Rebirth: Different Way

by Usui Takumii

not mine, yun yun yun translations. Beware BL. Total: 101 chapters.

3. 21 to 30

Chapter 21

Shen Xi did not have much memory of what had happened before, and Li Mingxuan did not want to talk about it, so he just told the story in a few words.

Shen Xi listened quietly, his eyes involuntarily sweeping over Li Mingxuan's clothes wrinkled in his sleep, and his brow furrowed invisibly when he thought of the warm embrace in his dream. The guess really made Shen Xi unhappy, but it was also a fact that Li Mingxuan had taken care of him, so Shen Xi could only suppress the discomfort and smile at Li Mingxuan, "Thank you, Cousin."

When Shen Xi smiled at him, and with the way he was lying there now, Li Mingxuan's eyes couldn't help but start to move downwards.

Realising what he wanted to see, Li Mingxuan immediately stiffened, and then he pretended to relax, pulling up the quilt over Shen Xi to cover him tightly, leaving only his head outside.

Noticing Shen Xi's strange gaze, Li Mingxuan said in a natural tone, "The doctor ordered you to stay covered to sweat out faster."

There was nothing wrong with this statement, and Shen Xi could only show a grateful smile to Li Mingxuan once again.

Li Mingxuan averted his eyes slightly sheepishly; the doorbell rang at the right moment, "Hello, room service."

With a long sigh of relief in his heart, Li Mingxuan rushed to the door almost impatiently. In addition to Li Mingxuan's long-awaited breakfast, there was also a doctor with a medical kit outside the door.

After a detailed examination, the doctor said that Shen Xi's fever had almost gone down and that he only needed to recuperate for another day and should be fine after that. As Shen Xi was young and healthy, his illness came and went quickly, of course, thanks to the care and attention he had received.

When talking about care and attention, the doctor deliberately looked at Li Mingxuan, and Shen Xi could only follow the doctor's line of sight and once again raise the corner of his mouth at Li Mingxuan.

Since Shen Xi was still a bit feverish, the doctor left Shen Xi a day's supply of medicine and specifically instructed Shen Xi to eat something to cushion his stomach before taking the medicine, preferably some porridge.

As soon as the doctor left, Li Mingxuan brought over the congee that he had ordered for Shen Xi, and Shen Xi was stunned to realise that Li Mingxuan had prepared it for him. When he looked at Li Mingxuan again, there was a bit more sincere gratitude on his face.

After eating the porridge and taking the medicine, Shen Xi lay down on the bed, not going to sleep anymore. Seeing that Li Mingxuan had no intention of leaving, Shen Xi wondered, "Don't you have to go to the office, Cousin?"

Li Mingxuan smiled, "Father knows about Xiao Xi's illness, so he gave me a day off to stay here and take care of you."

The father Li Mingxuan spoke of was none other than Shen Xi's aunt's husband, a very serious man in Shen Xi's eyes. The only impression Shen Xi had of him in his previous life was that he and his aunt had a very good relationship, and the two were regarded as a rare loving couple in the circle. In his new life, Shen Xi asked Lao K to help him investigate everyone related to the Shen family, and his uncle, who was close to the Shen family in both public and private life, was naturally the focus of the investigation. It was only after this investigation that Shen Xi realised the power of this man. Thinking of the intricate business interests of the Shen and the Li families, Shen Xi lowered his eyes and did not look at Li Mingxuan again.

Perhaps because of the medicine, one moment Shen Xi felt he was not sleepy at all, and the next moment he was drowsy and fell asleep.

Li Mingxuan quietly looked at Shen Xi's sleeping face and turned away with a bitter smile.

Should he be glad that Shen Xi, being sick, hadn't noticed his abnormality?

Even though he had tried to forget the previous scenes from the morning until now, his body's reaction could not fool anyone.

He really didn't want to admit that he had reacted to his cousin who was related to him by blood in a way that completely exceeded his expectations.

Even if he liked men, he could never fall in love with one of his relatives.

Maybe he just couldn't suppress his body's urges because he had been single for too long? Or maybe it was just a natural instinct of a man and didn't mean anything?

Li Mingxuan's thoughts nagged him, the words taboo, incest and immorality haunting his mind. Perhaps he really needed to find a companion soon.

The sleeping Shen Xi was unaware of Li Mingxuan's messy thoughts, but he had a vague feeling that someone was watching him, and moved uneasily. Only when he heard Li Mingxuan's voice in his haze did Shen Xi settle down and roll over to go back to sleep. The last thought as he fell asleep seemed to be: who did Li Mingxuan get into an argument with?

"You're crazy!" Li Mingxuan glanced at Shen Xi carefully, lowered his voice and walked to the living room.

"I'm not crazy!" The sound of Shen Ji gritting his teeth was very clear.

Li Mingxuan sighed, "I can understand that you don't want that nurse to appear in front of Uncle, but you can't find someone to detain her privately. Let's not talk about whether this matter is illegal or not, what will you do in case Uncle finds out about it or it gets exposed by reporters?"

Shen Ji's voice sounded irrational, "Then what do you think I can do? Father wants to take her home! Zhou Mingmei has worked so hard for so many years and played so many tricks but she has not entered our house yet. This one has only appeared for a few days and Father is so enchanted that he actually wants to take her home."

Shen Ji repeated these words over and over again, obviously furious.

Li Mingxuan was also stunned by the news, "Uncle is going to do it?"

Although Li Mingxuan did not want to maliciously guess the thoughts of his elders, wasn't Shen Dehan's behaviour really?… Li Mingxuan couldn't help but wonder whether he would have a new young aunt soon.

Shen Ji guessed Li Mingxuan's thoughts and said with hatred, "Father has not gone over the edge yet, he's just bringing home a private caretaker."

Li Mingxuan fell silent; no matter what his uncle called it, as long as that nurse stepped into the Shen family's house, it was an insult to Shen Ji's mother.

Perhaps if a young girl heard about Shen Dehan's behaviour, she would find it deeply romantic, but in Li Mingxuan's eyes such actions by Shen Dehan were truly absurd. Maybe Shen Dehan felt that he was doing this exactly because he loved Fang Yun, but he didn't know that his repeated search for a substitute in itself was a betrayal of Fang Yun.

Li Mingxuan felt powerless about his uncle's behaviour, but did his best to dissuade Shen Ji. He could detain that nurse for a while, but not for the whole life. Instead of laying hands on that nurse, it would be better to take Shen Cheng and show their father their filial piety, then maybe they could persuade Shen Dehan to change his mind.

Shen Ji sneered, "Do you really think this will work?"

Li Mingxuan paused and said, "In Uncle's heart you and Xiao Cheng are always the most important."

Shen Ji was silent and then laughed bitterly, "I used to firmly believe that Xiao Cheng and I were the most important in Father's heart, so important that he could even give up Shen Xi and refuse to recognize Shen Rong for us. But now I suddenly don't dare to think so."

There was one last sentence in Shen Ji's mind that he had not spoken; that perhaps his father himself was the most important in his father's heart.

Li Mingxuan once again sighed silently.

In the end, Shen Ji was persuaded by Li Mingxuan and intended to take Shen Cheng to try once more.

Unlike Shen Xi, Shen Ji and Shen Cheng grew up under the doting care of their father, and Shen Ji had too many fond memories of Shen Dehan. The father who loved him, the father who took care of him, the father who listened to him, the father who accompanied him to play, so many images of his father overlapped with each other. Shen Ji really did not want to believe that between them and that woman his father would choose that woman. Not to mention the fact that that woman was nothing more than a substitute for his mother.

Li Mingxuan didn't know what Shen Ji would do. After hanging up the phone, Li Mingxuan called his mother, hoping that his mother could persuade his uncle.

Li Mingxuan's words made Shen Bixue worried. The thing she feared most had happened. Thinking of the last time when she said that Shen Dehan and the young nurse were so different in age that Shen Dehan should not have any ideas, Shen Bixue smiled bitterly. Shen Dehan's plans needed to be nipped in the bud. If left unattended, it would definitely become the biggest scandal in Zhongjing!

Hanging up the phone again, Li Mingxuan quietly walked back to the bedroom.

Shen Xi was still asleep, crumpling the quilt into a ball, unaware of what was happening outside.

Li Mingxuan couldn't help but think that the most indifferent person in the whole Shen family right now would be Shen Xi. Whether it was Shen Ji, Shen Cheng or Shen Rong, who everyone refused to acknowledge, they were all hostile to the appearance of that nurse, except for Shen Xi who was probably more than happy to see it happen.

When Li Mingxuan thought of it, an idea flashed suddenly in his mind and he looked at Shen Xi suspiciously.

Half a second later, Li Mingxuan shook his head and discarded that absurd thought, the previous expression returning to his face.

It was impossible for Shen Xi to do this. The manpower and financial resources required to find such a similar person were not within Shen Xi's reach. Shen Xi had been abroad all these years, and his former friends had not contacted him again, so who else would help him? What's more, Shen Ji had been paying attention to Shen Xi during his years abroad. Perhaps Shen Xi's temperament had improved a lot as he grew older, but his habit of spending money lavishly had not changed and even intensified because he was banished abroad.

Although the Shen family would give Shen Xi a large sum of money every month, according to Shen Xi's spending, he would definitely not be able to save much.

Thinking about it this way, Li Mingxuan instead felt a twinge of guilt towards Shen Xi.

Everyone knew what kind of a person Shen Xi had been raised to be, and these years Shen Xi had not caused much trouble abroad. Even though Shen Xi's temperament had become restrained and seemed much calmer, the irritability in his bones was still vaguely visible. This was also the reason why Uncle had been so relieved that he was abroad.

According to Shen Xi's character, he would never think or do anything to set up his uncle through a woman. It was really wrong of Li Mingxuan to suspect Shen Xi in such a malicious manner.

Li Mingxuan gave Shen Xi a guilty look, carefully covered him with the balled up quilt and stayed quietly by the bed.

Chapter 22

Before Shen Ji could find a chance to talk to Shen Dehan about Chu Qianqian's arrival, Chu Qianqian had unexpectedly rejected Shen Dehan's offer herself.

Despite her apologetic look, Chu Qianqian's attitude was very firm.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Shen, I don't think I'm the right person to be your personal caregiver."

Shen Dehan never thought he would be turned down and the smile had not yet faded from his face, "Xiao Chu, what are you talking about?"

Chu Qianqian gave Shen Dehan an embarrassed look, but still repeated firmly, "Sorry, Mr. Shen, I can't be your personal caregiver."

"Why?" Shen Dehan was a bit confused; these days Chu Qianqian was very attentive to his care, gentle, meticulous and patient. The two got along quite well. Shen Dehan felt that although he was a bit older, he was still quite elegant due to his long-standing high position and good maintenance. He could see from Chu Qianqian's daily behaviour that she did not hate him. He just invited her to do nursing work for him, which was easy and profitable. Why didn't she agree?

Shen Dehan made it clear that he was going to pursue the matter to the end. Chu Qianqian was silent for a moment and spoke softly under Shen Dehan's compelling gaze, "I know your good intentions, Mr. Shen. Someone must have talked to you about my situation and that's why you thought of hiring me as a personal caregiver. Mr. Shen, you are very kind, but that's why I can't agree. You know that I have just graduated and I am still in the internship stage. I am fine at the hospital, but if I go to your home, I will not have enough experience to deal with the unexpected situations that may arise. What your body needs, Mr. Shen, is a professional caregiver, and I can't disregard your health because of your good intentions."

Chu Qianqian's attitude towards Shen Dehan was very gentle, but there was a little alienation in the gentleness. She smiled lightly, grateful for Shen Dehan's kindness, but she didn't need Shen Dehan's sympathy.

Shen Dehan looked at Chu Qianqian in front of him in a moment of daze. He remembered that Fang Yun was also like this back then, with fortitude in her weakness, and chose to refuse his help without hesitation. No matter how difficult the situation was, Fang Yun refused to take advantage of his kindness.

Nostalgia surfaced in Shen Dehan's eyes and his tone became a bit more gentle, "I know my own health, Xiao Chu, don't worry, you can definitely handle it."

Chu Qianqian shook her head, "I appreciate your kindness, Mr. Shen, but I really can't agree."

Shen Dehan sharply interrupted Chu Qianqian's refusal, "If you are worried about my health, I can hire another private nurse, and you can also take the opportunity to learn properly from her. What do you think?"

Chu Qianqian did not expect Shen Dehan to say this; she froze for a moment but still refused.

