⌈I want to free up your room for my dog!⌋
Looking at the cherry cake, Lu Ran showed no sign of surprise or delight in his eyes.
His expression was calm as he gave a soft “Mm.”
He took the cake and ointment from the servant’s hands, opened the door, and entered his room.
Shen Xingyu doing this kind of thing didn’t surprise him at all.
But desserts, when you can’t have them, you crave them. Yet when you eat too much, they start to feel overwhelming.
That night, Lu Ran ate most of the cherry cake by himself.
The small remaining portion, following his principle of not wasting food, was given to Ji Min.
It nearly made his boss, who didn’t like sweets, grimace the whole time.
So when Lu Ran saw the cake just now, he didn’t feel hungry at all. In fact, he felt a little nauseous.
But thinking that he could still eat it tomorrow, he decided to keep it.
With that thought, Lu Ran glanced at Da Huang and regretfully said, “Too bad you can’t eat this.”
It would have been nice to feed it to Da Huang.
There was also the ointment.
Lu Ran picked it up, checked the date and instructions, then stored it in the drawer.
On the car ride, after applying the cold compress, Ji Min had also put some medicine on his face.
He had thick skin, so he figured by tomorrow morning, the bruises would probably be healed.
The next day, Lu Ran went to school as usual.
He had been quite busy lately, with the final defense of his research project from the previous semester coming up.
On top of that, there were assignments from various elective courses.
All of it piled up at once, leaving him with no time to worry about all these messy things.
However, what happened during his previous semester’s defense still repeated itself.
Ding Wei had stolen his experimental data and had gone on to present before him.
But Ding Wei didn’t expect what was coming.
Over the past few months, Lu Ran had been recording every step of his experiments and their results, sharing them on Moments with a restricted audience limited to his advisor group.
So when Ding Wei presented his data, the professors sitting in the audience immediately changed their expressions.
Before Ding Wei could finish his presentation, he was called down.
Then, Lu Ran went on stage as planned, smoothly completed his defense, and successfully earned the credits for the project.
This made Lu Ran very happy.
In his previous life, he had been expelled from university halfway through, so he now treasured these experiences and opportunities more than ever.
Once he entered the elite academy, his goal was to publish an SCI paper with his advisor before graduating with his bachelor’s.
As he started to achieve results, even if the Shen family tried to target him, the school would take notice.
Counting his credits, Lu Ran felt full of motivation.
So, he sent Ji Min a message.
Da Huang doesn’t wreck the house: [Boss!]
At this time, Ji Min should have been busy, but surprisingly, he replied quickly.
The big boss: [What’s up?]
Lu Ran looked at the note he had saved for Ji Min and thought about how much help Ji Min had given him recently. He felt so guilty that he changed the note to: “The best boss in the world.”
He then replied: [Boss, I’d like to take a leave this weekend.]
Upon reading this message, his “best boss in the world” immediately responded with a series of ellipses.
The best boss in the world: [Why are you always asking for leave?]
The best boss in the world: [Your salary is getting docked.]
Lu Ran: “…”
He silently changed the note back to: “Zhou Bapi1a nickname implying stinginess“.
Thinking about the salary deductions, Lu Ran also felt a bit heartbroken.
But even though his salary had significantly decreased after he started school, Ji Min still paid him a decent wage.
It wasn’t particularly high, but it was just enough to cover a university student’s daily expenses.
Without this salary, he’d be running around doing part-time jobs and wouldn’t have time to focus on earning credits.
Lu Ran quickly sent Ji Min several more stickers.
At least he had managed to get the time off.
On the other end of the phone, Ji Min was on his way to inspect a project site.
He was controlling his wheelchair with one hand and holding his phone with the other.
He opened and carefully looked at each sticker the boy had sent him, then frowned. “What are all these random things?”
But he couldn’t help himself and, holding the phone, muttered to Butler Chen.
“He’s getting too cocky. How many times has he taken leave this month?”
Butler Chen smiled and replied, “I heard one of his professors is very strict and the assignments are tough.”
Ji Min coldly snorted.
Although his expression was unpleasant, it seemed he wasn’t too bothered by Lu Ran putting him behind his studies.
In the elite academy’s exclusive classroom, Shen Xingran was sitting by the window, reading a book.
His posture was relaxed, his outfit elegant, and from the outside, he looked like some beautiful character from a card.
Before long, people deliberately walked past the window, just to catch a glimpse of him.
