Dinner ended in an unusually harmonious atmosphere.
Zhou Yushen and Li Che didn’t stay long at the Shen residence before leaving.
Shen An’an dragged Shen Nanyue into her room.
The two sisters sat cross-legged across from each other on a soft carpet.
Under Shen An’an’s unwavering gaze, Shen Nanyue inexplicably felt a little guilty.
“If you want to talk about the lock screen photo, I refuse.”
Shen Nanyue pretended to get up and flee.
Only to be pulled back down by Shen An’an.
“Who said anything about the lock screen? I’m talking about you!”
Shen Nanyue looked confused.
“What about me?”
“You and Zhou Yushen.”
Shen Nanyue froze.
Shen An’an studied her expression carefully, unwilling to miss even the slightest change.
“Sis, tell me honestly. Do you still like Zhou Yushen?”
Shen Nanyue immediately denied it.
“How is that possible?”
“You might be able to fool other people, but you can’t fool me! You’ve always been someone who can pick up and let go of relationships easily. Like with Chen Mu.”
Though, to be fair, she hadn’t really had much affection for Chen Mu either…
After a brief pause, Shen An’an continued, “But when it comes to my former brother-in-law, you’re completely different!”
Shen Nanyue frowned.
“How am I different?”
Shen An’an cleared her throat and straightened her back.
“The fact that you married Zhou Yushen in the first place is already different enough.”
Shen Nanyue pressed her lips together without speaking.
Shen An’an continued, laying bare what she believed to be her sister’s feelings.
“You’ve never had any expectations for marriage. In fact, you hated the idea of it. I once thought you’d never get married in your entire life. Honestly, when I returned to the Shen family and learned that you’d already gotten married, I was happy. I thought you’d finally let go of what happened when you were young.”
“You hate deception more than anything. Zhou Yushen hid his identity from you, and he was tangled up with that woman, Gu Linlang. I used to think he wasn’t right for you at all. But after watching the two of you interact lately, everything seems so peaceful between you. Now I’m wondering if I misjudged him. Sis… you do like him, don’t you?”
Shen Nanyue looked at Shen An’an for a long moment before finally asking, “You investigated him?”
She had never told Shen An’an anything about her relationship with Zhou Yushen.
The fact that Shen An’an knew he was the young master of the Zhou family and knew about Gu Linlang meant she had uncovered those things herself.
Shen An’an was visibly stunned.
Then she looked at Shen Nanyue with dissatisfaction.
“You’re focusing on the wrong thing!”
The important part was the last question!
Suddenly, Shen Nanyue laughed.
She curved her lips into a smile and looked at Shen An’an.
“So, An’an, how do you want me to answer?”
Shen An’an fell silent.
If Shen Nanyue said she liked him, Shen An’an still didn’t think Zhou Yushen was a suitable partner.
If she said she didn’t, then Shen An’an felt her sister had lived too exhausting a life and deserved someone to accompany her.
The phone in Shen Nanyue’s pocket vibrated twice before falling silent again.
She knew who had sent the message, but she ignored it.
Taking Shen An’an’s hand, she traced the faint scars on the back of it with her warm fingertips.
In a calm voice, Shen Nanyue said, “An’an, you don’t need to worry about me. No matter what kind of life I live in the future, you’ll always be my little sister. What I want most is for you to live well.”
“I want you to live well too!”
Shen An’an blurted out urgently.
Shen Nanyue smiled at her.
“I will.”
Her voice was firm, not like someone trying to offer empty reassurance.
Looking at her sister’s face, Shen An’an felt an increasingly heavy weight settle in her chest.
Only after returning to her room did Shen Nanyue take out her phone.
There was a text message from an unknown number.
The attached photo showed Zhou Yushen and Gu Linlang from behind.
The height difference between them was obvious.
They wore matching couple’s coats as they walked down a snow-covered street.
The woman tilted her head toward the man, smiling brightly.
