Late at night.
The girl’s pink lips parted slightly, her small face flushed, wearing the satisfied look of someone who had indulged in pleasure, soft and pink, utterly endearing.
The man gazed at the girl curled up in his arms, like a greedy little cat. He stared for a long time, then lowered his eyes slightly and pressed a kiss to her brow.
Carefully releasing her, he lifted the covers and quietly got out of bed.
Grabbing a jacket and draping it over himself, he gently slid open the glass door to the balcony, vanishing into the darkness as he lit a cigarette.
He barely smoked this stuff anymore, having planned to quit all bad habits for An Ruo. But tonight, mentioning his mother left him sleepless, and only a cigarette could ease the hatred buried in his heart!
He had lied to An Ruo. He didn’t just not know where his mother’s body was buried—she hadn’t even left a corpse that could be laid to rest!
[Ah Xing!]
Shen Xiaoxing suddenly clenched the cigarette in his hand, his mother’s agonized screams before death echoing in his ears. His deep eyes fixed on the flame of the cigarette tip as it gradually turned into a sea of fire…
The woman, trapped in a wooden cage, reached out to him. He struggled to crawl toward her, but the raging flames devoured her, right before his eyes, as he watched his mother perish in that deliberate fire.
“If you want to live, forget this woman, forget your past way of life. From today on, she is your mother. Kneel!”
The stubborn young man, eyes bloodshot and cold, glared fiercely at the Old Master Shen from over a decade ago.
“Kneel!”
The youth’s unyielding pride and refusal to submit enraged the old man. With a signal, several bodyguards pinned him down.
A middle-aged man lifted his foot and kicked him in the back of the leg. Caught off guard, the youth fell to his knees. The moment he tried to stand, the bodyguards held him fast.
Shen Ye snorted coldly: “Stubborn wretch. I’m giving you a way out, and you still won’t accept it. Do you think you can refuse?”
The youth raised his fierce eyes. The middle-aged man before him bore a resemblance to him, which was precisely what he hated and loathed most!
He roared in fury: “Shen Ye, I’ll kill you!”
Shen Ye stared at him coldly, his gaze full of contempt and disdain: “Only a lowlife like her could spawn a wretch like you!”
“Don’t you dare talk about my mom…”
Before he could finish, the man raised his hand and slapped him.
“Remember this clearly. The woman in front of you is your mother. I don’t want to hear a single word about her from your mouth!” He pointed to Lin Zhao, seated nearby.
The youth’s mouth bled from the slap, his beast-like eyes locked onto him. If he could pounce, he would tear Shen Ye apart bite by bite!
The old man stepped back and ordered him to call Lin Zhao “mother,” letting those rebellious words drift away with the wind. After that, he could live peacefully in the Shen family, having whatever he wanted.
But those two words—the youth clenched his teeth and refused to utter a single sound.
Shen Ye burned with rage. The thought of Shen Yuehuai scheming to produce this bastard infuriated him no matter how he looked at it!
He vented this anger on the young Shen Xiaoxing, ordering the bodyguards to beat him until he relented and called Lin Zhao “mother.”
That night, the youth knelt in the Shen family ancestral hall. Even as the bodyguards struck him hard with clubs, he remained upright and proud.
His pride and the hatred in his heart sustained his unyielding resolve!
In the end, he passed out from the pain, never uttering a sound or blinking an eye. Seeing that the youth would rather be beaten to death than call Lin Zhao “mother,” the old man let out a deep sigh.
He felt both relieved and helpless.
As a descendant of the Shen family, having unyielding pride was a good thing, but he should also understand the principle of striving for higher ground—being knowledgeable and capable, not ending up on the streets with a woman like that.
The old man stopped Shen Ye from roughing up Shen Xiaoxing further. If force wouldn’t work, he would have to slowly dissolve the hatred in his heart.
But to this day, Shen Xiaoxing had never once called Lin Zhao “mother,” nor would he ever, and he refused to acknowledge Shen Ye as his biological father!
The man snapped back to reality. Compared to the straightforward hatred of his youth, he had learned to restrain, to endure, and to scheme step by step.
Unfortunately, just as he figured out how to slowly destroy his enemies, Shen Ye died in a car accident, robbing him of the chance to kill him with his own hands!
Shen Xiaoxing took a deep drag of his cigarette, slowly exhaling white smoke, his dark eyes flashing with sinister ruthlessness.
The Shen family had taken his mother’s life. He would make the entire Shen clan pay with their lives!
But…
He turned his head, his gaze deeply fixed on the girl sleeping soundly in the bed.
Before dealing with the Shen family, he needed a foolproof plan to protect her.
No one could stop him from taking revenge, and no one could stop him from loving her.
…
The next day.
The girl stretched lazily, waking up comfortably from her dreams.
“Good morning.”
A low, magnetic male voice came from beside her.
An Ruo froze. She turned to find the man already dressed and sitting by the bed.
“It’s rare to have a day off. Why are you up so early?”
The man closed his book, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth: “It’s not early.”
An Ruo picked up her phone from the table, tapped it open, and nearly fainted. She had slept until 8:30, when she usually woke naturally at 7:30.
It was all this man’s fault. He had kept her up late last night, and she couldn’t even remember how she fell asleep.
Shen Xiaoxing raised an eyebrow, teasing her: “Mrs. Shen, your pout is so high you could hitch an ox to it.”
This girl was probably cursing him in her mind!
An Ruo muttered softly: “If you keep being this unrestrained, even an ox would drop dead.”
“Hasn’t Mrs. Shen heard the saying?”
An Ruo fell for his trap, asking dully: “What saying?”
“It’s the plowed land that wears out, not the plowing ox.”
“…”
An Ruo caught on instantly, her face flushing red, drawing a low laugh from the man.
“I don’t get it,” she insisted stubbornly, quickly slipping on her shoes and dashing to the bathroom.
Her morning bladder was pressing uncomfortably. Lately, she had been going to the bathroom more and more often, even though she hadn’t drunk much water these past few days.
When An Ruo came out after washing up, the butler happened to knock and enter: “Young Master, Young Madam, the madam has had breakfast prepared in the front hall and has been waiting for you to join.”
The man said in a deep voice: “Tell the madam we’ll be there shortly.”
The butler withdrew, and An Ruo hurriedly grabbed her clothes to change. The man watched her rush about, finding it both amusing and exasperating.
“She didn’t inform us in advance. Waiting is only right. No need to hurry—take your time.”
He sure had the leisure to say “take your time.”
Lately, Lin Zhao’s attitude toward her had been completely different from before, probably because she was still upset about An Ruo impersonating An Qing.
But then again, she wasn’t her real mother-in-law. Why did she have to be so controlling?
Thinking back to the man’s story about his past last night, his cold demeanor toward Lin Zhao must stem from how she treated him poorly as a child. So An Ruo’s impression of Lin Zhao soured.
Good thing they weren’t staying long at the old mansion, or she’d really get depressed.
By the time An Ruo was dressed and pushing the man into the front hall, Lin Zhao saw their late arrival and immediately lost her pleasant expression.
Regardless, she was an elder. An Ruo smiled slightly and nodded at her: “Mom, good morning.”
The man in the wheelchair kept a flat expression, maintaining his usual cold, rigid, and aloof demeanor in front of others.
“Isn’t it a bit late?” Lin Zhao took a light sip of her coffee, her movements elegant and exuding aristocratic air, as befitting someone from a high-born family.
An Ruo stood there, momentarily awkward. She opened her mouth to explain, but the man in the wheelchair spoke first.
“Jing Garden doesn’t have a set meal time.”