Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Feeling the need to win, Shu Yao pulled Chen Ye to play another game, and this time, she won.

But he only won by half a point.

When it was over, it was already past ten o'clock. Shu Yao opened the door a crack and made sure that it was completely dark outside like a thief before allowing Chen Ye to go out.

The footsteps were so soft that they were almost inaudible.

Shu Yao leaned against the door panel and could feel his heart beating faster. He didn't know whether it was because of the nervousness of facing a worthy opponent, or because he remembered what he had just said.

Her personality has always been like this. The more embarrassed or nervous she is, the calmer she will appear. She is so calm that others cannot see her true emotions and only think that she is a little indifferent.

This was when I first wore the same clothes as Chen Ye on the subway.

It was the same just now.

But only she herself knew that when she heard Shen Ye's teasing, it seemed as if a surge of blood rushed to her head.

She didn't know whether her ears were red or not, but her breathing stopped for a few seconds.

After calming down for a while, Shu Yao realized that she had not taken a shower yet. She took a deep breath, took her clothes, and tiptoed to the bathroom.

The bathroom was filled with enchanting mist. Shu Yao stood in front of the mirror. She had no makeup on but didn't look disheveled. Her skin was crystal clear with almost no pores, and was gradually stained with a very light pink due to the temperature.

She was gently patting moisturizing water onto her cheeks when there was a sudden knock on the bathroom door.

Thinking it was Shen Ye, Shu Yao looked down at her pajamas and thought they were decent enough, so she opened the door a crack.

"how……"

He stopped talking halfway.

The person in front of him was not Shen Ye, but Shen Yang.

Shu Yao hesitated to speak, not knowing what to address him.

Chen Yang was as serious as he was in the afternoon, even revealing a coldness: "I'll wash my hands."

Shu Yao didn't quite believe that there was no bathroom in the largest master bedroom. She could feel that Shen Yang's words were just an excuse.

But this is someone else's territory after all, so there is no reason for her to not allow people to enter her own bathroom.

"Okay." She took a clean bathrobe from the shelf and wrapped it over her pajamas before opening the door, stepping back and letting him use the sink.

The bathroom is very spacious, almost as big as an ordinary bedroom, so even if two people stand in it, it doesn't feel crowded at all.

The faucet was running. Shu Yao said nothing, walked around him and prepared to leave.

But from behind came Shen Yang's direct question: "Do you like Shen Ye?"

Shu Yao turned around and stood outside the bathroom door, stunned for a moment before answering: "Of course."

Shen Yang turned off the faucet, slowly wiped his hands with a tissue, and curled his lips coldly: "But I hope you can leave him as soon as possible."

“…”

Shu Yao had already played out the entire "I'll give you five million, leave my brother" drama in her mind. When she was thinking about how to respond, she heard Shen Yang say, "I can see that you are a good girl. A man like Shen Ye is not worthy of you."

Shu Yao didn't react for a moment: "What do you mean?"

"No matter what Chen Ye appears to be on the outside, his paranoid and jealous nature cannot be changed. If you are with him, he will only treat you as his property and control your life. The longer you are with him, the harder it will be for you to break free and escape."

If Grandma Shen made her feel that the Shen family was very down-to-earth, then Shen Yang’s words made her feel that this family was a bit down-to-earth.

Family traditions influence each other. It is strange that a family is so divided.

Shu Yao refuted almost without hesitation: "I currently cannot agree with your judgment."

"It seems..." Shen Yang threw the tissue in his hand into the trash can, his words filled with disdain, "He's pretending quite well."

Shu Yao clenched her hands. Although she didn't want to say anything rude to his family, in her mind, even without considering their relationship as husband and wife, Chen Ye was a good friend.

Shen Yang's words made her feel very uncomfortable.

“Mr. Shen…”

Shen Yang stared at himself in the mirror, not even looking at her, but interrupted her: "When I was a child, I loved airplane models. My parents bought me a lot of them. Because he didn't have any, he didn't want his brother to have any, so when we were not home, he smashed all my models. A six-year-old child is like this, what do you expect him to become when he grows up?"

Shu Yao remained silent, not knowing what he was thinking.