Looking at Shen Dehan's uncomprehending eyes, Chu Qianqian was embarrassed and finally said in a small voice, "I don't know why but I can feel that Shen Dashao does not like my presence. If Mr. Shen insists on hiring me as a personal caregiver, Shen Dashao will be even more unhappy, right?"

Having said that, Chu Qianqian hurriedly explained, "I am not displeased with Shen Dashao in any way. No one can make everyone like them, I understand this. It's just that you, Mr. Shen, are the first patient I have taken care of since I graduated, and you have a very special meaning to me. You have already given me a lot of care during this time and I am very grateful to you. I wish you all the best and don't want you to have any misunderstanding with your family for me, so I am really unable to agree to your proposal."

After Chu Qianqian finished speaking, she showed a faint smile to Shen Dehan and left the ward without waiting for him to say anything else.

Behind her, Shen Dehan stared at Chu Qianqian's departing figure with a complicated expression, not knowing what to think.

Only when Chu Qianqian was alone in the duty room did the gentleness on her face fade and change back to her usual expression. Although this job was lucrative, the idea of being with the smug old man every day, even if she had a good work ethic, was a bit much.

She took her mobile phone out of her pocket and typed quickly, telling Shen Xi about his father's recent developments, with particular emphasis on the fact that he wanted to hire her as a private caregiver. Of course she didn't forget to write that she had declined.

When Shen Xi received the message, he was sitting on his bed tinkering with his new mobile phone.

The original phone had been soaked in water for too long and the phone and its card had been scrapped. When Shen Xi was depressed about it, Li Mingxuan, who asked his assistant to send clothes over, by the way, helped Shen Xi get a new card and brought a new mobile phone.

Understanding the way Shen Dehan's mind worked, Shen Xi replied curiously, "Playing hard to get?"

Chu Qianqian quickly replied, "That's how you have to deal with men. No matter if they are old or young, their virtues are the same, this is the way they eat."

Seeing this message, Shen Xi couldn't help but laugh with the phone in his hand.

Shen Xi's laughter attracted Li Mingxuan, who was talking to his assistant in the living room. He looked over, "What's the matter?"

"I received a joke about the inferior nature of men, do you want me to read it to you?" Shen Xi looked back with a smile.

Li Mingxuan smiled and returned to his conversation.

Shen Xi surveyed Li Mingxuan's back thoughtfully.

Speaking of which, Li Mingxuan originally planned to leave yesterday. However, after examining Shen Xi, the doctor said that although Shen Xi's fever had gone down, he still suggested one more night of observation, so Li Mingxuan stayed behind. Although Shen Xi said that he was fine on his own, Li Mingxuan was still very determined.

Shen Xi vaguely felt that there was something strange about Li Mingxuan's attitude, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong with it, so he could only be more wary of Li Mingxuan in his heart.

Not long after, Li Mingxuan finished talking to his assistant and walked back to Shen Xi's side, "Xiao Xi, I have to go."

Shen Xi cooperatively showed a surprised face, "Cousin wants to go back?"

Li Mingxuan nodded and instructed, "Although you've recovered from your illness, it's best for Xiao Xi to rest at the hotel for one more day. Remember to call me if anything happens."

Shen Xi nodded obediently, not missing the curious gaze of the assistant on the side.

Until they entered the elevator, the assistant's eyes were still unabashedly curious.

Li Mingxuan was puzzled, "What?"

The assistant chuckled dryly, "Nothing, just curious about your good relationship with Shen Sanshao."

When Li Mingxuan heard the word "good relationship", he let out a bitter smile and did not say anything.

Because he had something on his mind, Li Mingxuan did not pay attention to his surroundings and therefore did not see Shen Ji who was talking with someone in the corner of the hotel lobby.

Shen Ji looked at Li Mingxuan, who appeared in his sight, in astonishment, suddenly remembering the last news reports and feeling very uncomfortable.

Shen Ji hadn't had time to adjust his mood yet when he saw Shen Xi.

Despite his efforts to convince himself that it was all just a coincidence, the fact that Li Mingxuan and Shen Xi appeared in front of him one after the other still cast a shadow over Shen Ji's mood.

Shen Ji resisted the urge to dial Li Mingxuan's number immediately and reluctantly turned his mind back to the conversation he was having.

Like Li Mingxuan, Shen Xi, who was in a hurry to find Lao K, did not notice Shen Ji. He left his room and went straight to Lao K almost as soon as Li Mingxuan walked out.

"Are you really not going to enter Shen Group?" Lao K looked at Shen Xi who had been nestling in the balcony recliner since he came in, puzzled by his behaviour.

Shen Xi gave Lao K a lazy look, "What am I going to do in Shen Group?"

"Show your ability outside, buy people inside, find ways to secretly collude with the shareholders, eat away at Shen Ji's power in the company little by little, and finally succeed in killing your father to take over, how about that?" Lao K elaborated excitedly, as if he could already see Shen Xi's domineering aura overflowing and the company filled with people at his beck and call.

Shen Xi sneered, "It's not like I want to revitalise Shen Group. I just want to destroy it, why go to all this trouble?"

Lao K was full of regret, "You loser, do you know how much Shen Group is worth?"

Shen Xi chuckled, "It's not like I'm short of money."

Lao K had a choked look on his face for a long time before he recovered, "I know you're not short of money, but isn't all of your money hidden? How are you going to transfer it to the open?"

The hidden money Lao K mentioned was Shen Xi's biggest support for his comeback. He wanted to bring down Shen Group; what he needed most besides people was money.

Shen Xi did not know how much money he had made during five years abroad. Thinking of the source of this money, Shen Xi could not help but glance at Lao K. Whether it was Lao K or this money, it was a gift to him from his prison career in his previous life.

People who have never been in prison can never imagine the monotony of that life that can drive people crazy. You are like a trapped animal in a cage, living numbly in a small, cramped space day after day. The passage of time is invisible, your days are repetitive, always the same faces, always the same work, work, work, work, never a break.

In that kind of life, what Shen Xi looked forward to most every day was watching TV in the evening. Even though there were only a few news channels that they could watch, only at this time would Shen Xi feel that he was truly living in this world.

Shen Xi's attitude to watching TV was so religious that no matter what the prison guards put on, Shen Xi would watch it with great interest and then reflect on life outside alone in the dead of night.

Shen Xi remembered that his second year in prison coincided with the World Cup, which was a major event in the whole world. The guards who worked in Shen Xi's section of the prison were all fans, so the nightly news programs were replaced with football matches, commentaries on the matches, and even replays.

Thanks to those replays, Shen Xi was able to retell almost all of the 64 matches.

Living a new life after ten years, Shen Xi became rich overnight by relying on these memories. The only pity was that in order not to be detected by the Shen family, the bets he took were all in underground illegal markets, so all his money could not see the light of day and he could only launder it a little through other means.

He had already thought about Lao K's question before, and thinking about Fang Luowei's ideals in his previous life, Shen Xi had a plan for this. Therefore, after Lao K asked, he said directly, "I heard that making movies is very profitable these days."

"You want to launder money by making movies?" Lao K thought about it, "That's a good way to go and it also fits your position."

Shen Xi snorted, "Yeah, a dude who is wandering in the entertainment industry, the Shen family must definitely feel at ease."

Lao K pondered, "It's just that the time to get the money this way is slow, six months or something?"

Shen Xi nodded indifferently.

Lao K's expression was a bit strange, "You don't seem to be in a hurry at all?"

Shen Xi understood what he meant and smiled faintly, "Killing with a slow knife is more painful, why should I spare them from pain?"

Under the pale golden sunlight, Shen Xi lay there lazily with a relaxed expression, but the smile on his face made Lao K shiver.

Chapter 23

Shen Dehan stayed in the hospital for a month and finally decided to be discharged.

The reporters who had been guarding outside the hospital were very excited about this news. Since Shen Dehan was hospitalised, the reporters could not get any specific information about his condition due to the tight security at the hospital, so they could only speculate on their own in private. Although both the hospital and the Shen family were unanimous in declaring that Shen Dehan's health was fine, the reporters were not convinced because of Shen Dehan's delay in being discharged. This time, Shen Dehan's discharge from hospital was seen by the reporters as a show proving his health. Whether or not he was really as healthy as the hospital claimed, could only be guessed by seeing how Shen Dehan would behave after he returned home.

Early in the morning, the three Shen brothers appeared in front of Shen Dehan.

Whoever had compromised first between Shen Dehan and Shen Ji, their father-son relationship still seemed as close as ever, with no sign of a previous falling out.

Shen Xi coldly laughed silently.

Shen Dehan's things were packed up long ago. Unlike his low-key admission, Shen Dehan's discharge from the hospital was very high-profile. Not only did he not prevent the reporters from taking pictures, he even stopped before getting into his car to give them some time to interview him.

Shen Dehan stood there glowing, testifying that he was in good health. Shen Ji and Shen Cheng stood on Shen Dehan's sides, one left and one right, with Shen Xi taking a slight step back from them with a smile. No matter how you looked at it, the scene was a beautiful picture of a loving father and filial sons.

The flashs kept lighting up and countless microphones reached to Shen Dehan's mouth.

Shen Dehan carefully selected a few reporters he knew well. They asked the right questions, and Shen Dehan answered without missing a beat, making for a harmonious scene.

At this moment, a fresh-faced reporter tried to squeeze closer to Shen Dehan, holding the microphone high above the crowd, "Mr. Shen, we all know that Sanshao has been abroad for the past few years. This time he came back specially because of your health. Now that your health is fine, what is the next arrangement for Sanshao, will he stay in the country or continue to go abroad?"

When this question was asked, there was a moment of silence, and then the reporters followed in a flurry of questions.

"Mr. Shen, please answer, is Sanshao going to stay with you or is he going to continue to live abroad?"

This question obviously took Shen Dehan very much by surprise, and a hint of dismay flashed in his eyes quickly. Shen Xi coldly watched Shen Dehan's reaction. As soon as his father was about to speak, he stepped forward a moment earlier, "I will stay in the country."

Shen Xi's answer instantly attracted the attention of the reporters present, and the microphones were turned to him.

"Sanshao, is it your own decision to stay in the country or the decision of the Shen family?"

"Is there any difference?" In front of everyone, Shen Xi smiled and looked at Shen Dehan, "As the saying goes, if your parents are here, you must not travel far (Confucius), but I've never been by my father's side before because of my studies, and I've always felt guilty. Since I'm back this time, I hope to spend more time with my father. I think Father must not want to let me go either."

Shen Xi's smile was very sincere, and the reporters turned to Shen Dehan, following Shen Xi's gaze. Under such circumstances, Shen Dehan could not say anything to refute it and could only acquiesce to Shen Xi's words.

The smile on Shen Xi's face grew brighter and brighter.

"Sanshao, since you have decided to stay in Zhongjing, will you enter Shen Group like Dashao and Ershao?" The fresh-faced reporter once again jumped the gun.

Once this question was asked, the scene was completely silent. No one opened their mouths casually and everyone's eyes fell on Shen Xi, waiting for his answer.

The affairs of the Shen family were not a secret to the reporters. Especially when it came to the dispute over the assets of wealthy families, the reporters never failed to gossip in private. Before Elder Shen passed away, in an effort to be impartial, he announced that the Shen family's assets would be divided into three parts, one part for each of the three brothers.

However, this was all he said, and there was no news on when and how the family assets would be divided. The reporters privately speculated that there was still Shen Dehan before the three Shen brothers. It was unlikely that Elder Shen would bypass Shen Dehan while making arrangements for the Shen family, so probably Elder Shen only determined the inheritance rights of his three grandsons and the specific division still depended on the wishes of their father.

Over the years, discerning people could see that Shen Dehan clearly intended to leave the Shen family to Shen Ji, and according to his plan, he would inevitably be unwilling to let Shen Xi meddle in Shen Group's business. Presumably in Shen Dehan's heart, Shen Xi only needed to hold the shares and wait for dividends every year and didn't need to participate in management.

In this way, the crowd looked forward to Shen Xi's answer even more. If Shen Xi indicated that he wanted to enter Shen Group, then Shen Dehan would really have something to be wary of in the future.

Shen Dehan's body stiffened for a moment when he heard the question. He subtly tried to gauge the expression on Shen Xi's face in the attempt to judge what Shen Xi would say next. Shen Dehan had always disliked Shen Xi, his son, for many reasons and the will left by Elder Shen was definitely one of them.

