Ji Zhouye cut off Zhao Song’s finances, and overnight, all of Zhao Song’s small businesses collapsed.
Zhao Song realized he had angered more than just Shen Li. Desperate, he sent Zhou Lifen to plead with Shen Li.
Shen Li had no idea until Zhou Lifen appeared.
Zhou Lifen was stopped outside by security; Jiang Qing couldn’t get in, so she waited in the parking lot for Shen Li to finish work. She hadn’t expected that the place she once freely entered now wouldn’t let her in. Times had truly changed.
She grabbed Shen Li’s arm.
“Son, I beg you, give us a way out.”
A flash of anger crossed Shen Li’s eyes. He shook her off, feeling pure disgust.
“Zhao Song’s matters aren’t my doing. It’s none of my business.”
“Mom knows it’s not you. Please, talk to Ji Zhouye on our behalf,” Zhou Lifen pleaded, eyes brimming with tears.
The scene was almost like a devoted mother begging an unfilial son.
“Do you think Ji Zhouye is the same Ji Zhouye as before?” Shen Li said with a trace of sadness. “My words don’t matter anymore. I’m already thankful if he doesn’t touch Jiang Qing.”
“Mom knows you’re just angry. I was wrong to make you separate from him. I apologize. Ji Zhouye still cares about you—if you just ask, he’ll listen.”
Shen Li scoffed bitterly.
“Care about me? No, I’m nothing in Ji Zhouye’s eyes. I have to tread carefully under his nose, afraid that if I make a wrong move, Jiang Qing will be ruined.”
“Impossible! Trust me, Mom’s judgment is good,” Zhou Lifen said, shaking her head tearfully.
Shen Li’s gaze was distant, cold.
“I won’t beg Ji Zhouye. I’d rather Zhao Song go to hell.”
“Why are you so heartless? Zhao Song has nothing good. You abandoned your family for him!” Zhou Lifen tried the family-plea card.
“I don’t buy it. Choosing Zhao Song is abandoning me,” Shen Li shouted.
“What charm does he have that makes you cheat on Dad?”
“He was Mom’s first love,” Zhou Lifen admitted quietly.
“So Dad deserves to be cheated on?”
Shen Li’s heart was immune to these pleas.
“Get lost, or I’ll shut down all your stores.”
Zhou Lifen, owner of several clothing and makeup shops, looked at the cold, ruthless man before her, regretting ever giving birth to him. After failing, she left.
Sitting in his car, Shen Li thought back. As a child, maids raised him, while his mother’s love was absent under the same roof. She never cared about his grades, sickness, or birthdays. Everything was superficial.
The first time he defied her was when she forced him to break up with Ji Zhouye. Eventually, she succeeded.
Years ago, the Ji family was wealthy, but not as influential as Jiang Qing. Zhou Lifen used family power to threaten him:
“Either break up with Ji Zhouye and go abroad, or watch him be ruined. You two won’t be accepted by society, and nothing will come of it.”
Shen Li calmly asked, “If I don’t break up, what will you do?”
“I’ll leak it to the media. You know I can control public opinion. He’ll be constantly criticized online, his life, family, and company affected.”
Back then, society was almost intolerant of homosexuality.
“If that’s not enough, I’ll destroy JH. Ji Zhouye will hate you forever,” she warned.
He wanted to ask his father to intervene, but Zhou Lifen crushed that thought:
“Do you want to make this family miserable? Your grandmother pressured your father to let you go abroad. That’s final.”
So he went abroad. His grandmother passed two years later. He attended the funeral and was sent abroad again.
Back in the present, Shen Li was late picking Ji Zhouye up. Ji Zhouye waited silently, letting him explain.
“Traffic was bad. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“Feeling unwell today?” Ji Zhouye asked.
“No.”
On the way home, Shen Li glanced at him, casual and teasing.
“Are you caring about me?”
Ji Zhouye replied flatly,
“I care when Shenli is sick.”
Shen Li froze.
“What if I and Shenli are sick at the same time, who will you care about first?”
“Shenli,” Ji Zhouye didn’t even give him face.
Shen Li: Great! I’m less important than the dog.
Zhou Lifen had claimed Ji Zhouye cared about him—clearly it was Shenli the dog who mattered.
Ji Zhouye smirked.
“Why do you always compare yourself to the dog?”
“Being a dog has more perks than being a human,” Shen Li muttered.
Ji Zhouye asked, amused: “Like?”
Shen Li, embarrassed, didn’t reveal his true thoughts:
“Like… eating lots of treats.”
Ji Zhouye laughed.
“Have I starved you?”
“Not really.”
At home, Shen Li spent time playing with the dog, feeding it treats. Shenli spun happily around him. If Ji Zhouye hadn’t stopped him, Shen Li would have fed the dog endlessly.
Even after Ji Zhouye stopped the treats, Shen Li secretly opened a can for it, unable to resist.