Chapter 7: A Human with Emotions and Feelings

It was in the middle of the night when the Shen residence suddenly heard the ring of the doorbell. At that time, Shen Ru was laying on his bed, scrolling mindlessly through Weibo. Upon hearing the doorbell, he had thought that it was probably just one of his parents' visitors until Mother Shen knocked on the door and informed him, "It's Xiao Haoyu."

Shen Ru frowned, thinking that this didn't happen in the original plot at all. Despite his confusion, he nodded and headed to the doors. When he saw Gu Haoyu, he found that he was the same as before they separated at Tango Café. He was still wearing his school uniform and had brought two bulging backpacks.

"Why are you here? Don't tell me you ran away from home?" Shen Ru asked.

Gu Haoyu nervously scratched his head and said, "I did run away from home."

"Wait, seriously?" Shen Ru was shocked. He hadn't expected that something like this would happen at all. In the original plot, this had never happened. Gu Haoyu's parents did abandon him when Hua Xiu tried to attack their company, but throughout the original plot, Gu Haoyu remained the proud and arrogant rich second generation. He'd rather die than run away from his riches.

It must've been because of him that his fate in this life had changed. Shen Ru couldn't help but wonder if, instead of helping his two lackeys, he was doing the opposite.

"Let's talk about it inside. I'm freezing out here."

As Gu Haoyu turned to grab his luggage, Shen Ru explained the situation to his parents, "My friend's going to stay here for the night. Is that okay?"

Mother Shen nodded, already happy that her son had his own friends. "Of course, of course."

As soon as Shen Ru shut the door to his room, Gu Haoyu began talking about what happened, "Ever since I entered high school and started to hang out with you guys, my parents stopped caring about me. At first, they tried to say that you guys were a bad influence, but as time passed, they just simply ignored me. They only talked to me when it was about family reunions. Hell, I didn't have a birthday party."

"As I grew up, I realized that the reason they stopped caring about me was that I wasn't heir material anymore. My younger brother, who's a year younger than me, in comparison, was the better candidate for running our company. Unlike me, he's handsome and intelligent. He's at the top of his class."

Shen Ru interrupted, "…Gu Haoyu, you're handsome and intelligent too."

Gu Haoyu smiled and shook his head. "He's more handsome and intelligent than me. My parents are prouder of him than me. When you suggested changing our image, while I looked hesitant about it, in fact, deep inside I was hoping that my parents will care about me again if I acted more like my younger brother."

"When I returned home with my hair changed, they didn't even notice it at first. My younger brother did, and he mentioned it, and that's how my parents even found out about it. Aside from that, nothing changed."

"Remember that hard History quiz we just had this morning? I was feeling very proud of my score. So, I brought it to my parents when I arrived home earlier. Do you want to know how they reacted?" Gu Haoyu paused and chuckled. "They just nodded and said they were busy. Shit, when my younger brother was showing off his scores in his English quiz, they were so proud that they had it framed on the wall. Why is there a big difference between the both of us?"

"Even now, I'm confused why they stopped caring about me. I've changed for the better now, why do they still ignore me? Or is my younger brother just so better than me? So better that they don't need me anymore?" Gu Haoyu was crying now, tears dripping down his cheeks. "Boss Ru, I don't want to feel like this anymore. I just want someone to care about me, anyone!"

At this moment, hearing Gu Haoyu's emotional words, Shen Ru realized that he had been treating this world too perfunctorily. Whether it was intentional or not, he had once considered Gu Haoyu and Jia Hao as just his two "lackeys". He never saw them as people with real emotions and backstories. Even when Gu Haoyu showed up at his door earlier, he instinctively thought about the original plot rather than care about his friend.

Shen Ru clenched his fist, feeling ashamed of himself and sorry for Gu Haoyu for having a bad friend. "Gu Haoyu… Jia Hao cares about you, I do care, the girls who confessed to you this week care, heck, even that dog in school we petted probably cares about you, you can have a happy life without those good-for-nothing parents caring about you."

Although his tears were still falling down, Gu Haoyu managed to let out a chuckle. "Aish, Boss, can't you stop talking about my admirers in such a serious situation?"

Shen Ru chuckled. "No can do."

Gu Haoyu laughed a bit more and then switched to a serious expression. "Thinking about it logically, maybe my parents had lost hope for me long ago. Trying to change now would be pointless. I won't ever undo the bad image they have of me. So, I ran away from home."

"Do you bring some pocket money? It'll be hard to live if you completely decide not to go back," Shen Ru said.

Gu Haoyu nodded and grinned. "Not just some pocket money, I even have a bank account." He brought out a bank card and said, "Check this out!"

"Wouldn't your parents cancel your bank account?"

"Heh, it's my own account. I had my own savings from my weekly allowance. Skimping out on food definitely proved right."

"Where will you live from now on, though? I can probably get my parents to let you stay here for tomorrow night, but won't agree forever."

Gu Haoyu shrugged. "I'll try to find an apartment tomorrow, maybe I can go look for a part-time job. The money I have can't last for that long."

