AMBTICPIB Chapter 8

Watching the two of them leave together, Butler Wen smiled and went back to his duties.

Two maids were trimming the lawn while chatting.

“Did you see that Mr. Shen actually agreed to take Chu Yi to school?”

“There’s no need to be so surprised. Butler Wen asked Mr. Shen to do it, and Mr. Shen only agreed because he trusts and respects Butler Wen the most.”

“You’re right. Butler Wen seems to really like Chu Yi. I wonder what’s so special about him that Butler Wen is treating him so well.”

“Hey, didn’t Mr. Shen take Chu Yi to Old Mr. Shen’s place yesterday? Why did Chu Yi come back injured? Do you know what happened?”

“How could I possibly know? Probably Chu Yi caused some trouble at Old Mr. Shen’s place. Tsk tsk.”

“He cried in front of Mr. Shen again yesterday. Really, even if Butler Wen likes him, Mr. Shen must be utterly disgusted with him by now. I bet it won’t be long before Mr. Shen kicks him out of the Shen Family.”

The two maids gossiped in hushed tones. When they saw Butler Wen emerge, they immediately fell silent and resumed their work.

Sitting in the car with Shen Jin, Chu Yi was still very nervous. Shen Jin was tall and imposing even when standing, and his presence was impossible to ignore even when seated. Chu Yi instinctively leaned toward the car door, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

However, his left hand, wrapped in gauze, was anything but inconspicuous.

The car was eerily silent. After a moment’s thought, Chu Yi said, “Thank you, Mr. Shen, for driving me to school.”

Shen Jin replied, “You’re welcome.”

The car fell silent again. Chu Yi pouted. Shen Jin didn’t seem like the type to chat, and Chu Yi knew he wouldn’t strike up a conversation with him. So he silently closed his mouth.

Chu Yi glanced at Shen Jin, took a deep breath, and said, “Mr. Shen, you can drop me off here. I’ll just take a taxi to school.”

He knew Shen Jin was driving him only because of Butler Wen. He figured Shen Jin probably had other things to do and wondered if their routes even overlapped.

Shen Jin asked, “Can you handle taking a taxi on your own?”

Chu Yi replied, “Of course.”

To Chu Yi’s surprise, Shen Jin lightly touched his left hand, then immediately withdrew.

Chu Yi’s eyes widened instantly. Even that brief touch sent a sharp pain shooting through his arm.

Shen Jin asked, “Does it hurt?”

Chu Yi’s eyes immediately reddened, and he looked at Shen Jin pitifully. “Yes, it hurts.” He had no idea what he had done to offend Shen Jin.

Shen Jin said, “I barely touched you. Do you think you can guarantee you won’t bump your hand in a taxi?”

Chu Yi thought about it and realized he couldn’t guarantee that. Taxi drivers in this city drove pretty aggressively.

Shen Jin’s expression remained impassive. “So, stay in the car. Uncle Wen asked me to take you home. Don’t make him worry.”

Chu Yi wanted to argue, but one look at Shen Jin’s eyes made him swallow his words. He was afraid that if he said another word, Shen Jin would lose patience.

A few minutes after the car left the villa, the bodyguard in the front hesitated and asked, “Mr. Shen, where are we going?”

Shen Jin’s bodyguard, Chen Ye, had asked the question, and Shen Jin himself paused for a moment.

Shen Jin asked, “Which university do you attend?”

Chu Yi smiled. “Lanchang University.”

As soon as he mentioned the school’s name, Chen Ye, who was driving, immediately looked at him with deep admiration. Lanchang University was a prestigious national university, renowned throughout the country.

He had never been a good student, but he knew how difficult it was to get into Lanchang University.

He was surprised to learn that Chu Yi was a student there. Chen Ye had always admired those who excelled academically.

Shen Jin was also taken aback, and he couldn’t help but glance at Chu Yi.

He realized he knew nothing about his arranged marriage partner. He knew Chu Yi had gone to school to register, but he had assumed it was just an ordinary school.

It was like he didn’t understand why Chu Yi, despite knowing Shen Jin hated people crying in front of him and being clearly terrified of him, kept crying in front of him anyway.

Seeing Shen Jin remain silent, Chu Yi misinterpreted his reaction. He pulled out his student ID from his backpack and showed it to him. “I really am a student at Lanchang University.”

The ID card featured a photo of Chu Yi from high school, identical to his current appearance. He was strikingly handsome, though he looked thinner in the photo.

The car soon arrived at the entrance of Lanchang University.

As they got out, Chu Yi smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Shen.”

When Chu Yi entered the classroom, the unusual shape of his left hand immediately caught his classmates’ attention.

Jiang Xu, especially, was very concerned when he saw his desk mate’s left hand. “What happened to your hand?”

Chu Yi gave a simple explanation: “I accidentally burned myself while boiling water.”

Getting burned while boiling water was a common experience, so Jiang Xu didn’t question Chu Yi’s words. He just said, “Is it really bad? It’s wrapped up like a mummy.”

Ordinary burns wouldn’t require such extensive bandaging.

Chu Yi smiled. “It’s not too bad.” The worst pain had already passed. Now, though it still hurt, it was manageable. And if it became unbearable, he had painkillers.

