Chapter 23

23

Impossible.

Those three words echoed over and over in Shen Po’s mind.

His brother had still been alive and kicking just last night.

Gundilong was dirt-poor; normally, no one would ever go there.

Shen Chong had even told him they would see each other again after dawn.

Dawn…

Shen Po had understood back then that when Shen Chong spoke of dawn, he likely meant after the entire country had transformed, after their cause had succeeded.

But he never expected Shen Chong’s words to become a prophetic curse. After just one night, at actual daybreak, the two brothers had reunited like this.

If they hadn’t met last night, Shen Chong would have just been an older brother Shen Po hadn’t seen in years.

In his memories, there might have been fragments of Shen Chong’s past, maybe a vague, fond brotherly bond, but definitely none of this shattering heartache.

It was precisely because he had just seen the living, breathing person that this black-and-white photograph and brief lines of text were impossible to believe.

Shen Po had always been carefree and frivolous, his only worry being having fun without getting scolded by his family.

When he traveled a hundred years into the future, he cared only about things related to entertainment and indulgence. If not for arguing with people, he wouldn’t have cared at all whether the country was strong or whether the people were prosperous.

Truth be told, those matters concerned him in theory, but they had little bearing on his daily life. In Shen Po’s social class, unless the nation fell and their home was destroyed, the horses would still run, the dancing would still go on, and you scraped by while you could; if you couldn’t, you just fled abroad.

But now, a new variable had appeared among those affairs that supposedly didn’t concern him.

And that was his brother, Shen Chong.

Before any concrete thoughts could form, tears spilled from his eyes.

Madam Shen had only been keeping her head down, holding back her grief, but when she looked up and saw her youngest son crying, she finally broke down. With a sob, she covered her mouth, turned around, and rushed up to her room on the second floor.

Shen Po, who had been standing numbly, seemed to snap like a flipped switch. He leapt up and yelled at Father Shen, “We have to hold them accountable! The Shen family isn’t just going to let people bully us…”

“Shut up!” Father Shen barked. “I only had you read a newspaper! What Shen family?!”

Shen Po said, “Isn’t that my brother…?”

Father Shen enunciated every word: “Both of your older brothers are already dead. You are the oldest in the Shen family now. Stop talking nonsense from now on!”

Shen Po was startled, and then a surge of fury welled up inside him.

Why was the news clearly about Shen Chong, yet the old man refused to acknowledge it, even claiming it wasn’t him?

If it wasn’t Shen Chong, why had the old man deliberately made him read this newspaper?

This clumsy cover-up made Shen Po want to curse out loud.

But a voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

It was Wen Yan.

【Your dad might have other considerations. In a situation like your brother’s, there’s no need for them to specifically publish a news report. It could be bait to lure out his associates, or to make certain people panic so they can wipe them all out in one swoop.】

Wen Yan wasn’t actually sure either, but having watched plenty of spy dramas, he understood the general tricks of the trade.

Associates? Shen Chong, he…!

Shen Po opened his mouth, wanting to defend his brother. The word “associates” sounded far too derogatory, making his blood boil.

His brother definitely hadn’t died for himself. He had done it because-

Shen Po couldn’t finish the thought.

He vaguely knew what Shen Chong was doing, but what exactly he had done to invite fatal disaster, he couldn’t say for sure.

He stood there in a daze, recalling the limited moments he had spent with Shen Chong while he was still alive. Caught between tears and numbness, he was completely lost in thought.

Father Shen had originally prepared to reprimand Shen Po or even have a massive row with his son, but seeing him like this, he found himself unable to say anything. In the end, he only let out a heavy sigh.

“Both of your older brothers died in accidents long ago. In the Shen family, there is only you now, Shen Po. Look closely at the newspaper and learn something. You have to grow up eventually. I let you fool around in the past, but from now on, if you can’t manage to stay in the Chinese department or if teachers complain about you, you’re going abroad. And one more thing-“

Father Shen stood up, pressing both hands on the table, his eyes fixed on the newspaper next to Shen Po’s hand.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. He hesitated, choking back his words until the rims of his eyes reddened.

“Also, from now on, never mention Shen Chong again. Not at home, not outside. He ran away from home years ago and has been dead for a long time.”

He kept his voice very low. After finishing, he paused in silence for a moment, then strode outside.

“Old He, where is the driver?”

“Everything is ready, Master!”

“Let’s go.”

Shen Po watched the old man and the butler leave one after the other without looking back.

