Quick Transmigration: Let Me Tell You, I'm a Social Anxiety Person

Therefore, when his father suggested sending him abroad, Shen Zhu refused without hesitation.

Gao Yan's matter made the news, and some media outlets, always eager for a good show, fanned the flames and deliberately released information to smear the Shen family's businesses, but it was of little consequence.

Shen Zhu did not think he needed to go abroad to "avoid the limelight." He was upright and honest, and the rumors were just fleeting clouds to him.

Shen Zhu doesn't live in the eyes of others.

His father's deep gaze fell upon him, and Shen Zhu heard him call his name and then speak.

"Don't think I don't know what you're planning. You're always following Wen Ying around, and what's the result? What can she bring you?"

Shen Zhu's lips twitched.

There are actually many reasons to refute this. For example, Shen Zhu used to be a bad student, but Wen Ying inspired him to strive for better. Shen Zhu was originally just a member of the masses who drifted along with the tide, but Wen Ying brought him ideals.

But he didn't say any of these reasons aloud.

“She doesn’t need to bring me anything,” Shen Zhu said. “I don’t believe that relationships are a matter of equal exchange of benefits, and I certainly don’t measure interpersonal relationships by value.”

The father said, “Shen Zhu, you must have limits to your ego. If Gao Yan’s matter had happened to anyone without power or influence, it would not have been resolved so smoothly. You need to think clearly about the foundation upon which your success and carefree life are built. No one’s life is a castle in the air. You see far not because you stand high, but because of your family. And your ego comes entirely from the power your family has given you.”

Shen Zhu was speechless for a moment.

He could sense that his father's topic was heading in a different direction. Just like Shen Zhu's essays that always went off-topic, the meaning between his father's lines was not what he simply understood as "going abroad to avoid the storm," nor was it a condemnation of naive love, but rather an effort to correct a mistake in an adversarial relationship.

The Gao Yan incident was merely a trigger; the real ignition point was not the love letter found in Shen Zhu's bag.

His father just wanted to tame him.

“Life is not perfect. The glory of the family is not only a halo, but also a responsibility. If you want to enjoy the benefits that this halo brings, you must shoulder the responsibility.” The father continued, “Shen Zhu, you are only seventeen years old. You know how to choose.”

After his father finished speaking, he left, leaving Shen Zhu standing there, facing the empty windowsill, in silence for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Chi pushed open the study door and knocked lightly on the door: "Dinner's ready."

Shen Zhu didn't move. Shen Chi knocked on the door and left to have a meal first.

Shen Zhu pressed himself against the edge of the windowsill, looking down into the distance. The courtyard was full of blooming flowers and lush trees. Shen Zhu inexplicably thought of the two bouquets of flowers he had brought home, which were now withered in some wretched corner.

He heard voices coming from downstairs. The butler walked away from the gate in a hurry. After a while, Shen Chi appeared in the courtyard, leading a golden retriever to the gate covered with rose vines.

Shen Zhu's gaze followed forward, and he saw a familiar figure he hadn't seen for many days. Wen Ying and Shen Chi stood face to face, giving him their usual gentle smiles, and then handed him a letter.

Shen Zhu watched quietly, his heart surprisingly calm. Now that things had come to this, he could no longer naively consider how to win Wen Ying's favor, but instead thought about the more distant future.

Shen Zhu once thought that he grew up in a happy family where the members didn't communicate much, but they trusted and supported each other.

Now it seems that being carefree is just a beautiful illusion. Only when someone stands in his way does all his thoughts become idealized.

Can he create a future for himself that carries his ideals and hopes, free from everything he already has?

Shen Zhu didn't know.

If the future is turbulent, should he still try to win Wen Ying over as well?

His gaze gradually became unfocused. Shen Zhu stood by the window like a statue for a long time until Wen Ying turned and left. Shen Chi also led his dog back to the garden. Then Shen Chi went upstairs and asked him again if he wanted to eat.

Shen Zhu didn't speak, silently following behind Shen Chi back to the restaurant on the first floor. Only one dish remained on the table, but his father was still sitting at the table, and his mother was also there.

Choice. The word popped into his mind again.

Did Shen Chi ever make a choice? This older brother, who was six years older than him, always appeared in front of him with a mature and steady demeanor. He could handle any situation calmly, as if he knew that there was a solution to every problem.

Has Shen Chi ever encountered an unsolvable problem? What did he give up back then?

Shen Zhu shifted his gaze from Shen Chi to his parents sitting opposite him.

They all stared at him with knowing eyes, as if they had already foreseen that the unbreakable blood ties would force Shen Zhu to submit. A smooth and carefree life was the true and highest ideal in his heart.

Finally, he inevitably thought of Wen Ying.

If Wen Ying were the one facing this choice, what would she choose?

Will Wen Ying also follow the most correct path and exchange freedom for the most satisfactory answer?

Shen Zhu still doesn't know.

But he still spoke up, and his answer was disappointing.

“I will go abroad,” he said. “But I will not go to the school you arrange. I will try to apply myself, and I will also try to live independently and take responsibility for myself. When I become an adult, I will return everything I have ever received. If my family needs me in the future, I will also do my part to help.”

The father's lips twitched, but he didn't have time to speak.

“I’m sorry, maybe I am indeed too extreme and self-centered, but I believe that if we lose our ‘self,’ then this world will only be an empty shell.”

Shen Zhu smiled and said, "I don't want to take the predetermined path. Rather than the comfort of a predictable end, I would prefer to go back to winter and walk the same path I came from."

Shen Zhu did not have a scale in his heart to weigh what was important and what was not, and he could not stand in the summer of his seventeenth year and predetermine the only option for all the seasons of the rest of his life.

What will the future hold? How many trials and tribulations will he encounter, and what kind of person will he become?

The road ahead is uncertain and unclear.

There are too many questions that remain unanswered; perhaps life truly is just an unsolvable puzzle.

But there will always be someone who will become the sharpest weapon to break the deadlock.

Shen Zhu wants to be the bravest person in the world.