Chapter 34

Ye Chen’s eyes suddenly reddened when he heard Shen Mofeng mention the pain.

“Don’t drive so recklessly.” Shen Mofeng took the cigarette with his left hand, his voice hoarse as he tried to reassure his assistant. “At most, it’s just a fracture… maybe not even that. I know my own body.”

Seeing Xiao He’s relentless acceleration, Shen Mofeng didn’t mince words either, lazily commenting, “The snow is so slippery, we might have another accident later.”

If a real accident happened, Shen Mofeng knew he would probably be fine, but the same couldn’t be said for the other three.

Xiao He’s face turned green, slowing down without tears to shed.

Meanwhile, Shen Mofeng rolled down his side of the car window a third of the way and took a deep drag on the cigarette. As he exhaled, the wispy white smoke was whisked away by the wind, drying the cold sweat on his forehead and quickly forming a new layer.

He didn’t want to smoke in a crowded car; it was uncouth. But with the pain in his right shoulder making his head spin, he needed the nicotine to numb the pain a bit. Maintaining a calm façade in front of the child was difficult otherwise.

And the illusion of calm had to be maintained… “Stay calm in the face of adversity, a model husband” – Shen Mofeng bore the three-ton burden of these expectations calmly while drawing in nicotine.

Ye Chen, originally with his head drooped, quickly wiped away his tears when Shen Mofeng turned his head to blow smoke out of the window. Taking advantage of the dim lighting in the car, he turned his face solemnly towards Shen Mofeng and thanked him, “Shen Ge, thank you for saving me. If it weren’t for you…” He wanted to say more, but choked up in his throat. He didn’t want Shen Mofeng to hear him, so he hurriedly stopped, turned his head to press his side of the window to ventilate the car, and lowered his head silently, stretching his arm to close Shen Mofeng’s window, afraid he might catch a cold.

However, as Ye Chen reached to close the window, Shen Mofeng lightly clasped his arm with his left hand. Then, bending slightly at the waist and tilting his head, he peeked at Ye Chen’s face in the moonlight and asked softly, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing…” Ye Chen instinctively turned his head away.

“Turn back.” Shen Mofeng’s voice was very soft.

Ye Chen obediently turned back, the traces of tears on his face becoming obvious in the moonlight when it shifted at a certain angle, impossible to hide.

Shen Mofeng raised an eyebrow slightly, his lips curling up. “This…”

Worried that the assistant might overhear and embarrass Ye Chen, he swallowed the rest of his sentence and let go of Ye Chen’s arm. He then used his left hand to grab a tissue from the storage compartment and handed it over haphazardly. He tapped the back of the passenger seat and said, “My phone.”

Xiao Liu quickly handed him the phone.

Shen Mofeng slowly typed a message to Ye Chen using WeChat with his left hand: It’s really not a big deal, don’t cry.

Ye Chen wiped away his tears, sniffing softly. Absentmindedly, he stuffed the remaining stack of tissues into the sleeve of his costume.

It wasn’t intentional this time, just a conditioned reflex…

“…” Shen Mofeng reminded him, “Check your phone.”

Ye Chen had grabbed the phone from Xiao Gao before getting into the car and had kept it on his lap. Upon hearing Shen Mofeng’s words, he quickly picked it up to check.

A moment later, Ye Chen typed back: “I’m sorry, Shen Ge. It’s all because of me. If I had reacted faster, none of this would have happened. I’m really sorry.”

With one hand, Shen Mofeng typed: “Just saying thank you is enough. I didn’t save you for you to feel guilty. And don’t overthink it. There are no ‘ifs’.”

Ye Chen lowered his eyes, gripping the phone tightly, feeling his eyes welling up again.

He didn’t really like to cry. Perhaps it was because his tears had dried up during his childhood of neglect from his parents. Despite his gentle nature, he was optimistic and resilient inside. He rarely shed tears, even when faced with major setbacks. Even a night of extreme poverty had only led to a few sobs and a lazy afternoon, and the next day, he was back to researching which pesticides and fertilizers were the best.

But he couldn’t handle it when others were kind to him.

Since the passing of his grandparents, he hadn’t felt this kind of care again: his fans liked him, but they were still behind screens; his managers and assistants took care of him, but it was just part of their job; the camaraderie among artists was superficial, and he had been taken advantage of twice in less than two years in the industry; the divine beast cubs really treated him like family, and they were truly considerate… But Ye Chen was only nineteen, and while most of his peers were comfortably nestled under their parents’ wings or studying in ivory towers, he had to shoulder so many trivial tasks and take care of so many real ‘children’…

The worst part was that he couldn’t even vent his frustrations to anyone for fear of revealing too much.

So, when life once again dealt a blow to unlucky Ye Chen, and someone stepped forward to shield him, his emotions suddenly burst forth.

Shen Mofeng not only saved him from serious injury or death but also comforted him on a spiritual level. Even though it was a very brief moment, in that moment, Shen Mofeng bore all the weight for him.

Ye Chen clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, his emotions swirling inside.