Shen Xingran paid them no mind.
Only occasionally, when his eyes met someone else’s, did he give them a brief, shallow smile.
On the surface, he still seemed like the campus heartthrob, adored by everyone.
But Shen Xingran’s mood wasn’t good.
Last night, Shen Xingyu and Madam Shen had argued downstairs.
Shen Xingran had thought that upon hearing Shen Xingyu was planning to move him off the third floor, he would feel panic.
And when he heard Madam Shen defending him, he thought he would be touched.
But Shen Xingran hadn’t expected that, at that moment, his emotions would be surprisingly calm.
All the struggles he had gone through were probably spent when he pushed that Young Master Fang into the water.
Shen Xingran was well aware that the situation at the Shen family was likely not as good as outsiders thought.
From the actions of Shen Hongyuan and Shen Xingyu, he also understood how important that Young Master Fang was to the Shen family.
Shen Xingran had grown up in the Shen family.
Even though he always remembered that he was just an adopted son, after over ten years, he had long become the esteemed young master of the Shen family and felt a deep sense of belonging.
At first, he had hoped the banquet would proceed smoothly.
With this thought, Shen Xingran lowered his gaze to look at the hand gripping the book.
At the time, the scene had been chaotic.
Everyone had been intently focused on the pool, which was about to light up with fireworks.
Young Master Fang had fallen into the water. He had fallen with a swift, clean splash.
No one knew that Shen Xingran had struggled behind him for quite some time.
Shen Xingran wasn’t even sure what he had been thinking back then.
Causing trouble for Lu Ran was just part of it.
The other part… was probably because he really disliked that Young Master Fang.
They had never met before, but from the first moment he saw him, he found him utterly repulsive.
How could anyone in the world be so spoiled and made into such a foolish figure?
A person who had been indulged to the point of being lawless, all because of the complete indulgence of others.
But despite being so unruly, he still seemed to hold a bit of kindness for things he disliked.
Shen Xingran couldn’t understand why.
It only felt glaring to him.
Before pushing him into the water, he even made sure to wait for the perfect moment, approaching just as Lu Ran happened to pass by.
He didn’t forget to wipe some chocolate cream on his hands either.
But after pushing the young master into the water, Shen Xingran really did feel stunned for a moment.
What was he doing?
Had he pushed the Shen family, the family that had raised him, into the fire?
But this moment of panic and regret only lasted an instant.
Soon, it faded back into calm.
He ran urgently to the poolside, his face filled with concern. He blended in with the crowd just like everyone else, staring anxiously at Young Master Fang.
Shen Xingran’s gaze turned towards the window.
He couldn’t remember exactly when it had started.
Perhaps it had been when Madam Shen, who had always doted on him, began to suspect that he was Shen Hongyuan’s illegitimate son.
Or perhaps it was at the banquet welcoming Lu Ran back, when he stood in a corner, watching.
Watching as Shen Xingzhuo held the clumsy cardboard box, wandering around the room looking for Lu Ran.
After learning that Lu Ran had left, he quietly waited until late into the night.
The meaning of the Shen family to him had slowly begun to change.
The classroom door creaked open.
Ding Wei entered, looking disheveled and covered in dust.
Upon seeing him, Shen Xingran reached out to close the window by his side.
The person outside who had been casually passing by showed a hint of disappointment upon seeing him.
Shen Xingran smiled at the person and firmly closed the window.
He looked at Ding Wei, his voice gentle as he asked, “What’s wrong? You look down.”
“I failed my defense,” Ding Wei said in frustration. “Who would’ve thought that Lu Ran would post the whole experimental process to his Moments?”
Shen Xingran furrowed his brow.
But he didn’t ask about Lu Ran. Instead, he asked with concern, “What about your topic?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Ding Wei waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t really care about it; I was just messing around.”
Then, after thinking for a moment, he added, “Lu Ran’s been really focused on his credits lately. He seems like he wants to get into the Elite Academy…”
Shen Xingran was momentarily stunned.
Then, he suddenly felt a faint sense of amusement.
Lu Ran wants to get into the Elite Academy?
He really wants everything, doesn’t he?
Lu Ran had been busy for over a week. After dodging Ji Min twice, he finally managed to finish the pet nutrition assignment.
There were people in and out of the lab, taking turns with the experiments, while Ding Wei, the guy, was just wandering around.
Lu Ran didn’t feel at ease, so he decided to take the “assignment” home.
