On the plane, Shen Yu opened his laptop to browse through research papers. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Qi Fang examining something in his hand intently.
“What are you looking at?” Shen Yu asked suddenly.
Qi Fang was startled. “I’m looking at this dog… I mean, name tag.”
“You need to wear it properly,” Shen Yu said, his dark eyes serious. “If you accidentally wander into an unfamiliar place, show this tag to passersby.”
Qin Xiaosa, sitting on the other side, let out an irrepressible laugh.
Qi Fang: “…”
It really does have the exact same function as a dog tag!
He inadvertently glanced at Shen Yu’s computer screen and saw titles like “Research on Trauma Symptoms and Effective Treatment Plans for High-Risk Groups of Middle-aged Dementia” and “Discussion of 9 Risk Factors for Dementia”…
“Professor Shen Yuyu,” Qi Fang complained helplessly, “If you read a few more papers, you’ll become a medical genius in every field.”
Shen Yu frowned slightly and corrected him, “It’s just some superficial knowledge. Besides…”
“Someone as weak and sickly as you is indeed quite rare,” Shen Yu added.
“What?” Qi Fang felt his dignity as a person severely challenged and nearly jumped up from his VIP seat. “Me? Weak?”
Shen Yu reached out and pressed his hand on Qi Fang’s, instantly freezing him as if a switch had been flipped.
“Not weak,” Shen Yu said in an exceptionally gentle tone. “I misspoke. Don’t make a fuss.”
Qi Fang’s soul soared out of the cabin at those words, out of the atmosphere, out of the Milky Way.
Seconds later, he plummeted straight back, realizing that Shen Yu was willing to coax him because he thought Qi Fang had dementia.
Fine, fine, fine. Dementia is good, dementia is wonderful, dementia means being held by his wife every day.
In that brief moment, Qi Fang had already come to terms with it. He decided to fully embrace the role, hoping to elicit more coaxing from Shen Yu for this overgrown child with intellectual disabilities.
So, while Shen Yu was reading papers on his laptop, he kept hearing calls from beside him:
“Professor Shen, my throat feels so dry.”
“Shen Yu, I think I heard my stomach growling.”
“Shen Yuyu, can we open these windows and jump out?”
“Professor Shen Xiaoyu, my face itches. Can you touch it for me?”
“Shen…”
With a soft thud, Shen Yu closed his laptop.
He then looked at the restless Qi Fang beside him, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, he furrowed his brow slightly and held his tongue.
After a long while, Shen Yu reached out his hand. Qi Fang thought he was finally going to slap him and instinctively closed his eyes in shock.
However, the next moment, Shen Yu merely gently smoothed the stray hair at Qi Fang’s temple and said, “Student Qi Xiaopang.”
Qi Fang: “…?”
Beside them, Qin Xiaosa pushed up his sunglasses and quietly took out his phone, starting to record a video.
“We still have two hours before the plane lands,” Shen Yu said, his dark eyes gazing at Qi Fang. “Will you be good and sit still in your seat, close your eyes, and count to 7,200?”
“Once we get off the plane, the teacher will give our group an excellent rating. Don’t you want to be first?”
Shen Yu then took out an eye mask and put it on the utterly shocked Qi Fang, adjusting the strap and giving Qi Fang’s ear a gentle squeeze for reassurance.
“Alright, starting now, no talking,” Shen Yu said.
Qin Xiaosa stopped recording, watched the video again, then clicked the share button in the top right corner and sent it to Li Congming and Chen Ke.
[Qin Xiaosa: Click to watch Professor Shen’s kindergarten teacher training in action.]
Li Congming’s reply came the fastest:
[Li Congming: schadenfreude.jpg thumbs_up.jpg]
[Li Congming: Little Fatty Qi, haha! Shen Yu must think he’s eight or nine years old!]
[Li Congming: On their third wedding anniversary, we should play this video on a big screen on loop and call it ‘Little Fatty’s Sweet Memories’!
[Qin Xiaosa: That suggestion might actually be right up his alley.]
Chen Ke’s response came a bit later, analyzing Shen Yu’s words and actions from a professional perspective.
“Professor Shen seems to be treating Qi Fang using methods for elderly dementia patients,” she said. “If it’s just care at the behavioral level, there’s no need for much intervention, but if it involves medication, injections, or other such measures, we must intervene immediately.”
Chen Ke then sent over the contact information for a renowned psychologist in Country L.
