Ch 4: Is There Really Such a Good Thing? [QT]

Shen Yunrui also noticed Shen Yunxuan and, afraid of further complications, quickly said, “Grandpa, a few days ago, I fainted from low blood sugar while crossing the road. Luckily, Huaizhi carried me to safety; otherwise, I would’ve been hit by a car! I never imagined such a coincidence—that Huaizhi’s grandfather saved you, and now Huaizhi has saved me.”

She let out a light laugh. “At the time, he thought I was going to die and spent ages giving me first aid.”

Lin Huaizhi exchanged a glance with Shen Yunrui, rubbed the back of his head, and chuckled, appearing somewhat simple and honest.

Old Master Shen frowned slightly. “Don’t say things like ‘dying.’ It’s unlucky!” Then, his mind lingered on the mention of “first aid.” What could it involve other than CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?

That meant Lin Huaizhi and Shen Yunrui had already embraced and kissed! Seeing how shy they both looked, it was clear they had feelings for each other. If he insisted on matching Lin Huaizhi with Shen Yunxuan, wouldn’t it make things unbearably awkward for everyone?

His immediate reaction was to dismiss Madam Shen and Shen Yunxuan to prevent them from saying anything disruptive. “Just now, Guobang called and asked you two to meet him. Go on now; I’ll stay here and talk with Yunrui and Huaizhi.”

Madam Shen was furious but managed to keep her composure to avoid losing face in front of Lin Huaizhi. All she wanted was to drag Shen Yunrui back to her room for a scolding, but with Old Master Shen’s authority, she dared not disobey. Forcing a smile, she agreed and left with Shen Yunxuan.

Shen Yunxuan remained silent from beginning to end, which made Shen Yunrui let out a sigh of relief. She was certain the matter was now settled, and her dream of a life of luxury was secured.

---

Once in the car, Madam Shen tried calling Shen Guobang, but he didn’t answer. Guessing he was in a meeting, she instructed the driver to head to the Shen Group headquarters. She was in a panic and needed to inform Shen Guobang of the developments immediately.

Sitting beside her, Shen Yunxuan’s silence fanned Madam Shen’s anger. “Why didn’t you say anything just now? The Lin family marriage is yours, and Lin Huaizhi is your fiancé. Your sister is being unreasonable, but so are you! Why didn’t you speak up to stop her? What kind of sister are you?”

Staring straight ahead, Shen Yunxuan replied evenly, “Shen Yunrui was saved by someone, and despite knowing she’s engaged, she fell in love at first sight. She then spent days sneaking out to nurture the relationship, only to discover he’s her future brother-in-law. Overjoyed, she rushed home to tell Grandpa. Like you, I was too stunned to react before Grandpa threw us out.”

She finally turned to look at Madam Shen. “Mom, didn’t you teach her proper conduct? I remember you always praised her for being the most thoughtful, obedient, and considerate.”

Madam Shen’s face alternated between green and pale, her words caught in her throat. Whether Shen Yunxuan was expressing grievance or sarcasm, Madam Shen couldn’t retort. Shen Yunxuan’s calm demeanor made her anger seem petty and unreasonable.

She couldn’t believe how sharp her daughter’s words had become—no vulgarities, yet every sentence was an implicit rebuke, dragging both her and Shen Yunrui into the mud.

How shameless and ill-mannered must Shen Yunrui be to fall for someone while engaged, simply because they saved her? Even if she was moved, she could have openly brought it up at home. Instead, she snuck around to develop feelings and, upon realizing her mistake, didn’t withdraw or show regret. She brought him home, clearly intending to imply they’d already been intimate, forcing the family’s hand.

Madam Shen’s anger shifted to Shen Yunrui. She blamed Shen Yunxuan for not interrupting earlier, but Shen Yunxuan simply mirrored her own shock. How could she demand a quicker reaction from Shen Yunxuan than she herself had? Worst of all, Shen Yunxuan’s final remark—wasn’t that a direct criticism of her parenting? Even her compliments of Shen Yunrui now sounded like mockery!

Grinding her teeth, Madam Shen sneered, “I said one thing, and you have a dozen waiting in reply.”

She turned her head, refusing to look at her infuriating daughter. But then Shen Yunxuan said, “Don’t worry, Mom. Since my sister is being unreasonable, I won’t be. She was born to be a young madam, and I was meant to marry into a poor village. I won’t let this marriage be switched. I’ll go back and tell Grandpa right away. What am I, something to be swapped around at will? Driver, stop the car!”

Startled, Madam Shen turned to see Shen Yunxuan’s hand on the door handle. Panicking, she pressed her daughter’s hand back. “Absolutely not! Lin Huaizhi is still there. If he learns about all this, the Shen family will lose face entirely. Just come with me to see your father first.”

Seeing Shen Yunxuan sit back with a cold face and closed eyes, feigning anger, Madam Shen grew even more anxious. If this matter spiraled out of control and reached the Lin and Huo families, or worse, became public, the Shen family would be utterly disgraced.

Moreover, their alliance with the Huo family was already a stroke of luck, a rare opportunity to climb higher. If the Huo family learned about this chaos, the marriage would fall through, and the repercussions would be severe.