But as soon as he returned to the Shen house and stepped into the corridor, he noticed that his locked room door was open, and the maids were coming in and out, moving things around.
Lu Ran furrowed his brow.
He took a couple of steps up the stairs to the second floor and saw that the room on the east side of Shen Xingyu’s bedroom was open. A maid was carrying his suitcase inside.
Lu Ran stopped the maid and asked, “Who told you to move these things?”
The maid replied respectfully, “Young Master did.”
Lu Ran raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything or get angry.
After a while, Shen Xingyu finally came back from work.
He walked in, exhausted, his brow furrowed as if the project he was working on wasn’t going smoothly.
The maid brought him some tea, but Shen Xingyu waved his hand, not taking it.
He unbuttoned his coat and walked toward his room.
All he wanted was to take a quick shower and change into something comfortable.
When he reached his room, he glanced to the side before opening the door.
The door to the neighboring room was slightly open, and a rather thin figure was inside, arranging things.
Shen Xingyu lowered his gaze slightly.
The maid’s room was too small, just a bedroom.
It was nothing like the rooms on the second floor, each of which was a suite.
Moreover, the east-facing rooms got the most sunlight.
This was how it should be. What was it like for someone to live downstairs all the time?
Shen Xingyu loosened his tie and pushed open the door to his room.
As soon as the door opened, he froze in place.
The entire room had been emptied out—everything that had belonged to him was gone.
In the suite, the bathroom door was open, and inside, there was a tray-style dog toilet.
The small living room had a crawling mat, covered with toys for small dogs.
Further inside…
In the walk-in closet, where custom-made suits used to hang, now there were leashes, small dog harnesses, and clothes.
In the bedroom, where Shen Xingyu’s large bed used to be, right in the center of the bed was a dog bed.
In the dog bed, a little yellow dog was curled up, sleeping.
Beside the bed was a phone holder, with the camera aimed at the little yellow dog on the bed.
Shen Xingyu: “…”
His forehead suddenly started throbbing.
He grabbed the maid, who was placing a pet ladder near the bed, and almost ground his teeth as he asked, “Where are my things?”
Not only were his personal belongings in the room but there were also important work documents.
The maid trembled and didn’t dare speak.
Just then, the door made a creaking sound as it opened.
Lu Ran swaggered in.
He pulled out a chair and sat down casually, replying, “I threw everything out.”
Shen Xingyu’s face turned ashen.
Lu Ran tried to reassure him, “Don’t worry, I didn’t just throw them around. I put them in the servant’s room on the first floor.”
Shen Xingyu took a deep breath.
Though he had a father with a strong desire for control and a mother who couldn’t keep her thoughts straight, he was still the eldest son of the Shen family.
No one had ever dared to touch his personal belongings.
He lowered his gaze, staring at the young man sitting in the chair.
Shen Xingyu suppressed his anger and asked, “Why did you move my things?”
Lu Ran gave him a confused look, “Because I wanted to free up your room for my dog to stay in?”
Shen Xingyu closed his eyes briefly and then asked more precisely, “Who gave you permission to move my things?”
“Ha, you’re really something,” Lu Ran chuckled, looking at him, “Only you’re allowed to have people move my things, but I’m not allowed to move yours?”
“I did it for your own good,” Shen Xingyu said, pressing his forehead.
“I’m doing this for your own good!” Lu Ran looked at him with sincere eyes. “The first floor is more grounded; I think you should spend more time there. It’s better for your brain.”
Shen Xingyu: “…”
He rarely got this angry.
This was different from the anger caused by Shen Hongyuan or Madam Shen.
That was a kind of suffocating frustration.
This… was an anger that could blow him up.
Unfortunately, Shen Xingyu wasn’t good with words.
He clenched his fists, held back for a while, and finally could only sternly tell the maid, “Throw this stuff out, and move my things back.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Lu Ran reach out and tap the nearby phone holder.
“I should let you know in advance, I’m live-streaming right now. If you want the world to see the CEO of Shen Corporation live-streaming dog abuse, then go ahead and throw it all out.”
Shen Xingyu: “…”
Lu Ran had perfectly targeted Shen Xingyu’s weak point.
At this critical time, Shen Corporation couldn’t afford any negative publicity.
Shen Xingyu was silent for a long time.
Finally, he turned around and left the bedroom with a heavy step.
The maid stood there, dumbfounded.
Wait… is this room really for the dog now?
