CH 29

After Sheng Xu finished speaking, he hoped to see Lu Yong exasperated or at least a drastic change in his facial expression. In the end, he himself was the most emotional person in the seat. He took a deep breath as if he had just done a strenuous workout, and it looked like he was suppressing a volcanic eruption.

Lu Yong didn’t say unnecessary words and replied, “No.”

The calmer Lu Yong was than Sheng Xu thought, the more his temper flared.

Lu Yong’s attitude to him was like watching a good show from a high place, making him look like a clown.

Lu Yong said calmly and quietly, “I cut the phone off when you said the first sentence just now, and he didn’t hear the following words. After so many years, you’re still bluntly spouting nonsense. You just say whatever hurts the most.”

Sheng Xu said with an unkind look, “It’s none of your business.”

Lu Yong didn’t take it seriously and continued, “You and Shen Wenqiu have known each other since childhood, you know best what kind of person he is, and he wouldn’t do things like selling his body. There’s nothing dirty between us. Although I used to like him, we now live together as friends.”

That triggered Sheng Xu even more. Blood rushed to his head and the sharp words that followed also rushed to the tip of his tongue. Yet, it looked like he was avoiding something, and he swallowed it hard. Like swallowing a blade, it was really uncomfortable.

The phone “buzzed” and vibrated.

Lu Yong looked down at the newly sent message, raised his head and said, “He said he doesn’t want me to pay back the debt. He’s asking if you would like to have dinner together with him?”

Sheng Xu gave a “friendly” smile and said, “I just scolded you and you guys invited me to dinner. Shameless much?”

“If you don’t want to go, don’t go.” Lu Yong thought for a moment, hesitated, and said cautiously, “Actually…I’ve seen the debt list from Xiao Baa, and you don’t charge him any interest on that loan. I think you guys must still be friends.”

Money couldn’t replace feelings, but sometimes money could reflect feelings.

Sheng Xu didn’t admit it or didn’t deny it— he just got angrier. He said in a strange tone, “Damn, what makes you like to stand on high ground to talk to me …… As if you are treating Shen Wenqiu so well, it’s really funny. When Shen Wenqiu’s family went bankrupt, I reached out to help him, but even your shadow didn’t appear. But after so many years, you suddenly popped up and took advantage of him…”

Lu Yong was really stabbed in the heart this time, and couldn’t answer for a while, “…”

Seeing that his expression finally changed, Sheng Xu felt more comfortable, he looked at Lu Yong’s left arm with ease, “When did you put on the prosthesis? It’s very realistic, and you look like a healthy person now. If one doesn’t pay attention to it, they won’t notice that you are crippled.”

Lu Yong hadn’t been insulted like this for many years, and when he heard it, he couldn’t help but feel a little distracted.

Shen Wenqiu sent another message, and Lu Yong’s phone vibrated continuously because of this.

[Sheng Xu is here to see me, so bring him here.]

[Is it bad to bring him to your house?]

[Or why don’t I go down? I’ll talk to him, he’s my creditor. I should pay him back since I owe him so much money. It’d be weird for me to avoid him ……]

[Are you being scolded by him because of me?]

[I’ll change my shoes and go downstairs.]

Lu Yong looked up at Sheng Xu again and said, “If you don’t go to my house, he said he’ll come down and look for you.” Sheng Xu stood up: “Go, why am I not going? Think I’m afraid of you guys?”

So Lu Yong replied: [No need, I will bring him over.]

A few minutes later, Lu Yong led the second old classmate home to catch up.

Seeing Shen Wenqiu, Sheng Xu’s expression grew a little kinder. Probably because he had said the most vicious words, when facing Shen Wenqiu who didn’t know anything, he showed some guilty unease. The first sentence he said when he saw him was, “Why do you hide when you see me?”

Shen Wenqiu smiled embarrassingly, “This…of course, those who owe money will hide from the creditor. I’ve become accustomed to it subconsciously. I owe you so much money, and I feel guilty, hehe.”

