Ch3 - “He is my brother.”

Shu Jin’s eyes were a little swollen in the morning.

The colleague was shocked and thought that his knee injury was serious. Shu Jin is young, the youngest of the newcomers in the company, and he looks like he grew up spoiled. Yesterday he said he had no one at home. His colleagues first thought that it had that kind of meaning, but then he thought about it again. Perhaps Shu Jin had quarreled with his family and separated. 

“Is it serious?” His colleague asked, “Should I call a doctor?”

“No.” Shu Jin said, “I just didn’t sleep well.”

They went to eat breakfast, and returned to the room to take their luggage, then went to the front desk to check out.

There were a lot of people checking out in the morning, and one customer even started an argument with the hotel, but they had to get in line. 

They had been lying in bed for a while, and his colleague kept looking at his watch, mumbling words under his breath hoping not to miss the plane.

Shu Jin stood behind him with his suitcase, and looked in the direction of the elevator for the second time.

The scene that happened in front of the elevator yesterday still stirred his nerves.

At this time the hotel was full of people coming and going, all passing by.

If they really missed the plane, they might stay one more day.

Shu Jin surprisingly did not find it troublesome.

In the end, they did the check-out procedure within the planned time. The hotel will send them to the airport, so they asked them to rest in the lobby for a while and wait.

This time around, it attracted the envy of many colleagues, and the group was so lively. 

Shu Jin felt bored as he looked at everyone’s chats and jokes in the group. Then someone still @ him, asking him that since he had given up such a good thing to Lin Wang, how will he compensate the rest of his colleagues.

Lin Wang was the colleague who came with Shu Jin. A few days ago, he posted the news that Shu Jin refused to accept his money when he invited him to play in the group, and the sourness is still fresh in everyone’s mind after all these days.

Shu Jin’s popularity in the company is pretty good. Faced with the joke, he replied: [Come back today and invite everyone to dinner tomorrow.]

[It’s agreed. Xiao Shu, I want to eat barbecue.] 

[Hot Pot.]

[Grilled skewers!! I want to grill skewers!]

Shu Jin moved his fingers: [No problem, all please.]

Lin Wang sat opposite of him: “Fxck, Shu Jin. Why did you agree to everything?” 

Shu Jin replied:  “It doesn’t matter, it’s just eating buffet.”

“Yeah, oh!” Lin Xiang reacted and said with a smile, “Then tomorrow’s meal is on me, don’t fight with me.”

Speaking of which, Shu Jin tilted his head sideways, he seemed to hear someone calling him.

“Shu Jin!” 

Lin Wang saw a person coming.

The person who called Shu Jin is none other than the woman he met in the elevator yesterday, Sheng Xinghe’s assistant.

Shu Jin was stunned.

The other party approached and said with a gentle smile: “Checking out so early, I almost missed you.” 

Shu Jin asked: “What’s the matter?”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

The assistant said: “Here’s the thing, Mr. Sheng wanted me to ask you, do you mind staying for two more days? He’s flying to another city on Monday and wants to talk to you about old times. If possible, I will change or rearrange your ticket back immediately.”

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He almost wanted to agree, and the word “good” was about to come out, but he held it in for about four or five second before squeezing out two words from his throat: “I can.” 

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“Do you mind if I call you Shu Jin?” The assistant then said,  “I heard from Mr. Sheng that you are one year younger than me.” 

Shu Jin just said that he didn’t mind.

Although he was really curious about what Sheng Xinghe said to the assistant.

The assistant asked him how his knee was, if it was better, and was concerned.

Shu Jin answered her one by one. 

The elevator moved quickly, and they quickly reached the 52nd floor.

The corridor was covered with a different color carpet from the floor below, which seemed to be a bit thicker, and the furnishings and design were also different. They came to a room door with a room number of 5201.

Shu Jin felt nervous.

The assistant swiped his card through the door and sidestepped, “Please come in.” 

The expected face-to-face meeting with Sheng Xinghe again did not happen, Sheng Xinghe was not there.

“Mr. Sheng was invited by the resort to visit early in the morning, and every time he comes, he stays in this hotel.” The assistant introduced, “This suite has two bedrooms, Mr. Sheng stayed in the one on the left, and the one on the right is vacant. You’ll stay here for the next few days, is that okay?”

Shu Jin said yes.

The assistant left. Before leaving, she said that Sheng Xinghe should be back soon, and if he needed anything he could just call room service, or call her room number. 

Shu Jin stood in the living room for a while before releasing his tight grip on the luggage handle.

In the living room,  there is basically no trace of living, except for a mug on the table.

Shu Jin looked around, then walked to the door of Sheng Xinghe’s bedroom and pushed open the door.

This place is a bit more messy compared to the living room, and Sheng Xinghe has never liked people entering his territory. There is a tie on the bedside table, and the quilt is still unfolded. It can be seen that the owner was leaving in a hurry. 

The curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows were half-opened, and there was a shirt on the recliner that was too late to wash, apart from that there was nothing else.

The shirt was the one that Shu Jin wetted and crumpled with tears yesterday.

He looked a little flushed, he retracted his eyes as if he had been burned, and then closed the door and retreated.

… 

Sheng Xinghe took longer than expected, Shu Jin was already asleep when he came back.

The bedroom is very dark, Shu Jin did not open the curtains. He was lying on the side curled up on the bed, sleeping in his clothes, breathing very lightly.

Sheng Xinghe only watched him for a minute before he woke up.

“Brother?” 

He just woke up, so Shu Jin’s voice was a little hoarse. It’s not the same teenage voice as it used to be.