When he thought about the contents of that will, Shen Dehan's face turned cold. He would never let Shen Xi into Shen Group, especially at this point when Shen Xi was about to turn twenty-three.

After only a moment of thought, Shen Xi's smiling voice sounded, "I may have to disappoint everyone, I have no interest in entering Shen Group. Shen Group has Big Brother and Second Brother to help Father just fine, I still like to live a free life."

When these words came out, the reporters were all very disappointed in their hearts and groaned inwardly: isn't this free life just eating, drinking and having fun? It seemed that Shen Xi was really a waste.

As if Shen Xi could not feel everyone's reaction, he continued to answer the reporters' questions in a casual manner.

The delay was so long that the bodyguards had to come up and stop the reporters for Shen Dehan and his entourage to get into the car and leave the hospital.

"Is everything you've just said true?" Shen Cheng was always the first to lose his temper. Almost as soon as he got in the car, Shen Cheng sat down next to Shen Xi and asked this .

Shen Xi was puzzled, "What?"

Shen Cheng became irritable, "I said, are you really not going to enter the company?"

Shen Xi was impatient, "Since I'm saying this it's naturally true. Big Brother isn't worried, what are you worried about?"

"You!" Shen Cheng became even more irritable.

"Xiao Cheng!" Shen Ji scolded to stop Shen Cheng's next words and turned to give Shen Xi a deep look, his eyes complicated.

Shen Ji had always been wary of Shen Xi's return to China, especially since the timing of Shen Xi's return was too coincidental. Taking into account the fact that Shen Xi and Li Mingxuan had been close since Shen Xi's return, Shen Ji could not help but suspect Li Mingxuan along with Shen Xi. Only when Shen Xi said in front of reporters just now that he was not interested in Shen Group did Shen Ji feel that the worry in his heart had finally been relieved.

He did not have to worry that Shen Xi would compete with him for Shen Group, nor did he have to worry about losing Li Mingxuan as his brother. For the first time, Shen Ji felt that Shen Xi was pleasing to the eye.

As long as Shen Xi stayed away, Shen Ji would not be stingy with what was rightfully Shen Xi's. What Shen Ji had always wanted was control of Shen Group.

Shen Xi did not care what Shen Ji was thinking. While Shen Ji and Shen Cheng could not see it, the corners of Shen Xi's mouth curled up in satisfaction.

Today's play was specially arranged by him and the two questions that the reporter asked were both at his request.

He didn't need to think about what Shen Dehan and Shen Ji were most worried about. They were worried that he would enter Shen Group and take the opportunity to buy people's hearts, as Lao K had envisioned.

Shen Xi coolly hooked the corners of his mouth. He just took this opportunity to calm Shen Dehan and Shen Ji's hearts, telling them that he really had no thoughts about Shen Group.

What he wanted was never Shen Group.

Chapter 24

Perhaps Shen Xi's words in front of the reporters that day pleased his father. Two days later a large amount of money was transferred to Shen Xi's account.

When Shen Xi received the SMS notification from the bank, he was looking for a place to live, so he casually scanned the SMS and tossed it aside.

Since he was planning to stay in Zhongjing, he naturally could not stay in a hotel all the time. He didn't want to go back to the Shen family's house, so it was only logical to buy something.

In just one morning, Shen Xi had finalised the purchase of the place he was interested in, a one-bedroom apartment of over 70 square metres. After paying the deposit and making an appointment for the closing, Shen Xi gave Lao K a call and asked him to get some people to clean up the apartment.

Lao K was furious at this, saying he was a private detective, not Shen Xi's personal butler. But in response to Shen Xi's rascal look, Lao K could only agree reluctantly.

After settling the housing issue, Shen Xi headed straight for the nearest 4S shop. The incident at the cemetery last time made Shen Xi realise the inconvenience of not having a car, and since he was planning to settle down, a car was essential for him.

Before he left the country, one of Shen Xi's favourite activities was car racing, a hobby that no one in his family had ever questioned. On the contrary, Shen Dehan specially bought him a top-of-the-line sports car for this purpose.

Shen Xi couldn't get enough of that car; he would sometimes rejoice in his heart that his father still remembered him, so he looked at that car as if it were a jewel in his eye. In his previous life, he sat in that car, guarding the entrance to Shutu for hours before finally driving in. In this life, even though the car was well maintained and parked in the Shen family's garage waiting for his return, he did not even want to look at it again.

Without the pursuit of speed, Shen Xi chose a luxuriously equipped Mercedes-Benz of the latest model. However, because it was imported, the car could not be picked up at the moment and he had to wait for some time.

The sales lady looked at Shen Xi with apprehension, afraid that Shen Xi would change his mind because of this.

Although Shen Xi felt inconvenienced by this, he still decided to pay the deposit.

"Xiao Xi?" An unexpected voice sounded from behind.

Shen Xi frowned imperceptibly and turned around with due surprise on his face, "Cousin?"

The man standing behind Shen Xi was none other than Li Mingxuan.

Li Mingxuan's eyes fell on the documents in front of Shen Xi, "Xiao Xi wants to buy a car?"

Shen Xi nodded.

Li Mingxuan smiled in understanding, thinking of the last time Shen Xi got wet in the rain at the cemetery. Seeing that Shen Xi seemed to have finished the formalities, Li Mingxuan said naturally, "Let's have lunch together at noon?" Although it was a proposal, his tone was indisputable.

Shen Xi did not know when his relationship with Li Mingxuan had become so good that they could have lunch together. Even though Li Mingxuan had always shown him kindness since his return to China, and the last time he was sick, Li Mingxuan had also taken good care of him, but the more Li Mingxuan was like this, the more wary Shen Xi became.

The thought was fleeting, and in an instant Shen Xi already agreed with a smile.

The two of them chatted idly as they got into the car, and Shen Xi naturally sat next to Li Mingxuan. For a moment, a strange expression flashed across Li Mingxuan's face as he remembered the last time Shen Xi changed his clothes in the car.

Feeling Xiao Mingxuan's ready to move, Li Mingxuan looked out of the car in embarrassment, concealing the abnormality on his face.

With a silent, bitter laugh in his heart, Li Mingxuan felt that the self-control he had always prided himself on was now a joke.

After not seeing Shen Xi for several days, Li Mingxuan deliberately tried to forget the last time he was at the hotel. He kept trying to convince himself that it was just a man's instinct. After repeating it many times, Li Mingxuan himself believed in this rhetoric. What he could not have imagined was that his body would react so honestly. It was just a memory, and he almost lost his restraint in front of Shen Xi.

Shen Xi naturally didn't know the tangle in Li Mingxuan's heart. After fastening his seat belt, Shen Xi looked at Li Mingxuan, "What are we eating?"

After the momentary abnormality just now, Li Mingxuan had already adjusted his expression and answered Shen Xi's question as consciously as possible, "Sichuan cuisine."

Shen Xi gave Li Mingxuan a strange look. He remembered that Li Mingxuan's taste had always been very light. On the contrary, it was he himself who liked hot and spicy food. Of course, Shen Xi didn't bother to ask why, just nodded casually and said yes.

The Sichuan restaurant the two chose was situated in a very isolated alleyway. Faced with Shen Xi's obvious confusion, Li Mingxuan smiled and explained, "This is a very famous private restaurant that only receives regular customers. Very few people know about it, but the food is delicious."

Unlike the humble surroundings outside, the interior of the Sichuan restaurant was very elegant. There were quite a few customers inside, but without the hustle and bustle of an ordinary restaurant it seemed very quiet.

Li Mingxuan took Shen Xi directly to the private room, pointed to the signature dishes on the menu and ordered one of each.

Shen Xi adhered to the idea of the guest following the host and let Li Mingxuan make the arrangements. Along the way, Shen Xi kept guessing Li Mingxuan's intentions, but Li Mingxuan didn't say anything. Instead, he was unusually silent, so Shen Xi could only keep his doubts to himself.

Finally, perhaps because he didn't have to be distracted by driving anymore, Li Mingxuan talked a little.

While Shen Xi was drinking tea with his head lowered, Li Mingxuan stared at him with complicated eyes for a long time before finally letting out a silent sigh.

"Xiao Xi, what are your next plans?" Li Mingxuan said as if unintentionally.

Shen Xi's movement of drinking tea stalled, and suddenly there was a feeling of dust settling in his heart. He had thought of many reasons for Li Mingxuan to approach him, and all of them were invariably related to Shen Ji. Hearing Li Mingxuan ask a seemingly casual question, Shen Xi sneered in his heart. Was it all about helping Shen Ji to test him? He had already stated in front of the press that he was not interested in Shen Group. Why did the Shen family still refuse to believe it?

Suppressed anger rose from his heart. Shen Xi smiled as he raised his head, "What does Cousin mean?"

Li Mingxuan felt that Shen Xi must have misunderstood something and said in a deep voice, "Xiao Xi, don't think too much, I'm just concerned about you."

"Concerned?" Shen Xi felt that this was really naked irony and asked rhetorically, "What kind of concern is it?"

Without waiting for Li Mingxuan to speak, Shen Xi had already looked down coldly, "If Cousin is asking on behalf of Big Brother, then please tell Big Brother that since I said I have no interest in Shen Group, I naturally won't go back on my word, so there is really no need for Big Brother to keep worrying.

"Of course if Father also shares Big Brother's concern, Cousin may as well relay this to him." Shen Xi added with a sneer.

Li Mingxuan looked at Shen Xi in silence and whispered, "It has nothing to do with Shen Ji, it's just that I'm worried about you." When he said the word 'you', Li Mingxuan's voice was already inaudibly low.

Shen Xi's face was full of ridicule. He obviously didn't hear the last word 'you'.

"What do my plans have to do with Cousin? Cousin is thinking too much. Or is it that my cousin, like my aunt, takes it as his mission to protect the interests of the Shen family, for fear that I will enter Shen Group and divide it?

"Don't worry, you guys think too highly of me, I know nothing but eating, drinking and having fun. What else are you worried about, Cousin?" A hint of self-deprecation flashed across Shen Xi's face.

This was not the first time Li Mingxuan had seen Shen Xi's self-deprecation. The time they met on the plane, the time at the hospital, Li Mingxuan could not remember the total number of times, but this time Shen Xi's expression really stung his eyes.

Li Mingxuan wanted to explain but couldn't find the right words, so he could only say feebly, "Actually, we all care about you."

Shen Xi looked at Li Mingxuan in amazement, wondering how Li Mingxuan could suddenly say this. A moment later, Shen Xi finally couldn't help but snort.

"Care about me?

"Then where were you all when I was bullied by Shen Cheng? Where were you all when I was treated coldly by my father? Where were you all when I was living like a transparent person in the Shen family? Where were you when I was ridiculed by that illegitimate son Shen Rong? Even when I was rejected by everyone in the Shen family and guarded against like a thief, where were you?"

Shen Xi sneered, looking at Li Mingxuan. He had not intended to say this. It was just a few words from Li Mingxuan; what had he not endured in prison back then?

But the concern Li Mingxuan talked about really irritated him.

Concerned? Shen Xi thought to himself, where were you all when I was in prison in my previous life? Where were you when I was begging for help? Where were you when I finally died?

These words were swirling around in Shen Xi's mind, but he tried hard to keep them from coming out.

Li Mingxuan looked at Shen Xi helplessly. He didn't know what he should say.

The words that Shen Xi said slammed into his heart and he actually felt sad. Li Mingxuan thought to himself, when did this start? It was not that he hadn't heard about Shen Xi's situation before; but each time he heard about it, he would forget about it, without it leaving a single ripple in his heart. However, this time, looking at Shen Xi's angry expression, a word "distress" flashed through Li Mingxuan's mind.

But what reason did he have to be distressed? Wasn't he also responsible for everything that Shen Xi had faced? Hadn't his indifference also made Shen Xi's situation worse?

"Sorry." Li Mingxuan could only say this word to Shen Xi with difficulty in the end.

Shen Xi smiled coolly, "What is there to be sorry for, everyone is just acting in their own interests. Who is to blame that I was destined to be the outcast of the Shen family from the beginning.

"Now that all of you have achieved your goals, I am already like this, I have neither the will nor the ability to compete with my elder brothers for anything, and they and Father should be relieved." Shen Xi gave Li Mingxuan a cold look, "Cousin, you don't need to bother appearing in front of me in the future either."

When Shen Xi finished speaking, he got up and left. As he opened the door of the private room, a strange young man was leaning against the opposite wall looking at him with an odd expression.

