ATMAWTPM Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Next Time, When Will It Be?

Back at his residence in Taizi Bay, Ye Tingtong took a shower first.

He hadn’t had any alcohol, but many people had come up to talk to him, and quite a few were reeking of alcohol, which had gotten on him and was very unpleasant.

After washing up, he roughly dried his hair and went to cut the cake, sliding the biggest strawberry in the center to the other half.

He picked up his half of the cake and glanced around, noticing that the study was lit.

It was almost midnight, and Shen Jun was still working.

Ye Tingtong felt like he was being drawn in too. After he finished his small piece of cake, he would go do a page of advanced math problems!

He knocked on the study door, and Shen Jun quickly responded, “Come in.”

Shen Jun was on the phone, so Ye Tingtong immediately fell silent, obediently waiting to the side, intending to speak after he finished.

Shen Jun looked at his wet hair, which was still dripping, and frowned, “Why didn’t you dry your hair?”

Ye Tingtong used a towel to squeeze his hair ends a few times casually, “I’ll do it after I eat the cake.”

After he said that, he remembered something and lowered his voice, “Are you talking about business?”

Shen Jun said, “It’s Liu Hao.”

Ye Tingtong felt relieved and placed the small cake on his desk, “Can I give you half the cake? It’s too late, and I can’t eat that much alone, otherwise I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

Their conversation clearly reached Liu Hao’s ears, and he thought casually that Shen Jun didn’t like sweets, only being able to tolerate chocolate a little. Ye Tingtong had come all this way to share with someone who wouldn’t eat it.

Even so, Liu Hao still hoped his boss would refuse a little more gently.

But that was probably wishful thinking; Shen Jun had always been ruthless.

Just as Liu Hao was in a daze, he heard Shen Jun hum in agreement.

Liu Hao: “Huh?”

Because he was too surprised, he accidentally uttered a sound.

Shen Jun’s tone was slightly cold, “What are you ‘huh-ing’ about?”

Liu Hao was so scared that he immediately apologized, “Boss, I was wrong.”

He quickly changed the subject, “By the way, the Ye family contacted me just now, wanting to meet with you and Ye Tingtong.”

At today’s Shen Group’s annual meeting, the news of Shen Jun and Ye Tingtong’s marriage had become the biggest bombshell, and of course, the Ye family wanted to curry favor.

After Shen Jun hung up the phone, he looked at Ye Tingtong, who was silent in front of him, “Did you hear that?”

Ye Tingtong kicked his toe, “Are you going to go?”

He didn’t know if the Ye family was of any use to Shen Jun; Shen Jun was a businessman, who was focused on profit.

Shen Jun took the towel off Ye Tingtong’s neck and dried his wet hair for him, asking in return, “Do you want to go back?”

Because he was so flustered, Ye Tingtong didn’t notice Shen Jun’s actions. He stepped hard on the soft carpet on the floor, and muttered, “Except for the New Year, I’m not qualified to return to the Ye family.”

During every holiday, when his roommates were happily going home, Ye Tingtong didn’t want to stay in the empty dorm, so he could only go to his rented room near A University.

Shen Jun threw the soaking wet towel aside, “If you don’t want to go, then we won’t.”

Ye Tingtong looked up to make sure Shen Jun was serious, and then mustered the courage to say what was on his mind, “The Ye family doesn’t have any good people; they just want to take advantage of you, so don’t let them.”

Shen Jun looked at his slightly angry little expression, and a smile curled up at the corners of his lips, “I never lose money in business.”

Ye Tingtong thought about it and figured that Shen Jun was definitely smarter than he was.

When they agreed on their decision, Ye Tingtong was just about to leave when his cell phone in his pocket rang.

It was an unrecorded number.

But Ye Tingtong seemed to recognize it. After a moment, his finger moved to the green answer button.

“Tingtong, it’s Grandpa.”

“Come back tomorrow; I’ll be waiting for you at home.”

*

The next day, Ye Tingtong watched Shen Jun loading gifts into the trunk and followed suit, “Let me help you.”

