AMBTICPIB Chapter 6

In the room, Shen Chunhan set down his teacup. “Oh, they’ve arrived?”

Butler Wang replied, “The Chu Family child is here too.”

Shen Chunhan seemed somewhat interested in Chu Yi. “How is the child?”

Butler Wang thought for a moment. “He looks quite afraid of Shen Jin.” Ever since getting out of the car, he’s been carefully following Shen Jin, looking like a pitiful little thing. It’s no wonder. Chu Yi was found and brought back after being lost for so long. He has no emotional connection to the Chu Family and was never favored there to begin with. If he were favored, they wouldn’t have sent him to live with Shen Jin.

Thinking of Shen Jin’s expressionless face, Shen Chunhan said, “I doubt anyone wouldn’t be afraid of him.” Even he felt a little intimidated when he looked at Shen Jin now.

Shen Chunhan asked Butler Wang, “Do you think what we suspect is true?”

Butler Wang hesitated, still unsure. “It’s still too unbelievable to wrap my head around. If it were true, Shen Jin wouldn’t just have one bodyguard.”

Shen Chunhan considered this and decided he might be overthinking things. “You’re right. Let’s confirm it later.”

The two men discussed in a low voice.

After a moment, Shen Chunhan stood up, smiling. “I should go down and see my son.”

Since arriving at the Shen Family estate, Chu Yi had felt extremely uncomfortable. He even found their old villa more comfortable than this place. As he was thinking this, he saw a man in his fifties descending the stairs.

“Shen Jin, Chu Yi is here. Let’s eat right away.”

The man was thin and wiry, with graying hair and sharp, cunning eyes. Although Shen Chunhan wore a smile, Chu Yi’s first reaction was unease. He instinctively moved closer to Shen Jin.

Shen Chunhan said, “Shen Jin, it’s been ages since we’ve had a proper meal together, just the two of us. Let’s make the most of today.”

The Shen Family had prepared a lavish dinner. At the table, Shen Chunhan wore a warm, friendly smile. “Chu Yi, feel free to order whatever you like. Treat this place like your own home. Eat whatever you want.”

He looked like a kindly elder.

Chu Yi glanced at Shen Jin before replying, “Thank you.”

Shen Jin seemed to have little appetite, merely picking at his food before putting down his chopsticks.

Shen Chunhan acted as if he hadn’t seen anything and said to Chu Yi, “I specially made a sea cucumber soup today. It tastes quite good. Chu Yi, try some.”

Hearing this, Butler Wang carefully ladled a bowl of the soup and brought it over.

The soup had been simmered for a long time and was still steaming hot from just being taken off the stove. It smelled delicious.

When Chu Yi saw Shen Jin put down his chopsticks, he paused for a moment before doing the same. He heard Shen Jin say to him, “Eat.”

Only then did Chu Yi pick up his chopsticks again.

He had been silently watching the steaming bowl of sea cucumber soup. He had never tasted it before and wondered what it would taste like.

Butler Wang had been walking steadily at first, but whether it was because the floor was too slippery or he simply wasn’t paying attention, he stumbled slightly as he approached.

The bowl he was carrying was filled with scalding hot soup. If it spilled on someone, it would surely burn.

Chu Yi immediately stood up and grabbed Butler Wang’s arm. Butler Wang, startled by Chu Yi’s sudden movement, jerked his hand, and the steaming sea cucumber soup splashed onto Chu Yi.

The exquisite and expensive porcelain bowl shattered into several pieces on the floor, and the soup spread across the floor.

Chu Yi’s vision darkened, and a searing pain shot through his hand. It felt as if he had placed his hand directly over a raging fire. His temples throbbed violently.

At the same time, tears welled up in Chu Yi’s eyes, competing to spill over.

Butler Wang, clearly taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, jumped in surprise at the sight of Chu Yi’s tears. “Is Chu Yi alright? Quick, rinse it with cold water!”

Chu Yi, overwhelmed by pain and fear, stood frozen in place, completely stunned and unsure what to do.

Through the haze of his confusion, Chu Yi felt someone pulling him by the hand and leading him to the bathroom.

A cool, soothing sensation spread across the back of his burning hand. Looking down, Chu Yi saw Shen Jin holding his hand under the faucet, rinsing it with cold water.

Through his tear-blurred vision, Chu Yi saw Shen Jin’s brow furrow in concern. He had never seen anyone cry so much. He wondered if all the water in Chu Yi’s body had turned into tears.

Chu Yi knew he was crying in front of Shen Jin again, making him angry again. He choked out a tearful explanation, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry. But it really hurts so much, I can’t control it. It hurts so, so much.”

Even as he spoke, his voice was choked with sobs, and tears flowed like a steady stream, soaking his cheeks and dripping onto his chest, dampening his clothes.

Shen Jin frowned, his lips moving as if he were about to speak. Just then, Butler Wang approached with concern. “Young Master, is Chu Yi alright? I’ve found some burn cream.”

Shen Jin glanced at the butler. “Get a clean towel.”

Butler Wang quickly fetched a clean towel and handed it to Shen Jin. “Leave,” Shen Jin ordered coldly.

