Chapter 95: Childhood Sweetheart Route – Extra (6)
Shen Shuyi’s wish was soon fulfilled.
His first bedwetting occurred in his third year of middle school.
He slept in Zhao Yuheng’s room as usual, his whole body held tightly by Zhao Yuheng.
Shen Shuyi loved this close embrace, just like he loved the feeling of a thick blanket pressing down on him; it made him feel safe.
Moreover, Zhao Yuheng smelled wonderful, with the scent of the same shower gel and an indescribable floral and fruity fragrance.
Shen Shuyi dreamt that he was on a small, swaying boat, surrounded by towering waves crashing against him.
In his dream, he clung tightly to the small boat, soon becoming soaked through.
Zhao Yuheng woke up to find Shen Shuyi sleeping restlessly in his arms.
Besides soft moaning, his body was trembling slightly.
“Little Shu?” Zhao Yuheng called softly.
Shen Shuyi woke up to his voice, his body trembling involuntarily. He looked at Zhao Yuheng, bewildered.
Half-asleep, his consciousness still lingering.
“Brother Yushi…”
Zhao Yuheng teased him, “Who’s Brother Yushi? I’m Brother Heng.”
“I, I…” Shen Shuyi wanted to cry out in comfort, unsure of what was wrong with him, so he snuggled sweetly against Zhao Yuheng.
Shen Shuyi rarely acted this clingy; a touch of mature charm suddenly appeared on his fourteen-year-old face. His cat-like eyes narrowed, and he rubbed against Zhao Yuheng several times.
Zhao Yuheng: ?
He reached under the covers and realized, oh no.
Zhao Yuheng lifted the covers and, sure enough, saw that Shen Shuyi had wet the bed.
The warm, damp bed was opened, and Shen Shuyi, his skin crawling with cold, finally fully awakened. Seeing the puddle on the bed, he belatedly realized what had happened, his face flushing red with surprise. “I…I wet the bed!” he cried. Zhao Yuheng patted Shen Shuyi’s head and said, “Little Shu, congratulations on growing up.” At two in the morning, Zhao Yuheng skillfully changed the sheets and duvet cover.
Shen Shuyi had already changed his clean socks, clutching the dirty pair tightly in his hand, standing awkwardly by the sink.
Zhao Yuheng came over, took his underwear from his hand, squeezed out a dollop of fabric softener, and carefully washed it clean.
Shen Shuyi came to his senses: “Hehe, I’m just like Brother Heng now.” His semen was slippery, plentiful, and thick; it took two washes to get it clean.
It seemed Shen Shuyi had grown up very healthily.
“Oh! No!” Shen Shuyi suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, “Will I still be able to grow taller?”
He was only a little over 1.6 meters tall.
“You should still be able to,” Zhao Yuheng said. “I grew another three centimeters this semester.”
“That’s good.” Shen Shuyi nodded, but suddenly, a mischievous thought popped into his head, and while Zhao Yuheng was still distracted, he pinched him on the crotch.
“Shen Shuyi!” Zhao Yuheng exclaimed.
Shen Shuyi scoffed, “Don’t misunderstand. I just wanted to have a competition!”
He still had that dream—to surpass Zhao Yuheng.
But for now, it seemed that his dream could only remain a dream.
“Why do I feel like I’m so much smaller than you?” Shen Shuyi said, cupping his face in his hands, looking worried.
“Because you’re only this small.”
“I’m only a year younger than you!” Shen Shuyi retorted.
“Hmm.”
“Now that I’m all grown up, I won’t call you ‘brother’ anymore.”
“?” Zhao Yuheng glanced at him, thinking the kid had grown up and become independent.
Shen Shuyi hugged his waist, tilted his head to look at him, and giggled, “I’ll call you Zhao Yuheng from now on! Because we’re adults now!”
After crossing the threshold of puberty, Shen Shuyi grew up at an astonishing pace.
In his third year of secondary school, he only received a few love letters. The following year, he entered his fourth year of secondary school—his first year of high school.
On the first day of school in September, he attracted the attention of the entire St. Paul’s High School.
Shen Shuyi changed into the school’s British-style uniform: a white shirt, a vest, shorts that didn’t reach his knees, and long socks that reached his calves, making his already delicate features even more dazzling.
At first glance, he was even more beautiful than an expensive doll sold in a department store.
Shen Shuyi’s suitors multiplied like wildfire. It’s no exaggeration to say that at least 50% of the girls in his entire fourth year of middle school gave him love letters, and the remaining 50% were boys who cornered him at school to confess their feelings.
Lin Yiqiong could easily find love letters in Shen Shuyi’s bag. Christmas was even more extravagant; the gifts and apples on his desk could have filled a small shop near the school gate.
“Wow, our little darling is so popular!” At a family dinner, Lin Yiqiong teased Shen Shuyi, “With so many love letters to you, is there even one you like, one you’re interested in?” Even Zhuang Xinrou’s gaze fell on Shen Shuyi as the two families ate together.
Zhao Yuheng paused in peeling the shrimp for Shen Shuyi.
