Chapter 50: Late Night Visit

Jiang Zhidong was highly respected in the field of mathematics. Now that he had stepped forward and staked his reputation on it, no one else had any objections.

At what was supposed to be a simple anniversary celebration, Lu Shi had been made the center of attention by Sun Sirui. As soon as the news about the live retest of the Aobei Cup came out, the forums exploded.

Someone had captured the confrontation between Lu Shi and Sun Sirui on site.

[He dared to say that, so he must really have the skills. Look how calm he was the whole time.]

[If he scores high again, he’ll have pulled off a huge flex in front of the entire audience.]

[So this is what it feels like to be forced into showing off?]

[That guy who jumped out to question him is such a clown. He didn’t even participate in the competition. What does it have to do with him whether Lu Shi cheated or what score he got?]

An insider revealed: [It’s obviously for someone who almost didn’t make it onto the rankings.]

The anniversary celebration ended, and everyone left one by one.

Shen Luo saw Shen Zheming. “Yo, having someone speak up for you really makes a difference. You’re in a good mood.”

She hadn’t been far away at the time, and she knew Lu Shi hadn’t taken Sun Sirui seriously at first. But when Sun Sirui dragged Shen Zheming into it and started wildly guessing that Shen Zheming had helped Lu Shi cheat, she clearly saw Lu Shi frown in displeasure.

Sure enough, now that he was close to Shen Zheming, even the faint scent of his pheromones carried an imperceptible hint of pleasure.

Shen Zheming glanced at her. “You’re not going home tonight?”

Shen Luo pulled open the car door she had arrived in and shrugged helplessly. “No. Tonight, Grandpa and Grandfather are both at home. Those two old men can never get along. If I go back, they’ll definitely start bickering again. I don’t want to be stuck in the middle wondering whether I like Grandpa or Grandfather.”

This was a question she and Shen Zheming had been asked no less than eight hundred times since childhood.

Back when Mr. Shen had stolen Mrs. Shen away from her family, Old Master Shen had given him plenty of advice.

It could be said that aside from the son-in-law who stole his daughter, Old Master Jiang hated his own in-law the most.

After Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen started their family, Old Master Jiang still couldn’t stand Mr. Shen, but since his daughter liked him and their life was happy, he didn’t want to disrupt their relationship because of his own feelings. So he could only vent his frustration on Old Master Shen.

As luck would have it, Old Master Shen also couldn’t stand Jiang Zhidong. He always felt Jiang Zhidong was self-righteously aloof.

So what if he’d stolen a few potential matches? Business is business, and all’s fair in love and war. Who told Jiang Zhidong to be so clueless? A little trick to break up a blind date, and it was done. Who could he blame?

Shen Luo’s decision not to go back was the right one.

Because at that very moment, Old Master Shen was sitting in the car fuming.

Everyone kept stopping him from getting close to Lu Shi. He could only set up a telescope and watch from afar. And what happened? Jiang Zhidong got there first!

This Jiang guy had always attended academic summits before. He never took part in commercial events like this, looking down on those who chased fame and fortune. Who knew what had gotten into him today.

Now, by acting as a notary, he’d gotten to know Lu Shi. He’d even patted Lu Shi on the shoulder, while all Old Master Shen had gotten were a few photos.

The more Old Master Shen thought about it, the angrier he got. He didn’t wait for the others. He took the car to the Shen residence first.

Shen Luo raised an eyebrow at Shen Zheming. “You’re not going back either?”

Shen Zheming: “No. I have other plans.”

Shen Luo looked suspicious.

It was almost ten o’clock. What could there possibly be to do at this hour?

Later that night, Lu Shi returned to his small apartment. He changed into a loose, comfortable hoodie and stared gloomily at his empty refrigerator.

To be honest, the food at the anniversary party wasn’t great. He could have choked down a few bites, but after being interrupted by some idiot, he’d completely lost his appetite.

Lu Shi was weighing whether to order takeout or just grab something from the convenience store downstairs.

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.

Lu Shi saw Shen Zheming on the doorbell camera.

“Why are you here so late?” Lu Shi opened the door.