Sheng Xu didn’t treat himself like an outsider, and deliberately didn’t change his shoes. So he walked in the door, stepped on the floor with a few dirty footprints, and went straight to the kitchen, “What did you cook?”

Shen Wenqiu stopped him repeatedly, “Change your slippers first.”

As he said that, he familiarly found a pair of new slippers from the shoe cabinet and gave them to Sheng Xu. Sheng Xu whispered, “I didn’t see you being so particular about hygiene when you lived in my house.”

Sheng Xu held back a sigh of relief, and added in annoyance, “…I didn’t see you cook either.”

“You cut your hair too. Haha, when did you start looking human again?”

Shen Wenqiu didn’t answer, and Lu Yong took over, “He didn’t do it when he first moved into my house, but he has pulled himself together recently. Xiao Baa’s cooking skill is quite good. He cooks according to the recipes on the Internet and grasps them after he learning them once. You can try it.”

Sheng Xu’s nose was crooked with anger.

It was not that Lu Yong didn’t notice that the atmosphere had gotten worse, and he was confused.

At this time, the prompt sound of cooking in the electric rice cooker sounded “beep” came at the right time.

Interrupting their unfriendly catch-up.

Shen Wenqiu thought to himself: I didn’t cook enough rice.

When he went upstairs just now, he was in a trance. He didn’t expect Sheng Xu to come over to eat together, so he subconsciously cooked a meal for two as usual.

Sheng Xu had no intention of eating and was already full because of his anger. He was picky about the dishes on the table. He held his rice bowl and took two casual mouthfuls of rice which he thought were not tasty. He asked, “You’ve become so virtuous since you lived with Lu Yong, huh?”

Shen Wenqiu blushed, “No…what are you talking about? Let’s eat first, don’t you think it’s ugly to spit rice grains when you talk at the dinner table?”

“After eating, I will discuss the debt with you carefully.”

A while ago, after sorting out his debts, he thought about the order in which he should pay them back, but he couldn’t think of where to start for a while. He felt like a fool moving mountains. 1 has the courage to surmount every difficulty.

Then he contacted the creditors one by one and finally contacted Sheng Xu. It happened just two days ago and Sheng Xu appeared today without any warning.

Sheng Xu didn’t listen to him. Not only did not shut up, but he also continued asking, “How to talk? Talk about how to ask Lu Yong to help you pay it back?”

“Lu Yong even took out the chequebook when he was in the coffee shop, and almost wrote it to me directly. Hehe, he’s very rich.”

Lu Yong put down the bowls and chopsticks, nodded, and said, “Uh, it is also possible now.”

Sheng Xu turned to him, “I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to Shen Wenqiu.”

Lu Yong was puzzled and reminded, “Your words are really illogical.”

Shen Wenqiu felt really apologetic towards this childhood friend, and didn’t dare to make a sound as he was scolded.

Although they were all rich second-generation kids, it was not easy for Sheng Xu to take out so much money, and during that year, it was just two years after graduation. Parents usually gave some pocket money, but it was never a large amount. Sheng Xu went to his father to lend him money.

Later, for a while, he also lived on the sofa of Sheng Xu’s house, and he lived in a mess. His experience of wandering in other people’s homes was similar.

The day after the next, he woke up in a daze in the middle of the night, always feeling uncomfortable. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sheng Xu sitting at the edge of the sofa, looking at him with a gloomy expression like a ghost.

After that, he discovered that Sheng Xu would lock the door every time he left.

He couldn’t get out.

Shen Wenqiu asked Sheng Xu why he locked the door, and Sheng Xu said angrily, “Then are you going to go out to gamble? Or are you going to bring someone back to gamble?”

What he said was reasonable, but Shen Wenqiu didn’t like it.

At that time, Shen Wenqiu really wanted to go out and have fun, and he couldn’t hold back. Later, he simply found an opportunity to sneak out. He knew that he couldn’t pay the debt, so he didn’t plan to pay it back. He gave up on himself and ran away.

