Are You Angry?

Shen Rui'an didn't notice Su Tingbai's stunned expression. Seeing the veins bulging on his arm, he couldn't resist reaching out to pinch his muscle. "Huh? It's hard!"

Wasn't muscle supposed to be soft too?

He looked at Su Tingbai in confusion. "Why? Shouldn't it be soft?"

He'd heard it was soft.

Looking into those curious eyes, Su Tingbai had no idea how to answer and fled in defeat.

Shen Rui'an had no idea how things had turned out like this. Su Tingbai had suddenly run off, leaving him and Baisui staring at each other.

"Baisui, is Su Tingbai angry?" Shen Rui'an murmured as he slowly headed toward the tent.

When Shen Rui'an reached the canopy, he found the grill empty. Only Little Zhu and the others were playing cards.

Su Tingbai wasn't here. Where had he gone?

Xing Ying had sharp eyes. The moment he spotted Shen Rui'an, he pulled him over. "An'an, come on, play cards with us. The winner gets to make the loser do push-ups."

Shen Rui'an was pressed into a seat, but he kept looking around distractedly. "Where's Su Tingbai?"

Xing Ying and the others looked at one another. "Huh? I remember him going after you."

After him?

Shen Rui'an scratched his head. "He took the camera, turned off the stream, and left just now."

"Huh? No way, right?" Huo Heng slapped his thigh, frustrated at Su Tingbai for failing to live up to expectations. He hadn't seized such a perfect opportunity?

"Is he angry?" Shen Rui'an tilted his head and asked sincerely, "I pinched his arm just now, and then he ran away. Did I make him angry?"

After saying it aloud, Shen Rui'an suddenly felt wronged. He hadn't even done anything.

After hearing Shen Rui'an's account, everyone looked at one another as a huge question mark slowly rose over their heads. Huh?

He ran off just because Shen Rui'an pinched his muscle?

He ran away?

What was Su Tingbai doing?

"I get it! Does Su Tingbai not like being touched?" As everyone pondered it, Shen Rui'an suddenly realized. He didn't like strangers touching him either. Was Su Tingbai the same?

Shen Rui'an rarely reflected on his own actions, but he still felt a little wronged. He had only poked him lightly and hadn't used much force. It shouldn't have hurt. Was Su Tingbai really angry over that?

Shen Rui'an was unhappy. Su Tingbai had even held his hand just now!

If that was the case, then he should keep his distance from Su Tingbai from now on.

For no reason, Shen Rui'an felt a trace of pain in his heart. He wasn't very good at hiding his emotions, and Xing Ying and the others could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his face.

"I'll apologize to him later." Shen Rui'an spoke gloomily.

Xing Ying didn't know what to say. He didn't think that was the reason, so he and Huo Heng comforted him. "Could it be a misunderstanding? Old Su probably isn't angry."

Given how unusually Su Tingbai treated Shen Rui'an, he wouldn't get angry just because Shen Rui'an touched his arm, would he?

Had Shen Rui'an gotten it wrong?

Huo Heng gathered the cards, shuffled them, then dealt. "Old Su does dislike other people touching him a little, but I don't think he's angry with you."

Angry about what? That guy looked like he wanted to swallow Shen Rui'an whole with his eyes. Maybe he had run off because Shen Rui'an had touched him hard—there was no way he could say he was embarrassed and run away, right?

?!

Huo Heng jolted and gave Xing Ying a meaningful look.

Xing Ying understood. No way? Shy? Why did that word sound so funny when applied to Su Tingbai?

Little Zhu and the others eagerly chimed in as well. "Maybe something suddenly came up?"

"Yeah, yeah. The boss's temper isn't great, but he's not that bad either."

"He's actually pretty easy to get along with once you know him."

Under everyone's overlapping comfort, Shen Rui'an felt much better. But when he looked up, Su Tingbai had somehow changed into a shirt. His arms were completely covered, wrapped up tightly.

