Chapter 52: Misunderstanding!
Zhao Ci?
Who is Zhao Ci? He had never even heard of that name.
Impossible… no, it can’t be.
Shen Shuyi’s mind completely shut down. For a few seconds, his thoughts went blank—he couldn’t recall anything.
“Little Shu?”
Shen Lu called him.
Shen Shuyi snapped back to reality: “Brother, are you saying… that Zhao Ci is… my fiancé?”
Every few words he spoke seemed to drain all the strength from his body.
Unconsciously, Shen Shuyi’s whole body had gone numb. How he wished this were a dream—a bizarre dream that he could wake up from immediately.
“Yes.” Shen Lu noticed something was wrong with Shen Shuyi. His usually fair little face was as pale as chalk, completely devoid of color. “Little Shu, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing… nothing’s wrong.”
Shen Shuyi regained some composure, but he didn’t care about anything else at the moment—he just wanted to find Zhao Yuheng and get some clarity.
What exactly was going on?
If his fiancé was Zhao Ci, then who was Zhao Yuheng?
If he wasn’t his fiancé, why did he coincidentally appear at Shuiwan One that day?
Could it be that he had been pursuing the wrong person?!
The thought alone made Shen Shuyi’s heart feel like it was splitting apart.
This was outrageously absurd, unbearably dramatic, and utterly ridiculous!
If Zhao Yuheng wasn’t his fiancé, what had he been doing for the past six months?
Foolishly entangling himself with a man who had nothing to do with him—it was suffocating just to think about it.
He couldn’t bear the humiliation.
So much so that when Shen Lu asked him what had happened, he couldn’t even bring himself to tell the whole truth.
“I need to make a trip to the hospital. Brother, don’t worry about me—go back to the company first.” Shen Shuyi briskly opened the hotel door and, as he reached it, suddenly said, “Oh, and Zhang Jun, lend me a hand!”
Shen Shuyi hurried down, trembling as he pressed the elevator button.
As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he collided with Zhang Jun face-to-face. “Assistant Zhang, help me look up someone named Zhao Yuheng. Send all his information to my email within half an hour!”
Zhang Jun froze. In the Shen household, anything Shen Shuyi said usually carried the weight of Shen Lu’s orders.
He didn’t dare hesitate and immediately nodded: “Yes!”
Seeing Shen Shuyi in such a flustered and serious state, lips tightly pressed together, face pale as though he might faint any second, Zhang Jun’s heart raced. The young master of the Shen family was usually carefree, forgetting joys or sorrows within seven seconds. This rare expression made Zhang Jun sense that something major was about to happen.
Shen Shuyi didn’t remember how he got out of the hotel, what car he took, or when it started moving. Time seemed either to flash by or stretch endlessly.
Zhang Jun worked quickly. Although he was given half an hour, he sent all of Zhao Yuheng’s information to Shen Shuyi’s email in ten minutes. After all, Zhao Yuheng was just an ordinary person—it was easy to find information on him.
Shen Shuyi sat in the Rolls-Royce, mind in turmoil, thoughts tangled.
He skimmed through the documents, and the more he read, the colder he felt.
Twenty-two years old, local to Hong Kong, orphan, studying translation at Hong Kong University, living in Sanhe Bay, never left Hong Kong in over twenty years, only a dependent grandfather, and his second uncle’s family still lived there…
He recognized every word, but together, they felt completely foreign.
By the end, he saw that Sanhe Bay had been requisitioned by the Hong Kong government earlier this year for the construction of a cross-sea bridge—a project he had heard about when Shen Lu discussed business with his uncle.
This year, the Shen family intended to expand into the inland market, the first step being an investment in the fifty-kilometer cross-sea passage.
This was also Yinghua’s most important investment this year, coordinated on the other end by the Zhao family in Beijing.
His arranged marriage had started under these circumstances.
But why did the cross-sea bridge coincidentally take over the land at Sanhe Bay?
And why did Zhao Yuheng coincidentally appear at the gate of Shuiwan One?
Shen Shuyi repeatedly read the short, few-thousand-character file. The blinding white screen hurt his eyes.
Zhao Yuheng’s twenty-some years of life were clearly outlined, and it was impossible for him to be the North American tycoon’s son intended for the arranged marriage.
Of course.
