“No.”
Jiang Yuli answered bluntly.
None of the Shen family members loved him, so why would they bother giving him a nickname?
Su Lingyu fell silent instantly, realizing she had asked something she shouldn’t have.
Jiang Yuli drove Su Lingyu home and watched her figure disappear behind the door before leaving.
After returning home, Su Lingyu first chatted with her brother and sister-in-law for a while, then visited her parents’ room before finally going to her own room to rest.
When she woke up the next day, only her sister-in-law was among the close elders at home.
Her sister-in-law, being pregnant, was already having her second breakfast of the day.
“Good morning, sister-in-law~” Su Lingyu greeted warmly, gently stroking Lu Xiang’s prominent baby bump. “Hello there, little one! I’m your auntie! Auntie can’t wait for you to come out so I can take lots of photos of you and buy you gold necklaces and bracelets! Mwah!”
Lu Xiang’s eyes softened. “What’s really going on between you and Shen Qiao…?”
“We broke up,” Su Lingyu said lightly.
“It’s a pity I’m so heavily pregnant now, otherwise I’d love to take you out to relax and have some fun.” Lu Xiang caressed her belly. “Your brother won’t let me go anywhere.”
“After you give birth, sister-in-law, you can go wherever you want! My brother definitely won’t dare to control you then!” While eating breakfast, Su Lingyu sent a message to Jiang Yuli.
[Rain: Uncle, uncle, your suit is cleaned. Where are you? I’ll bring it to you.]
[Uncle: Home.]
[Rain: Address address!!]
[Uncle: Shen family.]
The Shen Family Mansion?
It wasn’t far from here.
Su Lingyu was somewhat surprised. She had thought Jiang Yuli lived alone elsewhere, never expecting he actually resided in the Shen Family Mansion.
After quickly finishing her breakfast, she told Lu Xiang, “Sister-in-law, I need to go out for a bit. Bye!”
Watching her brisk departing figure, Lu Xiang felt slightly relieved that she seemed genuinely unaffected by the breakup, hoping it wasn’t just a brave front.
Shen Family Mansion.
Jiang Yuli was originally heading to the company when Old Master Shen Zeming summoned him back with a phone call.
The seventy-four-year-old Old Master Shen had been in decent health last year, but it had declined rapidly this year.
His hair graying, he stood before Jiang Yuli leaning on his cane.
Though forty-eight years separated father and son, their temperaments shared some similarities, both possessing a fierce intensity in their eyes.
When Jiang Yuli was young, he had once cried and clung to Shen Zeming’s leg, begging him not to send him abroad.
Now, Jiang Yuli felt nothing but indifference toward this biological father.
“Jiang Yuli!” Shen Zeming’s voice carried the frailty of illness yet remained authoritative. “I’m asking you—did you steal your nephew’s girlfriend!”
Jiang Yuli’s gaze flickered faintly toward Shen Qiao.
Shen Qiao stood to the side, looking smug.
Clearly, he had seized the opportunity to complain to the old master right after he woke up.
“Jiang Yuli, you’re supposed to be the elder. How could you do such a thing?” His elder brother Shen Baichuan joined in the accusation.
Their mother had died from complications during Jiang Yuli’s birth, and even though Shen Baichuan had been in his twenties at the time, this resentment had never faded.
His sister-in-law Shang Shuya added sarcastically, “You’ve only been back for two years. How much could you possibly understand about Su Lingyu? She has Separation Anxiety Disorder—she’s been attached to Ah Qiao since childhood; that’s a bond formed over years of growing up together. Being with you isn’t good for her! The Su family would never entrust their precious daughter, whom they’ve cherished and protected, to someone as cold-blooded and heartless as you!”
The entire family, united in their criticism.
All targeting him.
Shen Qiao watched coldly from the sidelines, waiting to see how Jiang Yuli would respond.
What right did he have to compete with him? The timing, geographical convenience, and human support were all on his side.
Shen Qiao also joined the condemnation: “Uncle, Mom is right. If you truly care about Xiaoyu, you should let her go. Her illness hasn’t improved in sixteen years, which shows the Su family has been indulging her, and she herself resists treatment. She needs someone clingy, while you… are aloof and distant. You two are fundamentally incompatible!”
His tone shifted to pleading, “Uncle, I’m begging you, give Xiaoyu back to me, alright? Oh, I forgot—you two aren’t even together yet. Then I beg you, stop pursuing her, okay? How disgraceful it would sound if word got out! An uncle chasing his nephew’s ex-girlfriend! The Shen family’s reputation would be ruined! Grandpa, don’t you agree?”
Shen Qiao finished his rapid-fire speech.
Shen Zeming watched Jiang Yuli’s cold, proud, and silent demeanor, his anger flaring.
He knew Jiang Yuli hated him for sending him away back then.
He didn’t care, and he didn’t like this son.
To give birth to Jiang Yuli, he had lost his beloved wife and became a widower.
