ATMAWTPM Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Do You Want to Come Over?

Night fell, and only Shen Jun and Yu Mo remained in the tent on Canglu Lake, night fishing.

Ye Tingtong had originally wanted to come along, but Shen Jun thought the night air here was too cold and feared that Ye Tingtong’s injured ankle would develop lasting problems, so he had him rest at the hotel.

Yu Mo fished for half an hour, unable to take it anymore, he tossed his fishing rod aside, “Seriously, where is that enthusiasm you showed toward Ye Tingtong during the day? I’d say ten sentences and you’d reply with one, right?”

He was used to Shen Jun being a taciturn person, but today, Shen Jun’s patience with Ye Tingtong created a huge sense of contrast.

Especially now, on this cold winter night, he deeply felt that he was being subjected to Shen Jun’s cold violence!

Shen Jun impolitely kicked his fishing rod away, his tone indifferent, “If you’re not happy, you can go to the tent next door.”

Yu Mo: “…”

He silently picked up his fishing rod.

He didn’t want to fish alone in the freezing cold.

“But, I thought you’d spend the evening with Tingtong,” Yu Mo grumbled, “But are you truly serious, or just playing around?”

Before, he had only sensed a bit of specialness that Shen Jun had towards Ye Tingtong, and he wasn’t too surprised when they got their marriage certificate. After all, Shen Jun’s large family was quite terrible, and finding someone to marry was more advantageous than not.

However, now, the state of their relationship looked like a fake relationship turned real. He could feel the sweetness even through several ice holes.

Shen Jun baited his own fishing rod, “Your float moved.”

Yu Mo’s attention was instantly diverted, and he quickly lifted his rod, pulling the fish up.

He looked at the lively carp in the bucket and grinned, “The reason I couldn’t catch a fish during the day must be because of the location. You wait and see, tonight I’ll definitely catch more than you.”

But, after saying that, he realized something was wrong, “Shen Jun, are you still using the tactic of changing the topic on me? What, is this question so difficult to answer?”

Shen Jun ignored the chattering Yu Mo. His phone vibrated. It was a message from Ye Tingtong.

[Ye Tingtong: I’m going to sleep first! Good night, Shen Jun.]

Shen Jun replied to Ye Tingtong with a ‘good,’ then tucked his phone into his pocket. When he looked up, he saw Yu Mo’s indescribable expression.

Because he had stood up to reel in the line, his field of vision was higher, and he clearly saw what Ye Tingtong had sent.

“Why don’t you just go back to the hotel and keep your wife company,” Even Yu Mo, who felt he had a strong tolerance, wasn’t used to seeing this side of Shen Jun, “You know, in the past, if I sent you messages like this, you wouldn’t even bother replying.”

In fact, if he pestered him too much, Shen Jun would coldly say that he was sick.

Shen Jun still sat steadily, “He doesn’t need me to keep him company for now.”

After he said those words today, Ye Tingtong had stared at him in a daze for a while.

He figured, he probably needed time to digest it.

Even now, the message he sent was courteous, and didn’t use any cute emoticons at the end. Clearly, that sentence affected Ye Tingtong’s mood.

Yu Mo understood the implication and teased, “You’re really serious about him, huh? Although Ye Tingtong’s family background isn’t good, he hasn’t picked up any bad habits and is a good boy. He’s quite a match for you.”

“However, if you really like him, shouldn’t you put in more effort?” Yu Mo felt that Ye Tingtong’s feelings for Shen Jun weren’t very deep. “If I were you, I would definitely hold him in my palm and spoil him openly, expressing my feelings. Anyway, he doesn’t have any other options.”

Although Ye Tingtong and Shen Jun were intimate today, frankly speaking, it wasn’t to the point of being inseparable. They still maintained a proper sense of distance.

That wasn’t the state of a couple.

Shen Jun’s eyes were dark, and his gaze was calm like an icy lake, “On the contrary, I want him to actively make a choice.”

