Chapter 73 "Don't be afraid, I'm here."...
Chapter 73
"Biological father?" Shen Yanzhou seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "Isn't everything he went through thanks to you, his biological father? And now you come to talk to me about blood ties?"
Wu Zewen looked as if he had been punched, his face drained of color. He opened his mouth, weakly retorting, "We were wrong in the past... We didn't mean it, but we can make amends... Chongyuan loves literature, and our Wu family can provide him with the best resources and environment, taking him to learn about it..."
"You think your Wu family can do what I, Shen Yanzhou, can't?" Shen Yanzhou interrupted him without any politeness. "I will give him everything he wants. Do you need to draw up this pie that's been more than ten years overdue?"
Wu Zewen was speechless, his breath caught in his throat by Shen Yanzhou's words. He took a deep breath and forced himself to say, "Mr. Shen, we are all reasonable people. Yes, I owe him, but Chongyuan and I share an unbreakable blood tie! That's a fact that no one can change!"
He stared intently at Shen Yanzhou, trying to find a hint of leniency on his face. "Besides, he... probably doesn't know about his own background yet, right?"
Shen Yanzhou remained silent, his jaw clenched, his expression growing even colder.
Seeing that Shen Yanzhou remained silent, Wu Zewen thought he had finally found the other party's weakness. "Mr. Shen, I sincerely thank you and your family for taking him in. But Chongyuan, he is a living person, not an object. Shouldn't his departure and his belonging be his own choice?"
"Okay." Surprisingly, Shen Yanzhou answered readily.
Wu Zewen was overjoyed.
But Shen Yanzhou's next words immediately poured cold water on his enthusiasm: "But not now."
"Why?" Wu Zewen asked anxiously.
“Panpan has his final exams next week.” Shen Yanzhou said calmly. “Everything must wait until he finishes his exams. If anyone dares to disturb him at this time and affect his mood, don’t blame me for turning my back on them.”
Wu Zewen opened his mouth, wanting to say, "It's just an exam, is it really that important?" But when he met Shen Yanzhou's chilling gaze, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
He knew he had no advantage in this negotiation. But he still held onto a sliver of hope; after all, they were his own flesh and blood, and he couldn't believe his child had no feelings for them at all.
"Okay...we'll do it your way." Wu Zewen compromised and left Shen Yanzhou's office.
-
When Wu Zewen returned home, his wife Su Wenjun was already waiting anxiously at the door. Ever since her husband went out to get the test results, she had been waiting there absentmindedly.
"How is it? Zewen, is it... is it our Xiaoyuan?" Su Wenjun grabbed her husband's arm, her voice trembling.
Wu Zewen nodded heavily.
"It really is...it really is my Xiaoyuan..." Su Wenjun murmured, then her vision went black and she fainted.
"Wenjun! Wenjun!" Wu Zewen and the servants hurriedly helped her into the house.
Su Wenjun slept for more than half an hour before slowly waking up. As soon as she opened her eyes, she tightly grabbed her husband beside the bed: "Zewen... take me to see Xiaoyuan, I want to see him now..."
Wu Zewen held his wife's hand with difficulty: "Wenjun, calm down. I've already talked to Xiaoyuan's current brother, and we'll wait until he finishes his exams next week..."
"I just want to see him! Just a glimpse from afar!" Su Wenjun pleaded with her husband, tears streaming down her face. "I won't say a word, I won't disturb him, I just want to see him... Please, Zewen..."
Seeing his wife's near-collapse, Wu Zewen softened. After hesitating for a moment, he finally relented: "Okay... then we'll just take a look from afar."
-
Friday is the day with the fewest classes for Yu Pan. Usually, he would stay in the library until Shen Yanzhou gets off work at this time.
However, with exam week approaching, it's hard to find a seat in the library. Moreover, since Shen Yanzhou started working in Beijing, Yu Pan hasn't lived in the dormitory anymore, and his roommates have long since piled up his desk with clutter. So, he simply carries his backpack home as soon as get out of class is over.
As soon as he stepped out of the school gate, he noticed a silver sedan illegally parked on the side of the road. The road was already narrow, and with this car parked there, it looked even more congested.
Yu Pan waited at the red light with the crowd, silently complaining about the inconsiderate car.
The red light was taking a while, and Yu Pan's thoughts were wandering. For some reason, he remembered that after he got his driver's license during winter break, Shen Yanzhou had given him a car, just as he had said before. It was the latest BMW.
Yu Pan doesn't understand cars. In his opinion, cars only differ in size and color, and oh, there are different seats. Some cars can make you fall asleep after sitting in them for a while, while others are very shaky.
Let's add another flavor, since some cars smell really bad...
But right now, Yu Pan was thinking that even though he'd had his driver's license for so long, he'd hardly ever driven a car...
