Silence filled the restaurant.
The moment the words left Chen Mu’s mouth, he noticed Shen Nanyue looking at him.
In that instant, he felt the same embarrassment and fear one would feel when a shameful secret was exposed in front of the person they loved.
Shen Nanyue’s gaze remained calm and unreadable, devoid of any obvious emotion.
Yet Chen Mu somehow felt that her eyes carried disappointment, disgust, and a hatred he could not bear to face.
“Yueyue, don’t look at me like that…”
Shen Nanyue frowned in confusion.
How exactly was she looking at him?
Chen Mu’s expression became even worse.
His face turned deathly pale, almost translucent, while panic filled his eyes.
Under Shen Nanyue’s puzzled gaze, he suddenly stood up and ran straight out of the restaurant.
“Chen Mu?”
Shen Nanyue rose to her feet and called after him, but it was as if he hadn’t heard her.
He sprinted all the way out of the restaurant.
Watching Chen Mu’s retreating figure, Zhou Yushen’s expression remained unchanged, but the chill reflected in his dark eyes was impossible to hide.
“He looks like he’s been badly shaken.”
Shen Nanyue tried to leave the booth.
Sitting on the outside, Zhou Yushen stretched out his long legs, completely blocking her path.
“If we just let him run off like this, something could happen.”
She reached out to push Zhou Yushen aside.
Instead, he caught her wrist and gently but firmly pressed her back into her seat.
“He’ll be fine. Someone’s following him.”
Shen Nanyue looked at him questioningly.
Zhou Yushen explained, “On the way here, members of the Chen family were following us the entire time. There’s no way the Chen family would allow anything to happen to him.”
Only then did Shen Nanyue relax and sit back down.
Looking at Zhou Yushen’s somewhat gloomy expression, she hesitated.
“You…”
She wanted to ask about his mother.
But the words died before they could leave her lips.
She was no longer Zhou Yushen’s wife.
Nor was she his friend.
She no longer had the right to ask him about such personal matters.
“My mother was kept by my father in a villa on the outskirts of the capital. I grew up living with her.”
Although Shen Nanyue hadn’t asked, Zhou Yushen began explaining on his own.
She froze slightly but did not interrupt.
“When I was nine years old, my mother went out for a walk and happened to encounter Chen Mu after he’d been kidnapped. She secretly followed them and found their hideout in an abandoned building. She rescued Chen Mu, but the kidnappers discovered her.”
His voice remained calm.
“To protect Chen Mu, my mother was killed by those people. By the time my bodyguards and I arrived, she was already lying in a pool of blood.”
“There was no sign of life left.”
Shen Nanyue’s heart tightened painfully.
Zhou Yushen’s tone was so composed that it sounded as though he were recounting someone else’s story.
Yet she could clearly feel the grief and regret buried deep within him.
For some reason, the hand that had been holding her wrist slowly slid down and enveloped her entire hand within his large palm.
As warmth passed between them, the restlessness growing in his heart gradually settled.
Shen Nanyue’s fingers twitched.
But she didn’t pull away.
She simply sat there, quietly watching him.
“The kidnappers were never caught.”
“After the Chen family took Chen Mu away, none of them pursued the kidnappers. Not one of them even thanked my mother.”
Shen Nanyue frowned.
“So you think those kidnappers had close ties to the Chen family? Or perhaps they were partners of the Chen family?”
Otherwise, given Chen Tianming’s personality, how could he simply let the kidnapping of his own son go unresolved?
Only then did Zhou Yushen turn to look at her.
For the first time that evening, a genuine smile appeared on his lips.
“Smart.”
The softly spoken words carried his warmth as they reached her ears.
Shen Nanyue suddenly felt her ears growing hot.
Instinctively, she tried to withdraw her hand.
This time, Zhou Yushen didn’t stop her.
But as her hand slipped from his palm, his fingers unconsciously curled slightly, as though reluctant to let go.
