“How can you say that? Which stepmother would be like me, taking such pains to find a partner for her predecessor’s son?”
“Hmph! That little scheme of yours, who doesn’t know what it is?”
“Old Shen, since the young lady has already come to the house, let Yanbin take a look. What if they hit it off? Yanbin’s taste has always been extraordinary.”
Passing by the study, Shen Yanbin heard the sound of his father and stepmother arguing inside.
So the heavyweight downstairs wasn’t actually found by his father.
With thoughts spinning in his mind, Shen Yanbin’s pace gradually slowed down.
Whether it was a heavyweight or a socialite, he had no interest in either of them.
He had made up his mind never to marry.
As Shen Yanbin walked to the door of his own room and was about to open it and go inside, a figure flashed over and blocked the doorway.
“Eldest young master, you saw that woman downstairs, didn’t you? You’re going to marry her as your wife. What great fortune you have, ha-ha.”
His stepmother’s son from the same father, Shen Zhiyong, ran over to be sarcastic and gloating.
Because Shen Yanbin possessed exceptional capability and held the high position of company president, while Shen Zhiyong was an academic failure who couldn’t handle intellectual work and could only do odd logistics jobs in the company, Shen Zhiyong harbored resentment in his heart.
He felt that because he wasn’t the eldest son, he didn’t get heavily trusted by his father.
He had also never been willing to call Shen Yanbin older brother; this title of eldest young master carried a heavy satirical meaning.
Shen Yanbin withdrew his hand from the door handle.
Facing his younger brother’s provocation, he showed no irritation at all, gave a calm smile, and asked:
“Zhiyong, that girl was introduced by your mother, right? Judging by her facial structure, could she be related to your maternal grandmother’s family?”
“She’s the niece of the older brother of the aunt of the distant cousin of my mom! Her name is Fang Yuan, and she’s as fat as a ball. She’s a true match made in heaven for you, the eldest young master, ha-ha.”
Knowing the true background of that girl, Shen Yanbin felt a bit more grounded.
Looking at his younger brother, who was laughing so hard he couldn’t straighten up, he remained gentle and refined, saying righteously: “Zhiyong, you have to do your brother a favor.”
Shen Zhiyong reined in his laughter a bit and let out a cold snort. “You must be talking in your sleep. How could I possibly help you?”
“You really have to help.”
“Heh.” Shen Zhiyong proudly raised his chin and speechlessly averted his face.
“Let me show you something.”
Smiling mysteriously, Shen Yanbin took out his phone and tapped the screen a few times.
Then he handed it over for Shen Zhiyong to see.
Shen Zhiyong was unimpressed at first, sweeping a slick, roguish glance over the edge.
The moment he saw clearly what it was, his complexion changed drastically in an instant, and his speech even stuttered.
“Y-y-you… why do you have this thing?”
“This is the evidence of you taking kickbacks when purchasing office supplies for logistics. If you don’t help me, it will grow legs and walk straight over to Dad, you know.”
“No, no, no. It must not grow legs!”
Shen Zhiyong panicked.
Ever since he was a child, he feared his stern father the most.
If his father found out he was taking kickbacks, he would surely be furious enough to tear him apart, and would only think even less of him compared to his older brother.
Unconvinced in his heart though submissive in appearance, Shen Zhiyong glared at Shen Yanbin and asked through clenched teeth, “How do I help you?”
Shen Yanbin smiled like a fox, hooked a finger at his younger brother, and motioned for him to lean in close.
At the dining table.
The four members of the Shen family plus the heavyweight young lady sat together for dinner.
“Yanbin, you’re 28 years old, no longer a kid, you should settle down and start a family.” His stepmother Feng Yemei’s plump, round face beamed with smiles, though a malicious gleam hid in the depths of her eyes. “Look at this girl opposite you, her name is Fang Yuan, such a wonderful girl. She…”
“Mom!” Younger brother Shen Zhiyong put down his bowl and chopsticks, interrupting his mother’s words. “I have something to tell you.”
