As evening fell, Qi Fang decided to prepare a meal for the three of them by himself.
He opened the refrigerator and paused briefly before casually remarking, “Aunt Shen really keeps a stock of bland Western food in here.”
Shen Yu, who was studying the sauces, glanced up at his words and replied, “She rarely eats at home… and isn’t particularly adept at taking care of herself.”
Many years ago, Shen Yu’s father had been a skilled cook. Despite his busy schedule, he always made time to prepare meals.
When Shen Yu was very young, neither he nor his mother had ever worried about what to eat.
——But that was all in the distant past.
After her husband’s sudden death from heart issues, Shen Yu’s mother became increasingly busy in his memory—she had too much work to do and needed to earn money to raise her child.
Once, there had been someone by her side to constantly remind her to rest, but now, that persistent voice had vanished.
By the time Shen Yu entered high school, Shen Wenxun was already traveling abroad frequently. When Shen Yu started university, she settled in Country L with a work visa, dedicating herself to leading scientific research.
Shen Wenxun and Shen Yu shared similar temperaments, and their culinary talent was no exception. They believed in the principle of boiling rather than frying; the key was to kill off any lingering bacteria at high temperatures. If the food was safe to eat, that was already a significant success.
Qi Fang crouched in front of the refrigerator, surveying its contents for a long while before finally giving up and calling for food delivery.
“Shen Yuyu,” Qi Fang asked casually while washing the cookware, “How long were you here before? What did you come alone to do?”
From the distant couch where he was watching the news, Qin Xiaosa clicked his tongue, thinking to himself, “What an amateurish attempt at questioning.”
Shen Yu seemed unaware of this and focused intently on opening the sauce packets as he replied flatly, “One day. I came back to find something.”
Qi Fang scrubbed the pot vigorously, and upon hearing this, he asked nonchalantly, “What were you looking for? Why didn’t you tell me? We could have picked it up when we came to Country L. No need for a special trip.”
Shen Yu arranged the bottles neatly on the table. Hearing Qi Fang’s question, he paused briefly.
After a long silence, Shen Yu lowered his gaze and said, “…An agreement.”
Qi Fang’s ears perked up, and he instinctively pressed further, “What kind of agreement?”
Shen Yu pursed his lips but refused to elaborate.
Qi Fang scrubbed the pot so hard he nearly wore through the bottom, puzzled. Shen Yu had never been one to keep secrets.
“Could it be an inheritance agreement?” Qi Fang suddenly realized, “Did some grandfather, maternal grandfather, brother-in-law, or second aunt leave you billions? Are you about to run off with a fortune and leave me behind?”
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. He exclaimed in shock, “Shen Yuyu! Is that why you suddenly wanted to take me abroad for a honeymoon?!”
Was this to be their last supper?
Shen Yu replied, “We’re not on a honeymoon.”
Qi Fang retorted, “Is that the point?! It’s a honeymoon if I say it is!”
Shen Yu fell silent.
He turned his face away, his long eyelashes lowered, seemingly a bit exasperated with Qi Fang.
“Professor Shen,” Qi Fang inched closer to Shen Yu and said frankly, “If there really is a multi-billion inheritance, please do me a favor and keep me.”
“I’m suitable for both formal occasions and household chores, useful in the bathtub and warm in bed,” Qi Fang said. “Where else could you find such a versatile housekeeper?”
Shen Yu glanced at him, noticing Qi Fang’s seemingly sincere expression. After a moment, he spoke:
“There’s no bed-warming.”
Qi Fang: “?”
Nearby, Qin Xiaosa, who was drinking water, sprayed it out upon hearing this and coughed repeatedly.
“…And no inherited fortune,” Shen Yu finally finished his sentence.
*
In the evening, while Shen Yu went upstairs to tidy the rooms, Qi Fang occupied the kitchen and ordered kitchen worker Xiao Qin to chop and wash vegetables, intending to start cooking before Shen Yu could react.
This way, Shen Yu couldn’t use his “dementia” as an excuse to prevent him from cooking.
Qin Xiaosa stood by the kitchen counter with a forced smile, rolling up the sleeves of his expensive shirt and removing his seven-figure watch. As he washed his hands, he remarked, “You’re really using me as a slave?”
“What else?” Qi Fang retorted, “Did you expect to be the slave owner? Want me to give you a couple of lashes to cheer you up?”
Qin Xiaosa replied, “That won’t be necessary. Just pay me 10,000 yuan per hour. There’s no such thing as free labor.”
“I’m usually happy to be Professor Shen’s slave,” Qi Fang casually said, “I’m giving you a chance to show off, and you’re haggling?”
Qin Xiaosa: “…”
Love-addled brains are beyond reasoning. Hopeless.
While the two were in the kitchen, Shen Yu stood on the second floor, quietly tidying the guest room.
