“Young Master Shen.”
The man called Shen Yuqing back to attention. Shen Yuqing glanced at him lazily and said, “We’ll talk about it later.”
Clearly dissatisfied with this response, the man had no choice but to accept it. After all, Shen Yuqing was the young master of the Shen family. Even if the Pei family’s head came in person, he probably wouldn’t have much to say upon receiving such an answer.
With that matter settled, the conversation naturally circled back to the man’s original purpose.
This time, the man turned to Pei Yiyan. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Young Master, Mr. Pei still cares deeply about you. Having someone to look after you daily would put their minds at ease.”
“Listen to that,” Shen Yuqing shot a glance at Pei Yiyan. “What, has Pei Yiyan been mistreated in my home?”
He had indeed been mistreated, but Shen Yuqing refused to acknowledge it with righteous indignation—after all, it was the original owner who had done it, not him!
“Or does Uncle Pei think our household staff is incompetent, incapable of taking care of even one person?”
Just as the man was about to explain, Shen Yuqing cut in again, “If you just want to add another person, fine! Wu Yi! Come here!”
Wu Yi, who had been eavesdropping by the gym door, froze for a second when he heard his name but quickly composed himself and approached. “Young Master Shen.”
Shen Yuqing asked him, “What other duties do you usually have?”
Wu Yi subtly glanced at Pei Yiyan before answering earnestly, “Young Master Shen, none.”
“Perfect.” Shen Yuqing tilted his chin up. “From now on, you’ll be assigned to Pei Yiyan. Your salary will be tripled.”
Both the man and Wu Yi were stunned.
Their gazes immediately shifted to Pei Yiyan, hoping he would say something.
But Pei Yiyan had remained silent the entire time, listening quietly.
His eyes had grown accustomed to their current blurred state. He turned toward Shen Yuqing, seemingly weighing his words before speaking, “This is too extravagant.”
Shen Yuqing let out a drawn-out “Oh” and looked back at the man. “Right, since it was your idea to assign someone to Pei Yiyan, make sure Uncle Pei transfers the money to my account by the first of every month. And don’t forget Wu Yi’s various benefits and allowances—have them delivered monthly too.”
The man: “…Wait, no—”
How had the conversation ended up here?
But Shen Yuqing acted as if everything was settled. He gestured toward the door. “You may leave now. If Uncle Pei has any questions, he can contact me.”
In this household, Shen Yuqing’s word was absolute. If he wanted someone gone, no matter how much the man wanted to argue, he didn’t dare linger.
Everyone knew the Shen family’s beta was not to be trifled with, and the man had no intention of provoking him. So he stood up and left.
Once the man was gone, Shen Yuqing also rose from the couch, stretching lazily before heading to grab a bottle of water.
He’d been talking nonstop without even a sip to drink.
Wu Yi stepped forward and asked, “Young Master Shen, were you serious about what you said earlier?”
Shen Yuqing replied, “I don’t waste time on nonsense. But there aren’t enough rooms here, so you can leave after dinner each day. Or, if you find a place for rent in this neighborhood, I’ll cover the cost.”
Wu Yi couldn’t suppress his smile this time. He had been frustrated by how little time he got to spend with Pei Yiyan, especially with the Pei family keeping watch. But now, with Shen Yuqing’s sweeping decision, all his problems were solved in an instant!
Moreover, he could now openly follow the young master around!
His eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he quickly added, “Young Master Shen, I live nearby with cheap rent. There’s no need to change houses. It only takes about ten minutes to get here each day, and it’s good exercise too.”
Shen Yuqing didn’t insist. Yawning, he said, “I’m going back to sleep.”
Wu Yi made a gesture of invitation. Only after confirming Shen Yuqing had entered his room and wouldn’t come out again did he approach Pei Yiyan and whisper urgently, “Young Master!”
Pei Yiyan acknowledged with a hum. He wanted to say something but remembered the surveillance in the living room. “Let’s go to the study,” he said.