“He’s right!” Shen Zeming thumped his cane heavily. “Look at what you’ve become! You barely have a kind word for me, and you still want to be with Su Lingyu? Even without the Su family saying anything, I’m telling you—you two are not suited! If you want to marry, I can arrange it. But Su Lingyu, she and A’Qiao are the ones who belong together! After so many years of feelings, don’t you dare interfere! Act like an elder should!”
“What should an elder be like?” Jiang Yuli’s voice was icy and piercing. “Since childhood, I’ve had no elders around me. I don’t understand. Father, teach me—should an elder shout and insult their son at will?”
“You are my son! Whatever I say, you have to endure it!” Shen Zeming roared, his face flushing red and his breath turning ragged.
Shen Baichuan and Shang Shuya, standing nearby, held their breaths, intimidated by the intensity.
Jiang Yuli’s gaze showed no retreat: “I’m not unconvinced.” But Su Lingyu is her own person. Whom she chooses to be with is her decision. Right now, she is single, and I am single. I have the right to pursue her. I will not give up.”
“Your wings have hardened? You won’t even listen to your father?!” Shen Zeming’s eyes widened in fury. “If I had known you’d oppose me at every turn today, I should have abandoned you back then and let you fend for yourself!”
Jiang Yuli sneered inwardly.
Shen Zeming was a traditional patriarch—his authority was not to be challenged.
Shen Baichuan and Shen Qiao both bowed their heads in submission.
Only he, Jiang Yuli, refused to yield.
Why should he sacrifice himself for others’ sake?
No one cared for him, so he would care for himself!
“I said, you are not to compete with Shen Qiao for Su Lingyu! Do you hear me?” Shen Zeming commanded sharply.
“I. Do. Not. Agree.” Jiang Yuli enunciated each word.
Before the words fully faded—
Thud!
Shen Zeming’s cane whistled through the air and struck Jiang Yuli’s shoulder and back with a heavy, dull thud that echoed through the living room.
Jiang Yuli’s body swayed violently. He clenched his jaw, instantly straightening his spine again, his eyes still cold and unyielding.
Shen Qiao, watching from the side, felt his heart leap—Grandfather had used brutal force.
“You don’t agree?!” Shen Zeming was enraged. “An elder competing with a younger for a woman—if you’re not ashamed, I am! Should the Shen family’s face be thrown away?!”
Shen Zeming trembled with fury, his cane whistling through the air as it landed heavily, again and again, on Jiang Yuli’s back, arms, and legs.
Jiang Yuli remained silent throughout, lips pressed tightly together, the veins on his temples throbbing, enduring the searing pain, his eyes as still and cold as a frozen pond.
Shen Qiao quietly retreated to sit beside Shen Baichuan, lowering his voice: “Dad, Grandfather is really serious today.”
“I can tell. Your grandfather dotes on you the most.” Shen Baichuan glanced at him. “Why did that Su girl suddenly want to break up? Weren’t you two always getting along well?”
“I…” Shen Qiao guiltily lowered his voice further, “Just… found her too clingy, said some harsh words, and she threw a tantrum.”
“That’s all?” Shen Baichuan sounded skeptical.
“Really! Dad, you know how annoying she gets when she clings. I’m so busy with work, sometimes when I’m frustrated, I inevitably speak a bit harshly…” Shen Qiao evaded the details.
The father and son whispered secretly.
In the hall, the dull thuds of a cane striking flesh continued. Shen Qiao watched Jiang Yuli enduring it stubbornly, feeling a twisted sense of admiration—what a tough bone to crack.
Shen Zeming was panting from exertion, yet Jiang Yuli remained silent as a mountain. He roared: “You insist on competing with him?! What gives you the right to compete with him?! With your wretched state, no one would ever like you!”
Jiang Yuli was in excruciating pain, but the physical agony was nothing compared to the tearing, dull ache in his heart.
Was it his fault that his mother died in childbirth?
He was just a newborn baby.
From as far back as he could remember, his father and elder brother had always been cold-faced, leaving only the servants for company.
Family affection? He had never tasted it.
And now he was expected to be the “good elder,” to sacrifice and suffer for others’ sake? Why should he?!
Gritting his teeth through the pain, every word he spoke seemed squeezed from between them: “We’ll each rely on our own abilities. If Shen Qiao can make Su Lingyu change her mind, I’ll accept it.”
Furious, Shen Zeming slammed his cane on the ground: “What are you?! Why would Su Lingyu choose you?!”
Jiang Yuli wasn’t entirely confident either. But at least he wouldn’t be like Shen Qiao, forbidding others from seeking reconciliation or being good to Su Lingyu by threatening them. What was the use of that? The choice had always been in Su Lingyu’s hands alone.
“That’s her decision.” Jiang Yuli’s voice was cold as ice.
“How dare you talk back!” Shen Zeming was enraged. With all his strength, the cane whistled through the air and came crashing down again!
Just then—
“Uncle! Uncle!!”
A panicked cry cut through the oppressive atmosphere.
Su Lingyu’s figure rushed in.