Chapter 6: The Downpour

A torrential rain began to fall as they finished their meal.

The sky was thick with dark clouds, and lightning streaked across it from time to time. The fierce wind swept up dead leaves, sending them flying everywhere.

“What’s going on? Why did it suddenly start raining?”

“Yeah, it was fine when we came out. I didn’t even bring an umbrella.”

A group of people stood under the restaurant’s eaves, grumbling. Due to the strong wind, half the corridor floor was already wet.

Ding Wei still had to go back to work. Lu Shi exchanged WeChat contacts with him and was about to call a ride when he saw that dozens of people nearby were hailing taxis.

“Take my car. I can give a few of you a ride.”

Lu Shi turned around and only then noticed Shen Zheming standing right behind him all along.

Shen Zheming was genuinely tall—Lu Shi’s line of sight only reached his chin. He had to take a step back to avoid looking up.

Everyone knew that Shen Zheming wasn’t close to them, and the term ‘helpful’ didn’t apply to him. He had only said that out of politeness, a casual offer. After all, today only the Shen family’s driver was waiting here.

Huo Qian stretched lazily. “You take them. I’ve got things to do, I’m going somewhere else.”

Hearing this, the others smiled and declined. After all, Shen Zheming had come in a Maybach; they didn’t dare step onto it with their wet, rain-soaked shoes.

“No need, Young Master Shen. We’ll just take a taxi.”

“Uh, my place is close. I’ll just walk when the rain eases up.”

“I’ve asked my dad to pick me up.”

But when everyone’s eyes turned to Lu Shi, he shrugged. “Then I’ll trouble you.”

Everyone: “???”

What? He offered to give a ride. Only an idiot would turn down a free ride.

Lu Shi didn’t have the patience to wait for a taxi, and the sudden rainstorm had triggered a yellow cold-weather warning in the capital.

When the wind swept over, his clothes were pressed tightly against his body, the thin fabric outlining his lean, muscular frame.

He didn’t want to stand in the wind like an idiot. Having a second chance at life meant enjoying it.

Shen Zheming: “Let’s go.”

So everyone stood there dumbfounded, watching Lu Shi climb into the Shen family’s Maybach as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Once inside the warm car, Lu Shi relaxed a bit and found a comfortable spot as far from Shen Zheming as possible.

As soon as Shen Zheming got in, he picked up his tablet. Lu Shi stole a glance—it seemed like he was reading some financial daily.

The driver noticed through the rearview mirror that Lu Shi was lightly dressed and thoughtfully turned up the heat.

Lu Shi tilted his head naturally. “Thanks, driver.”

The Shen family’s drivers were all specially trained and tested; such small details had become unconscious habits. No one ever thanked them for these things.

The driver nodded, a bit surprised.

Shen Zheming rested his head on his hand, and his finger paused on the tablet for a moment before he continued scrolling, eyes fixed straight ahead.

Lu Shi sat as if he weren’t in a multi-million-dollar Maybach but in a regular taxi. The warmth inside soon made him drowsy.

But he only dozed off for a moment. As the car approached the Chen family villa, before it had even come to a halt, the commotion at the entrance woke him up.

A crowd of Chen family members stood at the villa entrance. The protagonist of the scene, Chen Youxuan, was crying and shaking off the servant’s hand that tried to stop him.

“Dad, Mom, you heard it too. Brother hates me, resents me for taking over his life. Now that your family is reunited, thank you for eighteen years of care. But this family no longer has room for me. Please, just let me go.”

As he spoke, Chen Youxuan raised the university admission letter in his hand, about to tear it up.

“If it weren’t for your nurturing, I wouldn’t have gotten into Capital University. I don’t want you to argue over me and brother. So I want to sever ties with the Chen family, just like this admission letter—this university was never meant for me.”

Zhu Wanqing let out a cry beside him, tears streaming down her face.

Chen Qiming rushed over and snatched the letter from Chen Youxuan’s hand. Outwardly, he angrily scolded him for acting foolishly, but his eyes were filled with pain and heartache.

Lu Shi sat in the car, watching through the misted window.

With the raging storm and lightning, a person being bullied to the point of having to sever ties with the parents who raised him for eighteen years—anyone would feel sympathy.

