Rebirth: Different Way

by Usui Takumii

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

7. 61 to 70

Chapter 61

When Li Mingxuan and Shen Xi entered the door, Shen Bixue was talking to Shen Ji about something.

When they heard the maid's greeting at the door, they both looked over at the same time. Through the tall green plants in the foyer, one could faintly see Li Mingxuan reaching out to pick up the jacket that Shen Xi had taken off, with a smile on his face and a very intimate attitude.

Shen Ji took a silent glance at the two men's actions and quickly looked away.

Shen Bixue hesitantly glanced at Shen Ji, got up and greeted, "Mingxuan, Xiao Xi, you're here?"

Li Mingxuan smiled at his mother, and Shen Xi politely called out "Aunt."

Shen Bixue really didn't know how to position Shen Xi in her mind, and when she met him, there was a momentary hesitation. Thinking about the male daughter-in-law that Li Xiyong had mentioned, Shen Bixue stiffly squeezed out a smile at Shen Xi.

Li Mingxuan saw the look on Shen Bixue's face and gave his mother a reassuring glance before reaching out to take hold of Shen Xi's hand.

When the three of them returned to the living room, Li Mingxuan noticed Shen Ji, "Ah Ji?"

Li Mingxuan was obviously very surprised that Shen Ji appeared in the Li family's house at this time. Shen Xi glanced at Shen Ji, who was sitting there with a deep sense of decadence, looking like he already knew that Shen Dehan had stayed overnight at Chu Qianqian's place. A trace of mockery flashed through Shen Xi's heart as he wondered how long Shen Ji planned to deceive himself before he admitted Shen Dehan's so-called true love for Fang Yun was nothing more than the interest to a pretty young face.

Shen Ji nodded to Li Mingxuan and his eyes swept over Shen Xi becoming much colder.

Shen Xi turned a blind eye to this and said indifferently, "Big Brother."

Shen Bixue and Li Mingxuan looked over at the same time, and Shen Ji nodded in response to the gazes of the two of them.

Shen Bixue breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Shen Xi with a smile, "It's rare for Xiao Xi to come here. Your aunt doesn't know your taste, what do you like to eat, I will order the kitchen to make it for you." Compared to knowing Shen Ji's taste well, Shen Bixue knew nothing about Shen Xi's. Thinking of this, Shen Bixue let out a silent sigh in her heart and her eyes naturally softened when she looked at Shen Xi again.

Before Shen Xi could say anything, Li Mingxuan had already told his mother, "Xiao Xi likes spicy food."

Shen Bixue smiled, "It just so happens that your aunt also loves spicy food, so you can eat together."

Li Mingxuan looked at Shen Xi with a smile, and was about to speak when Li Mingfei's voice came from outside the door, "Huh, this is Big Brother's car, Big Brother is back?" Still speaking, Li Mingfei quickly pushed the door and walked in. Upon seeing the people sitting in the hall, Li Mingfei's eyes instantly lit up, "Cousin Shen Xi."

Shen Xi smiled faintly and nodded at him.

Shen Bixue was also obviously very happy and greeted him, "Why are you back all of a sudden? Didn't you say you were staying at school?"

Li Mingfei obediently let his mother help him take off his jacket and explained in a small voice, "The food at school is not good at all, I miss Aunt Wang's boiled fish."

Shen Bixue laughed, "It just so happens that your cousin Shen Xi likes spicy food. We are going to have boiled fish tonight, so you're just in time."

"Really?" A hint of surprise flickered in Li Mingfei's eyes; he turned his head and flashed a big smile at Shen Xi.

With Li Mingfei's return, the atmosphere in the living room became cheerful.

There was still some time before dinner, so Li Mingfei excitedly took Shen Xi to see his sculptures. For him, Li Xiyong had deliberately partitioned off a small part of the ground floor of the house to be used as his creative studio. The partitioned space was very large, with a variety of small sculptures scattered around, and a corner neatly filled with the tools Li Mingfei needed. Unlike his usual shyness, facing his beloved sculpture, Li Mingfei was in high spirits and excitedly took Shen Xi to show his creations one by one.

The two of them soon came up to a naive puppy, and Li Mingfei inexplicably felt his face flush. The original excitement became nervousness and he suddenly quieted down.

Shen Xi vaguely felt that he seemed to have seen this puppy somewhere before. The scene of meeting Li Mingfei for the first time flashed in his mind. Shen Xi couldn't help but look at Li Mingfei and reached out to hold the puppy, smiling slightly.

"This is the one you were talking about?"

Li Mingfei nodded, nervously watching Shen Xi's expression. He had always wanted to find a suitable opportunity to give this puppy to Shen Xi, but he missed it every time. At first he went to the hospital several times but failed to find Shen Xi. He did not want to pass it on through others, so he was determined to deliver it to Shen Xi himself. Later, when his uncle was discharged from hospital, he went abroad to attend the exhibition and when he returned home, he heard the news that Shen Xi and his elder brother were together. At first, Li Mingfei was quite happy, but for some reason, he slowly became unhappy. So much so that his original intention of asking his elder brother to bring the puppy to Shen Xi slowly became reluctance to let his elder brother touch the puppy. Now looking at how much Shen Xi seemed to like the puppy, Li Mingfei felt his mood improve.

"I also made one bigger than this one. Father put him in the corner of the back porch, Cousin, I will show you."

Shen Xi smiled and nodded.

The back porch was connected to the ground floor of the villa and led directly to the courtyard. Although it was already early winter, it was very warm inside the porch, and Shen Bixue placed all kinds of green plants there, filling it with lush greenery as far as the eye could see.

The two of them walked quietly to the corner of the porch and Li Mingfei pointed to one side and was about to signal Shen Xi to look over when Shen Bixue's voice came from another corner.

"Ah Ji, your aunt is not saying these things to you because Shen Xi and Mingxuan are together. The older I get, the more I feel that your father and I have done wrong all these years. We always worried that Shen Xi would do this and that when he grew up, but we forgot that when Han Rou died, Shen Xi was only six years old. He was so young, what would he know? If we had been willing to teach him seriously all these years, things might have been different."

Shen Ji did not reply and Shen Bixue seemed to sigh, "Ah Ji, are you still holding a grudge for what Han Rou did to Ah Cheng?"

The words "Han Rou" reached Shen Xi's ears, and Shen Xi suddenly raised his head and looked straight over, even though he couldn't see anything with the greenery blocking his sight.

There seemed to be silence, and after a long pause, Shen Ji's low voice came, "I know what you mean, Aunt, you think Shen Xi is innocent, but Ah Cheng was even more innocent back then. He was barely two years old, and if my father hadn't found him in time, I'm afraid he would have been dead. All these years, every time I see Shen Xi, I think of what Han Ruo did to Ah Cheng for him. Aunt, how do you want me to like Shen Xi? How can I take care of him?"

Shen Ji's words were extremely clear as he talked of the past that Shen Xi did not know about.

Shen Bixue's voice followed, "It is impossible to say who is right and who is wrong in this matter. If Big Brother had not insisted on not letting Han Rou give birth to Shen Xi, she would not have been so crazy as to try to kill Ah Cheng."

Shen Ji laughed coldly, "If Han Rou hadn't insisted on marrying Father back then, how would all these things have happened? Father loved Mother deeply and clearly promised her that he would have only one wife for the rest of his life."

Shen Xi stood there quietly, staring ahead blankly. When Li Mingfei heard these words, his first reaction was to look at Shen Xi with worry. Carefully reaching out his hand to pull Shen Xi, Li Mingfei was shocked to find that Shen Xi's hand was ice-cold, the kind of a bone chilling coldness.

Shen Xi did not pay attention to Li Mingfei. At this moment the conversation between the two kept echoing in his mind. Because his father had married his mother but refused to let her give birth to her child, his mother had lashed out at Shen Cheng, and Shen Ji placed all the blame for the incident on his mother and even hated him.

Listening to Shen Ji's conviction that Shen Dehan loved Fang Yun deeply, Shen Xi could not help but laugh out loud. Shen Xi's laughter interrupted the conversation on the opposite side of the porch, and Shen Bixue and Shen Ji looked over at the same time. In the pale yellow light, Shen Xi broke away from Li Mingfei and took a few steps up and around the corner to appear in front of them.

Shen Bixue looked at Shen Xi in surprise, wondering how much of what they just said he had heard, while Shen Ji looked indifferent, his eyes cold.

The corners of Shen Xi's mouth hooked up. He looked at Shen Ji with a hint of mockery, "You are so pitiful, always refusing to face reality and living in self-deception all the time."

Shen Ji's face turned ugly and the corners of Shen Xi's mouth curled up even higher.

"Isn't it so? You have to deceive yourself every day, convincing yourself that your father loved your mother deeply. If he loved her deeply, why would he agree to marry my mother? If he loved her so much, what is Zhou Mingmei? And what is Chu Qianqian? You actually know in your heart that even without my mother, there would have been Li Rou, Tian Rou and even Zhang Rou. My father could never have just one wife for the rest of his life. His so-called promise was nothing but a lie.

"You just refuse to admit this truth, to face the fact that your father lied to your mother, or even that your father didn't love your mother as much as you thought he did. You desperately try to create an image in your mind of the father who loved your mother, you ridiculously deceive yourself, you are cowardly and refuse to face reality. You put the entire fault on my mother in order to make the image of your father perfect. You hate my mother, you feel that it was my mother who broke your father's promise, that it was my mother who took Fang Yun's place."

Shen Xi laughed coldly, "You think that without your father's consent, my mother could have married into the Shen family? You think that without your father, my mother alone could have given birth to me? Even without me, what do you think Shen Rong is?"

Shen Ji only felt a fire burning in his heart. Shen Xi's speech pierced his heart word by word. He didn't dare to listen and didn't want to listen, so he could only say sharply, "Shut up!"

The mockery on Shen Xi's face became more obvious, "You don't dare to listen? Because you know that I am telling the truth, because I have poked holes in the lies you have been telling to yourself for so many years. Because you know in your heart that the person your father loves most is himself."

Shen Ji looked straight at Shen Xi, his eyes like knives, chilling cold.

Shen Xi sneered and met his gaze, his eyes full of pity.

Under this kind of pity, Shen Ji's expression became more and more ugly. The word "self-deception" kept echoing in his mind, and the faith he had always held in his heart collapsed violently. Thinking of where his father was tonight, Shen Ji laughed at himself silently. He really was a joke.

A strong feeling of pleasure surged in Shen Xi's heart. Satisfied with the despair emanating from Shen Ji, Shen Xi smiled slightly and turned around to leave.

Behind him, Shen Bixue looked at Shen Xi's back with a bitter smile and could not say a word.

Behind the corner, Li Mingfei stood in silence. When he saw Shen Xi appear, he said nothing, but gently followed him, reaching out to take Shen Xi's hand, quietly accompanying him all the way.

The hall was quiet, and neither Li Mingxuan nor Li Xiyong were there.

Shen Xi turned to Li Mingfei, "I'll go first."

"Where are you going, Cousin?" Li Mingfei said subconsciously.

"Home." Shen Xi said casually.

"What about Big Brother?" Li Mingfei blurted out.

Shen Xi laughed lightly, "He can stay to keep his good brother company."

"Cousin?" Li Mingfei said hesitantly, but eventually let go of his hand and said softly, "Be careful on your way, Cousin."

Shen Xi smiled and left the Li family's house without hesitation.

Li Mingfei turned his head and looked back; his mother and Cousin Shen Ji were still inside the porch and had not come out. Listening to the sound of the car starting in the courtyard, Li Mingfei darted upstairs to his father's study. His elder brother must be in the study with his father. Although Cousin Shen Xi had just been smiling, Li Mingfei felt that his cousin was actually very sad in his heart; he must have wanted his elder brother to be by his side at this time.

Thinking of this, Li Mingfei had a dull astringent feeling in his heart; if only he could also be by Cousin Shen Xi's side.

When Li Mingfei found Li Mingxuan, Li Mingxuan was talking to Li Xiyong about the next step of his work plan. When he heard a knock on the door, he thought it was the maid reminding them to go eat and glanced at the time. It was already past seven o'clock. But to his surprise, it was Li Mingfei who pushed the door open.

"Mingfei?"

"Big Brother." Li Mingfei glanced at Li Mingxuan, his eyes signalling him to come out quickly. He felt it was better not to let his father know about Cousin Shen Xi. He wanted Cousin Shen Xi to leave a good impression on his father.

The expression on Li Mingfei's face was one of urgency. Li Mingxuan's heart thudded. He remembered that Shen Xi had been with Mingfei, had something happened to Shen Xi?

After excusing himself to his father, Li Mingxuan followed Li Mingfei to the corner of the stairs.

"What, did Xiao Xi go back?" Li Mingfei's words caused Li Mingxuan to freeze and immediately ask, "When?"

"Just now, Cousin said he would go home first." Li Mingfei said sullenly.

Li Mingxuan couldn't be bothered to ask what had happened and hurriedly ran towards the door. In the courtyard, the car he had driven here was gone, apparently driven away by Shen Xi. He quickly took another car. With one hand on the steering wheel, Li Mingxuan turned in the direction of Shen Xi's neighbourhood, while with the other hand, he took out his mobile phone and pressed Shen Xi's number.

The "beep" sounded, and Li Mingxuan stepped on the accelerator vigorously, praying in his heart that Shen Xi would answer the phone quickly. But unexpectedly, the next moment, the "beep" was suddenly interrupted, and a mechanical female voice sounded, "The phone you have dialled is switched off."

Li Mingxuan's heart sank. What had happened when he wasn't looking? Thinking about the fact that he hadn't seen his mother and Shen Ji when he came downstairs, had Xiao Xi had a confrontation with them?

After thinking about it, Li Mingxuan dialled Li Mingfei's phone number.

"Mingfei, do you know why Xiao Xi left?"

Li Mingfei nodded, then thought that his elder brother could not see his movements and quickly said, "Yes. Cousin Shen Ji and Cousin Shen Xi had a little conflict."

Li Mingxuan was originally only giving it a try, but he didn't expect to really hear the answer from Mingfei, especially such an unexpected answer. Li Mingxuan asked, "What conflict? When?"

Li Mingfei bit his lips and recounted the situation best he could.

As soon as he finished, Li Mingfei said in a small voice, "Big Brother, I don't think Cousin Shen Xi was wrong, it was obviously Uncle's fault, so why does Cousin Shen Ji put all the blame on Aunt Han?"

Li Mingxuan didn't know how to speak to Li Mingfei; he could only smile bitterly, "These matters are very complicated, one sentence can't explain clearly. Stay at home. When Father asks, just say that I went home with Shen Xi."

Hanging up the phone, Li Mingxuan let out a long sigh. No wonder before Han Rou's death, Shen Ji and Shen Cheng mostly lived in the Li family. He always thought his mother was worried about them being wronged in the Shen family, but it was because of this reason. His mother had never mentioned to him that Han Rou had once done something to Ah Cheng, and neither had Ah Ji. Was this the real reason why Ah Ji didn't like Xiao Xi?

Undeterred, Li Mingxuan once again pressed Shen Xi's number, and heard a mechanical female voice again. A hint of worry flashed in his eyes, and Li Mingxuan pressed the accelerator down hard. Li Mingxuan had no way of judging what was right or wrong, but Shen Xi was right about one thing: the source of many things was his uncle, not Han Rou.

As he hurried back to the neighbourhood, the darkness in the apartment caused a huge panic to rise in Li Mingxuan's heart. Shen Xi didn't go home as he had said. Where did he go?

Li Mingxuan stood in the living room, panic spreading in his mind as he tried to think of where Shen Xi might have gone. But since they got together, Shen Xi had spent basically all of his time at home, and there was absolutely no place he could have gone.

The cold breeze from the corridor poured in through the open door. In this gust of wind, Li Mingxuan suddenly thought of Fang Luowei.

Quickly finding Fang Luowei's phone number, Li Mingxuan dialled it and said straightforwardly, "Has Xiao Xi contacted you?"

"Xiao Xi? What happened to Xiao Xi?" Fang Luowei asked anxiously.

The tone of Fang Luowei's voice made Li Mingxuan feel disappointment; apparently he didn't know where Shen Xi was either.

"Xiao Xi is not at home, I can't find him, do you know where he might have gone?" Li Mingxuan asked patiently.

Fang Luowei hesitated for a moment and soon seemed to think of something, "Wait, I'll ask Wang Xinghai, he knows Xiao Xi a bit better."

"Wang Xinghai?" Li Mingxuan vaguely remembered the name and said dryly, "Give me his mobile number."

Fang Luowei didn't hesitate and quickly reported eleven digits, Li Mingxuan repeated them and immediately hung up the phone after confirming they were correct.