Suppressing her frustration, Madam Shen stewed in silence. Thinking back to Shen Yunxuan’s remark about being “meant to marry into a poor family,” she fumed again. Why did every word her daughter said have to be so cutting?

The car remained silent the rest of the way. By the time they arrived, Madam Shen was seething, barely able to breathe. As soon as the car stopped, she got out and stormed into the building.

Meanwhile, Shen Yunxuan, relaxed and unhurried, leaned back and nearly dozed off. Stretching lazily as she stepped out, she even let out a small yawn before following Madam Shen at a leisurely pace.

She glanced at Madam Shen’s furious back and smirked. Wasn’t this another kind of “dog-eat-dog” scenario? It wasn’t often one got to see Madam Shen so enraged by her precious daughter.

Across the street, Huo Siheng was about to get into his car when he noticed them. Turning to his assistant, he asked, “Is that the Shen family’s Madam Shen, the one involved in the proposed marriage alliance?”

The assistant quickly replied, “Yes, and the young lady following her is the Shen family’s daughter.”

Both observed Madam Shen’s barely contained anger and Shen Yunxuan’s fleeting smile.

The assistant silently wondered, Her mother is fuming, and the daughter is smiling? Could she be unfilial? Is this the kind of family dynamic the Shen family has?

Huo Siheng frowned slightly before looking away and getting into the car. “Let’s go.”

The assistant nodded. Since the CEO didn’t instruct him to investigate, he treated it as if nothing happened. After all, this marriage was something the old lady was pushing for. If the future Mrs. Huo turned out to be decent, she could be respected. If not, she could simply be a decorative trophy wife—nothing more. The CEO would probably stay in his apartment most of the time and rarely come home.

---

Unaware of this small incident, Shen Yunxuan wouldn’t have cared even if she had known. By the time she reached the top floor, Madam Shen had already entered the office to speak with Shen Guobang. Having made her stance clear in the car, Shen Yunxuan had no interest in the commotion. She headed straight to the lounge and asked the secretary to prepare some tea and financial newspapers.

The newspapers were fine, but the tea and snacks tasted terrible. Shen Yunxuan suspected the secretary had brought over leftovers from the pantry that no one wanted.

As the “Shen family daughter,” she truly had no status here. None of the people around the elders treated her with any respect.

Opening a food delivery app, she ordered some tea and snacks under her name, but sent them to the chairman’s office address.

Shortly after, the delivery arrived but was stopped at the front desk due to the unique name and address. The receptionist had no choice but to call the secretary’s office. Another secretary went downstairs to retrieve the delivery and brought it to Shen Yunxuan. “Miss Shen, did you order this?”

“Yes,” Shen Yunxuan said. “Take it to my parents.”

She got up, carrying the snacks from the tea table, and walked to the chairman’s office. After knocking twice, she pushed open the door and smiled. “Dad, Mom, you’ve been talking for so long; you must be tired. I ordered some snacks for you.”

Both were deep in discussion about how to resolve the issue and were annoyed by the interruption. Shen Guobang frowned. “Why are you ordering delivery at the company?”

Placing the snacks on the table, Shen Yunxuan pointed at them and replied, “Dad, your company’s tea and snacks are barely edible. I had no choice but to order from outside. Since I was ordering for myself, I figured I couldn’t leave you out.”

Furious, Shen Guobang retorted, “Nonsense! The company’s provisions are high quality. How could they be inedible?”

“Try it if you don’t believe me,” Shen Yunxuan replied calmly. “Maybe it’s fine for me, but if this is ever served to an important client, they might think you’re dissatisfied with them.”

The secretary’s office, just outside the room, overheard everything. The secretary responsible for the tea immediately turned pale, cursing Shen Yunxuan inwardly. What’s the big deal? She’s just an unloved Shen family daughter. How dare she blow up a small issue like this and take it to the chairman?

The secretary had intentionally given her the least popular snacks because she disliked her. If Shen Yunrui came, she would warmly call her “sister” and show her the utmost hospitality. But Shen Yunxuan dared to escalate the matter by involving external clients, clearly trying to embarrass her.

Already upset by family matters, Shen Guobang’s temper flared further. He called the secretary in and reprimanded her harshly. Humiliated, the secretary couldn’t even lift her head. She felt the mocking gazes of her colleagues and wished she could disappear. But to make things worse, Shen Yunxuan spoke again.

With a disappointed tone, she said to Shen Guobang, “So it’s not the company’s fault, but your staff doesn’t respect me. I’m sure Shen Yunrui never gets this treatment. Your secretary wouldn’t dare do this if not for your attitude. It’s fine—when I marry out of the family, I won’t be a Shen anymore. I won’t get in your way.”

She picked up the delivery she had brought. “I suppose you wouldn’t appreciate my gesture, so I won’t bother leaving this for you.”

With that, she turned and left. By the time Shen Guobang and Madam Shen wanted to say something, she was already gone, leaving them both panicked.

Just moments earlier, they had decided to have Shen Yunrui marry into the Lin family and let Shen Yunxuan handle the Huo family alliance. But now, Shen Yunxuan seemed entirely disillusioned with them, even hinting at cutting ties in the future.

How could they let that happen? The purpose of the marriage was to secure benefits. If Shen Yunxuan harbored resentment and refused to support the family, they’d gain nothing at all.

🌸˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚⋆