How Did the Top-Tier Male Lead Fall in Love With Me? 78

Chapter 78 – Extra: Shen Ping’s Perspective Extra (Previous Life)

Shen Ping really couldn’t stand the library outside anymore.

The rustling of people walking by, the flipping of pages, the moving of chairs, and the dropping of things could all disturb his thoughts and make him extremely annoyed.

They were just insignificant little things, but all kinds of dark thoughts were hissing and spreading like poisonous snakes in his heart.

However, on the surface, he was still a gentle and polite gentleman.

A teenager who was so calm in his teens was truly rare.

So much so that at the library, he would often receive all kinds of small notes, possibly from half-hearted high school students, or from scattered university students who came to the library to watch dramas and play games.

He refused them one by one and returned a gentle smile.

For those who insisted on his contact information, he would pretend that he had not brought his phone with him, and would randomly say a few wrong numbers, fabricating a stranger’s phone number.

After being disturbed so frequently several times, he rarely went out on weekends and holidays, and would just close the door of his study at home to study.

The person who was happiest that he was willing to stay at home was Shen Wu.

The six-year-old Shen Wu had not yet started elementary school and had a lot of free time every day. The few people at home took turns to play with him, but they could not exhaust his excess energy.

His parents had to work, so Shen Ping, who was studying at home during the summer vacation, naturally took on the task of taking care of his younger brother.

In the study, which was dedicated to studying and working, Shen Ping sat at his desk, but Shen Wu could not sit still and was running around. In the end, he picked up the remote control to control a small car and circled Shen Ping’s chair again and again.

Shen Ping was surrounded by the hissing noise, which did not stop for a long time. He could no longer read the book in his hand and could only stop writing and look over, with a hint of annoyance.

Shen Wu looked back at him with his round, innocent eyes.

Shen Ping swallowed back the unfriendly “are you done yet” and rubbed his temples to suppress his annoyance, “Alright, what do you want me to play with you?”

“I don’t want to play anything.” The six-year-old boy’s voice was childish. He stood up and came over to take away his toy car, looking extremely well-behaved.

Only Shen Ping knew that he was a mischievous little devil.

But he was his younger brother who was ten years younger. Shen Ping could lose his temper at anyone but him.

Shen Ping had a stomach full of anger that he couldn’t vent. He could only suppress his anger and ask Shen Wu, “An hour ago, I asked if you wanted me to play with you, and you said you would play by yourself. Then you should play by yourself. Why are you bothering me with your remote control car now?”

He then snatched the toy car at his feet before Shen Wu could.

Shen Wu leaned against his thigh and reached out to snatch the small car. He was not discouraged when he failed and said with a cheeky smile, “Gege, you’ve been studying all morning. You should take a break. Mom said that you should balance work and rest.”

Shen Ping was slightly taken aback.

Shen Wu took the opportunity to snatch the small car and manually controlled it to slide back and forth at his feet, making noise again, “Gege, hurry up and take a break.”

He would not give up until Shen Ping moved.

The features behind Shen Ping’s glasses softened. He helplessly patted his younger brother’s head and said gently, “…Okay.”

A six-year-old boy was at his most mischievous.

Shen Tianheng finished his work and went home with his wife. Just as he pushed the door open, a black remote control race car bumped into the tip of his shoe with a clatter.

He lowered his head. The small race car backed up a little and then accelerated again, as if it were taking the tip of his shoe as the finish line, repeatedly ramming it.

He lifted his foot, as if to step on the small race car.

The small race car nimbly dodged. He chased, and the small race car ran away, and finally led him to the mischievous Shen Wu.

Shen Wu quietly hid the remote control behind his back, pretending that nothing had happened.

Shen Tianheng was tall and strong. He easily picked up the little boy, took away the remote control, and pretended to be angry, “You little brat, you dare to drive a car and hit your old man, huh?”

He then, as a punishment, rubbed his own cheek against the little boy’s delicate cheek. The occasional prickly stubble would scrape against him, a slight sting. Shen Wu kept dodging, but he couldn’t break free, and he was so angry that he wailed.

Shen Tianheng, on the contrary, laughed out loud and held him up and down a few times.

Xu Qiongya, on the other hand, watched the father and son play, her lips pursed in a smile.

Shen Ping also watched silently.

It was only when Xu Qiongya’s gaze came over that he remembered that he needed an expression, and he quickly pulled up a smile.

Xu Qiongya walked towards him, her gentleness tinged with a bit of guilt, “You’ve been taking care of Wuwu all day. It must have been hard. He didn’t affect your studies, did he?”

“No.”

“That’s good.”