Shen Shuyi exhaled slowly. On closer inspection, many parts of the relationship didn’t make sense.
But Shen Shuyi had assumed that Shen Lu had deliberately targeted him, giving him such a poor fiancé.
Moreover, the elder Shen, from a frugal generation, often praised thrift even in America. Shen Shuyi had heard his grandfather say that the Zhao family patriarch had been his comrade in youth.
At that time, Shen Shuyi naturally assumed the other party must be poor.
After all, his grandfather had said that even emperors had a few poor relatives.
He never doubted it. He never suspected he had mistaken the person.
His heart tightened, and he couldn’t form a single word.
To mistakenly identify someone’s fiancé—such an embarrassing thing—happened to him.
Over the past six months, all those self-righteous words, those spoiled moments demanding Zhao Yuheng to be “husband”—memories played like a film in his mind.
Shen Shuyi: …
Ahhhh!!!
Ahhhhhhhhh!!!
So embarrassingly mortifying!!!
Shen Shuyi banged his head on the Rolls-Royce door with a thud.
The driver was startled. “Young Master, are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Shen Shuyi weakly replied. “Am I even alive…”
He stared ahead, voice faint. “Is that a red light… just drive through… let it all vanish…”
Driver: Young Master, you’re terrifying, please wake up!
The driver straightened up and focused on driving.
Ten minutes later, the Rolls-Royce arrived at the hospital.
Shen Shuyi looked at the lobby. His mood had shifted—now it was heavier.
He didn’t know how to face Zhao Yuheng, what to ask, or how to begin speaking.
His legs felt like lead, unable to take a step.
“Alright, alright, don’t call me anymore! I said I’ll pay it back this afternoon! If I don’t pay by four o’clock, do whatever you want—cut off my hands, cut off my legs, whatever!”
“I told you I have a way to get the money. Just give me some time, hang up!”
A rough male voice echoed through the hospital lobby.
Shen Shuyi’s attention was drawn; the voice sounded familiar.
Turning, he saw a face he vaguely recognized. A flash of memory struck—this was Zhao Yuheng’s cousin, Zhao Cheng!
He had seen him once before at Mary Hospital.
Back then, Shen Shuyi had commented that it made sense Zhao Yuheng and Zhao Cheng didn’t resemble each other—they weren’t blood-related.
Soon after, he learned Zhao Yuheng was adopted.
Even then, Shen Shuyi hadn’t realized he had mistaken his fiancé.
Embarrassment and shame surged again, suffocating.
Shen Shuyi slowed his steps, deliberately keeping a distance from Zhao Cheng.
He took another elevator to the inpatient area, intending to meet Zhao Yuheng without crossing paths with Zhao Cheng.
He felt this suffocating misunderstanding might take a long time to resolve and wanted to preserve what little dignity he had, so it was best to speak with Zhao Yuheng alone.
Zhao Cheng and Shen Shuyi walked one after the other. After Zhao Cheng entered the ward, Shen Shuyi found a window, opened it, letting in the cold wind to calm himself.
Once calm, he could think about how to talk to Zhao Yuheng.
Minutes passed. Zhao Cheng did not reappear. Shen Shuyi had almost regained composure, but the door remained shut.
Growing impatient, he decided to step forward and open it.
Just as his hand reached the doorknob, Zhao Cheng’s lazy voice came from inside:
“Didn’t expect Shen Shuyi actually fell for you, cousin! I really underestimated you!”
Shen Shuyi froze, mind blank, standing at the door.
…What’s going on?
“What are you doing here? Get lost.” Zhao Yuheng, just recovering, was pale and felt nauseated seeing Zhao Cheng.
“Cousin, on my way here, I heard from the nurses. That high and mighty young master of the Shen family didn’t sleep last night, running around for you, face pale with worry. He really cares about you, hahaha.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
Zhao Yuheng looked at him disgustedly, but Zhao Cheng’s words caused a stir in his heart.
Last night, Shen Shuyi had stayed at the hospital with him?
“What do you mean it has nothing to do with you, cousin? Imagine if you really landed Shen Shuyi—do you know the power and status of the Shen family in Hong Kong? Just a little slip of sand through their fingers could last an ordinary person a lifetime!”
“Never thought our Zhao family had someone as capable as you! Cousin, if you end up with Shen Shuyi, the Zhao family would rise! Don’t forget us!”