Last night, Shen Jun didn’t bother him about his last-minute change of heart. Instead, he had Liu Hao prepare many expensive gifts and had driven to the Ye family early in the morning.

On the way, Ye Tingtong explained to him, “I didn’t expect Grandpa to call me.”

Ye Chengliang was already very old and had long since handed over the company to his eldest son. He was focusing on self-cultivation and never cared about outside matters.

This time, he probably had been dragged out by Ye Guodong.

Ye Tingtong’s tone was a bit hesitant, “If it’s not about business, is it not good to bring you along?”

He and Shen Jun had a contractual marriage; Shen Jun only needed to ensure his personal safety and didn’t need to go home with him.

Ye Tingtong suddenly remembered that when his grandfather had turned 70, he had originally wanted to invite Shen Minghuai to attend, since they had a pretty good relationship at the time, but Shen Minghuai had refused without any hesitation.

Saying, it wasn’t appropriate.

Shen Minghuai was very wary of anyone putting them together as a formal relationship. Even though they could have just acted as friends to show his support.

After the birthday banquet that day, Ye Guodong had severely reprimanded him, saying that he was useless.

Ye Tingtong was worried that Shen Jun might have similar concerns, such as not wanting to create too intimate of an appearance so as not to be entangled by the Ye family’s leeches…

“If an elder is calling, it’s okay to make a trip.” Shen Jun’s expression was normal, “Are you close to your grandfather?”

Ye Tingtong’s grandfather’s full name was Ye Chengliang, who was a big name in his youth. He had built himself up from nothing and accumulated a lot of wealth, which resulted in the Ye family’s still not completely defeated status.

Judging from Ye Tingtong’s tone, he respected his grandfather very much.

But if Ye Tingtong had Ye Chengliang’s favor, he wouldn’t have been used as a pawn by the Ye family and been subjected to beatings and abuse.

“I’ve only met Grandpa a few times.” Ye Tingtong curved up his lips into a smile, “But he was the one who took me back to the Ye family.”

After his mother died, he used the little money he had left to find the Ye family, guarding the door and loudly calling out his identity. But nobody paid any attention to him. His scum of a father didn’t care if he was really his biological son or not.

Ye Tingtong remembered that it was very cold that day, the snowflakes in the sky were getting bigger and bigger, and they were drilling straight into his collar. He thought he was going to freeze to death at the door of the Ye family until a black car drove out from inside. The car window rolled down, revealing a dignified face.

The other party glanced at Ye Tingtong and had the security guard take him inside.

Ye Tingtong had always remembered this act of kindness. Even though every New Year, his seat was the furthest from Ye Chengliang, he was still very satisfied.

Being able to see his grandfather was his happiest moment when returning to the Ye family.

Ye Tingtong’s chattering picked up, “Grandpa is different from Ye Guodong; he has a good heart. During the New Year, he gives all the younger generation lucky money, and I get some too.”

Once, he had asked one of his cousins and discovered that Ye Chengliang gave everyone the same amount of red envelopes. That was the only moment when Ye Tingtong felt a sense of belonging to the Ye family.

The car slowly drove into the Ye family’s residence, and Ye Tingtong was actually a little nervous, “This is the first time Grandpa has asked to see me…”

In the past, he couldn’t even get close to Ye Chengliang. It was estimated that his grandfather hadn’t even remembered his face.

The people waiting at the door took the initiative to help them park, and Ye Tingtong couldn’t help but look at them a few times.

Shen Jun asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Ye Tingtong shook his head.

He was just wondering why it wasn’t Li the driver who had parked the car. On days like this, Ye Guodong would definitely be at home, which would prove that Li the driver was on standby. Ye Guodong wouldn’t be so generous as to spend another wage to have someone else do this work.

He suppressed the doubts in his heart and led Shen Jun into the main hall.

Ye Tingtong originally thought that everyone from the Ye family would be there, but after walking through the corridor, he discovered that there was only Ye Chengliang and Ye Guodong.