Fang Luowei listened to the sound in the receiver, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes as he wondered where Shen Xi was now. After thinking about it, Fang Luowei held his phone and started dialling Shen Xi's number over and over again, trying to reach him.

When Lao K received the call from Li Mingxuan, his whole body froze in surprise as he listened to the man on the phone asking where Shen Xi could possibly have gone. Lao K didn't react for a moment. It was not until the man on the phone repeated himself impatiently that Lao K hesitantly asked, "Are you Li Mingxuan?"

Li Mingxuan gave a quick "en" and immediately asked, "Do you know where Xiao Xi might have gone?"

Lao K subconsciously asked, "Did you have a fight?"

Li Mingxuan frowned and repeated, "Do you know where Xiao Xi is likely to go?"

Lao K thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "Xiao Xi used to go to the cemetery to visit his mother when he was in a bad mood."

"The cemetery?" Li Mingxuan thought about what Mingfei had said and instantly realised what was going on; Xiao Xi must be there now. Hurriedly hanging up the phone, Li Mingxuan flew downstairs and sped off in his car towards the cemetery.

Half an hour later, looking at the familiar car parked at the roadside, Li Mingxuan's heart hanging in his throat finally settled down.

Quickly climbing over the wall into the cemetery, Li Mingxuan carefully searched along the rows of tombstones. The light in the cemetery was very dim, and Li Mingxuan faintly saw someone leaning against a tombstone not far ahead, so he hurriedly ran over.

"Xiao Xi!"

The man leaning against the tombstone slowly raised his head, and in the faint light, Shen Xi's expression was filled with indescribable sadness.

Chapter 62

After leaving the Li family's house, Shen Xi realized that he was not as happy as he had expected.

Whether it was about Chu Qianqian setting up Shen Dehan or him bursting Shen Ji's illusion about Shen Dehan, after the initial great pleasure, more sadness welled up in his heart instead. These two people, one his father and the other his elder brother, should have been his closest relatives, but the reality was that they hated him for being born, while he was calculating step by step trying to make them suffer for the rest of their lives.

Shen Xi stepped on the gas pedal hard. The car was speeding to the limit and the cold wind poured in from the open car window but Shen Xi didn't seem to feel cold. At the next intersection, he turned abruptly in the direction of the cemetery.

The cemetery closed early on winter nights, and the caretakers had gone home early to rest, leaving only rows of dull yellow streetlights to accompany the countless cold tombstones. The whistling night wind weaved in and out of the empty cemetery, its sound faintly reminding a sobbing mournful complaint. Shen Xi skillfully climbed over the wall and soon reached the place where his mother was sleeping.

In the dim light, his mother was still smiling brightly. Shen Xi gazed at his mother's smiling face and did not move for a long time.

Shen Bixue and Shen Ji's conversation repeated itself in his mind. Shen Xi slowly reached out to cover his mother's face, feeling the cold stone under his palm. It made Shen Xi wake up somewhat. He had never known his mother had to do such a crazy thing for him to be born. His father's cold treatment and Shen Ji's indifference all seemed to have a reason, but his heart only ached for his mother.

What kind of despair could have driven his mother to such a state? To make his mother feel that he could only be born if Shen Ji and Shen Cheng disappeared?

All these years, father had the right to loathe his mother, and even him by extension, and Shen Ji had the right to resent Han Rou, and even him by extension. But his mother was already lying here quietly, all her love and hate and all her emotions disappearing with that one jump back then, having nothing to do with this world anymore.

No one cared about her situation during those years, no one cared about what she had suffered. Because she was sleeping here, all the blame could be put on her and no one was willing to ask why she had done what she had done back then. His mother was his father's legal wife, so how could he deny her the right to have children? Fang Yun could have children, Zhou Mingmei could have a child, why couldn't his mother?

Shen Ji was his father's child, Shen Cheng was his father's child, but wasn't he? Was he not even qualified to be born?

Shen Xi sat down against his mother's tombstone, the resentment in his heart clamouring desperately. He wanted to ask his father, why on earth did he treat his mother like this, treat him like this? Was it just because of the ridiculous true love that his father talked about?

A jumble of thoughts flashed through his mind in confusion when the sound of footsteps came from afar.

"Xiao Xi!"

A familiar voice sounded in his ears, and Shen Xi slowly lifted his head. Under the dim light, Li Mingxuan ran over panting, his face full of urgency.

Shen Xi looked at Li Mingxuan in a daze, not expecting him to find his way here.

"Xiao Xi." Li Mingxuan's voice trembled as he stood in front of Shen Xi.

Shen Xi looked at Li Mingxuan silently for a while before lowering his head and moving his eyes away. He didn't want to talk now, he just wanted to be quiet and stay with his mother. No matter what Li Mingxuan wanted to say to him, he had no intention of listening. Shen Xi's resistance was so obvious that Li Mingxuan's heart soured and he didn't speak again, just sat quietly by his side.

The next moment, the still warm coat covered Shen Xi's body. Shen Xi wanted to refuse, but Li Mingxuan's actions were unquestionable. Shen Xi accepted Li Mingxuan's coat in silence, lowered his head and buried his face between his knees. Li Mingxuan stretched out his hand and gently stroked Shen Xi's back. Neither of them said anything, and the cemetery fell into silence once again.

Shen Xi and Li Mingxuan left the Li family's house one after another, and Shen Ji followed closely. Hearing the news that Li Mingxuan had gone after Shen Xi, Shen Ji struggled to squeeze out a reassuring smile towards Shen Bixue, ignoring her worried gaze, and left the Li family in a daze.

Shen Xi's words kept echoing in his mind, and the word "self-deception" was stuck in his head.

As he drove down the street, Shen Ji realised that he had nowhere to go. Subconsciously turning in the direction of the Shen family's house, Shen Ji parked the car at the roadside and looked at the house in the night in silence.

This was the place where he had lived for nearly thirty years, where he had been born and where he had said the word "Father" for the first time. It was here that he was held in his father's arms and here that he was reprimanded by his father for being naughty. It was here that he saw his mother grow weak little by little as she became seriously ill, and where he saw his father heartbroken because of his mother's departure. He would always remember his father saying before his mother died that he would have only his mother as his wife for the rest of his life and that the only lady of the Shen family would always be his mother.

The scene of his mother dying with a smile on her lips and his father holding her in his arms in desperate agony was still vivid in his mind, but in the blink of an eye, a new Mrs. Shen was to be welcomed into the Shen family.

He was upset, he threw a tantrum, he didn't want a new mother, but for the first time his grandfather, who had always doted on him, turned against him. He wanted to go to his father and question him about why he couldn't do what he had promised his mother, but instead he saw his father drunk in front of the wall full of pictures of his mother, calling her name again and again.

How could his father wrong his mother when he was in so much pain? It was all that woman's fault.

Shen Ji was repulsed by Han Rou's presence, and this repulsion was further deepened when he heard the servants whispering behind his back.

"The two young masters are so pitiful."

"Yes, their mother is dead and they have no strong uncle's family. If Miss Han gives birth to a child, with the background of the Han family, the two young masters probably won't have a place in this family."

"I heard that Miss Han has a bad temper and seems to be very arrogant?"

"If that's true, the two young masters are going to be so unlucky. Who would like the children born to the one before them? Nothing can be guaranteed."

The servants' words were fulfilled afterwards.

Han Rou didn't like them, and after he refused to call her "Mother", after Ah Cheng's crying all night long attracted his father's attention, he noticed Han Rou's growing impatience with them.

When Ah Cheng fell ill again and Han Rou insisted on returning to the Han family, his father argued with her for the first time. He heard Han Rou's complaint clearly, "He's not my son, what do you think I can do? Do I have to pretend to be sad?"

Han Rou's words left a deep imprint in Shen Ji's heart.

After that, there were more and more arguments between his father and Han Rou, and his father spent less and less time home. Every time Shen Ji saw Han Rou, he would think that it was because Han Rou made his father angry that his father did not want to come back. He only remembered that one day when his father came home to visit him and Ah Cheng, Han Rou appeared happily in front of them. Then he heard Han Rou say, "Xiao Ji, do you want to have another brother?"

Shen Ji replied dryly, "No." He always remembered the words Han Rou had said when Ah Cheng was sick. He didn't like Han Rou, so how could he like the child Han Rou would give birth to.

He couldn't remember what kind of expression Han Rou had at the time, only the pitying looks the servants gave him when they heard Han Rou was pregnant. The relationship between his father and Han Rou grew colder and colder, and Han Rou's temper became more and more eccentric until that incident happened.

Shen Ji covered his face and let out a low laugh.

After that incident, Ah Cheng was greatly simulated and spent a month in the hospital. Han Ruo, on the other hand, was not punished for it, simply because she had given birth to Shen Xi early while his father was in a fit of rage.

After all these years, it was not that Shen Ji didn't know that his father raised Zhou Mingmei while Han Rou was pregnant, and that Han Rou's weird temper at the time was more because of Zhou Mingmei, but so what? It was a fact that Han Rou didn't like them, it was a fact that Han Rou had tried to harm Ah Cheng, and it was even a fact that Han Rou insisted on marrying his father.

Because of that incident, his father became more attentive to him and Ah Cheng, personally taking care of their clothing, food, housing and travel. Even though he and Ah Cheng spent most of their time at his aunt's house, his father took time to visit them every day, read to them and play games with them. In his eyes, his father loved his mother, loved him and Ah Cheng, and his father was the best father in the world.

With the death of Han Rou, they moved back to the Shen's house, and only then did Shen Ji learn of Zhou Mingmei's existence, but after seeing the way his father reminisced in front of his mother's pictures, watching the way Shen Dehan treated them gently, the way he patiently played games with Ah Cheng, how could Shen Ji blame his father?

Shen Ji laughed out loud. Shen Xi was right. He was a fool who deceived himself, he did not want to face the fact that his father had betrayed his mother time and again, he was afraid that the image of his father in his heart would collapse. He was deceiving himself as much as his father was.

That night, Shen Ji sat in front of the Shen family's house for the whole night. He did not know what he was thinking; he seemed to have thought a lot, but he seemed to have thought of nothing at all. As the sky grew lighter, Shen Ji pushed open the car door and walked over, knocking on the door of the Shen's house.

That same night, Li Mingxuan sat with Shen Xi at the cemetery for the whole night.

As the day dawned, Shen Xi moved his frozen stiff body and hesitantly looked at Li Mingxuan beside him. Li Mingxuan's coat was draped over his shoulders and Li Mingxuan only had a thin jacket on top. Shen Xi was so immersed in his emotions last night that he hardly noticed Li Mingxuan had spent the whole night with him.

Seeing Shen Xi turn his head, his mood seeming to return to normal, Li Mingxuan smiled, stretched out his hand stiffly to rub his hair, and said softly, "Let's go home?"

Li Mingxuan's hand brushed over his forehead, feeling ice cold. Shen Xi's heart softened and he nodded, standing up in silence.

Before leaving, Shen Xi took a deep look at his mother's smiling face. Whatever his mother had once done wrong, she had already paid for it with her life.

What was left was what his father owed his mother and what he owed him, and he would get it back in full.

Chapter 63

After climbing over the wall and leaving the cemetery, Shen Xi and Li Mingxuan didn't mention what happened last night. The two of them got in the car, and Li Mingxuan turned on the heating in the car to a sufficient level.

Shen Xi's face gradually became rosy, and Li Mingxuan gave him a concerned look and said gently, "I'll drive, Xiao Xi, do you want to take a nap?"

Shen Xi shook his head and looked out the car. Li Mingxuan didn't say anything else, and the two of them went back to the neighbourhood in silence. As soon as he entered the door, Li Mingxuan pushed Shen Xi to take a hot shower. He was worried that after a night in the cold, Shen Xi would get sick.

Shen Xi was still wearing Li Mingxuan's coat, and when he heard Li Mingxuan's words, he paused, turned around and hugged Li Mingxuan without saying a word.

Shen Xi used a lot of strength. Although Li Mingxuan was a bit uncomfortable being strangled, he was happy because Shen Xi was willing to get close to him at this time. After he was taken aback for a moment, a smile appeared on his face, and he couldn't help but kiss Shen Xi's cheek and say softly, "Good boy, go take a shower, I'll make ginger soup. "

Shen Xi whispered, "Cousin, you go first."

Li Mingxuan laughed, "Cousin is in good health, Xiao Xi will go first."

In the end, Shen Xi could not resist Li Mingxuan and was pushed into the bathroom.

After skillfully cooking a pot of ginger soup, Li Mingxuan leaned against the door and fished out his mobile phone, running his finger over Shen Ji's name and pressing it down with a silent sigh. Last night he had chased after Shen Xi and Shen Xi was the entire focus of his thoughts. At this time, when his mind calmed down, he couldn't help but start worrying about Shen Ji. Although Shen Xi's words last night were unpleasant, they were true, but Shen Ji had always been close to his father, so Li Mingxuan was worried that he would not be able to bear the stimulation.

The phone was quickly answered and a slightly hoarse male voice said, "Mingxuan."

"En."

Li Mingxuan deliberated on how to speak, but Shen Ji seemed to have guessed his dilemma and suddenly laughed, "I'm fine."

The two had been close friends for many years, and Li Mingxuan could easily figure out the truth from his words. He couldn't help being relieved to learn that Shen Ji was really fine, so he also chuckled slightly.

During the laughter, the previous estrangement between the two seemed to have faintly dissipated. Li Mingxuan felt that Shen Ji's attitude had changed, but he was confused about the details.

After chatting casually for a few minutes, Li Mingxuan hung up the phone and Shen Xi came out of the shower just in time.

He poured a big bowl full of ginger soup. Li Mingxuan watched Shen Xi frown and drink it all down without leaving a drop, and was immediately relieved. After touching Shen Xi's hair that was still damp, Li Mingxuan habitually instructed, "Don't sleep now, wait for your hair to dry before you sleep."

Shen Xi nodded obediently.

By the time Li Mingxuan came out of the shower, Shen Xi seemed to have fallen asleep holding the blanket.

The sky outside the house was already bright, but the light in the bedroom was dim due to the curtains. Li Mingxuan stood quietly by the bed and watched Shen Xi for a while before leaning down and giving him a kiss on the lips, then gently climbing into bed and lying beside him. Who knew that just as he lay down, Shen Xi would suddenly turn over and hug him tightly, burying his whole body in his arms.

Li Mingxuan was startled, realising that Shen Xi was pretending to be asleep before, so he couldn't help but smile faintly. He gently wrapped his arms around Shen Xi and patted his back, saying softly, "Go to sleep."

While Shen Xi and Li Mingxuan were catching up on their sleep, Shen Ji had just finished taking a shower and was quietly eating breakfast alone in the dining room.

Shen Dehan had someone call and instruct the maids to clean the house. He was going to be discharged from the hospital and go home today.

When receiving Shen Dehan's call, the servant gave a strange look to Shen Ji in the dining room, wondering why it looked like Shen Ji had no idea his father would suddenly be discharged from the hospital. What was even stranger was why Shen Dehan had to specifically order a room to be cleaned, could there be guests coming?

After hanging up the phone, the maid conveyed Shen Dehan's message to Shen Ji, whose expression changed slightly and his hands stopped moving. Did his father purposely instructed to prepare a room? Thinking about what the bodyguard had said yesterday, that Chu Qianqian was overstimulated and completely inseparable from Shen Dehan, Shen Ji's expression became ugly. Did his father intend to let Chu Qianqian live in the Shen family's house?

Shen Ji spent the night trying to convince himself that no matter whether his father's love for his mother was real or fake later, his father's love for her had been real when his mother was around, and his father's pain and despair had been real when his mother died, and that was enough for him. Over the years, his father had done his best for him and Ah Cheng, and now that he was old and wanted someone to accompany him, he, his son, should not say anything. Although that face of Chu Qianqian made him nauseated, there was already a Zhou Mingmei; he just needed to put up with it and it would be over. As long as his father kept Chu Qianqian outside and out of sight… the only bottom line for him was that Chu Qianqian could not step into the Shen's house.

Shen Ji had planned to compromise with his father and not interfere with his father and Chu Qianqian's affairs, but he never expected that his father would have the intention of bringing her home. Did he know what this meant? Having lost his appetite, Shen Ji sat in the living room in silence, hoping that he had misunderstood his father's intentions.

He didn't know how long it took, but the sound of voices talking in the courtyard reached him faintly and Shen Ji knew it must be his father returning. Trying to adjust his emotions, Shen Ji quickly walked over to welcome him, but his face immediately sank when he saw the person standing beside his father.

"Ah Ji." Shen Dehan looked at Shen Ji, not expecting him to be home at this time.

