Shen Zhi was sent away by Mother Shen under the pretext of "Didn't you say you wanted to go out today? Go change your clothes first."
She left quite cooperatively.
She was even a little happy.
After all, she had just eaten two extra little cakes and needed an excuse to leave that table, which felt as oppressive as a shareholders' meeting.
Once the sound of her footsteps disappeared around the corner of the stairs—
In the dining room, the five members of the Shen family all put down what they were holding at the same time.
Father Shen said gravely, "Study. Now."
No one objected.
Three minutes later.
In the study on the second floor of the Shen Family Estate, Shen Wang locked the door behind him.
The thick solid wood door shut out all noise from outside.
Yet the study was even quieter than the dining room had been.
Father Shen sat in the main seat, his expression grave.
Mother Shen sat to one side, her fingers still clutching her handkerchief, clearly still reeling from the shock.
Shen Wang stood by the window, phone in hand, the screen still showing the message Chen Zhou had sent.
Shen Tinglan stood with his arms crossed, his expression as complicated as if he'd just been photographed by paparazzi going out bare-faced.
Shen Chi was the one who couldn't sit still.
He paced back and forth in the study twice before finally losing his composure.
"So…"
"I wasn't hearing things?"
He pointed at himself, looking utterly devastated.
"Did our little sister really just call me a house-collapse-in-waiting?"
Shen Tinglan's eyelid twitched.
"That was aimed at me."
Shen Chi froze.
"Oh, right."
He let out half a sigh of relief.
The next second, it dawned on him.
"Wait, she called you a house-collapse-in-waiting—what did she call me again?"
Shen Tinglan gave him a lingering look.
"Turning a wealthy-family drama into a funeral drama."
Shen Chi: "…"
The study fell into dead silence once more.
Mother Shen drew a soft breath.
"You all heard it too?"
Father Shen looked at her. "You heard it as well?"
Mother Shen nodded, her voice trembling slightly.
"From the dining room onward."
"Zhizhi said 'good morning' out loud, but in her head she was saying… that she'd gone from a corporate slave to the fake heiress of a wealthy family."
Shen Tinglan immediately jumped in. "I heard it!"
"She also said my agent sold my dirt at wholesale prices."
The more he spoke, the angrier he got.
"Wholesale prices? I'm an A-list star! How can my dirt be sold at wholesale prices?"
Shen Wang shot him a cold glance.
"The point is the price?"
Shen Tinglan shut up.
Father Shen looked at Shen Wang.
"A-Wang, what you heard was about Zhao Wencheng?"
Shen Wang handed over his phone.
Father Shen took it. The moment he saw what was on the screen, his brows knitted tightly.
Chen Zhou's reply was brief and clear.
Zhao Wencheng had indeed scheduled an overseas funds approval for this afternoon.
The time.
The event.
It matched exactly what Shen Zhi had said in her head.
Mother Shen's face grew even paler.
"This can't possibly be a coincidence."
Shen Wang said evenly, "She never opened her mouth."
"I confirmed it—the voice didn't come from her lips."
Shen Tinglan immediately raised his hand.
"I confirmed it too."
"She still had shrimp dumplings in her mouth at the time."
"No one can chew shrimp dumplings and insult me at the same time."
Shen Chi looked at him. "How very rigorous of you."
Shen Tinglan: "I work in show business. Reading lips is a basic professional skill."
Father Shen raised a hand, stopping his two sons from straying further off topic.
"Everyone, repeat what you heard."
"Don't leave anything out."
The atmosphere in the study grew heavy again.
Mother Shen spoke first.
"She said she was… transmigrated here."
"She also said we're cannon fodder."
When she said the words "cannon fodder," her voice grew much softer.
As if she were unwilling to admit to something so absurd, yet unable to ignore it.
Father Shen continued, "She mentioned the Shen family going bankrupt."
Shen Wang: "Zhao Wencheng, offshore accounts, Lu Corporation, Lu Jingheng."
Shen Tinglan gritted her teeth: "The manager selling dirt, a rival, house collapse."
Shen Chi couldn't help cutting in: "And my illegal street racing—someone tampered with my brakes."
As soon as he said it, he laughed in exasperation.
"Seriously, I just entered a race—how did I get a broken-leg package arranged for me?"
Father Shen's face darkened.
"Shen Chi."