Ye Tingtong needed to learn to be himself, to know that he deserved to be loved, and finally, to love others.

Rather than passively enduring things.

Yu Mo didn’t quite understand and shrugged, “Alright, suit yourself.”

*

The next morning, Ye Tingtong and Yu Huanhuan arranged to go to the hotel observation deck to watch the sunrise and took many beautiful photos. Yu Huanhuan even specially prepared a bright red long dress. After taking photos, she wrapped herself in a down jacket to edit them.

Ye Tingtong yawned and sat on the sofa next to her to keep her company.

The essence of his posts on social media was in the captions, the photos usually weren’t edited.

Yu Huanhuan looked at Ye Tingtong’s smiling face in the photos, and sighed a little, “Sure enough, I had to bring you out for a trip. See, even your dimples are showing.”

Ye Tingtong’s dimples weren’t very obvious; only when he smiled widely would a small circle appear on his right cheek, making him look bright and adorable.

Ye Tingtong leaned closer, “It really is.”

Yu Huanhuan smiled, “I originally felt that Shen Jun arranging ice fishing was pretty boring, but it seems you had fun yesterday.”

Last night, while Shen Jun and the others went night fishing, Ye Tingtong even pulled her out to build a snowman in the woods outside the hotel, wrapped in a red scarf, looking chubby and festive.

Ye Tingtong was picking out nine photos for his social media post, and hearing this, he asked in confusion, “My mood has always been good though!”

“You’re just lying to yourself.” Yu Huanhuan rolled her eyes, “Look, in just two short days, how many more photos do you have in your album? You took nearly twenty pictures of that ugly fish. We didn’t see you take a single photo when we had grilled fish and milk tea before.”

Not to mention his standard style of social media posts.

Ye Tingtong turned his phone screen down, hiding the photos he secretly took of Shen Jun, and whispered in protest, “It wasn’t that exaggerated…”

His grandfather’s matter had indeed affected his mood before, causing him to be distracted even when eating with Yu Huanhuan. But this time, going out with Shen Jun, he didn’t think of those dirty things at all. He was comfortable and happy.

It was as if he had been purified by the beautiful snow scenery and fresh air of the mountain.

Yu Huanhuan finished editing her photos, and Ye Tingtong also selected his nine photos and posted them.

[Went out to play! Happy~~~]

It was a very simple caption, yet like last time, it garnered many likes, and many people commented that Canglu Mountain had great scenery, and that they also wanted to go there sometime.

Yu Huanhuan and Ye Tingtong shared many mutual friends, and she could see Ye Tingtong earnestly replying to people’s questions in the comments one by one.

Several times she wanted to say that he didn’t need to waste time, but she held back.

These people didn’t genuinely think that the place Ye Tingtong recommended was good, but were purely trying to get close to him. Otherwise, why would Ye Tingtong, who was always ridiculed by the group, suddenly receive so much kindness?

It was only because of Shen Jun.

But Ye Tingtong didn’t think so much about it, and didn’t bear a grudge against the people who had previously mocked him, and returned their enthusiasm. He told them everything he knew about the scenic spots, and if he didn’t know, he would jog over to ask the staff not far away.

After going back and forth several times, Ye Tingtong’s forehead was sweating.

Yu Huanhuan wasn’t sure if this was good or bad, but looking at the upturned corners of Ye Tingtong’s mouth, she reached out and ruffled his hair, “You!”

It was also good to be a little foolish.

After eating the local specialty lunch, the four of them returned home.

Ye Tingtong sat in Shen Jun’s passenger seat, continuously wiping the fog from the car window with his hand, looking a little reluctant.

“We can come again after your exams.” Shen Jun slowly opened his mouth, “There’s also a ski resort here.”

Ye Tingtong’s eyes brightened, and his previous hesitation toward Shen Jun was tossed to the back of his mind, “Then it’s a deal. You have to remember to bring me here to play.”