Shen Xi didn't even bother to look at him and left downstairs without hesitation.

Behind Shen Xi, the strange man entered the private room with a smile on his face, "Yo, did I just see you get defeated and unable to say a word?"

Li Mingxuan's face was unsightly, "Why are you here?"

The man laughed, "I heard you were here, so I had to see you anyway. Who knew it would be a good show to listen to!"

Li Mingxuan's brow furrowed.

The man did not care about Li Mingxuan's dark face, "Is this your little cousin Shen Xi? Not as lawless and arrogant as the rumours have it."

Li Mingxuan was now quite unhappy with these few adjectives and gave the man a warning glance.

The man smiled, "I told you a long time ago, leave a line in your life, see you in the future (don't be too ruthless and leave a retreat for yourself). Don't treat people like fools like the Shen family does. By the way, you're not really here to test the waters for Shen Ji, are you?"

Li Mingxuan shook his head, "I'm just worried about him. What can he do if he doesn't enter Shen Group? Will he be wasting his time and drinking again as before?"

"Isn't that what you wanted to see? If Shen Xi really wants to enter Shen Group, you guys are the ones who will have a headache, right?"

Li Mingxuan didn't say anything, just smiled bitterly.

This was such a contradictory premise, ah!

Chapter 25

After breaking off with Li Mingxuan, Shen Xi walked out of the alley with an empty stomach.

The words he had just said were certainly the ones from the depth of Shen Xi's heart and they did not rule out the possibility that he wanted to make use of Li Mingxuan to once again dispel the worry of the Shen family. But when he remembered Li Mingxuan's attitude and thought of his "sorry", Shen Xi couldn't say exactly what he felt.

Sorry? Sorry for what?

Sorry for having ignored him in the past? Sorry for letting his father deprive him of his rights to Shen Group? Sorry for having decided his fate from the start and not giving him a chance to choose?

But what was the use of being sorry?

If he hadn't been reborn, Shen Xi at this time would be a prisoner struggling to survive and wouldn't be able to hear their apologies at all. What did their apologies have to do with him?

Shen Xi thought mockingly, since they had decided his life from the very beginning and did not give him a choice, why should he give them a chance now?

Alone with his thoughts, Shen Xi had no idea where he was going. All the alleys here looked the same, criss crossing each other in a mess with no exit in sight. It was midday and the alleyways were silent, with no one in sight. Shen Xi stopped in his tracks and tried to judge the direction to find an exit to get out of here.

Just when Shen Xi had decided on a direction and intended to keep walking, there was a sudden sound of chaotic footsteps behind him, accompanied by loud shouting.

"Fang Luowei, stop right there."

"Hurry up, he's just up ahead."

"We'll get him soon."

Amidst the murmur of voices, the words "Fang Luowei" reached Shen Xi's ears as clearly as if they had been deliberately amplified. Almost subconsciously, Shen Xi turned around and ran towards the place where the voices came from. He didn't know how to describe his emotions at this moment; he could feel the excitement in his body, the kind of anxiety and eagerness to see Fang Luowei immediately, but there was a trace of apprehension in the excitement, the fear that the Fang Luowei he would see was not the Fang Luowei he had hoped for. In such a mood, Shen Xi only felt that the road in front of him was extraordinarily long.

"Boy, we finally caught you."

"What the hell do you want?" Fang Luowei's angry voice came over.

"What do we want? You wouldn't forget so quickly about what you did to Brother Wang last time at the bar, would you?"

"Our Brother Wang is generous and won't bother with you in general. As long as you agree to accompany Brother Wang for a few days, this matter will be settled."

"Brother Wang also said that you have borrowed from Brother Bin's loan sharks. As long as you are willing to accompany him, he will pay back your debt."

Messy voices sounded in front of him, but Shen Xi's heart suddenly settled down. It was Fang Luowei, he heard his voice.

"I will pay my debt myself, Brother Wang doesn't need to bother." A dry refusal came over, accompanied by a painful cry of "eww".

"Hurry up and catch him, he dares to run again."

By the end of these words, Shen Xi turned the corner to see Fang Luowei surrounded by a few youngsters who looked like punks. Perhaps because of Brother Wang's orders, those punks didn't dare to hit hard and just wanted to trap Fang Luowei by taking advantage of their numbers.

Without hesitation, Shen Xi rushed up and threw a punch at one of the punks who was trying to hold Fang Luowei.

In his previous life, Shen Xi had fought a lot in prison, and his punches were always quick, accurate and fierce. In this life, he had deliberately trained during his years abroad, and his skills were much better than in prison. In a few moves he stopped the crowd that surrounded Fang Luowei.

Shen Xi's appearance obviously took everyone present by surprise. After looking at each other, the punks came back to their senses and immediately pounced on Shen Xi, turning the crowd into a melee.

Ten minutes later, Shen Xi and Fang Luowei were standing back to back, gasping for breath, while the punks around them were stumbling and holding each other up, looking at them with resentment.

Shen Xi pulled Fang Luowei back step by step, and when they turned the corner, they ran for their lives. With Fang Luowei's guidance, a few minutes later the two ran out of the alleyway and onto the street. Looking at the stream of people and the traffic around, Shen Xi relaxed and held onto the pole by the road, panting desperately. Beside him, Fang Luowei was not much better, gasing while patting Shen Xi's back as he tried to help him smooth out his breath.

Half a second later, the two looked at each other and laughed together.

"Thank you." Fang Luowei said while laughing, and then thought of something, "Huh, I've seen you before, you're Shen Xi."

"Yeah? When?" Even though Shen Xi knew in his heart that Fang Luowei should be talking about the time he was drunk back then, he still had to pretend not to know.

Fang Luowei stood up straight, "The last time you were drunk in a bar, do you remember?"

Shen Xi immediately cooperated with a look of surprise, "So it was you, I haven't thanked you for sending me back last time."

Fang Luowei was startled, "Don't you know? The one who gave you a lift wasn't me, it was a man called Li Mingxuan."

The smile froze on Shen Xi's face, "Li Mingxuan?"

Fang Luowei nodded, "Didn't he tell you? He seems to care about you quite a bit."

This statement caused Shen Xi to unconsciously frown.

Fang Luowei realised something and immediately said, "Sorry."

Shen Xi shook his head, "It has nothing to do with you, it's a personal grudge between me and him."

Shen Xi didn't want to mention Li Mingxuan anymore and immediately changed the subject, "By the way, why are they chasing you?"

Fang Luowei smiled bitterly, "I got into a bit of trouble at the bar the other day." Thinking about the last time, Fang Luowei couldn't help but glance at Shen Xi. That time Li Mingxuan and Shen Ji even had a fight because of Shen Xi, who knows what kind of relationship they had with each other.

When Fang Luowei said the word "trouble", Shen Xi immediately understood. In his previous life in prison, Fang Luowei was in trouble a lot because of his face. Thinking of those punks who had mentioned loan sharks, Shen Xi wanted to ask a question, but felt that the two of them were just getting to know each other. He was afraid that Fang Luowei might be suspicious, so he could only pretend not to hear. But in his heart, he was thinking that he would ask Lao K to check it out afterwards, and he would quietly help Fang Luowei pay his debt.

The loan shark matter was easy to solve, but these punks, Shen Xi couldn't help but worry.

"Do you live alone? What if you run into them again next time?"

The concern on Shen Xi's face came from his heart; Fang Luowei felt warm and smiled slightly, "Don't worry, they usually can't catch me, today was just an accident." Fang Luowei's smile had a hint of playfulness in it when he said this, exactly the same as Shen Xi remembered. Shen Xi was lost in thought for a moment, then quickly lowered his head to hide the nostalgia in his eyes.

The two of them chatted, and Shen Xi's face was full of smiles from beginning to end.

On the other side of the road, Li Mingxuan sat in his car, watching Shen Xi quietly. He had never seen such a bright smile on Shen Xi's face, as if it was flowing from the bottom of his heart, filled with undisguised joy.

The young man opposite Shen Xi, Li Mingxuan still remembered him, he had left a very good impression on Li Mingxuan last time. But looking at Shen Xi's unbridled joy as he talked to Fang Luowei, Li Mingxuan inexplicably looked at Fang Luowei with displeasure. Li Mingxuan didn't dare to think about why he didn't like him, though.

He just looked at Shen Xi from afar, and a voice in his heart kept screaming: go and talk to Shen Xi, even if it's just to say something. It seemed that as long as he spoke to Shen Xi, it would be as if nothing had happened between them.

Li Mingxuan didn't pay any attention to that voice; he just looked at Shen Xi seriously and carefully. He felt as if something was about to get out of control. He was now standing on the edge of a cliff, and one step forward was an abyss of ten thousand feet.

Li Mingxuan closed his eyes and resolutely stopped watching Shen Xi. Some things couldn't go on anymore.

Chapter 26

Shen Xi was really happy to meet Fang Luowei and that night he chased Lao K to investigate Fang Luowei's debt to the loan sharks.

Lao K had become accustomed to being squeezed by Shen Xi and resigned himself to taking the few pieces of information that Shen Xi had provided and searching through the vast sea of people in Zhongjing.

Over the course of a few days, the information about Fang Luowei arrived in Shen Xi's hands intermittently. Fang Luowei had not come to Zhongjing alone, as Shen Xi had thought, but with his grandparents. His grandmother had Alzheimer's disease and was receiving treatment in the hospital at this time. What Shen Xi didn't expect was that Fang Luowei was signed as a singer to a lesser-known record label in Zhongjing, and strangely enough, he was blocked by the company before he even made his debut.

This information was unknown to Shen Xi in his previous life. When he met Fang Luowei, Fang Luowei was already in prison. They became acquainted half a year later. At that time, although Fang Luowei had mentioned his past to Shen Xi, he only said that his relatives were all dead and he was alone, his only hobby was singing and he dreamed of standing on the stage of the largest Star Pavilion in Zhongjing one day.

Holding the information in his hand, Shen Xi fell into deep thought. According to Lao K's investigation, although Fang Luowei's grandmother was confused, she was not in poor health, not to mention that his grandfather was in quite good health. So what had happened to make Fang Luowei lose his only two relatives in just half a year's time?

As for Fang Luowei's grandmother's illness, Shen Xi felt that this seemed to be the reason why Fang Luowei was willing to borrow from loan sharks, but unfortunately, with a population of tens of millions of people in Zhongjing, there were too many such thugs, and for now Lao K couldn't find out who the loan shark who lent Fang Luowei money was.

Shen Xi had a vague feeling that what he did not know was the key to Fang Luowei's imprisonment, and that if he wanted to change Fang Luowei's fate, he could only start from here.

In the past few days, while asking Lao K to inquire about Fang Luowei's past, Shen Xi also took the time to make contact with him, but unfortunately, time was too short and Fang Luowei was too busy, so Shen Xi only had the cheek to meet Fang Luowei once.

On the one hand, Shen Xi was trying his best to get close to Fang Luowei, and on the other hand, Fang Luowei had a vague sense of Shen Xi's unusual enthusiasm. Although he had doubts in his mind, he did not feel the slightest bit of malice in Shen Xi, but Shen Xi's attitude made him more and more puzzled.

Because of his grandmother's hospitalisation, Fang Luowei had been busy working odd jobs to earn money, and hadn't bothered to pay attention to the recent newspaper articles about the Shen family. It was only when he met Shen Xi by chance that day that Fang Luowei realised that this Shen Xi was the same Shen Xi as mentioned in the newspapers. For this reason, he specially found a few recent newspapers to read.

The newspaper information about Shen Xi was very detailed, the third son of the Shen family in Zhongjing, one of the rightful heirs of the Shen family. Apart from Shen Xi's life, the reports also deliberately brought up all of Shen Xi's past misdeeds. Although the reporters had not caught Shen Xi doing anything bad since his return from abroad, there was unanimous speculation that Shen Xi had purposely restrained himself because of his father's serious illness, and there were even guesses as to how soon Shen Sanshao would go back to his old ways.

Fang Luowei didn't fully believe the newspaper reports. Although he hadn't known Shen Xi for long and was suspicious of his unexplained enthusiasm, he felt that Shen Xi was not the kind of fop who caused trouble, as the reports suggested. Even if Shen Xi was as reported, it was still his father's fault. Shen Xi had not been an adult yet five years ago, so why did he drink and race cars so often without his father disciplining him? Thinking about the complicated situation of the Shen family as described in the newspapers, the half-brothers, the illegitimate son seizing power or something, Fang Luowei had a little more sympathy for Shen Xi.

