Chapter 20

20

Shen Po was equally bewildered.

He had been helping carry a crate of milk to the children in the tents, only to trip along the way, tumbling forward with the milk and blacking out on the spot.

Right before he lost consciousness, he was still thinking that surviving an earthquake only to trip and fall while walking would make him a laughingstock if anyone found out.

But as soon as he woke up, he found himself sprawled across a desk, looking up at a familiar room.

Back again?

Shen Po flexed his fingers and limbs. They were a bit stiff, probably from lying there so long, but he suddenly felt a slight sense of unfamiliarity:

A faint estrangement from his own physical shell.

I didn’t even stay in that era a hundred years later for very long, Shen Po thought to himself as he casually flipped through the notebook at hand.

One look at the dense sea of writing, and Shen Po froze.

Wen Yan had written a tremendous amount, barely putting down the pen since his return. There were quite a few errors, as he had been utterly exhausted and in a daze while writing, yawning constantly. It was already a miracle he hadn’t passed out, leaving him no leisure to write in traditional characters to make it easier for Young Master Shen to read, and some of the handwriting was outright messy.

He had recorded everything, from the major events slated to happen at the end of the month to what he had been doing during this time, followed by the people he had met, name by name, their respective roles, and Wen Yan’s own plans and thoughts.

Wen Yan had not expected that writing so much would actually prove useful immediately.

In the past, the moment Third Young Master Shen saw this much text, he would have slammed the notebook shut and gone straight to sleep.

But now, with a surprising degree of seriousness, he read through everything Wen Yan had recorded from start to finish.

Although he still didn’t fully understand some details; for instance, he failed to see what was so important about those obscure, dense books that made them worth going to such great lengths to protect, to the point where even Old Du, renowned across Shanghai, had joined the scheme.

Given the Shen family’s status, it was no easy feat even for Shen Po’s father to arrange a meeting with Old Du.

Yet this did not stop Shen Po from feeling a shared sense of indignation against the common enemy, for he too had no desire to let the Japanese gain any advantage.

As long as the Japanese got nothing and were forced to swallow a bitter pill, the plan was worthwhile.

Let’s do it!

Shen Po let out a long breath and decided to take up Wen Yan’s unfinished work, ready to make his grand ambitions a reality!

He was someone unburdened by worries; even if the sky fell, he would treat it as a blanket.

The body had barely rested before waking up, and sleeping slumped over the desk left Shen Po sore all over. Without another word, he threw himself onto the bed to get some proper sleep first.

That sleep lasted from day to night until the family servant knocked on the door, waking Shen Po.

Shen Po scrambled upright, still groggy and disoriented. Looking left and right, he thought he was still in the earthquake zone and even reached out to help carry milk, only remembering halfway through that he was back in his own body, back in his real home.

He rubbed his face and got out of bed to open the door. Neither his expression nor his tone was pleasant, yet he didn’t lose his temper like he used to.

“What is it now? Knocking on the door like you’re summoning my soul!”

The servant stammered, “Young Master, Madam is in a hurry to go out and play mahjong, so she asked me to check if you went to school today.”

Shen Po: “…”

He had completely forgotten about that!

Ever since transferring departments, his soul had traveled to the modern era, survived an earthquake, and returned utterly exhausted only to sleep until dark. How could he possibly remember anything about going to school?

He had already been a teacher a hundred years in the future; did he still have to go to school?!

Thoughts aside, Shen Po still felt a bit guilty.

“I slept all day today. I’ll definitely go tomorrow. Just tell Madam I had things to take care of today!”

Young Master Shen was the family’s little terror, the sort even Master Shen could barely rein in. Hearing him say this, the servant dared not ask further and nodded, turning to leave.

Shen Po called after him, “Is there anything to eat at home? I’m hungry.”

There was food, of course. Ma He lived with the Shen family and was on standby twenty-four hours a day, with ingredients always well-stocked. The Shen family never feared waste, only failing to serve their masters properly.

And this was something life a hundred years later could not begin to compare with.

Reflecting on it, Shen Po realized that while transportation and information a hundred years in the future were far more advanced, advancing by leaps and bounds, and acquiring food was much more convenient with ordinary people having enough to eat, when it came to delicate and delicious cuisine, it still fell short of the Shen family’s standards.

Taking two bites of the wontons handmade by Ma He, the smug Shen Po suddenly froze, abruptly recalling the last meal he had eaten over there before the earthquake.

The dinner at the little class monitor’s house hadn’t been tasty to Shen Po’s picky palate, but he had been so captivated by their television shows at the time that he hadn’t bothered to complain.

Yet he suddenly remembered that the little class monitor’s grandparents, who had cooked that meal for him, had already lost their lives beneath the ruins.

“Young Master, are the wontons not to your liking?”

Seeing his sullen mood, Ma He asked.

It was also because Wen Yan had grown much more familiar with Ma He over the past few days, so she was no longer as constrained around him as before.

Shen Po shook his head, but the wontons in his mouth instantly lost their savory appeal.

The wontons were the same as always, but his state of mind had changed.

No!

Pah, I’m not that broke scholar Wen Yan. I only went on “vacation” a hundred years into the future for a few days, so why am I getting all sentimental? I am Shen Po, the dignified Third Young Master of the Shen family! Feasting and making merry is my true calling!

Shen Po shook his head, determined to reclaim his former wild, flamboyant self.

Wolfing down the rest of the wontons, he began calling his old fair-weather friends one by one.

Hearing that he was inviting them out to play, his friends were taken by surprise.

After all, not long ago Shen Po had put on an act of turning over a new leaf, intent on cutting ties with them entirely.

Back to his old ways already?

Puzzled though they were, everyone happily agreed to meet.

After all, Shen Po had always footed the bill for these outings, and they were more than happy to tag along.

Shen Po gathered everyone at their usual haunt, the New World^[1], called over familiar dance hall hostesses, and reveled in having women on both arms, thoroughly enjoying himself as if he had slipped right back into his old life.

He, Shen Po, was born to enjoy good fortune. Even if he did nothing at all, the Shen family’s mountains of gold and silver were enough for him to squander for a lifetime. Who made him the Shen family’s only son now, anyway? If his old man didn’t leave that family fortune to him, who else would he leave it to?

Oh, wait, his old man still had an illegitimate son right now. Tsk, who knew if that little brat would even survive to adulthood. After all, according to what Wen Yan said, the Japanese would arrive by the end of the month. Combined with the fragments of history he had seen a hundred years later, this country was in for a long stretch of unrest in the years to come…

Shen Po’s hand resting on the dancing girl’s shoulder suddenly froze.

“Third Young Master? Third Young Master?”

The dancing girl nudged him, puzzled.

The corners of Shen Po’s mouth pulled down. Without a single word or acknowledging anyone, he rose to his feet and strode out.

Everyone watched him, at a complete loss.