After a long while, Shen Yang probably thought he had convinced her, and his attitude softened a bit: "So you..."

Shu Yao raised his eyes, but his tone was no longer as gentle as before, and was also tinged with a bit of coldness: "Then why doesn't he have it?"

Shen Yang laughed angrily: "What did you say?"

"I say, with the Shen family's financial situation, they should be able to afford a double model, right? Then why does the older brother have one and the younger brother doesn't?"

Not only his tone, but also his gaze was cold, like the moment when a soft sword was unsheathed, emitting a cold light.

Shen Yang was a little confused by the question for a moment.

"That is..."

"I appreciate your reminder. If Chen Ye is that kind of person, I will definitely leave. But at the moment, I can't believe the evaluation of him by someone who looks at him with a heavy negative filter."

Shu Yao nodded slightly, and in front of Chen Yang's surprised eyes, she left the bathroom with her change of clothes.

The bedroom is just opposite.

Shu Yao took off her bathrobe and threw her clothes into the dirty clothes basket prepared by the nanny. She sat where she had just played games and was in a daze for a long time.

What kind of person is Shen Ye?

Whether in high school or now, there are voices from the outside world telling her that this is a dangerous person and you'd better reduce contact with her.

But in reality, he would patiently play Go with her, be tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and stand by her side without hesitation.

Could he be pretending?

Should she believe her ears or her eyes?

His mind was in a mess. Shu Yao looked up at the time and saw that it was almost one o'clock.

The floor-to-ceiling window was opened a crack, and the sea breeze kept coming in. Shu Yao walked over to close it. When he pulled the curtains, he vaguely saw a black figure sitting on the beach not far away.

She couldn't actually see the man's face clearly, but her intuition told her that the man was Shen Ye.

Why sit on the beach late at night?

Could it be that he was still affected by what happened with Shen Yanglai?

She hesitated for a moment, took a thin coat from her suitcase, put it on, and quickly left the room.

The sea breeze on a summer night is a bit stuffy, and the sound of waves rises and falls.

The night sky is filled with bright stars, as if covered by a starry curtain, a scene rarely seen in a bustling metropolis.

But Shu Yao was not in the mood to appreciate these at the moment.

She ran to him, panting slightly, her long hair becoming a little messy in the evening breeze.

"Why are you coming to the beach alone so late at night?"

When Shen Ye saw her coming, he seemed a little surprised, but his tone was relaxed and there was no sign of displeasure.

"I can't sleep."

Shu Yao hesitated to speak. He wanted to tell him about what happened with his brother just now, but after thinking about it, he gave up.

She doesn't like to share her own affairs with others, and similarly, she doesn't like to pry into other people's affairs.

It would be bad if I asked and touched his sore spot or provoked a dispute.

She whispered to comfort him: "If you are unhappy, you can talk to me."

"Why do you think I'm unhappy?"

“It’s just a feeling.”

Chen Ye held a handful of sand in his hand. After he let go, the sand slowly flowed down from the gaps between his fingers. His tone seemed to slow down as well: "Haven't you seen me unhappy before? Is it like this now?"

Shu Yao understood what he was referring to almost immediately.

The last time we met was seven years ago.

The entrance of the alley where it was raining.

The young man who was full of anger and covered in rain.

That should be the look of him being unhappy, right?

Shu Yao looked at the faint smile on his face and relaxed a little: "Then why can't you sleep?"

"The reason—" Chen Ye held his hands behind his back, his posture leisurely and somewhat mysterious, "I can't tell you for now."

"Okay." Shu Yao is not a person who likes to get to the bottom of things. If he doesn't want to talk about it, then forget it.

Shu Yao turned around and sat down beside him. Under the moonlight and the dim lights on the roadside, she began to play with sand like him.

After interacting more with Chen Ye, she found that she seemed to have done a lot of things that she had never been able to do before, and she didn't think she would be interested in doing them.

For example, I went to the arcade to play whack-a-mole.

For example, it’s the middle of the night now, and people are piling sand on the beach.

But I have to say that these seemingly childish little things inexplicably make people feel less stressed.

The castle slowly built up a base, and Shu Yao suddenly felt someone tugging at the collar of his coat.

