped Meng Shen’s hand. “A-Shen, it really is you!”

He was happy, but he quickly noticed the person before him was reacting strangely. His breathing became erratic, his hands shook even more, and the cold sweat from his palms dampened Yu Xi’s own.

Yu Xi thought the grown-up Meng Shen no longer liked his touch. His joy instantly plummeted, and he let go in a panic. “I’m sorry, I was a bit too…”

Before he could finish, his hand was seized again. It seemed like an instinctive action by Meng Shen. Realizing what he’d done, he quickly let go and spoke incoherently: “I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. Really… really sorry, I didn’t mean to do that…”

This reaction triggered certain memories for Yu Xi. He thought back to that exceptionally cautious and timid child he had first met, and his heart softened.

He knelt down, wanting to use a more friendly posture to soothe Meng Shen’s spiraling emotions. But before he could say “It’s okay,” he saw the man’s eyes hidden beneath the hood. They were bloodshot and red…

…as if he were about to burst into tears.