Zhao Yuheng couldn’t understand the nonsense but coldly said: “Leave, or don’t blame me for being rude.”
“No, no, no, cousin. I have a favor to ask. I lost some money gambling recently. I thought I’d repay it with the relocation compensation, but it wasn’t enough…”
Zhao Cheng’s voice faltered under Zhao Yuheng’s icy gaze. The pressure was real—if he didn’t repay, those loan sharks would cut off his limbs!
Moreover, he was the only bloodline left in the Zhao family; the compensation should’ve been his! Zhao Yuheng shouldn’t have gotten a cent!
“Look at this—no demolition yet, no compensation. If I don’t repay, they’ll chop my hands off!”
Zhao Yuheng sneered: “Why didn’t they just kill you?”
Zhao Cheng’s throat tightened. Cursing internally, he argued: “No matter what, I’m your only cousin. Compensation isn’t here yet, I’m short on cash. Shen Shuyi treats you so well—can’t you lend me some money?”
“Dream on.”
“You—”
Zhao Cheng fumed: “Don’t think I don’t know your plan. You think catching Shen Shuyi lets you ditch our family?”
He sneered: “I didn’t expect you had such guts. To get back at Shen Shuyi, you’d even touch a man? How does it feel to embrace the same sex? If you break up with him now, he’d be devastated—and the breakup money, you’d get plenty, right?”
Zhao Yuheng jumped off the bed and punched Zhao Cheng, sending him sprawling with blood gushing from his nose.
Normally, Zhao Cheng’s weak frame wouldn’t dare provoke Zhao Yuheng. But now, Zhao Yuheng had just recovered, in poor condition—yet Zhao Cheng still dared.
“You’re pretending to be all romantic!”
Zhao Cheng spat: “Cousin, you’re a ruthless bastard! Shen family forcibly demolished your grandfather’s house, making him sick in the hospital, and now you’re plotting revenge on Shen Shuyi? Seduce him? Tease him? Then dump him?”
“Seeing Shen Shuyi like that, he really fell for you—you’re truly despicable!”
“I may be poor, but I have integrity! Unlike you, a money-grabbing phoenix man! I spit on you!”
Zhao Yuheng grabbed Zhao Cheng by the collar and punched him again, mercilessly. “If I hear his name again from your mouth, I’ll end your life.”
Zhao Cheng grimaced: “F*ck you!”
“Hit me! I have photos of you and Shen Shuyi! If you don’t kill me today, I’ll sell them to the press tomorrow! Shen Shuyi’s reputation online isn’t great recently; lots of paparazzi want these photos!”
Bang! Zhao Cheng’s face slammed onto the hospital tiles, blood exploding from his forehead.
The blow sobered Zhao Cheng. He looked up at Zhao Yuheng, whose face loomed darkly, eyes merciless—like staring at a corpse.
This guy could deal deadly blows.
As a child, Zhao Cheng had seen Zhao Yuheng fight local thugs, risking life and limb even as a middle schooler against adults with knives. Zhao Yuheng was fearless in fights.
If he wanted to bite you, he’d come at you even with a knife in his stomach.
“Cousin! Cousin, I was wrong! I really was! I spoke nonsense!”
Zhao Cheng feared Zhao Yuheng might seriously injure him.
His head bled, vision darkened intermittently, mouth filled with blood, jaw aching.
“Delete the photos.” Zhao Yuheng said coldly.
Trembling, Zhao Cheng pulled out his phone and deleted them in front of Zhao Yuheng.
Even though the photos weren’t explicit, Zhao Yuheng smashed the phone on the floor to be sure—shattering it.
Crazy! Totally insane!
Zhao Cheng scrambled up, abandoning the phone, stumbling toward the door.
He suddenly smelled a clean jasmine fragrance.
Looking up, he saw Shen Shuyi standing at the door!
He had no idea when he arrived or how long he had been standing there.
Zhao Yuheng sensed something, turned, and their eyes met unexpectedly.
In that instant, time seemed to freeze for Zhao Yuheng.
Zhao Cheng sensed the tense atmosphere and fled.
Shen Shuyi stood still, trembling violently from head to toe.
![[Sports] I Really Am Just a Substitute](https://i2.wp.com/panda-translations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20231215185420_300_420.jpg?resize=151,215 "[Sports] I Really Am Just a Substitute")
