"Waaah—help —"
"The ladder fell over... Brother... Don't leave! Waaah—"
In the video, a seven-year-old Shen Youlin clung to the tree trunk, crying loudly.
The video of Shen Youlin hugging the tree trunk and wailing had been sealed away for a long ti, but today it was unsealed and passed around for everyone's enjoynt. The air was filled with a joyful atmosphere, and the one laughing the most unabashedly was Yu Shu.
Yu Shu laughed until her stomach hurt, falling into Shen Youlin's embrace. "You were so adorable when you were little."
Shen Youlin's mouth was initially turned down, maintaining a stern expression, hoping his cold deanor would remind those foolish people not to provoke soone who held grudges. But when Yu Shu fell into his arms, he couldn't maintain his expression any longer. The corners of his mouth curved upwards, and his eyes ford crescents.
Shen Youlin sighed and helped her up, rubbing her stomach. "If I had known, I wouldn't have brought you here."
Seeing that the others were either preparing lunch or replaying and mocking that video of him, Shen Youlin simply took Yu Shu's hand and led her out to the backyard.
The courtyard at Chang Garden was vast, with the backyard modeled after an old-style courtyard compound, with intricately carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and towers, and winding covered walkways, all exuding an antique charm.
Yu Shu looked at the layers of greenery and asked, "Which tree did you climb when you were little?"
Shen Youlin's face fell. "I cut it down."
"Huh?"
"I cut that tree down."
"Oh, that does sound like sothing you'd do." Yu Shu couldn't help but laugh again, recalling his image hugging the tree.
There was a well in the courtyard. Shen Youlin expertly lifted the well cover, turned the windlass handle, and wound the rope onto the windlass, soon bringing up a bamboo basket full of fruits and lons.
Shen Youlin cleared his throat and called out, "Co one, co all! Don't miss out on these fresh fruits and lons, soaked in well water! One kiss for one fruit!"
Yu Shu cupped his face and planted a kiss on his lips. "One lon for one cucumber."
"Deal!"
Shen Youlin took out a cucumber and a lon, putting the rest back into the well, then led Yu Shu to a nearby pavilion. From sowhere, he produced a set of fruit knives and a chopping board.
Shen Youlin gave Yu Shu half a cucumber and two slices of lon. "This is your share, and the rest is mine!"
"You swindling rchant, that's quite a price difference!" Yu Shu said with a laugh.
Shen Youlin gave her a practiced eye-roll. "You have no idea how to appreciate a good deal."
"You're just spoiled rotten, you know that?" Yu Shu bit into the sweet, cool lon, the flavor spreading across her palate.
"Hmph~"
After they finished the fruits and admired the various flowers in the courtyard, even feeding the koi in the pond, they played to their heart's content until Lin Yanqiu called them in for lunch from the covered walkway. They tidied their slightly disheveled clothes and hair before heading inside to the dining table.
As an honored guest, Yu Shu sat next to Yu Heting, with Shen Youlin sitting beside her. Seeing Shen Chaowen and his wife about to sit beside him, the mischievous boy kicked the table, pushing his chair away from them. "Don't co near , I'm allergic to idiots."
Before the atmosphere could beco too awkward, Yu Shu stood up, grabbed Shen Youlin by the collar, and pushed him back into her chair. "Then you sit here."
Shen Youlin let her manhandle him without complaint, even pulling a chair back for them to sit. He patted the chair, saying, "Have a seat."
Shen Chaowen pulled out a chair for Yu Fanxing to sit next to Yu Shu, while he himself sat on Yu Shu's other side.
Since their last unpleasant encounter, Yu Fanxing felt a little awkward seeing Yu Shu again, lacking her usual warmth and affection.
Yu Shu smiled and nudged her with her shoulder. "Co on, still holding a grudge?"
Yu Fanxing pouted, looking aggrieved. "I was worried you didn't want to see ."
"It's in the past. You're my second-best friend after all."
The person she considered her absolute best friend was Yu Fanxing's son.
Yu Fanxing harrumphed noncommittally.
Yu Shu couldn't help but laugh at her expression—that petulant "hmph" was so reminiscent of Shen Youlin.
No family is perfect, but family is family—you can't abandon them.
The lunch was a joyful affair, and by the end, Yu Shu and Yu Fanxing had returned to their usual camaraderie. After the al, Yu Fanxing took Yu Shu aside to show her the updated Miracle Shu Shu app.