Shen Chi shut up immediately.
No matter how wild he usually was, he knew something was off here.
If it were just Shen Zhi overthinking, that would be one thing.
But Zhao Wencheng's fund approvals already matched.
So what about the rest?
House collapse.
Broken legs.
Bankruptcy.
Even a miserable old age for them.
These words didn't sound like ordinary complaints.
They sounded like someone who'd already seen the ending.
Mother Shen's eyes reddened.
"Zhizhi has been planning to leave all along."
"She says she's a fake daughter of a wealthy family, that the Shen family will kick her out sooner or later."
Shen Tinglan frowned.
"When did we ever say we'd kick her out?"
Shen Chi grabbed his hair in frustration.
"Who would dare kick her out? Half the car keys in her room were gifts from me."
Shen Wang said nothing.
He thought of Shen Zhi at the restaurant, head down, sipping her porridge.
Obedient.
Quiet.
On the surface, as if she didn't care about anything.
But in her head, she'd already mapped out her escape route—all the way to opening a bubble tea shop.
She wasn't throwing a tantrum.
She genuinely believed she'd be abandoned sooner or later.
Father Shen was silent for a long while before speaking.
"For now, we don't tell her."
Mother Shen froze.
"But Zhizhi……"
Shen Wang took over, his tone calm.
"She doesn't know we can hear her inner thoughts."
"If we suddenly bring it up, she might get scared, and from then on she might stop thinking things through entirely."
Shen Tinglan nodded at once.
"Given how wary she was just now, if she found out we could hear her, she'd probably climb over the wall with her black card tonight and run."
Shen Chi: "The Shen family wall is three meters high."
Shen Tinglan: "She can call a crane."
Shen Chi thought about it and actually found that reasonable.
Mother Shen grew even more worried.
"So we just keep pretending we don't know?"
Shen Wang said flatly, "For now."
"First, we confirm things about Zhao Wencheng."
He picked up his phone again, fingertip sliding across the screen.
"I've already had Chen Zhou quietly investigate Zhao Wencheng and the offshore accounts."
"We can't alert the enemy with this afternoon's approval."
"If someone from Lu Corporation really is behind him, moving too early would only cut off the leads."
Father Shen nodded.
"You handle the corporation side."
"I'll have the legal department and internal audit prepare, but nothing goes public."
Shen Wang: "Mm."
Shen Tinglan stroked his chin.
"So we're now…… the Pretend We Can't Hear Our Little Sister's Inner Thoughts Alliance?"
Shen Chi looked disgusted at once.
"That name is awful."
Shen Tinglan refused to back down.
"Then you come up with one."
Shen Chi thought for a moment.
"The Shen Family's First Family Brainwave Meeting."
Father Shen: "……"
Mother Shen: "……"
Shen Wang: "……"
Shen Tinglan clapped his hands.
"Even worse."
Shen Chi: "What do you know? It's called precise summarization."
Father Shen's temple twitched.
"Both of you, shut up."
The two sons fell silent instantly.
Father Shen looked around at everyone, his voice steady.
"From this moment on, no one shows a single flaw in front of Zhizhi."
"Whatever she says out loud, respond normally."
"Whatever she thinks inside, even if you hear it, act as if you didn't."
Shen Tinglan's expression turned pained.
"What if she's insulting me?"
Shen Wang said coldly, "Endure it."
Shen Chi gloated: "Your fans praise you all day—you could use some honest reviews."
Shen Tinglan sneered: "Don't get too smug either—she said you'd break your leg."
Shen Chi's face instantly turned green.
Mother Shen said softly, "The most important thing is that we can't let Zhizhi be scared."
She looked up at them, her tone unusually solemn.
"No matter what she's hiding in her heart, she is a child of the Shen family."
The study fell quiet for a moment.
Father Shen nodded.
Shen Wang also answered in a low voice, "Understood."
Shen Tinglan and Shen Chi exchanged a glance, and for once didn't joke around.
And so, the Shen family's first secret meeting reached a consensus amid absurdity and gravity.
Investigate Zhao Wencheng first.
Protect Shen Zhi.
Pretend to know nothing.
And absolutely never let her find out that the whole family could hear her inner thoughts.
A moment later, Shen Chi suddenly looked up.
"So when she said I'd break my leg—what was that supposed to mean?"