Shen Jun: “Okay.”

Back in A City, Ye Tingtong looked at his packed exam schedule and could only bring back his free-spirited mind.

His leg was completely healed, but Ye Tingtong didn’t move back to the dormitory. Shen Jun still indulged him in living in Taizi Bay.

At the end of the year, Shen Jun had many things to do at his company, and Ye Tingtong was also busy with studying, so they rarely saw each other.

On the contrary, Shen Minghuai began to follow Ye Tingtong like a persistent ghost again. They had the same major, so Ye Tingtong couldn’t avoid him at the exam venue.

Luckily, to prevent the Ye family from retaliating, Shen Jun had assigned him a bodyguard. The bodyguard wasn’t afraid of Shen Minghuai at all, blocking him firmly. He then took advantage of the situation to take Li the driver’s car back to Taizi Bay.

Time flew by, and Ye Tingtong was about to face his last exam.

In the morning, he unexpectedly saw Shen Jun eating breakfast at home.

His eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace to sit at the table, “Aren’t you busy today?”

Recently, Shen Jun had been going out early and coming back late, and they hadn’t seen each other much.

“It’s alright.” Shen Jun pushed the steaming wontons in front of Ye Tingtong, “Is tonight your last exam?”

Ye Tingtong took a bite of the fresh, juicy wonton, speaking with his mouth full, “Yes, it’s Advanced Mathematics.”

He complained softly, “This is so torturous; it had to be at the very end, but I’m finally going to be free!”

After saying that, he belatedly realized that Shen Jun seemed to have something to say, and tilted his head, “What’s wrong?”

“Actually, there’s a banquet tonight.” Shen Jun calmly wiped his mouth with a tissue, “An unimportant banquet, but after your exam, I might not be able to pick you up.”

He had originally planned to take Ye Tingtong to a high-end restaurant after his exam to celebrate.

“It’s okay, you be busy!” Ye Tingtong curved his eyes, “After my exam, I’ll have Driver Li pick me up. I’ll go to school early today. It’s almost vacation, the dormitory needs to be cleaned, and I have to participate too.”

Although Yu Hui had said several times that he didn’t need to go, Ye Tingtong had lived in the dormitory for so long, and there was no reason for him to slack off.

When he got to the dormitory, Ye Tingtong was still worried that Shen Minghuai would come to join in the fun, but Shen Minghuai wasn’t there. Ye Tingtong thought about it, he was a young master after all, and wouldn’t come to do this dirty work.

So he settled down and cleaned with Yu Hui and Song Wu.

When they were almost done, he suddenly received a call from Yu Huanhuan.

“Is Shen Jun taking you to the banquet tonight, or are we going together?” Yu Huanhuan sounded like she was sure he would attend, “If Shen Jun is busy, we can keep each other company!”

“Sister Huanhuan, I’m not going to the banquet tonight, I have an exam.” Ye Tingtong was a bit confused, “Is today’s banquet very special?”

Yu Huanhuan heard something was off and immediately stopped talking, “Ah, I got it wrong, it’s nothing, it’s nothing, you just focus on the exam. I’m getting my makeup done! Gotta go!”

Ye Tingtong was confused, but he couldn’t verify, so he could only calm down and prepare for the exam.

*

On the other side, at a high-end hotel, guests were gathered, and the center was piled high with all kinds of gifts.

Today was Shen Jun’s birthday.

Shen Jun, dressed in a suit, stood in the hall and chatted with the guests. Yu Mo also came forward and, after waiting for a little space, whispered, “Why haven’t I seen Little Tingtong?”

This banquet was really boring, and he wanted to find someone to relieve the boredom. He had looked around but couldn’t see him. He did see Yu Huanhuan, and had chatted with her for a few sentences.

“He didn’t come.” Shen Jun’s tone was indifferent, “He has an exam today, it’s a conflict.”

