He really was an extremely soft-hearted child.
If he hurt, if he was in pain, all it took was one gentle pat on the head and he would smile softly at the other person again.
He seemed like a completely different person from the one who had snatched Cheng Shenzhi's phone at the club and immediately started hitting Zhou Hui with it.
Cheng Shenzhi sighed faintly in his heart.
At this moment, he desperately wished Zhong Yu would make some demands of him, preferably outrageous ones, instead of behaving like this.
It made Cheng Shenzhi feel even less human.
The car fell quiet again. Zhong Jue rolled over and nearly rolled straight off the seat, frightening Zhong Yu into hurriedly catching her. His sister had always slept restlessly. He had no idea who she inherited that from.
He touched his sister's hand. It was icy cold. Without hesitating, Zhong Yu took off his own coat and draped it over her, then carefully tucked all her carelessly sprawled limbs inside.
He had only just finished when weight suddenly settled on his shoulders. An extremely faint scent of agarwood reached him, easy to miss or mistake for an illusion if he was not paying attention.
Zhong Yu turned his head in surprise.
Cheng Shenzhi said, "Don't catch cold."
The sedan happened to pass a traffic light. Orange-yellow light from the endlessly flowing street spilled through the car window.
Those deep-black eyes watched him.
Zhong Yu hesitated, then caught the coat collar with both hands before it could slip and silently shaped the words "thank you" with his lips.
"You're welcome."
Zhong Yu's fingertips involuntarily tightened.
He rarely experienced this feeling.
No matter how quiet the sound or how tiny the movement, someone noticed and responded to it immediately.
Suddenly, a small object was held out before him. He instinctively looked up.
Cheng Shenzhi gestured for him to take it.
Zhong Yu did, only to discover it was a small adhesive bandage.
He looked over in confusion, then followed the other man's gaze downward.
Cheng Shenzhi had only noticed the injury on Zhong Yu's ankle when he watched the child get into the car.
It was not deep, but perhaps because it had not been properly cared for, or because it was still quite fresh, it had stopped bleeding without yet forming a scab.
The edges of the wound were fairly smoothâin other words, it did not look like a bite.
After they got into the car, Cheng Shenzhi had considered it for a long time. When he finally reached that conclusion, he first relaxed, then immediately frowned. Zhong Yu had left the hospital barely half a day ago. How had he already acquired another injury?
Only after Cheng Shenzhi indicated it did Zhong Yu belatedly notice the stinging pain in his ankle. It was hardly surprising he had missed it; from the moment he opened his eyes today, there had not been a single comfortable place on his body.
Thinking back, it must have happened when Pan Wang threw that glass at him around noon.
The glass had not struck him directly, but the flying shards had still cut his ankle.
Embarrassed, he drew his foot slightly backward.
[Thank you…]
Ever since meeting Mr. Cheng, it seemed he had done nothing but alternate between "thank you" and "sorry to trouble you."
The realization made Zhong Yu a little annoyed with himself. He pressed his lips together, peeled open the bandage with his fingertips, bent down, tugged his trouser leg up slightly, and felt around to stick it over the wound.
Cheng Shenzhi sat beside him. His gaze followed Zhong Yu's movements and landed on the small patch of the back of his neck exposed as he bent forward. What he saw there looked far more worrying than the injury on his ankle.
Cheng Shenzhi knew exactly how those marks had been made.
For once, he hesitated. "Those marks…"
[I scratched myself by accident.]
Cheng Shenzhi did not believe him, but he could see that Zhong Yu did not want to say more, so he did not press.
He remembered the file stating that eight years ago, Pan Youzhi had brought home an illegitimate alpha son named Pan Wang.
That illegitimate son greatly disliked Zhong Yu. Even the recent incident had happened because of him.
Could it be Pan Wang?
His gaze darkened faintly.
The car had already left the urban area, and the road conditions became worse. The vehicle jolted over some gravel. Zhong Jue shifted sleepily and murmured, "Brother…"
Zhong Yu hurriedly gathered her into his arms and gently patted her back.
After being patted twice, Zhong Jue made a couple of sleepy sounds and woke slightly. She actively hugged Zhong Yu back, buried her face in his chest, and mumbled something softly.
Zhong Yu lowered his head to listen, but could not make it out.
Once they left the city, the car sped up. Zhong Yu had been mentally preparing himself all along. When he saw the place where he usually got out, he took a deep breath, pointed to a spot by the roadside, and indicated that stopping there would be fine.
The assistant first glanced at Cheng Shenzhi's expression before slowly pulling over where Zhong Yu had indicated.
Cheng Shenzhi frowned.
There was clearly still some distance between here and the Pan residence.
Was Zhong Yu being cautious because he did not want Cheng Shenzhi knowing the exact location of his home?
Or did he not want Pan Wang to notice?
Countless possibilities flashed through Cheng Shenzhi's mind in an instant.
Although his own family could still barely be called harmonious at present, he had seen plenty of open and hidden struggles between blood relatives.
At the same time, Zhong Jue woke completely. She was tugging at her brother, preparing to get out, when she suddenly heard another somewhat familiar voice.
"Take the umbrella."
Hm?
She turned around in confusion and saw the man from the café.