Ye Chengliang looked at the various gifts that the butler was taking inside, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes softened, his smile gentle, “Why did you bring so many things home? You’re being too polite.”

Shen Jun replied politely, “It’s only right.”

The two chatted casually, and Ye Tingtong, unable to get a word in, just stood by Shen Jun and spaced out.

Compared to last year, the living room had many new decorations. Although he didn’t know much about the arts, he could tell that those porcelains and calligraphy were of considerable value, which didn’t look like a family that was having major financial problems and needed to sell their son in order to salvage them.

While Ye Tingtong was looking around aimlessly, he turned his head and suddenly met Ye Guodong’s fierce expression.

Ye Guodong was so angry that his teeth were itching. If the occasion had allowed it, he would have definitely grabbed this little brat and given him a beating. He had spent a lot of money laying a trap but had failed to catch him and had even offended someone like Shen Jun.

Shen Jun seemed courteous and polite, treating Ye Chengliang with a junior’s attitude, but since he’d come in, he hadn’t even looked at him, his father-in-law. He didn’t even greet him, completely ignoring him.

Yet he couldn’t get angry and could only endure it.

When Ye Tingtong saw Ye Guodong staring at him intently, he hid behind Shen Jun in fear, hiding his face.

He had a deep fear of Ye Guodong. Every time they met, the man had never shown him a good face, and had either hit him or cursed at him. Even over the phone, he was always overbearing, as if if he was even slightly unhappy, Ye Guodong could go directly to his school to punish him.

Especially after Shen Minghuai had refused to attend his grandfather’s birthday banquet, Ye Guodong had directly dragged him back to the small black room and only let him out before the banquet.

Ye Guodong’s expression just now was obviously one of anger. He was afraid that the other party might act out of turn and hit him.

Shen Jun felt the weight of the downward pull on the hem of his clothes, turned to the side, blocking the person behind him, his eyes slightly cold, “Old Mr. Ye, this is your youngest son, right? He seems to be very temperamental early in the morning; it looks like we came at the wrong time.”

Ye Chengliang scolded Ye Guodong, “If you have nothing to do, go water the flowers in the garden and don’t be an eyesore here.”

Ye Guodong wanted to retort, but when he saw his father’s stern gaze, he stopped, and could only grit his teeth and slink away from the living room.

After the man left, Shen Jun lowered his eyes and saw Ye Tingtong pretend to smooth out the wrinkles on the hem of his clothes that he’d made. After letting go, he nonchalantly stood back out, as if the person who had cowered just now wasn’t him.

Although Ye Chengliang was old, his eyesight was still good. After seeing the interaction between the two of them clearly, his voice became even more gentle, “Little Tong must be having his finals soon, right? Are you busy lately? Remember to eat properly; you’re too thin.”

Ye Tingtong didn’t expect that the topic would suddenly turn to him, and immediately replied, “I’m not busy, don’t worry.”

The two chatted a little more about everyday matters, and then Ye Chengliang had the butler show them around, preparing to have a meal later.

After leaving the living room, Ye Tingtong’s nervous heart completely settled down.

Ye Chengliang hadn’t mentioned anything about business, so maybe he really just wanted to see Shen Jun.

The few of them went for a walk in the garden. Ye Tingtong didn’t see the scene he had expected of Ye Guodong watering the flowers, and he couldn’t appreciate the expensive flowers and plants either. After walking a few steps, he began to yawn.

The butler very perceptively spoke up, “Why don’t I take you to rest? The young master’s room has already been cleaned.”

Ye Tingtong was hearing the term “young master” for the first time, and it felt quite novel. In the past, the butler had always ignored him, but now he was talking to him respectfully, as if he was afraid of him causing trouble.

The butler led the way, and Ye Tingtong followed. He suddenly realized that something was wrong; this wasn’t the way to his room…

He was just about to speak when the butler pushed open the door in front of him, “Call me anytime if you need anything.”

