On the way back, Shen Nanyue wasn’t driving.
The entire ride, she kept her head lowered, staring at her phone as she replied to Xiao Qi:
“Xiao Qi, keep watching Chen Mu and Chen Ting.”
“Got it, Sister Yueyue.”
Shen Nanyue put down her phone, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washing over her.
Her body was tired, and so was her heart.
Zhou Yushen glanced at her sideways, unconsciously recalling the image of her tear-filled eyes from earlier.
His chest ached painfully.
Pressing his lips together, he asked in a deliberately casual tone,
“Who is An’an to you?”
Shen Nanyue’s body stiffened, instinctively becoming guarded.
But the clear, warm sandalwood scent lingering around Zhou Yushen filled the car.
Thinking of something, her nerves slowly calmed.
“An’an is my younger sister… though we’re not related by blood.”
She parted her red lips slightly, her voice flowing softly like a stream.
Zhou Yushen had assumed she wouldn’t answer.
Hearing her speak so honestly caught him off guard.
“Before my dad passed away, my parents adopted An’an from an orphanage. We grew up together. Even though we aren’t biologically related, we’re as close as real sisters.”
“After my dad died, my mom remarried. To avoid affecting my mom’s new life, An’an moved out to live on her own. Three years ago, An’an accidentally crossed paths with a group of vicious people. I went to save her, but I nearly fell into their hands too. When I woke up, I had been rescued… but An’an was gone.”
As she spoke about the past, sorrow was impossible to hide in Shen Nanyue’s eyes.
Back then, amidst the sea of flames, she could vaguely hear An’an screaming and calling for help.
Every time she thought about it, unbearable pain and regret spread through her heart.
Zhou Yushen frowned.
Three years ago.
The memories he had lost… were also from three years ago.
Three years. Truly an unlucky number.
“How are you so sure An’an is with Chen Mu?” he asked.
Only then did Shen Nanyue turn to look at him.
Seeing his gaze calmly fixed on the road ahead, as though he were merely asking casually, she fell silent for a long moment before replying.
“Chen Mu’s younger sister has hemophilia. Her blood type is rare, and it just so happens to match An’an’s. Every time she’s had an episode over the years, they’ve never once worried about finding blood.”
“And I saw my sister’s paintings in the Chen family home.”
Understanding dawned on Zhou Yushen.
Which meant An’an might have been serving as a living blood bank for Chen Mu’s sister.
“The painting you bought at the auction last time… was that your sister’s?”
Back then, Shen Nanyue had cared far too much about that painting.
The nostalgia in her eyes had already made him feel something was off.
Shen Nanyue nodded.
Leaning back against the seat, she sighed softly and forced herself to sound relaxed—whether she was trying to avoid the topic or comfort herself, even she didn’t know.
“No matter what happens, I’ll never give up looking for An’an.”
“I can help you.”
A faint smile curved Shen Nanyue’s lips as she answered softly,
“Thank you for the offer, but the waters here run too deep. You should just stay focused on being a normal office worker.”
Zhou Yushen wanted to say more, but Shen Nanyue interrupted him.
“I’m a little tired. I’ll rest for a bit. Wake me when we arrive.”
Left with no choice, Zhou Yushen fell silent.
Shen Nanyue closed her eyes, though she wasn’t actually sleepy.
Her mind was far too restless, her thoughts too active.
Even exhausted, she couldn’t possibly sleep.
She was only using it as an excuse to avoid continuing the conversation with Zhou Yushen.
An’an’s disappearance was connected to the Chen family, and also to that group of vicious criminals.
So what exactly was the relationship between the Chen family and those people?
At the very least, she was still the young heiress of the Shen family in Fengcheng.
She had money and some connections.
But Zhou Yushen was different.
To her, he was just an ordinary man working diligently at his job.
If he got dragged into all of this, he’d be chewed up until not even bones remained.
