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SVWL Chapter 94.1

Shao Ming went upstairs, leaving Zhu Tong alone in the living room. He was extremely nervous, wanting desperately to run upstairs and eavesdrop, but he didn’t dare. Instead, he sat quietly, staring at the system interface in a daze.

Ever since they entered the house, whether before or after meeting his grandfather, the favorability points hadn’t changed. 

Everything should be fine, right?

He trusted Shao Ming and his grandfather, but he still felt uneasy.

If the Young Master Zhu could see the room upstairs with one wall covered in photos, he might understand why he felt uneasy.

Shao Ming stiffly walked into the room, thinking that the class monitor’s crow’s mouth had indeed jinxed it. 

What goes around comes around.

As the saying goes, “Showing off your love gets you killed.” Right now, he felt socially dead in a pretty serene way.

Apparently, when Cheng-lao xiansheng said he knew, he really knew. 

And he had known for a long time, even before Zhu Tong had confessed over the phone.

Shao Ming prided himself on being more mature than his peers, skilled at reading people, but he couldn’t read this old man in front of him.

Cheng Qingsong glanced at him as he approached the sofa and said casually, “Sit.”

Shao Ming didn’t hesitate or act coy. He sat down beside the old man.

Cheng Qingsong held a remote control, flipping through photo after photo, showing no guilt or embarrassment for having secretly taken them.

These photos were either sent by people keeping an eye on Zhu Tong for peace of mind or taken by others from various angles, and every one of them looked quite intimate.

Shao Ming had imagined how he and Zhu Tong would appear in the lenses of those with ill intentions, but he hadn’t expected to see those images presented to him like this.

They were quite well shot.

“When was your first physical contact with him?”

This sudden question startled Shao Ming. He tried to remain calm and asked, “What do you mean exactly?”

Cheng Qingsong clarified, “Physical contact.”

Shao Ming exhaled and answered truthfully, “On his second day after transferring, he had an allergic reaction and caught a cold due to not adapting to the dorm environment. I took him to the school infirmary.”

At that time, Zhu Tong also had a fever.

Cheng Qingsong then brought up a few more photos, taken from normal angles.

Shao Ming watched intently, not fully understanding the purpose.

Soon, familiar scenes appeared.

After Zhu Tong was punched by Xiang Chuan and coughed up blood, Shao Ming took him to the hospital. 

When Zhu Tong injured his foot, Shao Ming gave him a ride back to the hotel.

And the time Zhu Tong had a stomach perforation, Shao Ming carried him to the hospital.

Shao Ming realized something and slightly turned his head. “You…”

“Why didn’t I send someone to take care of him when I knew he was in trouble?”

Shao Ming was speechless.

Cheng Qingsong explained, “Because he didn’t want me to know.”

The screen changed again, showing surveillance footage.

In a hospital room filled with various medical devices, a boy lay on a hospital bed. Seeing his face, Shao Ming’s heart instantly tightened.

The boy in the surveillance was, of course, Zhu Tong.

“The surveillance is from two years ago,” Cheng Qingsong said.

It was nighttime, around two in the morning, a time for restful sleep. But the boy on the bed, tormented by illness, had his brows tightly furrowed even in his sleep.

It was a scene Shao Ming had imagined but had never seen so directly.

Suddenly, the boy on the bed moved his leg, furrowing his brows even more tightly, then slowly opened his eyes.

In the darkness, the person who just woke up had unfocused pupils. They skillfully reached out to turn on the bedside lamp, then proficiently leaned over to grab the trash can placed under the bed, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Shao Ming’s pupils contracted abruptly. Subconsciously, he wanted to stand up, but realizing it was just a recording, he restrained himself and sat back down, hands clenched tightly.

The surveillance footage continued. After spitting out a mouthful of clotted blood, the teenager seemed to breathe much more smoothly. Suppressing a cough, he took a few breaths before getting out of bed.

From Shao Ming’s understanding of him, he must have gone to rinse his mouth.

After rinsing his mouth, he had a few more items in his hand.

He squatted by the bed alone, using the things he always carried since transferring schools to clean up the specks of blood accidentally splattered on the floor and bed frame. After finishing, he climbed back into bed, checked the time on his phone, then went back to sleep.

There were no medical personnel present throughout.

“He doesn’t like having other people in the room.” The calm voice of the old man sounded over the repeated surveillance footage. “The person responsible for guarding the ward that day fell asleep on duty, but he didn’t call anyone.”

Even when he was awake, he wouldn’t call for help unless he was discovered.

Shao Ming recalled the scene of Zhu Tong enduring the pain from his gastric bleeding in the classroom that day, his face pale and breathing labored, yet he didn’t make a sound, causing a sharp pain in his heart.

Shao Ming said, “He’s very strong.”

Cheng Qingsong said, “He’s very stubborn.”

“…”

“I want to bring both him and his sister here, but he disagrees.”

They had brought up this matter more than once, and Zhu Tong’s answer had always been firm. When asked repeatedly, he simply remained silent.

There was nothing they could do about it.

Shao Ming suddenly said, “He’s afraid of making you sad.”

If he couldn’t stay in the end, why bother to make another person even more miserable?

Cheng Qingsong finally turned to look at him, not refuting his words. He turned off the display screen and continued, “His OCD isn’t innate. Being bedridden for a long time makes his mind more sensitive than normal, more concerned about the outside world’s gaze.”

What others cared about, he would care about even more.

Spitting blood was routine for him, but fresh blood was the most direct stimulus for others. Some were afraid, some felt pity, and some… felt repulsed.

The cause of his illness was unknown, and there were always people maliciously speculating about his condition, then running up to him to ask.

