Raine: This is the longest chapter with more than 6k words so I’m splitting this into three parts.
In the blink of an eye, Shen Yu’s holiday was coming to an end.
The paperwork for Chen Ziqiu’s grave relocation still needed some time to process. Shen Yu had sent the materials by email, and the reply stated that they were currently on public holiday, so the approval would take another week.
The group decided to return to China first.
On the day of departure, Shen Wenxun unexpectedly made time to personally see Shen Yu and his companions off at the airport.
“This is as far as I’ll go,” Shen Wenxun glanced at her watch, then looked at Qi Fang and said, “After you return… if anything happens, contact me again.”
Qi Fang gave his assurance, “Don’t worry, taking care of Shen Yu is my specialty.”
Shen Wenxun’s lips quirked up in amusement. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard Shen Yu say, “Mom.”
“…” Shen Wenxun stopped in her tracks and turned to him, her expression softening considerably, “Xiao Yu?”
“Take care of yourself,” Shen Yu said.
Shen Wenxun nodded, waved goodbye to the group, and left against the flow of people.
After landing in Country L, Qin Xiaosa also said goodbye to the two.
When they arrived home, it wasn’t yet dinnertime. Shen Yu declined Qi Fang’s offer to cook, personally selected takeout, and returned to his study to handle work matters.
——After all, he had to go back to work tomorrow.
Upon logging into his work email, Shen Yu was surprised to find that he hadn’t dealt with the backlog of emails for several days.
Although he still spent some time each day checking project progress in the group chat and answering students’ questions, his usual work-obsessed self seemed far removed from him now.
“…” Professor Shen, who had always prioritized efficiency, felt a twinge of guilt.
There were quite a few emails piled up in his inbox. Shen Yu first replied to all the academic correspondence, then dealt with messages from the project team and lab, and finally deleted the school’s long-winded administrative emails with one click.
However, there was one exception. Shen Yu glanced at the subject line and decided to open it.
— “Reply to the Application for Changing Zhao Minqing’s Supervisor”
Perhaps knowing Shen Yu’s style, this email was concise. It tactfully asked Shen Yu to handle the teacher-student relationship well, and “unless absolutely necessary,” advised against changing Zhao Minqing’s supervisor.
Seeing this, Shen Yu replied to the email, stating in just a few words:
“It is absolutely necessary.”
After sending the email, there was no response from the other side.
Shen Yu removed his hands from the keyboard and suddenly heard movement at the study door. He turned to see Qi Fang standing in the doorway, gazing at him expectantly.
Shen Yu: “?”
Qi Fang spoke up. “You’re going back to work tomorrow, Shen Yuyu.”
Shen Yu, not understanding, made a sound of acknowledgment.
“Can I come have lunch with you at the university?” Qi Fang asked, his expression almost overflowing with pitifulness as he said, “I’ve gotten used to eating with you…”
Shen Yu was silent for a moment, considering his schedule for tomorrow. “I have a group meeting at noon, so probably not.”
Before Qi Fang could look dejected, he quickly added, “But I can order takeout for you.”
“Don’t cook for yourself,” Shen Yu paused, then said, “You might get hurt.”
Qi Fang thought to himself, “He still sees me as Little Fatty Qi.”
Little Fatty was so clever. Little Fatty’s face was thick as could be.
Donning the guise of his childhood self, Qi Fang nodded, his shamelessness soaring. He playfully lifted his shirt and asked with both subtlety and boldness, “Shen Yuyu, want to feel my abs today?”
Shen Yu: “…?”
“This is the result of a week’s worth of working out,” Qi Fang turned left and right at the doorway, trying to showcase his unparalleled physique from every angle. “Xiao Yu, I don’t let anyone else see this, you know. It’s just for you.”
Shen Yu: “.”
He must not have read enough literature, Shen Yu thought silently.
Dementia could regress one’s mind to childhood, but – was this really how Qi Fang behaved as a child?
While pondering this, Shen Yu closed his laptop and said to Qi Fang, “Come here.”
Qi Fang was about to step forward but paused, asking, “May I come in?”
Shen Yu nodded.
After two years of marriage, it was the first time Qi Fang had entered Shen Yu’s private study.
It wasn’t that Shen Yu had forbidden him before, but Professor Shen disliked being disturbed while working and often kept the door closed. Even if Qi Fang had stared longingly from outside, it would have been futile.
Now, Qi Fang made a half-circle tour of Shen Yu’s study, as if marking new territory, and nodded with satisfaction.
Today, entering the study; tomorrow, the bedroom; the day after, Shen Yu’s heart.
The future looked promising, a cause for celebration.