Shen Ji's eyes fell on Chu Qianqian who was standing beside Shen Dehan. It seemed that Chu Qianqian was really in shock, and was now looking around with a pale and timid expression, completely different from the way Shen Ji had seen her at the hospital before.

Perhaps it was because Shen Ji's eyes were too harsh that Chu Qianqian looked at him in panic; her body trembled subconsciously and she hid behind Shen Dehan.

Shen Dehan immediately turned around and gently calmed the frightened Chu Qianqian who looked at him trustingly and slowly calmed down. A sneer flashed in Shen Ji's eyes, and without looking at the movements of the two of them again, he turned and walked back to the living room.

Without Shen Ji nearby, Chu Qianqian was obviously much more at ease, gently taking Shen Dehan's arm and letting him lead her into the living room.

Looking at Shen Dehan patiently explaining the layout of the house to Chu Qianqian, Shen Ji said coldly, "Is father planning to let Miss Chu live in the house?"

The rejection in Shen Ji's words was heard very clearly by everyone; those who could had the sense to escape the living room. The last time Shen Ji and Shen Dehan had clashed over Chu Qianqian was still fresh in their minds, and no one dared to stay by their side while they were at it.

Shen Dehan frowned slightly and looked at Shen Ji, "Xiao Chu is just a guest staying temporarily for a few days, she will leave when she recovers."

Shen Ji looked deeply at Shen Dehan and said softly, "Father, do you believe this?"

The mocking implication in Shen Ji's words was so obvious that Shen Dehan was instantly furious, "Ah Ji!"

Shen Ji looked at Shen Dehan with a slight ridicule and said stubbornly, "I don't agree with her living here. If Miss Chu's health is not good, Father can send her to the best hospital to receive treatment or simply raise her outside as Father did with Zhou Mingmei. But she absolutely cannot live in the Shen family's house."

Shen Ji's words made Shen Dehan ponder; he was about to speak when something seemed to happen to Chu Qianqian and her body trembled slightly. Shen Dehan immediately noticed her abnormality and coaxed her patiently. Once again, Chu Qianqian's emotions calmed down and she looked at Shen Dehan with complete trust. Shen Dehan met her eyes and turned to say categorically, "I have already decided."

Shen Ji looked at Shen Dehan in silence and could not help but laugh in a low voice.

"Does Father still remember the promise he made to Mother before she died? The Shen family will have only one lady, my mother. Father has already reneged on his promise once, do you still intend to renege a second time?"

Shen Ji's words were like a knife thrust into Shen Dehan's heart. After realising what Shen Ji had said, Shen Dehan became enraged.

Shen Ji ignored his anger and said, "Since Miss Chu wants to live in the Shen family's house, I will move out."

After saying that, Shen Ji didn't look at his father's expression again, turned around and left the living room straight away.

After Shen Ji left, Shen Dehan's face could not help but reveal a trace of loss. Shen Ji's words made him think of Fang Yun. Chu Qianqian had been paying attention to Shen Dehan's expression and immediately realised that something was wrong. She hugged Shen Dehan's arm gently at once and pressed her face against it.

Chu Qianqian's actions made Shen Dehan regain his senses and he said subconsciously, "Ah Yun?"

Chu Qianqian lifted her head cooperatively and smiled faintly at Shen Dehan.

Shen Dehan was in a trance. His Ah Yun was by his side again.

Chapter 64

The news that Shen Ji had moved out of the Shen family's house soon became known to everyone.

Shen Bixue rushed to the Shen family's home, but left unhappily after arguing with Shen Dehan. Shen Dehan stubbornly wanted to leave Chu Qianqian to recuperate at home. Shen Bixue couldn't make him change his mind, so she called Li Mingxuan angrily to complain.

"What's all this talk about being stimulated and not being able to leave his side, can't he send her to the hospital?

"In case a reporter takes a photo, with that face, the Shen family will be involved in a scandal again. Did your uncle ever think about Shen Ji and the rest? Both Fang Yun and Han Rou have passed away. If they are implicated in this kind of scandal again, will they have any face left?

"Saying she will leave when she is well, your uncle only deceives himself and others with this phrase."

Shen Bixue was already so angry that she didn't know what she was saying, and Li Mingxuan patiently calmed her, "Uncle is getting older, and his nature will inevitably become stubborn."

"Is this stubbornness? When he kept Zhou Mingmei, outsiders could barely accept that Fang Yun had died and he was transferring affection to Zhou Mingmei. But now he's keeping that little nurse? That little nurse is young enough to be your uncle's granddaughter, can this also be used as an excuse for transferring affection?"

Li Mingxuan coughed lightly as he listened to his mother's uncontrollably angry words. There were some things his mother could say, but he didn't need to hear.

Shen Bixue obviously also realised that it was not good to tell Li Mingxuan these things and sighed, "Your uncle was not like this before. How could he become like this now? A good family is about to be torn apart."

Li Mingxuan didn't answer. Shen Dehan was getting farther and farther away from the way he remembered him.

Shen Bixue smiled bitterly, calmed down a bit and changed the subject, "How is Xiao Xi? What happened yesterday?"

Li Mingxuan said softly, "Xiao Xi is fine, it's fine."

Shen Bixue hesitated for a while before finally speaking, "If he really doesn't want to come here, don't force him. As long as he is good with you, nothing else matters."

Li Mingxuan gave a low "en". In his heart he wanted Shen Xi to have a good relationship with his parents, but he also knew that the weight on Shen Xi's heart was too heavy and that there were things he could not force.

After hanging up the phone, Li Mingxuan returned to the bedroom where Shen Xi was sleeping curled in a ball. Perhaps hearing his footsteps, Shen Xi woke up in a daze, hugging the blanket with his eyes closed, and muttered, "Cousin, what time is it?"

Shen Xi looked really cute, and for a moment, Li Mingxuan felt his heart soften into a puddle. Sitting beside Shen Xi with a gentle expression, Li Mingxuan couldn't help but reach out his hand and rub his face, chuckling, "It's almost night."

Shen Xi discontentedly avoided Li Mingxuan's hand and let out a low "en", slowly opened his eyes and was about to sit up when Li Mingxuan leaned down and kissed him.

The kiss was soft and gentle, with a deep sense of affection. Li Mingxuan squeezed Shen Xi's lips a little bit and moved in his tongue, gently intertwining it with Shen Xi's.

Shen Xi was soon completely awake; he slowly relaxed, reaching out to embrace Li Mingxuan and tilting his head back in a cooperative kiss.

Shen Xi's cooperation made Li Mingxuan's heart overwhelmed with joy. His body slowly became hot and Li Mingxuan was no longer satisfied with a simple kiss. He reached his hands into Shen Xi's clothes and rubbed along Shen Xi's naked back. The sensation under his palms was too beautiful, Li Mingxuan roamed over Shen Xi's body longingly and finally pressed him down.

As Li Mingxuan moved, Shen Xi's clothes were gradually stripped off. Instead of refusing, Shen Xi took the initiative and reached out to unbutton Li Mingxuan's pyjamas and kiss his neck.

Li Mingxuan's heart pounded fiercely, overwhelmed with excitement from Shen Xi's kisses.

Their bodies were soon intertwined, and the sounds of joining, groans and panting mingled with each other and did not dissipate for a long time.

It had been a long time before their breaths gradually calmed down.

Shen Xi lazily rubbed himself against Li Mingxuan's arms, "I'm hungry."

Li Mingxuan touched Shen Xi's slightly wet back and lowered his head to kiss him, "Xiao Xi, go take a shower first, I'll cook."

Shen Xi frowned, really not wanting to move. Li Mingxuan chuckled, got up and picked up Shen Xi, whispering, "Cousin will help you wash."

An hour later the two of them came out of the shower. Li Mingxuan took a look at the time and thought about ordering takeaway.

Shen Xi once again lay back on the bed, suddenly remembering that his mobile phone had not been switched on since it was switched off last night, and he wondered if Lao K had something to look for him for.

"What is Xiao Xi looking for?"

"The phone."

Li Mingxuan handed Shen Xi his phone from the living room and casually said, "By the way, Fang Luowei and Wang Xinghai both looked for you and called me."

"Wang Xinghai?" Shen Xi hesitantly looked at Li Mingxuan.

Li Mingxuan smiled, "It was thanks to his guess I found you at the cemetery yesterday."

"Oh!" Shen Xi had already anticipated how Lao K would gossip privately about yesterday's incident, and suddenly felt a headache.

Li Mingxuan looked at Shen Xi and was a little hesitant to tell him about Chu Qianqian's stay at the Shen's house. According to his uncle's attitude, this matter could not be concealed for long, and it would probably become a big deal later. Rather than Shen Xi learning about it from the random reports in the newspapers, he might as well tell him himself first.

When Li Mingxuan hesitated, Shen Xi already noticed something, "What's wrong?"

Li Mingxuan leaned down and wrapped his arms around Shen Xi, saying softly, "Do you remember that Nurse Chu?"

Shen Xi nodded quietly, "The nurse who looks like Big Brother's birth mother?"

Li Mingxuan gave an "en". "She was taken to live with the Shen family temporarily by Uncle."

Shen Xi froze, then snorted, "Does that mean the Shen family will soon have a new Mrs. Shen?"

Shen Xi's reaction was greatly unexpected, and Li Mingxuan said with concern, "You don't mind?"

Shen Xi said indifferently, "What do I have to mind? The one who should mind this matter is Big Brother, right? By the way, there is also Zhou Mingmei. After twenty years of hard work she is still not as good as a little nurse."

Looking at the mockery in Shen Xi's smirk, Li Mingxuan sighed in his heart and rubbed Shen Xi's hair, "It's good that you don't care."

A few days had passed by the time the news of Chu Qianqian living in the Shen family's house reached Zhou Mingmei's ears. In the past, when Shen Dehan was attached to Zhou Mingmei, the servants of the Shen family would occasionally inform Zhou Mingmei of some news, but now with Chu Qianqian, they had forgotten about Zhou Mingmei, just like Shen Dehan.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Mingmei tried hard to suppress the jealousy in her heart towards Chu Qianqian. Thinking about it, she could only rely on Wang Changlin now. The video incident had been over a long time ago but Shen Dehan remained completely indifferent to Shen Rong. And now with the presence of Chu Qianqian by his side, the mother and son's status might have been totally lost.

Although she had followed Shen Dehan for so many years, she did not have much savings, and some time ago, because of the failed investment in "Against the Current", all her savings had gone down the drain. She had to rely on Wang Changlin to find a way out as soon as possible, otherwise what would she and Ah Rong do in the future?

After thinking for a long time, Zhou Mingmei made up her mind to bring Shen Rong to see Wang Changlin as soon as possible.

When he received Zhou Mingmei's call, Wang Changlin was not surprised. If Zhou Mingmei had not seen the situation clearly by now, it would have meant she had followed Shen Dehan for so many years for nothing.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Changlin tapped his desk and thought deeply.

Was Chu Qianqian's appearance a coincidence or a deliberate arrangement?

If it was a coincidence, she had done him a favour. The more chaotic the Shen family was, the more convenient it would be for him to act. If it was arranged by someone, then who could it be? Thinking about Gao Qiulin's last mention that there seemed to be another person behind the scenes, who was that person? But Gao Qiulin had always been a man who mixed truths and lies, so it was not certain that the so-called person behind the scenes really existed or was just his fantasy.

Wang Changlin thought about Gao Qiulin's refusal to let go of his shares, and sneered secretly. After a while, he might as well regret not taking action now.

In the blink of an eye, it had been more than half a month since Shen Dehan was discharged from the hospital. Because of Chu Qianqian, Shen Dehan had stayed at the Shen's house to take care of her and visited Shen Group just a few times. When Shen Dehan was admitted to the hospital, Shen Cheng became solely responsible for the affairs of Shen Group. Now that Shen Dehan was out of the hospital, he mentioned to the board of directors that Shen Ji should return to the position of general manager. But the board of directors refused to agree to this and Shen Dehan did not insist, thinking that he would wait for some time and let Ah Cheng take care of it for a while.

These days, Shen Ji had not set foot in the Shen family's house and had only met with his father a few times at the office. Shen Ji did not say anything about Shen Cheng being in charge of Shen Group and just went about his daily business as usual.

If at first Shen Cheng was used to discussing everything with Shen Ji, as he became more and more proficient in handling company affairs, and because of Wang Changlin and Lu Gesen's intentional coaxing, Shen Cheng gradually became accustomed to making his own decisions and rarely asked Shen Ji's opinion.

Shen Ji was keenly aware of the change in Shen Cheng and could not hide the loss in his heart.

Although after Shen Cheng replaced him as the general manager of Shen Group, he had already expected that there would be such a day, and he even thought that if Shen Cheng was interested in Shen Group, it would be okay for Shen Group to be handed over to Shen Cheng. But when Shen Cheng really showed his intention, Shen Ji could not tell what he felt.

For Shen Ji, who was raised as the heir to the Shen family, his feelings towards Shen Group were too complicated. He had treated Shen Group as his own since he was a child, and all his efforts during his studies were only for the betterment of Shen Group in his hands in the future. All this time Shen Cheng also never showed interest in Shen Group and he thought…

Shen Ji thought of this and did not think further. He once resented his father's suspicions of his aunt, and now it was his turn to find that he couldn't be as free and easy as he thought. Taking a deep breath, Shen Ji stood silently in front of the window. Shen Group was very important to him, but Ah Cheng was more important than Shen Group.

In the middle of Shen Ji's thoughts, the door of his office was suddenly knocked on heavily. Shen Ji came back to his senses, "Come in."

The assistant pushed the door open with an anxious expression, "Ji Shao, there's a problem."

Shen Ji's expression changed slightly, "What's wrong?"

The assistant said urgently, "I have just received news that Anchor Corporation in Country M has been involved in a financial fraud scandal, with over 30 billion in falsified profits, and may face bankruptcy. Cheng Shao just bought several hundred million of Anchor's financial derivatives half a month ago."

Shen Ji's expression turned solemn, "Does Ah Cheng know about it?"

The assistant nodded, "I just ran into Special Assistant Lu, he also received the news and was about to report it to Cheng Shao."

Shen Ji was worried, "I'll go check on Ah Cheng, you continue to keep an eye on Anchor's news."

Quickly walking to Shen Cheng's office, Shen Ji directly pushed the door open. In the office, Lu Gesen was talking to Shen Cheng.

"Big Brother?" Shen Ji's appearance was like a life-saving straw. Shen Cheng immediately stopped talking with Lu Gesen and grabbed Shen Ji, "Big Brother, what should we do? Is Anchor going to close down?"

Shen Ji steadied his mind, "How much did you invest?"

Shen Cheng gave Shen Ji a hesitant look and gritted his teeth, "One billion."

Shen Ji's face suddenly turned ugly. Shen Cheng was chagrined, "How did I know Anchor would collapse, it was fine yesterday, the last investment was made just yesterday."

Shen Ji did not care to blame Shen Cheng and looked at Lu Gesen, "How likely is it that Anchor will collapse?"

Lu Gesen looked serious, "About 80%."

Shen Ji smiled bitterly, "Then it looks like we're going to lose money this time."

Lu Gesen nodded in silence. With Shen Ji staying in Shen Cheng's office, Lu Gesen quietly retreated. As he closed the door, Lu Gesen gave the two men in the office a silent glance and lowered his head to hide the calculations in his eyes.

Chapter 65

The news of Shen Cheng's investment failure was soon known to the company's senior management, leading to a flurry of secret discussions. Once the collapse of Anchor was confirmed, not only would all of Shen Group investment be lost, but there would be a series of unpredictable financial risks that would follow. The board of directors received the news and called to ask about the situation. At this time, they obviously felt that Shen Ji was more reliable than Shen Cheng, and the calls all went to Shen Ji.

Shen Ji had to pay attention to the exact news of Anchor while also dealing with the board members, and he felt overwhelmed. Even though Shen Cheng was in charge of investment, no matter what he was asked, he could not say anything, so he could only bring Lu Gesen in again and again. Shen Ji was irritated and could not help but reprimand Shen Cheng a few times.

Shen Cheng was originally remorseful for his investment mistakes, and felt touched to see Shen Ji cleaning up his mess. But when the board of directors treated him as nothing and called Shen Ji directly, a vague dissatisfaction grew in Shen Cheng's heart. Various emotions of regret, distress and dissatisfaction were mixed together, and when Shen Ji reprimanded him mercilessly in front of his assistant, it turned into a complex feeling that was indescribable. Shen Cheng almost shouted, "Yes, I lost money for Shen Group, but didn't you ever lose money, Big Brother? If you all think that I don't know anything, why do you still want me to be the general manager of Shen Group? Is it just to treat me as a puppet?"