In this state of mind, when Shen Xi called again to ask for a meeting, Fang Luowei gave him the address of his grandmother's hospital and apologised that he couldn't get away to go out. Shen Xi obviously didn't mind. Although he had known about the place from Lao K's information, he still pretended to be hearing about it for the first time and carefully wrote down the address Fang Luowei had given.

An hour later, Shen Xi appeared outside the ward with a large bag in his hand.

Through the glass window, Shen Xi did not see Fang Luowei inside the ward, but only two grey-haired old people, whom Shen Xi recognised as Fang Luowei's grandfather and grandmother.

The relationship between the two old people was obviously very good. Shen Xi watched as Fang Luowei's grandfather carefully helped his grandmother to lie down and gently tucked in the corners of the blanket. Grandma had a faint smile on her face as she looked intently at her husband, a strong current of warmth flowing between them.

Shen Xi's heart softened and his eyes unconsciously filled with envy.

"Why don't you go in?" Fang Luowei, who had returned from fetching medicine, looked at Shen Xi, who was standing at the door, in surprise.

Shen Xi smiled and replied, "Your grandfather and grandmother have such a good relationship."

Fang Luowei smiled, "They've been supporting each other for their whole lives, they've permeated each other's lives. You know what? Grandma doesn't remember anyone now, the only person she remembers is Grandpa."

Shen Xi raised an eyebrow, "You're jealous?"

Fang Luowei nodded graciously, "Yes, I used to be Grandma's little baby, and now in her eyes I am the big bad guy who steals Grandpa from her."

Shen Xi was so amused by Fang Luowei that he laughed, and was pulled into the ward by Fang Luowei amidst the laughter.

Fang Luowei's grandfather was very fond of Shen Xi, and after a few words, he had already asked Shen Xi to follow Fang Luowei's example and call him Grandpa.

The word "Grandpa" made Shen Xi look dazed for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, he looked at the old man's kind smiling face and gently called out, "Grandpa."

"Eh!" The old man approved loudly, and Shen Xi's eyes uncontrollably moistened. He smiled and turned in the direction of the grandmother, trying to conceal the sadness on his face.

Fang Luowei pretended not to see Shen Xi's abnormality and pulled Shen Xi to stand by his grandmother's side, pointing at him and saying, "Grandma, this is Shen Xi."

Grandma did not say anything, but just kept smiling at Shen Xi. Shen Xi took a step forward and squatted in front of her, "Grandma."

Grandma's soft gaze fell on Shen Xi's face; she stretched out a dry hand to touch Shen Xi's head, "Xiao Wei is good, Grandma will buy you candy."

A huge smile bloomed on Shen Xi's face and he nodded. Behind him, Fang Luowei didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.

That afternoon, Shen Xi felt the long-lost family warmth from Fang Luowei's grandparents, the kind of pulsating warmth that finally relaxed Shen Xi's heart that had been tense since his rebirth. For the first time, he was not scheming but simply thought of himself as the grandson of the two old people, talking with them, walking with them and reminiscing with them about Fang Luowei's childhood.

Whenever Grandpa talked about Fang Luowei's embarrassing childhood stories, Fang Luowei would helplessly hold his forehead, and to Shen Xi's laughter, Grandma would say each time tirelessly, "Xiao Wei is good, Grandma will buy you candy."

After a lively afternoon, Grandma finally couldn't bear the fatigue and fell into a deep sleep, and Grandpa quietly sat next to her, carefully combing the white hair on her head.

Shen Xi looked at the scene with a gentle expression, and quietly turned away to leave.

"What, are you leaving?" Fang Luowei asked.

Shen Xi nodded, "There are still things to do at home."

Fang Luowei sent Shen Xi to the stairway, "Be careful on your way."

Shen Xi looked at Fang Luowei and nodded with a smile.

After he left the hospital, the gentleness on Shen Xi's face was quickly replaced with a blank look. Taking out his mobile phone from his pocket, Shen Xi opened a text message sent by Chu Qianqian not long ago, with only a few short words, "I will go to Shen's house tonight."

Shen Xi raised his eyebrows; he didn't expect Chu Qianqian to act so quickly. After a moment of contemplation, Shen Xi decided to make a trip home. He wanted to see Shen Ji's reaction with his own eyes.

It was the evening rush hour in Zhongjing, so Shen Xi stopped a taxi and gave his address, then habitually closed his eyes to rest. His sleep was very bad and in his present life he had been plagued by nightmares from his previous life. Shen Xi sometimes wondered why he had been reborn but was still trapped in that blood-soaked night from his previous life.

For several years abroad Shen Xi had persevered in seeing a psychiatrist just so he could get a good night's sleep. When he returned home, the matter was delayed because he didn't want the reporters to find out about such a thing.

Shen Xi suddenly thought of the two days when he had a fever. There were no nightmares and the warm and reassuring feeling in his dreams made him sleep until dawn. Although Shen Xi did not say so, he understood in his heart that the embrace he felt in his sleep was not an illusion. In those days, he and Li Mingxuan were the only two people in the room, so it was obvious who was embracing him.

Shen Xi frowned nervously and an absurd thought came to his mind. The next moment, a hint of self-deprecation curved the corner of Shen Xi's mouth, and that thought was thrown into the back of his mind.

After a long hour and a half, Shen Xi stood at the entrance of the Shen family's house. To his surprise, Li Mingxuan was also there.

Li Mingxuan was obviously surprised by Shen Xi's appearance and subconsciously froze for a moment. He had been looking for Shen Ji for something, and he thought he would stay behind for a while afterwards since he hadn't been to the Shen's house for a long time, but he didn't expect to meet Shen Xi there.

This was the first time they met since Shen Xi had left that day. The strange look on Li Mingxuan's face was fleeting and he quickly returned to his normal self. He nodded at Shen Xi restrainedly and quickly averted his eyes.

It was not only Li Mingxuan who was surprised by Shen Xi's arrival, but the other people in the house as well.

"Why are you back?" Shen Cheng was the first to question.

Shen Xi snorted, "Isn't this my home?"

Shen Cheng choked and tried to say something else but shut his mouth under Shen Ji's cold eyes.

Shen Ji did not speak to Shen Xi, but only nodded at him, and then looked at the documents in front of him. Shen Cheng sat there with a puzzled expression, refusing to speak because he had been snapped at by Shen Ji. Li Mingxuan restrained himself from looking at Shen Xi, his eyes resting on the cup of tea in his hand. Since they didn't say anything, Shen Xi naturally wouldn't take the initiative to speak either, and silence filled the living room until Shen Dehan's voice sounded outside the door.

"Xiao Chu, it's your first time here, don't be polite, just treat this place as your home."

As soon as he heard these words, Shen Ji's face changed. He looked towards the door incredulously. Shen Xi's gaze fell on Shen Ji's face and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth. Looking at Shen Ji's reaction, it was obvious that his father had made the decision on the spur of the moment and had not mentioned this to his family beforehand. He didn't know what Chu Qianqian had done but it was really a huge "surprise".

With Shen Dehan's words, the door was slowly pushed open, and Shen Dehan walked in, carefully protecting Chu Qianqian in his arms. Chu Qianqian looked very wretched, her knee-length dress was torn in several places and her exposed calf was bruised. Her eyes were red and swollen, and it seemed that she had not expected to see so many people, so she instinctively shrank into Shen Dehan's arms.

Shen Xi clearly saw that Shen Dehan's face was full of pity.

Unfortunately, Shen Ji did not feel the same pity as his father and stepped forward to block them.

Shen Dehan's face darkened in displeasure, "Ah Ji."

Shen Ji refused to step back and just looked at Chu Qianqian coldly.

Shen Dehan felt a little embarrassed and raised his voice, "Ah Ji."

Shen Ji didn't say anything, standing straight confronting his father. As soon as Shen Cheng saw that the situation was not good, he immediately came closer. "Big Brother, we'll talk about what's going on later, Cousin is still here."

Shen Ji gave Shen Cheng a fierce glance; Shen Cheng touched his nose and took a step back, not daring to speak again. To be honest, Shen Cheng couldn't understand his big brother's thinking. It was just a little love affair, why should he care so much? There was already one Zhou Mingmei anyway, so what about another one? Even if Chu Qianqian had the ability to give birth to a son, it would only be an illegitimate son who couldn't get on the stage like Shen Rong, so why bother to put a strain on the relationship with his father over this.

Shen Ji still refused to speak and confronted Shen Dehan, silently expressing his attitude.

Li Mingxuan looked at the confrontation in the living room with a wry smile. His status was not suitable to get involved.

In the middle of the scene, Chu Qianqian pulled Shen Dehan's sleeve and tried to squeeze out a smile on her face, "Mr. Shen, thank you for today, I suddenly remembered that I still have things to do at home, I'll leave first." After this sentence Chu Qianqian was about to turn around, when Shen Ji said directly, "Scram!"

As soon as the word "scram" was uttered, Shen Dehan was furious and, without thinking, slapped Shen Ji across the face.

This incident obviously shocked everyone. Shen Dehan looked at his hand hesitantly, unable to believe that he had struck his most beloved son.

Shen Xi raised his eyebrows; this scene was really getting more and more interesting.

Li Mingxuan sighed silently. He really did not want to get involved in the affairs of his uncle's family, but the situation before him was such that he could not afford to stay on the sidelines. He walked up to Shen Ji's side while the other people in the living room obviously had not yet reacted to the slap.

Li Mingxuan pulled Shen Ji aside and said to Shen Dehan, "Uncle, Ah Ji was just quick-mouthed, he didn't mean to offend the guest."

These words allowed Shen Dehan to find a foundation, and he said in a deep voice, "No matter whether he meant it or not, it is always wrong for Ah Ji to be rude to the guests, so let's forget it this time."

Shen Dehan looked at Shen Ji guiltily as he said this. Shen Ji gave his father a deep look, turned his head without saying a word and went back to his room.

Shen Cheng gave Li Mingxuan a wink and carefully followed Shen Ji. Li Mingxuan smiled bitterly and stayed by Shen Dehan's side, accompanying him in the change of subject.

What happened after that was of no concern to Shen Xi. He left the Shen family satisfied after Shen Ji returned to his room. He had waited for this day for a long time; a gap had been created between Shen Ji and his father and what he wanted to do was to widen this gap further. Thinking of his next step, Shen Xi smiled faintly.

The night had not yet completely enveloped the city, and the sunset, as bright red as blood, was still blazing in the sky, unwilling to fade.

Shen Xi looked away from the sunset and closed his eyes comfortably. When a breeze blew by, he felt someone stand beside him.

Opening his eyes, he met Li Mingxuan's gaze.

"Are you hungry? I still owe you a meal." Li Mingxuan didn't know himself how he had ghosted up to Shen Xi and blurted out this sentence. He had intended to leave and tried hard to do so, but when he looked at Shen Xi's lonely figure in the twilight, he couldn't move away.

Shen Xi did not say anything, but only looked at Li Mingxuan inquiringly. His black eyes seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist and his emotions inside could not be seen.

Li Mingxuan looked into Shen Xi's eyes, only to feel that he had taken a step closer to the cliff.

Chapter 27

In the end, Shen Xi rejected Li Mingxuan's invitation. Faced with Shen Xi's refusal, Li Mingxuan had a vague feeling of relief in addition to disappointment.

His previous actions were not under his control; the moment the words were spoken, his reason already began to resist. He knew it was his body's instinctive warning that his behaviour went beyond expectations.

A few days ago he was shocked to realise that he was paying too much attention to Shen Xi, far more than a cousin would pay to a cousin, not to mention the fact that there was not much affection between him and Shen Xi. He didn't want to think about the reasons for this, and only warned himself to control his behaviour and refrain from paying attention to Shen Xi's affairs. He remembered this resolution but once again behaved out of control. Li Mingxuan had no desire to regret what he had said, he just wanted to pull himself together and get back on track.

When Shen Xi turned him down, Li Mingxuan felt he was back in a safe place. He had been a man of great self-control since he was a child, and he had a detailed plan for his life. There was only one thing in the past twenty years that had deviated from his plan, and that was his sexual orientation. He did not want a second thing in his life to deviate from the plan.

Li Mingxuan calmly drove away, the silhouette of Shen Xi in the rear-view mirror still lonely. Li Mingxuan averted his eyes a little to look ahead.

Left behind by Li Mingxuan, Shen Xi dialled Lao K's phone number, "Let's release the news tomorrow."