“Whatever business you have can wait. Let’s talk about your brother’s affairs first.”
“I have to say it right now.” Shen Zhiyong closed his eyes with a resigned, all-or-nothing attitude, and proclaimed loudly:
“I like Fang Yuan!”
“Pfft—” Their father, Shen Kangyu, was so startled that he spat out the rice in his mouth. “What nonsense is this?”
The instigator, Shen Yanbin, lowered his long eyelashes to conceal the smile in his eyes, maintained a polite and proper posture, and continued eating without looking aside.
“Y-y-you… you like me?”
Fang Yuan’s basin-sized face flushed a deep red, and she opened her mouth wide in shock.
Grains of rice fell out of her mouth one by one, mixed with a few bits of fatty meat, looking particularly foul.
Even stepmother Feng Yemei wore an expression of disgust and turned around to scold the younger brother:
“Zhiyong, have you lost your mind? What kind of crazy talk is that?”
“I haven’t lost my mind. I fell in love with Fang Yuan at first sight, and I love her so much I can’t extricate myself… Ah.”
Stepmother Feng Yemei was furious beyond control, striking the younger brother right on the forehead with the tip of her chopsticks. “I worked so hard to raise you to this age, and this is how you anger me!”
The more she spoke, the angrier she grew, raining heavy slaps down on the younger brother’s body.
Unable to bear the pain, the younger brother got up and fled. “Mom, stop hitting me, I really do like her.”
The stepmother chased after him, hitting him. “You’re still talking, you’re still talking.”
At the dining table, their father Shen Kangyu put down his chopsticks, casting a meaningful gaze at Shen Yanbin.
Shen Kangyu, the chairman of a well-known enterprise with thousands of employees, naturally radiated an unforced, intimidating presence.
Under such a scrutinizing gaze from him, ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to draw a full breath.
Only Shen Yanbin acted as if nothing had happened, calmly and steadily continuing his meal.
After such a commotion, the marriage arrangement between Shen Yanbin and Fang Yuan was completely ruined.
Therefore, the meal tasted exceptionally delicious to Shen Yanbin.
However, he was still celebrating a bit too early.
His shrewd father, who had watched him grow up, spoke up: “The Huo family’s daughter, Huo Sina, is graduating from Harvard with a master’s degree and returning home next month. Yanbin, you go to the airport to pick her up.”
Shen Yanbin put down his bowl and chopsticks, sighing helplessly.
“Dad, I don’t even know her. To rashly go pick her up at the airport wouldn’t be very appropriate, would it?”
“I’ll give you her information later.” His father’s tone brooked no refusal; his attitude was extremely firm.
“Did you get back from your business trip yet?”
As soon as Shen Yanbin returned to his own room, he immediately called his close friend Luo Tao to discuss how to resolve this matter.
His old fox of a father was not someone as easy to deal with as a housewife like his stepmother.
He had to prepare himself for a tough battle.
“I’m getting back tomorrow. What? Is it a matter of life and death?” Luo Tao found it somewhat amusing that his friend, who was always scholarly and refined and had never even blushed in front of outsiders, was actually getting anxious.
It just showed how much he detested being forced into a marriage.
“Pretty much.” Shen Yanbin walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the garden outside, a trace of irritation overflowing between his heroic brows. “The day after tomorrow, eight o’clock in the evening, our usual spot, my treat.”
“OK.”
The day after tomorrow.
Fengya High-End Restaurant.
Night, eight-ten.
Just as Shen Yanbin finished parking his Rolls-Royce, he received a call from Luo Tao.
“You brat asked me to meet at eight, and now it’s eight-ten. Where are you?”
“Sorry, the traffic on the road jammed up a bit, but I’ve already arrived downstairs.”
“Then I’ll order the dishes now.”
“Mhm.”
While talking on the phone, Shen Yanbin walked toward the restaurant entrance.
Just after hanging up with Luo Tao and slipping his phone back into his pocket, a man bumped straight into him head-on.