CHAPTER 284: CHAPTER 284 SHENG WENHAO

Xu Ke didn’t say anything, simply stood up and left the seat, but as he was about to exit the door, he left Sheng Yi with a meaningful smile.

The door closed, and the compartment became quiet.

Sheng Yi picked up a pack of cigarettes from the table, took one out and held it in his mouth, looking at Sheng Wenhao, who was still sitting dutifully by his side. Sheng Yi’s face showed a look of impatience mixed with disgust.

"What are you still sitting here for? Hurry and catch up to him, don’t forget why we brought you back from Africa! You don’t really think you’re back to enjoy life, do you? Now, get going." Sheng Yi kicked the chair Sheng Wenhao was sitting on, speaking in a hostile tone.

The sound of the chair scraping against the floor was particularly grating, making the listener involuntarily frown.

Sheng Wenhao didn’t say anything, got up from the chair, opened the door, and followed him out.

"Sheng, will this really work? That kid Sheng Wenhao has been close with Xu Ke since childhood, and after what happened before, he hates us. Can he really work for us?" Someone pushed the woman next to him aside and came over to Sheng Yi, whispering.

"What are you afraid of? Everything he has now is provided by our family. If he wants to maintain his decent status, he has to listen to me, and I have leverage over him. He has no choice but to comply." Sheng Yi wore a smug expression on his face.

Blowing out a smoke ring slowly, Sheng Yi said in a leisurely tone, "Just watch."

On the other side, Sheng Wenhao chased him out, and Xu Ke, who had left first, was leaning against his car watching Sheng Wenhao walk up from afar, his expression had softened quite a bit.

"It’s still early, let’s take a walk." Xu Ke said.

He took a pack of cigarettes out of Sheng Wenhao’s pocket, pulled one out, and held it in his mouth. As it was lit, a faint tobacco flavor filled his nose and mouth, and a look of enjoyment appeared on Xu Ke’s face.

"Why are you smoking again? Weren’t you supposed to quit?" Sheng Wenhao also took a cigarette from the pack and, mimicking Xu Ke, lit it up. A gust of wind came by, making the tiny sparks in front of them burn even brighter.

"I’m happy to see you today, breaking the rule is no big deal." Xu Ke nodded toward Sheng Wenhao, who then smiled and sat in the car, following Xu Ke’s lead.

As the door closed, Xu Ke got in as well, "Wanna go to the beach?"

"Sure." Sheng Wenhao replied.

"When did you get back?" Xu Ke took a drag on his cigarette, white smoke drifting slowly and blurring his view.

"A couple of days ago." Sheng Wenhao’s voice was somewhat low, yet there was a hint of happiness, reflecting the contradiction and complexity of his current mood.

"Why did you go to Africa? I always thought you’d go to America to study architecture, your favorite subject. But you didn’t go to America at all. Just when I wanted to inquire, you came back. What happened to you after I was expelled from the Xu Family?"

Talking about the past, Xu Ke’s voice also carried a hint of heaviness.

"It’s nothing much, just that I had no value to them anymore. I was naive to think my uncle and his family treated me as their own child. It wasn’t until you were expelled from the Xu Family that I realized everything I had was because of you. Without you, I had no value. Now that you’re back, I’ve been brought back into use. Isn’t it ironic that the first half of my life was a total mess?"

Sheng Wenhao looked at the passing scenery outside the window, his right thumb gently rubbing his left arm, a hint of moisture in his eyes.

"You still have me. We’re still friends. Didn’t we say we’re going to build an empire together? Our kids would even become in-laws. Have you forgotten?" Xu Ke asked back.

The ash fell on Sheng Wenhao; he rested his head against the car window, not replying, leaving the atmosphere in the car quite oppressive for a moment.

After a long silence, long enough for Xu Ke to smell the sea in the wind through the window, Sheng Wenhao, sitting in the passenger seat, finally spoke again.

"Xu Ke, we’re different now." Sheng Wenhao’s voice was somewhat low, and if you listened closely, you could hear a slight sobbing tone.

"How are we different, except for our age?" Xu Ke stopped the car, his voice also carrying a weightiness.

"Have you ever wondered why I suddenly returned from Africa? You know what Africa is like, so hot with the sun everywhere, not a drop of moisture in the air, the wind blowing sand and rocks on your face really hurts. When I first got there, I felt like I was being slapped in the face every day. It hardly rains in Africa; with my cleanliness obsession, I actually got used to not bathing for a month there without even batting an eye."

As he spoke, Sheng Wenhao chuckled lightly, though his laughter carried an endless bitterness.

"And that’s not all. The security in Africa is really awful. Several times the doors and windows of the place I stayed at were smashed open, and they burst in to loot and destroy. I just lay on the bed, not daring to move, fearing I’d get killed. There’s no law to speak of in Africa that place." Sheng Wenhao felt his face getting wet. He kept his head down, neither wiping his tears nor letting Xu Ke see him in this state.

"I feel like such a coward; I’ve never been this weak before." Sheng Wenhao sniffed and said.

"I lived in Africa for four years. I thought I’d have to spend my whole life in Africa. After all, my uncle and aunt threw me there and took all my documents away because they wanted me to die there. I never expected there’d be a day I’d get picked back up. When I saw my homeland from the plane, I cried, cried like a fool."

"You’ve been very brave. The young master from Shangjing surviving on his own for four years in Africa, the kind of place that drives people mad enough to eat each other, is really amazing. I’m proud to have you as my friend." Xu Ke placed his hand lightly on Sheng Wenhao’s shoulder, giving it a firm pat before speaking.

Sheng Wenhao roughly wiped his face with his hand, his eyes slightly red as he looked at Xu Ke and said, "I was exiled to Africa, and now I’ve been brought back. Don’t you have anything you want to ask or say?"

"If you want to tell me, I’ll listen. If you don’t want to, I couldn’t ask it out of you anyway." Xu Ke chuckled and said.

"True." Feeling that he’d asked a foolish question, Sheng Wenhao laughed faintly, his expression relaxed as he said, "I came back with a mission. They want me to gain your trust, but I don’t know what they want me to do after that. It can’t be anything good. Everything that happened today was Sheng Yi’s setup, just to force you to give me a chance. Even if you hadn’t left just now, you’d be forced to later."