Been Waiting for You to Escape Marriage for a Long Time – CH99

Chapter 99: Childhood Sweetheart Route – Extra (10)

Shen Shuyi packed his pajamas into his bag, taking his teddy bear with him.

As he reached the door, Zhao Yuheng strode up and blocked his way.

Shen Shuyi then realized the significant height difference between them had become apparent.

No matter how much milk he drank, he couldn’t catch up to Zhao Yuheng’s height. Now, not only did he have to look up at him, but Zhao Yuheng stood in the doorway like a small mountain, completely blocking his view.

Shen Shuyi couldn’t even find a crack to squeeze through.

“What are you doing?!”

“Didn’t we say we’d talk?” Zhao Yuheng tried to suppress his bitterness. “You said you have a boyfriend. I didn’t have a chance to ask during dinner, but now I want to know more. Is that wrong?”

“What do you want to know about my boyfriend?” Shen Shuyi’s heart skipped a beat. He scoffed, “Are you going to steal him away?”

He was worried he’d steal him?

Zhao Yuheng felt another pang of jealousy.

What would he want to steal him away?

“Should I snatch him away, eliminate him completely, murder him, dispose of the body, and destroy the evidence?”

“Can’t I understand?” Zhao Yuheng said irritably. “According to rank, shouldn’t I be older than him? I’m still your ex-husband, aren’t I?”

Ex-husband— Shen Shuyi thought of the marriage certificate he drew in kindergarten.

Damn it, he’s the root of all evil!

“What rank? When did you start watching palace dramas?” Shen Shuyi complained.

He knew that Aunt Zhuang and his own mother had recently become obsessed with a mainland palace drama. Zhao Yuheng must have picked it up from Aunt Zhuang.

Seeing that he couldn’t leave without explaining, Shen Shuyi simply returned to the sofa.

Luckily, in the short hour or two he had just spent, he had completely erased the character from his life. No matter what Zhao Yuheng asked, he wouldn’t give himself away.

“Where is your online friend from?”

Zhao Yuheng didn’t want to call this person Shen Shuyi’s boyfriend.

Sure enough, he arrived. Shen Shuyi immediately rattled off his fabricated home address and identity, looking quite convincing.

“Oh. He just started university this year.” Zhao Yuheng clenched her fist, incredulous. “Older than me?”

“Yeah!” Shen Shuyi nodded, starting to count on his fingers on the sofa. “Studies at HKU, about 1.8 or 1.9 meters tall, handsome, reliable, quiet. His family isn’t well-off, but he has a strong competitive edge. Hmm… he studies translation, so he might become a diplomat or something like that in the future. He’s really good to me, always ready to help.” If there’s any difference between a biological brother and a romantic brother…

Upon hearing the “not well-off family,” the biological brother would have been furious, but the romantic brother would have breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Shuyi’s ordinary watch costs millions. He thinks he can be with someone from a family that isn’t well-off? What a pipe dream.

Zhao Yuheng sat down beside him: “How bad is it?”

Shen Shuyi glanced at him: “Why do I hear a hint of schadenfreude in your tone?”

“Do I?”

“Yes!” Shen Shuyi remembered the witch’s words, and to provoke Zhao Yuheng, he deliberately said, “But I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Although his family isn’t well-off, I heard his grandfather’s house is about to be demolished, and the compensation will be several million.”

Actually, Zhao Yuheng was clearly a bit out of his mind.

Otherwise, with his intelligence, if he calmed down a bit, he would have realized that Shen Shuyi had simply created a “poor version” of Zhao Yuheng based on his height and personality.

Zhao Yuheng said coldly: “Even with the compensation, it’s only a few million. Is that enough for you?”

“Not enough.” Shen Shuyi blinked: “But I believe love can overcome everything!”

Zhao Yuheng felt so jealous he wanted to hit someone, but he couldn’t bring himself to hit his little darling.

“Only a few days of online dating, and you’re already in love?” Zhao Yudao gritted his teeth and squeezed out the question.

“You don’t understand,” Shen Shuyi said, becoming increasingly absorbed in his fabricated story. “That’s the power of love at first sight.”

“No money, no house, no car, and you’re still willing to date him?” “I’d live with him even if it were a cockroach house.” Zhao Yuheng really hadn’t realized that this little devil she’d raised was such a romantic.

“Alright, you’ve asked most of your questions, right? I’m leaving.” Shen Shuyi stood up again and headed for the door, only to be stopped by Zhao Yuheng once more.