Shen Cheng's words caused Shen Ji to freeze. He had originally regretted saying these things to Shen Cheng. He wasn't trying to blame Shen Cheng for his investment failure. Even his father couldn't guarantee that his every decision would make money. He was just dissatisfied with the fact that Shen Cheng did not know anything about the investment plan and needed Lu Gesen's advice on everything. Subconsciously he had to open his mouth to scold him, but he did not expect Shen Cheng to say something like that.

Shen Ji's face darkened instinctively, "Ah Cheng."

After Shen Cheng finished speaking, he himself was stunned, and the anger he felt before immediately dissipated without a trace. But when he looked at Shen Ji's sunken face, which was exactly the same as the expression he used to have in the past when he was upset with him, Shen Cheng's dissipated courage gathered again. Every time it was the same, Big Brother always used this expression to reprimand him. Without thinking, Shen Cheng continued, "Am I not right? Whether it's Big Brother or Father, don't you treat me like a puppet? I'm the general manager of Shen Group but I cannot make decisions on anything. In my father's mind, I am just a temporary replacement. When Yunrou had an incident, Father put me in the position of general manager regardless of whether I could do it or not. Now that Yunrou's matter is over, Father doesn't ask me what I think at all and directly asks me to vacate the position for you, Big Brother. Everything Father does revolves around you, Big Brother, since I was a child. What am I in Father's eyes?"

Shen Cheng became more and more agitated as he talked, ignoring Shen Ji's distorted face, "Big Brother, you are the eldest son, you are going to inherit the Shen family business. From a young age Grandfather and Father favoured you, and all of this goes without saying. You are good at everything, you are excellent, you are likeable, and I can't do anything. Since you know I can't, why do you want me to do it, just so that my incompetence can set you off, Big Brother?"

Shen Cheng didn't know when he had started having these thoughts. He had been used to standing next to Shen Ji to set off his excellence since he was a child, and anyway, there was Shen Xi in the Shen family who was even worse than him. He knew what he was capable of and had no thoughts about Shen Group. He also knew that based on his elder brother's love for him, he would never be treated badly. He was actually leading a good life. But when one day his elder brother, who had always been excellent, suddenly made a mistake, he was pushed into the position of general manager by his father and was caught off guard. He didn't think he could do it, but his father gently stated that he was just a name and that he still had his elder brother to rely on to make decisions about everything.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with this at first, but the people around him reminded him time and again that he was now the general manager of Shen Group and should take up his share of responsibility instead of relying on Shen Ji at every turn. He began to learn to make his own decisions, he began to contact Shen Group management, and he began to hear the praise from the company's people. He found that it felt good too, that it wasn't just his elder brother, that he could do well too, that he could be just like his elder brother. He invested in Anchor with great expectations, he smugly felt that he could definitely succeed. But just a few days later he was beaten back, turned into even less than he had been before.

Shen Cheng didn't know what he was saying. As he watched Shen Ji's expression getting more and more unsightly, he subconsciously took a step back.

Shen Ji only felt a chill in his heart and looked at Shen Cheng quietly, unable to say a word.

The two brothers were in the middle of a confrontation when an alarming cry suddenly came from the door, "Chairman!"

Shen Ji was the first to react and pulled the door open. At the door of the office, Shen Dehan was on the floor, unconscious, and Wang Changlin and a few other people were anxiously gathered around him. As Shen Ji came out, the crowd suddenly looked embarrassed; they had obviously heard what Shen Cheng had just said.

Shen Ji didn't care to look at their expressions, ordered the driver to prepare a car and hurried to the hospital with the bodyguards.

As the crowd dispersed, Shen Cheng stood there with a bewildered look on his face, not knowing whether he should follow.

News of Shen Dehan's hospitalisation once again reached Shen Xi's ears.

Looking at the worried look on Li Mingxuan's face after he hung up the phone, Shen Xi casually said, "What? Mr. Shen is not doing well?" Since the last time, Shen Xi no longer wanted to call Shen Dehan "Father", but always referred to him as "Mr. Shen".

Li Mingxuan sat beside Shen Xi and nodded, "Uncle is still in a coma, the doctor said that this time the situation is more critical."

Shen Xi didn't care. Every time Shen Dehan was hospitalised, he was in a critical condition, but he was still alive and kicking two days later. The last time Shen Rong made such a big fuss but Shen Dehan was still unscathed.

Seeing Shen Xi's disbelief, Li Mingxuan sighed in his heart, "It's not all about Uncle. A recent investment by Shen Group has gone wrong and I'm afraid it will lead to turmoil in the company. At a time like this Uncle is in hospital again and Ah Ji and Ah Cheng are in conflict. Mother is very worried."

Shen Xi knew what Shen Group investment mistake was. As soon as the news about Anchor came out today, Shen Xi immediately realised that Lu Gesen had definitely received the insider information about Anchor in advance to design Shen Group investment in Anchor. The only thing that confused him was how Lu Gesen had arranged it with the investment department.

As for the conflict between Shen Ji and Shen Cheng, Shen Xi's mind wandered, "Big Brother and Second Brother?"

Li Mingxuan frowned slightly, "Mother didn't say the specifics, only that Uncle had an attack this time because he was stimulated after hearing them quarrel."

Shen Xi snorted and said carelessly, "It was a quarrel over Shen Group, right?"

Shen Xi asked directly and Li Mingxuan acquiesced with a wry smile, "Ah Cheng has grown up and has his own ideas."

Shen Xi scoffed at Li Mingxuan's statement and nailed it mercilessly, "Second Brother wants to fight with Big Brother for control of Shen Group?"

Although Shen Bixue did not explicitly say so, the words did reveal that Ah Cheng had this idea. Li Mingxuan hesitated and said vaguely, "Maybe."

The corner of Shen Xi's mouth revealed a sneer. So what if they were blood brothers? No matter how deep the bond was, it was not invulnerable in front of the huge desire for money. His father had been guarding against him for so long, but he hadn't thought that it was his two favourite sons who would start the conflict. No wonder he was so angry that he was hospitalised.

Shen Xi didn't bother to listen to the Shen family's affairs anymore, casually took the remote control and changed the channel, but then thought of Li Mingxuan beside him.

Mingfei was still young and had a keen interest in sculpture. If one day he suddenly took an interest in Li Group, what would happen to Li Mingxuan?

Shen Xi being lost in thought was noticed by Li Mingxuan, and he vaguely guessed what Shen Xi was thinking at the moment. He could not help but ask tentatively, "Is Xiao Xi worried about Mingfei and me?"

Shen Xi was slightly startled, surprise flashing in his eyes, and Li Mingxuan caught it immediately. Shen Xi originally only had a brief thought, but when Li Mingxuan said this, he suddenly felt as if he was really worried and couldn't help but feel awkward.

Li Mingxuan was delighted and reached out to hold Shen Xi, saying seriously, "Mingfei and I will not have this day. Although Li Group is very important to me, it is not the most important thing. There are other things in my heart that are more important than Li Group."

Shen Xi was not entirely convinced. Li Mingxuan smiled and continued, "You know, like Ah Ji, I was raised as an heir, and in my heart, I always took inheriting Li Group as a matter of course, until I graduated from university. By then I already knew my sexuality and was faced with a choice. Should I hide my sexuality and go about my business of marrying and having children and taking over the Li family or should I admit my sexuality to my parents, even if I lose the right to inherit? I thought and thought about it, but I chose to confess to my parents. I was ready to give up my inheritance and stay abroad, and I even planned to start a business with a few of my classmates. It was at that time that I completely figured out that Li Group was important, but there was something more important to me."

Speaking of this, Li Mingxuan couldn't help but lean over and kiss Shen Xi, his gaze turning hot, "What's more, now that we're together, Li Group can only be handed over to Mingfei's children in the future. If he likes it, I would love for him to take over quickly. That way we can choose to go live abroad, find a place that supports same-sex marriage and live openly in the sun."

Li Mingxuan's tone did not sound like a joke, and Shen Xi could not help but feel a slight tremor in his heart, a flash of confusion in his eyes. Going abroad to get married? The idea sounded good, but shouldn't two people who get married love each other?

The longer he stayed with Li Mingxuan, the more confused Shen Xi became about the relationship between them. From the beginning, he only needed Li Mingxuan's warmth, but now he didn't seem to know whether he needed this warmth or Li Mingxuan himself?

Li Mingxuan's feelings were like warm water, and Shen Xi felt as if he was the frog being boiled in warm waters. Because at first he just craved that warmth, but now he actually felt that it was not bad to live with Li Mingxuan for the rest of his life.

The word "like" flashed through his mind, and Shen Xi suddenly came to his senses.

He and Li Mingxuan were not as warm and sweet as they appeared to be, there was still the Shen family between them. He could not give Li Mingxuan what he wanted, and likewise, what he wanted Li Mingxuan could not give him either.

Shen Xi came back to his senses and avoided the topic, "Won't Cousin visit Mr. Shen?"

The expectant look in Li Mingxuan's eyes slowly faded, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. There seemed to be something invisible standing between Shen Xi and him. He stretched out his hand and rubbed Shen Xi's hair affectionately. Li Mingxuan knew that Shen Xi was avoiding. Whenever he encountered a topic he didn't want to talk about, he would bring up Shen Dehan to ruin the atmosphere.

Thinking of giving Shen Xi a little more time, Li Mingxuan said, "I will go with my father tomorrow."

Shen Xi nodded indifferently and casually changed the subject again.

Shen Dehan was unconscious for a long time this time and did not wake up until midnight.

With great effort, he opened his eyes and was reminded of where he was by the white colour everywhere around him. Habitually scanning his surroundings, Shen Dehan struggled to find Shen Ji, but after looking around he found the ward empty; he was alone there.

The words he heard before he fainted flashed through his mind, and Shen Dehan struggled to sit up, only to discover to his horror that something was wrong with his body and he could not feel his left side.

He panicked and stretched out his right hand, trying to grab the railing of the hospital bed and sit up, but he overexerted himself and fell to the floor with a thud.

There was a sharp pain in his body, and the floor felt cold under him, an infinite chill spreading through his entire being. Shen Dehan lay there gasping for breath, his face twisted from the effort. It was not an illusion, the left side of his body was really unresponsive.

Shen Bixue got the news of Shen Dehan's stroke by a phone call at 3am.

Hearing the ear-piercing phone ring, Shen Xi buried his head in Li Mingxuan's arms in annoyance, "Is it dawn yet?"

Li Mingxuan patted Shen Xi soothingly and picked up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Li Mingxuan looked at Shen Xi and said softly, "Uncle has had a stroke, the left half of his body is unresponsive. The doctor said that in a situation like Uncle's, it may take a long period of treatment and recuperation before he can return to his original condition, but in the short term, Uncle will not be able to move as usual."

All of Shen Xi's sleepiness was chased away by this news, and he quietly lay in Li Mingxuan's arms, hiding the complex look on his face.

Li Mingxuan could not guess Shen Xi's current mood and slowly reached out to pat him, whispering, "Xiao Xi?"

Shen Xi answered with a muffled "en", got up and dressed quickly, gesturing for Li Mingxuan to go to the hospital with him.

Li Mingxuan gave Shen Xi a quiet look and accompanied him.

By the time the two arrived at the hospital, Li Xiyong was quietly standing in the corridor with Li Mingfei, and Shen Ji was sitting there alone with his head down, the look on his face impossible to see.

"Dad."

"Uncle."

The two greeted Li Xiyong gently, who nodded in reply, as Li Mingfei quietly squeezed up to Li Mingxuan's side.

"Big Brother, Cousin."

Li Mingxuan nodded and asked in a low voice, "Where is Mother?"

Li Mingfei replied in a low voice, "Uncle has been throwing a tantrum, Mother is inside with him and we were all kicked out."

Li Mingxuan looked around and found no sign of Shen Cheng, "Where is Ah Cheng?"

Li Mingfei shook his head, "I don't know, Cousin Shen Cheng hasn't come."

Li Mingxuan's brow furrowed and he was about to go and talk to Shen Ji when suddenly there was Shen Dehan's angry shout from in the ward, "Get out!"

The door was gently opened and Shen Bixue walked out with a worried look on her face. The eyes of everyone were immediately drawn to Shen Bixue as they gathered around her.

Shen Xi stood quietly a little apart, looking straight in through the gap in the ward door. Shen Xi saw his father's gloomy face and the corners of his mouth curved up in a swift arc as he said in an inaudible voice, "Retribution!"

Inside the ward, Shen Dehan's face distorted.

Chapter 66

The next day, as the news of Shen Dehan's stroke spread, along with the news that Shen Group investment in Anchor had failed, directly leading to Shen Group stock price dropping wildly, from a peak of 120 yuan per share to directly below 100 yuan, and still falling. This was the second time that Shen Group share price had plummeted since the Yunrou incident, and the two dives in a short period of time left Shen Group shareholders in a state of panic, with a large number of retail shares being sold off over time.

Shen Ji stared in silence at the monitor in front of him; the curve representing Shen Group stock price was going down, and Shen Ji could already imagine what Shen Group would be like at the end of the day.

The office door was knocked on gently; Shen Ji suppressed the irritation in his heart and closed the screen, gesturing to the person at the door to come in. A moment later Lu Gesen appeared in front of Shen Ji with a serious look.

"Gesen?" A trace of astonishment flashed in Shen Ji's eyes.

Lu Gesen maintained his usual cold face, "Cheng Shao has not been coming to work. I have a few documents here that I need him to sign."

When he heard Shen Cheng's name, Shen Ji's expression changed slightly, and after a moment of silence, he gestured for Lu Gesen to send over the documents that needed to be signed.

Lu Gesen nodded, but did not leave immediately; instead he stood there with an obvious desire to speak.

"What? Something else?"

Lu Gesen was silent for a moment; then, as if he had made up his mind, he said in a low voice, "Shen Group needs you back now, General Manager Shen."

Shen Ji was taken aback by Lu Gesen's words; he naturally understood what Lu Gesen meant. Just as the people on the board of directors called him after hearing the news about Anchor, Lu Gesen obviously thought from Shen Group's point of view that Shen Ji was more suitable for Shen Group at this time than Shen Cheng. Shen Ji said nothing and smiled appeasingly at Lu Gesen, "Don't worry, Shen Group will be fine. "

Lu Gesen nodded and quietly retreated. After leaving the office, Lu Gesen pushed up his glasses to hide the glint in his eyes.

When the office door was gently closed by Lu Gesen, the smile on Shen Ji's face faded. Although he was acting confidently in front of Lu Gesen, he understood in his heart that the situation of Shen Group was not good at the moment. His father was in hospital, the directors were dissident, the investment had failed. One bad move was going to bury Shen Group's century-old business in his hands.

Shen Ji rubbed his temples with a headache. It was not that he hadn't thought about Lu Gesen's proposal. He didn't look down on Ah Cheng, but he was indeed more familiar with Shen Group than Ah Cheng, and was indeed more suitable for Shen Group at this time than Ah Cheng. But every time this thought rose up, his mind would go back to what Shen Cheng had said yesterday. There was already a rift between him and Shen Cheng, so if he really did this, wouldn't it prove Shen Cheng's words even more? There was no telling what Shen Cheng would think.

Shen Ji's heart surged with irritation; at this critical moment of Shen Group, reason told him not to worry about Shen Cheng's thoughts and first hold the power of Shen Group in his hands to survive Shen Group's current crisis before anything else. But emotionally, he really did not want to have a rift with Shen Cheng, and he could foresee that this would be a lifelong rift. Shen Ji did not know when Shen Cheng had become dissatisfied with him. Was he wrong to discipline him for so many years? Shen Ji wanted to grab Shen Cheng and ask for clarification, but since yesterday, Shen Cheng had not appeared.

The time slowly arrived at noon, and Shen Cheng still did not appear at the company. Shen Ji hung up the phone. As he thought, Shen Cheng had not been to the hospital either. The worry on Shen Ji's face was mixed with gloom. Where the hell had Shen Cheng gone? Did he know what time it was?

Deep disappointment rose in his heart, and Shen Ji's face turned cold as he intended to propose to his father that he would take over the post of general manager of Shen Group.

Opening his eyes in a daze, Shen Cheng only felt a splitting headache and his mouth was parched. Subconsciously, according to his habit, he touched his left side but what his hand touched was not a wooden bedside table but soft hair. Shen Cheng was startled for a moment, turned around, and an unfamiliar face came into view.

Shen Cheng had a momentary look of bewilderment, staring at the young man beside him. When he looked over, the layout around him was also very unfamiliar. Obviously this was not Shen's house, it looked more like a hotel. Confused, he sat up and looked around wondering why he could not remember how he got here.

"Cheng Shao!" The young man's sweet voice rang in his ears as an arm wrapped around him.