"So soon?" Lao K was puzzled.

Shen Xi raised an eyebrow, "That's thanks to Chu Qianqian."

The moment he hung up the phone, Shen Xi turned his head to look at the Shen family's house in the twilight. In the hazy night, the Shen's mansion stood there like a behemoth. After decades of ups and downs, the Shen family seemed to be indestructible. But Shen Xi knew that soon this behemoth would split apart from within. Then in the not too distant future, there would no longer be a Shen family in Zhongjing.

This thought made Shen Xi smile with satisfaction.

The next day, a piece of news quietly appeared in a second-rate tabloid in Zhongjing. The news was just an ordinary sample test report: "Yunrou shampoo found to contain the cancerogenic chemical dioxane".

This unimpressive newspaper, they published many such sensational stories every day, all of them as quiet as a water drop splashing into the sea. But what no one expected was that the story would soon become a hot topic on the internet, and overnight the newspaper, which normally didn't sell much, would be miraculously sold out of stock, while at the same time the news caused an uproar across the country.

"Carcinogens found in Yunrou shampoo!"

"Dioxane = cancer? Yunrou = cancer?"

"Shen Group's subsidiary caught in cancer-causing scandal!"

Countless controversies were stirred up on the internet, with major mainstream media following suit, and Shen Group was once again thrust into the limelight so soon after the inheritance storm.

This time Shen Group was no longer faced with the wild speculations of reporters in the entertainment section, and Shen Group could not just laugh it off as it had done in the past. Looking at the front page headline with huge bold letters "Dioxane", Shen Dehan knew that if this was not handled properly, it would not only ruin Yunrou's reputation, but also Shen Group's reputation of nearly a hundred years.

Shen Dehan sat in his study in deep thought, pondering about the countermeasures for this matter.

Because he had just been discharged from the hospital, Shen Dehan did not rush to go to Shen Group's office, but chose to recuperate at home for a period of time. It was Shen Ji who was currently sitting in Shen Group's office. Six months ago, Shen Dehan was deeply concerned about getting older and had gradually started to delegate his power to Shen Ji. Although the board of directors had some questions about Shen Ji's age, they were all silenced by Shen Dehan's firm attitude. In Shen Dehan's opinion, sooner or later, Shen Group's business would have to be handed over to Shen Ji. Now it was just a few years earlier; while he was still in good health, he could watch and guide Shen Ji if there were any problems.

Shen Dehan was overly optimistic and did not anticipate that the first test Shen Ji would face would be so severe.

Although there was some misunderstanding with Shen Ji yesterday because of Chu Qianqian's matter, there was no such thing as overnight hatred between the father and the son. After thinking about it, Shen Dehan dialled Shen Ji's number.

Shen Ji looked at the flashing word "Father" and hesitated for a moment before picking up the phone, "Father."

"Ah Ji, have you seen the news?" Shen Dehan's voice was as kind as ever, as if nothing had happened before.

Shen Ji had an indescribable feeling in his heart, "I saw it, I have arranged for the public relations department to call a press conference as soon as possible to explain the situation."

"How do you plan to do that?" Shen Dehan inquired.

Shen Ji did not hesitate, "Show all of Yunrou's inspection reports and use facts to show that all Yunrou's products are produced in strict accordance with the requirements of the current national laws, regulations and standards. They have undergone strict quality control and passed a number of quality inspection certifications and testing procedures. They absolutely meet domestic and international quality and safety requirements and are completely harmless to the human body."

Listening to Shen Ji's standard wording, Shen Dehan questioned, "Then how will you explain if the reporters ask about dioxane?"

Shen Ji said after a slight hesitation, "The dioxane in Yunrou products is not deliberately added during our production process, it is only a by-product of the manufacturing process. Because the raw materials contain residues that are technically unavoidable, the products carry the traces of natural residues, which are absolutely harmless to the human body."

Both Shen Dehan and Shen Ji tacitly concealed the fact that dioxane was not unique to Yunrou but could be found in all brands of shampoo. The existence of dioxane was something that the entire industry knew about, but no one had ever dared to reveal it.

Shen Ji's wording was very reasonable, and Shen Dehan only proposed, "For now, let's take all Yunrou circulating on the market off the shelves. This will also show the company's responsible attitude towards consumers."

"No!" Shen Ji categorically rejected Shen Dehan's proposal without even thinking about it.

Shen Group had a history of nearly a hundred years; it started off with industry and then gradually involved real estate and financial investment. Because of the state's policies in real estate and financial investment, Shen Group had made a lot of profits in these two areas, and the company's focus had shifted to them.

However, in recent years, because of the impact of the international economic and financial crisis, the domestic economic situation was also very bad. After several studies, the state put forward the slogan of "revitalising the economy through industry", encouraging people to invest in industry instead of putting money in real estate and financial markets, and offered a one-off 6 trillion yuan bailout.

Against this background, Shen Ji proposed that the company's focus should return to industry, and took the initiative to acquire a household chemical company that was on the verge of closing down. Shen Ji then persuaded the board of directors to allocate funds and invested heavily in the establishment of a research and development laboratory in collaboration with a foreign shampoo giant. After a year of preparation, "Yunrou" shampoo was launched. The name was given by Shen Ji himself, "Yun" in memory of his mother and "Rou" (soft) to indicate the qualities of the shampoo.

With its unique positioning and fashionable packaging, Yunrou shampoo soon entered the domestic household chemical industry and became a dark horse, with sales booming over the years. Driven by profit, the directors who were dissatisfied with the shift in focus to industry had closed their mouths. Shen Ji originally submitted a report to the board of directors that he intended to expand the production line and sell the products abroad. He even negotiated a contract with a foreign company and purchased the latest production line, but he did not expect to encounter the "dioxane" incident when everything was going so well.

It could be said that Yunrou had a unique significance to Shen Ji. At this time, Shen Dehan proposed to take Yunrou off the shelves, even if just to show the attitude. It was not a distrust of Yunrou, but distrust of him.

Shen Ji's refusal was expected, but Shen Ji's unhesitating rejection was far beyond Shen Dehan's expectation. It was not that he had not had conflicts with Shen Ji on decision-making in the past, including the acquisition of Yunrou back then, and it was Shen Ji who persuaded him several times. But this time, Shen Ji's tone was too forceful. Shen Dehan suddenly thought of Shen Ji's defiance last night, and a hint of dislike flickered in his heart.

"Why?" Shen Dehan tried his best to make his tone seem calm and peaceful.

Shen Ji did not hear Shen Dehan's displeasure, or rather he heard it but deliberately ignored it, his attitude remaining firm, "I have confidence in Yunrou." After this sentence, there was no other explanation.

Shen Dehan was silent for a while, "Okay, let's do it your way first."

Although the father and the son did not cross their swords like last night, the hidden discord between them seemed to be more serious than last night.

Yunrou's carcinogenic incident was getting more and more intense. Although Shen Ji held a press conference at the first opportunity, personally attended it and sincerely stated that all the company's products met international and domestic standards, while demonstrating a series of test certificates, for the majority of consumers these explanations were too feeble. Not to mention the fact that with the help of people behind the scenes, the word "Yunrou" seemed to become equated with cancer on the internet.

Along with all this, there was a wild fall in Shen Group's stock price, and if it wasn't for the emergency suspension of Shen Group's stock trading, it would be hard to imagine what the stock price would have fallen to.

Lao K looked at the latest quotation of Shen Group's stock and gloated as he spoke to Shen Xi, "Tsk, in just one day, the entire market value of Shen Group has evaporated by over a billion. Xiao Xixi, you've lost a lot."

Shen Xi was unfazed by his teasing, "I wasn't going to ask for it anyway, it doesn't matter how much."

Lao K made a heartbroken face, "What are you going to do next?"

Shen Xi's eyes swept over the large word "cancer" and he smiled as he spoke, "Naturally, I'm going to add fuel to this fire."

Lao K thought of the people that Shen Xi had asked him to find before, and had a clear idea of Shen Xi's next move.

A day after the news of Yunrou causing cancer emerged, several consumers in Zhongjing filed a lawsuit against Shen Group. They insisted that they had been using Yunrou shampoo for the past two years and unfortunately they had all recently been tested for cancer. They demanded an explanation from Shen Group and added a hefty claim.

If the report a few days ago was just a small fire, the appearance of these people had turned that small fire into a big one.

It was clear to anyone who gave it a thought that someone behind the scene was deliberately targeting Shen Group. But understanding it didn't mean anything; whether it was the internet or the media, Yunrou's cancer news was overwhelming, and the consumers were in uproar, demanding to return the products and receive compensation.

At this time, Shen Dehan had to step in. Although it was forced by the situation, it undoubtedly signified his distrust of Shen Ji's ability in the eyes of everyone in the company.

In the spacious office, Shen Dehan once again demanded that all Yunrou be removed from the shelves.

Shen Ji remained firm, "If Yunrou is taken off the shelves at this time, doesn't it just show our guilt?"

Shen Dehan frowned, "How long do you want to carry on?"

Shen Ji insisted, "I have confidence in Yunrou. Father, you can also see that there is someone behind all this. Yunrou's rise has affected other people's interests, we just need to catch that person and we will succeed in turning passivity into initiative."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"I've already sent someone to contact the reporters who first reported the story, as well as the consumers who filed the lawsuit. Under the temptation of big money, I don't believe there is anything I can't ask from them. "

Perhaps feeling that this was not convincing enough, Shen Ji looked at his father seriously, "Father, you once said that a crisis is sometimes a turning point. Although this matter is Yunrou's crisis, it will be resolved and isn't it a good opportunity for us to develop further?"

Shen Ji's remarks finally touched Shen Dehan. Shen Dehan firmly showed his support for Shen Ji to the board of directors. The relationship between the father and the son was reconciled and everything seemed to go back to the way it was before.

Chapter 28

Yunrou's cancer-causing incident was so big that even though Shen Bixue believed that the matter would be resolved properly in the end, she was still worried.

Shen Bixue's worries were seen by her husband. In the study, Li Xiyong finished reading all the news about Yunrou cancer, took off his glasses and looked at Li Mingxuan, who had been sitting quietly, "What do you think?"

Li Mingxuan didn't think twice, "There is definitely a mastermind behind this matter. The question now is who this mastermind is?"

His father nodded, "Who do you think it is?"

Li Mingxuan mused, "Before Yunrou appeared, the domestic household chemical market had been divided by the six companies known as the six giants of household chemicals, all occupying a similar market share and maintaining a fragile balance. However, the emergence of Yunrou upset this balance. Since Yunrou's strong rise three years ago, it managed to squeeze 10% of the market after two years of development, and Yunrou is currently gaining momentum. If it continues to be allowed to develop, the domestic household chemical market may have to be reshuffled. Under such circumstances, it is unlikely that any of those six companies would let Yunrou continue, and any of them could have made a move."

"That's right, those six companies are indeed all suspicious." Li Xiyong nodded in agreement.

Li Mingxuan went on, "But I don't think any of those six companies would do this."

"Why?" Li Xiyong was interested.

Li Mingxuan explained, "I've asked Ah Ji. The presence of dioxane in shampoo is a well-known fact in the industry. Because it is not added during the production process but comes with the raw material, it is not specifically labelled in the ingredients. That being the case, if the six companies have any brains, they will not attack Yunrou over this matter, because they can be involved and the consequences will be too much for them to bear. So it's very likely that the culprit behind this is some small, unscrupulous household chemical factory deliberately set out to break the unspoken rules of the industry and to mess up the household chemical market so that they can fish in muddy waters.

"Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that someone is maliciously throwing in the news with the intention of speculating on Shen Group's stock for profit. After all, with the news out, Shen Group's stock price plunged and small retail investors panicked and sold. It's definitely cost-effective to buy at this time, after all, Yunrou is only a subsidiary of Shen Group and whether it collapses or not, there will be no damaging effect on Shen Group."

Li Xiyong nodded, "Good, no matter which reason it is, Ah Ji is facing a tough battle this time. If he wins, he will stabilise his position as the heir to Shen Group. But if he doesn't, I'm afraid there will be another storm at Shen Group. However, with your uncle's guidance behind the scenes, I'm sure this matter will be turned around into a development opportunity for Yunrou."

What Li Xiyong and Li Mingxuan didn't know was that in the previous life, Shen Ji had successfully expanded Yunrou's market share from 10% to 17% by relying on the "dioxane" incident and becoming the biggest dark horse in the household chemical industry in one fell swoop. He was also able to secure his position as the heir to Shen Group.