With just a little thought, Lu Shi knew that Chen Youxuan had sent someone to follow him today, knowing he would come back at this time, so he had specially put on this act of being forced to leave for everyone.

Lu Shi yawned silently. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like getting out; he just wanted to watch Chen Youxuan’s one-man show.

He had never liked rainy days in the capital—cold and damp, seeping into the bones.

But he had to get out; he couldn’t just stay in someone else’s car.

Lu Shi measured the distance between himself and the villa, looking for the shortest route to avoid getting too wet.

“Click.”

But the car door on Shen Zheming’s side opened.

There was only one umbrella in the car. Shen Zheming opened it and walked around to Lu Shi’s side, then opened the door.

Lu Shi still had a trace of drowsiness on his face. The temperature difference was huge, and when the cold air rushed in, he couldn’t help but shiver, fully waking up.

Shen Zheming’s slender, well-defined fingers held the umbrella, a spot of cold white in the gray world.

Lu Shi froze for a moment.

The upbringing of the elite children was indeed different from ordinary people like him. It really proved the saying: the richer the family, the more they paid attention to etiquette.

They made no mistakes in social interactions; even not attending the banquet was excused under the pretext of taking him to the hospital.

But such people were more complicated than those who wore their emotions on their sleeves. Even if they felt disgust or contempt, they would never let it show.

If Lu Shi hadn’t been turned away by Shen Zheming three times before, he might have believed that Shen Zheming’s gaze held no trace of superiority.

But he couldn’t blame others; he could only blame himself for not being strong enough back then, for not having achieved enough to be dazzling.

Moreover, he had made many mistakes in his early years. The drastic change in identity had caused him many embarrassments. In the eyes of the elite families, he was like a fish struggling to leap over the Dragon Gate, only to end up in a small pond at the foot of Heavenly Gate Mountain.

Lu Shi stood up, thinking with a mix of self-mockery and optimism. Maybe the gap wasn’t that big—maybe he had reached the mountainside.

At the villa entrance, the family was in a noisy mess, like a pot of porridge. Except for Chen Youxuan, no one noticed that someone had arrived in the courtyard.

Since his admission letter had been taken, Chen Youxuan pulled out a family photo from his bag.

This was a photo taken when Lu Shi had first been brought to the capital. In it, the other three had smiles, but Lu Shi’s eyes were gloomy; even a bit of powder before the photo couldn’t hide the bruise at the corner of his eye.

During the struggle, the photo fell to the ground and the frame shattered, exactly cracking a line between Lu Shi and the others.

Chen Youxuan lunged to pick it up. Lu Shi happened to step right on it.

Chen Youxuan feigned shock, lifting his tearful eyes.

“Brother… you… how did you come back? Don’t worry, I won’t appear in your sight again. But this family photo is my only keepsake. I want to take it with me.”

The photo was wet from the rain blowing in, and with Chen Youxuan’s reddened eyes, many of the servants who had worked for the Chen family for years couldn’t help stepping forward, wanting to retrieve the photo from under Lu Shi’s foot for the young master.

Zhu Wanqing’s voice trembled as she comforted, “Youxuan, the frame is broken and the photo is wet—it means Heaven doesn’t want you to leave. Be good, come back with your mom and dad. You’re dressed too lightly; it’s cold outside.”

Chen Youxuan: “Mom…”

“Broken is broken.”

Lu Shi suddenly spoke up, interrupting them. He kicked the photo frame aside, as casually as if kicking away trash.

“I still have another copy. I don’t want it anyway, so take it with you.”

Zhu Wanqing looked at Lu Shi in disbelief. “Xiao Shi, how can you…”

Before she could finish, Chen Youxuan, as if breaking down, shoved Lu Shi hard and rushed into the heavy rain.

The shove was strong, and Lu Shi was unprepared. Who would have thought that this idiot would choose to push him aside and run instead of taking the wide empty space beside him?

There were several steps in front of the Chen villa, wet and slippery. Lu Shi was standing at the top step. He grunted from the impact, his balance off, about to stagger backward.

But the expected pain of falling didn’t come. Someone’s hand firmly supported his lower back. With a slight push, that hand easily steadied him back.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

This Hidden Class Is a Bit Off

ActionFemale ProtagonistGender Bender

Read Now →
Not interested