Shen Cheng frowned at the naked man at his side, only feeling that his mind was in a mess. Many vague memories flashed by but he could not recall anything.

The young man's hand climbed onto Shen Cheng's arm, and Shen Cheng impatiently swatted it away. A hint of embarrassment appeared on the young man's face, but he quickly smiled ingratiatingly at Shen Cheng and obediently shrank to the side.

Shen Cheng scratched his head in annoyance, "Where is this place? Why am I here?"

Since the young man knew his name, he should obviously know him.

Sure enough the young man opened his mouth in surprise, "Don't you remember, Cheng Shao? Yesterday, when Zhang Shao and the others were gathering at Shutu, didn't you bring Rong Shao along with you, Cheng Shao?"

Shen Rong's name reminded Shen Cheng of something. He was in a bad mood yesterday and felt too guilty to go to the hospital to see his father. He happened to run into Shen Rong, somehow he went to Shutu, and then he mixed up with Zhang Qiu who the young man was talking about.

Shen Cheng stared blankly ahead of him. He used to mess around but never dared to stay out overnight, and had to go home on time every night, otherwise he would be reprimanded by his elder brother. In particular, his elder brother had a very bad impression of Zhang Qiu, thinking that he played too much and often got together with a bunch of men and women without any bottom line. Because of Shen Ji's dislike, Shen Cheng never dared to hang out with Zhang Qiu. Even though Tian Wenyao had mentioned it several times, She Cheng used to refuse. This time, if Big Brother found out that he was messing around with them, he would be reprimanded again, right?

This thought flashed through his mind and Shen Cheng suddenly felt irritated.

Realising that Shen Cheng's expression was not right, the young man cautiously approached him, "Cheng Shao?"

Shen Cheng returned to his senses and once again waved the young man away in annoyance, haphazardly fished out his clothes and put them on. Without even looking at the young man, he pushed open the bedroom door.

In the dimly lit living room, there were many men and women lying around, and Shen Cheng saw a few familiar faces in there. It was obvious that everyone had had too much fun last night and was still asleep, with no sign of waking up.

Shen Cheng frowned and kicked the man who was closest to him. He needed to go to the hospital before returning to the company.

"You're awake, Second Brother?"

An inconspicuous door at his side was pushed open, and Shen Rong walked out putting on his jacket. He was obviously taken aback when he saw Shen Cheng, and then walked over with a smile on his face.

"Are you hungry, Second Brother? I've made a reservation at the restaurant below and was planning to go find you."

Shen Cheng originally intended to refuse, but nodded when he saw Shen Rong's ingratiating face. Anyway, whether it was the company or the hospital, there was Big Brother there, and he was unnecessary. What's more, when Shen Cheng thought of what had happened yesterday, he felt too guilty to appear in front of Shen Dehan and Shen Ji. After all, Shen Dehan had fainted because of his words, and Shen Cheng instinctively wanted to procrastinate for a while.

The two of them didn't care about the people sleeping on the floor, and Shen Cheng didn't bother to ask Shen Rong who he was with last night. They went down in the elevator and headed straight for the hotel restaurant.

Shen Cheng thought about what he should say when he met his father and what he should say when he met Shen Ji, but he couldn't escape the reprimand of his father and elder brother anyway, and he was used to it. Shen Cheng was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Shen Rong beside him suddenly stopping in his tracks and looking at the person in front of him.

"Ah Cheng!"

The familiar voice startled Shen Cheng and he jerked his head up, "Cousin."

Li Mingxuan's face was very unsightly. This place was not far from Li Group. Lin Yao had come here on business; he thought he still owed Lin Yao a meal and casually made an appointment here, but he did not expect to meet Shen Cheng who had not returned home all night. His eyes swept over Shen Cheng's crumpled clothes and landed on the hickey exposed above his collar. Li Mingxuan frowned.

"Where did you go last night?"

Shen Cheng subconsciously tried to laugh and muddle through as he always did, but when he met Li Mingxuan's gaze, he no longer dared to show a playful expression and only lowered his head and stammered, unable to speak.

Shen Rong wanted to add something politely, but Li Mingxuan gave him a cold look, and the coldness in his eyes immediately made Shen Rong swallow what he wanted to say. Li Mingxuan didn't need to think to know what Shen Cheng had done last night. He said in a deep voice, "Uncle is in the hospital, don't you know? You still have the heart to come out and fool around."

Shen Cheng lowered his head and did not say anything. Li Mingxuan glanced at Shen Rong in disgust, intuitively guessing that Shen Cheng had been instigated by Shen Rong. He knew that even if Shen Cheng was fooling around, he wouldn't dare to go too far unless someone was urging him on. Otherwise, how would he dare to stay out all night, especially when Shen Dehan was hospitalised.

Thinking that Shen Dehan was still lying in the hospital, Li Mingxuan did not say anything else but urged, "Uncle has had a stroke, so hurry up, change your clothes and go to the hospital."

The word "stroke" caused Shen Cheng and Shen Rong to look over in shock at the same time.

"Father had a stroke? How could it be?" Shen Cheng repeated incredulously.

Li Mingxuan's expression did not look like he was joking at all. Shen Cheng was about to leave at once, when Li Mingxuan frowned and whispered, "Cover up the marks on your neck before you go." As Shen Cheng stood flabbergasted, Li Mingxuan swept a cold glance at Shen Rong, "Don't bring irrelevant people with you, Uncle can't stand the stimulation."

Shen Rong instantly turned pale and looked at Li Mingxuan aggrieved.

Li Mingxuan ignored Shen Rong's expression and directly walked up to Lin Yao who had been waiting ahead of him.

Lin Yao looked at the departing Shen Cheng and shook his head, "Shen Cheng is far worse than Shen Ji."

Li Mingxuan sighed, "Ah Cheng has been spoiled by Ah Ji."

Lin Yao laughed and the topic turned to Shen Rong, "But that Shen Rong is a bit interesting. Someone begged me to help him, what do you say?"

Both Zhou Xiaozhou and Shen Rong were unhappy that "Against the Current" could not be released, and the two of them had thought of many ways to remedy the situation during this period of time. Zhou Xiaozhou was fine, it was the investors' money he had lost, but Shen Rong was losing his own money. Because of the video incident, Tian Wenyao, who had promised to help, had not contacted him, and the Tian family had even warned him directly that if he dared to get involved with Tian Wenyao again, even if his surname was Shen, the Tian family would have ways to make it impossible for him to stay in Zhongjing. With no other choice, Shen Rong had to bow down to find someone he used to know when he was following Shen Cheng, and managed to finally pass the word to Lin Yao.

If at first Lin Yao did not know why Li Mingxuan wanted to cut Shen Rong, he later vaguely guessed through working with Chen Zhiwei that Li Mingxuan was doing it for Shen Xi's sake. Originally, he had already promised Li Mingxuan, but the other party also had a good relationship with him, so Lin Yao wanted to probe Li Mingxuan's mood since he was in a difficult situation.

Li Mingxuan's expression sank and his brow furrowed slightly. Every time he heard "Against the Current", it always reminded him of Shen Xi being drugged.

Lin Yao understood Li Mingxuan's meaning from his expression and wisely changed the subject.

When Shen Cheng hurriedly arrived at the hospital, Shen Ji was talking to Shen Dehan about Shen Group affairs.

"Father, you know, at this time I am more suitable for Shen Group than Ah Cheng."

Shen Ji's voice came out clearly, and Shen Cheng's hand, which was about to push the door open, suddenly froze.

Chapter 67

The door of the ward was pushed open forcefully, interrupting the conversation between Shen Dehan and Shen Ji.

Shen Ji's expression darkened slightly, and he turned around dissatisfied. He had received a call from Li Mingxuan not long ago and thought that the person coming would be Shen Cheng. But his brow furrowed when he saw the visitor at the door.

At the door of the ward, Chu Qianqian stood panting and holding the door handle, and it was obvious how anxious she was. At this moment her gaze was softly falling on Shen Dehan's body, her expression full of worry, "Mr. Shen."

The originally gloomy face of Shen Dehan became lighter and vaguely filled with joy, "Qianqian."

After Shen Dehan called her "Qianqian", Chu Qianqian's eyes turned slightly red and she nodded, holding back her tears. She seemed to want to be by Shen Dehan's side, but she was afraid of Shen Ji and did not dare to get too close. Shen Dehan's eyes naturally turned to Shen Ji as he discontentedly patted the hospital bed, straining to speak, "Qianqian, come here, Ah Ji, you go out first."

A trace of self-deprecation flashed in Shen Ji's eyes. He said nothing, walking straight towards the door of the ward. Shen Ji's dryness caused Shen Dehan to stare a little, then he quickly thought of something and added, "Shen Group matter will be done according to what you said, I will inform the directors as soon as possible."

Shen Ji paused slightly in his steps and nodded faintly.

As the door to the ward slowly closed behind him, a self-deprecating smile overflowed from Shen Ji's eyes. He turned to walk towards the elevator when out of the corner of his eye he saw Shen Cheng standing against the wall.

Shen Cheng's expression was very odd, worried, indignant, guilty, mixed with the joy of revenge, all kinds of emotions twisted together. Shen Ji's heart sank as he recalled the sudden arrival of Chu Qianqian and something vaguely clicked in his mind. His expression turned grim.

"It was you who brought her here?" Suppressing his anger, Shen Ji questioned in a low voice. Both brothers knew who this "her" was referring to.

Shen Cheng, who was originally leaning against the wall, struggled to stand straight at Shen Ji's questioning, gritted his teeth and nodded.

Shen Ji did not expect Shen Cheng to admit so simply, and sadness welled up in his eyes, "Why?"

Why? Shen Cheng held the answer in his heart. He wanted to say it was because Shen Ji looked down on him, because Shen Ji had claimed to be the best to him, only to turn his back and show disdain for him in front of his father. He was just angry, just wanted to get back at Shen Ji by making him unhappy too, that's why he had the driver take Chu Qianqian to the hospital on an impulse. But after seeing the emotions in Shen Ji's eyes, Shen Cheng suddenly could not say these words. Avoiding Shen Ji's eyes, Shen Cheng acted as if he didn't care, "I thought that Father should be happier to see Miss Chu in this state, so I brought her here."

This reason was even more unacceptable to Shen Ji. He would rather Shen Cheng had deliberately let Chu Qianqian come to stimulate him because they had an argument. Shen Ji's eyes gradually turned cold and he looked at Shen Cheng in silence for a while before turning and leaving in disappointment.

Shen Cheng vaguely felt that he seemed to have made a mistake, but when he looked at Shen Ji's alienated back, the call for "Big Brother" stuck in his throat, and he could not let it out.

Shen Ji returned to the company quietly. In one morning, Shen Group shares had fallen to 80 yuan per share, and Shen Group market value had evaporated by a full third. Shen Ji thought that things had already gone bad and there couldn't possibly be any worse news, but unexpectedly he saw his assistant's anxious look as soon as he returned to the office.

"What's happened?"

The assistant breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Shen Ji coming back, and said quickly, "Chang Lei just told me that there may be some problems with the company's accounts."

"There is a problem with the accounts?" Shen Ji was stunned.

The assistant nodded, "Chang Lei didn't talk about the specifics, he just said that the finance department was investigating."

Shen Ji had a bad feeling in his heart, "I know, you go to Chang Lei and tell me immediately if there are any problems."

Chang Lei was one of Shen Group senior financial managers. Because he had followed Shen Ji all the way from the subsidiary to the head office, the company's employees privately regarded Chang Lei as Shen Ji's man. The two had quite a lot of contact on a regular basis, that was why Chang Lei had informed Shen Ji privately.

Shen Ji was troubled by the news of the accounts all afternoon. Until the end of the day the finance department did not find any clues. In anxiety, Shen Ji could only go to the hospital to wait for the news. Because of Chu Qianqian's presence, he could not intervene in Shen Dehan's affairs, and Shen Dehan did not want him to be around and sent him home early to rest. That night, the people in the finance department worked overtime to check all the accounts in the last six months, but the final result made everyone speechless.

Standing behind his colleagues, Chang Lei looked at the results and lowered his head as his eyes wandered. He took out his mobile phone hesitantly and laughed bitterly in his heart. There was no turning back now. Finding Shen Ji's number in his phone book, Chang Lei gently pressed it.

"Ah Cheng? Impossible."

When Shen Ji, who was asleep, was awakened by the phone call and heard Chang Lei's tired voice saying that the result of the investigation showed that the most suspicious person was Shen Cheng, he lost all his sleepiness and his whole body was abnormally awake.

"Impossible!"

Shen Ji once again categorically denied, "There is absolutely no way that Ah Cheng did it."

Chang Lei did not refute Shen Ji's words, but only recounted the situation roughly. Although Shen Ji believed that Shen Cheng would never do this, the evidence was in front of him and he hung up the phone with a frown on his face, distraught. Shen Ji, who could no longer fall asleep, glanced at the time, 5am, and thoughtfully pressed Shen Cheng's number. The phone rang over and over again, but no one answered. Shen Ji patiently redialled again and again; finally the phone was picked up and someone said in a daze, "Hello?"

It was not Shen Cheng's voice. Shen Ji subconsciously said in a cold voice, "Who is this? Give the phone to Shen Cheng."

The person who answered the phone replied impatiently, "Cheng Shao has had too much to drink and is sleeping. Talk about it tomorrow."

The phone was hung up abruptly. Listening to the beeping sound coming from the receiver, Shen Ji clenched the phone in his hand, feeling his breath stuck in his lungs. He dialled again, but this time the other party simply turned off the phone. Shen Ji's face was dark as he sat alone on the sofa in silence until dawn.

The first thing Shen Ji did when he arrived at the office early this morning was to instruct Lu Gesen to inform him as soon as Shen Cheng came to the office. Lu Gesen already knew about last night's financial investigation and nodded silently.

After parting with Shen Ji, Lu Gesen immediately called Wang Changlin while there was no one in the office.

"Foster Father."

"Gesen?" Wang Changlin had already guessed that Lu Gesen was calling about Shen Cheng, "What? Are you worried about Shen Cheng?"

Lu Gesen said, "Shen Cheng doesn't have the brains to embezzle Shen Group funds, so someone behind the scenes must have set him up to take the blame. I'm worried that if Shen Cheng is implicated, it will ruin our plan."

Wang Changlin had also been thinking about this after receiving the news last night. He also did not believe that Shen Cheng had the brains to embezzle Shen Group funds, and what was more crucial was that Lu Gesen had been following Shen Cheng's side all the time and there was no way Shen Cheng could have hidden this matter from him. So these things must have been designed by someone behind the scenes, but what was the use of someone behind the scenes implicating Shen Cheng? Could it be that someone had secretly misappropriated Shen Group funds and used Shen Cheng to take the blame? Wang Changlin didn't believe it would be that simple, but at the moment he couldn't see through it, so he had to reassure Lu Gesen, "Whether someone is scheming or not, you just have to cooperate with the company's investigation. I have a feeling that this matter is not so simple."

Lu Gesen's heart stirred, "Foster Father, should this matter be brought to Shen Ji's attention?"

Lu Gesen's words made Wang Changlin suddenly think of something. He had always suspected that Chu Qianqian's appearance was not an accident, and if what Gao Qiulin said was true and there was another person behind him, then all these things could be faintly linked to the accounting issues this time. It seemed that apart from him, there was another person lurking in the shadows, full of malice towards the Shen family. Wang Changlin's eyes grew brighter and brighter, vaguely tinged with madness. Recalling Gao Qiulin's praise of Shen Cheng during these days, Wang Changlin suddenly smiled in understanding. If he hadn't guessed wrongly, the other party's aim was not Shen Cheng but Shen Ji behind Shen Cheng.

Wang Changlin's silence made Lu Gesen puzzled, "Foster Father?"

He heard Wang Changlin laugh softly, "Gesen, you don't need to worry about this matter, just watch."

Lu Gesen had a guess, "The other side has a hidden agenda?"

Wang Changlin said, "Yes, maybe we can even help each other."

Hanging up the phone, Wang Changlin thought for a moment and dialled Shen Rong's number.

"Uncle Wang."

Wang Changlin's tone was very kind, "Ah Rong, Shen Cheng hasn't been coming to the office, is he with you?"

"Second Brother had too much to drink last night, what happened?"

Satisfaction flashed in Wang Changlin's eyes, "There was a little accident at the company, find a way to delay him."

"I see." Shen Rong agreed obediently.

Wang Changlin's expression twisted as he chuckled.

Shen Cheng did not appear at the company for the entire day. Rumours about Shen Cheng privately embezzling Shen Group funds had spread throughout the company. Although Shen Ji had sternly banned the spread of the rumours, it did not help at all.