While waiting at the traffic light, Yu Pan had already made up her mind: during her summer vacation, she and Shen Yanzhou would take turns driving.
Thinking of this, Yu Pan felt inexplicably cheerful, and even the annoying car seemed more pleasing to the eye.
When the green light came on, Yu Pan crossed the road with the flow of people. As he turned into the road leading to the residential area, he subconsciously glanced back and his heart skipped a beat.
The silver sedan was following him at a very slow speed.
Something's not right.
Wasn't this car just at the school gate? How did it follow us here?
Yu Pan stopped and deliberately squatted down to tie her shoelaces, but her eyes were fixed on the car.
Sure enough, as soon as he stopped, the car stopped too.
Alarm bells rang in Yu Pan's mind. He immediately stood up, quickened his pace, and almost jogged into the residential area.
The community has strict security at the gate, and no outside vehicles are allowed to enter. Sure enough, the silver sedan was stopped at the gate.
Yu Pan hid behind a landscape tree next to the gate of the community and quietly looked over. She saw a man and a woman get out of the car and talk to the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper took out a registration book and asked them to fill it out.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yu Pan took a detour via another side path and ran home in one breath. After closing the door, Yu Pan hurriedly locked it three times from the inside. Leaning against the door, his heart was still pounding. He took out his phone and called Shen Yanzhou.
The call was answered almost instantly.
"Brother!" Yu Pan's voice was filled with panic, "I...I think I was being followed!"
Yu Pan quickly recounted to Shen Yanzhou what had happened from leaving the school gate to running home.
After listening, Shen Yanzhou already had the answer in his heart: "Panpan, don't be afraid. Tell your brother, are you home yet?"
"Yes, I ran back. I locked the door." Yu Pan's voice was tinged with grievance and lingering fear. "Brother, come back quickly, I'm scared..."
"Okay, I'll be right back." Shen Yanzhou said gently as he picked up his car keys and headed out. "Stay home and wait patiently. Don't open the door for anyone. Only open it when you hear my voice, understand?"
"I understand..." Yu Pan nodded vigorously, "Hurry up..."
Hearing Yu Pan's still-shaken voice on the other end of the phone, Shen Yanzhou felt a pang of heartache. He didn't hang up; instead, he quickly instructed his secretary to postpone all arrangements while hurrying towards the elevator.
The car sped back to the residential area. As soon as Shen Yanzhou got out of the car, he saw the couple standing at the entrance of the building, supporting each other. His brows furrowed tightly.
He hung up the phone, got out of the car, strode over, and said, suppressing his anger, "Wu Zewen, what did you promise me?"
A guilty look flashed across Wu Zewen's face, and he hurriedly explained, "Mr. Shen, please listen to me, we didn't mean to disturb him, we really just... just wanted to catch a glimpse from afar, Chongyuan's mother just couldn't resist..."
"Take a look?" Shen Yanzhou wasn't buying it. "Seeing him run home in fear because of you, is that what you call 'taking a look'? Wu Zewen, is your guarantee just bullshit?"
Shen Yanzhou glanced at Su Wenjun, who was pale and swaying to the side, and said, "I'm warning you one last time: stay away from him until his exam is over."
-
Shen Yanzhou rushed upstairs and rang the doorbell. "Panpan, it's your brother."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard hurried footsteps coming from inside, and then the door was pulled open a crack.
The safety chain was still attached. Yu Pan opened her eyes wide and looked out through the gap. When she saw that it really was Shen Yanzhou, she hurriedly pulled the safety chain open.
Before Shen Yanzhou could even enter, Yu Pan pounced on him.
"Brother!" Yu Pan pressed her lips to his chest, her body still trembling slightly.
"It's alright, Panpan." Shen Yanzhou hugged her tightly, gently patting Yu Pan's back with one hand. "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
While comforting Yu Pan, Shen Yanzhou half-carried her into the house and closed the door with his foot.
Yu Pan nestled in Shen Yanzhou's arms for a while before slowly raising her head. Her eyes were a little red, and her voice was hoarse. "Brother, have you seen them?"
Shen Yanzhou pulled him to sit down on the sofa. Instead of answering immediately, she went to the kitchen to pour a glass of warm water. "Drink some water first."
Yu Pan took a few sips as instructed, and then Shen Yanzhou sat down beside him, holding his hand and rubbing the back of Yu Pan's hand with his thumb. "I saw them when they drove in. They were looking for relatives, got lost in the neighborhood, asked for directions, and then left."
Yu Pan breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this, but he was still puzzled. "But... why did they stop when I stopped?"
"I guess they were just confirming the route. There are three directions at that intersection, right? The other side is the fourth phase under construction, so they were probably afraid of getting confused," Shen Yanzhou said. "Later I saw their car go towards the second phase, which is not in the same direction as us."
