Chapter 5: An earth-shattering masochistic act

The summer wind blew wildly.

Then time reversed, moving backward again and again, until it returned to the summer of a certain year.

The sky was gloomy, and a torrential downpour was about to arrive. The humid summer wind blew continuously. Waves on the beach kept crashing against the shore, and the wet boundary kept pressing closer to people’s shoes.

Seventeen-year-old Meng Weiyu was riding a bicycle, wanting to return before the rain started to the villa where he was the only person staying today.

One hand gripped the bicycle handlebar, while the other stuffed a popsicle into his mouth. Because it was about to rain, there was almost no one on this road. Cars were not allowed to pass through here either, so his path was completely unobstructed.

Dark clouds filled the sky, and the shadow of rainfall surged from the sky toward the sea.

Meng Weiyu leisurely pedaled forward. He was just about to turn and leave this stretch of coastline.

Bright lightning appeared at the edge of the sky.

Someone like Meng Weiyu was truly very easily drawn to obvious things that changed, so his eyes instinctively turned over.

With that glance, he discovered something even more eye-catching than the lightning, hidden right beneath his gaze.

A person was sitting on the beach. His legs were drawn up, and both hands rested on his knees. Even though he was alone, his posture was not relaxed.

Meng Weiyu could not help stopping his bicycle. Then he craned his neck to look.

Unfortunately, the angle was wrong, so he still could not see that person’s face.

Meng Weiyu planted his foot on the ground and laboriously pushed forward two steps.

This finally let him see Shen Zhoudu’s face.

Unlike what Meng Weiyu had expected, Shen Zhoudu was not crying.

He was merely staring blankly at the sea. Because of the insufficient light, his pale blue eyes had darkened. Beside his foot lay a pair of glasses that had been broken.

A drop of water suddenly appeared on the smooth lens, signaling the prelude to the heavy rain.

Shen Zhoudu remained unmoved. He pressed his lips together, as if he smiled slightly, then stayed completely still.

“Hey!”

A voice came from not far away. Because there were usually quite a lot of people here, Shen Zhoudu did not react at all.

The voice stopped for a while.

“Whoa.”

A gust of wild wind blew from behind. Shen Zhoudu’s dyed black hair was blown crazily forward, revealing faint light brown roots near his scalp.

“Shen Zhoudu!”

The storm carried a familiar voice clearly calling his name.

Shen Zhoudu froze and widened his eyes in disbelief. Then he slowly turned his head.

Blown by the wind, the broken glasses knocked against Shen Zhoudu’s foot. He raised his head and instantly saw a familiar face above him. The wind was too strong. Meng Weiyu seemed to open his mouth and say something, but his sentences were broken and impossible to hear clearly. Shen Zhoudu watched his mouth open and close. He could not help leaning up, fully focused, trying to hear every sound clearly.

Halfway through speaking, Meng Weiyu gave up fighting against nature. He put on an impatient expression and waved at Shen Zhoudu.

His palm faced toward his own body. Because of the difference in elevation, the gesture naturally carried a condescending arrogance. Furthermore, his hand movement looked like he was calling some kind of pet, proud and teasing.

Shen Zhoudu could not control his body. He stood up, turned around, and walked toward him. The slippers on his feet were broken too. After taking two steps, he found it difficult to move forward, so he simply abandoned the shoes as well and walked barefoot straight to the base of the high wall. He raised his head and looked at the beautiful young man with naturally black hair and black eyes.

“It’s going to rain,” Meng Weiyu said.

“It is going to rain.” Shen Zhoudu had nothing to say, so he could only repeat his words.

Meng Weiyu let out a huge sigh.

Heavy rain began falling from the other side of the sea, constantly approaching the land.

Meng Weiyu rode the bicycle with Shen Zhoudu sitting on the back, quickly heading toward the villa.

Shen Zhoudu held a bag of snacks in his arms. Because of Meng Weiyu’s bicycle skills, his body nearly swayed off several times. He thought for a moment, then carefully reached out and grabbed the fabric at Meng Weiyu’s waist.

“You have to protect my dinner!” Seeing that it was about to rain, Meng Weiyu turned his head and demanded a promise from Shen Zhoudu.

“I swear.” Shen Zhoudu let go of the hand gripping Meng Weiyu’s clothes and raised two fingers toward him.

“You swear with three fingers. Forget it. Hold on tight. We’ll try to go faster.” Meng Weiyu turned his head back.