“No!”
Zhao Yuheng finished peeling the shrimp and placed it in Shen Shuyi’s bowl.
Shen Shuyi scoffed.
“Really no?” Lin Yiqiong was very interested in her son’s gossip: “Hey, I thought I’d see my daughter-in-law by now.”
“Shuyi is only fifteen, so young, what’s the rush?” Shen Shizhang smiled gently.
“Young? No way, he’s fifteen!” Lin Yiqiong said, “Back then, I had my eye on you in kindergarten, and we started dating as soon as you entered high school. Otherwise, how could we have Liitle Lu so early?”
Shen Lu coughed for a moment, reminding her to stop talking: “Mommy.”
Lin Yiqiong said, “But that’s true. If it were like me, then the only person Shuyi knew since kindergarten would be Little Yi, right?
Hahaha, I still remember when we were little, Shuyi insisted on being Xiaoheng’s wife…” With this embarrassing revelation, Shen Shuyi was incredibly awkward.
“Lin Yiqiong, hurry up and eat!” Shen Shuyi yelled.
“So rude, not cute at all like when she was little,” Lin Yiqiong remarked with a sigh. “No wonder she doesn’t have any new friends.”
Lin Yiqiong’s comment was originally casual, but that night, as they were going to bed, Shen Shizhang suddenly asked, “Honey, don’t you think Little Shu has a little too few friends?”
“His friends? Isn’t there Yuheng? The two of them are practically inseparable.” Lin Yiqiong sat in front of the mirror, applying a face mask.
“Besides Yuheng, have you seen Little Shu have any other friends?” Shen Shizhang asked.
This stumped Lin Yiqiong. The woman turned her head and blinked.
Shen Shizhang leaned forward and said, “I don’t object to Little Shu and Little Heng’s normal interactions. But isn’t Little Shu becoming a little too dependent on Little Heng? Right now, the two children are in the same school, and Little Heng can keep him company. What will happen when they take the college entrance exams? With Little Shu’s grades, it’s unlikely he’ll get into the same university as Little Heng.” Lin Yiqiong seemed thoughtful.
“Besides, let’s not even talk about distant universities,” Shen Shizhang said. “Doesn’t Little Shu make friends in his class? I’ve never heard him mention anything about his class; every time he comes home for vacation, he only talks about Little Heng’s class.”
“He knows Little Heng’s classmates better than his own. What does that mean? This kid probably runs off to find Zhao Yuheng as soon as get out of class is over; he probably doesn’t even know all the names of his own classmates.”
Lin Yiqiong exclaimed in surprise, “Then, what should we do?”
Shen Shizhang put his arm around Lin Yiqiong’s arm and said calmly, “Talk to Xiao Shu. He’s a sensible child; he should know what to do. Perhaps we should also discuss this with Miss Zhuang.”
“You want to sleep separately from me?”
Shen Shuyi couldn’t believe it when he heard Zhao Yuheng say this.
“Little Shu, you’re in Form Four now. I think we should sleep separately for a while.”
Zhao Yuheng didn’t really want to either.
But Zhuang Xinrou had come to him a while ago and told him about Lin Yiqiong and Shen Shizhang’s concerns.
Zhao Yuheng initially strongly disagreed and even sulked for several days because of it.
He observed Shen Shuyi at school, trying to find evidence that Shen Shuyi wasn’t antisocial, in an attempt to refute Zhuang Xinrou’s claims.
However, after a week, he discovered that Shen Shuyi truly was antisocial at school!
In fact, he practically didn’t play with anyone.
Besides sitting in his own classroom during class, after class he would immediately run to his own classroom and sit next to someone to play.
He would either read, play on his phone, or listen to music until class started again.
If it was PE class, Shen Shuyi would run to the canteen to buy an ice pop during free time.
After finishing one, get out of class would end, giving him another excuse to run back to his own classroom to play.
Throughout three years of junior high and one year of high school, he had managed to be this solitary, without a single friend!
If Zhao Yuheng didn’t approach him, he would stay alone until dark.
This was clearly abnormal! Zhao Yuheng couldn’t deny Zhuang Xinrou’s concerns any longer. After much internal struggle, he finally steeled himself and said those words to Shen Shuyi on a Friday afternoon.
He so desperately wanted Shen Shuyi to be his only good friend, to only look at him, and to only talk to him—but that was unrealistic.
Shen Shuyi should have his own world, not share it with Zhao Yuheng.
“Why!” Shen Shuyi exclaimed, almost angrily, “We’ve been sleeping separately from Monday to Thursday, why do we have to sleep separately now too!”
Seeing Shen Shuyi’s eyes redden with anger, Zhao Yuheng quickly hugged him, coaxing him, “Shuyi, you should make some other friends. That way, when I’m not around, there will be other people to play with.”
“I don’t want to!” Shen Shuyi retorted strongly, “I only need you as my best friend, and you only need me as your best friend! Why can’t we always play together!”
Zhao Yuheng looked at him speechlessly.
Shen Shuyi quickly burst into tears at this hurtful suggestion, trying to use his charm to change Zhao Yuheng’s mind.