“I’ve already contacted him via email. Dr. Watson has a half-hour slot available tomorrow at 3:20 p.m. The address is…”
“Dr. Watson has experience treating MSBP,” Chen Ke added. “I suggest you try to bring Shen Yu to meet him if possible.”
Qin Xiaosa replied with an “OK” emoji.
Until the plane landed, Qi Fang, wearing the eye mask, didn’t make a sound. His ear tips remained red for a full two hours, eventually causing Shen Yu to borrow a thermometer from the flight attendant to check his temperature before he could set his mind at ease.
As they were disembarking, Qi Fang, who had been silent for so long, finally seemed to come to his senses and abruptly stood up from his seat.
“Student Shen Xiaoyu,”
He cleared his throat, trying to keep his facial expression calm. “Student Qi Xiaopang requests not to be led by a leash, but to hold your hand instead. Is that okay?”
Shen Yu finished packing his things and seemed somewhat surprised by the request, but nodded and said, “That’s fine.”
Qi Fang’s face immediately lit up with joy.
However, when he saw Qin Xiaosa also standing up, preparing to disembark, Shen Yu hesitated for a moment before turning to Qi Fang and asking, “Classmate Qin is also your teammate. Do you want to… hold his hand too?”
The 1.9-meter tall, handsome, sunglasses-wearing Qin Xiaosa: “?”
The love-struck Qi Fang, lost in the joy of holding hands with Shen Yu: “?”
The two men looked at each other, seeing disgust on each other’s faces.
Qin Xiaosa: “I’m not holding hands with a taken pervert.”
Qi Fang immediately said, “I’m not holding hands with Mr. Muscles.”
He glanced at Shen Yu’s expression and emphasized again, “Shen Xiaoyu, you can’t hold his hand either!”
Shen Yu: “…”
*
After leaving the airport, they hailed a taxi to head to Shen Yu’s mother’s residence.
Before leaving the airport, Qi Fang used the excuse of going to the bathroom to meet Qin Xiaosa in the restroom, where he exchanged 30,000 yuan for a brand-new phone, in a transaction reminiscent of a black-market deal.
“In a foreign country, getting you a phone for 30,000 yuan is expensive?” Qin Xiaosa said with one hand in his pocket, raising an eyebrow.
Qi Fang inserted the SIM card he had stolen from his original phone and laughed coldly, saying, “Don’t think I’m blind. I saw you just bought it from the store.”
Qin Xiaosa shrugged. “The phone is worth 10,000, the errand is worth 20,000.”
Qi Fang opened the new phone and angrily transferred him 30,000 yuan, labeling it “Break Up Fee.”
While Qi Fang and Qin Xiaosa were in the restroom, Shen Yu sat on a chair outside and called his mother.
“We’ve arrived,” Shen Yu said softly. “We’ll be there in about half an hour.”
After a pause, he added, “Qi Fang’s condition isn’t optimistic. I hope you can spare some time to meet him.”
“We won’t disturb your work tomorrow,” Shen Yu lowered his eyelashes and said slowly. “I’ve made an appointment with a doctor. We’ll go for Qi Fang’s consultation at 3:30 tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll leave after that.”
After the brief phone conversation, Shen Yu sat lost in thought for a moment, which was rare for him.
“Hey,” a young man with blond hair and blue eyes suddenly sat down beside him and greeted him. “You look gorgeous. I think this is the second time I’ve seen you.”
Shen Yu turned his face slightly, not answering the man’s greeting. He merely nodded politely, then stood up to go to the restroom to find Qi Fang.
The man hurriedly spoke again in English:
“Wait a moment, friend. I’m certain I’ve seen you here not long ago. This is our second meeting, which means we have a strong connection. May I be so bold as to ask your name?”
Shen Yu paused and said flatly, “I’m already married.”
“Oh,” the young blond man was clearly taken aback. “I’m sorry, you look so young, I thought…”
He scratched his head, apologized awkwardly, and finally left, looking back several times as he went.
Shen Yu glanced at the airport clock. Fifteen minutes had passed since Qi Fang entered the restroom, and he couldn’t help but frown.
He walked to the restroom entrance and called out, “Qi Fang?”
Qi Fang, who was on the phone discussing company matters with his assistant Xiao Lin, was startled and quickly replied, “Ah, I’m here!”
Shen Yu asked, “Did you fall into the toilet?”
Qi Fang: “…No.”
Assistant Xiao Lin, who overheard on the phone, drawled, “Boss, if you’re not working at the company, falling into a toilet can’t be claimed as a work injury or have medical expenses reimbursed through the company account.”
Qi Fang: “Who asked you!”