Telling Zhou Yushen these things was simply Shen Nanyue’s way of letting him understand her a little better.
But she still wouldn’t allow him to become too deeply involved in any of it.
The car sped along the road and soon stopped in front of the Shen family villa.
The moment the car stopped, Shen Nanyue opened her eyes.
“I’m a little thirsty.”
Just as she turned her head, Zhou Yushen spoke first.
A hint of expectation flickered in his dark eyes.
Shen Nanyue swallowed the words she had been about to say and changed them instead.
“Then come inside and have a glass of water.”
With that, she got out of the car first.
A victorious smile curled onto Zhou Yushen’s lips as he watched her leave the vehicle.
Over the past two days, Shen Nanyue had brought him to her studio’s celebration gathering and even told him her secrets.
Perhaps… he was finally succeeding.
After asking someone to retrieve her car from the road near the Chen family estate, Shen Nanyue led Zhou Yushen into the house.
The moment Old Master Shen saw Zhou Yushen enter, he was delighted.
He enthusiastically beckoned Zhou Yushen to sit opposite him.
A chessboard sat on the table, black and white pieces scattered across it in the middle of an endgame.
“Xiao Zhou, do you know how to play chess?”
“I know a little,” Zhou Yushen answered modestly.
“Then let’s play a round. Let me see how good you are!”
“Alright.”
The old man and the young man immediately began their match.
Standing nearby, Shen Nanyue suddenly felt like an outsider.
Every time Zhou Yushen came over, Grandpa completely forgot she existed.
Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, Shen Nanyue saw that neither of them paid attention to her, so she turned and headed upstairs.
After changing clothes and washing up properly, she came back downstairs.
Grandfather and grandson were fully absorbed in their game, while she sat down on the sofa nearby and began handling studio work on her tablet.
At that moment, the butler walked in and handed an invitation to Old Master Shen.
“Master, this is an invitation from the Meng family. Tomorrow is the birthday of the Meng family’s eldest madam. They’ve invited you to attend.”
“What kind of junior invites an elder to celebrate her birthday? My mother can go instead.”
Before Old Master Shen could speak, Shen Nanyue answered first.
The butler nodded and left with the invitation.
He thought Miss Shen made a good point.
No matter how he looked at it, the Meng family should’ve sent the invitation to Madam Shen, not directly to the old master.
Old Master Shen let out a cold snort.
Most likely, the Meng family had sent invitations to both households—one to him and one to Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu had long wanted to separate herself from the Shen family, but she couldn’t bear to give up the benefits the Shen family provided, so she continued clinging to the family along with her daughter.
The Meng family was clearly trying to curry favor with the future mother-in-law in order to marry Shen Nanyue.
Old Master Shen sneered inwardly.
He tolerated Zhou Yu for the sake of his deceased son, but that didn’t mean he would tolerate the Lin family or the Meng family as well.
“Yueyue, since your mother is going tomorrow, you don’t need to go.”
“Got it, Grandpa. I don’t want to get covered in trouble either.”
That bastard Meng Yan—she didn’t want to see him again at all.
Quietly, Zhou Yushen relaxed.
Until Shen Nanyue could accept his identity as the young master of the Zhou family, he intended to keep it hidden for as long as possible.
It was just a pity that she wouldn’t get to witness the good show he had arranged for tomorrow.
“Oh my, Xiao Zhou! You call this ‘knowing a little’? Don’t you dare go easy on me. Today I’m going to use all my years of experience to properly challenge you!”
“You flatter me, Grandpa. My chess skills really aren’t that good.”
As he spoke, Zhou Yushen placed a black piece down and captured several of Old Master Shen’s pieces at once.
Old Master Shen: “…”
Seeing her grandfather so genuinely happy for once, Shen Nanyue found herself smiling as she sat nearby.
Looking at Zhou Yushen, gratitude surfaced in her heart for the very first time.
— The end of the Chapter–
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