He stood blankly for a long time, not crying.

Instead, it was Wen Yan who grew a bit worried watching him.

【If you feel stifled, just cry. You’ll feel better if you let it out.】

【…I’m fine.】

Shen Po snapped out of his daze, his expression gradually calming down instead.

【Isn’t today a school day? I need to go to class. The Chinese department, right? I’ll go upstairs to get my textbooks.】

After saying that, he actually went upstairs, grabbed his textbooks, and had Xiao Wu drive him to school.

Shen Po’s behavior was so calm that Wen Yan felt increasingly unnerved.

Given Young Master Shen’s usual temperament, he should have thrown a massive fit and blown up the entire universe by now.

Yet here he was, acting as if nothing had happened. Did that make any sense at all?

Was his relationship with his eldest brother, Shen Chong, just ordinary?

It didn’t seem like it.

Wen Yan could sense that Shen Po’s emotions were in extreme turmoil and his heart was pounding violently; he only looked calm on the surface. That was precisely what made it so abnormal.

The volcano was clearly churning beneath the surface while the peak remained still. Wen Yan feared that if he suppressed it too much, he would erupt at school, cause trouble, and end up unable to even attend classes.

Shen Chong’s sudden, tragic news made Wen Yan forget his own situation, focusing entirely on Shen Po’s mental state. After all, they were practically sharing the same body right now.

【Shen Po, what I said earlier might not be right. Maybe your brother really is alive. That news report might just be bait they put out after failing to find him, trying to lure his companions out.】

【Your dad’s attitude doesn’t necessarily mean he’s denying your brother’s existence either. He’s doing it for the whole family’s safety. After all, this is Shanghai. I watched spy dramas before, and they said Shanghai is crawling with eyes everywhere.】

【Say something! Hey, hello, I don’t even know if I can go back yet, and here I am trying to comfort you. If you lose your mind too, what am I supposed to do?】

“Shut up, I said I’m fine!”

Shen Po finally spoke, shouting out loud.

Xiao Wu looked back from the driver’s seat in fright. “Young Master, are you all right?”

Shen Po snapped impatiently, “Just focus on driving!”

After barking at Xiao Wu, he turned his head and looked out the back, refusing to communicate with anyone. No matter what Wen Yan said, he didn’t utter another word.

“Stop the car!” Shen Po suddenly said.

Xiao Wu: “Huh?”

Shen Po: “I told you to stop the car!”

Xiao Wu slammed on the brakes.

Cars didn’t go very fast in these times anyway, and driving through a bustling downtown area, Xiao Wu wouldn’t have dared speed up in the first place.

He knew Shen Po was in a terrible, volatile mood today, far more prone to explosive outbursts than usual, so he didn’t dare disobey him lightly.

The moment the car stopped, Shen Po dashed out.

Only then did Wen Yan see clearly what was happening.

A beggar in ragged clothes was on the roadside. The street they were driving along was a commercial strip within the concession, so a patrol officer was brandishing a baton to chase him away. The officer didn’t have a Chinese face, but was a typical Indian Sikh policeman, commonly known among locals as the “Ah San police.” Wearing red turbans and speaking accented English, they were physically imposing, cheaper than white officers, yet deemed more effective by the authorities than Chinese faces, making them the most common sight in the concession today.

Perhaps this officer was in a foul mood, or perhaps the vagrant had looked up and said something the officer understood in Chinese that provoked him. Shouting harshly, the officer swung his baton hard at the vagrant, who took a brutal blow, cried out in pain, and scrambled on hands and knees in a miserable state.

Some passersby turned a blind eye, while others stopped to watch with pity on their faces, yet not a single person stepped forward to intervene.

The officer’s baton, however, never fell a second time.

Shen Po had already caught the baton, driving a fist straight into the man’s gut.

Caught off guard, the foreign officer took the full brunt of the blow, and Shen Po, not satisfied yet, followed up with a kick.

Soon, several other officers nearby spotted the commotion and rushed over.

【Stop fighting! Their backup is here, you’re on your own!】 Wen Yan urgently called out to him.

As if deaf to the warning, Shen Po kept kicking the Indian officer.

His rampage was quickly halted as several officers swarmed him, pinning his arms and legs while another threw a punch at him.

“What are you doing? Think you can gang up on me just because you outnumber me?” Shen Po shouted. “This is Chinese land! Why can’t he be here? All he said was you’re dogs for foreigners! What, was he wrong? Embarrassed and angry now, are you?!”

