After the Young Master’s Death, He was Kissed by His Mortal Enemy! (BL) - Chapter 18

Even though Shen Ran had long anticipated this outcome, when his suspicions were confirmed as reality, an overwhelming emptiness surged in his heart.

It wasn’t sadness. It wasn’t disappointment. It was emptiness.

After being crushed by the revelation that the Shen couple had abandoned him, Shen Ran had come to terms with reality.

There was no reason to feel sad—because the only person devastated by this was him. From beginning to end, he had always been the only one who cared.

His parents… No, the Shen couple—they wouldn’t care at all.

Wei Hailan, likely mistaking him for being heartbroken, flailed in an attempt to comfort him.

“Shen Ran, d-d-don’t be too upset, alright? I mean, yeah, this is pretty shocking, I didn’t expect you really weren’t their biological child…”

Before Wei Hailan could finish, Cheng Yi gave him a light kick to the side.

“Ow! Old Cheng, what was that for?!”

“If you know he’s upset, stop reminding him about it.” Cheng Yi rubbed his temples. “You think this is some kind of desensitization therapy? Just shut it for a bit.”

“I was just trying to comfort Little Shen…”

“Brother Hailan, I’m fine,” Shen Ran shook his head. “I’m not sad. I’m just…”

Just empty.

The stone in his heart had finally dropped, but more questions rushed in, one after another.

If he was an orphan, then he must have been secretly adopted by the Shen couple.

If they intended for him to be the Shen family’s only public child, the adoption should have been legal, right?

Where did he live before he was five? An orphanage?

Which orphanage adopted him out? Was it near K City?

The word “orphan” loomed over Shen Ran’s heart like a cloud that wouldn’t disperse.

He needed to know his past—the hidden past, the one the Shen couple had quietly covered up.

Shen Ran voiced his resolve. “I still want to find out where I came from.”

“Huh?” Wei Hailan looked puzzled. “You want to trace your past—like, which orphanage you were in? What’s the point? If you really were an orphan, your childhood must have been rough…”

Before Shen Ran could answer, Cheng Yi lazily clicked his tongue. “Why wouldn’t it matter? Anything he wants to do matters. It’s just tracing his origins—takes no time.”

His voice was soft but carried a reassuring weight.

Cheng Yi didn’t even know why he said that.

He’d never considered himself someone who liked meddling in others’ business, especially in messy situations like this. Normally, he’d stay well out of it.

Yet now he was voluntarily stepping into the mess—and even he found it baffling.

…Maybe it was just that he couldn’t bear to see Shen Ran, usually so energetic, looking so hurt and lost.

In Cheng Yi’s mind, Shen Ran should be someone who lived happily and worry-free.

Shen Ran was supposed to run his little art gallery, be doted on by his family, and argue with him occasionally for fun.

He wasn’t supposed to carry this kind of pain—a pain that never belonged to him in the first place.

Cheng Yi’s eyes darkened slightly.

If learning the truth could lighten Shen Ran’s burden even a little, he didn’t mind putting in the effort to help.

…Just a small favor between friends, that’s all. That’s all.

“Cheng Yi!” Shen Ran was deeply touched. “I will treat you to a meal! And Brother Hailan, thank you for helping me too!”

“Then you better remember how many times you owe me.” Cheng Yi gave a faint smirk. “You’ll probably have to treat me a lot in the future.”

Unable to sleep peacefully at home, Shen Ran had been planning to find a place of his own. But just as he reached the door of a real estate agency, he was dragged away by Cheng Yi.

“You’re practically an orphan now, and Young Master Shen still plans to blow his remaining cash on buying a place?”

“Hmph!” Shen Ran protested loudly, “Who said I was buying? I could be renting, you know? And buying a small place doesn’t cost much—it’s like pocket change!”

Cheng Yi didn’t even bother to lift his eyelids, clearly unimpressed.

“You? Renting? I bet you’d get swindled by some shady landlord until you didn’t even have your boxers left. And as for buying a small place, I don’t believe for a second you could live in one of those cramped shoebox apartments. Wouldn’t you be whining about it being claustrophobic every day?”

Shen Ran opened his mouth to argue but quickly realized—Cheng Yi actually made a lot of sense.

He had no experience renting a place, and he really didn’t want to live in some cramped little apartment… But what else could he do? It wasn’t like he wanted to keep waking up from nightmares every night!

“What else can you do?” Cheng Yi shrugged. “Young Master Shen will just have to lower himself and stay at my place for a while. I’ll take you in until we figure out your origins—no need to be too touched.”

And so, just like that, Shen Ran rather muddle-headedly moved into Cheng Yi’s home.

There wasn’t even a formal moving process, because they lived just one floor apart in the same building.

If Shen Ran needed anything—clothes, daily essentials—he could simply go downstairs, grab it, and come right back up.

In the mornings, they headed off to work together: Shen Ran went straight to his gallery, while Cheng Yi went to his company.

In the evenings, they returned home together again… The whole arrangement somehow gave off an oddly domestic, old-married-couple vibe.

Despite his usually lazy nature, Cheng Yi seemed surprisingly invested in the mystery of Shen Ran’s origins. Whenever they had free time, they would sit together on the cushions by the floor-to-ceiling window and start gathering information.

Based on the data they had, Shen Ran was likely adopted around seventeen or eighteen years ago.

Back then, the internet wasn’t as developed, information was fragmented, and many records likely hadn’t left any trace online.

Adoption certificates, identity records—even with Secretary Wang being a top-tier hacker, there was nothing to be found.

So they could only search for clues in real life.

Shen Ran immediately thought of going back to the Shen household for a thorough search, in case the adoption agreement still existed.

But the moment he voiced that idea, Cheng Yi shot it down.

“Shen Ran, I think your brain is getting duller by the day.”

“What the hell!” Shen Ran was indignant. “Why are you attacking me out of nowhere again?! How am I getting duller?”

“Think about it. Since Shen Xianming and Fu Sijie never wanted you to know the truth, even if there was an adoption agreement, they would’ve destroyed it years ago.”

Cheng Yi yawned lazily. “So even if you turn the whole house upside down, you’re not going to find a document that probably doesn’t exist anymore.”

Shen Ran pondered.

Shen Ran agreed.

Shen Xianming and Fu Sijie were meticulous people. There was no way they’d leave behind any loose ends.

Shen Ran let out a dramatic sigh and flopped over, drained of energy. “Then how are we supposed to investigate?! We’ve hit a dead end!”

“Who said it’s a dead end?”

Shen Ran perked up, eyes full of hope as he stared at Cheng Yi. “…You have a plan?”

“Of course I do. But…”

Cheng Yi narrowed his eyes mischievously. “Call me Dad, and I’ll tell you.”