Sheng Xinghe did not speak.

Shu Jin couldn’t see his face under the darkness. Suddenly, he felt a burst of panic, and quickly pressed the switch on the bedside lamp.

The light immediately illuminates the person in front of him. 

Sheng Xinghe is still wearing a shirt, and his gray eye under his brow bone, watching Shu Jin quietly.

“Get up.” Sheng Xinghe said.

“Um?”

“Didn’t you want to eat eel rice? I asked someone to book a place.”

Shu Jin’s mind was still a bit confused: “What time is it?”

He pulled Sheng Xinghe’s arm and went to look at the watch on Sheng Xinghe’s wrist and found that it was almost twelve o’clock.

“I slept for so long.” Shu Jin let go of his wrist and rubbed his eyes, “When did you come back?” 

“I just came back.” Sheng Xinghe answered lightly, “I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

After Sheng Xinghe went out, Shu Jin got up. He quickly washed his face, and found that his clothes were a little wrinkled from when he slept, so he changed his clothes. There were several messages sent by his colleagues on his mobile phone. Lin Wang asked him who Mr. Sheng was, and said that the woman who called him looks like Sheng Xinghe’s assistant.

Finally, Lin Wang asked : [Do you really know Sheng Xinghe? What is your relationship?]

At this time, Lin Wang should still be on the plane. 

Shu Jin also didn’t mean to hide it, so he replied : [Well, he is my brother.]

Walking out of the bedroom, Sheng Xinghe was already waiting for him outside.

Sheng Xinghe also changed his clothes. It’s a simple t-shirt with some shadow of his college days.

The Internet celebrity restaurant is a bit far from the hotel where they are staying. Sheng Xinghe had already arranged for a car, and the assistant did not join them for lunch. 

The sun is hot.

The sea breeze rustles the palm leaves along the coastline, and the light blue sea occasionally breaks into view through the gaps in the buildings.

Sheng Xinghe sat on the left side of the back seat and they didn’t talk much.

Only when he was getting into the car did Sheng Xinghe ask: “Does your knee still hurt?” 

Shu Jin likes to sit on Sheng Xinghe’s right side.

When Sheng Xinghe looks out of the car window, he can look at Sheng Xinghe’s face unscrupulously, even though his reason tells him not to do this.

Sheng Xinghe suddenly turned around and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Shu Jin couldn’t avoid his gaze, and abruptly looked out the other window, and said: “Thinking about what to do tomorrow and the day after. I’ve been to a lot of places and  it seems that there is nothing fun, the beach is pretty much the same.” 

Sheng Xinghe, however, asked, “Regret staying?”

Shu Jin immediately turned around, and refuted: “No! I mean, it’s okay to go again if you’re free.”

Sheng Xinghe looked out of the window thoughtfully again instead, not commenting on Shu Jin’s answer.

They ate the eel rice Shu Jin wanted to eat in the Internet celebrity restaurant, and returned to the hotel without making other arrangements. 

After returning to the room, Sheng Xinghe told Shu Jin to sleep for a while, since he had something to do.

Shu Jin lay on the bed in the bedroom for a while, then he pulled out a thin blanket from the cabinet, and knocked on Sheng Xinghe’s door.

Sheng Xinghe was facing the computer, while holding the data in his hand.

Shu Jin asked: “Can I sleep here?” 

Without waiting for an answer, Shu Jin already walked in, and deliberately curled up on Sheng Xinghe’s recliner and closed his eyes.

This time, Shu Jin slept quite well, making up for all the sleep he lost last night.

When it was getting dark, Sheng Xinghe woke him up again.

“Shu Jin.” Sheng Xinghe has changed into a shirt and is buckling the strap of his watch. “There’s a dinner party, you’re coming out with me.” 

Shu Jin was quite surprised.

Sheng Xinghe said, “It’s not a formal occasion, just a meal.”

Shu Jin then agreed.

The dinner was arranged by the head of the resort, right in the hotel, and it really wasn’t a formal occasion, nor was it related to work. When they saw that there was an extra Shu Jin beside Sheng Xinghe, people asked out loud, and Sheng Xinghe introduced Shu Jin, saying that he was his assistant. 

It is true that their relationship is not well known to outsiders, they can't break it, and they can't figure out a clue.

Shu Jin acquiesced to his assistant’s status and didn’t say much at the table.

It was a boring day.

They neither reminiscences nor had anything else to talk about. 

The dinner lasted for two hours, and after it was over, Sheng Xinghe said that he was going out and told Shu Jin to go back to the room by himself.

“Room card.” Sheng Xinghe gave it to him, “Don’t sleep yet.”

Shu Jin is also not the god of sleep. Having already slept very well, he nodded and returned to the room.

About twenty minutes later, Sheng Xinghe returned to the room with a paper bag from the convenience store. He put them on the center island table to organized into the refrigerator. Most of them are snacks , fruits, and other things. 

Shu Jin had already taken a shower, and was sitting on a high stool trying to help.

The paper bag is almost empty.

And there was only a box of bx condoms and rh lubricant left inside.

Shu Jin glanced at it and subconsciously retracted his hand. 

Sheng Xinghe turned around and asked casually: “What’s the matter?”

Shu Jin’s face burned a little, pretending to be calm: “You’re back so soon, I thought you were still busy with work.”

Sheng Xinghe: “I’m already busy this afternoon.”

Shu Jin: “Oh, so you have nothing to do at night?” 

“En.” Sheng Xinghe walked around the center island table, then picked Shu Jin up, and walked towards the room, “I have something else to do tonight.”