Shen Yuqing slept straight through until just before his afternoon tutoring session. When he woke up, Xiao Zhao asked if he was hungry, mentioning there was still some chicken soup kept warm for him in the pot.
Shen Yuqing hadn’t been particularly hungry, but at Xiao Zhao’s words, his stomach growled in response. He nodded. “Sure.”
After finishing a bowl of chicken soup, Shen Yuqing felt much warmer inside. It wasn’t until he finished that he realized someone seemed to be missing from the house.
He asked, “Where’s Pei Yiyan?”
Xiao Zhao replied, “Young Master Pei said he had something to take care of and went out. Wu Yi went with him.”
Shen Yuqing let out an “Oh” and didn’t ask further, though he did notice that Pei Yiyan had been going out more often lately. Sometimes when he returned from class, Pei Yiyan wasn’t even home.
But that wasn’t something he should dwell on. If Pei Yiyan went out with Wu Yi, it was either to the hospital or to handle his own affairs nothing worth being curious about.
Right now, what mattered more was Song Wangzhuo’s situation. He checked the time it was about time to head over.
After informing Xiao Zhao, Shen Yuqing was about to change his shoes and leave when Lucky, for some reason today, trotted over with its tail raised, rubbing its head against his leg as if wanting to go out too.
Shen Yuqing finished putting on his shoes and said, “You stay home.”
Lucky meowed twice, clinging even more insistently.
Shen Yuqing thought for a moment. Song Wangzhuo had mentioned once or twice that he’d seen Lucky around campus, and from his tone, it seemed he liked cats.
He crouched down and asked, “Do you want to come with me to Tutor Song’s place? Meow once if yes, twice if no.”
Lucky meowed once.
Shen Yuqing turned to Xiao Zhao. “Get the cat carrier.”
It might be for the best. Today, Song Wangzhuo didn’t seem to be in the best mood, and Lucky was so pretty and well-behaved seeing it might cheer him up a little.
Xiao Zhao quickly fetched the cat carrier, watching as Shen Yuqing strapped it on before asking, “Young Master, should I come with you? I can carry Lucky.”
“No need,” Shen Yuqing said. “Just stay and watch the house.”
Ever since the other place had been given to Song Wangzhuo, Xiao Zhao hadn’t gone there much.
Then he remembered the chicken soup. “Pack some of the soup for me. I’ll take it to Tutor Song.”
Xiao Zhao nodded quickly and soon handed him another portion of the fragrant soup.
With one hand holding the thermos and the other supporting the cat carrier, Shen Yuqing headed out. By the time he arrived at Song Wangzhuo’s place, he was right on time.
He unlocked the door with his iris scan, and Song Wangzhuo happened to step out of the bedroom just then, his eyes immediately lighting up at the sight of the cat carrier on Shen Yuqing’s chest.
After closing the door, Shen Yuqing walked in and said, “Brought you some chicken soup Xiao Zhao made. This is Lucky, the cat insisted on coming with me today. Hope you don’t mind?”
Song Wangzhuo, still walking with a slight limp, approached him and said, “Not at all.”
Why would he mind? Shen Yuqing had paid for most of this rental anyway.
Shen Yuqing handed him the thermos, then set the carrier down and let Lucky out. “That was exhausting.”
Had Lucky gained weight again? Carrying it all the way here had been quite the workout.
Song Wangzhuo emerged from the kitchen to see Shen Yuqing stretching his shoulders with his back turned, while Good Luck strutted around the living room with its tail held high.
The cat wasn’t shy at all upon spotting Song Wangzhuo, it immediately approached to rub against his calf, as if saying, “Though I’m living the high life now, I haven’t forgotten about you~” A faint smile flickered in Song Wangzhuo’s eyes, though his expression returned to normal when Shen Yuqing glanced over.
“Let’s begin the tutoring,” he said.
Shen Yuqing nodded, now completely free of any discomfort. He walked to the desk where Song Wangzhuo had already organized the day’s study materials. As he took his seat, he noticed Song Wangzhuo crouching to feed Good Luck a sausage he’d somehow produced out of nowhere.
