Shen Qiao’s voice interrupted Shen Zeming’s thoughts.
“Call him.”
“Grandfather, even if I go speak to him in person, he won’t come back. A phone call would be even more useless.” Shen Qiao handed the cane to Shen Zeming. “Uncle can take care of himself. Right now, your health is what matters most. Seeing you eat well is our family’s greatest wish.”
Shen Zeming put down the photo frame and grasped the cane to stand up.
“Grandfather,” Shen Qiao hesitated before speaking, “Uncle didn’t grow up by your side since childhood, so his bond with us… is quite weak. Last time, you even hit him… Could it be that… he might disown us?”
Shen Zeming remained silent, his gaze profound and unreadable.
Shen Qiao couldn’t decipher that look.
Just as the two reached the staircase landing, they saw Jiang Yuli walking in through the entrance.
Shen Qiao had thought he wouldn’t return tonight.
But in the end, he had come back.
What did this mean?
Jiang Yuli still hadn’t given up on Hundred Rivers Group.
Two years ago, he returned from abroad, replaced his father Shen Baichuan, and abruptly became the new president of Hundred Rivers Group.
To this day, they still didn’t understand what agreement Jiang Yuli had reached with the old master that allowed him to ascend to that position so easily.
“Father.”
“It’s good that you’re back.”
Shen Zeming’s tone was flat, his face showing no trace of emotion.
The stalemate between father and son had lasted for twenty-six years.
Only in recent days had Shen Zeming begun to feel some remorse, but this belated guilt was something he didn’t know how to express.
His wife… hadn’t appeared in his dreams for a very, very long time.
But these past few days, because of Jiang Yuli, her figure had appeared almost every night.
In the dining room, despite being a family dinner, an unusual silence enveloped the table, with only the faint sounds of utensils clinking and food being chewed.
Shen Qiao looked around and, seeing that no one was speaking, reluctantly broke the silence: “Uncle, your injuries… are they better?”
Jiang Yuli’s expression remained cold: “Yes, much better.”
“Don’t blame Grandfather,” Shen Qiao quickly added, “He was also doing it for the Shen family’s reputation. Fortunately… Susu wouldn’t like your icy personality anyway. Grandfather, please forgive Uncle. The pain of unrequited love is truly hard to bear.”
Shen Zeming had little appetite tonight and had only taken a few bites. Hearing Shen Qiao’s words, he lifted his eyelids to look at Jiang Yuli.
That face still showed no expression.
They were father and son, but they resembled enemies more.
The resentment brewing in Jiang Yuli’s heart was far from insignificant.
Shen Zeming slowly spoke: “Romance is you young people’s business. I will… no longer interfere in the future.”
Shen Qiao’s heart jolted!
What did Grandfather mean by this?
Was he no longer opposed to Uncle pursuing Su Lingyu?
But Su Lingyu was his ex-girlfriend!
Wasn’t Grandfather afraid that Uncle pursuing his nephew’s ex-girlfriend would become a laughingstock if word got out?
Why had Grandfather’s attitude changed so suddenly?
Could it be… because of those few words Su Lingyu had said that day?
Did those few words possess such magic?
Not only Shen Qiao, but Shen Baichuan and Shang Shuya also keenly sensed that the old master’s attitude toward Jiang Yuli tonight was indescribably peculiar.
After dinner, Shen Zeming rose with his cane: “Jiang Yuli, come with me outside.”
Jiang Yuli stood up expressionlessly and followed him out of the dining room.
“Dad, what do you think Grandfather wants with Uncle?” Shen Qiao asked in a low voice.
“I don’t know.” Shen Baichuan’s eyes were shadowed with unreadable emotions.
In Jiang Yuli’s memory, the last time he had stepped into his father’s room was before he was sent abroad.
He had just started kindergarten then and completed a drawing—a picture of their family, including the mother he had never met.
Overjoyed, he ran to show it to his father.
Shen Zeming gave it only a fleeting glance before tearing it apart violently.
“You don’t have a mother!”
“She’s gone! She left us forever because she gave birth to you!”
“Get out! I don’t want to see you!”
Events from when he was five should have faded from memory, but that scene remained etched in his mind.
His father grabbed him by the collar and threw him out of the room.
The little boy fell to the floor, looking up at his towering father.
His eyes were fierce, his tone icy: “From now on, you are not allowed to enter my room without my permission.”
Those words became a mountain crushing his young heart.
Twenty-one years later, Jiang Yuli stepped into Shen Zeming’s room once more.
He paid no attention to the room’s furnishings, his gaze fixed directly on the photograph of his mother hanging on the wall.
His father had deeply loved his mother, deeply loved his eldest brother Shen Baichuan, and doted on his nephew Shen Qiao.
Only… he didn’t love him.
Shen Zeming had never shown concern for this son throughout his life.
At this moment, he should have asked, “Does your injury still hurt?”
But he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
The old man had lived his entire life with unyielding pride, never bowing his head, let alone apologizing to his son.
Since he remained silent, Jiang Yuli stood straight and quiet, his gaze steady like a cold, unfeeling stone statue.
Seeing him like this, Shen Zeming felt a surge of inexplicable anger. But tonight, he hadn’t come to vent his frustration.
He opened a drawer and took out a black box.
“This is for you.”
Jiang Yuli accepted it indifferently. “Thank you.”
This seemed to be the extent of their father-son relationship.
He didn’t even care what Shen Zeming had given him and turned to leave.
“Jiang Yuli!” Shen Zeming finally couldn’t contain his anger. “Don’t you have anything to say to your father?”
A trace of sorrow and helplessness flickered in Jiang Yuli’s cool eyes. “I’m not the son you favor. The more I speak, the more mistakes I make. Staying silent… is also a mistake.”
Under the light, father and son stood facing each other, barely two meters apart yet separated by an insurmountable chasm.
“Jiang Yuli, must you speak to me like this?”
“Sorry, I never learned how to charm you like Shen Qiao does.” Jiang Yuli tightened his grip on the box. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
“Where do you think you’re going!” Shen Zeming growled. “This is your home too!”
Home?
Since returning two years ago, he had never spent a single night in this so-called “home.”
They had long grown accustomed to his absence.
His presence, in contrast, made him the outsider.
They were the family.
He was only one in name.
“That statement…” Jiang Yuli’s voice was as light as a sigh, “…I stopped believing it when I was eight.”
He didn’t linger, walking straight out.
Outside the door, Shen Qiao was peeking around the corner.
“Uncle, what did Grandpa talk to you about?”
“None of your business.” Jiang Yuli didn’t break stride, his figure disappearing around the staircase.
Shen Qiao stared at the black box in his hand—given by Grandpa?
What could it be? It must be important!
Jiang Yuli continued downstairs.
In the living room, Shen Baichuan and Shang Shuya pretended to eat fruit while their eyes followed him closely.
An engine started, and the car drove away.
Shen Qiao plopped down onto the sofa: “Dad! Did you see that? What was Uncle holding in his hand? What did Grandpa give him?”
He was far too curious!
Shen Baichuan was equally full of suspicion.
The old man had neglected Jiang Yuli for many years, let alone given him gifts.
Tonight, he had unusually allowed him into his room and even given him something…
“Want to know?” Shen Baichuan’s eyes darkened, “Then go investigate.”