Some of the officers understood Chinese while others didn’t, but under the sheer pressure of their numbers, Shen Po ended up in a battered state, taking several hard punches.

Xiao Wu rushed forward in a frantic panic to stop them. “Stop! He is Mayor Wu’s nephew! Who dares lay a hand on him?!”

It was a complete mess and an utter farce.

The vagrant had slipped away in the chaos at some point, leaving only Shen Po at the eye of the storm.

There was no heroic scene where the rescuer received heartfelt thanks; instead, only Shen Po’s background led to him being taken to the police station and ultimately released without charges.

From start to finish, Xiao Wu was the only one explaining and desperately trying to smooth things over, since he drew a salary from the Shen family and couldn’t afford to lose his livelihood over failing to protect the young master.

Wen Yan didn’t speak up either, knowing Shen Po was simply using this to vent his emotions.

Unable to avenge Shen Chong’s death, an anger had remained bottled up inside him. The sight of the vagrant being beaten and discriminated against was merely the final catalyst for his explosion, or perhaps it was because the vagrant’s clothes looked far too much like what Shen Chong had worn last night.

Stepping out of the police station, Shen Po looked around.

He saw bustling Shanghai, city folk dressed neatly and smartly, and a dazzling array of shop signs.

A hundred years ago, Shanghai already had public buses, along with white-collar workers riding them to their jobs.

To think that a hundred years later, the little village where Wen Yan lived wouldn’t even have a bus route yet.

Yet was this anything to be proud of?

Shen Po felt a fire inside him that hadn’t gone out at all; instead, this turn of events had only fanned it into an even fiercer blaze.

It burned from his chest straight to his head, leaving him aching all over.

Suddenly, he burst into tears.

A loud wail broke out, terrifying Xiao Wu, who had followed behind him.

It startled passersby as well. They all stared at Shen Po standing at the police station entrance, wondering if he had suffered abuse inside.

Xiao Wu was even more convinced that this pampered young master had never endured such humiliation in his life, and that he would certainly face a harsh scolding upon returning home.

Ignoring everything around him, Shen Po simply cried his heart out. Tears streaming down his face, he wept miserably until his legs went numb, then squatted down and kept crying, hugging his knees as he sobbed in shuddering gasps.

“Will we win?” he blurted out suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere.

Xiao Wu heard him, but had no idea what Shen Po was asking or how to answer.

Only Wen Yan knew that Shen Po was asking him.

In the future, will we win?

Can the world from a hundred years later truly become reality?

Can the concessions^[1] really be abolished?

Could Shen Chong not have died?

Were those midnight dreams nothing more than an illusion?

【We will win.】

He heard Wen Yan say.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of passing crowds, Wen Yan’s voice came through with crystal clarity, like a paperweight pressing down firmly upon a wrinkled sheet of paper.

【At the end of every winding road, light will finally come.】

【And if there is no light, we will light our own lamp and illuminate the way.】

【Shen Po, some people believe because they see. You’ve already seen it, so why don’t you believe? Shen Chong never got to see it for even a single day, yet he believed. You both share the Shen surname, so don’t tell me you’re that much of a coward?】

【Don’t think I don’t know you’re using reverse psychology on me!】

Shen Po scoffed and wiped away his tears with a vicious swipe.

Having vented his feelings, he felt much better. He stood up, shoved his hands into his pockets, and seeing Xiao Wu still foolishly squatting beside him staring blankly, he couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

“What are you still spacing out for? Let’s go to school for class!”

Xiao Wu: …

Going to school at this hour, they’d arrive just in time for lunch. Had this young master deliberately stirred up trouble just to skip class?

The two made a quick stop at a small clinic along the way, soon getting back in the car and heading toward the school.

Shen Po had finally settled down, his mood appearing much more stable.

Xiao Wu glanced through the rearview mirror and quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Shen Po had taken a punch earlier, leaving his right cheek slightly swollen. Even though medication had been applied, he was bound to face an interrogation when he went home tonight. At that thought, Xiao Wu began worrying for himself again.

He had no idea that Shen Po was already messaging Wen Yan on the other end.

【When are you planning to start that book-stealing plan of yours? What do you need me to do?】

Wen Yan: 【Wait for Old Du’s notice. All you need to do is make sure you don’t cause any trouble.】

Shen Po: ?

What is that supposed to mean? Looking down on this young master?