Shen Yuqing hurried to the classroom and finally breathed a sigh of relief thankfully, he wasn’t late.
He had been delayed by Pei Yiyan in the morning and hadn’t noticed the time when leaving, so he had thought he might be late.
Song Wangzhuo was already seated in his spot early. Though he didn’t say anything, Shen Yuqing understood his silent message just by the way he looked at him.
Song Wangzhuo had saved him a seat.
Carrying his bag, Shen Yuqing walked over and sat down. After catching his breath, he said, “Morning.”
Song Wangzhuo gave a quiet “Mm” in response.
Shen Yuqing swiftly pulled out the textbook for the upcoming class from his desk and flipped through a couple of pages, head lowered. By the time he had fully calmed down, the bell rang.
He straightened his posture, just as the system suddenly popped up.
[Host, the values have changed.] it reminded him.
He couldn’t even remember the last time they had fluctuated, so he hadn’t paid much attention to them. Who would’ve thought they’d change sneakily while he wasn’t looking?
Shen Yuqing quickly pulled up the values to check.
Song Wangzhuo’s stats were still normal, but when it came to Pei Yiyan’s, he frowned. [What’s going on?]
Why had both the favorability and awakening levels turned into question marks?
The system replied, [Host, I’m not sure either.]
Recently, Shen Yuqing had assigned it to keep an eye on Song Lejin, so it hadn’t noticed the change immediately. But after checking the update log, it added, [Host, the values changed early this morning.]
The only thing that had happened in the early hours was Pei Yiyan’s nightmare where Shen Yuqing had acted as a human pillow to comfort him.
The problem was, Pei Yiyan had been completely unresponsive at the time, and Shen Yuqing was certain he hadn’t woken up at any point.
After all, if he had truly regained consciousness, he wouldn’t have kept clinging to him like that.
Shen Yuqing took another look at Pei Yiyan’s stats. The progress bar had now reached thirty.
To think that, for the longest time, this progress hadn’t budged at all.
He asked, [Will this revert later? Feels like a bug.]
[It’s not a bug.] The system said. [No way to know if it’ll go back to normal.]
Shen Yuqing glanced at the blackening value again. [Well, favorability isn’t that important. As for awakening… probably not. If he had awakened, his blackening value wouldn’t have dropped.]
Actually, a lot could be deduced just from the blackening value. Shen Yuqing sighed. [Let’s just take it one step at a time and see if it improves later.]
For now, that was all he could do.
Shen Yuqing then asked, [Any recent movements from Song Lejin?]
[Nothing for now. Just attending classes, occasionally going out with friends.] The system had been monitoring Song Lejin for a while.
Shen Yuqing pressed his lips together. [Then stop keeping watch for now. Let’s leave it at that.]
Could it be that he had overthought things?
The system acknowledged. [Alright, then I’ll go into standby mode, Host. Call me if you need anything.]
Monitoring Song Lejin consumed more energy than staying by Shen Yuqing’s side.
After finishing the conversation, its indicator light dimmed.
Shen Yuqing’s gaze shifted to the lectern. Though he claimed not to care, he couldn’t help but keep Pei Yiyan’s situation in mind.
When he returned home at noon, he’d try to probe a little see if he could fish out any clues.
“Snap out of it.”
The person beside him gave a quiet reminder.
Shen Yuqing glanced at Song Wangzhuo before focusing seriously on the class.
At noon after school, Song Wangzhuo headed to the cafeteria as usual, while Shen Yuqing prepared to go home for lunch.
However, as soon as he reached the school gate, he spotted Lin Sui and his little follower.
Lin Sui noticed him too and walked over, saying, “Hey Qing, let’s grab lunch.”
Shen Yuqing glanced at the follower and asked curiously, “Why aren’t you with Song Lejin today?”
Ever since Song Lejin arrived, Lin Sui had been inseparable from him at lunchtime. Shen Yuqing, being perceptive, had deliberately kept his distance. Though Lin Sui occasionally messaged him to hang out, he always declined, busy with studies and other matters. It had been quite a while since they last met.
Lin Sui waved it off. “Today’s his cousin’s birthday. His family’s throwing a banquet, so he took the day off.” That explained it.
Shen Yuqing nodded in understanding.
Lin Sui urged, “Come on, let’s eat together.”
“No, my family’s already prepared lunch. Why don’t you come over?” Shen Yuqing invited, thinking Lin Sui might know what Song Lejin had been up to lately.
“Is Pei Yiyan there?” Lin Sui asked.
Shen Yuqing nodded. “He got back yesterday.”
“Then I’ll pass,” Lin Sui said quickly. “Next time, next time.”
