Chapter 25#

Surprise#

When Qin Mu woke up the next day, the room was already empty.

This time it wasn’t the rude kid; not only was the room neatly tidied, but there was also a breakfast prepared and kept warm in the microwave in the kitchen.

Qin Mu rarely ate breakfast, but since it was ready, he was happy to enjoy it, not even bothering with the dining table, eating it while standing in the kitchen.

The crispy toasted bread was sandwiched with a fried egg, ham, and lettuce. Qin Mu rarely cooked, so his home had limited ingredients; only these instant foods were available for making meals.

But Qin Mu took a bite, and the taste was unexpectedly good. The warm food filled the emptiness in his stomach, and his body was no longer tense.

He finished the food in a few bites, then looked at the glass next to him, his gaze pausing slightly.

A glass of pure milk.

And it was warm.

Qin Mu quickly finished breakfast, but didn’t drink the milk.

Just as he finished tidying the plate, his phone screen lit up, showing a new text message. He picked it up, glanced at it casually, and the corner of his mouth curved upwards.

–

Before Jian Yunshen even reached the teaching building, he spotted a figure from afar.

That person was standing in a prominent spot by the main entrance, surrounded by students hurrying to class, and anyone passing by couldn’t help but glance back at him.

Jian Yunshen paused slightly, pulled up his mask, confirmed his face was fully covered, then walked forward with his head down.

“Yunshen!”

A clear voice rang out, accompanied by undisguised elation, and this sound also attracted the attention of passing students.

Jian Yunshen didn’t look back, continuing to walk forward.

“Jian Yunshen!”

The person behind him persisted, catching up and grabbing his hand, but Jian Yunshen’s body reacted before his mind, shaking him off.

This name had been persistently on the school forum recently, and everyone, familiar or not, curiously turned to watch the two of them pulling away, then whispered with their companions, heads bowed.

The word “bullying” pierced Jian Yunshen’s ears like a continuous string. He stared at Jiang Yunhan in front of him, displeasure already surfacing in his eyes.

This wasn’t the place to talk. Jian Yunshen grabbed Jiang Yunhan’s wrist, turned a corner, picked an empty classroom, and pulled him inside.

Jiang Yunhan was startled by his gaze, nervously bit his lower lip, and his voice softened a bit: “Yunshen, are you okay? These past few days, Dad, he…”

“Jiang Yunhan.” Jian Yunshen interrupted him coldly: “We’re not that close, are we? We currently have no relationship whatsoever. I think it’s better if we remain strangers.”

Jiang Yunhan’s eyes widened, his long lashes trembling slightly. Seeing Jian Yunshen turn to leave, he quickly blocked him, seemingly worried about the other’s impatience, even speeding up his words: “Yunshen, didn’t Dad look for you? Didn’t you… didn’t you already know about our relationship?”

He frowned, his bright eyes focused on him: “We’re brothers, you’re my biological brother, how could we be strangers?”

“Shut up!” Jian Yunshen reprimanded him sharply. His similar eyes, however, showed extremely sharp disgust. He took a step forward, cornering him against the wall. Jian Yunshen tore off the mask on his face, revealing his entire face.

“There’s no need to put on a show of brotherly affection with me. I won’t cooperate, and I certainly won’t yield to you.”

“Jiang Yunhan, you’d better be prepared to lose everything at any moment.”

“If you don’t want to lose too badly, put away your ridiculous claims early. We were always strangers.”

Jian Yunshen looked at him gloomily, his words growing colder with each sentence: “I’m not an heir raised by the upper class, and you’re not an ‘underclassman’ struggling in the slums. We should have always been strangers.”

Pain slowly appeared on Jiang Yunhan’s face, his eyes looking at him sorrowfully, his lips trembling but he said nothing.

After speaking, Jian Yunshen ignored the other’s reaction, pulled up his mask, and coldly swept his gaze over him, warning again: “Don’t come looking for me casually at school.”

The door opened and then slammed shut. Jiang Yunhan stood rooted, his face still somewhat pale. He stared blankly in the direction Jian Yunshen had left, his hopes shattered, leaving only those words of disavowal heavily filling his heart.

Because of that conversation, Jian Yunshen was a few minutes late. The professional course teacher was a stern old professor. He turned his head to look at Jian Yunshen standing at the door, let out a heavy “hmph,” and delivered a few sharp but not overly harsh remarks before finally letting him in.

There were no seats left in the back, so Jian Yunshen casually picked a seat in the front and sat down.

He took out his book and looked at the blackboard, but his mind couldn’t settle.

Glances from the back rows drifted towards him subtly, and conversations they thought were private, accompanied by his name, wormed their way to him. This situation had been going on for some time.

He didn’t care about being talked about.

Long before, he had already been discussed many times because of Jian Xin.

He had his own set of solutions.

Be as low-key as possible, silently, sitting in an inconspicuous spot, waiting for class to end, avoiding crowded places, and heading towards secluded areas.

But that was broken today.

He had tried; going to university was a great opportunity. No one here knew him, and no one knew his past.

Using the deliberately mimicked image of Jiang Yunhan, presented to outsiders, had indeed shown initial results.

He looked at the blackboard expressionlessly, thinking that people still preferred Jiang Yunhan after all.

It was the same face, just a different personality, and in a few days, it had reverted to its original state.

He knew.

His own personality was gloomy, sullen, and unlikable.

Pretending to be like Jiang Yunhan had been the most tiring few days for him.

Constantly maintaining a smile, full of energy, even his voice had to be more cheerful.

Jian Yunshen gave a sarcastic smile, recalling Jiang Yunhan’s characteristic smiling face, and sneered inwardly: Hypocritical.

The phone in his pants pocket vibrated, interrupting Jian Yunshen’s thoughts.

He avoided the professor’s gaze and secretly took it out.

He opened the text message:

“When will you give me the recording?”

Jian Yunshen’s mouth curved into an intrigued arc as he typed a reply: “What’s the rush?”

“I’ve already told you the information, isn’t that enough?”

Jian Yunshen rested his chin on his hand, typing with one hand: “Enough, does your dad know you’re so filial?”

“……”

The ’typing…’ indicator stayed for a long time before changing back to ‘Tang Qi’.

The message was sent again:

“You promised me you wouldn’t target my dad, that’s why I told you.”

“Of course.”

Jian Yunshen sent it without any psychological burden.

He had indeed promised Tang Qi, but Qin Mu hadn’t.

He turned off his phone, no longer paying attention to the messages being sent from the other side. His good mood, which had been disturbed earlier, became cheerful again.

Jian Yunshen began to secretly anticipate.

What surprise would Qin Mu give him this time?