The study was where Pei Yiyan usually attended classes, a place Shen Yuqing never entered.
Wu Yi came to his senses and followed Pei Yiyan into the study, carefully looking around before closing the door.
Once the door was shut, he grinned. “Young Master, now I can openly handle affairs for you.”
Shen Yuqing had no interest in Pei Yiyan’s daily activities, and Xiao Zhao, sent by the Shen family to look after them, wouldn’t pry either.
Wu Yi felt he might laugh himself awake tonight—this accidental encounter had turned out perfectly.
And judging by Shen Yuqing’s demeanor today, he didn’t seem as… terrifying as before.
In this entire act, Pei Yiyan had only spoken one line while Shen Yuqing did all the talking. Strangely, it almost felt like Shen Yuqing was protecting someone.
Pei Yiyan hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly either, leaving him momentarily lost in thought.
After spending this time together, he found Shen Yuqing increasingly peculiar—almost like a different person.
Based on his past behavior, Shen Yuqing would never have intervened in today’s matter.
Noticing Pei Yiyan’s silence, Wu Yi asked, “Young Master, what’s on your mind?”
Pei Yiyan snapped out of it. “The surveillance footage—have you retrieved it yet?”
“Still working on it,” Wu Yi replied.
“Check the street cameras too,” Pei Yiyan instructed.
There was also the matter of Shen Yuqing taking him to the hospital last night.
He’d been too groggy and blind to see anything then.
He needed to verify what happened—after all, he couldn’t believe Shen Yuqing would be so kind without ulterior motives.
When Shen Yuqing returned to his bedroom, he collapsed straight onto the bed.
It was already 4 PM. He sighed. After finally getting a break post-transmigration, he’d hoped to rest and clear his mind. Instead, these past two days had been even busier than when he first arrived.
Talk about being constantly on the move.
Lying flat on the bed, Shen Yuqing noted that while his arms and knees no longer hurt, the bruises looked horrifying.
Yawning, he checked the two protagonists’ corruption values in his mind.
Pei Yiyan’s corruption value remained at 72, with his favorability still stuck at -55—no significant changes.
But when he saw Song Wangzhuo’s data, Shen Yuqing’s eyes widened in surprise.
Song Wangzhuo’s corruption value had actually dropped to 65! Though his favorability stayed the same at -45.
But that didn’t matter—the important thing was the corruption value!
Heavens, this was an unexpected windfall!
Shen Yuqing’s eyes sparkled as he eagerly summoned the system.
After nearly twelve hours of energy conservation, the system had regained some power. Seeing the numbers, it excitedly set off virtual fireworks in Shen Yuqing’s mind!
[“Host! You’re! Amazing!”] The system began acting cute and rolling around.
Shen Yuqing was also in high spirits. He asked, [“How’s your energy storage coming along?”]
The system replied, [“I’ve got some, but not much. I might need to hibernate a bit longer, but you can call me out if anything urgent comes up!”]
When the system was in hibernation, it couldn’t sense the outside world—it would only wake up if Shen Yuqing summoned it.
Shen Yuqing briefly explained the recent events to the system, which then asked in confusion, [“Host, if you know Wu Yi is Pei Yiyan’s man, why are you letting him stay by Pei Yiyan’s side?”]
[“Exactly, to give him a helping hand,”] Shen Yuqing admitted frankly. [“When he eventually gains power and comes for me, I hope he’ll show some mercy.”]
In the original storyline, Pei Yiyan had been carefully building his own forces, waiting for the perfect moment to strike a fatal blow to the Pei family. Wu Yi was his most capable right-hand man, and afterward, he slowly dealt with everyone who had ever humiliated him.
Naturally, Shen Yuqing would be the first on that list.
Besides, if another member of the Pei family were sent, they’d likely keep an even tighter watch, making their future plans much harder to execute.
So Shen Yuqing decided to go with the flow and do them a favor, hoping that when the time came, his fate wouldn’t be too gruesome.
Shen Yuqing sighed heavily. Life was truly tough.