Seeing Lin Sui’s obvious reluctance, Shen Yuqing could only nod. “Alright.”
Though Lin Sui wasn’t joining him, they still walked out of the school together.
Seizing the opportunity, Shen Yuqing asked, “Is Song Lejin’s cousin’s banquet a big event?”
“Definitely,” Lin Sui replied. “His cousin’s turning thirty. My sister got an invite and even asked if I wanted to go. Your brother must’ve received one too.”
While framed as a birthday celebration, it was really a networking event for industry elites.
Shen Yuqing hummed in acknowledgment. Lin Sui glanced at him. “Your brother didn’t mention it?”
“Nope. I don’t like these social gatherings, so he probably didn’t bother telling me.” The original host rarely attended such events, so Lin Sui simply nodded at the explanation.
Shen Yuqing asked, “Are you going?”
“Still deciding.” Lin Sui wasn’t fond of these affairs either. Though he studied finance, his sister managed the family business. After graduation, he’d likely take a low-key role in the company. Unlike his sister, who thrived on authority, he preferred traveling the world on his dividends. The company was in good hands with her. If he took over, it’d probably go bankrupt in a few years.
Casually, Shen Yuqing inquired, “So the entire Song family will be there?”
“Of course. Don’t let the one-day event fool you, Lejin’s parents flew back a month ago for this.” Lin Sui added, “They’re taking this banquet very seriously.”
Shen Yuqing usually learned about the Song family or other prominent clans through TV or news alerts. Frowning, he asked, “Wait, were Song Lejin’s parents not home before this?” There’d been no news about that.
“Nope. They left over half a year ago. The Songs launched a tricky new project on another planet, so his parents went to oversee it. They left everything here to his cousin.”
This piqued Shen Yuqing’s curiosity. “Seems like they really trust this cousin.”
He thought that according to what Lin Sui had said earlier, the Song family parents would only keep a close eye on their own company. Besides, isn’t that how wealthy families operate?
Interests outweigh personal relationships, the Pei family was exactly like that.
Pei Yiyan had suffered quite a bit because of it.
“Mainly because my cousin is genuinely exceptional in terms of ability,” Lin Sui scratched his neck. “You’ll understand if you ever meet him. He’s actually a good guy.”
Shen Yuqing nodded. “Alright.”
“So, are you going tonight?” Lin Sui circled back to the topic.
Shen Yuqing shook his head. “Not sure. My brother hasn’t mentioned it, so probably not.”
“Fine. If you do end up going, just shoot me a message. I’ll probably be there.” As they chatted, they reached the school gate.
Lin Sui waved. “See you later.”
They headed in different directions. Shen Yuqing watched as Lin Sui and his little entourage walked away before turning toward home.
As he walked, he mulled over Lin Sui’s words.
Could Song Lejin’s recent inactivity be related to the return of the Song family parents?
Shen Yuqing pressed his lips together, feeling his head itch as if he needed to grow another brain.
If the system knew what he was thinking, it would surely ask why he harbored such hostility toward Song Lejin.
But after some thought, he couldn’t think of anyone besides the original host and Song Lejin who held greater animosity toward Song Wangzhuo.
He had also observed Lin Sui. Truthfully, Lin Sui wasn’t that antagonistic toward Song Wangzhuo. Most of the time, he just followed the original host or Song Lejin. Even if he occasionally acted out, it was only temporary.
Such prolonged targeting wasn’t something Lin Sui was capable of.
Moreover, based on what he had seen before, Song Lejin definitely had some secrets ones even the system didn’t know about.
For now, all he could do was wait.
Wait and see if Song Lejin would slip up on his own.
As for Song Wangzhuo, he could only keep a closer eye on him and try to lend a hand when needed.
For the first time, Shen Yuqing found himself eager to see the next plot point. Unfortunately, it just wouldn’t come.
Lost in thought, he arrived home. Xiao Zhao had already prepared lunch, and as he walked in, the soup was just being placed on the table.
Pei Yiyan sat on the sofa in loungewear, “listening” to the TV news. Shen Yuqing glanced over it was financial news, and coincidentally, they were covering the Song family’s birthday banquet.
A reporter stood outside the venue, introducing the event’s host and his family background.
Shen Yuqing stood rooted in place, absorbed in the broadcast.
Pei Yiyan had noticed Shen Yuqing’s arrival, but after taking a few steps, the boy had stopped and stared blankly at the TV. That was unusual.
Normally, Shen Yuqing would have already come over to chat with him.
Though he rarely responded.
Pei Yiyan frowned. What was he thinking?
He shook off the thought.
