Shen Xingrou was reluctantly sent back to Mingyuan by Shen Xiaoxing's men ahead of schedule. Fang Yingxue, who had been searching for her frantically, poked her forehead.
"You reckless girl, you still have the nerve to come back? You had us so worried. Where did you go off to play this time?"
"Nowhere special, just stayed at a friend's place for a bit."
"Which friend?" Shen Yu put down his newspaper. He had already sent people to ask all the well-bred young ladies of her age and close circle, but there was no trace of her.
"Just... a random friend."
"Don't ever leave home without permission again. As a proper young lady of the Shen family, do you want to ruin your reputation if this gets out?"
"Is reputation really that important?" Annoyed by their questioning, Shen Xingrou cut straight to the point: "I've been staying with Big Brother and the others these past few days."
Shen Yu frowned. "You mean you've been living at Shen Xiaoxing's place all this time?"
"That's right. Where else in this vast Shanghai could I hide from you all?"
Fang Yingxue sat down beside her. "Don't you know our second branch has never gotten along with him? Running off to him openly—aren't you afraid he'd bite the hand that feeds and kidnap you to threaten us?"
"Big Brother would never stoop to such dirty tricks. He's been good to me, even saved me when I was little." Recalling how Shen Xiaoxing had treated her these past few days, along with An Ruo's meticulous care, she gritted her teeth. "He's never held a grudge against me because of what you did to him."
"At least he knows his place." Fang Yingxue snorted coldly. "That bastard knows he can't beat our second branch. Thinking he could use you to threaten us—how overconfident!"
Shen Xingrou's lips twitched as she wanted to defend Shen Xiaoxing, but looking at her parents and her brother Shen Tingfeng, their three faces twisted with ugliness, she knew this futile attempt was pointless.
She was grateful she could think for herself and distinguish right from wrong.
...
That evening, a servant announced that the entire Shen family was to go to the Old Master's Lanting Pavilion for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Compared to the lively decorations outside, the Shen family's old mansion felt desolate, with only a few symbolic couplets at the entrance. Calling it a New Year's Eve dinner was just going through the motions.
As luck would have it, just as An Ruo pushed Shen Xiaoxing around a corner, they ran into a servant pushing Shen Tingfeng in his wheelchair...
The two unfortunate brothers faced each other unexpectedly, creating an oddly amusing scene.
Gone was his former glory; Shen Tingfeng no longer spoke with sarcasm or mockery, nor dared to flirt with An Ruo in front of the man.
But the look he shot them was still arrogant and vicious.
Once he was far away, An Ruo clicked her tongue in complaint. "Even in a wheelchair, he's still that cocky."
The man curled his lips meaningfully and chuckled softly. "See? Soon he won't be able to act so tough."
The entire dinner was as usual—except for the Old Master occasionally speaking, asking someone a question, and getting a brief reply, no one else talked.
The Old Master never chatted about family matters with the younger generation at the table. He didn't meddle in or manage the old mansion's affairs. He was an ambitious old man, his mind entirely on the Shen Corporation.
An Ruo sometimes wondered—no wonder this family's infighting was so severe. As the patriarch, the Old Master hadn't done a thing to help.
Even if he'd said a few words about uniting the family to build a better business empire, it would have shown he cared as a father and grandfather.
But he didn't.
After the stifling, endless dinner ended, An Ruo couldn't wait to leave, pushing the man back to Jingyuan.
She couldn't afford to provoke any of these people; the sooner she hid, the better.
"Do you need me to help you wash up?"
The man lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing this, An Ruo didn't interrupt him and went to the walk-in closet to rummage for a change of clothes.
But aside from some men's suits, there was nothing else.
If she'd known she'd be staying a couple more days, she should have prepared her own undergarments.
An Ruo came out. "Um, there are no extra clothes in the closet. Let me ask the butler if we can..."
Before she could finish, the man cut her off in a deep voice: "No need. Even if you ask them, they won't necessarily handle it right away."
He hadn't lived in Jingyuan for a long time. Lin Zhao had long since cleared out his personal items, never expecting him to return.
"Then what do we do tonight?"
"Are there really no other clothes?"
An Ruo paused. "There are yours, but I..."
"I'll call Han Chong to bring your clothes from the villa."
"Forget it, we're only staying two days. No need to bother him." An Ruo flipped through the man's clothes and hesitated for a moment. "You don't mind if I wear your clothes, do you?"
"..."
"Just as pajamas. I'll try to pick a cheaper one."
The man stared at her for a long time, then suddenly chuckled softly. "If Mrs. Shen wants to wear them, go ahead. Don't make me seem so stingy."
He certainly didn't seem stingy.
"Come, let me pick an expensive one for Mrs. Shen." The man slid his wheelchair into the closet, carefully selected a silk shirt, and smirked. "This one. Mrs. Shen will find it comfortable."
"...I'm just using it as pajamas."
"You're not planning to wear it out, are you?" Shen Xiaoxing propped his chin on one hand, squinting his narrow phoenix eyes with a wicked grin. "I won't give Mrs. Shen that chance."
This man was really...
Deliberately picking a fight!
An Ruo's face flushed red from his teasing as she dutifully helped him wash up. Thankfully, the man didn't lose control and pin her down in the bathtub.
After getting him settled, An Ruo took the shirt back to the bathroom for a quick shower. While drying her hair, she found the hairdryer was old and broken!
She had to towel-dry her long hair halfway and hurried out of the bathroom.
The man was on the balcony, phone in hand, making a call. Whatever the other party said, he hung up with a grim expression.
Turning around, he saw the girl with her two slender, beautiful legs bare, her waist-length hair half-wet and half-dry, back to him as she wiped it with a towel—utterly tempting...
Shen Xiaoxing slid his wheelchair inside, grabbed the remote, and closed the curtains before taking a good look at the vision before him.
Hearing the wheelchair's movement, she turned around belatedly and caught the man's burning dark eyes fixed on her.
She froze. "Why are you staring at me?"
The man's frame was broad, so the shirt hung loosely on her, making her look even smaller, her fair, long legs only covered to the upper thigh.
An Ruo felt the shirt was a bit short too. She'd tugged it down several times before leaving the bathroom, but that was as long as it got—she couldn't help it.
"Mrs. Shen, I didn't expect you to look so sexy in my clothes. Now I'm even less willing to let you wear them out for others to see."
An Ruo's cheeks flushed, and she muttered softly, "I never said I'd wear them out..."
"What did you say?" The man tilted his head, signaling her to repeat herself.
"Nothing."
He slid the wheelchair over, pulled her slender waist onto his lap, took the towel from her hand, draped it over her head, and gently dried her hair. His deep voice was low and magnetic: "Why didn't you blow-dry your hair?"
"The hairdryer in the bathroom is broken."
"I'll have someone bring a new one." The man maneuvered the wheelchair toward the call bell.
"No need," An Ruo quickly stopped his hand and shook her head. "It's too late, too much trouble. I'll just towel-dry it."