“Can’t you sleep with me just because you have a boyfriend? Why?”

“To avoid suspicion.” Shen Shuyi blinked again.

Zhao Yuheng was silent. “If we’re just ordinary friends, what’s there to avoid? We’ll sleep here tonight.”

Hearing the words “ordinary friends” made Shen Shuyi feel a little awkward, but when she heard she’d sleep here, she felt that things weren’t entirely hopeless.

To be honest, he didn’t want to leave either.

Sleeping in Zhao Yuheng’s bedroom would make it easier for him to carry out his second plan.

After hesitating for a moment, Shen Shuyi put down his bag and nodded, “Okay.” Zhao Yuheng felt like he had dug a hole for himself.

He was unhappy that Shen Shuyi was leaving; he had actually agreed to sleep separately from him because of a complete stranger he met online.

Shen Shuyi’s refusal to leave also made Zhao Yuheng feel aggrieved. Didn’t this mean Shen Shuyi accepted that they weren’t even just ordinary friends?

He really didn’t even bother to avoid suspicion towards him.

Ever since Shen Shuyi announced he had an online boyfriend, he’d started acting convincingly.

When he went to sleep, he no longer snuggled into Zhao Yuheng’s arms, but instead spent most of the night on his phone, chatting with a file transfer assistant.

Zhao Yuheng could easily see that Shen Shuyi’s acting was terrible, but his intelligence was clouded by jealousy, and he didn’t even consider the possibility that Shen Shuyi was lying to him.

For several days in a row, Shen Shuyi would deliberately reply to Zhao Yuheng’s messages late.

After a while, Shen Shuyi would slowly explain: “Sorry, I was chatting with my boyfriend just now and didn’t see your message.”

Zhao Yuheng would reply with an “Mm.”

But today, after Shen Shuyi sent a message, Zhao Yuheng didn’t reply.

He was getting a little anxious.

Shen Shuyi’s goal was to quickly make Zhao Yuheng jealous and realize his true feelings for him.

He wasn’t really going to break up with Zhao Yuhengyi over a virtual character!

He was careful with his actions. Seeing that Zhao Yuheng didn’t reply, Shen Shuyi secretly sent a “Cat Chongchong” emoji, indicating he was observing.

[Busy.] Zhao Yuheng replied with a single word.

[Busy with what?]

[Cat staring.jpg] After a while, Zhao Yuheng replied: [At HKU.] Oh, so at HKU.

He wondered why he hadn’t seen Zhao Yuheng at school today.

“What are you doing at HKU? Visiting ahead of time?”

Zhao Yuheng was taking the Hong Kong DSE entrance exam this year, and all the top universities were paying close attention to him.

St. Paul’s University has a close relationship with HKU, often organizing student trips to HKU events to help students make a good impression and apply there.

[Hmm] Zhao Yuheng replied: [While you’re at it, go see your online boyfriend.] Tch.

So what if you got into university? Now he replies word by word.

Shen Shuyi stared at his phone for a while, deciding to ignore Zhao Yuheng for a few minutes.

He slammed his phone on the table, propped his chin up, cupped his face, and stared blankly at the sports field for a few minutes.

Then, as if suddenly snapping out of his daze, he picked up his phone and stared at Zhao Yuheng’s message.

—[While you’re at it, go see your online boyfriend.]
Shen Shuyi: ? ? ? ?

Damn it!

HKU doesn’t even have such a person!

Where is he supposed to see him?!

Shen Shuyi skipped his afternoon classes and rushed to HKU.

Zhao Yuheng was already waiting for him at the gate. Shen Shuyi’s first words to him were, “You haven’t found my boyfriend yet, have you?”

Zhao Yuheng said, “You rushed over here and this is the first thing you say to me? Shen Shuyi, what are you afraid of? Afraid I’ll find your boyfriend and beat him up?”

Shen Shuyi: “…” Zhao Yuheng lowered her eyes and suddenly said, “Or are you afraid I won’t be able to find him?”

“How could I not find him!” Shen Shuyi reacted instantly.

Zhao Yuheng suddenly smiled, her eyes crinkling.

Shen Shuyi: “…” This is bad.

Shang Mei, his childhood friend, was grinning like a vixen, feeling like he knew something.

“Since you’ve come all this way, I wanted to meet him and give him my opinion,” Zhao Yuheng said slowly. “Not just any man can steal our little Shuyi away, right?”