Shen Ru thought about his contacts and suggested, "I know some people, I can get you a part-time job if you'd like."

"No, thanks, I want to do it on my own. Just think of it as me trying to find out if I'm really a good-for-nothing like my parents consider me."

Shen Ru frowned. "You're not a good-for-nothing. If you were, then I would be too. I, myself, am to blame for leading you astray, and I am sorry for that. Acting like complete delinquents and fighting people wasn't good for us. However, even if we weren't good people, we at least were humans that had emotions and feelings."

Although he wasn't the original Shen Ru, Shen Ru knew that he at least had to try to apologize to Gu Haoyu for leading him astray for years. If it hadn't been for the original Shen Ru's repeated encouragement of their behavior, they wouldn't have ended up in difficult times in the original plot. Of course, Shen Ru didn't have full responsibility for their actions, but he did have a part.

"What are you apologizing for, Boss? It was my own choice to stick with you, and I don't regret doing so." Gu Haoyu changed the topic, "Anyway if I can't find a part-time job, I'll ask for help from you so there's no need to worry."

While Shen Ru wanted to comfort Gu Haoyu more, he knew that he didn't have the right to do so. He had only known Gu Haoyu for a month, and even taking the original Shen Ru's place to comfort Gu Haoyu felt wrong. His limit was telling that he at least cared for Gu Haoyu in some way.

"You better remember that, don't come crying to me if you get involved in an MLM scheme."

"Okay, you're insulting my intelligence now."

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On the next day, after class, Shen Ru told Jia Hao, "No tutoring lessons today, Gu Haoyu is looking for an apartment."

Jia Hao was confused. "Why is he looking for an apartment?"

"I ran away from home, it's pretty cool," Gu Haoyu answered.

"You…ran away from home? That's pretty badass!" Jia Hao was open-mouthed. "If I did that, my old man would hit me hard with his slippers…"

Then, Jia Hao remembered Jun Zixin. "What about Jun xuezhang? Does he know that we're not going?"

"Of course, he does. I've already talked to him about it," Shen Ru explained.

Jia Hao hummed. "…You know, Boss Ru, I noticed you're a lot closer to Jun Xuezhang than the two of us."

"Well, we do talk occasionally. Why are you talking about this?" Shen Ru replied.

"You know how about I'm an admin in the school forum?"

Even Gu Haoyu was surprised. "You're an admin in the school forum?"

"Don't underestimate me." Jia Hao chuckled. "Anyway, recently some members put up a poll about the best male CPs in our school."

"I think I have a bad feeling about this," Gu Haoyu remarked with a serious expression on his face.

"Our CPs didn't really top the poll, but there was one between me and Yu Yu. There was another between Boss Ru and Jun xuezhang."

Shen Ru was completely baffled. "I can get you two, but why is there one between me and…?"

"I tried to ask some members and they said that you two had a chemistry." Then, Jia Hao changed the topic, "Anyway, it's just some nonsense. Where are we going to look for an apartment? An apartment in a subdivision might be better for privacy and security."

This topic was soon forgotten by them as they bantered on the way out of the school.

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After Gu Haoyu was finally settled in an apartment and a part-time job that he was able to find after some difficulty, Shen Ru set his attention on his next goal: to go to Grandmother Hua's hospital to ask around about her. Because Grandmother Hua's surviving relatives were Hua Xiu and the Li family, he decided to ask the nurses about Grandmother Hua. Approaching the Li family, who had the capacity for murder, was too dangerous.

Because Hua Xiu was always at the hospital on weekends and after classes, Shen Ru specifically chose to skip the morning class. He simply prepared an excuse letter with a fake signature of his parents to ward off complaining teachers.

Once Shen Ru arrived on the fourth floor, he approached the ward nurses who had just finished serving the breakfast of the day. He asked, "Excuse me, good morning, can I have some of your time?"

"What is it?" The nurse asked back.

Before coming here, Shen Ru already had a plan on how to collect information, which was to…bribe the nurses, of course. While it wasn't a foolproof method, if the nurse exposed him for bribery, he could just lie and say that he wanted to bully Hua Xue again. Considering Hua Xiu's reputation was practically ruined in school, their schoolmates might even praise him for it.

"I want to inquire about a patient, I can pay. A lot." Shen Ru brought out a clear plastic bag containing a generous number of yuan bills.

Probably because of her underpaid job, the nurse was actually quite enthusiastic about it. She eagerly received the bag and asked, "Who is this patient?"

"Hua Zhi, she's in Room 407. Do you know her?"

"Yes, I've administered medicine to her before."

Shen Ru smiled brilliantly. He lucked out on this time. "Tell me everything you've heard of her. Who pays for her medical bills? Who visits her usually?"

The nurse started snitching without any hesitation, completely ignoring the ethics she had taken in school. From her words, Grandma Hua was like an evil rich woman straight out of a dog blooded drama. She seemed to be polite to the nurses at first glance, but the nurse could sense her disdain to them, the commoners. Once, one of the other nurses mentioned having a father as a janitor. Upon hearing that, Grandma Hua was surprised and asked why someone would want to have a "lowly" and "dirty" job.