When their gazes met, Su Tingbai's eyes darted away. He instinctively adjusted his clothes, and only after making sure they were neat did he walk over.

Shen Rui'an's gaze fell on the black shirt. It was a long-sleeved black satin shirt. Two buttons were undone, revealing hints of the silver necklace around his neck. Su Tingbai had rolled up the cuffs to expose his wrists, while the rest of him was wrapped up tightly beneath the fabric.

Shen Rui'an withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes, refusing to look at him. So he really was angry, wasn't he? Because Shen Rui'an had touched his arm, he had rushed off to change into long sleeves. So Su Tingbai had changed because he hated being touched by other people, right?

The thought made Shen Rui'an feel stifled, and he resolved to keep his distance from Su Tingbai.

He just had to be more careful in the future.

He just wouldn't touch him anymore, okay?

Shen Rui'an remembered that before he came here, Su Tingbai hadn't seemed very welcoming either. It was only after Shen Rui'an's family had called in a favor and asked Grandpa Su to speak up that Su Tingbai had reluctantly accepted his arrival.

Shen Rui'an felt even more stifled. Things had been fine these past few days, yet he had made Su Tingbai furious just because of what he'd done earlier?

He felt a little sad. When he was young, his frail health had often made some people think he was bad luck, so they wouldn't let him get close or play with them. Over time, he stopped wanting to go out and simply played by himself at home.

The Shen Household villa was huge, and they had built him a children's playground. But playing alone was still rather boring. Sometimes, he would ask his family to take him somewhere crowded, where he could quietly watch others play from a corner.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't envious.

Shen Rui'an remembered visiting an older boy's home when he was little. That older boy had welcomed him warmly, but later the boy had to go to school, while Shen Rui'an rarely visited other people's homes because of his health.

Later, the older boy's face had become blurry in his memories, but Shen Rui'an remembered that he had been a very kind person.

Sadly, not everyone was like him and didn't mind Shen Rui'an being frail and sickly.

These past few days, Shen Rui'an had been so happy here that he'd forgotten everything else. They hadn't treated him like a fragile piece of glass, and Shen Rui'an had felt as though he was no different from anyone else.

But Su Tingbai's reaction just now had reminded Shen Rui'an of the past.

Su Tingbai... was he angry because Shen Rui'an had carelessly pinched his muscle, or because... he was angry that a sickly, unlucky person like Shen Rui'an had touched him?

Shen Rui'an couldn't figure it out, but he felt sad. For no reason, that sadness made his nose sting.

When he noticed Su Tingbai was about to come over, he silently moved his chair a little farther away. That way, he wouldn't provoke him, right?

Seeing Shen Rui'an move his chair away, the smile on Su Tingbai's face stiffened. Why was he sitting so far away?

The others sensed the tense atmosphere, and Huo Heng laughed awkwardly as he dealt the cards.

Shen Rui'an stared blankly at the cards on the table, remembering his older brother's warning. People had to bow their heads when under someone else's roof; his brother had told him to restrain his temper.

Shen Rui'an suddenly felt that his older brother had been right.

Su Tingbai had no obligation to spoil him the way the Shen Household did.

He had only been blinded by how well everyone had treated him these past few days. In truth, Su Tingbai was no different from anyone else. He had disliked Shen Rui'an from the very beginning.

The more Shen Rui'an thought about it, the worse he felt. It was as if an invisible hand had clenched tightly around his heart, leaving him unable to breathe.

After barely enduring one round, Shen Rui'an felt terribly stifled. He gave up his seat. "I'm not feeling very well. You guys keep playing. I'm going to take a walk by the river."

He stood, picked up Baisui, and headed toward the creek.

Su Tingbai had already been unable to sit still when he saw Shen Rui'an quietly move his chair far away from him. Now, seeing Shen Rui'an run off with the corners of his eyes slightly red, he immediately stood as well.