Butler Wang hesitated, wanting to say something more, but Shen Jin’s icy gaze sent shivers down his spine. He dared not speak further and hastily retreated. He had a bad feeling—had Shen Jin discovered something?

Only the two of them remained in the bathroom. Shen Jin handed the towel to Chu Yi. “Wipe yourself. You look disgusting.”

Chu Yi wiped his tears as he sobbed, “It really hurts, *sob* *sob* *sob*.”

Shen Jin frowned. “Can’t you stop crying?”

Chu Yi said nothing, just kept crying. The clean towel was already soaked. Clearly, he couldn’t stop—he had no control over his tears.

Chu Yi was terrified of pain. Even a minor scratch or ache would secretly redden his eyes. Now, scalding hot soup had burned him. The pain was excruciating. In that moment, Chu Yi had even thought he was going to die.

Even though he knew Shen Jin disliked seeing others cry in front of him, even though he knew he might be kicked out for shedding tears, Chu Yi couldn’t help himself.

Shen Jin: “Why weren’t you sitting still? What were you doing over here?”

*Is he going to settle the score now?*

Chu Yi sniffled, “I just saw that old man about to fall and wanted to help him.” He looked at the butler, who was about the same age as Uncle Wen. If he had fallen, it would have been terrible.

But who could have predicted that the butler’s feet were unsteady and his hands even more so?

Chu Yi whispered, “It’s a good thing the soup didn’t burn you. It hurt so much.”

Chu Yi thought about it. If he hadn’t held onto the butler, the scalding soup would probably have spilled all over Shen Jin.

Tears continued to stream down Chu Yi’s face. He didn’t notice Shen Jin’s expression falter. From the beginning, the bracelet on Shen Jin’s wrist had remained perfectly still, showing no signs of abnormality.

Even after rinsing with cold water, Chu Yi’s hand was still red and swollen, looking alarming.

They had been rinsing for over fifteen minutes, but as soon as Chu Yi’s hand left the cold water, the burning pain returned, as if a layer of skin was about to peel off.

Chu Yi cried out, “It hurts! It hurts so much!”

Shen Jin continued rinsing with cold water.

After another fifteen minutes under the faucet, Chu Yi finally felt a slight improvement—but only slight. His entire hand still burned intensely.

The clean towel was soaked with Chu Yi’s tears.

After the cold water had cooled the burn, Shen Jin applied burn cream to Chu Yi’s hand.

As soon as he touched Chu Yi’s hand, Chu Yi cried out, and the tears he had barely managed to stop began to fall again. “Mr. Shen, it hurts.”

Seeing Chu Yi cry so much in such a short time, Shen Jin grew irritated. He snapped, “Shut up! No crying.”

The harsh tone startled Chu Yi. He froze for two seconds, his lips quivering, and his tears flowed even more freely.

Sobbing softly, Chu Yi said, “I don’t want to cry, but it really hurts. I’ll do it myself.” He thought Shen Jin was impatient with applying the ointment.

Shen Jin took a deep breath, his voice softening slightly. “Just bear with it.”

Chu Yi pleaded, “Can we skip the ointment? My hand hurts so much right now, and touching it makes it worse.”

Shen Jin retorted, “Do you have any common sense? If you don’t apply the ointment, do you want your hand to heal? Do you want to be left with scars?”

Under his stern gaze, Chu Yi fell silent. Shen Jin was so scary.

As Shen Jin applied the ointment, he didn’t seem to know his own strength. Each touch made Chu Yi’s hand tremble. If Shen Jin hadn’t been holding it, Chu Yi would have pulled his hand away.

It had been so long since he had felt pain like this.

Through Chu Yi’s tears, Shen Jin frowned as he applied the ointment to the back of his hand. This was probably the most patience he had shown in over twenty years.

After applying the medicine to Chu Yi’s hand, Shen Jin’s brow twitched, likely triggered by Chu Yi’s tears.

Chu Yi’s left hand was now red and swollen, and Shen Jin’s expression had grown even more serious than before.

Shen Chunhan, feeling guilty, said, “Butler Wang really is getting old. He can’t even hold a bowl steady anymore. He didn’t mean to do it. I think he should retire. Is Chu Yi alright? That burn looks pretty bad. Should we call a doctor?”

Shen Jin replied, “Is that so?”

Shen Chunhan insisted, “Of course. Butler Wang is really old now. His hands and feet aren’t as nimble as they used to be. Today’s incident was his fault, but he really didn’t do it on purpose.”

With this accident, continuing the meal was impossible. Shen Jin took his mother’s stock transfer agreement and prepared to leave with Chu Yi.

Shen Chunhan called out, “Why don’t you stay and finish your meal?”

Without even pausing, Shen Jin led Chu Yi out of the villa and into the car.

After they left, the butler breathed a sigh of relief, while Shen Chunhan’s expression darkened. “What happened?”

The butler explained, “Who could have predicted Chu Yi would suddenly reach out to steady me? Otherwise, the soup would have spilled all over Shen Jin.”

Thinking about Shen Jin’s expression just now, and knowing his methods and alertness, Shen Chunhan said, “Let’s drop this matter. Shen Jin has definitely figured out what we were planning. We can’t afford to provoke him any further.”

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