Unaware of Shen Yuqing’s gaze, Song Wangzhuo’s expression softened unconsciously. Shen Yuqing looked away after a moment no one could resist Good Luck’s charms, not even the two male leads who’d both succumbed to the cat’s adorable appearance. Shen Yuqing felt increasingly certain that adopting Good Luck had been the right decision.
The study session lasted until six. With Good Luck’s presence, Shen Yuqing noticed Song Wangzhuo’s explanations had become gentler in tone. After wrapping up the final problem, Shen Yuqing set down his pen and asked, “How’s your injury now?”
“Much better,” Song Wangzhuo replied.
After a pause, Shen Yuqing ventured, “How exactly did you get hit yesterday?”
The system had found no surveillance footage even the elevator cameras had been wiped clean. There were clearly some shady dealings at play, and the trickier part was subtly probing whether Song Wangzhuo knew about the missing recordings.
Holding the cat, Song Wangzhuo glanced up at the question. Hadn’t they already discussed this during the day? But meeting Shen Yuqing’s gaze, he reconsidered and explained, “Last night before bed, someone called asking me to move my scooter so they could charge theirs.”
Electric scooters were common in the neighborhood, and charging spots were hard to come by for late returnees. Since his contact details were on the vehicle, the request seemed normal. Without suspicion, Song Wangzhuo had taken his keys downstairs only to have a car barrel toward him as he crossed the driveway.
The driver showed no sign of braking. Though Song Wangzhuo dodged sideways quickly, the impact was unavoidable. Fortunately, the driver hit the brakes at the last moment, leaving him with only minor leg and arm injuries.
Shen Yuqing listened intently. “Wasn’t there anyone else in the garage then?”
Song Wangzhuo caught the odd phrasing. “Why do you ask?”
Blinking calmly, Shen Yuqing countered, “You said someone called you to move the scooter. So, where were they?”
Only then did Song Wangzhuo realize where had that person been?
After being hit, the driver and Song Lejin immediately got out of the car to take him to the hospital, both of them insisting urgently.
The pain had momentarily stunned him for a few seconds, and by the time he regained his senses, he was already on the way to the hospital.
After everything was settled, Song Wangzhuo had actually considered the matter of moving the car, but it was already very late by then, and since the other party hadn’t called again, he didn’t think much more of it.
But now that Shen Yuqing mentioned it, he began to sense something off.
Given the situation at the time, if the other person had been waiting in the garage, they would have surely poked their head out to see what was happening upon hearing the commotion especially since they weren’t far apart.
Yet from the moment he was hit until he was taken to the hospital, there had only been the three of them in the garage, with no sign of anyone else.
Even if the other party might have been preoccupied and missed the noise in the garage, the urgency in their voice during the phone call had been unmistakable.
Shen Yuqing watched as Song Wangzhuo pursed his lips in thought, pretending not to notice, and said, “Hmm, maybe they found another spot later?”
Song Wangzhuo snapped out of his thoughts, his hand resting lightly on Lucky’s back, and murmured, “Maybe.”
Shen Yuqing didn’t press further. He knew that with just this reminder, Song Wangzhuo would surely dwell on it. If he said too much, he might give himself away before the other revealed anything.
“Well, you should rest,” he said. “Remember to heat up Xiao Zhao’s chicken soup before drinking it. I’ll take the cat and head back now.”
It had rained for several days straight, but today was unexpectedly clear. A beautiful sunset painted the distant sky, though it would soon fade into complete darkness.
Song Wangzhuo helped Shen Yuqing stuff Lucky into the cat carrier and limped to the door to see him off.
After closing the door, he turned back and returned to his desk, picking up his phone. He scrolled through his call history, found the number from last night, and dialed.
“The number you have dialed is not in service.”
Song Wangzhuo ended the call expressionlessly. Though he had braced himself, hearing the automated message still made him frown. Who could it be?
His thoughts drifted to one person the “benefactor” mentioned by his former landlord.