"So that's how it is..." Yu Pan breathed a long sigh of relief. He hugged Shen Yanzhou's arm a little embarrassedly and rubbed his face against it. "It was just a misunderstanding... I was so scared. I thought I had met a bad guy. Brother, was I overreacting and thinking too badly of him?"
"No, you did the right thing." Shen Yanzhou praised him, raising his hand to rub Yu Pan's head. "You are vigilant, know how to protect yourself, and when you noticed something was wrong, you immediately went home, locked the door, and even called your brother. You did a great job."
Upon receiving Shen Yanzhou's affirmation, Yu Pan's slight self-doubt vanished, and a smile finally appeared on her face. "I was really scared just now."
Shen Yanzhou lowered his head and kissed Yu Pan's lips. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Let's go down and take a look later."
"Yes!" Yu Pan nodded, she could only feel completely at ease after seeing it herself.
Once Yu Pan had calmed down completely, Shen Yanzhou took him for a walk around the neighborhood.
Yu Pan even picked up a thin twig from the roadside, dangling it casually in her hand while her eyes darted left and right warily.
Looking at his cautious little face, Shen Yanzhou felt both soft-hearted and somewhat gratified.
The two took a walk around the neighborhood, and then went out through the side gate to the nearby farmers' market to buy some fresh vegetables and fruits that Yu Pan liked.
In the evening, Shen Yanzhou cooked sweet and sour pork with pineapple, a dish that Yu Pan loves. The sweet and sour flavor is especially appetizing in the summer.
After dinner, the two snuggled up on the sofa with the TV on, playing an unknown program as background noise.
Yu Pan leaned lazily against Shen Yanzhou's chest, his eyes half-closed and the corners of his lips upturned, like a cat lying lazily after a good meal. Shen Yanzhou looked down and could see his long eyelashes. His heart stirred, and he kissed Yu Pan's forehead.
Yu Pan looked up at him in response, and the two shared a long and tender kiss.
During their intimate moment, Shen Yanzhou noticed that a family drama was playing on TV, and the young actor was crying out in anguish, "Mom, don't leave me!"
He paused for a moment, then hugged the person in his arms tighter, and asked seemingly casually, "Panpan, have you ever thought about your biological parents?"
Yu Pan snuggled comfortably in Shen Yanzhou's arms, first shaking her head, then nodding, "I thought about it before, but I don't anymore."
"Why?" Shen Yanzhou asked him.
“Hmm,” Yu Pan thought carefully, “When I first started school, my classmates laughed at me, saying that my biological parents abandoned me because I was mute.”
"I don't know what my biological parents are like, but... maybe what they said isn't wrong."
Yu Pan frowned and began to recall, "I remember when I first started wandering, my clothes were still quite clean. A kind aunt in town told me not to wander around and to just wait there, saying that my family would definitely come looking for me."
“I really did wait there.” Yu Pan smiled, a smile that carried a childlike innocence and a hint of barely perceptible bitterness. “I waited for a long, long time. My stomach was growling with hunger. I couldn’t find anything to eat in the trash cans. There were even stray dogs chasing me… It got dark and then it got light again. I waited day after day… Later I realized that no one would come looking for me. I guess… I really was abandoned.”
“Back then, there was another little beggar about my age. He had a hole in his nose and upper lip, which made his speech slurred and caused him to drool. He said he was also abandoned by his family because he had an incurable disease. His family had no money, so they put him on a bamboo raft, gave him some food, and left him to fend for himself…”
"When I heard that, I thought, what about me? Is it because I have some kind of strange disease that can't be cured, so they don't want me either?"
Yu Pan raised her head and looked at Shen Yanzhou, but there wasn't much sadness in her eyes. She smiled brightly, "But then I realized! It's a good thing they abandoned me, otherwise how would I have met Uncle Shen, Aunt Shen, and you? And you see, I wasn't a little beggar for very long, only about four months at most... um..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
Because Shen Yanzhou kissed him without warning.
Yu Pan paused for a moment, then obediently closed his eyes and accepted the tender kiss. He sensed the emotion in Shen Yanzhou's kiss and understood the reason for his heartache.
That night, as the two became intimately intertwined, Shen Yanzhou's kisses continued to fall softly on his cheeks, neck, and shoulders.
It was a very light, very careful, and very precious kiss.
Yu Pan was immersed in this love, but she couldn't help but be distracted by thinking that, thankfully, all the bad things had happened to her.
If it were Shen Yanzhou who had gone through these things, just thinking about it would make his heart ache unbearably.
Yu Pan reached out and hugged the man on her body even tighter.
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Author's Note: Panpan [Cat Head]: I'm so happy right now [Cat Head]
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