Yu Mo was shocked, “Just a simple exam, and you skipped your birthday banquet for it?”

In his opinion, an exam was no big deal. For such an important occasion, it was truly inappropriate for Shen Jun’s partner to be absent.

“I didn’t tell him today is my birthday.” Shen Jun raised his glass to a new guest as a greeting, and continued to explain, “Besides, this kind of occasion, it’s better if he doesn’t come.”

This was just a social gathering made up under the pretext of his birthday. Compared to Ye Tingtong’s exam that he had been preparing for for many days, this banquet was a worthless thing.

Besides, if he knew it was his birthday, Ye Tingtong would probably be worrying about giving him a birthday gift, which would affect his exam.

Yu Mo didn’t quite understand, but seeing that Shen Jun didn’t care, he didn’t ask further, “Oh right, your mother came today, have you two reconciled?”

Ever since Shen Jun publicly announced Ye Tingtong’s identity, severely slapping Qin Qiong in the face, the mother and son had broken their relationship.

This time for Shen Jun’s birthday, Qin Qiong, as his mother, was naturally the focus. Many people complimented her for raising such a promising son. Qin Qiong was also beaming with pride, as if there was no rift with her son, using Shen Jun’s name to expand her own connections.

Shen Jun followed Yu Mo’s gaze and glanced at the group of wealthy ladies, “She hasn’t spoken to me.”

Ever since he took control of the Shen family, every year on his birthday, Qin Qiong helped him organize the events, but Qin Qiong had never said happy birthday to him. In her opinion, this was not a day worth celebrating, but rather her day of suffering.

Shen Jun didn’t really care about these things before, but now, he was standing outside the crowd, watching these people come to his birthday banquet. Yet, none of them were there with genuine intentions to celebrate. He suddenly felt a bit dispirited.

In a sense, he seemed to be spoiled by Ye Tingtong.

When the banquet atmosphere reached its climax, Shen Jun personally cut the large cake that was brought up, and as usual, gave the first slice to Qin Qiong.

After Qin Qiong received it, under the eyes of the crowd, she smiled and said some filial and loving words to Shen Jun. However, after speaking, she handed the cake to the staff next to her.

The disgust in her eyes was clearly caught by Shen Jun.

He looked at the beautifully shaped cake and suddenly thought, if it was Ye Tingtong, he would definitely curve his eyes in joy and say, “Thank you, Shen Jun.”

Then, he would cherish and eat all of the cake.

Shen Jun looked at the cake that no one cared about, and cut another piece himself, and had the waiter pack it up.

On the other side of the hotel, Shen Minghuai was observing Shen Jun from a corner.

As Shen Jun’s own nephew, he naturally attended the birthday banquet. When the cake was cut and Ye Tingtong had not appeared, he dared to confirm that Ye Tingtong did not come to Shen Jun’s birthday banquet.

He couldn’t understand the current situation. In the past, on his birthday, no matter what, Ye Tingtong would arrive early, and even if he had a fever of 39°C, he would still come with a flushed face and give a gift and weakly wish him happy birthday.

Shen Minghuai looked at Shen Jun who was alone in the center of the hall. His heart was filled with glee and triumph.

He was originally incredibly annoyed because of Ye Tingtong’s social media post from Canglu Mountain. That hotel and Canglu Lake were contracted by Shen Jun many years ago, and occasionally Shen Jun would go there to relax. It was considered a very private place.

Ye Tingtong was clearly out playing with Shen Jun. He thought their relationship was so good. It was nothing more than this.

He called Ye Tingtong, and found that his phone was turned off. Then he remembered that there was an Advanced Mathematics exam tonight, and Ye Tingtong was probably at the exam.

Shen Minghuai immediately asked the waiter for his car keys, intending to drive to A University to block the person.

If it wasn’t for the chance to get in contact with Ye Tingtong, he wouldn’t have even come to this birthday banquet.

