Bo Chengjing walked over to Shen Zhinian and reached out to gently stroke his head.
“Find something to do, or go take a nap,” Bo Chengjing said.
Shen Zhinian gave a soft acknowledgment. “Mhm.”
“I might not be back for lunch,” Bo Chengjing said.
“Mhm,” Shen Zhinian replied again.
Bo Chengjing stroked his head once more and turned to walk toward the door. Just as he reached the entrance, however, he heard the sound of Shen Zhinian’s footsteps following closely behind him.
Before he could turn around, Shen Zhinian suddenly embraced him from behind.
Bo Chengjing’s entire body stiffened.
Shen Zhinian lowered his head, resting his forehead against Bo Chengjing’s shoulder and rubbing against it ever so lightly. “Brother, I miss Mom.”
A pang of ache rippled through Bo Chengjing’s heart. He raised a hand to grip Shen Zhinian’s wrist, his thumb slowly stroking the inner side of the younger man’s wrist.
Leaving the house, Bo Chengjing headed straight for the Shen residence.
And the moment he left the house, Shen Zhinian received a phone call from Shen Tiancheng.
Shen Tiancheng wanted Shen Zhinian to step forward and admit that everything he had said earlier was just him throwing a temper tantrum and talking nonsense, and that the Shen family had never sold any child.
“You’re also a member of the Shen family. What good does it do you for the Shen family to bear a reputation like this?” Shen Tiancheng said over the phone. “Besides, this whole matter started because of you. If you hadn’t said those things at school, how could anyone have put this stuff online?”
Shen Zhinian stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the pond of lotus flowers in the yard sway gently with the breeze. His deep, sharp eyes carried an intent to kill, cold, ruthless, and looking down on all living things as though they were nothing. “Has the matter reached this point because of me?”
“How is it not caused by you?” Shen Tiancheng roared in a low voice. “If it weren’t for your unfiltered mouth…”
Shen Zhinian cut him off. “If you hadn’t sold me, even if I had said it, what could it have possibly done to the Shen family? You’re just feeling guilty because you have a guilty conscience.”
“Things have already reached this point. Why can’t you just let this matter pass? How many years has it been?” Shen Tiancheng said. “Aren’t you doing fine right now? Crushing the Shen family, what good does that do you? Bo Chengjing is bound to get married eventually, bound to have a family of his own, with his own wife and children. By then, in what capacity will you stay by his side? A younger brother? What can you possibly get out of that?”
Shen Zhinian narrowed his eyes slightly.
“He’s pouring his heart and soul out for you right now, but once he has a family of his own, all his thoughts will be on his children. Who will you be then?” Shen Tiancheng’s tone softened a fraction. “You carry the bloodline of the Shen family; no matter what, your last name is Shen. There will always be a share for you in the Shen family.”
“So?” Shen Zhinian’s voice held a mocking amusement.
“So protecting the Shen family and making the Shen family grow stronger is what matters most.” Shen Tiancheng failed to catch the danger in his tone. “We are family, forever and always.”
“Then after I step forward and admit to it?” Shen Zhinian asked. “Have you ever thought about what will happen to me afterward?”
“A child making a slip of the tongue and saying the wrong thing, then stepping out to issue a clarification, who’s going to say anything? Our family is the victim; someone exploited your words to smear the Shen family. As long as we play our cards right this time, the Shen family will make a comeback and land in a very advantageous position.” Shen Tiancheng assumed Shen Zhinian had compromised, a hint of a smile creeping into his tone. “Besides, all this internet noise is loud now, but everyone will forget about it in a few days. During this period, just stay home and rest for a few days.”
Shen Zhinian curved the corners of his lips in a faint smile, yet his eyes remained devoid of warmth.
The vast expanse of lotus flowers before him was replaced by a dark, sunless laboratory.
He was strapped to a testing table, losing count of how many times needles pierced his skin every day.
He had no idea how much blood was drawn from him daily, nor how many experimental drugs were injected into his body.
The ruts driven time and time again by pharmaceuticals; the pheromones warped by those drugs.
Every single second of torment, every single second of desperately wishing for death.
Shen Zhinian slowly closed his eyes, which were brimming with killing intent.
“What are you laughing at?” Shen Tiancheng demanded.
Shen Zhinian opened his eyes, casting his gaze once more upon the pond of lotus flowers in the yard. “This matter didn’t start because of me. It started because of you, Shen Tiancheng.”
Shen Tiancheng on the other end seemed taken aback that the younger man would address him directly by name. After a momentary pause, he lashed out harshly, “What did you say?!”
Another soft chuckle escaped Shen Zhinian’s lips. “Why do you think I exposed this matter? Did you really think everyone was as brainless as your precious son?”
“Shen Zhinian! You’re audacious! What are you saying! What are you trying to do?!” Shen Tiancheng yelled.
Shen Zhinian held the phone a little further away, waiting until the roaring stopped before speaking. “Why are you howling like that? I genuinely have no idea how Mom ever fell for you back then.”
“Shen Zhinian, what on earth are you trying to do?!” Shen Tiancheng continued to bellow.
“You’ll find out very soon.” Shen Zhinian’s voice carried a pleasant, relaxed tone.
Yet falling into Shen Tiancheng’s ears, that voice sounded straight out of a nightmare.
“Since I’ve brought this matter to light, I’ve already made the preparations to send you inside,” Shen Zhinian said. “Oh, right. There’s someone named Old Xing whom you know quite well, aren’t you? His illegal procurement of drugs is already on the way to the police station. There’s also a big gift waiting for you at the station.”
“You!” Shen Tiancheng’s breathing turned ragged and choked, leaving him momentarily speechless.
“Unlike you, I’m not as stupid as a pig,” Shen Zhinian sneered. “Ruining your father-in-law’s family fortune, cheating on your wife while she was pregnant, then killing your wife, selling your son, lifting your mistress to the position of official wife, giving illegitimate sons formal recognition, and finally doing business with the money you made from selling your son. Just how good do you think the Shen family’s reputation is out there?”
“Shen Zhinian, stop spouting nonsense!” Fear saturated Shen Tiancheng’s tone.
Shen Zhinian continued, “I wouldn’t even deign to look twice at the pathetic scraps of the Shen family. Only incompetent people worry about how to attach themselves to others. As for me, I can live a carefree, well-fed life without relying on anyone. Because, I carry my mother’s blood in my veins. Thankfully, your dirty, trashy genes didn’t have any effect.”
“Shen Zhinian! Do you have any respect for seniority, hierarchy, or filial piety left in your eyes?” Shen Tiancheng shouted.
“Of course I do, but you don’t deserve it,” Shen Zhinian said. “Do you know why I took this call? Because this will be our final conversation. I wanted to let you die with your eyes open.”
With that, Shen Zhinian hung up the phone, blocked Shen Tiancheng’s number without hesitation, switched his phone to silent, and slid it into his trouser pocket.
Everything around him seemed to grow quiet.
He watched the lotus flowers swaying softly in the breeze within the courtyard. The sun was bright, chasing away the darkness from every corner.
Things were falling into place, one by one, exactly as planned.
These were all the results he wanted.
Yet Shen Zhinian felt not a shred of happiness.
He walked over to the fish tank, pinched some fish food, and sprinkled it in.
Shen Tiancheng’s words echoed in his ears.
Bo Chengjing will eventually have a family of his own.
He will have his own wife, his own children. Who will you be by then?