Chapter 16

Shen Chengan looked at Cheng Lang, his expression darkening slightly.

Chapter 16

To avoid any complications, Cheng Lang took Shen Huaiyu to the nearest bank as soon as they left the art museum and cashed the check. Only after the money was safely in hand did Shen Huaiyu, who had been in a daze the whole time, finally come back to himself. Staring at the string of numbers that had appeared out of nowhere in his bank account, he asked in disbelief, "Did we really get the money back?"

"Of course we did." Cheng Lang smiled. "If you don't believe it, count it a few more times."

Shen Huaiyu lowered his head, his eyes fixed tightly on the numbers on his phone screen. A few drops of water quietly fell onto it, wetting the display.

Considerately, Cheng Lang turned his head away and did not mock Shen Huaiyu for crying. Men might not shed tears easily, but that depended on the circumstances. Shen Huaiyu had truly endured too much pressure these past few months. His parents had died in a car accident, and his only remaining younger brother had become a vegetable, lying unconscious in the hospital. The uncle he had once respected had revealed his ugly true colors in the face of money. Every morning, he woke up to monthly medical bills of over two hundred thousand. When he tried to work and earn some money, he had run into that bastard Lu Chengxuan. His dignity and self-respect had both been humiliated, while gossip swirled endlessly around him... When all was said and done, Shen Huaiyu was only a young man who had just turned eighteen.

Cheng Lang sighed, then suddenly heard a text notification. Taking out his phone, he saw a message from the bank—2.8 million had just been deposited into his account.

"What are you doing?" Cheng Lang frowned at Shen Huaiyu. "Got too much money burning a hole in your pocket? Send it to the hospital! Why transfer it to my card?"

"No." Afraid that Cheng Lang would be angry, Shen Huaiyu hurriedly shook his head in explanation. "Didn't we agree before? If we got this money back, we would split it between us."

"I was just teasing you, and you took it seriously." Cheng Lang chuckled. "Stop that. Keep the money. This is the last thing your parents left you. Don't forget, your brother is still lying in the hospital!"

Cheng Lang transferred every cent back. Shen Huaiyu said softly, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten this money back either."

Knowing what Shen Huaiyu was thinking, Cheng Lang asked, "Do you know how much I made at White Jade Capital over the past two nights?"

Shen Huaiyu nodded. More than three hundred thousand the night before last, and five hundred thousand last night.

Cheng Lang said, "At this rate, your 2.8 million isn't even enough for me to earn in a week."

Shen Huaiyu froze slightly and lowered his head at a loss. He really was useless.

"That's not what I'm saying!" Cheng Lang reached out and rubbed Shen Huaiyu's head, turning the handsome guy's hair into a messy bird's nest. "I'm not short of money. I can make money too. I helped you only because I consider you a friend. Because I think you're someone worth knowing. In a situation like this, don't insist on talking money with me. Sometimes, when you insist on settling everything clearly with money, it just makes us seem distant. Understand?"

Shen Huaiyu looked at Cheng Lang, seeming to understand but not entirely.

Cheng Lang knew Shen Huaiyu might not understand. "Forget it. Take your time."

Cheng Lang checked the time. "It's already noon. Hungry? Treat me to a meal."

This, Shen Huaiyu understood. He immediately nodded. "What do you want to eat? I'll treat you."

Cheng Lang stretched lazily. "Of course we should have something good. I heard a barbecue place just opened nearby. It seems pretty good. Let's go have barbecue."

Shen Huaiyu nodded. "Okay—"

Before he could finish, Shen Huaiyu's phone suddenly rang. He took it out and saw that Shen Chengan was calling.

Shen Huaiyu instinctively looked at Cheng Lang.

Cheng Lang said lazily, "Answer it."

Shen Huaiyu answered and switched on the speaker. Shen Chengan's polite voice came through. "Huaiyu, where are you two now? You've finished handling things, right? Ask that classmate of yours whether he can take down the LED screen in the plaza. Your uncle still has a calligraphy and painting exhibition to hold today. It doesn't look good with that screen playing the whole time."

Shen Huaiyu looked at Cheng Lang.

Cheng Lang said, "It'll be taken down at noon. President Shen is such a cultured man, surely he can wait this little while?"

"Of course! Of course!" The moment Shen Chengan heard Cheng Lang's voice, his head began to ache. He did not even know what he was saying. "Then it's fine. You two carry on with your business. We can talk again sometime."

After hanging up, Shen Huaiyu stared blankly at his phone for a while before suddenly looking at Cheng Lang. "My uncle seems very afraid of you."

Cheng Lang summed it up. "That's what they mean by setting a bully against a bully."

"You're not a bully." Shen Huaiyu disagreed. "You're the best person I've ever met."

Cheng Lang said nothing. "Let's eat. I'm hungry."

With his bird's-nest hair, Shen Huaiyu followed behind Cheng Lang. "By the way, how much did it cost to rent that LED screen for a day? I'll transfer the money to you. You helped me get back so much money—I can't let you spend money too."

"It wasn't much. It was only two hours." Cheng Lang said, "If you want to transfer me the money, that's fine. I'll give you the invoice for renting the screen later, and you can reimburse me according to the price on it."

"Two hours?" Shen Huaiyu's eyes widened in surprise. "Didn't you tell my uncle earlier that you had rented it until five in the afternoon?"

"My young master, do you know where that is? It's the LED screen at the very heart of this city's CBD. It's not something you can rent for a whole day just because you want to. It was already no easy feat for me to rent it for two hours."

Shen Huaiyu was bewildered. "But earlier, you..."

"I was bluffing him." Cheng Lang pushed open the bank door and spoke as they walked. "With the little nerve your uncle has, two hours were enough to make him crack."

Shen Huaiyu suddenly understood and could not help asking, "But what if my uncle hadn't been scared and refused to pay?"

Cheng Lang said, "Then tomorrow, he could really enjoy the feeling of his entire family being exposed from every angle in full 360-degree surround."