“Brother Heng, I don’t want to sleep separately from you, I won’t be able to sleep,” Shen Shuyi cried, sitting in Zhao Yuheng’s lap and kissing him, his tears smearing his face.
Zhao Yuheng silently wiped away his tears, whispering, “Shuyi, be good, okay? Let’s try to see if you can get used to it. If you can’t…”
Shen Shuyi stared at him, his eyes wide.
He hadn’t expected Zhao Yuheng to be so determined this time, almost brooking no room for refusal.
“I’m not used to it, I’m not used to it even without trying!” Shen Shuyi said fiercely, tears streaming down his face.
“Little Shu…” Zhao Yuheng kissed his lips, saying helplessly, “Be good, okay?”
“…” Shen Shuyi stared at him speechlessly.
“You’ll regret this!” Shen Shuyi uttered a harsh remark, shoving Zhao Yuheng away and running out of his room.
Before leaving, he slammed the door shut, leaving behind the harsh words: “I hate you!”
“I’ll never speak a word to you again!”
Shen Shuyi had known Zhao Yuheng since he was three years old; this was the first time in twelve years that the two had argued.
Shen Shuyi meant what he said; he indeed never spoke a word to Zhao Yuheng again.
He went back to his bedroom to sleep that night. Not only that, but on Sunday night when returning to school, Shen Shuyi refused to ride in the same car as Zhao Yuheng, instead having Uncle Lin take him to St. Paul’s.
Zhao Yuheng sighed, wondering if he had made a mistake.
But… was Shen Shuyi destined to remain under his protection forever, never able to break free and grow?
Thinking this, Zhao Yuheng gritted his teeth, deciding to endure the pain of separation so that Shen Shuyi could enjoy the normal high school life.
On Monday afternoon, Shen Shuyi took leave and went to the library.
Zhao Yuheng must be crazy.
Shen Shuyi pursed his lips, thinking repeatedly.
He went to the far right bookshelf in the library, which was filled with a whole row of educational books about how parents should interact with their teenagers.
Zhao Yuheng’s rebellious phase must have arrived late for him to utter such cold-blooded words.
Shen Shuyi and Zhao Yuheng shared an unbreakable friendship of over a decade, a bond so strong they’d share a coffin even in death. Yet Zhao Yuheng, with his usually mild demeanor, uttered such chilling words!
He actually wanted to sleep separately!
Shen Shuyi had been so angry he couldn’t eat for days.
“Hello, I need these books: Understanding Teenagers, *Reconciling with My Rebellious Son, A Good Father Is Better Than a Good Teacher, and this one, Key Dialogues During Teenagers: A Lifetime of Changing Parent-Child Relationships.” Shen Shuyi bought several books at once, intending to study them all night.
He wanted to see what Zhao Yuheng was really like. His rebellious phase had hit him so hard he’d even abandoned his best friend!
If he still didn’t understand Zhao Yuheng’s problem after reading all these books… He would then hire a spiritual master to perform a ritual for Zhao Yuheng—his best friend must be possessed by a ghost, otherwise why wouldn’t he want to sleep with Shen Shuyi?
Shen Shuyi, carrying a bag of books, walked out of the library with a somber expression.
The librarian, watching his retreating figure, remarked with a touch of sarcasm, “Kids these days are so sensible! They’re in puberty, and they know to buy books to manage themselves!”
Shen Shuyi hadn’t come to see him for five days straight, and Zhao Yuheng couldn’t eat, feeling unbearably heartbroken.
His classmates, who had noticed his mental instability, finally asked the crucial question: “Yuheng, why hasn’t your brother come to see you lately?” “Zhao Yuheng has a younger brother who’s as beautiful as a porcelain doll, a fact known to everyone in St. Paul.
This handsome little brother is incredibly clingy, practically inseparable from Zhao Yuheng.
Upon hearing this, everyone realized: ‘Yes, we haven’t seen Zhao Yuheng’s pretty doll-like brother for ages this week!’
Zhao Yuheng wanted to speak, but then fell silent.
‘Yuheng, your brother’s here to see you!'” Suddenly, a student’s voice called from the back door of the classroom.
A heavy weight lifted from his heart.
Shen Shuyi had come to find him after all, which meant their cold war was over.
As for what Zhuang Xinrou said… let Mommy go to hell for now. Forcing him to separate from Shen Shuyi like this was worse than killing himself first.
“Shuyi.” Zhao Yuheng stood up and went to the back door of the classroom.
Shen Shuyi had arrived, but not alone.
Beside him stood a tall, handsome boy, about the same age as Shen Shuyi.
Zhao Yuheng paused, her face darkening: “Shuyi, who is he?”
“Oh.” Shen Shuyi quickly took Zhao Ci’s arm and said, “This is my boyfriend, Zhao Ci. You can call him Finn.”
“I brought him here today to introduce him to you.” Shen Shuyi glanced at Zhao Ci. Zhao Ci quickly waved, a wide smile spreading across his handsome face: “Hi, brother-in-law!”