Xu Qiongya was relieved and went back to Shen Tianheng’s side, trying to rescue her son who was trapped by his father.

Shen Wu was shouting for Shen Tianheng to let him go. Seeing that he was about to cry, Xu Qiongya quickly took him and held him in her arms, patiently coaxing him.

This time, it was Shen Tianheng who walked towards Shen Ping.

Then, he asked the same questions as Xu Qiongya.

Finally, he patted his shoulder and said earnestly, “Study hard. Dad believes in you. You will definitely get in.”

Shen Ping put on a formulaic smile, clearly the most worry-free older brother in the family, “Mm, I know.”

…

He was jealous of Shen Wu.

Only in the dead of night did Shen Ping dare to take a peek at his own ugly heart.

His younger brother trusted him unconditionally, but out of this unspeakable jealousy, he had given his immature younger brother excessive indulgence again and again.

“Ge, I… hiss.” The sixteen-year-old teenager was in a panic and wanted to hide the cigarette butt in his hand. In a moment of carelessness, he had burned himself and had taken a sharp breath, and was caught red-handed by his brother.

Shen Ping strode forward and grabbed Shen Wu’s hidden arm.

The cigarette was still burning between his fingers, and a red mark was burned on the web of his thumb.

Shen Ping sighed helplessly in his stomach, took away the half-smoked cigarette, skillfully extinguished it on the balcony railing, and pulled Shen Wu to the faucet to rinse it with cold water.

After a few seconds, Shen Ping’s questioning came to his ear, “When did you start smoking?”

Shen Wu rubbed his nose, “Just… just last week. I only took one puff and thought it was too choking. So I thought… I’d try again.”

A cigarette is not a good thing. If you tried it once and didn’t like it, why would you try it again?

Shen Wu guiltily lifted his eyes, but he saw that Shen Ping was staring at his eyes, not angry at all.

“I won’t tell Dad and Auntie,” Shen Ping said.

Shen Wu was relieved and raised a smile, “Mm, I believe you.”

Shen Ping had told him countless times: I will be on your side. For more than ten years, Shen Ping had also proved with his actions that he would forever be his younger brother’s solid backer.

Although Shen Ping did not reprimand him, Shen Wu was still prepared to throw away the remaining half a pack of cigarettes in his pocket to show his determination.

Shen Ping looked at him and asked again, “Is there anything bothering you recently?”

“…No.” Shen Wu turned his face away and lowered his eyelashes to hide the emotion in his eyes.

Shen Ping did not know what troubles Shen Wu had encountered in his high school life, but in his spare time, Shen Wu had almost no secrets from him.

He had long heard that Meng Huaizhi had been deeply interested in music since high school, but his high school studies were busy, so he could only temporarily put his musical dream aside. When he was applying for university, he had gone against his grandfather’s wishes and had applied to the Beijing Conservatory of Music, but it was only for the composition major. Meng Zhenshen had accepted it after a while, and had only asked him to get another MBM master’s degree.

Meng Huaizhi’s mother was a singer, and the accident that had killed his parents was somewhat related to his mother’s acting activities. The Meng family’s business needed to be inherited by Meng Huaizhi. For these reasons, Meng Zhenshen was firmly against Meng Huaizhi debuting as a singer.

In fact, Shen Wu also did not really want Meng Huaizhi to become a celebrity.

Not long ago.

“I went to the university singer competition at the Beijing Conservatory last time,” Shen Wu hugged a pillow and poured out his heart to his brother. “Meng Huaizhi is not even a celebrity yet, but there were so many of his fans under the stage. So many people like him… He sings well and is handsome. If he debuts, he will definitely become a top-tier superstar, right…”

Shen Ping looked at his worried brother and for the first time felt that he could not see through him. He couldn’t help but ask, “You don’t want him to be a celebrity?”

Shen Wu jumped up like a startled little rabbit, “Of course not!”

A cold light flashed on Shen Ping’s glasses. He smiled faintly and changed the subject, “If you become a celebrity, you will definitely have a lot of fans who like you, and I will also support you.”

“I don’t want to be a celebrity,” Shen Wu threw away the sofa pillow and turned around. “I’m going back to my room…”

And in this year when Shen Wu was sixteen, the twenty-year-old Meng Huaizhi had opened his own music studio.

Originally, his friends and family did not know about it, but an old singer had become popular overnight after singing a few new songs, and the lyricist and composer of those new songs were all Meng Huaizhi. He had even specially posted on Weibo to thank this unknown university student, praising him greatly, and hoping to see him on a bigger stage one day.

With such a big fuss, Meng Zhenshen naturally found out. The whole thing was exaggerated, and with the dispute between the grandfather and grandson about Meng Huaizhi’s musical dream, it later also spread to the Shen family.