“He…he went out today, so he might not be at school.”

“What about tomorrow?” Zhao Yuheng asked.

“Tomorrow… I might have to go out tomorrow too.”

“The day after tomorrow, you won’t have to go out again, will you?”
“…Yeah. Yes!”

“What about this week?”
Shen Shuyi forced a smile: “…I’ll be going out.”
The atmosphere fell silent.

Zhao Yuheng said, “Shen Shuyi, is your boyfriend planning to continue studying?”

“…”
“Oh! Don’t worry about it! He’s a genius, a week without studying won’t bother him!”

“Hmm. He’s addicted to video games but still gets good grades, right? Where did you find this novel’s male protagonist character? Do you have any resources? Share them so I can take a look.”
Shen Shuyi turned around and muttered, “Zhao Yuheng, are you jealous? Is it so hard to admit someone else’s excellence?”

Zhao Yuheng stared at him, a scene from an hour ago suddenly flashing through her mind.

St Paul organized a student exchange program at HKU, and he was among them, but he was in a bad mood.

A classmate, noticing his recent odd behavior, bumped his shoulder as they got off the bus: “Hey bro, what’s wrong with you lately? You look so gloomy. People would think your wife ran away.” Wife ran away?

More or less. Shen Shuyi was about to have a better friend.

Oh, a boyfriend.

“It’s nothing,” Zhao Yuheng said, his tone low.

“Something’s not right with you,” his classmate said. “How are you going to take the exams like this? Don’t let everyone else pass and you fail.” “You should worry about yourself,” Zhao Yuheng said casually. “I’ve already received my acceptance letter.”

…Oh.

He’d forgotten that this damn man’s academic performance was outrageously good.

He had almost no worries about further education.

His only worry was whether to stay in China or study abroad.

Zhao Yuheng didn’t speak again. Seeing his avoidance of the topic, his classmate suddenly spoke up again, “It’s not really heartbreak, is it? You’re dating someone? That can’t be, I haven’t seen any girls around you lately…” Zhao Yuheng’s emotions had been in turmoil lately; otherwise, given his personality, even if the sky were falling, he wouldn’t confide in anyone.

Right now, he was grasping at straws.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Yuheng said, “Shen Shuyi recently found a boyfriend.”

Classmate: …You’re such a brother-obsessed idiot, so it’s because of your brother’s messy affairs.

“But I’m very unhappy,” Zhao Yuheng murmured.

Isn’t it normal for you to be unhappy? You’re a brother-obsessed person to a certain degree these days.

“I’ll do my best…we’ll always be together,” Zhao Yuheng said.

You think that’s pretty idealistic.

“No friendships last forever, right?” her classmate said. “Except for boyfriends and girlfriends? To be honest, you and Shen Shuyi aren’t related by blood. Haven’t you two really considered dating?”

Zhao Yuheng said, “We’d at least wait until he’s an adult.”

Damn!

You actually thought about that?!

“But he has a boyfriend now, which means,” Zhao Yuheng slowly began, “that he doesn’t have those feelings for me.”

“Not necessarily.” Everyone around them isn’t blind to how clingy Shen Shuyi is.

If that’s not true love, then there’s no such thing as true love in this world.

“Have you met Shen Shuyi’s boyfriend?”

“No.”

“No photos either?”

“No,” Zhao Yuheng said, “He’s an online boyfriend. He won’t let us see his boyfriend’s photos.”

She said this through gritted teeth.

Zhao Yuheng’s teeth nearly ground to powder at the thought of that man she’d never met.

“Didn’t see a single thing?” his friend asked curiously. “Something’s not right, bro. You know, there are two things in the world that can’t be hidden? The first is a cough, and the second is being in love.”

“A person can’t hide being in love this well. It’s like a cough—it can’t be hidden,” his friend said. “Plus, with your brother’s flirtatious personality, wouldn’t he post a hundred updates on social media about being in love? Hiding it so well that even you don’t know?”

His friend added meaningfully, “I think it’s probably nothing.” Zhao Yuheng, prompted by this, suddenly seemed to realize something.

Shen Shuyi’s relationship was already suspicious enough, and after just a little thought, the oddities were like seashells left after the tide receded, gradually surfacing.

“HKU, 1.89 meters tall, quiet, handsome, studying translation,” Zhao Yuheng murmured.

“Who’s that?” his friend asked curiously. “Shen Shuyi’s new boyfriend.”

Her friend exclaimed in surprise, “Isn’t that you?!”

