Surprise! My online crush turned out to be... - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

It only took three or four minutes to get back, but to both of them it felt like a century. Without even opening the door, they entered the house directly through the second-floor balcony.

Shu Yang stared at the open balcony for a while. It seemed there were still many safety hazards. He would have someone come and renovate it another day.

“What are you going to do today?”

“I’m going to find a job.” Francis had always been very independent and strong-willed. He and Shu Yang had no relationship, and living in Shu Yang’s house, using Shu Yang’s star coins for everything, felt very awkward.

“Why work?”

Shu Yang couldn’t understand. He remembered what he had said the last time Chen Yi came to him and asked about this matter between him and Xu Mengran. However, when a similar situation really happened to him, he was at a dead end again.

After all, Shu Yang’s money had always come easily, and he had no concept of financial wealth. To him, money was just a number.

He could understand Xu Mengran’s family’s surprise and unease at seeing Shen Yi’s different spending habits. But he couldn’t understand why Marshal Francis, equally wealthy, would stoop so low to find a job for such a trivial matter.

Even when he was in such a sensitive situation as not having proof of identity.

The latter was the more important reason. Without proof of identity, Francis’s job search would only lead to trouble. Shu Yang could understand Francis’s pride and chauvinism as a man, but it was truly inappropriate at this time.

Besides, with the rank of Marshal, how could he not understand the meaning of “flexibility”?

“Just going out for a look today.” Francis couldn’t read Shu Yang’s thoughts, but he could roughly tell from his expression what his attitude was on the matter.

Francis’s computer flashed. He swiped the screen, gave a faint smile, and turned it around to show Shu Yang.

On the screen, a jumble of what looked like text appeared. Shu Yang looked at him, puzzled.

Francis suddenly realized something, tapped a few times, and Chinese characters appeared on the screen.

Though the sentences were a little awkward for Shu Yang to read, he could still understand what they meant.

The gist was that this person named Joyce had obtained a fake ID for Francis online. So now Francis was a documented person, free to move around freely.

“You can do this from such a distance?” Shu Yang touched his nose. “Thinking a lot!”

“What?” This time, Francis was genuinely confused.

“It means it’s really impressive…” Shu Yang truly thought it was impressive. After all, there was more than just distance separating him from the Big Pigeon’s world. But then he thought, if someone like him could reach him, what else could be impossible?

But this incident wasn’t Joyce’s fault.

Francis only showed Shu Yang a portion of the information; he had hidden the rest.

Joyce was only responsible for transmitting information about the current state of the Empire and the progress of Professor Broad’s research. This identification, sent from that unknown higher plane, also included an explanation for his transport to Blue Star.

All that talk was as good as no explanation. But they couldn’t say anything about it. After all, Francis still hoped to return to the Empire through the other party’s technology.

The other party’s response to this request was to wait patiently for a while, and they would send someone to handle the matter.

With all the initiative in their hands, Francis felt both angry and helpless.

But for the time being, he didn’t have to consider returning to the Empire.

He came from an empire with strict hierarchy and discipline, and he placed even greater importance on identification than Shu Yang did. Although he didn’t have a specific ID, his information had already been entered into the official website, so even if he were questioned, there wouldn’t be any trouble.

Francis simply wanted to get by for now. After all, he could ignore everything, but that would only create trouble for Shu Yang.

This boy had already helped him a lot, and he couldn’t just rely on his origins from a more distant planet and his military prowess to act recklessly.

“I’ll go out and take a look tomorrow.”

“Okay, I’ll go with you. After all, you’ve only just arrived here, and there are still some things you’re not familiar with…” Shu Yang was interrupted by a ringing phone.

He gestured to Francis, then turned and answered the phone.

It was Shu Zhiyi’s assistant.

“What’s up?”

…

Shu Yang hung up the phone, his face grimacing. He turned to Francis and said, “Sorry, I might have something to do tomorrow. How about I go with you the day after tomorrow?”

“No, I can go by myself tomorrow.” Sensing the worry in Shu Yang’s eyes, Francis placed his hand on the boy’s head, patting it gently with a soothing tone. “Don’t worry, nothing like today will happen again.”

His hearing was excellent, and he could easily hear what the other person was saying to Shu Yang.

Thinking of what Shu Yang had said to his father last night, a part of Francis’ heart softened.

“Okay,” he agreed, though Shu Yang wasn’t entirely reassured. “Call me if you need anything.”

Shu Zhiyi’s assistant had called to ask Shu Yang to cancel all his plans for tomorrow and attend a banquet hosted by Shu Group executives. As Shu Zhiyi’s only son, he usually made an appearance at such gatherings, where he would socialize and engage in conversation.

Although he’d been lazy for eighteen years, Shu Zhiyi had never failed to educate him in this area, ensuring that Shu Yang wouldn’t be embarrassed at such times, and naturally, the Shu family wouldn’t be embarrassed either.

Originally, Shu Yang had wanted to show up and leave, but his assistant suggested that this was likely an important event for Shu Zhiyi’s expansion into another field, and after the banquet, Shu Zhiyi’s schedule was packed for a long time.

