When Xu Chuning received Shen Yubai's phone call, she hurriedly ran to his place.
As the elevator doors opened, she immediately saw Shen Sinian, sitting in the hallway with a bruised face and swollen nose, evoking in her a peculiar emotion called heartache.
Even though they had not seriously interacted before, and at her age, she could not yet truly grasp a mother's feelings, seeing Shen Sinian injured made Xu Chuning feel distressed and angry.
Her eyes warmed slightly as she quickly crouched down to ask about Shen Sinian's condition, "Are you okay? Are there injuries anywhere else?"
Shen Sinian silently shook his head, his fists clenched on his knees, looking utterly defeated.
Seeing him like this, Xu Chuning could hardly contain her anger, "Shen Yubai."
At that moment, she didn't know where she got the courage from, but she looked up and confronted the guy standing aside, "Why did you hit someone?"
The moment she looked up, Xu Chuning noticed the wound at the corner of Shen Yubai's lips.
"..."
In a mute awkwardness, while Xu Chuning hesitated to form her words, Shen Yubai sneered slightly, "You might as well ask him what the hell he was thinking."
Xu Chuning pursed her lips, suddenly feeling less sure, "...Still, you shouldn't have beaten him to this state."
Hearing her protectiveness, Shen Yubai glanced at her and tugged at his lip, "The guy's here, you take him away, and don't come back to my place to go crazy."
After saying this, Shen Yubai disregarded any reaction from Xu Chuning and Shen Sinian, turned around, entered his apartment, and closed the door.
"Damn it!" Shen Sinian looked at the door that had opened and then closed, cursing with anger, "What does he mean?"
Xu Chuning was not surprised by Shen Yubai's behavior; at school, he was known to be a tough guy, adept at everything from skipping classes to getting into fights. The fact that he had beaten Shen Sinian yet still called her to pick him up was already giving her... not exactly giving her, but rather giving You Shuzhen's cooking, some respect.
After all, he had ordered plenty of takeouts from their store.
With this thought, Xu Chuning helped Shen Sinian up from the ground and sighed, "Don't worry about what he means for now, you just came to deliver a meal and casually chat with him about his hair, how did you end up getting beaten up like this?"
She frowned and looked at Shen Sinian, having an uneasy hunch, "You didn't... start pulling out his hair, did you?"
"How did you know?" Shen Sinian was surprised that Xu Chuning had guessed his actions, and he opened his tightly clenched fist to show her, his eyes bright with a childlike joy, seeking praise from a parent, "Look, I got quite a few strands."
Xu Chuning looked down and saw the several strands of short black hair in his broad palm, feeling a complicated mix of emotions.
If she had been more capable, perhaps Shen Sinian wouldn't have needed to extract those few strands of Shen Yubai's hair and get beaten up like this.
Hearing Xu Chuning's sigh, Shen Sinian couldn't help but reflect... was his method of getting the hair too extreme?
As he was pondering, Xu Chuning suddenly stood on tiptoes, reached out to ruffle Shen Sinian's messy short hair, and said in a low voice, "Let's go, we'll make another trip to the hospital."
The hair hadn't been easy to obtain and needed to be sent for verification as soon as possible.
Shen Sinian's facial wounds also required a trip to the hospital for medication and treatment.
The two left Shen Yubai's front door, supporting each other, unaware that the person who had returned to his apartment early was watching their every move through the indoor video phone.
Not until the two entered the elevator and left did Shen Yubai raise his hand to touch the wound at the corner of his mouth. He clicked his tongue in displeasure and was about to return to his room to play video games when he suddenly remembered how Shen Sinian would rather let himself be beaten up than to have his hair pulled out.
Combining this with the paternity test report he was shown, Shen Yubai slightly narrowed his eyes, deeply contemplating the nonsense Shen Sinian had spouted.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Yubai took out his phone and made a call.
If things were really as Shen Sinian had said, and he and Xu Chuning were to have such a son in the future... then he needed to know the result of this verification as soon as possible.
Besides, who could guarantee they wouldn't trick him with a fake report?
Although he felt Xu Chuning wouldn't have the guts to do something like that, what if?
Xu Chuning was unaware of what Shen Yubai was thinking or doing; after she left that upscale neighborhood with Shen Sinian, they went straight to the hospital. First, they submitted information to apply for another DNA test report, and then she bought some ointment for bruises and sprains to treat Shen Sinian's face.
Shen Sinian's face looked quite severe, but his actual condition was slightly better than it appeared; no bones were broken, and there were no sprains, just some bruising and swelling.
Back at the shop, You Shuzhen asked a series of questions about the situation. Xu Chuning hadn't yet decided how to talk to her about Shen Sinian's matter, fearing she wouldn't be able to accept it, so she hastily made up an excuse to fend off the questions.
In the following days, Xu Chuning went to school as usual. Shen Sinian, having no identification yet, could only stay in the shop and help You Shuzhen.
The report could be ready in as soon as three days. On Friday morning, Xu Chuning and Shen Sinian agreed to pick up the report together after school; he would wait for her just like last time at the school gate.
With the agreement set, Xu Chuning made her way to school.
Having to help out at the shop in the morning, Xu Chuning usually entered the classroom just as the school bell rang for classes to begin.
The first lesson in the morning was language arts, taught by a very trendy woman. She wore different styles and colors of dresses to class each day, always looking bright and beautiful. Knowing Xu Chuning's family was in financial difficulty, she was especially caring towards her.
For this reason, Xu Chuning liked language arts a lot.
After the language arts class, Deng Xitong, who sat at the same desk, asked Xu Chuning if she wanted to go to the restroom together.
Xu Chuning didn't feel the particular need to use the restroom, but at school, she was always an easygoing girl, seldom refusing requests unless they were too much of an inconvenience to her. She was well aware that she needed to live quietly and undisturbed at this school.
"Okay," Xu Chuning stood up from her chair.
Just as they were about to leave their seats, Xu Chuning heard the shocked gasp of the girls in front, "Oh my god, is that Shen Yubai? Why is he in our class?"
"It really is him."
Instinctively, Xu Chuning lifted her eyes to see the figure that appeared at the front of the classroom.
Shen Yubai, today unexpectedly dressed in the school uniform, was tall and stood with a straight posture, lean and with a vibrant yet cold adolescent air about him. He emanated a strong sense of aloofness that didn't stop people from admiring and liking him.
Even the simple and generic black and white school uniform looked good on him, making everyone think the design was rather nice.
Lost in thought, Xu Chuning didn't notice that Shen Yubai had already strode over to her desk, his deep black gaze landing on her, his expression somewhat complex, "Step out for a moment."
The surrounding classmates took in a sharp breath, looking at the two with disbelief.
Xu Chuning was also astonished. She hesitantly pointed at herself, "Are you calling me?"
Shen Yubai glanced over coldly, his tone not very friendly, but to other classmates, it seemed fraught with insinuation, "If not you, then who else?"