Shen Zheming was still wearing the suit from the evening’s celebration. His tone was flat, but a little low. “The water and electricity at my place are out. Can I stay over for the night?”

In the middle of winter in the capital, without water or electricity, an apartment would be like an ice cellar. Could something like that really happen in such a high-end neighborhood?

Seeing Lu Shi hesitate for a few seconds, Shen Zheming said understandingly, “If it’s inconvenient, forget it.”

“Huh?” Lu Shi snapped back to attention and lightly touched his nose. “No, it’s not inconvenient.”

He had just been thinking that this small apartment only had one bed. Would it be too cramped for two people?

But he’d already thought of a solution. He could bring the chair from downstairs up and use it to widen the bed.

The door closed, sealing out the cold air.

The apartment’s ceiling was lower than Shen Zheming’s penthouse. When Shen Zheming stepped inside, the light in the entryway dimmed.

Lu Shi noticed Shen Zheming was carrying a large shopping bag. “Shen-ge, what’s in there?”

“Food. I grabbed it for you on the way.”

Shen Zheming had bought a lot of things: bread, milk, and several packs of noodles. All things that were easy on the stomach.

Sometimes Lu Shi felt like Shen Zheming could read his mind. Perfect. Now he didn’t even have to go downstairs.

“Thanks, Shen-ge. I’m starving. You’re a real lifesaver, rescuing me from hunger…”

He was about to launch into another round of praise.

Shen Zheming lowered his gaze. “Enough. Eat first.”

Since it was already late, Lu Shi didn’t want to deal with washing dishes, so he just tore open a piece of bread.

Buzz buzz buzz…

Lu Shi looked up to remind him. “Your phone keeps buzzing.”

Shen Zheming pulled the phone out of his pocket and glanced at it.

Caller ID: Er Bai Wu.

Shen Zheming swiped his finger. “Don’t worry about it. Spam call.”

A few seconds later, the phone rang again. Shen Zheming hung up three more times before it stopped.

Lu Shi didn’t think much of it. He just found the scammer persistent.

This was already the fourth time Er Bai Wu had been ruthlessly hung up on by Shen Zheming.

Er Bai Wu scratched its head. What did this mean?

Hadn’t they agreed this afternoon that Shen Zheming would be home by ten thirty? It had already adjusted the bathroom water temperature and filled the tub. Where was Shen Zheming?

The eyes on Er Bai Wu’s screen blinked twice.

It decided to try one last time. If it got hung up on again, it wouldn’t bother with Shen Zheming anymore.

The system automatically dialed the bound contact. Just as it confirmed.

A huge red exclamation mark suddenly popped up on the screen, along with a box. Inside the box was a line of small text:

[You have been blocked by this user. Terminal cannot connect.]

Countless question marks scrolled across Er Bai Wu’s screen like a conveyor belt.

??????

After eating and tidying up a bit, Lu Shi told Shen Zheming to shower first. He dragged a chair upstairs with some effort.

Shen Zheming said, “Do you have an extra blanket? No need to go to all this trouble. I can sleep on the couch.”

That question hit the nail on the head.

Lu Shi twitched the corner of his mouth. “Sorry, Shen-ge. I don’t have an extra blanket, so we’ll have to make do tonight.”

Shen Zheming was silent for a moment.

He really hadn’t thought of that. His plan for tonight had genuinely been just to sleep on the downstairs couch.

Lu Shi carried three chairs upstairs and found a blanket from the cabinet to lay out for some softness.

Downstairs, Shen Zheming entered the bathroom. The door clicked shut.

A thought flashed through Lu Shi’s mind like electricity.

The change of clothes hanging on the bathroom rack were ones he’d put up when he first got home. He hadn’t gotten Shen Zheming any clothes yet.

‘Are my boxers hanging there too?’

‘Will Shen Zheming mistake them for a change of clothes I left for him?’

Lu Shi stood frozen for a few seconds, then he dropped the blanket and rushed downstairs.

“Wait, Shen Zheming, I…”

The bathroom door banged open.

But it was too late.

Shen Zheming had already taken off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt halfway.

“Your size. I won’t fit.”

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