She’s introducing herself right here!

Zhao Yuheng suddenly turned to her friend, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Zhao Yuheng remained silent, and Shen Shuyi began to panic.

“Why are you staring at me without saying anything?”

“Nothing,” Zhao Yuheng smiled, “I’ve just figured out some things.”

“…Oh.”

Shen Shuyi’s purpose in coming was to prevent Zhao Yuheng from discovering the truth. The longer they stayed inside HKU, the more dangerous it would be. He changed the subject: “How long are you going to look around? I’m a little hungry.”

Zhao Yuheng glanced at the time: “About two more hours? If you’re hungry, should we go eat first?”

Shen Shuyi nodded quickly.

Zhao Yuheng said, “Then call your boyfriend too, and ask him to come out and eat with us.”

Shen Shuyi: “…”

What’s wrong with Zhao Yuheng today?!

“Didn’t I already tell you, he’s out!” Shen Shuyi’s voice grew louder as he became more guilty.

“Perfect, I’m not in a hurry.” Zhao Yuheng slowly looked up: “Go ahead and call him. I’ll watch you call him until he comes over to eat together.”

Shen Shuyi now truly felt like he’d lifted a rock only to have it stick in his own back.

Under Zhao Yuheng’s watchful gaze, he reluctantly took out his phone and slammed it onto the dial pad.

Zhao Yuheng calmly approached, lowered her head slightly, and breathed hotly on his ear, asking, “Shuyi, you haven’t even saved your boyfriend’s number? Do you need to dial it now?”

“It’s none of your business! This just shows I have a good memory; I can recite my boyfriend’s number perfectly.”

“Hmm. Go ahead and memorize it.”

“…” Shen Shuyi felt like he was holding a time bomb, not a phone.

Why did he even believe that witch and create a fake boyfriend for himself?

Now, if he couldn’t make the call, Shen Shuyi would be mortified!

Or… should he pretend to call Zhao Ci? Better than awkwardly dying here with Zhao Yuheng.

Two minutes passed, and Shen Shuyi still hadn’t moved.

“Can’t remember it?” Zhao Yuheng asked.

Shen Shuyi’s mind raced, countless excuses vying to appear.

Unexpectedly, the next second, Zhao Yuheng snatched Shen Shuyi’s phone away.

He exclaimed “Hey!” as Zhao Yuheng quickly dialed a string of numbers that Shen Shuyi knew by heart.

Just as he dialed, Zhao Yu’s phone rang.

Shen Shuyi was stunned: “You, why are you dialing your own number?”

“Weren’t you going to ask your online boyfriend out for dinner?” Zhao Yu raised an eyebrow: “If you really can’t get him, why don’t you take a look at me?”

“Do I look like your online boyfriend?”

Shen Shuyi’s mind went blank for a long time, trying to process Zhao Yu’heng’s words.

Several seconds later, he exclaimed in horror, “You noticed?”

“Your acting is so bad, you can keep going, but I can’t keep up the act anymore.” Zhao Yuheng said helplessly, “Shen Shuyi, what were you thinking, making up a fake boyfriend to fool me?”

“…”
“That’s because…” Shen Shuyi hadn’t recovered yet, blurting out subconsciously.

“Because of what?” Zhao Yuheng asked, “Because I didn’t confess to you?”

Shen Shuyi’s aggressive demeanor instantly subsided, and he nodded cutely.

Zhao Yuheng sighed, “I originally wanted to wait until you graduated high school.”

“So long?!”

“Is it really that long?” Zhao Yu said, “Shen Shuyi, our relationship is different from others. Have you thought about what would happen if I confessed to you, whether you accept or not? If I fail, how will we get along? If you accept and then break up with me, how will we get along?”

Shen Shuyi hadn’t really thought about this.

“If you like someone, be together; if you don’t, break up.”

“This is a very serious issue for me,” Zhao Yuheng said softly. “I can’t bear the outcome of confessing my feelings, nor can I bear the thought of you just casually dating me and then dumping me.”
Shen Shuyi touched his nose. “I won’t…”

“You won’t,” Zhao Yuheng said. “I’ve thought it through recently, and I realize I can’t accept the reality of you being with someone else. If you really dump me then…”
Shen Shuyi looked at him.

“I’ll haunt you even as a ghost,” Zhao Yuheng said calmly.

Shen Shuyi later recalled this confession and still felt some regret.