The man was looking at her as well, his eyes filled with gentleness.
Neither of them carried an umbrella.
Snowflakes settled on their shoulders, gathering all the romance of the moment into a single frame.
Below the photo was a line of text:
“January 22, 2024 — Gu Linlang and Zhou Yushen’s first date.”
Shen Nanyue’s slender fingers scrolled across the screen.
There were many messages.
One after another.
Each contained different photos of Zhou Yushen and Gu Linlang, accompanied by captions written like entries in a relationship journal.
Having grown up around Shen An’an and absorbed her knowledge over the years, Shen Nanyue could tell that the photos were genuine and not doctored.
She turned off the phone and forced herself to focus on other things instead.
….
Zhou Yushen and Li Che did not return directly to their apartment.
Instead, they headed to the place where Chen Mu was being held.
It was a remote cottage on the outskirts of the city.
Years ago, the family living there had struck it rich and moved away, leaving the house abandoned ever since.
As Zhou Yushen stepped through the door, he saw Chen Mu tied tightly with coarse hemp ropes.
A strip of tape covered his mouth.
There was also an untreated wound on his head, with dried blood crusted across his forehead.
The moment Chen Mu saw Zhou Yushen enter, his eyes widened, bloodshot veins visible within them.
“Mmph!”
He struggled violently, trying to rise from the chair, but a bodyguard beside him forced him back down.
At Zhou Yushen’s signal, a bodyguard ripped the tape from Chen Mu’s mouth.
The bodyguard was anything but gentle.
As the tape came off, the skin around Chen Mu’s lips became red and inflamed, and the lower half of his face flushed crimson.
But he paid no attention to the pain.
Instead, he glared viciously at Zhou Yushen.
“So it was you! Why did you kidnap me? I’m telling you, if you don’t let me go, Yueyue won’t let you get away with this!”
Even though he was no longer Shen Nanyue’s fiancé, he knew how loyal she was.
If she found out he had been captured, she would definitely rush to save him.
Zhou Yushen let out a scornful laugh.
“What the hell are you supposed to be?”
The lighting inside the room was dim.
Outside, the moon was hidden behind thick clouds.
Dense darkness pressed in from beyond the doorway.
The yellow glow of the lone light bulb seemed almost fearful of the encroaching night.
Suspended from the ceiling, the bulb swayed slightly in the wind, casting flickering shadows.
One moment the darkness seemed to advance, the next a sliver of light pushed it back.
Under the shifting illumination, Zhou Yushen’s face looked exceptionally grim.
His dark eyes resembled a bottomless abyss, enough to make anyone uneasy.
Chen Mu gritted his teeth and stared at him but said nothing.
Li Che dragged a chair over from the side.
Zhou Yushen took it and slammed it down directly in front of Chen Mu before sitting down.
An icy, oppressive aura radiated from him as he fixed Chen Mu with a cold stare.
“I’ll ask you one more time. Who were the people that kidnapped my mother back then?”
“So that’s why you kidnapped me?”
Chen Mu asked before suddenly bursting into laughter.
“So even you can be driven into a corner, President Zhou. You may have dragged me here, but my father will find me soon enough. In Fengcheng, nobody can bully the Chen family.”
Arrogant to the end.
A mocking smile curled across Zhou Yushen’s lips.
He accepted a dagger from one of the bodyguards.
As the blade gleamed under the dim light, the atmosphere grew heavier and more oppressive.
Yet Zhou Yushen continued smiling—a smile both wicked and arrogant.
“Then let’s see whether your father finds you first, or whether I end the Chen family bloodline first.”
The knife’s edge flashed cold white.
For the first time, genuine fear filled Chen Mu’s face.
Instinctively, he clamped his legs together and looked at Zhou Yushen in terror.
“Don’t do anything crazy! What you’re doing is illegal!”
“Oh?”
Zhou Yushen lifted his eyes to look at him and replied with a few icy words:
“Then call the police.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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