At that time, Shen Xi was in prison and the news was full of reports on "dioxane", but unlike in this life, the one exposed to the "dioxane" incident was not Yunrou, but one of the six giants of the household chemical industry. With the exposure of "dioxane", the company's stock price plummeted. The company tried all kinds of methods to recover. In the end, it helplessly pointed out that "dioxane" not only existed in their products, but also in the products of the entire industry. This argument shocked the whole country. All washing products without exception were involved in the "dioxane" incident and were questioned by consumers.

In the end, only after several giants came together to apologise and promise to re-screen raw materials and change product formulas was the matter put to rest. But the company that had pointed out the fact was then suppressed by the rest of the companies and soon disappeared from the industry. In the process, Yunrou relied on Shen Group's strong financial backing and the latest formulas from foreign research and development laboratories, and managed to rise to the top in this reshuffle, becoming a new giant.

As of now, it seemed that everyone, including Shen Ji himself, believed that he could solve this matter perfectly, and that "dioxane" was just another opportunity for Yunrou to grow. However, before Shen Ji could invite the State Food and Drug Administration to re-examine Yunrou and pass the inspection, another story broke out.

It was still the same unimpressive tabloid, and it was still the same reporter who first reported the news of Yunrou's cancerogenic ingredient, but this time the headline was changed to "Shen Group bribes the reporter to change his story, fabricating a false behind-the-scenes culprit!"

Underneath the headline, the reporter described in detail how Shen Group had sent someone to contact him personally and tried to pay him a lot of money to make up a false story about the behind-the-scenes culprit, thus portraying Shen Group as a victim. The reporter righteously said that the so-called mastermind was a pretext that Shen Group had created, and that there was no mastermind at all. All his reports came from the conscience of a citizen, the basic conscience of a reporter.

At the same time, the reporter also said that he had a recording of Shen Group trying to bribe him, and if Shen Group dared to deny it, he did not mind releasing the recording to the public.

When Shen Ji saw the news, he could not control his anger and called the PR department to scold them.

After venting, Shen Ji calmed down, "What exactly did you tell him?"

The manager of the PR department was a middle-aged woman in her forties named Qin Ling, who had been working at Shen's for over ten years. She had handled countless PR crises at Shen Group in the past, but this was the first time she had been so helpless.

As she watched Shen Ji calm down, Qin Ling recounted the process of approaching the reporter in detail.

Shen Ji said coldly, "So if the recording he mentioned really exists, it's quite unfavourable to us?"

Qin Ling nodded, "Although we tried to avoid some sensitive words in the conversation, you know that this kind of meaning can certainly be perceived. Moreover, in order to achieve the goal as soon as possible, the company did have some tendency to persuade, and this aspect should be audible as well."

Shen Ji's expression became very ugly.

Qin Ling's face did not look good either. Shen Group had been developing for so many years, and the PR department had been established for nearly twenty years, so although Qin Ling did not dare to guarantee that the Shen Group brand would be liked by all the media, she dared to say that 90% of the media would give Shen Group a little face. Coupled with her rich contacts in the industry, when they encountered such smear reports in the past, they would generally receive the news in advance and often operate privately, and the articles that came out would have a harmless tone.

Even if they occasionally encountered reporters they couldn't buy, it was all for the sake of playing for bigger profits. Once Shen Group offered enough money, the reporters would quickly change their stance. But no matter which was the case, everyone knew in their heart that such deals were made in private and not put out in the open. This time the reporter pierced the layer of paper, and it was clearly a deliberate move to set them up.

Shen Ji could already predict what kind of dilemma this news would put Shen Group in.

If Shen Group came out to refute it, in case the reporter really produced the recording, Shen Group's image would inevitably plummet. But if Shen Group was to just keep quiet, their image would suffer anyway.

For the first time, Shen Ji had doubts about whether he would be able to resolve the matter perfectly.

While Shen Ji was worried about the Yunrou cancer incident, Shen Xi suddenly appeared at the cemetery. Since the last time he found the lilies of the valley in front of his mother's tombstone, Shen Xi had been concerned about this matter. He didn't want anything to get out of his control, he needed to know who this person was. And what was their relationship with his mother?

Shen Xi paid the cemetery caretaker to keep an eye on the matter and soon received the news. Since then, lilies of the valley had appeared in front of Shen Xi's mother's tombstone twice. The cemetery caretaker noticed that on one of these occasions, the flowers were delivered by a middle-aged man in his fifties who looked very dignified and stayed in front of Shen Xi's mother's tombstone for a considerable period of time.

This time the cemetery caretaker inadvertently saw the man again and immediately called to inform Shen Xi.

Shen Xi looked from afar at the unfamiliar figure standing in front of his mother's tombstone and could not help but quicken his pace.

Hearing footsteps coming towards him, the man involuntarily glanced back and met Shen Xi's gaze. Both of them froze at the same time.

Chapter 29

Wang Changlin, Shen Xi silently repeated this name in his heart. He did not expect him to be the one to send flowers to his mother.

Shen Xi still remembered the scene five years ago when he received his grandfather's relics from Wang Changlin's hands. After five years, Wang Changlin didn't seem to have changed much and was still quite personable. In the past five years, Shen Xi had not had any contact with Wang Changlin; because of the initial disharmony that Wang Changlin brought to him, he had always been vaguely wary of him in his heart.

However, the picture in front of him obviously exceeded his expectations. As Shen Xi's eyes fell on the white lilies of the valley Wang Changlin was holding, an absurd thought emerged in his mind.

After the initial shock, Wang Changlin quickly reacted. Noticing Shen Xi's gaze, Wang Changlin smiled at him amiably and bent down to place the bouquet in his hand in front of the tomb. His movements were very careful, carrying many emotions that Shen Xi could not understand. As he carefully placed the bouquet, a hint of nostalgia flashed through Wang Changlin's eyes.

Shen Xi had been watching his movements in silence and finally could not help but speak, "How does Lawyer Wang know…?"

"Know that Sanshao's mother loved lilies of the valley the most?" Wang Changlin interrupted Shen Xi's words.

Shen Xi did not speak again, obviously acquiescing to the meaning.

Wang Changlin smiled, "It's all some past events, there's no need for Sanshao to know."

Shen Xi frowned invisibly; Wang Changlin had already changed the subject, "Why does Sanshao suddenly come to the cemetery at this time?"

Shen Xi didn't hide it, "I paid the cemetery caretaker to keep an eye on who was sending flowers to my mother. He just called me and I rushed here."

Wang Changlin obviously didn't expect Shen Xi to be so direct. He froze for a moment, then laughed bitterly, "Sanshao's temper really hasn't changed at all."

Shen Xi didn't say anything; he just stared straight at Wang Changlin, his intention very obvious.

Wang Changlin could not help but smile bitterly once more under such a direct gaze from Shen Xi. In the end, Wang Changlin did not resist Shen Xi's insistence and recounted a story from many years ago.

The story was actually very simple: a poor student fell in love with a rich lady, but because of his inferiority complex, he did not dare to confess his feelings and just kept his secret. When he finally found the courage, she was already getting married. He was devastated and tried hard to make a name for himself, but after decades of struggle, he realised in his old age that what he really wanted was to be by her side. Unfortunately, his beloved had passed away many years ago, and the only thing he could do was to bring her favourite lilies of the valley to keep her company occasionally.

Wang Changlin's words were full of melancholy and indescribable regret, and Shen Xi fell silent. Although he faintly guessed it before, he still had a strange feeling in his heart when he heard this confirmation from the person concerned.

Noticing Shen Xi's silence, Wang Changlin smiled awkwardly, patted Shen Xi's shoulder and turned to leave.

Shen Xi didn't really have any idea about Wang Changlin's secret love for his mother; he just felt it was a bit sudden. He had always thought that he was the only one left in the world who still remembered his mother, and now suddenly there was another person telling him that he had in fact always remembered her too. Shen Xi felt that he could not describe the mood he was in right now. After thinking about it, Shen Xi called Fang Luowei; he was desperate for someone to talk to. Fang Luowei was still at work at the moment, and they arranged to meet at 7pm at the entrance of the alley where they had first met. The apartment Fang Luowei rented was located around that alley.

When Shen Xi arrived at the meeting place, it was just 6pm. After waiting for a while in boredom, Shen Xi parked the car at the intersection and casually strolled around the area by himself.

The alleyway was the same place where Li Mingxuan had planned to bring him to eat Sichuan cuisine last time, and even though the two of them had not had a good time back then, Shen Xi still remembered the Sichuan restaurant that Li Mingxuan had mentioned. Thinking that Fang Luowei was as addicted to spicy food as he was, Shen Xi decided to take Fang Luowei there tonight.

Shen Xi was absorbed in his thoughts when someone suddenly bumped into him from behind. Shen Xi reacted immediately and turned around to grab the person.

The guy was a young punk in his twenties; one of his hands was in Shen Xi's pocket at the moment, the other hand was firmly in Shen Xi's grasp.

Shen Xi looked at his hand and said in a cold voice, "Take it out."

The punk glanced at Shen Xi and slowly took his hand out of Shen Xi's pocket. Shen Xi was about to let go of the hand he was holding, but another man suddenly came from behind the corner on his left and rammed into him.

Shen Xi stumbled and the punk who was being held by him took the opportunity to break free and retreat a few steps.

The two men confronted Shen Xi face to face and the later one suddenly exclaimed, "It's him, he was the one who took away Fang Luowei last time, tell the boss quickly!"

"Boss!" A sharp shout came from behind Shen Xi, who then realised that there was someone hiding behind the corner.

The cry for "Boss" seemed to flick a switch, and the quiet alley suddenly became chaotic. Numerous footsteps sounded around. Shen Xi frowned; seeing that it was already too late to run, he quickly took out his mobile phone and dialled Fang Luowei's number.

It was still the punk from before, "He's going to inform Fang Luowei, stop him quickly."

Someone lunged; the phone hadn't been connected yet but Shen Xi had to give up and dodge the incoming fist.

More and more people pounced on him, and Shen Xi hastily stuffed his phone in his pocket and fought with them. Shen Xi was not a bad fighter, but there were too many of them. Someone took out an iron bar; Shen Xi couldn't dodge and was hit hard a few times.

Avoiding another blow, Shen Xi ruthlessly lunged at the man in front of him, but the iron bar behind him swung up high and was about to land on Shen Xi's head.

"Watch out!" Someone rushed forward and firmly shielded Shen Xi.

Shen Xi hesitated for a moment as he heard a familiar voice and subconsciously looked up. What he saw was Li Mingxuan's slightly distorted face.

Shen Xi did not have time to ask Li Mingxuan why he had suddenly appeared here; he turned around and pushed Li Mingxuan away and kicked the person behind him hard.

Perhaps they were startled by the sudden appearance of Li Mingxuan, but the actions of the punks stalled for a moment, and by the time they reacted, Shen Xi had already kicked the man behind him to the ground.

Li Mingxuan didn't expect Shen Xi to move so quickly, and seeing that Shen Xi still wanted to continue, he immediately pulled him behind him and said to the punks with a cold face, "I want to see your Brother Wang."

The word "Brother Wang" caught the attention of the surrounding punks, and they all looked at each other, speculating about Li Mingxuan's identity.

One of the punks gave Li Mingxuan a suspicious glance, "Who are you?"

Li Mingxuan said nothing with a cold face, and turned his head to look at Shen Xi behind him. Shen Xi looked miserable, his face was covered with bruises and there was a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, his clothes torn to pieces. It was seven or eight point bad; Li Mingxuan's eyes darkened involuntarily. Shen Xi lowered his voice, "How come you are here?"

Li Mingxuan said simply, "To eat."

Shen Xi thought of the Sichuan restaurant and nodded in understanding.

Li Mingxuan hadn't actually expected to meet Shen Xi here; the alley was narrow and he always parked his car outside and walked in. When he saw people gathered here from afar, Li Mingxuan didn't think anything of it. Zhongjing had the saying "the south is poor and the north is cheap, the east is rich and the west is expensive" since ancient times. This alleyway was located in the southern part of the city, which had always been a chaotic place where fights and brawls were common.

Li Mingxuan was about to take a detour when he saw Shen Xi's figure in the crowd and immediately ran towards him without thinking. When the iron bar was about to hit Shen Xi's head, Li Mingxuan instinctively rushed over and shielded him from the blow. Seeing Shen Xi's surprised look when he turned to him, the words "consigned to eternal damnation" flashed through Li Mingxuan's mind.