“Judging by Chen Mu’s reaction, he knows where those kidnappers are. We just need to start with him.”
Zhou Yushen looked at her, confusion flickering in his eyes.
We?
Shen Nanyue’s face grew even warmer.
Turning her head toward the city lights outside the window, she mumbled,
“Both of us have reasons to hate the Chen family now. Since we’re already investigating them anyway, we might as well help each other.”
Reflected faintly in the glass window was Zhou Yushen’s face.
The soft lighting blurred his handsome features, making him seem unexpectedly gentle.
He gazed at her through the reflection.
A smile gradually spread across his lips.
Almost instinctively, Shen Nanyue turned her head.
The next second, she found herself pulled into an embrace.
She froze.
The pleasant scent of sandalwood from his body filled her senses.
It seemed to flow through her veins, gathering in her heart and making it pound wildly.
“All right.”
His deep, husky voice sounded beside her ear.
“We’ll help each other.”
His warm breath brushed against her earlobe.
Only then did she seem to regain her senses.
Immediately, she pushed him away.
“Let’s eat.”
Zhou Yushen didn’t tease her further.
But seeing that Shen Nanyue was no longer rejecting him as firmly as before, a quiet sense of satisfaction rose in his heart.
……
Huansheng Group soon announced bankruptcy and was subsequently acquired by the Meng family.
As for all of that, Shen Nanyue did not express the slightest concern for Zhou Yushen.
She had a vague feeling that, to Zhou Yushen, the Zhou Group seemed almost optional—something he could take or leave.
Ever since that dinner, Chen Mu had not contacted her again.
After discussing it with Zhou Yushen, they concluded that Huo Zhu might be a breakthrough point in their investigation.
Shen Nanyue temporarily handed her work responsibilities over to Assistant Xu and finally freed up some time for herself.
She invited Zhou Yushen and Li Che over to her house for dinner.
All arrangements for the meal were entrusted to Huo Zhu.
As a professional butler, Huo Zhu calmly accepted the task.
He immediately instructed the household staff to prepare the ingredients and began organizing dinner preparations right after lunch.
Judging by the scale of the preparations, he was determined to make the evening’s meal exceptionally lavish.
Zhou Yushen and Li Che arrived in the afternoon.
By coincidence, Shen Nanyue and Shen An’an had just finished lunch.
The sisters had finally found some free time and were curled up together on the sofa chatting.
Just as they were enjoying themselves, Zhou Yushen and Li Che strode into the house.
“What are you two talking about?”
Li Che was already very familiar with the Shen sisters.
He changed his shoes at the entrance and greeted them casually, as though he belonged there.
“And why would we tell you what we’re talking about?”
Shen An’an rolled her eyes at him.
Seeing how relaxed he looked, almost as if this were his own home, she couldn’t help feeling speechless.
“The way you’re acting, you’d think you’ve lived in the Shen family home for years.”
Li Che sat down beside her.
Hearing that, he leaned closer and spoke in a deliberately suggestive tone.
“I’m just preparing for the next few decades.”
For perhaps the first time in a long while, Shen An’an blushed.
Shen Nanyue looked at the two of them meaningfully.
“You two… made it official?”
Shen An’an’s face turned even redder.
But notably, she didn’t deny it.
Zhou Yushen naturally took a seat beside Shen Nanyue.
His gaze casually swept over Li Che’s smug expression before he sighed.
“Persistent pursuit can wear down even the toughest woman.”
Shen Nanyue felt that statement very deeply.
Looking at Li Che, she adopted the authoritative demeanor of an older sister.
“Treat An’an well. Otherwise, I’ll ruin you.”
It had been a long time since she’d embraced her identity as the spoiled young heiress she once was.
After saying it, she found the feeling unexpectedly satisfying.
“Don’t worry, Sis. I can’t spoil her enough as it is!”
Li Che immediately replied.
At that point, Shen An’an’s face looked ready to boil from embarrassment.
— The end of the Chapter–
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