The butler accompanied Song Wenzhao from morning to afternoon, then into the evening, but still Shu Yu did not emerge.
Song Wenzhao’s aura grew darker and more oppressive with each passing hour.
By the time Si Yiheng’s car pulled into the residential complex, the butler knew their wait that day was destined to be fruitless.
The butler tried to console him, “Young Master, perhaps Miss Shu Yu had some reason for not going to school.”
Song Wenzhao’s weary eyes were indifferent, but his calm tone carried obvious displeasure. “What kind of matter could keep Shu Yu from class?”
“She’s still a student. She seems very well-behaved.”
“She would never do something like skipping class.”
That scheming man Si Yiheng—he must have seen that Shu Yu is young and easy to fool with sweet talk, tricking her into abandoning her studies and her future. Si Yiheng was simply wasting Shu Yu’s potential.
Shu Yu is beautiful and adorable, so Si Yiheng wants to clip her wings, stop at nothing to keep her by his side, making her forever weak and incapable, so she’ll always have to depend on him.
For all anyone knows, Si Yiheng might even be illegally restricting Shu Yu’s freedom.
What a pity that they were in China. He couldn’t just arrest Si Yiheng the way he had arrested Shen Qinghan.
At that moment, Song Wenzhao’s impulse to call the police and have Si Yiheng taken away reached its peak.
Even if he couldn’t have Si Yiheng arrested, and couldn’t find his sister, he could still cause Si Yiheng some trouble.
Make Si Yiheng too busy to bother with anything else.
The butler had raised Song Wenzhao since childhood, and seeing the young master like this, he knew exactly what was going through his mind.
Afraid that Song Wenzhao would work himself into a fury, the butler quickly spoke up. “Young Master, Miss Shu Yu may not even be your sister yet. And besides, there might be another reason she didn’t go to class.”
“Time is tight, and our people haven’t fully figured out Miss Shu Yu’s personality and habits yet.”
“Moreover, if Miss Shu Yu truly likes Si Yiheng…”
Song Wenzhao lifted his thin eyelids and cast a glance at the butler.
The butler coughed and quickly added, “If she likes that kind of sly man who pretends to be a gentleman, then if you cause trouble for Si Yiheng, Miss Shu Yu might not be happy.”
“I’ll go investigate Miss Shu Yu’s information right now.”
Song Wenzhao suppressed his irritation. “Mm.”
Then he added, “Buy me a villa in their residential complex.”
Since he couldn’t wait for Shu Yu to come out, he would go to her.
The next day, Song Wenzhao received a report that Shu Yu seemed to rarely go out, and even had some fear of interacting with people.
If he barged in to meet her—well, he couldn’t actually get to her anyway, because Shu Yu truly never left the house, and she never opened the door to anyone.
Song Wenzhao hadn’t expected that his search for his sister would be stalled simply because Shu Yu wouldn’t come out.
He settled into a villa in Shu Yu’s residential complex. He had plenty of patience. Shu Yu couldn’t stay indoors forever.
---
Shu Yu saw the message Teacher Zhang had sent her.
Teacher Zhang said there was an international painting competition and hoped Shu Yu would enter.
This competition made Shu Yu rethink her career path.
If she wanted to break into the art world and sell her paintings for a higher price, then of course participating in competitions, gaining fame and fortune, and signing with a gallery would be the better choice.
But for now, Shu Yu still preferred working on her OCs and comics.
The former path brought both fame and material success, achieving what the world considered successful.
The latter gave her more freedom, which for Shu Yu meant staying in her safe zone.
Iron Egg: 【I think you should enter the competition first. It gives you more options later.】
Iron Egg: 【Yubao, only kids make a choice. You can have both.】
Yubao definitely had the talent.
Shu Yu propped her chin on the desk, lost in thought. “I need to think about it.”
Iron Egg: 【Babe, if only me and Si Yiheng get to admire your oil paintings, I’d feel it’s such a waste. There will be people who praise your oil paintings just like they praise your commissioned pieces.】
Shu Yu blinked slowly. That comparison from Iron Egg really made her understand the feeling of happiness.
Because the very first sense of recognition Shu Yu ever felt in her life came from the commissions her clients had ordered.
Shu Yu was afraid of people, but she couldn’t deny that as a human being, you need a sense of validation.