It wasn't just her arrogant attitude that earned her this title. During the times when her granddaughter wasn't around, rich-looking people in business suits would visit her room. The nurse once overheard them talking about a recent startup perfume brand named 'Hua Xiang'. She theorized that Grandma Hua might be on their board of directors.

For her medical bills, despite how expensive and hefty they were, Grandma Hua never failed to miss any payment. In fact, the room she was staying in now was one of the most expensive and luxurious rooms they had in the whole hospital. The cost of living there was thrice as expensive as living in a shared wardroom.

After saying a few more insults about Grandma Hua, the nurse finished saying her piece. Shen Ru nodded and said, "Thank you for the information."

"It's no problem. I've always been angry at that old stuck-up hag. If what I'm thinking is correct, I hope you bring her down."

Shen Ru smiled knowingly. "Don't worry, everyone will have their just deserts." Then, his mood turned serious. "I hope you won't tell anyone about our transaction just now. I've recorded our conversation until now. There will be consequences if you reveal anything about me."

The nurse was actually calm and nodded. "Don't worry, I understand. I'm not about to cause trouble for you mindlessly when I've already profited off you."

Shen Ru was satisfied and said, "Well then, I'll leave now."

After leaving the hospital, because he couldn't go back home and he was already too late for classes, Shen Ru decided to just stay in Tango Café. As he was speaking to the staff about renting a room, he suddenly caught sight of Jun Zixin entering the café together with a particularly beautiful female student wearing the same school uniform as him.

He couldn't help but marvel: oh wow, he's indeed a ladies' man.

Then, he simply headed to the room he rented and completely forgot about this matter.

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When the time was up, Shen Ru got out of his room and stumbled upon the girl Jun Zixin had been together earlier. Unlike the well-kept and elegant appearance she had previously, this time her makeup had been ruined by her flowing tears. When the two of them accidentally made eye contact, she gulped and then ran away.

Confused, Shen Ru looked into the open door she had just come from. Jun Zixin was staring at him with a helpless expression. "You've stumbled upon a mess."

Shen Ru chuckled, entered the room, and sat on the chair opposite Jun Zixin. "Mind if I inquire about what happened? I'm interested in how many heartbreaks you've caused."

Jun Zixin sighed and explained, "She's one of my classmates. She told she wanted to do a group study with me and our other classmates since we didn't have classes this morning. Who would've thought that when I arrived here, she was the only one around? She told me that the others had a last-minute chore to do, but I would've been a fool if I believed that."

"So…let me guess, the two of you were studying silently for half an hour until she suddenly confessed to you?"

"Not 'suddenly'. With how frequently she kept looking at me, it was obvious that she had something in mind. I was planning to ignore it to prevent embarrassing her, but in the end, she confessed to me. I refused her, of course, and the rest is history."

Then, he recalled something and asked, "Wait, only our year has no classes this morning. Why are you here?"

Shen Ru shrugged and nonchalantly said, "Just indulged in bribery and invasion of privacy, feeling pretty good honestly."

"The details?"

"Do you know about Hua Xiang?"

Jun Zixin's eyes flickered. "It's a new startup perfume company. Quite a monster in sales and promotion."

"Hua Zhi is one of the board of directors."

Jun Zixin couldn't help but smile. "I'm impressed you found out about that."

"I can't really claim all the credit for it, the nurse I bribed knew a lot." Shen Ru moved to the main point, "Hua Zhi embezzled money from the Hua Company, right? Then, because of a lack of funds for a project, they went bankrupt. Hua Zhi ran with the money, while Li Zhong's family had to take the brunt of the mess."

"You're right for the most part," Jun Zixin admitted. "In fact, the reason for their bankruptcy wasn't just the lack of funds. Hua Zhi didn't approve of Li Zhong's father inheriting the company. She much rather preferred her son, Hua Xiu, your classmate's, father. Her husband thought otherwise and proceeded to give his shares to Li Zhong's father after his death. However, his death also meant an opportunity for her to cause trouble. Aside from embezzling company funds, she also bribed company employees to ruin the food from their family restaurants. Then, she had someone test the food in the laboratory and reported it to the government. Because this controversy was under the Hua family name, Hua Zhi did her best to keep it under wraps. The Hua Company's bankruptcy was the only clue that showed that something was up."

Shen Ru replied calmly, "You really know so many things." Inwardly, though, he was filled with happiness. With this, his first mission will be completed.

Jun Zixin looked quite proud. "I do, have you fallen in love with me yet?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Shen Ru sarcastically said. "I'm curious though if you know this much about other people in our school. With how much you know about the Hua family's matters, I bet you'd know all about my family's matters."

Jun Zixin laughed but said nothing. Only he knew that, at first, he was only aware of the Hua family infighting. After Shen Ru showed interest in their matters, only then did he look into them more closely, and indeed, he did know about the Shen family's matters, up to the previous two generations, because he wanted to know more about the oddity that was Shen Ru.