Shen Wenxun hadn’t spent much time in this small building, and Shen Yu even less. Over the years, he had only visited a dozen or so times, often just for a quick meal before leaving. It was, in essence, quite unfamiliar to him.
After managing to make the bed, Shen Yu knelt on the wooden floor and, after a moment’s hesitation, opened the bedside drawer.
Inside was a thin document folder containing the items he hadn’t taken back to China on his last visit.
Staring at the ordinary folder, Shen Yu suddenly remembered another island at the northern end of the Atlantic.
The sky was azure, the sea vast. Birds flew overhead, and fish leaped from the water. Golden sunlight bathed the beach and his father’s tombstone.
Clean, beautiful, lonely.
Years of harsh sunlight had cracked the gray-black headstone, while the endless rain of the wet season allowed moss to climb. On this rarely visited island, Shen Yu discovered his father had been lonely for many years.
“Can I move my father’s grave?” Shen Yu recalled asking.
“I’m sorry, sir, but there’s no direct relative named ‘Yu Shen’ in the burial records. If you need to relocate the grave, you can ask Ms. Shen Wenxun to provide a statement.”
“…”
Shen Yu snapped back to reality and ultimately decided not to remove the contents of the folder.
As he descended the stairs, he caught a whiff of food from the kitchen.
Shen Yu’s brow furrowed slightly as he recalled “Little Fatty Qi’s” culinary performance during school group activities. He paused, then quickly walked to the kitchen.
To his surprise, Qi Fang was busy cooking with great enthusiasm.
“Four dishes and a soup, is that enough?” Qi Fang glimpsed Shen Yu’s figure and, seeing his inclination to help, quickly intercepted, “Aunt Shen will be back soon, right? Could you set the table?”
Shen Yu glanced at Qi Fang, then at Qin Xiaosa who was washing bell peppers nearby.
Qin Xiaosa’s handsome face was splattered with water droplets, looking somewhat disheveled, but he still managed to maintain his composure. Noticing Shen Yu’s gaze, he raised an eyebrow and mouthed, “It’s fine, leave it to me.”
Shen Yu had no choice but to leave the kitchen. He had barely taken two steps toward the dining room when he heard a noise at the door. Looking up, he saw Shen Wenxun entering, carrying a massive black laptop bag.
They stared at each other from a few meters away, both momentarily stunned.
Shen Wenxun had just returned from the laboratory, wearing simple sweatpants and a hoodie. Her medium-length hair was tied in a small bun at the back of her head. She looked remarkably young, appearing to be in her early thirties rather than her actual age of over forty.
Shen Yu mentally counted and realized it had been more than six months since he’d last seen Shen Wenxun.
His features resembled his mother’s, especially his eyes – black pupils in beautiful willow-leaf shapes with slightly upturned outer corners.
The curve of Shen Yu’s eye corners was even more pronounced than his mother’s, giving him an excessively gentle appearance. However, his usually sharp gaze and intense presence diluted that innate gentleness.
From a very young age, Shen Yu remembered people often saying he was more like his mother.
Not in appearance, but in personality and demeanor.
Shen Wenxun stood at the doorway, momentarily surprised, before quickly regaining her composure.
She first set down her heavy backpack containing her computer and a thick stack of papers. After changing her shoes, she closed the door and walked in, nodding to Shen Yu.
“Came straight from the airport?” she asked.
“Yes,” Shen Yu replied.
Shen Wenxun glanced towards the kitchen and asked, “Who else is here?”
Shen Yu said, “Qi Fang and a friend of ours.”
Shen Wenxun: “You said on the phone that Qi Fang’s condition wasn’t optimistic. What happened to him?”
This time, Shen Yu didn’t answer immediately. After a few seconds, he said softly, “He’s ill. A neurodegenerative syndrome has caused some… cognitive impairment.”
Shen Wenxun was silent for a moment before asking, “Is it treatable?”
Shen Yu replied quietly, “I’m doing my best.”
“Can he communicate normally?”
“Most of the time, yes.”
The brief question-and-answer session took less than a minute.
After pondering for a while, Shen Wenxun spoke, “If there’s anything I can help with, just message me. The medical standards in Country L are good, and I know some doctors. We can arrange for him to be hospitalized.”
Shen Yu: “Thank you.”
This was the extent of the mother-son conversation about Qi Fang. Shen Wenxun picked up her backpack from the floor and said, “I’ll go to my room to put these things away and come back down later.”
Watching Shen Wenxun’s retreating figure heading upstairs, Shen Yu pressed his lips together and suddenly took a few quick steps forward, saying, “Wait a moment.”
Shen Wenxun half-turned, looking puzzled.
“I have something else I want to ask you,” Shen Yu said.
Sensing something unusual in his tone, Shen Wenxun paused briefly before saying, “Let’s talk upstairs.”
Leave a Reply