Shen Wu was worried about these things.

If Shen Wu had just treated Meng Huaizhi as a brother from a family friend, why would he be worried about him entering the entertainment industry? To be honest, this kind of non-blood-related brotherly relationship was not that close in the first place, and it would not be much estranged because one of them had become a celebrity.

Besides, Shen Wu was not without a brother.

His own older brother, Shen Ping, was standing in front of him, watching him crumple the cigarette pack in frustration.

“Ge,” Shen Wu explained again. “I really just wanted to try. I won’t smoke again next time. The taste of a cigarette is not good at all, and I don’t really like it.”

Shen Ping thought for a moment and said, as if possessed, “You can come to my study next time. I have an ashtray there.”

Shen Wu looked up at him in a daze.

…

Similar things had happened many times later.

Shen Wu insisted on becoming a professional race car driver and had a big fight with Shen Tianheng for it. Shen Ping also stood firmly on Shen Wu’s side.

Shen Wu was very grateful to him.

Until Shen Wu had frequent accidents in his first F1 season and was put under house arrest by Shen Tianheng.

“I can help you leave and give you living expenses,” Shen Ping said to Shen Wu, his eyes as gentle as water.

For the past few years, every time Shen Wu had come home, he had been full of anger or grievances. Hearing his words, his eyes instantly turned red.

Shen Ping felt his empty heart being hit by something.

After sending Shen Wu to the racing team, Shen Ping looked at his receding figure and couldn’t help but remind him, “You must be careful. You can’t have that kind of accident again.”

Shen Wu turned his head and casually replied, “Mm, okay.”

Shen Ping thought for a moment and said again, “If you have a flat tire and flip over again, and the back of the car emits smoke and catches fire… I will also lock you up.”

Shen Wu was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, “I can’t control what happens to the car.”

Seeing that Shen Ping was still stern, Shen Wu couldn’t help but straighten his face and solemnly promised, “Okay, I know, Ge. I will definitely be careful. I will also carefully check the car before every race.”

Only then did Shen Ping leave. He was still worried on the way and looked back every three steps.

Shen Wu waved at him with a smile, again and again, urging him to leave quickly.

Later, in countless midnight dreams, Shen Ping was still deeply trapped in a strong sense of regret and self-blame, unable to break free.

He shouldn’t have left so quickly.

He shouldn’t have left at all.

There hadn’t been a fatal accident in F1 for decades. Nowadays, the drivers’ skills had improved, and the safety measures of the vehicles were also foolproof.

Despite this, Shen Wu had still encountered an accident that Shen Ping had never imagined.

Shen Wu died at the age of 24.

Xu Qiongya had not been able to get over her grief for a long time. It was only one day that she finally stopped crying, but it was not because she had pulled herself together and recovered, but because she had divorced Shen Tianheng and had never returned to the Shen family.

Shen Tianheng seemed to have aged a dozen years in an instant.

A person who had been so domineering all his life had suddenly become taciturn and silent overnight, his temples turning gray.

…

Shen Ping might be the only one who knew about Shen Wu’s secret crush on Meng Huaizhi.

It was only after Shen Wu’s death that he had learned on Shen Wu’s behalf that Meng Huaizhi was the same.

He had hesitated many times, not knowing whether he should speak up, and had not found a chance.

Many years had passed, and Meng Huaizhi still had not been able to get over the shadow of Shen Wu’s death.

The anniversary of his death and the Qingming Festival were the days when the family would go to visit Shen Wu. Shen Ping did not know how to face Xu Qiongya, so he had to avoid them.

However, on every ordinary day when he went to visit Shen Wu, he could see the fresh flowers with mountain dew that Meng Huaizhi had newly placed by the tombstone.

He had never seen these fresh flowers wither.

And the path down the mountain was either wet and muddy, or had footprints in the snow.

In a daze, he saw Meng Huaizhi’s solitary back.

He blinked again.

That back was still there.

He quickly ran after him, “Meng…”

The person in front did not turn back.

“There’s something I want to tell you,” he said. “About Xiao Wu.”

Meng Huaizhi’s footsteps finally paused.

Looking at those empty eyes, Shen Ping was not sure if the words he was about to say were a kind of compensation, or a sharp knife that would add insult to injury.

“Actually, Xiao Wu also… to you.”

The light words dissipated in the heavy snow.

The next winter, Meng Huaizhi did not come again. He could never come again.

Shen Ping bent down, picked up the flowers that were about to wither, and replaced them with a new bouquet.

Another bouquet of the same fresh flowers was placed under the new tombstone next to it.