So, Shu Yang wanted to take this opportunity to spend more time with Shu Zhiyi.

Shu Yang glanced at Francis beside him and held his phone.

Ever since he decided to pursue Da Ge, he hadn’t made any concrete moves.

Thinking of this, Shu Yang stretched out his arm and patted Francis’s head. “You must be careful. There are many bad people.”

Francis lowered his eyes as he looked at him, and the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

Ahem, Shu Yang glanced at the muscular man, almost ten centimeters taller than him, and then tried to get away with it.

“People are treacherous, so be on guard. I’m just giving you a heads-up.”

“Yes, I know.”

Shu Yang followed Francis in nodding solemnly, but the uneasy smile on his face betrayed him.

Awkward, capital-Awkward.

—

Just a few days after the Qiao’s business banquet, Shu Yang was once again bundled into Shu Zhiyi’s car by Shu Zhiyi’s assistant. Once again, he sported what Shu Yang considered a rather effeminate look, and the two of them headed to the magnificent Shu Building to pick up Shu Zhiyi.

The banquet wasn’t held at the Shu Building, but rather at a hotel affiliated with the Shu Group.

The meticulously designed hall, the luxurious and beautiful setting, the visually stunning visuals everywhere were so perfect that Shu Yang’s mouth twitched. He thought this was a TV series.

But there was nothing he could do. His father had that kind of aesthetic, and so did several other CEOs.

As long as they were happy, that was all that mattered.

As the protagonists, Shu Zhiyi and Shu Yang had arrived early and were preparing to greet the guests at the hotel.

Not all guests deserved to be greeted. The unwritten rule in their circle was that less wealthy fathers arrived early, while those with real connections and wealth would arrive on time and not be late, as a sign of respect for the host.

Shu Yang was quite familiar with the intricacies of this situation. This was a big deal. Although it hadn’t been discussed in the group chat, Shu Yang knew that Chen Yi and several other business scions would definitely be there. As for Tao Zi, he wasn’t sure.

Shu Yang faced Shu Zhiyi in the lounge.

“What did you enroll in?” Shu Zhiyi handed him an apple. “Haven’t you eaten yet? Fill your stomach first.”

“Enrollment? Didn’t you ask your assistant to enroll me?” Shu Yang grabbed the apple and took a bite. His mind was now preoccupied with where Da Ge was, what he was doing, and whether he was in danger.

This answer was clearly what Shu Zhiyi expected. “You, you don’t even ask?”

“It’s all the same anyway.” Shu Yang also flipped through the application form, but, sorry, there wasn’t a single major he was interested in. So, it didn’t matter what he chose.

“Shu Yang, you can’t always be like this. You’re a boy; you have to make a career of your own.” Shu Zhiyi felt like a complete failure as a father, having no time to educate his child and offering him any life guidance.

“And then, build a career, and then come back to inherit the family’s mining fortune?” Shu Yang nibbled at his apple and touched his face with a hint of disdain. The stylist had just powdered his face. What straight man would powder his face?

“No mines at home…” Shu Zhiyi was stunned.

“It’s just a metaphor.” Shu Yang finished his apple and tossed it into the trash. “It’s not like I wasn’t completely in the process of choosing a major.”

“I heard you want to major in Chinese?” Shu Zhiyi asked softly.

“Don’t you know that? And you’re asking me?” Shu Yang laughed. Shu Zhiyi had changed after not seeing him for so long. “It seems you haven’t been busy enough lately.”

“Shu Yang, you’ll definitely be the one taking over the family company. A Chinese major won’t be of much use to you.”

Shu Yang leaned back on the sofa. “Is that why you’re asking me? Did you change my major?”

Shu Zhiyi folded his hands under his chin. “No. Dad also wants you to do something you enjoy. Even if you can’t manage the company in the future, Dad will leave you enough money to live on. It’s okay.”

“Why are you saying that so suddenly!” Shu Yang quickly stood up and headed for the bathroom. He saw that Shu Zhiyi was also ill, or rather ill. The once staid old man could now say such things.

Halfway through the journey, Shu Yang suddenly stopped, without turning his head. “Boss Shu, you’re not planning on finding me a stepmother, are you?”

“Why do you think that?”

“It’s okay. Even if you do, I understand.” He meant what he said. After all, Shu Zhiyi had raised him single-handedly for over a decade. He didn’t know if there were any women out there, but what he did know was that the house was indeed quite empty, devoid of any life.

“Dad won’t,” Shu Zhiyi seemed to laugh, but it was a very quiet laugh.

Shu Yang couldn’t quite hear, but he didn’t look back. His eyes were already red, and he didn’t want to turn around and be ridiculed by Boss Shu again.

He considered himself a relatively rational person, but it was Shu Zhiyi’s strange behavior today that had made him emotional.

For someone who had always been as cold and indifferent as a workhorse to suddenly say something heartwarming, Shu Yang felt it wasn’t because he was weak, but rather because the impact was too strong.

“As for a stepmother, forget it…it’s more important for you to find me a wife.”

“Dad, I like men.”