She raised her head and heard Shen Ye mention it lightly:

"It's windy, put on some clothes."

I don’t know if it’s because the surrounding environment is too peaceful, but Chen Ye also seems to be much gentler than usual.

Shu Yao buttoned up his coat and continued to build the castle, but since it was his first time, the castle he built was definitely a shoddy project, with some parts loose or crumbling.

Chen Ye did not think she was childish, but instead reached out and helped her strengthen her fragile corner.

One on the left and one on the right, the plain rings on the ring fingers of both hands contrast with each other in the moonlight, making them particularly eye-catching.

*

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Ye asked her if she wanted to go back, but Shu Yao was not sleepy at all.

She looked up at the moonlight and suddenly had an idea: "Chen Ye, have you ever seen the sunrise at the seaside?"

"Want to see it?"

"Yeah." Shu Yao said, "Because I haven't seen it. After the college entrance examination, I wanted to go see it, but for some reasons, I didn't go in the end."

"But there are still three hours until sunrise." Chen Ye asked, "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Okay." Shu Yao was about to take out his cell phone, but saw Chen Ye calling someone.

After a while, several men carrying large and small bags suddenly appeared on the beach.

They worked quickly and in less than twenty minutes, they had set up a curtain on the beach.

Shu Yao was stunned.

Sometimes, she really wants to compete with these rich people.

Because of the psychological shadow in the room, Shu Yao did not choose a romance movie this time.

They were watching The Truman Show.

Shu Yao had actually seen this movie, but that was when he was in high school. It was a school activity and he thought it was quite interesting, but he was done with it after watching it.

As I get older, I have a completely different feeling when I watch it for the second time.

She suddenly felt that many people like her were also locked up on the Utopia Island by their parents who had a strong desire for control, using the so-called excuse of "it's for your own good".

Her mother planned her life path for her, telling her to find a stable job and marry a well-off husband. Appearance was not important, what was important was character. In this way, she had completed the so-called mother's mission.

Can you say the mother is wrong? It seems that she just wanted to help her child avoid these wrong paths and choose a stable and happy life because she had suffered losses and hardships before.

Shu Yao has always been very clear that no one in this world should be nice to anyone for no reason. Her mother has given her all the best within the scope of her understanding and ability.

So no matter how strong his mother was, Shu Yao would never resent her.

What makes her feel powerless is that she clearly knows that part of the reason for all this is actually due to the fact that her mother lives alone and lacks a sense of security and companionship, so she regards her as overly important, but she still cannot communicate well with her mother.

The difference between her and the protagonist in the movie is probably that——

Truman's sail pierced the false sky because of his courage.

But she broke free from the invisible cage by relying on a fake marriage and escape.

As if they had a telepathic connection, Chen Ye suddenly asked, "Do you need to report everything to Auntie recently?"

"No thanks." Shu Yao turned her head away and smiled helplessly. "A few days ago, I even asked her if she wanted to take you back for dinner. She actually said that her uncle's child was taking the college entrance examination recently, and Erbao wasn't in good health, so she was busy all the time. We could have dinner later when we had time."

"Is this bad?"

"It's good, of course. Rather than hoping she'd leave me alone, I hope she can focus on herself and enjoy life." Shu Yao paused. "I just feel like my mom has changed a little too quickly... But a lot of things seem to change in an instant. For example, when I was in school, dating wasn't allowed, but as soon as I graduated, I was urged to get married. Now, when I'm single, I'm always a child, but once I get married, I instantly become an independent adult."

Shen Ye's eyes fell on the curtain, his face was dim with light and shadow, and his expression could not be seen clearly: "If love is not allowed, then you dare to talk secretly."

Shu Yao wanted to say something but stopped himself in the end.

*

When the movie ended, the morning light quietly broke through the sky.

On the sea level, a red sun dyed the clouds next to it, turning the skyline orange.

The air seemed to be soaked with the smell of sea water, salty, mixed with the light fragrance of grass in the morning air.

People on the island gradually woke up, and some conversations and traffic sounds could be heard in the distance, but when people were calm, even this kind of noise became entertainment.

Shu Yao didn't sleep all night, but he was full of energy.

She took a photo of the sunrise with great interest and posted it on her Moments.