Hearing this, Shen Zhoudu did not hesitate at all. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Meng Weiyu’s waist.

“I…” Meng Weiyu was dragged backward by his strength, and a curse almost slipped out of his mouth.

There was no time to say anything more. The dark clouds had already completely arrived above their heads.

Heavy rain enveloped the entire world.

When they arrived under the eaves of the villa, Meng Weiyu pushed the bicycle and silently looked at the person opposite him. Shen Zhoudu was holding an empty bag. The snacks extended from beneath their feet all the way outside.

“It’s all because you rode the bicycle into that hole and jolted us. Also, the bag was already torn, and you didn’t tell me, so the things inside leaked out.” Shen Zhoudu was surprisingly articulate when making excuses. He had a natural instinct for shaking off responsibility and seeking proof of his own innocence.

Unfortunately, this trick did not work on Meng Weiyu. Rather, in Meng Weiyu’s eyes, he had become even more annoying now.

“If there’s anyone to blame, blame me for kindly giving you a ride. Now, can I ask you to get lost?” Meng Weiyu lifted his hand and pointed at the heavy rain outside.

Shen Zhoudu turned his head and glanced at the heavy rain outside. Then he reached out and pressed Meng Weiyu’s arm down.

Meng Weiyu was too lazy to tug and pull with him outside the door. He shook off his hand, turned around, and entered the password on the electronic lock.

During this time, Shen Zhoudu crouched down, picked up the only two remaining bags of snacks on the floor, and even reached out, wanting to stretch his hand toward the floor outside and pick up the snacks being pelted by the heavy rain.

“Forget them. We’ll each eat one bag. Even if we don’t get full for one night, we won’t starve to death.” Meng Weiyu opened the door. “Come in first. It feels like there’ll be thunder later.”

Shen Zhoudu crouched on the floor and raised his head to look at him.

Meng Weiyu looked down at him arrogantly.

This was the first step of Meng Weiyu inviting the wolf into his home.

Time returned to today. There was still some time before the damp air before the storm arrived, but the violent sun was still evaporating the breath of the earth.

Ning Wu temporarily left the ward and went outside to buy a drink. He was holding the chilled drink and gulping it down, easing the heat of summer, when his eyes happened to catch sight of two familiar figures slowly walking over from the end of the corridor.

The difference between the two of them was truly obvious. Although Meng Weiyu was currently wearing a hospital gown, it could not hide his flashy aura, delicate features, obviously dyed hair, and ostentatious nature that showed in every movement, as if he wished he could attract everyone’s attention.

Although Shen Zhoudu looked more eye-catching at first glance with his brown hair and blue eyes, everything about him was natural. He also used neat, proper clothing to reduce the attractiveness brought by his appearance. He walked upright and properly.

Meng Weiyu leaned against the wall and slowly moved forward. Shen Zhoudu stood an arm’s length away. Several times, he wanted to go over and support him, but Meng Weiyu chased him away with commanding words.

“Stay away from me.”

Whenever Shen Zhoudu heard him speak to him like this, he could not help obediently moving a little farther away.

“Farther.” Meng Weiyu was not satisfied. Did he think moving that tiny step was enough to fool a child?

Shen Zhoudu moved another step.

“You two.” Ning Wu twisted the cap tight and walked over, acting as the peacemaker. “You’ve already been married for so many years. Can’t you argue a little less?”

“Who would marry him?” Meng Weiyu limped into the room.

Ning Wu said, “You.”

Meng Weiyu’s steps stopped by the door.

Although he did not move, just from his back, he radiated an arrogant and terrifying aura.

Ning Wu fearfully retreated two steps. Then, as if he had thought of something, he quickly ran behind Shen Zhoudu and hid there.

Sure enough, Meng Weiyu turned his head in Ning Wu’s direction. However, he did not see Ning Wu, so he slowly moved his head a little more and successfully saw Ning Wu trembling behind Shen Zhoudu.

“Don’t mention this matter again.” Meng Weiyu pointed at Ning Wu, flying into a rage.

Ning Wu pushed Shen Zhoudu forward, and Meng Weiyu’s finger directly poked Shen Zhoudu’s chest.

Shen Zhoudu’s body trembled.

When he realized something, he immediately reached out, anxiously wanting to move Meng Weiyu’s finger away. However, because he was too flustered, he failed to control his strength, giving the illusion that he had directly slapped away the other person’s finger.

