“Honestly, I’m just worried that you’ll be fooled by him and let him into our circle. If the other families find out, won’t you become a laughingstock?” Becoming friends with his father’s ex-lover—how touching. The crucial point was that that person still had his sights set on his father and was using him.

However, even though his words were full of disdain and contempt, classmate Liang murmured, “Jiao Bai hasn’t been to school for a week. Do you think I should I give him a call and check in?”

Shen Er'an, who didn’t show any reaction to Liang Dong’s words just moments before, suddenly spoke up, “You have, his phone number?”

Liang Dong replied, “Yeah.”

“I didn’t tell you? The day after that night at Fuyuan Restaurant, he called me many times after school and asked me if I was with you. It was so bizarre. His tone of voice was completely different from usual.” Liang Dong complained, “He must have gotten my number from some khsskd rghs in our class.”

Shen Er'an reached into his pocket and pulled out a square piece of paper, folding it as he walked.

Liang Dong saw Shen Er'an throw the crumpled paper dragonfly into the rubbish bin, and his face twitched. An-ge is so skilled at folding dragonflies, but lately, he keeps making mistakes.

An-ge has secrets now. He has things that he doesn’t want to share with me.

Speaking of which, what’s going on with Jiao Bai? Don’t tell me he chdc and no one came to claim his body.

Liang Dong extremely reluctantly tapped into the class group chat and messaged Jiao Bai’s female deskmate privately. It seemed shameful to ask someone about Jiao Bai, so he had to be sneaky about it. After all, he was always finding fault with everything about Jiao Bai in front of his lackeys.

The female deskmate didn’t reply to the message.

When Liang Dong entered the classroom, she shouted at the top of her lungs in front of the whole class, “You’re asking me about Jiao Bai? I don’t know if anything has happened to Jiao Bai’s family either. If you’re really worried, you can ask the homeroom teacher!”

The classroom fell silent for a second and everyone turned to look at Liang Dong. Especially his lackeys.

Liang Dong: “...”

Laozi’s skipping this class. Bye!

.

Jiao Bai was at home waiting to eat hot pot. He waited and waited, until his mouth was watering and his eyes gleamed with ravenousness, his entire person turning into an ‘An Anticipation Rock’[1].

But when Shen Er'an placed the hot pot in front of Jiao Bai, he lost his appetite. Even a pregnant woman wouldn’t lose her appetite as quickly as he did.

“You go ahead and eat. I’ll just watch you.” Jiao Bai forced himself to smile. “If you eat, it’ll be like I’ve eaten too.”

Shen Er'an didn’t like eating hot pot. He glanced at Jiao Bai’s expectant gaze and quietly picked up his chopsticks.

Jiao Bai smelled the aroma dispiritedly, his face dejected. “By the way, does your family know about what happened?”

Shen Er'an shook his head.

Jiao Bai slightly lost control of his expression. Did this young master handle it all by himself? How did he manage that?

Ah right, he mentioned not long ago that he had people he could use.

Alright, he’s the protagonist gong. He can handle it.

Jiao Bai relaxed and his tone turned lazy. “Did you get your injuries checked out?”

Shen Er'an ate a piece of lettuce from the bowl. “I’m fine.” He then added, “They’re all just superficial wounds.”

Jiao Bai was a little dissatisfied. Young Master Shen was too quiet and reserved, making it quite taxing to be alone with him. He recalled Shen Er'an’s character traits and clicked his tongue. The amount he spoke now would already be considered a lot, and he would talk even less in the future.

“You don’t want others to know that you’re living with me.”

Shen Er'an looked at the haggard-faced Jiao Bai. That was why his family didn’t know he had been attacked and injured, or that his new roommate had three broken ribs because of him, and was lying here. Dongzi was also in the dark.

Jiao Bai, whose thoughts had been guessed correctly without any warning, smiled wryly. Young Master Shen, I'm really sorry. I’m just as cunning as those who attacked you. I was certain, based on my understanding of your personality, that you wouldn’t share any details of your life and studies with your family, which is why I dared to move in.

Therefore, Jiao Bai would never tell anyone that he was flatting with Shen Er'an. He was doing his best to keep it under wraps, hoping to delay it for as long as possible—ideally until he had sorted out Shen Er'an’s activity level.

That was the ideal scenario.

If there were any sudden changes, he would deal with them as they came. People were adaptable and there was always a way forward.

Jiao Bai avoided Shen Er'an’s eyes, which were as penetrating as his father’s, and said, half in jest, “You hit the nail on the head. My identity is pretty awkward. If your grandma finds out, she’ll think I’m trying to lead you astray and she might just take me out.” Jiao Bai then laughed and added, “Not just your grandma, but your two dads as well—they’re not going to let me off the hook either.”

Shen Er'an gazed at the bubbling hot pot, taking a quite a while to process what Jiao Bai just said before raising his eyelids. “Two, dads?”

“Shen Ji and Liang Dong, of course,” Jiao Bai teased.

Shen Eran’s gaze lingered on Jiao Bai’s face for a long time. He blinked softly and said cryptically, “This is the first time I’ve heard someone call him by his name.”

“Not used to it? You’ll get used to it if you hear it more often.”

Jiao Bai could no longer hold his eyes open and let them drift shut. Half-asleep, he thought back to when Qi Shuang confronted him at school. He had found it strange that Qi Shuang didn’t mention that he had moved into Shen Er'an’s apartment. Logically, since Qi Shuang knew he was in Class 7 of Third High, he would have definitely uncovered everything and then gone crazy, biting people.

Now, Jiao Bai realized that Qi Shuang hadn’t overlooked that matter. He simply hadn’t found out. It was likely that Shen Eran had done something to conceal it.

At this time, Shen Eran was a good kid, and would even silently cover for him.

As Jiao Bai slipped into deep sleep, he felt a hand gently press down on the blanket, and he vaguely heard Shen Eran murmur, “If you meet that person again, don’t call him by his name in front of him.”

That person has already seen your rebellious streak you think you’ve hidden so well. You must make sure he doesn’t catch you.

Otherwise, you’ll be leashed again.

That dog chain will be even sturdier than the first. He also won’t hand the chain over to his mother again. Instead, he will leash you himself until your rebellious spirit is broken, stripped of its unyielding nature and identity, turning you into a true pet that only knows how to submit to its master.

And right now, I’m no match for him and won’t be able to help you escape.

.

Jiao Bai didn’t even notice when Shen Er'an finished eating and left. He was dreaming about his parents’ deaths. It wasn’t the first time he had this dream, but it was the only time he didn’t claw at the gravestone and sob in despair.

Probably because of his broken ribs, he subconsciously didn’t dare to move even in his sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiao Bai, who was groggy from sleep, felt uncomfortable.

This discomfort wasn’t physical, but psychological. It was as if someone had stripped him bare, pressed a magnifying glass against his skin, examining him inch by inch, and then used a very fine pen to trace over every detail.

Jiao Bai knitted his brows and opened his eyes. Standing by the bed, smoking and reeking of cigarettes and alcohol, was... old dog Shen.

“It’s just a dream.”

Jiao Bai closed his eyes, but the next moment he was yanked up by his pyjamas. A cloud of pungent smoke mixed with the smell of alcohol sprayed over his trembling eyelids. “Time to wake up, little dog.”


[1] 望铵石 (wàng àn shí) – 望 means to hope/expect; 铵 is the ‘àn’ in Shen Er'an. 石 means stone/rock. Means that he can’t wait for Shen Er'an to come back.