From fear in the beginning to later disgust and rejection, he gradually isolated himself from others and began to learn to ignore others’ gazes.

As long as he didn’t let anyone get close, others wouldn’t have the opportunity to make him feel miserable.

“But before you came back, he told me on the phone that you took care of him a lot.”

The emphasis of this sentence wasn’t on taking care.

It was on Zhu Tong giving someone the chance to take care of him.

At this point, even if Cheng Qingsong didn’t explicitly state it, Shao Ming understood what he wanted to ask.

He smiled bitterly and said, “If I say I also don’t know why, would you believe me?”

Setting aside his speculation about the system mission, he really didn’t know the reason why Zhu Tong treated him differently.

Cheng Qingsong said, “After he transferred schools, his health quickly improved, and now he’s almost fully recovered.”

Shao Ming lowered his gaze and said, “Maybe it’s not because of me.”

Cheng Qingsong looked at him expressionlessly.

Shao Ming took a deep breath, licked his lips, and said, “If it’s because of the changes in Zhu Tong’s health after he transferred schools that you think I can help Zhu Tong recover, so you reluctantly agreed to us being together, I appreciate it. But that’s not what I want. I want to be with Zhu Tong because I like him, and he likes me too. That’s all there is to it.”

Cheng Qingsong said, “He’s only seventeen. What does he know about liking someone?”

Shao Ming said calmly, “You also said his mind is more sensitive than others. He’s willing to bring me to meet you, he won’t not understand what that means. Even if his thoughts may change in the future, his decision now is worth taking seriously.”

Cheng Qingsong suddenly asked, “And what about you?”

“……”

Shao Ming hesitated.

Cheng Qingsong asked, “What assurance do you have?”

Shao Ming fell silent.

What assurance did he have?

He didn’t know.

After thinking for a moment, he looked up and said, “I can’t promise you anything. I’ll prove it to you.”

Even though he firmly believed in his heart, verbal assurances were meaningless. He would strive for Zhu Tong, but until he achieved it, all his words were empty.

He didn’t want to use grandiose words to placate the old man who cared for his grandson.

But he wouldn’t give up either.

Shao Ming said, “I won’t give up on Zhu Tong.”

Cheng Qingsong looked at him for a while, then suddenly grunted and said, “Even if you give up on him, he won’t give up on you.”

He would still feel like his grandfather was separating them.

Shao Ming: “…”

After the screen turned off, the home theater was dimly lit, with the two sitting quietly, only the sound of their breathing could be heard intermittently.

“What are your plans for the winter break?”

There was a faint sigh, and Cheng Qingsong spoke again.

Shao Ming said, “I don’t have any plans at the moment.”

The only plan was being taken back home by Little Young Master Zhu, and whether it would end in joy or sorrow was still uncertain.

Shao Ming smiled bitterly.

Cheng Qingsong said in a calm voice, “If you don’t have any plans, go to my company before the new year, deal with the Xia family’s affairs. Whatever you want to do, decide for yourself. If you need anything, find Liu Jianbai, he’ll support you unconditionally.”

“…”

Shao Ming suddenly turned his head to look at the shadow sitting next to him, freezing in place.

His voice strained, “You…”

He wasn’t surprised that Cheng-lao xiansheng knew about his grievances and entanglements with the Xia family. What shocked him was Cheng-lao xiansheng’s decision.

Cheng Qingsong said, “What? You don’t want to?”

Shao Ming remained silent for a moment, then shook his head subconsciously. “No, it’s just my own business…”

Cheng Qingsong interrupted him solemnly, “It stopped being just your business from the moment those people brought those photos to me.”

“…”

“You’re young and ambitious, wanting to achieve something with your own abilities. There’s nothing wrong with that. But I don’t like beating around the bush. Tongtong has been tormented by illness since forever, never having a single easy day. I don’t want him to be affected by some nonsense after he’s recovered. What you want to do, the deal you made with the Jiang family, another person could do just as well. What I’m asking you to do, you can also consider it as a deal. If you don’t want people to see it as charity, find a way to create even greater value. That’s the assurance I want from you.”

Shao Ming: “…”

Cheng Qingsong pressed a button on the remote control, and the lights in the room brightened, casting a bewildered expression on the teenager’s face.

This was how a teenager should look.

Although he hadn’t shown it, Cheng Qingsong admired this teenager.

If what just happened was considered a negotiation, Zhu Tong’s special treatment and his better health was his biggest bargaining chip. But he had overturned the chip himself, denying his value to Zhu Tong.

As a seventeen-year-old, he was undoubtedly the most outstanding, calling him a genius wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

But he still didn’t mention a word.

The emotions of a teenager were considered the cheapest and most unreliable bargaining chip in the eyes of others, yet it was the only bargaining chip Shao Ming had to offer.

After finishing speaking, Cheng Qingsong got up.

Shao Ming subconsciously stood up as well.

Seeing him still dazed, Cheng Qingsong said impatiently, “You’re so old-fashioned at such a young age.”

“…”

Shao Ming paused in place for a moment, unable to help but laugh.

Indeed, he was being old-fashioned.

He cared about what others thought, not wanting any interests to be involved with Zhu Tong, but he overlooked the fact that his relationship with Zhu Tong was already seen as an interest by others.

He was clear-headed and nearly revealed his true colors in front of the old man. With a low laugh, he said, “You’re right, I’ll take your lesson to heart.”

Cheng Qingsong: “…”

The elderly man stopped and looked at him, but all he saw was the slight redness in his eyes, which made him feel complicated.

‘Both of them were so stubborn. When would they learn to rely more on their elders?’

Cheng Qingsong sighed and turned to go downstairs.

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