He told Xiao Lin to communicate via WeChat if anything came up, hung up the phone, hid it well, and then calmly exited the restroom.
Shen Yu’s gaze swept over him from top to bottom, and seeing no injuries, his expression showed a hint of confusion.
To prevent Shen Yu’s thoughts from wandering again, Qi Fang hurriedly said, “Qin Xiaosa went to buy a gift. We didn’t bring anything with us, so we should prepare something before visiting Auntie Shen.”
Shen Yu didn’t show much reaction, only saying, “She won’t mind.”
Indeed, in previous years, when they visited Country L, Shen Yu’s mother was always busy with work, rarely having time to sit down and chat with them for hours. At most, they would share a meal together.
As for gifts, given Shen Yu’s mother’s personality, she wouldn’t care at all.
“Let’s go,” Qin Xiaosa returned with a bunch of items, calling to the two of them. “We’d better hurry.”
*
Shen Yu’s mother was named Shen Wenxun. Her residential villa was far from the city center, built beside a huge lake. Today, the weather was perfect. The distant woods were lush, and the sunlight turned the grass into a soft golden color, creating a peaceful and serene scene.
As they arrived in front of the white villa, Qi Fang cleared his throat and adjusted his collar, cuffs, and trouser legs. Qin Xiaosa also took off his sunglasses, holding them in his hand.
“It’s been a long time since we last met,” Qi Fang said quietly. “Shen Yu, I’m a bit nervous.”
Shen Yu glanced at him and shook his head. “No need to be nervous.”
He walked up the steps to the front door, entered the passcode himself, then turned and said, “No one’s home.”
Qi Fang, who had been secretly borrowing Qin Xiaosa’s sunglasses to fix his hair in the reflection, was left speechless.
“What’s wrong?” Qi Fang hesitated, vaguely guessing, “Is Aunt Shen working?”
“Mm,” Shen Yu opened the door, glanced inside, then said, “I contacted her. She won’t be back until evening.”
With that settled, the group entered the small building without further hesitation.
As soon as Qi Fang stepped inside, he first removed his “dog tag” from around his neck, letting out a long sigh of relief. He then rotated his wrist, unfastening the cord on his watch.
After completing these actions, Qi Fang belatedly realized, wasn’t this similar to a dog returning home and removing its own leash??
Once inside, was he now a free dog?
Qi Fang pinched the bridge of his nose.
If Shen Yu led him around by a leash a couple more times and petted him twice, wouldn’t he gradually become more and more animal-like…
Upon entering, Shen Yu first went to the refrigerator, took out some fruit juice, and found glasses.
Qi Fang noticed his actions and asked curiously, “Student Shen Xiaoyu, how do you know where everything is?”
By his calculation, it had been nearly half a year since the two of them had visited Shen Wenxun in Country L. Firstly, because of the long journey, and neither Shen Yu nor Qi Fang had leisurely jobs. Secondly, because Shen Wenxun was usually not at home.
Qi Fang remembered that during their last visit, many of the arrangements in this small building were different from now.
Shen Yu’s mother, like him, was undeniably strong in her career but lacked in life skills. Things were often scattered messily, barely maintaining cleanliness thanks to the existence of a part-time housekeeper.
This time, as Qi Fang looked around, he found the house much cleaner, with various items neatly arranged—a rare sight indeed.
Shen Yu placed a large can of juice on the table. Hearing Qi Fang’s question, he glanced up and said, “I came here a while ago and had someone clean up.”
Qi Fang unconsciously echoed, “You came a while ago…”
He frowned, asking in a low voice, “You came recently?”
When did Shen Yu come to Country L?
As far as he knew, Shen Wenxun had been in Iceland all along, not in Country L. Why would Shen Yu come to Country L alone?
“It was during my last trip abroad for an academic seminar,” Shen Yu explained. “After paying respects to my father, I stopped by here.”
Qi Fang paused, his expression remaining casual, but his eyes immediately met Qin Xiaosa’s.
The last time he heard that Shen Yu had gone abroad alone to pay respects to his father, Qi Fang had already suspected that this inexplicable “White Knight Syndrome” might have been triggered by that event.
But from another perspective, it was difficult to explain—Shen Yu and Qi Fang would specially travel to the Atlantic island every year to pay respects. After so many years, why hadn’t Shen Yu shown any unusual behavior?
Qi Fang had previously discussed this with Li Congming, Chen Ke, and Qin Xiaosa, believing that Shen Yu must have had some unusual experience.
And now, the experience that had caused Shen Yu’s illness seemed about to surface.
Leave a Reply