Since only his left hand was injured, his right hand was completely unaffected. This meant his classes wouldn’t be disrupted.

That was precisely why Chu Yi insisted on attending class.

However, because of his injury, Jiang Xu kept a close eye on Chu Yi’s left hand all day, preventing anyone from getting too close. He treated Chu Yi as a frail patient who couldn’t care for himself. When Chu Yi wanted to drink water, Jiang Xu would preemptively unscrew the cap for him. Chu Yi couldn’t help but say, “I can still manage to open it myself.”

Jiang Xu said, “As your good friend, I’ll definitely protect and take care of you at school.”

Chu Yi was taken aback. He remembered someone else who had once claimed to be his best friend, only to betray him most viciously, nearly preventing him from attending university.

At lunchtime in the cafeteria, Jiang Xu shielded Chu Yi, transforming into his personal bodyguard: “Excuse me, please make way! Make way! Don’t crowd my friend!”

Chu Yi sighed, shaking his head.

After finding a table, Jiang Xu insisted that Chu Yi sit while he went to get their food. The university cafeteria offered a wide variety of delicious and affordable dishes, and most importantly, the serving aunties’ hands never trembled, always piling the plates high.

Butler Wen, concerned about Chu Yi’s well-being at school, called him during lunch.

Chu Yi assured him he was doing well, with classmates helping him get food. They were currently eating, so Uncle Wen shouldn’t worry.

Chu Yi felt touched. Over the past few weeks, he had sensed Butler Wen’s genuine care for him.

Hearing this, Butler Wen was relieved.

As they were about to hang up, Butler Wen said, “I’ll send you Shen Jin’s contact information in a moment. Add him when you have time, and feel free to contact him directly if you need anything.”

After a while, Chu Yi received a WeChat message from Butler Wen, who sent him Shen Jin’s contact card.

Chu Yi added Shen Jin.

*Chu Yi: Mr. Shen, this is Chu Yi.*

There was no response from the other side. Chu Yi figured Shen Jin must be busy and wouldn’t be checking his phone in real time, so he didn’t pay it any more attention after sending the message.

When Chu Yi returned home that evening, he found a mountain of gifts piled up in the living room.

As he was wondering what was going on, Butler Wen approached him. “These are for you.”

Chu Yi was puzzled.

Butler Wen explained that Shen Chunhan had sent them as an apology for yesterday’s incident. He had sent someone over in the afternoon to deliver the gifts as compensation.

Chu Yi looked at the pile of gifts, which was almost as tall as a small mountain. He still didn’t understand why Shen Chunhan was apologizing. It was Chu Yi who had accidentally burned himself; what did it have to do with Shen Chunhan? Besides, wasn’t Shen Chunhan on bad terms with Shen Jin? Why would he send Chu Yi so many gifts?

Just then, Shen Jin returned home. Seeing the mountain of gifts, Butler Wen explained the situation to him.

Looking at the mountain of gifts, Chu Yi glanced at Shen Jin, unsure if he could keep them. He knew Shen Jin and Shen Chunhan didn’t get along.

Meeting Chu Yi’s gaze, Shen Jin said, “If you don’t want them, you can just throw them out.”

“No, no, no!” Chu Yi quickly protested. “Don’t throw them away! It’s such a waste!”

Shen Jin’s words meant he could keep the gifts.

They all looked expensive.

Chu Yi examined the pile and spotted a brand-new phone. His current phone was quite old, so this was perfect—and it was the latest model!

He asked Shen Jin again, “Mr. Shen, can I really keep all of these?”

Shen Jin replied casually, “Whatever.”

A delighted smile spread across Chu Yi’s face.

Though his left hand was inconvenient, it didn’t stop him from tearing open the boxes. He pulled out a tablet, also the latest model.

He also unwrapped a set of skincare products from an extremely expensive brand—a complete set could easily cost tens of thousands of yuan.

Chu Yi even unearthed a hefty, gleaming gold bar.

Chu Yi: ……

Chu Yi didn’t understand why Shen Chunhan had sent so many gifts, but Shen Jin knew exactly what was happening. Today was the first day he had taken action, and Shen Chunhan was already terrified.

Shen Jin snorted inwardly. This was just the beginning.

With Butler Wen’s help, it took Chu Yi over an hour to unwrap all the gifts.

Some items were useful to Chu Yi, while others were not. But he decided to keep them anyway. Otherwise, as Shen Jin had said, he would have just thrown them out. Chu Yi thought that was a waste. Even if he couldn’t use them, he could sell them online.

All the gifts were brand new and would fetch a good price.

Still unsure, Chu Yi asked again during dinner, “Mr. Shen, can I do whatever I want with these things?”

Shen Jin glanced at him.

Chu Yi realized he hadn’t been clear enough earlier. “Can I sell the things I don’t need?”

Shen Jin replied casually, “Ask again, and I’ll throw them out directly.”

Chu Yi didn’t press the issue.

He wondered if Shen Jin was threatening to throw out the gifts or him.

Regardless, it was clear that he had complete freedom to dispose of the gifts as he wished.