It was on his eighteenth birthday, New Year’s Eve. The Shen family had chartered a yacht out to Victoria Harbour for a birthday banquet on their newly purchased yacht.

He had just turned eighteen and, encouraged by his classmates, drank a few glasses of wine, becoming quite drunk, and came to the deck.

Zhao Yuheng, worried he would catch a cold, immediately hugged him the moment he came out.

Hearing Shen Shuyi complain about the hasty confession, Zhao Yuheng laughed and said, “So, what kind of confession do you imagine it to be?”

“At least there should be roses covering the ground, four helicopters, and a deluge of petals falling from the sky…” Shen Shuyi said drunkenly.

“Then wouldn’t we need a hot air balloon, preferably to shout our love from inside?”

“Wouldn’t that be a bit cheesy?” Shen Shuyi hesitated.

“A bit,” Zhao Yuheng nodded.

Shen Shuyi laughed and punched him lightly: “Get lost, get lost, or you’ll lose your boyfriend.”

Zhao Yuheng let him pinch and hit him, refusing to let go, even biting him a few times on the cheek: “I’ll deal with you when we get home tonight.”

Shen Shuyi scoffed, muttering, “I’m not afraid.”

Zhao Yuheng, being a bit of a rogue, pinned him against the railing, nudging him twice, “Really not afraid?” Shen Shuyi panted, his features almost glowing brightly under the neon lights: “Ugh! I’m speechless… Someone’s going to see this!” The clock struck midnight, and countless fireworks burst across Victoria Harbour.

Shen Shuyi watched this scene, muttering, “Why does this look so familiar?”

“What looks familiar?” Zhao Yuheng asked softly.

“Do you remember that online boyfriend I made up for you?”

“Yeah.” Zhao Yuheng felt a little jealous thinking about it now.

“That guy wasn’t made up,” Shen Shuyi said. “I had a dream once where you got separated from Aunt Zhuang when you were little, and instead of growing up with me, you grew up alone in the slums. The dream felt so real; I still remember what it was like when I woke up.”

Zhao Yuheng raised an eyebrow and said, “I heard that dream is about another parallel world version of you.”

“Really?” Shen Shuyi immediately took the bait: “Was the other parallel world version of you really that poor?”

“…” Zhao Yuheng sighed helplessly: “What happened after that dream? Did the poor Zhao Yuheng meet the poor Shen Shuyi?”

“Hehe, sorry, you might be disappointed. Shen Shuheng was incredibly rich in the dream too.” Shen Shuyi said smugly.

“Did we meet in your dream?”

“Yes. I dreamt I became your creditor, and you even took me to stay at a cockroach-infested house!” Shen Shuyi said, still shaken. “When you made me dinner, you put cockroaches in my bowl, saying it was for protein.”

“Am I that bad?”

“Yes.” Shen Shuyi said, “Repent properly. Transfer five million to me later as a token of your sincerity, so I can see your apology.”

“Okay.” Shen Shuyi asked, “Do you really have that much money? You didn’t transfer all your college money to me, did you?”

“No. I recently started a new company with a friend, and this is a contract payment I just received.” Zhao Yuheng said, “After the project ends, we should have a profit of about twenty or thirty million.”

Shen Shuyi knew Zhao Yuheng had been acting mysteriously lately, but he didn’t expect him to have started a business in his freshman year of college.

“I really envy you,” Shen Shuyi said wistfully. “I told my brother I wanted to start a business, and he said the best way to make money is for me not to start one, haha.”

Shen Shuyi thought to himself, “Do I really look that unreliable?”

“It’s okay. We only need one person in our family who can earn money. Whatever you want to buy in the future, your husband will support you.”

Tch.

He’s already talking about “husband” before even proposing.

Dream on.

Shen Shuyi didn’t argue, basking in his own happiness for a while.

The wind on the deck was a bit strong, and Zhao Yuheng didn’t want him to stay there in the wind for too long, lest he get a headache.

Shen Shuyi insisted on watching the entire fireworks show, then mumbled sleepily, “Zhao Yuheng, do you think this dream might really be from a parallel world?”

“It’s hard to say,” Zhao Yuheng said, leaning down to kiss him. “If it is, then it means that no matter which parallel world we’re in, we’ll end up together.”

Shen Shuyi chuckled, “Why?” Zhao Yuheng gave his young lover a soft laugh, tenderly kissing him, and murmured, “Because we are unparalleled friends, and inseparable lovers.”

[Childhood Sweethearts – End]

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