SVWL Chapter 61.2

A City.

Zhu Tong didn’t reply after receiving Shao Ming’s latest voice message.

But he couldn’t sleep either.

At the end of the chat log, although there were only a few short words, Shao Ming deliberately lowered his voice and said, “Young Master.” These words sounded like an electric shock to the ears.

He knew Shao Ming’s voice was nice, but he didn’t expect it to be so… sexy.

He didn’t know whether it’s because of that voice message, or it was because it’s his first time sleeping in his unfamiliar bed in his grandfather’s house. He tossed and turned around, unable to sleep. 

This feeling of insomnia overlapped with those two nights in the homestay. 

Zhu Tong laid on the bed and looked at the ceiling, thinking, ‘Could it be true that I can’t sleep without Shao Ming?’

Impossible.

He did depend on Shao Ming sometimes, but not to this extent.

It must be that he was not used to sleeping on this newly bought bed.

Zhu Tong shifted the blame onto his grandfather, feeling somewhat relieved. He picked up his phone again, intending to message Shao Ming, but after checking the time, he decided against it.

It’s already 11 PM. 

Unlike him, who took an absence from school, Shao Ming still has to go back to school tomorrow. He’s probably asleep by now.

Should he disturb him? 

If he sent a message now, Shao Ming would reply to him even if he already fell asleep.

Thinking of this, Zhu Tong was stunned.

Why was he so sure that Shao Ming would reply to him?

Because… Shao Ming seems to have been doing this all the time.

Zhu Tong was lying on the bed holding the phone, looking at the chat interface. Without thinking, his stretched-out fingers clicked the latest voice message. 

“—Good night, Young Master.”

The familiar voice sounded, and Zhu Tong felt a trace of satisfaction.

While satisfied, he also realized one thing.

He seems to… miss Shao Ming a little bit.

It was only the first day that he returned to A City.

But he thought that way. 

His mind was full of Shao Ming. 

Zhu Tong stared at the phone for a while, then suddenly grabbed the pillow and buried his entire face in it.

---

Three days later, at the Illusory Sky Entertainment Palace.

The Illusory Sky Entertainment Palace was a famous banquet venue in A City. Many charity dinners were held here. Those who came to this birthday banquet today were no strangers to this place.

As an invited guest, Zhu Tong was attending this kind of event for the first time.

He refused to attend with his father, and when his father heard that he was going with his auntie, his father’s tone on the phone wasn’t too good. Zhu Tong didn’t know if it was because he refused to accompany his father but agreed to go with his auntie, or because he didn’t join him and disrupted some of his plans. 

Zhu Tong didn’t care either, thinking that after the banquet was over, he could hurry back.

He might have a bit of social anxiety. Even before entering the banquet venue, he was already considering backing out.

“Tongtong, let’s go.”

The car stopped in front of the venue. His auntie called him kindly.

Auntie Cheng was wearing a haute couture gown, with exquisite makeup on her face. She exuded an incredibly beautiful temperament, and she handled such gatherings with ease.

Zhu Tong nodded and followed her out of the car.

After getting out of the car, his auntie smiled and praised him, “Your  complexion is really much better. Tongtong, you seem to amaze the audience today.”

Zhu Tong: “…”

He was also dressed in formal attire today, with a well-fitted suit accentuating his tall and distinguished figure. His face, given a forced touch-up, appeared even more refined and handsome. When he lowered his eyes in silence, he exuded an elegant and noble aura, and when he raised his eyes, he seemed transcendent and superior.

But Zhu Tong didn’t like it.

His attire felt uncomfortable and restrictive. 

He couldn’t mimic Xiao Xin’s sweet words, so he could only praise in a dry manner, “Auntie Cheng, you look beautiful today.”

Auntie: “Of course, I have to be worthy of our Tongtong.”

“…”

As Auntie Cheng closed the car door and gave instructions to the driver through the car window, Zhu Tong looked around aimlessly. Suddenly, a car stopped not far away. He hadn’t paid much attention initially, but when he saw the person in the driver’s seat, he was momentarily stunned.

The car over there was not quite like the other cars – it was a sports car.

The person in the driver’s seat didn’t seem to intend to get out of the car. They instead turned to talk to the person in the passenger seat.

Even if he could only see their side profile, Zhu Tong would never mistake that person’s identity. 

That person is Qin Junhong.

How could Qin Junhong come here?

Who is the woman in the car?

“Tongtong, what’s wrong?”

Auntie Cheng instructed the driver to drive away, then turned back and noticed Zhu Tong’s puzzled expression. She asked in confusion.

Zhu Tong returned to his senses, turned his head and asked, “Auntie, do you know who that person is over there?” 

Auntie Cheng followed his gaze and said, “That person over there… You mean Jiang Wan?”

Zhu Tong asked, “Jiang Wan?”

“Yeah, she’s the eldest lady of the Jiang family’s conglomerate… The person next to her…”

Upon seeing Qin Junhong furrowing his brows, Auntie Cheng suddenly sneered and said, “That person surnamed Qin doesn’t seem to have settled down after being kicked out of the Zhu family, ah.”

Zhu Tong was surprised. “Auntie, you know about this matter?”

“Of course I do,” his auntie said, “This is the only decent thing your father has done over the years.”

Zhu Tong: “…”

The matter of Qin Junhong being kicked out of Zhu family was only known to him the day he returned to A City. 

After Zhu Shoushan called him to attend the banquet, he felt uneasy, so he inquired about recent events at home.

He was surprised when he heard that Qin Junhong had been kicked out, but after hearing the exact time, he was silent again.

Zhu Shoushan drove Qin Junhong out because he discovered his private property, not because Qin Junhong asked Zhou Sui to slander him in school.