As soon as he thought that, the group of punks suddenly moved to make way.

A man of about thirty years old with a fleshy face walked in. Obviously someone already told him what had happened. The man was originally gloomy, but when he saw Li Mingxuan, he was clearly taken aback, "Xuan Shao."

A smile appeared on the man's face. "Ah ah, it's been a long time since I've seen Xuan Shao. What's going on here?" This last sentence was a question to the people around him.

The punks around him cowered as they looked at the man, who glared at them fiercely and then turned his head to look at Li Mingxuan with a smile on his face, "Misunderstanding, it's definitely a misunderstanding."

Li Mingxuan raised his eyebrows, "Then this misunderstanding is a bit big."

The smile on the man's face froze as he turned around, pulled out the iron bar from the nearest punk's hand and smashed it down on him. Within moments, the punk was covered in blood, but even so, he gritted his teeth and didn't dare to grunt. The man stopped in satisfaction and turned to Li Mingxuan, "Xuan Shao, how is it?"

Li Mingxuan frowned; behind him Shen Xi glanced at the man and pulled Li Mingxuan, "Let's go."

The man narrowed his eyes and took a look at Shen Xi, smiled at Li Mingxuan and waved his hand as the punks around him immediately made way.

It was not until he left the alley that Li Mingxuan noticed the burning pain in his back. Not caring about his own injury, Li Mingxuan grabbed Shen Xi, "Are you alright?"

The concern in these words was really obvious and Shen Xi nodded hesitantly.

Li Mingxuan wanted to say something else, but Shen Xi suddenly thought of Fang Luowei, and at the same moment, not caring to talk to Li Mingxuan, hurriedly took out the phone.

In a few words, Shen Xi explained that Fang Luowei must not go home now.

As Li Mingxuan listened to Shen Xi's repeated explanation, he only felt that his back seemed to hurt more.

Chapter 30

In an inconspicuous clinic by the road, Shen Xi sat quietly, seemingly playing with his mobile phone, but his eyes always returned to Li Mingxuan who was being examined by the doctor in front of him.

Without the thugs around and without the need to worry about Fang Luowei's safety, the recent scenes flashed in Shen Xi's mind. Shen Xi squeezed his mobile phone unconsciously; his expression didn't seem to have changed much but a closer look would reveal that his gaze turned at Li Mingxuan was complicated.

The figure that suddenly rushed over, the reassurance he felt when he was protected and the momentary throbbing of his heart when he saw Li Mingxuan, all these thoughts that he had deliberately suppressed before were tumbling in his mind endlessly. Shen Xi intuitively felt irritated; he couldn't understand why Li Mingxuan had jumped out to protect him at that moment.

Shen Xi tried his best to convince himself that Li Mingxuan's behaviour must have been calculated, or Li Mingxuan wanted to win his favour so that he could help Shen Ji test him. Or was it?…

Shen Xi couldn't think any further. He squeezed his phone hard, and Li Mingxuan's painful expression came to his mind once again. Shen Xi sighed in annoyance. Although he didn't want to admit it, from his past experience in fights, Li Mingxuan's previous actions could only be instinctive and not calculated. But because of this, the feeling of annoyance in Shen Xi's heart was even greater.

The clinic was very quiet, and only the slightest noise could be heard during the doctor's examination. Perhaps Shen Xi's emotions were too obvious; Li Mingxuan suddenly turned his head with a concerned look, "What's wrong with Xiao Xi? Are you uncomfortable?"

Li Mingxuan's expression was sincere and the worry in his eyes was unmistakable. Shen Xi lowered his eyes and shook his head slightly.

The doctor soon finished the examination; Li Mingxuan's injuries were not serious, except that he had received a heavy blow from a blunt object and his muscles would be a little sore for a few days. Compared to the injuries on Li Mingxuan's back, the colourful bruises on Shen Xi's face and body were nothing. The doctor did not prescribe any medicine but only gave them a few bottles of medicine oil, instructing them to use the oil to rub the bruises on their bodies, especially Li Mingxuan. After a few days, the bruises would dissipate and there would be no major problems.

Li Mingxuan politely accepted the doctor's medicine oil and reached out to pick up the jacket he had taken off. Instead of wearing it, he put it on Shen Xi. Shen Xi stiffened for a moment, and then slowly relaxed again.

Standing at the entrance of the clinic, Shen Xi looked at the thinly dressed Li Mingxuan and the irritable feeling in his heart surfaced once again.

Noticing Shen Xi's gaze, Li Mingxuan turned to smile at him, and Shen Xi unconsciously lowered his head.

Hanging up the phone, Li Mingxuan walked towards Shen Xi. "I've already called my friend, he will come and take the car away tomorrow."

Shen Xi nodded, "Where are you going? I'll drop you off."

Li Mingxuan's back was injured and his shoulders were affected, so he was hardly able to drive. Shen Xi had noticed it and stopped Li Mingxuan from driving. The two took one car, and the other was left behind.

Hearing Shen Xi's inquiry, Li Mingxuan thought for a moment, "Let's go to the hotel."

This answer made Shen Xi frown, and he took the initiative to say, "The hotel is not convenient, let's go to my place."

This was an era without privacy. If Li Mingxuan stayed in a hotel today, who knows what the reporters would write tomorrow. To avoid reporters, the two of them did not even go to the hospital but casually found a roadside clinic. Shen Xi did not want to share the limelight with another scandal at this critical moment of the Yunrou cancer incident. After all, "Cousins getting into a late night brawl" or whatever also sounded very interesting.

Shen Xi's proposal made Li Mingxuan struggle inwardly. Emotionally, he wanted to say yes immediately, but his reason was desperately trying to stop him.

He was not a hapless seventeen or eighteen year old, nor was he a young infatuated man, and no one knew better than him what it meant to fall for Shen Xi.

The blood tie between Shen Xi and him was a barrier he could never cross. Not to mention whether Shen Xi liked men or not, how many people could accept such an incestuous relationship? Li Mingxuan thought bitterly. He could not imagine how Shen Xi would react when he found out about his feelings. He would rather Shen Xi treat him as a distant cousin forever than to see Shen Xi look at him with disgust one day.

Li Mingxuan smiled bitterly. If he and Shen Xi were simply related by blood, it would be fine, but there were too many complex interests behind Shen Xi, too many uncontrollable things, and he could not imagine the attitude his family would take towards this.

Rationally he should have stayed away from Shen Xi, but emotionally he wanted to get closer uncontrollably. Li Mingxuan was torn inside, struggling hard.

"Get in the car, Cousin, why don't you?" Shen Xi walked to the front of the car only to find Li Mingxuan still standing in the same place.

Li Mingxuan subconsciously followed Shen Xi and took a few steps before realising that his body was once again out of control. Rubbing his forehead in frustration, Li Mingxuan got in the car under Shen Xi's urging eyes.

Shen Xi drove the car very smoothly, with a serious and focused look, completely devoid of the kind of crazy energy Li Mingxuan had seen before. The lights on the sides of the road were bright, illuminating Shen Xi's softened expression. Li Mingxuan sat quietly, feeling the calm atmosphere inside the car, sincerely hoping that the road would never end.

Half an hour later, the two stood in front of Shen Xi's apartment.

The apartment didn't look big, just a simple one-bedroom, but the decoration was quite good. Shen Xi did not have many things, and the whole apartment looked a little empty. Li Mingxuan took a quick glance. Like in the hotel, Shen Xi's things were all organised in an unusually neat manner.

"Does Cousin want to take a shower first?" Shen Xi was thinking about rubbing the medicine without delay.

Li Mingxuan shook his head, "You go first."

Shen Xi looked down at his clothes and did not refuse Li Mingxuan's kind offer.

Li Mingxuan watched Shen Xi walk into the bathroom and his eyes couldn't help but darken. A similar conversation had taken place between them not too long ago, except that at that time Shen Xi was still just a cousin in his eyes and he could listen to the sound of the water in the bathroom with a calm heart. But this time Li Mingxuan smiled bitterly looking at the already impatiently excited Xiao Mingxuan and let out a deep sigh.

No matter how much Li Mingxuan meditated, there was no sign of Xiao Mingxuan softening. Li Mingxuan had no choice but to find the kitchen and drink a large glass of icy water in one gulp, so Xiao Mingxuan had no choice but to soften.

But when he thought about rubbing Shen Xi with the medicine oil later, Li Mingxuan could not help but hold his forehead fighting a headache. Just by imagining that scene, the newly softened Xiao Mingxuan began to stir again.

Li Mingxuan had to think of something else to divert his attention.

Deliberately, he recalled the reports about the Yunrou cancer incident and tried to put himself in the Shen family's shoes to look at the issue. If he were his uncle, how would he have handled the matter? If he were a director of Shen Group, how would he view this matter?

Although the Shen family and the Li family had many entangled interests, they were not without competition in certain areas. However, the two sides were accustomed to cooperation. Under such circumstances, Li Mingxuan would be concerned about the progress of the Yunrou affair, but would not ask Shen Ji about the specific way he was handling it, just as Shen Ji would not take the initiative to pry into the operations of the Li family.

Li Mingxuan was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice when Shen Xi came out until Shen Xi stood in front of him, "Cousin?"

Li Mingxuan snapped back to his senses and a momentary flash of amazement passed through his eyes.

At this moment, Shen Xi had just taken a bath; his fair complexion was flushed pink from the heat. Perhaps because he had returned to a place he was familiar with, Shen Xi's eyes were much softer, damp from the water, his hair hanging softly on both sides of his face that looked gentle and harmless.

Li Mingxuan's mind flashed back to Shen Xi's calm and ruthless appearance in the afternoon, and the huge contrast made him uncontrollably excited.

Shen Xi gave Li Mingxuan a puzzled look, his eyes indicating the direction of the bathroom. Li Mingxuan nodded but did not move.

Only when Shen Xi's figure disappeared into the kitchen did Li Mingxuan stand up awkwardly. Just a moment ago, Xiao Mingxuan once again raised its head indisputably, saluting Shen Xi. Li Mingxuan smiled bitterly and darted into the bathroom before Shen Xi returned.

After a cold shower, Xiao Mingxuan wilted completely, and Li Mingxuan finally came out relieved.

The medicine oil on the table had already been opened and Shen Xi was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, watching the TV and laughing at something.

Li Mingxuan looked at the smile on Shen Xi's face and couldn't help but smile too.

Noticing that Li Mingxuan had come out, Shen Xi naturally took off his shirt. If Li Mingxuan had any thoughts before, then after seeing the bruises on Shen Xi's body, there were no other feelings in his heart except for distress.

Sitting opposite Shen Xi, Li Mingxuan carefully poured the oil into his hands but couldn't touch Shen Xi's body. The doctor had specifically instructed that the bruises needed to be rubbed vigorously, and Li Mingxuan knew how painful it would be.

Shen Xi was puzzled, "What's wrong?"

"It's going to hurt a lot. If you can't help it, cry." Li Mingxuan said in a low voice.

Shen Xi was taken aback for a moment, and suddenly didn't know how to answer this sentence. No one had spoken to him in this tone for a long time. Even when he and Fang Luowei had been beaten black and blue in prison, they had only gritted their teeth and encouraged each other to persevere, as if they had forgotten that they could still have the right to cry out in pain.

The self-deprecating look on Shen Xi's face made Li Mingxuan's heart throb hard. Without even thinking, Li Mingxuan reached out and swept Shen Xi up into his arms, his hand gently placed on Shen Xi's back and patting, just like he had done when Shen Xi was sick before.

Shen Xi's body stiffened as he was held in Li Mingxuan's arms. He felt he should have pushed him away ruthlessly, but Li Mingxuan's embrace was too warm, the kind of warmth that Shen Xi coveted in his heart, and he was a bit reluctant to part with it.

Shen Xi could not remember how many years it had been since anyone had hugged him like this. He had always been alone since his grandfather died. When he thought of his grandfather, Shen Xi could not help but remember the last time he had a fever. He was also in this warm embrace in his sleep.

Shen Xi's body gradually softened and Li Mingxuan tightened his arms, their skin pressed together, warm.

Shen Xi unconsciously squeezed closer, imagining that Li Mingxuan in front of him was his grandfather. Shen Xi silently said to himself: look, Grandpa still holds you in his arms as tightly as he did when you occasionally hurt yourself as a child, you are so happy!