Several of the company's directors called, demanding that Shen Ji give them an explanation. Whether or not Shen Cheng was guilty, it was certain that something was wrong with the accounts, and they needed the company to investigate it to the end. There was no need for them to say that to Shen Ji. He was definitely going to investigate to the end. He simply did not believe that Shen Cheng would do such a thing, but the most crucial issue now was to find Shen Cheng.

After contacting all the people that Shen Cheng might be hanging around with, Shen Ji was able to find out where Shen Cheng was. Not caring about the company's affairs, Shen Ji drove straight to the club where Shen Cheng might be.

Inside a huge, dimly lit private room, a dozen men and women were gathered together, some yelling over the deafening sound of the stereo, some laughing, some simply hugging each other.

Shen Cheng leaned back drunkenly on the sofa as a pretty young man snuggled into his arms, talking coquettishly. Someone next to them was heckling, and Shen Cheng laughed, reaching out to grope inside of the young man's collar.

"Bang! "With a loud noise, the door of the private room was slammed open from the outside, and Shen Ji stood at the door with a frosty face.

Everyone in the private room froze in their tracks, some of them recognising Shen Ji and exchanging a look. Trying not to be nosy, they quietly exited the room. Shen Rong lowered his head and slipped out of the room while Shen Ji's attention was drawn to Shen Cheng; he dared not let Shen Ji see that he was here, too.

In a moment, only Shen Ji and Shen Cheng were left in the room. Shen Cheng seemed to have not reacted yet while Shen Ji coldly walked up to him, picked up a bottle of freshly opened wine and poured it directly on his head.

Shen Cheng jerked, "Big Brother?"

Shen Ji's face was grim, "Why don't you go to the company?"

Shen Cheng, perhaps emboldened by the wine, laughed mockingly, "What's the point of going to the company? Didn't you already tell Father that you want to be the general manager? Am I not consciously making room for you?"

The anger in Shen Ji's heart was ignited by Shen Cheng's words, and he immediately sneered, "Do you feel resentful and dissatisfied? Come and fight with me, what are you doing cowering here drunk?"

"Fight?" Shen Cheng said vaguely, "Father is looking out for you, Aunt is looking out for you, everyone is looking out for you, what can I do to compete with you?"

Shen Ji was cold, "So you're privately embezzling the company's funds? What are you going to do? Start a new business on your own?"

Shen Cheng hadn't been completely drunk all this time, but was just arguing with Shen Ji through his drunkenness, and Shen Ji's words made him come to his senses completely.

"Big Brother, what did you say?"

Shen Ji looked at Shen Cheng's expression and said word for word, "You dare to say that you didn't privately embezzle the company's money?"

Shen Cheng instantly jumped up, "Why would I embezzle the company's money? Isn't Shen Group owned by the Shen family? Why would I embezzle my own family's money?"

Shen Cheng's expression did not look like he was lying, and Shen Ji's heart settled down. Although he was sure that Shen Cheng would not do such a thing, he was also worried that Shen Cheng might have been instigated by others. Now that he heard Shen Cheng deny it, Shen Ji coldly snorted, pulled Shen Cheng and kicked open the bathroom door. For some reason, each private room in this club had a bathroom, only the size was different.

The bathroom in the private room where Shen Cheng was sitting was not small, and Shen Ji did not hesitate to push Shen Cheng under the shower, turning on the cold water fiercely.

"Big Brother, what are you doing?" Shen Cheng shivered from the cold.

Shen Ji gave him a disgusted look, "Wash up and come back to the hospital with me."

When Shen Ji found Shen Cheng, Shen Xi had just finished reading Lao K's text message and planned to delete it. Chang Lei had successfully caused the problem of Shen Group accounts. Shen Cheng was only the first step, and soon it would be Shen Ji's turn. Shen Xi smiled coldly. Next he wanted to see how his father would choose between Shen Ji and Shen Cheng.

Satisfied, Shen Xi emptied his phone and looked at Fang Luowei who was accompanying him, "Bored? Why don't you go find Chen Zhiwei and ask him to introduce you to some people?"

Tonight was the premiere of "Troubled Times", and although Shen Xi was impatient, he had to come and show up. There was still some time before the start of the movie and he was too lazy to go outside, so Fang Luowei took the initiative to stay in the lounge with him.

Since the drugging incident last time, although Fang Luowei could not avoid the ripples in his heart when he saw Shen Xi, he knew that it was a fact that Shen Xi and Li Mingxuan were together. He consciously kept a distance from Shen Xi so as not to be too intimate, so that Li Mingxuan would not misunderstand. Shen Xi never thought that Fang Luowei would have any thoughts about him and he had no idea that Fang Luowei was worried about Li Mingxuan's misunderstanding. However, for the sake of Fang Luowei's reputation, he intentionally or unintentionally distanced himself from Fang Luowei in order to avoid reporters to say that Fang Luowei had risen to the top relying on the unspoken rules.

This was one of the few times they had been alone together recently.

Fang Luowei shook his head at Shen Xi's words, "It's good here."

Looking at Shen Xi's unchanged expression, Fang Luowei felt that his heart slowly relaxed. Although he did not know much about the stock market, the news of Shen Group share price plummeting was all over the internet. In the eyes of the public, everything Shen Xi had depended on the Shen family, and once the family collapsed, Shen Xi would have nothing. Although Fang Luowei knew that Shen Xi's relationship with the Shen family was not good, he could not help but worry that Shen Xi would suffer because of the Shen family.

Fang Luowei's concern was seen by Shen Xi, who immediately reacted, "Luowei is worried about me?"

Fang Luowei nodded frankly, "I saw some news on the internet."

"About Shen Group?"

Fang Luowei nodded and deliberated, "I don't know much about this, is Shen Group in some kind of trouble?"

Shen Xi nodded indifferently, "It seems like that, I haven't paid much attention to it."

Fang Luowei glanced at Shen Xi, obviously eager to say something.

Shen Xi chuckled, "Don't worry, Shen Group is Shen Group, I am me, it doesn't matter."

Fang Luowei intuitively felt that Shen Xi meant something by this statement and was about to speak up when Chen Zhiwei's purposely amplified laughter suddenly came from the entrance of the lounge.

"Haha, I am truly honoured by the personal presence of Boss Lin."

Lin Yao looked at Chen Zhiwei suspiciously; he felt that it was a bit odd for him to suddenly yell so loudly.

Li Mingxuan looked at Chen Zhiwei with a smirk, then stepped forward and pushed the door open.

Chen Zhiwei acted as if nothing had happened, but in his heart he was muttering: Fang Luowei just kicked Zhao Wenping out, saying that he wanted to spend some time alone with Shen Xi; who knows what he wanted to do. He shouldn't be caught by the rightful master by coincidence; Chen Zhiwei could be considered to have warned him in advance.

As the door to the lounge was pushed open, Lin Yao saw the two people inside and suddenly smiled meaningfully.

Inside the lounge, Fang Luowei and Shen Xi were sitting together, looking very close. As Lin Yao thought of the previous rumours, he felt more and more that the closeness between Fang Luowei and Shen Xi was very unnatural, as if they were hiding something.

As Lin Yao thought about it, he saw Li Mingxuan walk up and intimately reach out to pull Shen Xi to his feet, saying warmly, "Have you eaten tonight?"

Shen Xi nodded and gestured to Fang Luowei, "I ate with Luowei."

Li Mingxuan smiled and nodded at Fang Luowei in greeting, and smoothly wrapped his arms around Shen Xi.

Li Mingxuan's action caused Lin Yao's expression to turn weird. Li Mingxuan and Shen Xi? No wonder Li Mingxuan was so concerned about Shen Xi's affairs. But what was the matter with Fang Luowei? Lin Yao had a rare moment of curiosity. Looking at Fang Luowei's expression, he seemed very calm and showed no signs of guilt.

Chen Zhiwei felt bitterly that he seemed to be unnecessary.

When the premiere began, Shen Xi simply showed his face before pulling Li Mingxuan to sit in one of the most isolated corners in the back row.

As the lights dimmed, Li Mingxuan stretched out his hand to hold Shen Xi, who unconsciously showed a smile in his eyes and squeezed his hand vigorously.

Chapter 68

The premiere of "Troubled Times" was a great success. Chen Zhiwei got rid of his previous bad luck and became proud of himself, and Fang Luowei won people's attention with his stunning costumed appearance; but among the main figures, the media paid most attention to Shen Xi.

As an uneducated playboy in the eyes of the public, Shen Xi didn't seem optimistic before he invested in "Troubled Times", and the media mentioned him as a loser who had too much money to burn. However, the success of the movie made all the media change their tone, and Shen Xi became a wise man with a discerning eye. After declining all media interviews, Shen Xi and Li Mingxuan left the premiere in a low-key manner.

On the way home, neither of them said anything, and the quiet car was filled with the soft sound of violin, a faint warmth flowing between them.

Taking advantage of waiting for the green light, Li Mingxuan could not help but lean over and give Shen Xi a quick kiss. Shen Xi was in a very good mood tonight; with a smile in his eyes, he took the initiative to reach out and wrap his arms around Li Mingxuan, who was about to retreat, and deepen the kiss. A whistle sounded from the car next to them, and Shen Xi smiled slightly, ending the kiss as the green light was lit.

Li Mingxuan straightened and looked ahead, but the corners of his mouth curled in a gentle smile.

Back in the community, in the elevator the two reached out at the same time and held each other in a tacit understanding. The two of them opened the door of their apartment almost impatiently; no one bothered to turn on the light, and by the glowing white moonlight outside the window, Li Mingxuan pushed Shen Xi to the door and kissed him hard.

Shen Xi tilted his head to accept Li Mingxuan's kiss, wrapped his arms around Li Mingxuan's neck and pressed his body against him.

In the moonlight flowing like water, the two bodies were intimately entwined and did not part for a long time.

After the long love-making, Shen Xi was carried into the bathroom by Li Mingxuan. After some careful cleaning, Shen Xi wrapped himself in the blanket and lay down on the bed. Li Mingxuan sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down to kiss him, "Be good, sleep first, I'll answer a few emails."

Shen Xi nodded, but found that he couldn't sleep, so he subconsciously stared at Li Mingxuan sitting next to him.

Under the warm orange light, Li Mingxuan was looking at the computer intently. From Shen Xi's perspective, Li Mingxuan's profile was incomparably handsome, and the concentration on his face was inexpressibly attractive. Shen Xi looked at Li Mingxuan quietly, with tenderness in his eyes that he hadn't even noticed himself.

When he woke up the next day, Li Mingxuan had already left for the office. Shen Xi washed up and turned on his computer. Unsurprisingly, he saw two completely different headlines in the entertainment pages of various portals.

"Shen Sanshao makes a strong comeback with 'Troubled Times', and his discerning eye is worthy of being called wise!"

"Shen Dashao and Ershao clash in another scandal over assets, the whereabouts of Shen Group's huge sum of money is a mystery!"

Two reports with very different contents, yet inextricably linked, placed side by side, contained an indescribable irony. For the first time, Shen Xi, who had always had a negative image, appeared in front of readers in a positive light, while Shen Ji and Shen Cheng, who had always seemed perfect, were implicated in the scandal of unaccounted funds. Shen Xi skipped the story about himself and his eyes rested on the other story. Shen Ji wanted to keep the matter under wraps, but it was still exposed, and in such a way.

In the office, Shen Ji stared at the newspaper in front of him in silence. The atmosphere was indescribably depressing. The assistant carefully glanced at Shen Ji, guessing his mood at the moment.

"The reporters still refuse to reveal the source of the news?"

Shen Ji's sudden words caused the assistant to freeze for a moment, then quickly react, "I've contacted several reporters, and they said they weren't sure of the source, but strangely enough, they were all very sure of the authenticity of the news."

Shen Ji lowered his eyes and deliberately ignored the reports about Shen Xi, keeping his gaze on Shen Group reports. The person who broke the news obviously knew the inside story; not only did he tell the ins and outs clearly, but he didn't even miss any details. Shen Ji's brow furrowed; the other party did not choose to be exclusive but released the news to all the reporters, obviously wanting to make a big deal out of this matter. He wondered if the person who broke the news was the same as the one who was behind the tampering with the funds. What good would it do for him if the story went viral?

Shen Ji was deep in thought when the office door was suddenly pushed open and Shen Cheng walked in with a panicked look on his face.

"Big Brother, what should we do? I don't want to go to jail!"

The assistant was startled by what Shen Cheng said, and immediately withdrew from the office sensibly, closing the office door tightly.

"Go to jail?" Shen Ji's face darkened, "Who said you will go to jail?"

Shen Cheng grabbed Shen Ji's hand, "Everyone in the company says so, embezzling company funds is an economic crime, if we can't find the one who really embezzled, do I have to go to jail?"

Shen Ji shouted in a low voice, "You haven't done anything wrong!"

Shen Cheng nodded haphazardly, but did not dare to look at Shen Ji, "But the funds that went to an unknown destination were all signed by me, what should I do, Big Brother?"

Shen Ji patted Shen Cheng soothingly, "Don't worry, Big Brother won't let anything happen to you."

Shen Ji's reassurance made Shen Cheng feel much more at ease, and his morning worries about going to jail dissipated.

A trace of uneasiness flashed in Shen Ji's eyes. Although he comforted Shen Cheng, he knew that things were not simple. The finances had been checked twice in a row and the flow of funds all pointed to Ah Cheng. Once the board intervened and handed the matter over to the police, it would be out of his control whether Ah Cheng could be cleared of suspicion.

Shen Ji was about to tell Shen Cheng to go back to his office when his assistant suddenly pushed the door and barged in.

Shen Ji looked over in confusion and realised that the assistant did not look right, "What's wrong?"

The assistant darted a glance at Shen Ji, his eyes implying that this matter needed to be discussed tet-a-tet. Shen Ji was slightly flabbergasted and turned his head to look at Shen Cheng.

Shen Cheng realised what was going on and said discontentedly, "Is there something you and Big Brother can't talk about in front of me?"

The assistant looked embarrassed, but still stammered and refused to speak. Shen Cheng's expression was very dissatisfied as he frowned, got up and chose to leave.

As soon as Shen Cheng left, the assistant breathed a sigh of relief and said hurriedly, "Director Liao of the finance department has found out the person who handled the money."

"Who is it?" Shen Ji suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

The assistant's face was grave, "Chang Lei."

Shen Ji's face turned ugly, "Where is he now?"

The assistant said, "Director Liao found an excuse to keep him in the conference room, and now there are two security guards guarding him."

Shen Ji looked cold, "Who else knows about this?"

The assistant was about to say that the only people who knew were them when the door to the office was suddenly pushed open and Shen Cheng barged in with a look of shock and anger, "Big Brother?"

Shen Cheng's gaze was full of suspicion and disbelief. Shen Ji's heart sank; from the moment the assistant mentioned Chang Lei's name, he had already guessed that this matter would definitely be linked to him. He had already prepared in his heart, but Shen Cheng's subconscious reaction still made him feel incomparably saddened.

Lu Gesen stood behind Shen Cheng with a serious face and said in a low voice, "Cheng Shao, this matter is not yet certain to have anything to do with Shen Shao."

A hint of hesitation flashed across Shen Cheng's face. He didn't want to believe that his elder brother was behind all this either, but Chang Lei was his elder brother's man and everyone in the company knew it. The comfort that Shen Ji had just given him flashed through his mind, and Shen Cheng hesitantly looked at Shen Ji for a while before turning around and leaving the office without saying anything. Lu Gesen nodded apologetically to Shen Ji and followed him.

The assistant looked at Shen Ji worriedly; even though Shen Cheng finally left, there was no denying that Shen Cheng still suspected Shen Ji in the first place. Thinking of Shen Ji's trust in Shen Cheng after the misappropriation of funds came out, the assistant couldn't help but look at Shen Ji again with sympathy in his eyes.

Chang Lei admitted that the matter was handled by him behind the scenes and confessed that he was acting under Shen Ji's instructions, with the purpose being to get Shen Cheng to resign as general manager. The finance department followed Chang Lei's account and soon discovered that a large amount of unidentified money had suddenly been added to his account recently. The people even found emails between Chang Lei and Shen Ji in his email inbox, all the evidence pointing clearly to Shen Ji.

When the news reached the hospital, Shen Dehan fainted again in shock and anger.

When he woke up again, he found that Wang Changlin was with him.

"Changlin? How come it's you?" Shen Dehan was helped by Wang Changlin to sit up with great effort.

Wang Changlin helped Shen Dehan adjust to a comfortable position while speaking, "The company's affairs are in a mess, and neither Ah Ji nor Ah Cheng can leave."

Wang Changlin's words made Shen Dehan think of the news he had received earlier and his face suddenly turned ugly, "What did Chang Lei say in the end?"