He really shouldn’t have expectations for his father.

Zhu Tong glanced at Qin Junhong again.

When his favorability progress bar was halfway through, his first thought upon returning to A City was to make Qin Junhong leave the Zhu family. However, when he returned, Qin Junhong had already left inadvertently.

Why did his father suddenly become suspicious of Qin Junhong? Just because of Zhou Sui?

He didn’t know the exact reason. 

What he can be sure of is that because of his actions, the world line has changed.

He thought that since Qin Junhong had been kicked out, and Xiao Xin was protected by their grandfather, she should be safe.

But Qin Junhong suddenly appeared outside the banquet hall today, which made him faintly uneasy.

And the name Jiang Wan… she sounded a little familiar.

‘Jiang Wan is a character in the original novel.’

“…”

The system that had not appeared for a long time suddenly said something in his mind. 

Zhu Tong was stunned and asked, ‘A character?’ 

The system clarified, ‘She is one of the heartthrob’s suitors.’

Zhu Tong: “…”

He was stunned for a moment, suddenly remembering something.

Jiang Wan, a heartfelt female suitor, actually existed in this danmei novel. She would fall in love at first sight with the protagonist shou at a cocktail party after graduation.

But unlike other suitors, Jiang Wan only loves the protagonist for his looks. 

According to the information Zhu Tong knows, this woman’s reputation was not very good.

How could Qin Junhong be with Jiang Wan?

Was he so cornered that he agreed to become one of her little lovers? 

Zhu Tong suddenly remembered an emoji of an old person looking at a phone on the subway. Although he couldn’t replicate that expression, it surprisingly described his current mood very well.

“Let’s go.”

His auntie took his hand.

Although Zhu Tong rarely attended such banquets, he understood the etiquette that was expected. Upon hearing her words, he nodded, temporarily setting aside thoughts of Qin Junhong.

Walking into the banquet venue, Zhu Tong watched his auntie greet the people she knew in the venue.

Auntie Cheng usually resides in E City, and Zhu Tong didn’t feel too awkward with her presence. With her taking care of things, he didn’t feel overly embarrassed. Occasionally, when someone asked about her, he would politely respond, but his demeanor remained indifferent.

After greeting the banquet’s guests, his auntie took him to meet the protagonist of today’s birthday banquet, Professor Lian Youqin.

Zhu Tong politely called her “Aunt Lian”.

He didn’t know the extent of the relationship between the professor and his mother, but the professor was indeed very considerate towards him. Knowing that he didn’t like crowds, she arranged a quiet room for him to rest alone.

Of course, the protagonist couldn’t accompany him all the time, plus his auntie also had “acquaintances” to deal with. Soon, only Zhu Tong was left in the room.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

In such situations, Zhu Tong couldn’t help but envy Shao Ming’s ability to strike up conversations with anyone and handle teasing remarks with ease.

He was so bored that he couldn’t help sending a message to Shao Ming.

It should be dinner time now.

However, after waiting for more than ten minutes after the message was sent, Shao Ming did reply to him. 

In despair, he began to look through their chat log. 

After flipping through it, he found that Shao Ming’s attitude in the past two days seemed a bit strange.

He still responded promptly and answered questions.

But it was much more serious than before.

Was his response that day too blunt? So Shao Ming stopped joking with him?

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Zhu Tong sighed suddenly.

After waiting for a while with no response, he felt a sense of unease creeping into his heart. He glanced towards the position of the French windows; outside seemed to be an open-air balcony.

Thinking of going to the balcony to get some air, he got up and walked over.

There was a cool breeze on the balcony, and the noise from the main venue of the banquet could be vaguely heard. Zhu Tong didn’t like such occasions before, and he doesn’t like it now.

Feeling gloomy, he wanted to call Shao Ming, but he was afraid that he might be busy and didn’t want to disturb him with a sudden call. He could only sigh softly, realizing deep down that he seemed to rely on Shao Ming quite a bit.

He shouldn’t be bothering Shao Ming, right? 

Just thinking about it, someone suddenly approached him with a chuckle, ” Young Master Zhu, why are you sighing?”

“…”

A woman in a long aquamarine dress, with long curly hair cascading elegantly and alluringly in front of her, resembled a mermaid emerging from the water onto land.

This attire was not unfamiliar to Zhu Tong, and instinctively, he moved a step aside, putting some distance between himself and the woman.

Jiang Wan.

His attempt to avoid her was too obvious. Jiang Wan paused slightly in her gesture of swirling the wine glass, her smile not diminishing. “Young Master Zhu… It seems like you’re afraid of me?”

Zhu Tong: “…”

Did he not express it clearly enough?

His disdain should be obvious. 

Zhu Tong tilted his head and glanced at her.

A gust of wind blew over and lifted Jiang Wan’s thick long hair.

Jiang Wan continued smoothly, “Usually, at this moment, a gentleman would take off his own coat and gallantly drape it over the lady’s shoulders.”

Zhu Tong said indifferently: “I’m a teenager, not a man.” 

“…”

Jiang Wan frowned slightly.

After a pause, Zhu Tong added, “I’m not a gentleman either.”

Jiang Wan: “…”

For this woman, Zhu Tong’s impressions, whether initial or current, were not favorable.

What is the relationship between Qin Junhong and this woman? Is it a coincidence or intentional that they appeared together outside the banquet hall? After the banquet is over, he will find out through his own means.

He didn’t want any positive communication with one of the heartthrob protagonist’s suitors.

After saying that, he turned around and went back to his room.

Jiang Wan was not in a hurry. After he turned around, she said, “It seems that Young Master Zhu still doesn’t know why Zhu-zong brought you here today.”

---

The author has something to say:

Don’t shoot. Friend!