Shen Yanzhi’s gentle and considerate words left Chi Yu somewhat overwhelmed with flattery.
Was Shen Yanzhi being a little too good to her?
She was just a phone. Not only had Shen Yanzhi quickly accepted that she was different from other phones, but he even planned to take her out during the weekend holiday?
Chi Yu fell into a rare silence.
Shen Yanzhi continued his work.
As noon approached, Shen Yanzhi received a call from Old Master Shen.
Yesterday, after Chen Jin delivered the listening device to the Shen family’s old residence and specifically emphasized that it had been found in Shen Yanzhi’s car, Old Master Shen had shown no reaction in front of Chen Jin. However, after Chen Jin left, the old master flew into a rage, summoning Shen Hongguo and Shen Yuanzhong to his study to demand who had planted the listening device with GPS tracking in Shen Yanzhi’s car.
By sending this device to him, Shen Yanzhi’s meaning was already clear—it must have been secretly installed during his recent return to the old residence for dinner.
Shen Yuanzhong had originally been seeking Shen Hongguo’s help. He didn’t want to sign the contract as Shen Yanzhi wished, yet he couldn’t bear to watch Huang Sheng go to prison. He was in a state of utter distress.
After being called into the study and learning about the listening device, both Shen Yuanzhong and Shen Hongguo refused to admit any involvement.
Shen Yuanzhong had initially suspected Shen Hongguo, but upon hearing Shen Hongguo’s denial, he immediately sneered, claiming it must be the cunning and sinister Shen Yanzhi who had staged this himself, deliberately planting the device to frame him and his elder brother.
Old Master Shen didn’t believe him. Since neither Shen Yuanzhong nor Shen Hongguo would admit it, he would investigate himself.
Fortunately, Shen Yanzhi had discovered it early. When Chen Jin delivered the listening device, not a single person had left the Shen family’s old residence.
Not only Shen Yuanzhong and Shen Hongguo, but even the butler and servants working in the villa had remained.
In his youth, Old Master Shen had controlled the Shen Group for decades. Using his depth and cunning to investigate such a matter was truly overkill—like using a cleaver to kill a chicken.
In just one night, Old Master Shen had uncovered the mastermind behind the incident.
“I never expected your elder uncle would do such a thing.”
Over the phone, Old Master Shen sounded weary, as if he hadn’t rested well the previous night.
“I’ve ordered him to transfer the management and operational rights of Xiangshan Hotel to you as compensation and apology for his wrongdoing.”
Xiangshan Hotel was Old Master Shen’s private property. On Shen Hongguo’s fifty-first birthday, the old master had given him Xiangshan Hotel as a gift.
Located at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain, one of the country’s premier tourist destinations offering distinct scenery throughout all four seasons and hosting countless domestic and international visitors year-round with virtually no off-season, the hotel practically printed money.
With Xiangshan Mountain as its backdrop, the hotel was a money-making machine.
Shen Hongguo had coveted this hotel for years, mentioning it repeatedly, but the old master had steadfastly refused to hand it over. It wasn’t until Shen Hongguo’s fifty-first birthday that it was finally given as a birthday gift—though only the management and operational rights were transferred.
Now, because of yesterday’s incident where Shen Hongguo had bribed a servant to install a listening device in Shen Yanzhi’s car, Old Master Shen was directly ordering him to transfer Xiangshan Hotel’s management and operational rights to Shen Yanzhi as a gift of apology, free of charge. One could imagine how furious the old master was.
Upon learning that it was Shen Hongguo who had installed the listening device in his car, Shen Yanzhi wasn’t the least bit surprised.
Compared to his hot-tempered third uncle, this smiling tiger of an elder uncle was far more formidable.
“Thank you, Grandfather,” Shen Yanzhi said.
Hearing his gratitude, Old Master Shen sighed, seeming to want to say something more but ultimately holding back. He merely reminded Shen Yanzhi not to work too late, to balance work and rest, and to visit him more often when he had time.
Shen Yanzhi agreed to everything, and the call between grandfather and grandson soon ended.
Shortly after this call ended, Shen Yanzhi’s phone rang again.
Chi Yu glanced over and saw that this time, the caller was his black-hearted elder uncle.
Having just been reprimanded by Old Master Shen not long ago, even someone as thick-skinned as Shen Hongguo, who often lied without batting an eye, felt somewhat ashamed before making this call to Shen Yanzhi. He deliberated for a while before dialing.
Once the call connected, Shen Hongguo gripped the phone tightly in his right hand and opened with an apology: “Dear nephew, I must apologize for yesterday’s incident. I was momentarily possessed and had a servant do the wrong thing. The old master has already criticized me, and I know I was in the wrong…”
“But you’ve all misunderstood me. My intention in having that installed wasn’t malicious—I just wanted to know how you’ve been doing. Do you remember when you were little and your parents were often away, how your elder uncle would take you to the amusement park? Though I suppose you were so young then, you probably don’t remember.”
The more Shen Hongguo spoke, the smoother it became: “You were always such a well-behaved, obedient child. Even back then, I could see you’d be the most accomplished among the younger generation, so I often took you out. Now that you’ve grown up, we’ve gradually grown distant due to some misunderstandings and friction. This time—”
Before he could finish, Shen Yanzhi coldly interrupted: “Elder Uncle, are you referring to when I was four or five years old, when you repeatedly used the excuse of taking me to amusement parks to deliberately abandon me in crowded, unfamiliar places, and I had to find security booths myself to contact the driver to pick me up?”
Shen Hongguo’s expression froze, utterly shocked that Shen Yanzhi still remembered such trivial matters from so long ago—and even recalled all the details!
If not for Shen Yanzhi being so specific, he himself would have nearly forgotten about those times he had repeatedly abandoned Shen Yanzhi!
Chi Yu, listening on the phone, was equally stunned. The last time in the office, she had already sensed that this Shen Hongguo harbored ill intentions beneath his facade and was a hypocritical elder. But she never imagined he had done something so vile to Shen Yanzhi!
“Not at all, how could your uncle do such things? You must be misremembering,” Shen Hongguo said anxiously, wiping his sweat and filled with regret. If only he hadn’t tried reminiscing with Shen Yanzhi just now—bringing up the wrong topic entirely. Yesterday’s listening device matter wasn’t resolved yet, and now he’d dug himself another hole.
He hastily changed the subject: “How about this, dear nephew—I’ll give you those two projects I have in hand as compensation. How’s that?”
Chi Yu: …
Now she finally understood why Old Master Shen had specifically called earlier. Besides personally giving Shen Yanzhi an answer over the phone to avoid harming their grandfather-grandson relationship, he was also guarding against Shen Hongguo’s attempts to swap offerings!
Sure enough, he had agreed readily enough with Old Master Shen just moments ago, but now with Shen Yanzhi, he was already resorting to underhanded tactics.
This also proved that Xiangshan Hotel’s profits must be substantial. Otherwise, Shen Hongguo wouldn’t risk becoming a deadbeat in Old Master Shen’s eyes just to keep the management and operational rights to Xiangshan Hotel in his own hands.