Wang Changlin smiled bitterly, "The board of directors insisted on handing Chang Lei over to the police, but I stopped them. We'll talk about everything when you wake up."

Shen Dehan grimaced, "Changlin, do you believe in Ah Ji?"

Wang Changlin's heart twitched and he nodded, "I believe in him, but the problem now is that Chang Lei insists it was Ah Ji, and with all the physical evidence, it's hard for Ah Ji to clear his name."

Shen Dehan's brow furrowed tightly. He also believed in his son, but as Wang Changlin had said, Chang Lei insisted it was Ah Ji who had ordered him to do it, and with all the human and material evidence there, it would be very difficult for Ah Ji to clear himself of suspicion. If he handed Chang Lei over to the police, then Ah Ji would certainly be implicated. He didn't believe that Chang Lei alone would dare to implicate Ah Ji. The matter was full of strangeness from beginning to end. Whether or not the matter was going to be cleared up in the end, there would already be a stain on Ah Ji. But if he didn't hand over Chang Lei, he couldn't erase the suspicion that Ah Cheng had embezzled funds. On one side was Ah Ji and on the other was Ah Cheng. The matter had come to a head and he had to make a decision as soon as possible. Was he going to protect Ah Ji or Ah Cheng?

Wang Changlin looked at Shen Dehan silently, and a sneer flashed in his eyes very quickly. No matter what decision Shen Dehan made today, the rift between the father and the son would never be repaired.

The news that Shen Dehan had woken up was quickly communicated by Wang Changlin, and everyone rushed over to the hospital as soon as they received the news.

Shen Dehan sat firmly in the wheelchair and received several other directors of the company. Shen Ji sat behind his father with an expressionless face, while Shen Cheng hesitated for a moment and sat beside him. Shen Cheng's attitude was noticed by everyone, and all of them felt moved.

Gao Qiulin was the first to speak up, "Dehan, I'm sure you are clear about what we've come for. I suggest that this matter be handed over to the police. Whether it's Ah Ji or Ah Cheng, they should be given a chance to prove their innocence."

Shen Dehan did not speak with a sullen face. Gao Qiulin smiled and looked at Shen Cheng, "Ah Cheng, you are the victim, what do you think?"

Shen Cheng nodded without hesitation.

Gao Qiulin smiled in satisfaction and turned to Shen Ji, "What does Ah Ji think?"

Shen Ji did not look at Gao Qiulin and said in a cold voice, "I have no objections."

Gao Qiulin was very surprised by Shen Ji's response and looked at Shen Dehan with a smile, "Dehan, it's up to you now."

Shen Dehan swept a gloomy glance at Gao Qiulin and said in a cold voice, "I disagree."

"Why?" Shen Cheng was the first to jump up, "Father, now everyone thinks that I misappropriated the company's money! If we don't hand it over to the police to investigate it clearly, do I have to carry this blame forever?"

Shen Dehan frowned. Shen Cheng glanced at Shen Ji and then said, "Father, I know you want to protect Big Brother. But as long as Big Brother hasn't done it, he doesn't need to worry. Isn't it good to investigate this matter clearly?"

Shen Dehan's face was cold, "Things are not as simple as you think." He had always suspected that the person behind the incident was among the company's directors, and of course Gao Qiulin was the most heavily suspected. He was worried that the resultless investigation of this matter would completely ruin Ah Ji.

Shen Dehan's attitude was so firm that Shen Cheng felt incredibly disappointed, "Father, are you worried about tarnishing Big Brother's reputation, so you are willing to sacrifice me?"

"Ah Cheng!" Shen Dehan shouted angrily.

Shen Cheng stared straight at Shen Dehan, "Isn't it so? Father, you are worried that this matter will not be investigated clearly and implicate Big Brother, but what about me? Do I have to keep carrying the charge of misappropriating the company's money? Big Brother is your son, what am I?"

Shen Dehan's face became increasingly ugly, and Shen Ji reached out and pulled Shen Cheng back, "Ah Cheng!"

Shen Cheng shook off Shen Ji's hand, "It's none of your business!"

Shen Ji lowered his eyes and turned to his father, "Father, it's better to leave this matter to the police."

Shen Dehan flatly denied, "No!"

Gao Qiulin winked at the director beside him, who smiled and said, "Since Dehan is so determined, it is not impossible to handle this matter privately, Dehan has to give us an explanation. While we are all here, why don't you tell us how you plan to handle this matter? It's certain that Chang Lei misappropriated the company's funds, and it's also certain that the flow of the funds went to Ah Cheng. It's certain that these two things happened, so can we have an explanation? Is it possible that Chang Lei has a mental problem and the money he embezzled was not used for him but for Ah Cheng?"

The director's words were understood by everyone. Whether Chang Lei was instructed by Shen Ji or not, the fact that he had embezzled the funds was here, and it was also a fact that the flow of funds went to Shen Cheng. Shen Dehan now either admitted that Shen Ji was behind all this and that Shen Cheng was wrongly accused, or he pushed Shen Cheng out. Since Shen Dehan was not willing to involve Shen Ji, then the blame for this matter could only be carried by Shen Cheng.

Shen Dehan looked coldly at the director, who nodded at him with an unchanged expression.

For Shen Dehan, both Shen Cheng and Shen Ji were Fang Yun's sons and were equally important to him, but if he had to distinguish between priorities, then Shen Ji was the heir he had trained, and Shen Group and the Shen family were to be handed over to Shen Ji in the future, so there must not be any stain on him.

The atmosphere in the ward became tense. Shen Cheng sat there without any hope. He had already known what decision Shen Dehan would make.

Shen Dehan was about to speak with a grim face when Shen Ji suddenly stood up, "I did it."

Everyone in the ward looked over in surprise at the same time. Shen Ji said expressionlessly, "I will be responsible for paying back the money that Chang Lei embezzled from the company. As for the other punishments, everything must be in accordance with the company's rules."

"Ah Ji!" Shen Dehan exclaimed in shock and anger, "Are you crazy?"

Shen Ji didn't answer his father's words, but said in a flat tone, "Father, let's leave this matter as it is, I'll go back first."

Shen Dehan watched Shen Ji get up and leave, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Gao Qiulin snorted, "Since Ah Ji has already admitted it, let's handle this matter privately, there's no need to involve the police, we have to save face for Dehan at any rate."

Shen Dehan stared at Gao Qiulin with a deadly gaze, unable to say a word.

The matter was quickly dealt with. The board of directors decided to dismiss Shen Ji and he would not be allowed to participate in the management of Shen Group in any form in the future. As for the funds embezzled by Chang Lei, Shen Ji would be responsible for filling the hole within three days.

Shen Xi soon received a message from Lao K. Everything was just as he had envisioned. The corners of Shen Xi's mouth curled up in pleasure as he gently deleted the text message from his phone.

The board of directors' resolution had actually deprived Shen Ji of his inheritance rights in disguise. Even if he held the shares of Shen Group in his hands in the future, he could only be an "idler" who would only receive money but could not participate in any decision making.

This was the life that Shen Ji once set for Shen Xi. How did he feel now that he had stepped on this path himself?

Chapter 69

As the sun had set, the sky gradually darkened.

At this time Li Mingxuan usually already returned to Shen Xi's side, but today he accompanied his father to the hospital in a hurry.

In the quiet car, Li Xiyong did not say a word, keeping his eyes closed. Li Mingxuan quietly sat by his father's side, the news he received earlier flashing through his mind. Shen Ji and Shen Cheng were suspected of misappropriating a large amount of Shen Group funds and the directors of Shen Group were forced to go to the hospital for a meeting. Shen Ji admitted the fact of embezzlement and was expelled from Shen Group by the board of directors, thus deprived of the Shen family inheritance rights in disguise. Li Mingxuan did not believe that Shen Ji would do such a thing and his brow furrowed subconsciously.

Li Mingxuan's father, who had been resting, slowly opened his eyes, "Mingxuan, what do you think?"

Li Mingxuan knew what his father was asking. Although he did not know the details, from his uncle's words he could tell that Shen Ji was framed. If it was only Shen Ji who was framed, it would have been fine, but Shen Cheng was also involved, so that the situation became uncontrollable. At this point, Li Mingxuan did not know what to say, so he answered in a low voice, "There must be someone behind this matter, and Uncle has handled it too hastily."

Li Xiyong shook his head, "The situation was forced upon him, and your uncle had no choice. He probably didn't expect Ah Ji to take the blame for this matter. It's too unfortunate for Ah Ji."

Li Xiyong's words carried an unspeakable melancholy. In his heart he had one more thing to say: if Shen Cheng didn't grow up fast, Shen Group would probably be doomed. Without Shen Ji, Shen Cheng could not bear the burden of Shen Group. Even if the Shen family still held most of the shares of Shen Group, once Shen Dehan passed away, in these circumstances, the Shen family would still be the Shen family, but it might not be the Shen family of Shen Group anymore.

Li Mingxuan vaguely guessed his father's thoughts. As he watched Li Xiyong close his eyes again, a trace of worry surged in Li Mingxuan's heart, and he swallowed the words that were already on his lips.

For the rest of the journey Li Xiyong did not speak again and the car fell back into silence.

As Li Xiyong and Li Mingxuan drove to the hospital, Gao Qiulin had already left and only Shen Dehan and Shen Cheng were left in the ward.

In the empty ward, Shen Dehan was sitting in the wheelchair in a depressed state of mind; his original spirit was gone and his whole body looked instantly aged by more than ten years.

Shen Cheng sat opposite his father with his head down, unable to say what he was feeling. What Shen Ji said not long ago was echoing in his mind. His elder brother had taken the blame for the incident and he was now innocent, but there was not much joy in his heart. From the time his elder brother confessed to instructing Chang Lei to the series of events that followed, everything was too sudden. He listened in a daze to his elder brother being expelled from Shen Group and Gao Qiulin even indicating that Shen Group would be his in the future.

In Shen Cheng's secret thoughts that no one knew, he had once imagined such a day, but when this day came, he didn't know why he couldn't be happy at all. Perhaps it was because Shen Ji finally defended him, or perhaps it was because of Shen Dehan. After all, at that moment Shen Dehan had clearly intended to sacrifice him. Even if he was interrupted by Shen Ji later, it was, after all, true that Shen Dehan had chosen to sacrifice him at the critical moment without hesitation, and his despair at that moment was also too real. So it was normal for him to be depressed now, and he didn't even know what attitude he should use to face his father.

Shen Cheng was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he did not notice his father's eyes roaming over him, and the look in Shen Dehan's eyes was one of deep disappointment. Shen Dehan was silent; he knew his son. Shen Cheng couldn't bear the burden of Shen Group. Unlike Shen Ji, Shen Dehan was inevitably indulgent towards Shen Cheng because he had lost his mother at a young age and had almost been killed as a baby. And since he was the second son, he was not under pressure to inherit the family business, so Shen Dehan was not strict with him and let him do anything he wished, which led to his current character.

Shen Dehan thought that since Shen Ji and Shen Cheng were from the same mother and had a good relationship since childhood, the two brothers would be of one mind and one heart. He did not expect that one day there would be a division between Shen Ji and Shen Cheng. When he thought that if Shen Cheng hadn't sided with Gao Qiulin and forced his hand, things might not have turned out this way and Shen Ji wouldn't have had to confess for the sake of brotherly love and would not have been deprived of the inheritance rights to Shen Group in disguise, causing all the hard work that the Shen family had put into Shen Ji for so many years to be reduced to nothing. Shen Dehan couldn't help coughing violently when he thought of this.

"Father!" Shen Cheng subconsciously looked over and unexpectedly met his father's eyes. Shen Dehan's eyes were full of disappointment, and Shen Cheng's heart instantly went cold. It was true that in his father's heart, only his elder brother was his father's son, and he was nothing. Even now, his father only felt disappointment because of his elder brother's expulsion, and disappointment because of his disregard for the greater good. Father had never even thought of explaining his previous actions, as if sacrificing him was a perfectly normal thing to do.

Shen Dehan's coughing slowly stopped, and Shen Cheng lowered his head in silence, not looking at his father again.

Shen Dehan tried hard to soften his tone a little. Although he was worried that Shen Cheng would not be able to bear the burden of Shen Group, the matter had come to the point where there was no other choice.

"Ah Cheng, Shen Group's future will depend on you."

Shen Cheng agreed casually.

Shen Cheng's casual attitude obviously made Shen Dehan dissatisfied. Shen Dehan frowned and tried to hold back his temper.

"Wang Changlin is an old employee in the company, you should ask him for more advice when you have time. Lu Gesen is a good young man, you should ask his advice if you encounter some problem, and also your elder brother, although he…"

"I see!" Shen Cheng fiercely stood up and looked at his father with mockery in his eyes, "I don't know anything, I don't understand anything, even if I stay in Shen Group, I am just a puppet. Although Big Brother can't enter Shen Group, Shen Group is still his, I'm just a name, Father, you don't need to emphasise it over and over again."

Shen Cheng's words made Shen Dehan's face turn ugly, "Ah Cheng."

Facing Shen Dehan's anger, Shen Cheng suddenly smiled, his face looking extremely weird, "I know Father is disappointed in me. In your eyes Big Brother is your proud son, I'm just Big Brother's spare tire. It doesn't matter, if Father doesn't like me, isn't there still Shen Xi? He is also Father's son. Father can give Shen Group to Shen Xi, I'm sure he would listen to Father very well."

"Unfilial son!" Shen Dehan's face flushed red with anger at these words, and he could not say anything else.

Shen Cheng didn't care about his father's angry scolding, turned around with an indifferent face and left the ward.

As soon as he left the ward that was suffocating him, the indifference on Shen Cheng's face turned into bewilderment. He knew there were things he shouldn't have said and he didn't want to say them, but the disappointed look in his father's eyes was like a nail that had been driven hard into his heart. A sour feeling welled up in Shen Cheng's heart, and then he broke into laughter.

The bodyguards around him looked at Shen Cheng oddly; Shen Cheng curbed his laughter and paused, not knowing where to go for a moment.

He didn't want to stay at the hospital, and originally he was going to go to Shen Ji's place, but now he just wanted to hide far away from Shen Ji and never see him again. He fished out his mobile phone haphazardly and flipped through the phone numbers in it. The memory of his last drunken night flashed through his mind, and Shen Cheng pressed Zhang Qiu's number without hesitation.

As Shen Cheng entered the elevator, Wang Changlin walked out from the side of the corridor. After a thoughtful glance at Shen Cheng's back, Wang Changlin came up to the ward, gently pushed the door and walked in.

Shen Dehan's emotions were still tinged with overexcitement, and Wang Changlin walked quickly to his side with a disapproving look on his face, "Dehan, didn't the doctor tell you to control your emotions? Is there anything you can't discuss calmly and peacefully with Ah Cheng?"

Shen Dehan couldn't help but grunt, "Calmly and peacefully? This evil son is simply trying to piss me off."

Wang Changlin patted Shen Dehan soothingly, "Don't you know Ah Cheng's direct temperament?"

Shen Dehan said, "His temperament is direct, but I am just afraid that he will be sold and will help the other party count the money."

Wang Changlin smiled, easing the atmosphere, "How is it possible? Ah Ji will be watching from the side, Ah Ji won't let anything happen to Ah Cheng."

If it was in the past, Shen Dehan would think that Shen Ji could control Shen Cheng, but after today, Shen Dehan did not have any hope. Thinking of Shen Cheng's heartbreaking words, Shen Dehan felt his breath stagnate in his chest, and couldn't help but clutch his chest tightly, trying to ease it up.

Wang Changlin patted Shen Dehan's back with concern. Shen Dehan slowly exhaled and shook his head weakly, "I'm fine."

Gesturing for Wang Changlin to sit opposite him, Shen Dehan looked at Wang Changlin with trust in his eyes, "Changlin, I'm entrusting Ah Cheng to you."

Wang Changlin looked slightly stunned, "Ah Cheng?"

Shen Dehan nodded, "You also know that I am not fit to go to the company now, so Ah Cheng needs you to take care of him at the company."

Wang Changlin said, "Don't worry, Dehan, I will take good care of Ah Cheng."

Shen Dehan nodded in satisfaction, thought of something and pondered slightly, "Other than that, I hope, Changlin, you can keep an eye on Shen Xi for me."

"Sanshao?" Wang Changlin's heart stirred, "Although Sanshao is not as good as Ah Ji and Ah Cheng, he is also quite sensible now. I don't know if there is anything that needs my attention."

"Sensible?" Wang Changlin's comment on Shen Xi obviously displeased Shen Dehan, "It's just that he has learned to hold back and know how to pretend, exactly the same as his mother and that crazy uncle."

