A sharp glint flashed in Shen Xiaoxing's eyes. "You're quite invested in my affairs."
"Of course. We're brothers. Grandfather's greatest wish is to see us united. But as brothers, we should know how to share. Since you can't satisfy him, and Grandfather is eager for a grandson, why don't I help you sow the seeds?"
At this, Shen Xiaoxing's face darkened instantly. Rage surged within him, and he feared he might lose control and kill Shen Tingfeng on the spot.
"After all, we share the same blood. It doesn't matter whose child it is, does it?"
"Grandfather wants a grandson, but he never said it has to come from the main branch. I suggest you drop that idea."
Shen Tingfeng suddenly laughed. He leaned down and whispered in the man's ear, "Brother, I get the feeling you care quite a bit about her."
"It's not easy for me to find a woman who doesn't despise my background or my disability. Since she takes such good care of me, of course I care about her."
Shen Tingfeng straightened up, the smile fading from his lips, his mocking gaze turning cold.
---
After asking the servants for directions and circling around several times, An Ruo finally found the elegant pavilion. But at the entrance of the main hall, she ran into the eldest madam of the Shen family.
This was An Ruo's first time meeting Shen's eldest madam. Elegant and dignified, she looked no older than her thirties, remarkably youthful.
Rumor had it she came from a wealthy family and was a somewhat renowned painter before marrying into the Shen family. But fate had been unkind to her—she became a widow just over a decade after marrying the old master. Later, the second branch gained power, and gossip about her gradually faded.
Lin Zhao, seeing her arrive alone, frowned in displeasure. "Where's Xiaoxing?"
"He..." An Ruo answered honestly, "He's behind. The second young master said he had something to discuss with him."
The two brothers had never gotten along. Shen Tingfeng would go so far as to wish Shen Xiaoxing dead, yet she had so carelessly handed him over.
Lin Zhao was nearly fuming. "You're his wife. How could you entrust him to someone else? What are you thinking!?"
Scolded so harshly out of the blue, An Ruo felt utterly wronged.
Bewildered, she said, "But Shen Xiaoxing himself asked me to go ahead..."
Lin Zhao, clearly already in a bad mood, had no kindness for her newlywed daughter-in-law. "So you just left him alone? Go bring him here immediately! Your grandfather has been waiting this whole time. If he loses his temper, none of us will get off easy!"
"..."
An Ruo swallowed her irritation and agreed, then turned back to find Shen Xiaoxing.
As she retraced her steps, she saw Shen Tingfeng pushing the man into a secluded area.
What was that bastard up to?
An Ruo quickly followed and noticed him speeding the wheelchair toward a slope. Sensing danger, she sprinted over.
"You don't deserve to live!" Shen Tingfeng's eyes turned vicious. He suddenly let go, watching the wheelchair race down the slope. A smug smirk curled on his lips. "I refuse to believe you're lucky every time!"
Why was it so hard to make him disappear from this world for good?
The jolting wheelchair careened down the slope. Shen Xiaoxing instinctively reached for the safety brake, but as he saw the tree looming ahead, he suddenly chose to let go.
Just then, a figure rushed toward him. Shen Xiaoxing's eyes narrowed. He deliberately tumbled out of the wheelchair, rolling down the grassy slope a few times until a hand grabbed his—
An Ruo was covered in grass clippings. She lay flat on the ground, gripping the man's wrist tightly as the wheelchair slammed into the tree and bounced away.
Ignoring her own disheveled state, she crawled over to help him up, asking urgently, "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Shen Xiaoxing sat up and saw Shen Tingfeng curse in frustration, glare at them, and storm off with a menacing aura.
"I'm fine."
An Ruo, still worried, checked him for injuries. "What about your arms? Does it hurt? Did you twist or strain anything?"
If he ended up hurt, Lin Zhao would skin her alive!
"No..."
After a thorough check, An Ruo finally relaxed, seeing he was truly unharmed. She glanced at the overturned wheelchair. "Wait for me."
The wheelchair was sturdy and undamaged.
She pushed it over, helped the man sit back down, and brushed the grass off his clothes.
As she carefully tidied his attire, the man, unnoticed, reached out and removed a dry blade of grass from her hair.
"This is too much!" An Ruo pushed him back toward the pavilion. "We have to tell Grandfather about this."
"What happened today must not reach Grandfather."
"Why?"
Shen Xiaoxing's voice was low. "Because that's the law of survival in the Shen family."
Survival of the fittest.
"Since when is that a rule? Are you supposed to just take it every time he bullies you?"
He didn't answer. An Ruo fumed. Was no one going to stop Shen Tingfeng's arrogance?
From the murderous look in his eyes just now, he clearly wanted the man dead!
What kind of deep grudge did these two brothers have?
"Enduring everything only makes people bolder. To me, that's not following the rules—it's just being weak."
Shen Xiaoxing's eyes deepened. She spoke so well, yet wasn't she enduring the same abuse herself?
Beaten to the ground by that vicious mother and daughter, and still holding on?
An Ruo tightened her grip on the wheelchair handles. "I won't leave you alone with Shen Tingfeng again. I won't give him another chance."
That bastard was far too dangerous!
A flicker of surprise passed through the man's deep, dark eyes.