Yet stepping into a whole new circle also took a lot of courage. The art world wasn’t simple—it was actually quite complicated and not easy to break into.
Continuing with commissions and collaborating on comics was still more within her comfort zone.
Shu Yu quietly sent a message to Si Yiheng.
A Little Fish Swims: 【Brother, are you at work?】
ATM: 【Mm.】
ATM: 【What’s wrong?】
A Little Fish Swims: 【There’s a competition. Do you think I should enter?】
ATM: 【If you need to travel for the competition, I can take time off to go with you. I won’t let you go alone.】
A Little Fish Swims: 【Okay.】
Shu Yu slumped back onto her desk, still a little listless.
A Little Fish Swims: 【If I don’t go for it, choose something else, and don’t achieve what the world calls success—will you think I’m useless?】
This time, Si Yiheng called her directly. His voice was low and gentle.
“Yubao, you seem to misunderstand yourself a bit.”
“Teacher Zhang has told Teacher Qin more than once that you’re very talented. In your line of work, talent and inspiration are everything, and you happen to have both.”
“I couldn’t find anyone more remarkable than you.”
The most remarkable little cat.
Shu Yu felt as though she were being dizzyingly swept up by Si Yiheng’s affirmation of her.
It was as if, in Si Yiheng’s eyes, even if she got a zero, he would automatically raise it to a perfect score.
Si Yiheng’s unwavering certainty drove away Shu Yu’s fear of making choices and her anxiety about the future.
She nodded thoughtfully and deliberately asked, “So I’m that useful?”
Si Yiheng: “Mm.”
Shu Yu quietly returned the compliment. “Then you’re pretty useful too.”
Si Yiheng chuckled softly. “Mm, I’m pretty useful too.”
“So you can make every decision freely. Whether it ends in success or failure, glory or hardship, I’ll bear it with you.”
“I can handle every worry in the background for you. Even if you choose to step into that complicated circle, I have the ability to let you paint in peace.”
Si Yiheng’s voice was steady, gentle and clear.
It reached Shu Yu’s ears, then sank into her heart.
Shu Yu thought, she wasn’t really afraid of making choices—what she was afraid of was not being able to face the consequences if she took a wrong step on a strange path.
And Si Yiheng was exactly the one willing to accompany her, which made her feel much more at ease.
Shu Yu: “I understand. Thank you, Brother.”
The lightness in Shu Yu’s voice was obvious.
Si Yiheng’s mood brightened along with hers.
Shu Yu looked up the theme of the competition and began preparing her entry.
That evening, she received a message from Ye Ning.
Golden Corn: 【Yubao, has Wei Wanhan contacted you yet?】
A Little Fish Swims: 【No, not yet.】
Golden Corn: 【Then she probably hasn’t found you yet. Wei Wanhan came to me today about the comic book publication. She wants us to negotiate a deal.】
Shu Yu hadn’t expected it would come to publication.
Neon Sunset was gaining a lot of popularity right now, but Shu Yu had never considered releasing it as a collected print edition.
After all, the subject matter wasn’t entirely suitable for publication.
A Little Fish Swims: 【Can it really be published?】
Golden Corn: Just publish it somewhere else, babe. Do you really not know how popular “Neon Down” is overseas? You’d still make good money publishing it in other countries.
Golden Corn: Just the thought of our names being on the same comic together is such a thrill for me.
Golden Corn: Do you think someday in the future, people will pick up a book with both our names on it and start studying our relationship? They’ll discover we’re each other’s soulmates, helping each other succeed!
A Little Fish Swim Swim: They will. They definitely will.
Future generations will also study the words and relationships of modern people.
They might even write fanfiction, shipping two people who aren’t really that close—it’s all standard practice.
Golden Corn: You’ll say yes to a joint publication, right?
A Little Fish Swim Swim: If Sister Wanhan comes to me, I’ll definitely agree.
Ye Ning and Shu Yu chatted on about all sorts of gossip for a while longer, until Ye Ning suddenly thought of something.
Golden Corn: Yu Bao, do you still remember Song Wenzhao I mentioned before?
A Little Fish Swim Swim: Yeah, he’s been looking for his sister.
Golden Corn: Song Wenzhao has come back to the country. Word is, he has news about his sister.