Shen Ge is really too good…

Ye Chen had nowhere to vent this overwhelming emotion, so he buried himself in typing, desperately expressing his loyalty to Shen Mofeng: “I understand, Shen Ge. I won’t say those things again. I’m really, really grateful to you this time. If you need anything from me in the future, just tell me. Don’t be polite. As long as you say the word, I’ll do anything.”

-“As long as you say the word, I’ll do anything.”

Knowing that the child couldn’t have meant it that way, Shen Mofeng’s thoughts still couldn’t help but drift in that direction, and for a moment, even the pain in his right shoulder didn’t feel as piercing.

Practice proved: Waves can numb pain.

Seeing Shen Mofeng about to reply with difficulty using only one hand, Ye Chen spoke up to dissuade him, “Do you want to let your hand rest for a while? How about if you try not to use it so much?”

Shen Mofeng glanced at the two assistants in front of him and responded in a dignified tone, sounding like a news anchor, “No need. Talking to you distracts my attention, and then it doesn’t hurt as much.”

With that, he bowed his head to type, the content of his messages filled with innuendos: “My right shoulder hurts. Want to come over and blow on it?”

This injury… Can blowing on it really help? Ye Chen stared at the phone screen stiffly for a second. Though he felt Shen Ge was just joking again, he obediently unbuckled his seatbelt and shuffled over to Shen Mofeng, raising his hand to undo Shen Mofeng’s collar.

Shen Mofeng watched him incredulously the entire time, chuckling, “You… You believed that?”

As expected, Ye Chen withdrew his hand as Shen Mofeng had anticipated, shuffled back, and buckled his seatbelt, grumbling, “Actually, I didn’t really believe it.”

Shen Mofeng didn’t care about the pain in his shoulder anymore this time. Moreover, the pain had indeed lessened. He crossed his legs lazily, knocking his knee against Ye Chen’s knee, smiling, “You didn’t believe it… and yet you were so obedient?”

Ye Chen nodded like a little dog and once again expressed his loyalty to his big brother, “Well, just like I said… ‘As long as you say the word, I’ll do anything.’ I wasn’t lying to you.”

Shen Mofeng had saved his life, and calling him his ‘reborn parents’ wouldn’t be an exaggeration. From now on, as long as Shen Mofeng said the word, he would be willing to go through fire and water for him, let alone play along with a joke.

Shen Mofeng had no idea about Ye Chen’s inner turmoil, but his eyes lit up as if he had just picked up a treasure.

“Play some music,” Shen Mofeng instructed Xiao Liu.

Although Xiao Liu couldn’t understand why Shen Mofeng would be in the mood for music, he obediently pressed the play button on the car stereo.

Taking advantage of the music masking their conversation, Shen Mofeng couldn’t resist teasing Ye Chen. He whispered, “It’s late already. After dealing with everything, you’ll probably have to stay in the hospital. Will you stay in the hospital room and accompany me?”

Without hesitation, Ye Chen replied, “Okay.”

Shen Mofeng then conducted a serious investigation, “When you’re accompanying someone in the hospital… do you snore when you sleep?”

Ye Chen honestly answered, “No, you can rest assured.”

With a smile, Shen Mofeng asked, “Do you kick the blanket? Or do you steal it?”

Ye Chen looked puzzled but earnestly searched his memory, “I probably don’t kick it much, as for stealing… I… I’m not sure if I do.”

Suppressing a laugh, Shen Mofeng pretended to be serious, “Is your sleeping posture honest? Don’t roll around too much in your sleep. If you accidentally bump into my plaster cast or something, the doctor’s efforts would be in vain.”

“…” Ye Chen licked his lips, feeling a slight warmth creeping up his ears, cautiously raising a question, “Isn’t it… not typical for caregivers and patients to… share a bed?”

“What if there’s only one bed in the hospital room?” Shen Mofeng shamelessly asked, “I’m asking about your sleeping habits.”

“There won’t be just one bed.” Ye Chen had nursed his grandfather in the hospital before and knew that caregivers wouldn’t usually share a bed with patients. He didn’t understand why Shen Mofeng was so concerned about his sleeping habits, but out of the principle of treating him like his reborn parent, he answered meticulously, not daring to be careless, “My sleeping habits are okay. My arms and legs stay still, but if I can’t sleep soundly, I might toss and turn more… You can rest assured. If there’s nowhere for me, I’ll sleep in the corridor. I won’t let you get hurt.”

Shen Mofeng felt like he was going crazy from Ye Chen’s obedience.

The author has something to say:

Ye Qiongqiong’s account book today:

Today’s income: A stack of tissues + one like a second parent(one’s great benefactor)

Shen Mofeng’s account book today:

– Chen Chen felt sorry for me and even cried for me.

Shen Mofeng’s Favorability: +100

Current Favorability: 230/1500, Four Stars.

– Asked him to blow on my shoulder, and he actually came over…

Shen Mofeng’s Favorability: +10

Current Favorability: 240/1500, Four Stars.

– Asked about his sleeping habits, and he answered everything obediently.

Shen Mofeng’s Favorability: +20

Current Favorability: 260/1500, Four Stars.