The bedroom was spacious and bright, with sunlight pouring into the room through the window, even the quilt was warm from being in the sun.

Ye Tingtong looked at the unfamiliar bedroom and walked around inside.

The bed sheets and duvet cover were new, and the tags underneath hadn’t been removed yet. On the bedside table was his high school graduation photo, taken from who knew where, blurry and somewhat distorted. He opened the closet, and inside were a few old short-sleeved jackets.

They had moved all of his things here from the guest room.

Shen Jun saw that his expression was off, “This isn’t your room.”

It was a statement.

Ye Tingtong hummed, “My room is at the end of the third floor; it only has a small window and is on the shady side without any sun.”

In reality, he hadn’t stayed in that room many times. If he had to count it, the longest time he had spent at the Ye family was in the small black room in the basement.

The warmth that had risen from talking to Ye Chengliang earlier quickly cooled because of this false room. Ye Tingtong looked at the dust floating in the sunlight and didn’t say anything more.

Shen Jun could see that his mood was low, “You don’t want to stay here for dinner?”

Ye Tingtong’s eyes widened, and he was just about to open his mouth when Shen Jun interrupted him, “I want to hear the truth.”

He hesitated for a moment, then hummed in agreement.

Even with his grandfather here, he didn’t feel any goodwill towards the Ye family. The longer he stayed, the heavier the oppression and suffocation in his heart grew.

But he had been the one who said he wasn’t going to the Ye family last night, and he had also changed his mind about coming. And now he wanted to leave just after arriving, making him look very capricious.

He shouldn’t be wasting Shen Jun’s valuable time like this.

However, Shen Jun’s commanding tone prevented him from lying.

Ye Tingtong stood there somewhat helplessly. He had a bad habit of lowering his head when he wanted to run away. His bangs were a bit long, and when he lowered his head, his eyes were covered, and only his pert nose and pointed chin could be seen.

“If you don’t want to, then we’ll leave.” Shen Jun raised his hand and rubbed Ye Tingtong’s soft hair, “There’s nothing difficult about it.”

Ye Tingtong felt the force on his head and couldn’t say anything to refuse.

Shen Jun kept his word. After saying hello to the butler, he left the Ye family with Ye Tingtong.

When he got in the car, Ye Tingtong still felt incredulous that he had left the Ye family so easily.

Shen Jun wasn’t planning on giving Ye Tingtong a chance to go back on his word. He started the car, drove away quickly, and in the rearview mirror, Ye Tingtong saw Ye Guodong hurrying from the door, getting a mouthful of the car’s exhaust.

The other party’s ridiculous expression made Ye Tingtong unable to hold back his laughter.

“Feeling better?” Shen Jun turned his head to look at him, “Are you hungry? Can you handle Thai food?”

Ye Tingtong coughed, suppressing the too-obvious curve of his lips, “I’m not picky.”

The music in the car was soothing, and Ye Tingtong’s mood relaxed. Shen Jun looked at the red light in front of him and suddenly asked a question, “The Ye family is actually just an empty shell now. If they ask me for help, do you want me to help them?”

He had thought that Ye Tingtong would consider it for a while, but the other party shook his head directly.

“No.” Ye Tingtong answered without thinking, “None of this generation of the Ye family is capable. You can save them once, but you can’t save them forever. Why throw money into a bottomless pit?”

Ye Tingtong’s thinking was clear and simple, “I’m grateful to Grandpa for saving me, but he’s already retreated behind the scenes. Even if the Ye family collapses, the money in his hands is enough for him to live out his retirement in peace.”

The Ye family’s bankruptcy was also well-deserved. These people had enjoyed glory and wealth for the better part of their lives. If they had no money, it was estimated that they wouldn’t be able to live normally and would only be disgraced and ridiculed.

But that wasn’t something he should be concerned about. He wouldn’t extend a helping hand, nor would he kick them while they were down. He just wanted these people to stay away from his life.