“Ah.” Shen Zhoudu wanted to explain.

“Remember this!” Meng Weiyu threatened him, then withdrew his hand and continued slowly dragging his feet into the ward.

“Little Du, he’s so fierce.” Ning Wu had already been yelled at several times today. “Was my Xiao Yu this irritable when he was seventeen?”

“Better than when he was twenty,” Shen Zhoudu affirmed.

“What did he do to you when he was twenty?” Because the two of them had a secret relationship for quite a while, Ning Wu did not know the details of their romance very well.

“He punched me in the face.” Shen Zhoudu remembered certain scenes from the past vividly.

The reason Meng Weiyu hit him was because he had confessed. Although he was not hit on the spot, after some time had passed following the confession and they met again, Meng Weiyu had rushed over from the other end of a road and punched him in the face.

His left hand, wearing two rings, touched his face. For some reason, a faint blush appeared on Shen Zhoudu’s face.

Ning Wu felt that liking Meng Weiyu was not strange, but someone who could make up his mind to marry him had to be an earth-shattering masochist.

Because of Shen Zhoudu’s arrival, he could continuously follow up with the hospital, sign documents, and confirm information. Meng Weiyu’s physical condition became increasingly clear.

Seeing how many things needed Shen Zhoudu’s signature to move forward, Meng Weiyu had an inappropriate thought.

“Then if my life were in danger, and you signed, wouldn’t you be able to pull my plug?”

Thinking about it like that, he suddenly felt as if someone had strangled his throat.

“Why would I do that? If you died, I’d be a widower.” Shen Zhoudu felt that the things he thought about were always very strange.

“But I’m very rich. If I die, the money will go into your pocket.” Meng Weiyu lay on the bed, groaning without illness. He suddenly realized how dangerous money was to him. His paternal grandparents and maternal grandparents should not have transferred money to him so early.

After Shen Zhoudu finished signing his name, he returned the documents to the hospital staff. Helplessly, he turned his head and said, “If I die, my money will go into your pocket too.”

“You already have chest muscles. When would it even be your turn to die?” Thinking of this, Meng Weiyu became even sadder.

Shen Zhoudu turned his head and looked at him. Then he suddenly walked over with a dark expression.

Meng Weiyu thought he was about to be hit and anxiously looked toward his friend sitting beside him.

“Xiao Yu, I’ll cut the apple into the shape of a rabbit for you.” Ning Wu did not receive his distress signal.

Who wanted some rabbit-shaped apple? His memory had gone back to seventeen, not seven!

While Meng Weiyu’s distress signal failed to send, Shen Zhoudu had already arrived beside him. Meng Weiyu nervously turned his head, only to see Shen Zhoudu already by his side and leaning over.

He hovered across Meng Weiyu’s hospital bed and bent down.

Meng Weiyu’s eyes happened to be level with his chest.

Shen Zhoudu took the blanket that had been pushed to the other side, tidied it up, and covered Meng Weiyu with it.

Meng Weiyu stared blankly.

“The air conditioning here is turned up a little too high,” Shen Zhoudu thought.

“I think the air conditioning is fine, but looking at what you’re wearing, I realize you really are cold.” In summer, when most people wore short sleeves and shorts, Shen Zhoudu, who should have been in England for a meeting, was still wearing that elegant, well-tailored suit.

Hearing this, Shen Zhoudu lowered his head without hesitation, took off his jacket, and placed it to the side. Then he folded up the sleeves of his shirt and sat back down on the chair.

Meng Weiyu discovered something.

This Shen Zhoudu really listened to him.

“Here, Xiao Yu, I finished cutting the apple. Hurry and eat!” Ning Wu happily shoved the apple next to Meng Weiyu’s mouth.

Meng Weiyu: “…”

The only comforting thing was that Ning Wu still seemed like the person in his memory.

Meng Weiyu took a piece of apple, thought for a moment, then waved at Shen Zhoudu.

His movement was like summoning a pet, rude and arrogant.

Shen Zhoudu obediently leaned over.

Meng Weiyu forcefully stuffed the apple directly into his mouth.

“Cough.” Shen Zhoudu choked, but he still habitually bit down on it.

Seeing this, Meng Weiyu smiled without warmth and thought that things were very bad.

If he did not get divorced, his chastity probably could not be protected.