Qi Fang walked to Shen Yu’s side, about to speak, when he suddenly saw Shen Yu stand up and reach out to adjust his slightly overlapped shirt collar.
“If you don’t want to go to the company, you don’t have to,” Shen Yu said. “Shall I contact your assistant, Xiao Lin?”
Qi Fang asked curiously, “What for? To have him come as a live-in caretaker?”
“Well, it’s not impossible,” he thought for a moment. “But Xiao Lin would definitely ask for an arm and a leg. It wouldn’t be worth it.”
Shen Yu: “…Xiao Lin is currently assisting Mr. Qi with the company’s daily operations. I wanted to communicate with him about postponing your return to the company.”
“Absolutely not!” Qi Fang exclaimed in alarm. “They’ll dock all of my year-end bonus!”
Taking personal leave for more than a month cumulatively each year would significantly reduce the year-end bonus.
Money was a small matter, but just imagining assistant Xiao Lin’s expressionless face while deducting money made Qi Fang flush with anger. He would never let that happen!
Shen Yu: “…”
If he remembered correctly, wasn’t Qi Fang working at his own company?
Never mind… he shouldn’t argue too much with someone with dementia.
Shen Yu planned to find time to brief Xiao Lin on the precautions for caring for a dementia patient.
As he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Qi Fang call out to him, “Shen Yuyu—”
Shen Yu looked up.
Qi Fang coughed once, gesturing at his torso, “So, uh, abs… want to touch?”
Faced with the unreasonable “Little Fatty Qi,” Shen Yu remained quiet for a moment before finally extending his hand.
As Qi Fang had just finished a brief meeting with company executives, he was wearing a white shirt under a dark gray pullover sweater. Shen Yu politely poked the sweater over his abdomen twice, then looked up and said, “Done.”
Qi Fang was shocked. “That’s it?”
Did his abs hold no appeal for Shen Yu, not even for seventy-two hours?
What other methods could he use to seduce… no, attract Shen Xiaoyu?
Overwhelmed with sorrow, Qi Fang felt his dream of a sweet life suddenly become distant again.
Shen Yu didn’t understand why his words had left the man before him looking so dejected. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked uncertainly in a soft voice, “Do you… want to touch too?”
Qi Fang’s eyes lit up again.
Shen Yu remained quiet for a while, seeming somewhat indecisive.
Finally, as if having made up his mind, he said, “Give me your hand.”
“?” Qi Fang didn’t quite understand but offered his left hand anyway.
Shen Yu rose from his computer chair, took Qi Fang’s hand, and somewhat awkwardly pressed Qi Fang’s palm against his own stomach over the knit sweater.
“You’ve touched it too,” Shen Yu said, his dark eyes looking at him.
“…” Qi Fang took a deep breath and asked with a thick tongue, “Can… can we not touch over clothes?”
Would Shen Yu call the police on him? Qi Fang wondered, blushing.
Would he be charged with molestation for acting frisky with his legal partner at home?
Hearing his question, Shen Yu looked even more hesitant than before.
After a long while, he softly refused, “No…”
“We shouldn’t carelessly touch other people’s stomachs,” Shen Yu patiently admonished “Little Fatty Qi.”
Qi Fang couldn’t help but show disappointment, though only for a brief moment, which Shen Yu noticed.
As compensation and consolation, Shen Yu suddenly raised his hand, stepped forward, and briefly hugged “Little Fatty Qi.”
Soft black hair brushed against his face. Qi Fang, caught off guard, instinctively looked down to see Shen Yu’s long lashes fluttering. He even felt Shen Yu’s nose tip lightly brush against his neck during the embrace, causing a tingling sensation.
Shen Yu let go after two seconds. Seeing Qi Fang remained silent, he thought he had successfully comforted him and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he was suddenly held tightly by the man in front of him.
Qi Fang’s movement was quick and forceful. Shen Yu was still dazed when pulled into his embrace.
“Just let me hold you for a moment…” Qi Fang’s low voice came from beside his ear. “Xiao Yu, Shen Yuyu…”
Shen Yu felt Qi Fang burying his head in the crook of his neck, nuzzling back and forth, making sniffing sounds. It reminded Shen Yu of affectionate pet dogs he’d seen on the street, the large, furry kind that loved to run with all four legs.
Shen Yu suspected that in the next moment, Qi Fang would lose control, transform, and… vigorously lick his face.
“You—”
The two were pressed too intimately together, making Shen Yu uncomfortable. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt Qi Fang’s nuzzling motion pause.
A moment later, Qi Fang abruptly released him, covering his nose with one hand, his expression both sweet and pained as he once again burst out of the room.
Shen Yu: “……”
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