While eating breakfast, Shen Zhinian browsed through the unread and push notifications on his phone.
Naturally, he saw the news concerning the Shen family selling their child.
He skimmed through the articles roughly; right now, the internet was entirely filled with condemnation against the Shen family and curses directed at Shen Tiancheng.
Yet his own unread messages were packed with curses from Shen Tiancheng.
Shen Tiancheng seemed convinced that he was the one who leaked the whole affair online.
He had probably called at dawn to curse him out, but after Shen Zhinian rejected two of his calls, he simply turned his phone off, never expecting such a scandal to blow up.
Shen Zhinian gave Shen Tiancheng’s messages a casual scan.
Nothing new. It was always the exact same insults.
He exited the chat window and clicked open Shen Mingyi’s chat box.
Nothing new there either, just the usual hypocritical concern.
Shen Mingyi was the kind of person who constantly went out of his way to pick fights and bring him misery whenever they met face-to-face, yet on the phone, he forever played the role of the devoted little brother.
Utterly hypocritical.
Shen Zhinian moved his fingers and blocked him right away.
Then he opened Ye Qinghe’s messages.
Instead of bringing up the online drama, Ye Qinghe asked if he wanted to go play ball, mentioning that a new restaurant had opened near the court and asking if he wanted to check it out.
Shen Zhinian politely declined.
Putting down his phone and getting ready to resume eating, another push notification popped up on his screen.
Shen Zhinian took a bite of his fried egg and casually tapped open the push notification.
After reading it for a couple of seconds, his chewing gradually slowed down.
A clarification Weibo post from the Shen family had appeared online.
The gist of the post was: The Shen family had never sold any child. The rumors claiming the Shen family sold a child were sheer nonsense, fabricated facts, and forged evidence.
The signature on the documents circulating online had also been photographed from a completely different contract; no child-selling incident had ever occurred.
Following that, it offered an explanation regarding the gossip on Jiang University’s campus forum.
It claimed that Shen Zhinian had gotten into an argument and threw a tantrum out of anger, which was why he uttered those words.
It also blamed adolescent moodiness and unfiltered speech for unexpectedly causing everyone to keep discussing it.
For the sake of protecting Shen Zhinian’s privacy, they asked everyone to show mercy with their words and drop the discussion.
It wasn’t good for the child.
Shen Zhinian stared at the Weibo post published by the Shen Group’s official Weibo account.
After reading it twice, a string of question marks drifted across his mind.
What was this supposed to mean?
Making him take the fall and pushing the blame onto him?
With Shen Tiancheng putting it this way, not only were the discussions on the campus forum painted as groundless nonsense fabricated by a temporarily furious Shen Zhinian, but even last night’s whistleblowing post exposing the Shen Group was being spun to make everyone suspect Shen Zhinian had leaked it.
After all, anyone capable of getting their hands on a signature from a contract had to be someone close to Shen Tiancheng.
Everything was reduced to Shen Zhinian throwing a temper tantrum to piss off Shen Tiancheng, framing him for selling a child out of spite.
Just like that, Shen Zhinian’s image online was no longer that of a rebellious kid throwing a tantrum.
Right now, internet users already viewed Shen Zhinian as an unfilial ingrate who casually slandered his own family, lied without blinking, forged evidence, and manipulated public opinion to attack his biological father.
Shen Zhinian looked at the curated comment section under the Shen Group’s Weibo post.
Every single comment was condemning him.
Flipping through a few at random, Shen Zhinian closed his phone and went back to eating.
After finishing breakfast, he went upstairs to his room to change clothes.
Stepping out of his room a moment later, he spotted a woman standing right outside his door, giving him a fright so intense his hair nearly stood on end.
He stumbled sideways, his shoulder slamming hard against the doorframe.
Staring in sheer terror at the woman before him, Shen Zhinian was rendered temporarily speechless.
“Little Niannian, did you miss me?” Xia Zhihao smiled very gently.
Yet to Shen Zhinian, her voice felt like a pair of hands choking his throat. “You, when did you get here?”
“I arrived while you were sleeping,” Xia Zhihao said, running her fingers through her hair.
She wore a short black bob that brushed her jawline, looking thoroughly sharp and capable. Her facial features were well-defined, with long, thick eyelashes that made her eyes look as though they had permanent eyeliner tattooed on.
Her red lips were striking, exuding an air of unrestrained, captivating charm.
She was five years older than Shen Zhinian, practically an older sister to him.
As for that whole older sister and younger brother dynamic…
Shen Zhinian viewed himself as her lifelong slave, terrified of her since childhood.