"You brought us home?"
Zhong Jue was extremely surprised. She had thought her brother had called a car.
Zhong Yu gently nudged her.
Without even lifting her head, Zhong Jue immediately understood that her brother thought she was being rude. "I'm sorry."
Cheng Shenzhi was just about to say it was fine when Zhong Jue added, "Thank you." She tilted her head and frowned hard in concentration, finally remembering his surname. Then she very politely added a form of address. "Uncle Cheng."
Cheng Shenzhi: "…"
Cheng Shenzhi: "You're welcome."
He looked back at Zhong Yu. Seeing him preparing to remove the trench coat Cheng Shenzhi had draped over him earlier, he frowned. "Keep it on. Don't catch cold."
Zhong Yu hesitated.
It was still raining outside. They were in the suburbs and the temperature was low. If he went out like this, he could guarantee he would begin running a fever tonight.
But if he simply took someone else's clothes…
Cheng Shenzhi saw his hesitation, smiled faintly, and made a small joke. "You've already taken one of my umbrellas. Adding one coat won't make much difference."
That did seem to be true…
Persuaded, Zhong Yu thanked him again with some embarrassment. After thinking for a moment, he proactively took out his phone, a little tentative.
[I'll wash it and return it to you afterward… May I add your contact information?]
"Of course."
Zhong Yu let out a breath of relief and pulled his phone back.
[Then we'll go first.]
"All right. Be careful on the way."
The car door slowly closed, but Cheng Shenzhi did not move. He watched Zhong Yu hold the umbrella and lead his sister through the rain, stepping unevenly toward the dim villa in the distance where only a few lights were on.
Only after he watched them enter did Cheng Shenzhi say, "Let's go."
The sedan turned smoothly and drove in the opposite direction.
–
When they reached home, the first floor was extremely dark.
Zhong Yu carefully looked around. Only after confirming no one was there did he beckon for his sister to come inside.
The two moved upstairs quietly. Zhong Yu first returned Zhong Jue to her room, then made it safely back to his own bedroom before finally breathing out.
It seemed Pan Wang was not there.
But Zhong Yu was afraid Pan Wang would discover the umbrella that clearly did not belong to their household, as well as the coat belonging to an unfamiliar alpha, so he carefully carried both back to his room.
After changing and washing up, Zhong Yu stared at the neatly folded trench coat on the chair and felt troubled.
The washing machine was on the first floor. Given how irritating Pan Wang was, he would definitely notice.
But if Zhong Yu washed it by hand…
He considered it for a long time before collapsing face-first onto the bed.
Forget it. He would deal with it tomorrow. He was already too exhausted today.
After lying there for a while, Zhong Yu struggled upright and discovered that his phone screen had lit up at some point.
He picked it up and saw a message from Mr. Cheng.
[Cheng: Are you home?]
Mr. Cheng's profile picture was pure black, and his display name was simply "Cheng." It suited his temperament very well.
Hugging his soft pillow, Zhong Yu replied seriously: [I'm home. I just finished settling everything.]
[Cheng: Rest early.]
Zhong Yu rolled once across the bed, his gaze drifting back to the coat on the chair. He typed: [All right. I'll wash the coat as soon as possible. How should I return it to you afterward?]
Elsewhere, Cheng Shenzhi was looking through Zhong Yu's social-media posts.
It seemed Zhong Yu rarely shared his daily life online. Only two posts were public.
The first was a photo from enrollment day at the school gate. The young man stood beside the old, towering gate holding a freshman welcome package and smiling at the camera.
The second looked like a candid photograph. Behind a cramped high-school desk piled with books, a younger and more innocent-looking Zhong Yu rested his cheek on one hand and gazed through the window at the blue sky.
Because of the pose, the slight roundness of his cheek was especially obvious.
Cheng Shenzhi knew there was a small dimple there.
His fingertip rubbed unconsciously. Suddenly, Cheng Shenzhi noticed a small detail in the photographs that he had previously missed.
The same hand appeared in both pictures.
The hand was long and slender, with clearly defined knuckles and a small black mole on the side of the index finger.
It belonged to a young man.
And he probably was not an omega.
…Assistant Tao's file had indeed mentioned several of Zhong Yu's good friends.
But someone close enough to accompany him even on enrollment day…
A guess had already begun forming in Cheng Shenzhi's mind.
A notification sounded. He tapped back into the chat and lowered his eyes to the screen, his gaze stopping on the profile picture at the top.
Zhong Yu's profile picture was a crudely drawn little fish made of crooked lines, living in a transparent sea with several blue strands of seaweed growing along the bottom.
Cheng Shenzhi guessed his sister had drawn it.
The siblings seemed very close.
But…
His gaze moved upward.
What did the username "o<" mean?
He turned it over in his mind but could not work out the connection between the name and Zhong Yu.
[Cheng: There's no rush. I live nearby. Contact me whenever you have time.]
Zhong Yu finally relaxed after reading the reply and carefully answered: [Okay. Then I'm going to sleep now. Mr. Cheng, you should rest early too!]
[Cheng: Good night.]
==========Author's Note:==========
Mr. Cheng's plan succeeded.
Everyone can also guess what this username means.