He never saw this best friend he used to get along with again.

The meal was quite unpalatable.

Shen Wenqiu couldn’t bear it either. Although he planned to start repaying his debts, he went to another city with Lu Yong now, and not having to face the creditors who came to the door all day long was actually still evasive behaviour.

With half a bowl of rice left, Sheng Xu sat on the chair and folded his arms across his chest: “Okay, I’m full. Can we talk now? Where do you live at Lu Yong’s house now? Also on the sofa?”

Shen Wenqiu said, “I live in the guest bedroom.”

He added, “I am now working in Lu Yong’s company.”

Sheng Xu stared at him. Shen Wenqiu was very uncomfortable, and always felt that he was going to be seen through.

Shen Wenqiu got up, “Let’s go out and talk.”

Lu Yong asked worriedly, “Can we go together?”

Sheng Xu sneered at him, “Why don’t you just put him in your pocket? How many years has it been? Do you think you’re still kids? Wanna stick together? Is that manly?”

Lu Yong was unmoved—he looked at Shen Wenqiu and asked for an answer with his eyes.

Shen Wenqiu understood, shook his head gently and said, “No. I’ll talk to him alone.”

So Lu Yong stood there and looked at him silently, “En.”

Shen Wenqiu pulled Sheng Xu away and went into the elevator.

Sheng Xu’s anger had not subsided. He was still sulking and did not speak.

Shen Wenqiu looked at the elevator’s floor that was decreasing, took a deep breath, and said as if he was in a lowly position, “I will pay you back the money slowly, but if you can give me some time…”

Sheng Xu was furious, “Shen Wenqiu, let me ask you this: since when have I forced you to pay me back? It doesn’t matter if you can’t pay back this debt, this young master can afford it!”

“Do you still consider me a friend?”

“You left, you came back, you sent Old Wu and the others to the bureau, you jumped into the river to commit suicide, and I only found out about it in the last two days!!”

“You dare to die, but you didn’t dare come to me???”

Sheng Xu scolded Shen Wenqiu one sentence after another, and Shen Wenqiu couldn’t lift his head.

“Ding.”

The elevator door opened.

Sheng Xu strode out, and Shen Wenqiu followed him with heavy footsteps.

When he walked out of the building, the cool autumn wind blew in his face, and Sheng Xu’s head calmed down a little. He said coldly, “Are you feeling unlucky now that you and Lu Yong are living a peaceful and beautiful life in your own world and I suddenly appeared to disturb your good mood?”

“You were planning to die. You didn’t look for me, yet you look for him. Haha.”

Shen Wenqiu vaguely said in a low voice, “…You know it.”

Even if he didn’t say it clearly, they had spent a period of youth together and he was even his childhood friend. Shen Wenqiu thought that Sheng Xu knew about his crush on Lu Yong.

No one else knew and understood.

In high school, if it was exposed, it would make everyone think it was absurd. Shen Wenqiu, a school hunk with a wealthy family and excellent academic performance, had a crush on Lu Yong, who was disabled and had a gloomy personality in his class, and yet he felt from the bottom of his heart that he was not worthy.

Sheng Xu asked back, “What do I know?”

In front of the childhood friend he grew up with, Shen Wenqiu was immersed in the interweaving of the past and the present again. Lu Yong’s rejection when he committed suicide seemed to have just happened yesterday. He said, “Lu Yong is just taking me in, he’s just a kind-hearted man. He just can’t what people die in front of him, he is good person. Even if he met a dog on the roadside, he would spend a lot of money to rescue him. It was just me relying on him one-sidedly. It’s been ten years, he has long stopped liking me.”

“I’m really just friends with him now …… there’s nothing between us, really.”

“It’s my fault that I didn’t go to you, but I had no other thoughts at the time… I just wanted to see him again.”

Shen Wenqiu finished degrading himself, and then begged Sheng Xu, “I beg you, don’t reveal my shameful thoughts to him.”

“Don’t tell Lu Yong that I like him.”

has the courage to surmount every difficulty.