He couldn’t beat her when he was little, and once he grew up and knew better, he stopped fighting back. Yet Xia Zhihao maintained her old habit, landing a few whacks on him whenever the mood struck.
“Did you miss me?” Xia Zhihao asked.
Shen Zhinian forced a smile and looked toward Bo Chengjing, who was walking over.
Bo Chengjing glanced at his outfit and asked, “Going out?”
“Yeah.” Shen Zhinian wanted to walk over to Bo Chengjing’s side, but Xia Zhihao blocked his path, leaving him no choice but to retreat a step. “Going to handle some things.”
“Shen Tiancheng’s business?” Bo Chengjing asked.
Shen Zhinian nodded.
Bo Chengjing asked, “What do you plan to do?”
“Burn the Shen residence down,” Shen Zhinian’s gaze turned frosty. “Let him learn what a real temper tantrum looks like.”
“Mm, gutsy. Not a bad idea,” Xia Zhihao said, reaching out to sling an arm over Shen Zhinian’s shoulder.
Instinctively sidestepping to dodge her hand, Shen Zhinian naturally slipped over to Bo Chengjing’s side.
Xia Zhihao’s hand hung suspended in mid-air as she shot him a cold glare.
Shen Zhinian used Bo Chengjing as a human shield.
Looking at Xia Zhihao, Bo Chengjing said mildly, “You’re just adding fuel to the fire.”
Dropping her hand, Xia Zhihao fell silent.
Bo Chengjing continued, “And after burning down the Shen house? What’s the plan?”
“Look at you,” Xia Zhihao said. “You’re not just adding fuel to the fire anymore, you’re straight-up enabling him!”
Shen Zhinian chuckled.
Bo Chengjing turned his head to give him a look.
Xia Zhihao rolled her eyes and drawled, “Haven’t seen the young master smile like that in years.”
“Brother, look at her,” Shen Zhinian snitched.
“Such a little snitch,” Xia Zhihao remarked.
“Brother, look at her,” Shen Zhinian repeated his complaint.
Bo Chengjing’s phone rang, and he walked off to take the call, successfully escaping the battlefield.
The moment he left, Xia Zhihao delivered two sharp swats to Shen Zhinian.
With her heavy-handed strength, Shen Zhinian felt his arm bruise on the spot.
He rubbed his arm, glaring daggers at Xia Zhihao.
Xia Zhihao felt thoroughly refreshed after landing those hits, completely unbothered by his glare.
“When are you leaving?” Shen Zhinian asked.
“Depends on my mood,” Xia Zhihao replied.
Standing not far away while taking his call, Bo Chengjing watched Shen Zhinian sporting an aggressive, ice-cold face while aggrievedly rubbing his beaten arm, and couldn’t help the corners of his lips curving upward.
Pulling out his phone, Shen Zhinian announced, “I’m booking you the earliest flight out. Pack up and get lost.”
“Whatever,” Xia Zhihao said. “Anyway, I don’t feel like leaving, and an airline ticket can’t drag me away by force.”
Shen Zhinian shoved his phone back into his pocket. “What did you even come back for?”
Xia Zhihao looked at him, glanced over at Bo Chengjing who was still on the phone in the distance, and then said, “Sigh, actually, my coming back this time is to accomplish a very important task.”
“What task?” Shen Zhinian frowned, asking suspiciously.
He had a feeling she wasn’t brewing up anything good.
“A task I struggled with for ages, debated for a long time, and finally made up my mind to do,” Xia Zhihao said.
Listening to her recite lines like a poetry reading, Shen Zhinian’s expression turned utterly speechless.
“Take the cue,” Xia Zhihao shot him a sideways glance when he stayed silent.
Speechless, Shen Zhinian obediently played along. “What task?”
“I’m going to be with Bo Chengjing. I’m going to marry him,” Xia Zhihao declared. “I’m going to be the mistress of the Jingnian Group.”
Hearing her ambitious, oath-like declaration, Bo Chengjing gave her an unamused, sideways glance.
As for Shen Zhinian, his expression transitioned from speechlessness straight into utter shock: “Are you insane?! You’re an Alpha, and he’s an Alpha! You two together?”
“I’m a woman,” Xia Zhihao raised a hand to elegantly flip her hair back.
“You’re an Alpha,” Shen Zhinian said somewhat excitedly. “Does being a woman stop you from being an Alpha? You have a rut, and he has a rut. Your pheromones will repel each other.”
“So what?” Xia Zhihao snapped her fingers. “We’ll be the unrivaled dual Alphas.”
“Get lost,” Shen Zhinian said. “I object.”
“What does it have to do with you?” Xia Zhihao countered.
“I just object!”