Due to her personality and the fact that she had too many unfamiliar acquaintances after work, Shu Yao gradually lost the freedom to post on her Moments. To her, her Moments was more like an information publishing platform.

As for her daily life, she never shares it.

So when this photo appeared in her circle of friends for the first time, it instantly attracted many night owls and early risers.

Zhao Tiantian: [Yo, you watched it with Chen Ye? ]

Mom: [Let Aye take some pictures for you to post.]

Lily: [I'm so envious! I want to quit my job and travel too!]

Xu Zhaoli: [Okay, someone didn't reply to my message. Turns out he was watching the sunrise with someone. Please tell them that we're no longer brothers!]

Shu Yao found it funny and handed the phone screen to Chen Ye.

Shen Ye glanced at it, took out his mobile phone and sent a reply to Xu Zhaoli.

Shu Yao took a closer look.

Chen Ye replied to Xu Zhaoli: [Don't talk about brothers with dad, it messes up the generations.]

Shu Yao couldn't help but laughed softly.

The darkness around him completely faded away. Shu Yao rubbed his eyes and saw a small red dot pop up on the phone screen again.

She clicked on it casually, not thinking much of it, but was stunned when she saw the name.

【Zhou Beichuan gave you a thumbs up.】

If Shu Yao hadn't seen this name now, she hadn't thought of it for many years, so she suddenly had the illusion that she didn't know what day it was.

"What's wrong?"

Shen Ye's question interrupted her thoughts.

Shu Yao raised her head and saw Chen Ye standing in front of her, blocking the not-so-gentle sunlight of the summer morning.

She shook her head. This compliment reminded her of something.

Click on the avatar to delete the friend.

Shu Yao put away his phone.

When he stood up, his legs gave way and he sank into the sand again.

He fell flat on his face.

Shen Ye's suppressed, muffled laughter came to my ears.

She glared at him and was about to get up stubbornly when Shen Ye reached out his hand to her.

Unlike the last time when he waited for her to help him put on the ring, this time, his left hand wearing the wedding ring was placed sideways, as if waiting for her to hold it.

Shu Yao hesitated for a moment, and finally reached out and held his wrist.

At that moment, the questions in the room seemed to have answers.

Shu Yao thought, she didn't believe her eyes or her ears.

But she believed in her heart.

It’s only six o’clock.

The courtyard was still quiet.

The two of them slowed down their pace for fear of waking up other people in the house. When they reached the door, their eyes swept over the water pipe used to water the lawn, and Shu Yao lowered his head to look at his feet.

There was sand all over my flip flops.

She tugged at the hem of Shen Ye's T-shirt: "Let me rinse it, it's too dirty."

Shen Ye glanced down and said, “There is only cold water here.”

Although it was early summer, the cold water in the early morning was enough to make Shu Yao shrink unconsciously.

"Wait."

Shen Ye picked up the water pipe and rinsed his shoes, then went into the kitchen with a kettle for watering the flowers.

After a while, he came back.

Shu Yao wanted to reach out and take it, but he had already squatted in front of her.

The warm water slowly washed away the sand on the back of his feet. Shu Yao lowered his head and saw the top of his head.

She thought inexplicably, this amount of hair is really good, you can hardly even see the whorl.

His right hand went around her calf, and when he poured water, the spout of the kettle accidentally touched the skin on the back of her leg. Shu Yao unconsciously moved her legs forward a little.

Shen Ye probably misunderstood what she meant: "Hot?"

"No." Shu Yao shook his head, not knowing how to describe this feeling.

She instinctively thought it was his hand, so she was not used to it, but it seemed that she was not that uncomfortable.

Just as she was daydreaming, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Chen Yang came out in a sports outfit with Bluetooth headphones in his ears, looking like he was going out for a morning run.

When he saw the two people at the door, a hint of surprise appeared on his face, followed by a burst of sarcasm.

"Who are you acting this humble way for?"

Shu Yao couldn't help but clench his fists. He really wanted to fight back, but he didn't know if it was right for an outsider like him to interfere in other people's family affairs.

At this moment, Shen Ye put down the pot and stood up. He put one hand on his waist and sighed helplessly.

"Brother, can you please stop scaring her?"