Now, he no longer had the previous admiration and respect for Shen Jun. All he had was resentment and hatred.

But the waiter looked embarrassed, “Young Master Shen, your mother said that you are not allowed to go out without permission.”

Shen Minghuai didn’t expect that Yao Mingzhu would control even this. He reached out to the waiter, “Aren’t you annoying, give it to me!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yao Mingzhu’s warning came from behind him, “Shen Minghuai, the Liang family is here today. If you dare to cause any more trouble, you will be locked up in your room and made to reflect for the entire New Year.”

Although the two families were in a business marriage, it was initially Liang Yuting who took a liking to Shen Minghuai, which led to this marriage. Now, the two children’s feelings had clearly faded, especially Shen Minghuai, who was simply acting like a scumbag.

She had already been reminded by her in-laws several times both overtly and covertly, and had completely lost face.

Shen Minghuai saw her cold face, and ultimately didn’t dare to talk back.

However, after Yao Mingzhu left, Shen Minghuai was about to find a friend to borrow a car. Looking around, he suddenly noticed that Shen Jun was gone. Yu Mo had taken his place to busy himself with entertaining the guests.

He paused for a moment, and suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart. He pushed through the crowd and walked to Yu Mo’s side, hurriedly asking, “Where is my little uncle?”

It was Shen Jun’s birthday banquet. He didn’t stay to entertain the guests. Where did he go?

Yu Mo was extremely annoyed for being tricked by Shen Jun and when he saw Shen Minghuai, it was as if he had suddenly found a source of amusement, “Your little uncle? He took a piece of cake and drove off to A University.”

“Who did he go to see? That’s so hard to guess!” He looked at the other person’s face that was as dark as the bottom of a pot and smiled meaningfully, “Young Master Shen, do you have any idea?”

He had long heard that Shen Minghuai had been harassing Ye Tingtong like a madman. Ye Tingtong was soft-natured and didn’t have the ability to resist, and could only avoid him, but he couldn’t bear to watch it and had to make the kid uncomfortable.

Shen Minghuai: “…”

He didn’t dare to swear in front of so many people. He gritted his teeth, pushed Yu Mo away, and turned to leave.

He was extremely angry in his heart. Why was he restricted everywhere he went, while Shen Jun could do whatever he wanted, and even leave his own birthday banquet midway?

On the other side, Ye Tingtong knew nothing about the situation at the banquet, but he had sensitively sensed that something was wrong.

Tonight, Shen Minghuai was absent from this exam. He probably went to participate in that gathering.

After the exam, he immediately packed his bag and left the exam venue, calling Yu Huanhuan.

Yu Huanhuan hesitated and told him to ask Shen Jun directly.

Ye Tingtong hesitated, avoided the crowds of students who had finished their exams, and called Shen Jun on the edge of the playground.

When the call connected, Ye Tingtong quickly opened his mouth, “Shen Jun, is the banquet tonight very important! Should I be attending? Is it still not too late to go?”

Because he had been holding it in for several hours, Ye Tingtong spoke very quickly, and his questions came one after another.

The students around were noisy, and Ye Tingtong was worried that Shen Jun wouldn’t hear clearly because he spoke too fast. He was hesitating whether or not to say it again when, suddenly, Shen Jun said, “Look up.”

Ye Tingtong was momentarily stunned, but still obediently raised his head.

Through the noisy crowd, Ye Tingtong instantly saw the person under the plane trees on the opposite side of the road.

His figure was tall and straight, and like him, he was holding a phone. The streetlights overhead were too bright, so he couldn’t see Shen Jun’s face clearly. He only knew that the other person was intently looking at him.

“Finished the exam, came to pick you up.”

Ye Tingtong didn’t understand why he needed to be picked up, but listening to his gentle tone, his heart raced for no reason.

Shen Jun looked at his direct gaze and smiled, “Do you want to come over?”

Ye Tingtong didn’t hesitate and ran over in a flash.