Wang Changlin didn't take this sentence well, but Shen Dehan didn't expect Wang Changlin to say anything. There was disgust in his eyes, "Now that Ah Ji is no longer at Shen Group, I am worried that that unfilial son will think his chance has come and thus make some moves he shouldn't make."

Shen Dehan's fear did not seem to be fake, and Wang Changlin felt suspicious. He had never been able to understand why Shen Dehan was so afraid of Shen Xi. In fact, even if Shen Dehan was worried about Shen Xi's conflict with Shen Ji and Shen Cheng, Shen Xi did not have shares in Shen Group. Shen Xi could not do anything at all, as long as Shen Dehan did not allow him to enter Shen Group business. If Shen Dehan was simply afraid of Shen Xi because of Elder Shen's will, it was even more unwarranted. Even if Elder Shen left word that the Shen family's assets would be divided in three, how could it be done bypassing Shen Dehan, who had plenty of opportunities to make his move? The shares and the money were two entirely different things, so why should Shen Dehan be so anxious?

Thinking of all these things, Wang Changlin said naturally, "Sanshao has been very peaceful all these years and has been far away from Shen Group, so he doesn't have any roots in Shen Group. Aren't you overthinking it, Dehan?"

"Overthinking?" Shen Dehan thought of the word "retribution" that Shen Xi said to him that night. This word pierced his heart deeply. His tone became cold, "You also know what happened back then, Changlin. Han Yu, that madman, used the Han family to set up a trap to drag me down. If I hadn't been more cautious, the Shen family would have been calculated by Han Yu. Over the years, there have been people who didn't know the inside story and preach that the Shen family didn't save the Han family from ruination in order to annex the Han family's assets. That unfilial son clearly believes the same, and he has come back from abroad this time simply to calculate the Shen family just like that uncle of his."

When Shen Dehan mentioned what happened back then, Wang Changlin's eyes flashed as he said warmly, "No matter what, Sanshao is a member of the Shen family, and the Han family has long disappeared, so Sanshao can do nothing even if he wants to. Dehan, why do you have to take this matter to heart too much?"

Wang Changlin's words "No matter what, Sanshao is a member of the Shen family" caused Shen Dehan's face to change slightly, which didn't went unnoticed by Wang Changlin, and some strange thought flashed in Wang Changlin's mind but his face did not show it at all. Looking at Shen Dehan, it was obvious that he had a strong reaction to these words, but there was nothing wrong with these words, was there? Wang Changlin's hands on his lap unconsciously clasped together. He had always seen Shen Dehan's indifference towards Shen Xi over the years. Certainly it was due to his preference for Shen Ji and Shen Cheng and also due to his disgust for Han Rou. But what if what made Shen Dehan angry with Shen Xi for so many years was the fact that he had found out about the incident back then? So Han Rou's suicide also made sense. Wang Changlin lowered his eyes silently, hiding complex emotions in his eyes.

In silence, Wang Changlin suddenly heard Shen Dehan say, "Shen Xi will soon be 23 years old."

He was startled subconsciously, and Shen Dehan continued, "Once Shen Xi passes his 23rd birthday, he will own 20% of Shen Group shares."

"What?" Wang Changlin was stunned but quickly reacted, "Elder Shen's will from back then?"

Shen Dehan nodded, "Father directly bypassed me back then and divided Shen Group shares. Once Shen Xi passed the age of 23, the shares in my hands would be equally divided to Ah Ji, Ah Cheng and Shen Xi. All these years I was merely helping them take care of the company."

Wang Changlin immediately understood why Shen Dehan was worried.

Shen Xi would soon turn 23, by then Shen Dehan would not have any more shares in his hands, and Shen Ji would not be able to participate in the management of Shen Group, leaving only Shen Cheng. If Shen Xi wanted to enter Shen Group with the shares in his hands, the board of directors might not refuse. And once Shen Xi entered Shen Group, he could completely unite with Gao Qiulin and the others to grasp the right to speak in Shen Group, which was something that Shen Dehan did not want to see.

Wang Changlin's mind was working hard, but his face remained solemn, "Dehan, what do you mean?"

Shen Dehan said coldly, "I have no control over the announcement of the will, but after the will is announced, Shen Xi must not be allowed to enter Shen Group."

Wang Chenglin looked at Shen Dehan and nodded somberly.

Shen Dehan wanted to order something else when there was a soft knock at the door.

Shen Dehan froze, then thought of Li Xiyong saying he was coming over earlier, and immediately stopped the conversation, never mentioning the will again.

As Li Xiyong walked in with Li Mingxuan, Wang Changlin greeted the two of them and then chose to say goodbye sensibly. Li Mingxuan gave Wang Changlin a covert look, not quite knowing why he cared so much about Wang Changlin.

After Wang Changlin left the ward, his expression became thoughtful. He had always thought that Shen Xi was already a waste, but he didn't realise that there was still such a great use for Shen Xi. The 20% of Shen Group shares were apparently unknown to Shen Xi himself. It seemed that it was time to reveal to Shen Xi that he was Lu Gesen's foster father.

Chapter 70

When Li Mingxuan returned to Shen Xi's place at night, it was already past 11 o'clock. He did not expect to stay with his father at the hospital for such a long time.

He opened the door gently; the living room was brightly lit, with the sound of the news broadcast on TV. Li Mingxuan subconsciously searched for Shen Xi's figure, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curl in a smile when his gaze swept over the sofa.

On the large sofa, Shen Xi was hugging a pillow, curled up in a ball, sleeping peacefully, apparently falling asleep while waiting for him. Li Mingxuan's heart softened and he couldn't resist reaching out and brushing away Shen Xi's hair from his forehead, then leaned down and dropped a tender kiss on it.

Li Mingxuan's lips were slightly cool, and Shen Xi said in a daze, "Cousin?"

Li Mingxuan let out a soft "en" and kissed Shen Xi's lips, gently extending his tongue to grind.

With the familiar embrace and the familiar scent, Shen Xi subconsciously stretched out his hand to pull Li Mingxuan closer and automatically found a comfortable angle in the other party's arms. Li Mingxuan smiled gently and reached out to pick up Shen Xi, then walked towards the bedroom.

Carefully placing Shen Xi on the bed, Li Mingxuan lowered his head and gave him a kiss, "Be good, you sleep first, I'll go take a shower."

Shen Xi nodded with his eyes closed, but after Li Mingxuan left, he found that he could no longer sleep. Frowning in annoyance, Shen Xi simply got up and leaned on the head of the bed, waiting for Li Mingxuan to come out of the shower.

"Awake?" When Li Mingxuan came out of the shower and looked at Shen Xi waiting for him, he immediately regretted it. He knew that Shen Xi was not sleeping well; he should have held back from kissing him just now.

Shen Xi nodded, looked at Li Mingxuan sitting down beside him and casually said, "Why are you back so late?"

Li Mingxuan was about to reach out and hug Shen Xi but stalled slightly, thought of something and said in a low voice, "Father and Uncle had an argument over something, so it was a bit late."

A surprised look appeared on Shen Xi's face. Li Mingxuan did not hide anything, "Do you still remember the last time Mother said she wanted to transfer the shares in her hands to Ah Ji? Uncle hopes that Mother will change her mind and transfer those shares to Ah Cheng."

Immediately, Shen Xi understood Shen Dehan's intention. Because of Shen Ji's accident, Shen Group could only be handed over to Shen Cheng in the future. In order to ensure Shen Cheng's dominance in Shen Group, Shen Dehan had given up on Shen Ji and chosen Shen Cheng. Despite knowing all this, Shen Xi still had a surprised look on his face, "Why? Didn't Mr. Shen always like Big Brother very much?"

Li Mingxuan didn't think Shen Xi would know about the recent events at Shen Group. Hearing Shen Xi's words, he carefully explained what he knew.

Shen Xi duly showed a weird look on his face, "Big Brother privately instructed someone to misappropriate Shen Group funds to trap Second Brother and was expelled from Shen Group?"

Li Mingxuan nodded and frowned slightly, "This matter is not that simple. Both Ah Ji and Ah Cheng must have been set up by someone."

Shen Xi looked at ease, "I also believe that Big Brother wouldn't frame Second Brother. But now won't Big Brother be unable to run Shen Group in the future? Is Mr. Shen willing to give up Big Brother? He didn't fight for Big Brother?"

"This matter involves Ah Cheng, and with the board of directors calculating on the side, the situation did not leave Uncle any choice ."

Shen Xi said carelessly, "Is that why Mr. Shen changed his mind?"

Li Mingxuan nodded with a sigh. There was nothing wrong with Shen Dehan's decision intellectually, but emotionally it was too much for him to accept. Not only he, but also his father did not agree with it and insisted on transferring the 6% shares to Shen Ji as originally intended, and it was because of this that his father had argued with his uncle.

"So did Uncle agree?"

This was exactly what Li Mingxuan didn't understand. His father didn't agree at first, but then his uncle said something to his father alone. His father's face distorted, and he quickly agreed to his uncle's proposal. Li Mingxuan once asked his father on the way back. His father glanced at him calmly and said nothing. From that glance, Li Mingxuan immediately realized that this matter should be related to Shen Xi. Could his uncle still be preventing Shen Xi from joining forces with the Li family?

Shen Xi was still waiting for Li Mingxuan's answer. Li Mingxuan collected his thoughts and let out a low "en".

When Shen Xi heard this, he yawned softly and pulled Li Mingxuan down, "Sleep, this has nothing to do with me."

Closing his eyes, She Xi couldn't help but laugh in his heart. No matter how good Shen Dehan usually was to Shen Ji, but at this time when he felt that Shen Ji was useless, he immediately gave up on him without hesitation. He wondered what Shen Ji felt like when he heard the news. Now he couldn't wait to see Shen Ji and Shen Cheng completely turn against each other.

Li Mingxuan kissed Shen Xi's closed eyes and reached out to hug him tightly. A flash of deep thought passed through his eyes. What exactly was Uncle worried about? Shen Xi had no shares in Shen Group, and the Li family had no intention to interfere in the Shen family's affairs. What else was there to worry about?

Li Mingxuan's doubts were exactly what Shen Bixue had scruples about.

"How could Big Brother make such a proposal? How does he want Ah Ji and Ah Cheng to get along in the future? Just because Ah Ji can't run Shen Group, Big Brother immediately chose to give up on Ah Ji?"

After listening to Li Xiyong's words, Shen Bixue suddenly became emotional and couldn't help but speak out in dissatisfaction.

Li Xiyong looked at Shen Bixue's exasperated expression gently, "Dehan is guarding against Shen Xi."

"Shen Xi? What is there to guard against Shen Xi? He's not in Shen Group, he doesn't have any shares in Shen Group, is Big Brother still worried that we will support Shen Xi behind his back?"

Shen Bixue looked at Li Xiyong with a bewildered expression, obviously not knowing what Li Xiyong meant by his words. Li Xiyong guessed from Shen Bixue's attitude that she did not know about the will, so he sighed quietly, "Have you never seen the will your father made back then?"

Shen Bixue did not understand, "Will? What does it have to do with my father's will? You know that my father's will was collected by my elder brother. I didn't say anything because I thought it had nothing to do with us. What can be in that will?"

Li Xiyong didn't hide it, "Father-in-law bypassed Dehan back then to divide Shen Group shares. Ah Ji, Ah Cheng and Shen Xi will each get 20%. And the condition for them to get the shares is Shen Xi being 23 years old. This is what that will was about."

"What are you saying?" Shen Bixue looked at Li Xiyong in surprise.

Li Xiyong also found it very surprising when he first heard about it. He immediately affirmed, "This is what Dehan said."

After digesting this news, Shen Bixue understood why Li Xiyong had agreed to transfer the shares to Shen Cheng. In the past, Shen Xi did not have any shares of Shen Group in his hands, and because Shen Xi was with Mingxuan, they still had to avoid suspicion. Now that Shen Xi was about to turn 23 years old and Shen Ji was expelled from Shen Group, there was no telling what Shen Dehan would think, given his suspicious nature.

Shen Bixue smiled bitterly, "No wonder Big Brother didn't announce the will to the public back then."

Li Xiyong patted Shen Bixue soothingly. Shen Bixue shook her head and said softly, "Back then after Father was hospitalised, Big Brother's relationship with Father was once very tense. I think it must also be because of this will. Father must have felt sorry for Shen Xi in the end."

Although Li Xiyong knew more about the Shen family's entanglements back then than outsiders, there were some matters that involved the Shen family's privacy, so Li Xiyong refrained from asking questions. Now, when he heard Shen Bixue say this, Li Xiyong did not know what to say. He had always wondered what had happened between Han Ruo and Shen Dehan back then, so much that it could make Shen Dehan hold a grudge against Han Ruo for years and even take it out on Shen Xi. Unlike Mingxuan and the others, who simply thought that Shen Dehan favoured Shen Jie and Shen Cheng, Li Xiyong did not think that Shen Dehan would ignore Shen Xi for so many years just because of this, not to mention that behind Shen Dehan was Elder Shen. Even if Han Rou was no longer liked by the Shen family, Shen Xi's blood ties to the Shen family were unquestionable. But Elder Shen acquiesced to Shen Dehan's attitude, so there must be some reason behind it.

Li Xiyong had always refrained from meddling in the affairs of the Shen family and had always let Shen Bixue's attitude prevail when dealing with it. But now, for the first time, he asked, "What happened between the Han and the Shen families back then?"

Shen Bixue looked at Li Xiyong with a bitter smile and said, "Do you remember when Shen Xi was six years old and the Han family's business was suddenly in trouble?"

Li Xiyong nodded and recalled, "I remember that the Han family had asked the Shen family for help."

"And the Shen family didn't agree." Shen Bixue followed Li Xiyong's words. Li Xiyong nodded. Shen Bixue sighed lightly, "Everyone was privately saying that it was because Han Rou did not please the Shen family, so Dehan convinced his father to refuse to lend a helping hand, but that was actually not the case. The Han family's predicament back then was nothing more than a set-up, with the intention of trapping the Shen family."

Li Mingxuan's expression changed slightly. Although he vaguely felt that there was something odd about the Han family back then, he did not expect it to be like this.

"The Han family moved against the Shen family? For what? Han Rou?"

Li Xiyong looked very puzzled. If the Han family was doing this to vent their anger for Han Rou, then why would they do such a thing so suddenly? Han Rou had been married into the Shen family for six years and the Han family had not said anything before.

Shen Bixue sighed, "What exactly happened in the middle of this matter is unclear. We only know that it was Han Rou who begged Han Yu to help her deal with the Shen family. You know that Han Rou had a bad time since she married Big Brother but she insisted on not getting a divorce. Years of grievances piled up, and at some moment Han Rou must have started to have the idea of destroying the Shen family. Han Yu watched Han Rou suffer for so many years. Before, Han Rou refused to leave the Shen family and he had no choice. Now that Han Rou herself proposed that she would divorce Big Brother, Han Yu would naturally not refuse."

Originally, Han Yu's plan went very smoothly. Although Shen Dehan did not like Han Rou, he could not ignore the Han family's problems. He had already planned to give a helping hand but inadvertently found out that Han Rou was pregnant. At that time, Shen Dehan and Han Rou had already separated for a long time, so the baby could not be Shen Dehan's. In his anger, Shen Dehan began to investigate Han Rou and realized that the Han family's business problems were a trap. So he pushed the boat along the water and moved behind the scenes, causing the Han family's business to have real problems.

Afterwards, Han Rou chose to jump out of the window for some reason, Han Yu had a car accident at Han Rou's funeral, Elder Han couldn't bear the shock and fell seriously ill, and the Han family fell into ruin. Han Rou died but Shen Dehan had suspicions about Shen Xi's origin, and even though it was confirmed that Shen Xi was indeed his child, because of Han Rou's infidelity, Shen Dehan already disliked Shen Xi, and later on had even more ill feelings towards him, so much so that he completely ignored Shen Xi. Although there was a reason for the Shen family's actions, it was also the cause of the Han family's downfall. Elder Shen was worried that when Shen Xi grew up, he would hear rumours or would be instigated by someone with an ulterior motive, so he acquiesced to Shen Dehan's attitude of raising Shen Xi as a waste.

Shen Bixue recounted all this with a deep sigh and fell silent. After so many years, between Shen Dehan and Han Rou, who could say who was right and who was wrong. But Shen Xi was the most innocent and both she and her father had done something wrong.

Li Xiyong did not expect there to be so much entanglement in the history of the Han and the Shen families, and pondered for a moment, "Don't tell Mingxuan about this for now."

Shen Bixue nodded. If Mingxuan knew about it, he would definitely tell Shen Xi. The grievances of the previous generation had already passed; she really did not want Mingxuan's generation to be involved. But when she thought of Shen Dehan's attitude, Shen Bixue was worried that the inside story would suddenly come out to the light one day.