Shen Jun was actually a little surprised. Ye Tingtong could remember other people’s kindness for a lifetime, which meant that he was a very soft-hearted person, but he never expected him not to care about family ties at all, allowing the Ye family to decline and even completely cutting off their only way of getting a leg up from him.

When Ye Tingtong saw that Shen Jun wasn’t saying anything, he thought the other party was still hesitating, and said hesitantly, “You said that you don’t lose money…”

When Shen Jun heard his worried tone, he couldn’t help but smile, “Yes, I definitely won’t lose money on them.”

After the two finished eating, Ye Tingtong’s eyes and brows were languid, revealing his satisfaction.

The curry rice was really fragrant. If his stomach wasn’t completely full, he would definitely have finished it all.

He subconsciously thought that Shen Jun would take him back to Taizi Bay, but when he saw the familiar crossbeam of A University, his little face instantly fell.

Shen Jun saw his sad face and thought for the first time that his judgment was wrong.

Last night after the annual meeting, Ye Tingtong had fallen asleep in the car and had been mumbling something. After listening, he’d realized it was advanced math formulas. After returning home, Ye Tingtong had also mentioned that time was tight and that he needed to review.

So he had sent him back here.

Shen Jun paused, “This place isn’t far from Taizi Bay; we can turn around and go back.”

“It’s okay, I should go back to school.” Ye Tingtong slowly unbuckled his seat belt, “I have an exam the day after tomorrow. I haven’t understood many things, so I can’t continue playing around.”

Being by Shen Jun’s side made him feel too safe, so he had actually started to hate to leave this lavish and extravagant life. He wanted to stay with him all the time.

But after this parting, Shen Jun probably wouldn’t need him for a while. When they saw each other again, it would probably be New Year’s, right?

Ye Tingtong really wanted to make himself look less depressed. If he was too clingy, Shen Jun, with his personality, would definitely feel annoyed.

He put away his reluctant emotions, quickly pushed open the car door and got out, waving to him, “Then I’m going back to school, okay? Be careful on your way!”

But even though he had said goodbye, Shen Jun still didn’t roll up the car window, and the car was still turned off.

Ye Tingtong blinked in confusion.

Did he want him to leave first?

Shen Jun looked at the person outside the window who was forcing a smile, his eyes darkening slightly.

Just now, Ye Tingtong had used honorifics again.

“There’s a seafood restaurant opposite that Thai restaurant; I’ll take you to try it next time.”

After eating, Ye Tingtong wasn’t in this state. He had been walking lightly, and when they had gone to the underground parking lot, his shoulder had bumped into his several times, but he had been composed, obviously not thinking that this kind of closeness was inappropriate.

It was completely different from his terrible expression now where he was forcing a smile.

Shen Jun remembered that Ye Tingtong had turned his head three times when passing that seafood restaurant.

Sure enough, Ye Tingtong’s eyes lit up, but then he thought of something and cautiously asked, “Next time, when will it be?”

Shen Jun was momentarily stunned.

The phrase he had heard the most in the business world was “next time”. Whether it was out of politeness or to fob someone off, that word would always appear.

Having gotten used to those people’s vague tones, it felt very strange to suddenly be asked sincerely when the next time would be.

Ye Tingtong was looking forward to meeting him.

Shen Jun’s heart beat slowly, yet distinctly.

When Ye Tingtong saw that the other party wasn’t saying anything, he thought that the question was inappropriate, and his face began to burn. He was just about to apologize when Shen Jun suddenly said, “Send me your class schedule and exam times.”

While the other party was looking at the screenshots, Ye Tingtong realized something after a beat; Shen Jun wasn’t planning on choosing a date to meet, was he?

At this moment, Ye Tingtong’s brain was quickly working out a schedule—

He could look for Shen Jun after the exam, which would be on Saturday in two days, but the exam was in the evening, and it would already be past seven o’clock when it was over, and the sky would be dark…

If he said Saturday, would it make him seem very anxious?

Just as Ye Tingtong was gathering the courage to speak, his face red, Shen Jun confirmed a time,

“Saturday evening, I’ll pick you up from school.”