Professor Qiao suddenly appeared, interrupting their conversation. "My student's wife, do a favor and get that boy to submit a dissertation this year. Make him show up for the defense."
Yu Shu felt a bit helpless. "He doesn't want to graduate, so just let it be."
Professor Qiao imdiately beca agitated. "One of my students, Yu Heting's great-grandson, taking four or five years to finish a doctorate? How embarrassing!"
Yu Shu sincerely tried to placate him. "This... At your age, you should let things go and not worry about such vanities."
Professor Qiao stared at her in disbelief, then fud, his mustache bristling. "This... Were you always this bad, or did that brat corrupt you?"
It sounded exactly like sothing Shen Youlin would say. He must have thought Yu Shu was a well-behaved, sensible, and good-natured girl, but it turned out she and Shen Youlin were two of a kind.
Hmph!
Yu Shu frowned. "Uh, I guess a bit of both, but more of the latter."
Professor Qiao harrumphed and stord off, muttering, "Bad apples, both of them..."
Yu Shu turned to Yu Fanxing. "He seems really angry. Is there a problem?"
Yu Fanxing laughed. "Don't mind him, he's had that temper for years. The angrier you make him, the more he likes you."
"Huh?"
That was certainly an unusual temperant.
Yu Fanxing then told Yu Shu about Professor Qiao Zhi. Professor Qiao and his wife had always had a good relationship and walked through life hand-in-hand, but they never had children. A few years ago, Professor Qiao's wife suddenly fell gravely ill and passed away, leaving Professor Qiao half-dead himself. Seeing him in such a decrepit state, Shen Youlin enrolled as his doctoral student to give him a new purpose in life. Professor Qiao gradually regained his vigor, looking forward to Shen Youlin's graduation.
After hearing the backstory, Yu Shu felt a mixture of amusent and sadness.
Yu Shu and Shen Youlin didn't leave Chang Garden until after dinner, and their car trunk was stuffed with gifts from Shen Youlin's grandmother and aunt.
The next day, Ye Ping and Yu Feng arrived in Rong City with Dou'e, and Yu Yang also tagged along.
Yu Yang stayed with Ye Ping and Yu Feng at Yu Shu's apartnt, while Yu Shu moved into Shen Youlin's place.
That night, as Shen Youlin hugged Yu Shu, he whined, "Let's buy a big house. This is so inconvenient!"
Yu Shu stifled a laugh. "Are you already planning for our marital ho?"
"Hmph, you always see right through , don't you?" Shen Youlin continued being petulant. "It takes so long to buy and renovate a place. We should start looking now."
"Okay, let's buy one."
Shen Youlin perked up. "A villa or a large apartnt?"
Yu Shu arched an eyebrow. "Why choose when I can have both?"
Shen Youlin gave her an OK sign.
He had never been personally involved in buying a house or renovating before, leaving it to Weber or others to handle. But for the ho he and Yu Shu would live in, he didn't want to rely on others—he wanted to design every detail himself.
Shen Youlin was overjoyed as he listed out his plans. "I want large floor-to-ceiling windows for good natural light, and a big yard to plant lots of flowers, with a large grassy area for Dou'e to run around..."
Hearing her na, Dou'e scampered over to them, her signature smile on display.
Dou'e's skin condition had flared up again, and Shen Youlin had just applied her dication, leaving her slling of ointnt. Shen Youlin pushed her away, disgusted by the scent.
"Why does Dou'e have a skin condition?" Yu Shu asked.
By all accounts, since Dou'e lived with Shen Youlin, she should have access to the best food, accommodations, and dical care. So how could she have such a persistent skin problem?
"This silly dog was picked up by . Soone had abandoned it after moving away and didn't want it anymore. When I found it, it had been a stray for quite so ti. Its fur had fallen out completely, and its body was covered in sores, yet it was still wagging its tail at passersby with a silly grin..."
Shen Youlin recounted the past with regret, looking at Dou'e with disdain. "If I hadn't picked it up, it would have been caught by the dog catchers and sold to a dog at shop... Tsk, even the dog at shops wouldn't have taken it with all those festering sores!"
Dou'e whimpered softly, lying on the ground and gazing up at him.
"You see, your mouth is the hardest, but your heart is the softest."
Shen Youlin grinned mischievously, "You know what's hardest on isn't my mouth."
"..."
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