“Shen Lanyin! What is wrong with you? I have warned you so many times that you must be home before ten o’clock at night!”
“Look at what time it is now!”
“If you continue to act like this…”
Facing the endless nagging of her mother, Xu Qingru, who fired off accusations like a machine gun, Shen Lanyin felt she had reached her limit.
Endure? There was no need to endure any longer.
Because enduring for a moment did not bring peace and quiet; it only invited others to climb all over your head!
They said taking a step back brings broader horizons, but let other people step back instead. She was never going to back down!
Shen Lanyin turned around abruptly.
“Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!”
She strode with large, furious steps straight toward Xu Qingru.
Like a raging storm, she approached with overwhelming momentum!
Xu Qingru’s breath caught in her throat. She nearly let out a shriek of terror, frightened into taking a step back.
With the corners of her lips half-curled in a careless, lowered gaze, Shen Lanyin exuded an aura of freezing, ruthless indifference that pushed people a thousand miles away.
“Learn from Shen Qingrou? Learn what?”
“Learn her honeyed words and venomous heart, her two-faced hypocrisy? Smiling to your face while tripping you up behind your back? Being a basin of fire in the open and a hidden blade in the dark?”
“Mom, in your eyes, is Shen Qingrou the only daughter you have?”
“Is she good at everything while I am completely useless? Do both of you mother and daughter wish for me to die early?”
Hearing this, Xu Qingru’s face turned ashen. Her hands, hanging at her sides, trembled imperceptibly, and cold sweat began to bead along her temples.
Heh, how ironic. The people closest and dearest to her actually wished for her death.
Suddenly, the dull ache in her chest transformed into a sharp dagger twisting back and forth.
Every single cut carved deeply and heavily into her heart, spurting out a string of bright red blood droplets.
Even in her childhood, Shen Lanyin had known her mother hated her. And seeds watered by hatred would naturally only bloom poisonous flowers when grown.
From the pointing fingers and gossiping whispers of those around her, she knew her birth was unblessed.
The foundational backdrop of her life was pitch-black, where you could not see your own fingers in front of your face.
She did not know who her father was, and her unmarried mother had nothing for her save harsh reproaches and beatings.
Her heart grew colder by the day, and she became increasingly rebellious.
Later, Xu Qingru took her along to marry Shen Zhaochuan as his second wife.
Only then did she meet the sole ray of light in her life: Shen Huaixu.
He was the best older brother in the world, pampering her unconditionally.
No matter what mistake she made, Shen Huaixu would help her clean up the mess. To her, he offered only care and tolerance.
She wanted to clutch tightly onto this warm ray of light, but he happened to be her brother, destined someday to illuminate another woman’s life.
Even though letting go meant her world would plunge into eternal darkness without a single trace of daylight, she had no choice but to cut him loose.
Because she did not want to ruin her mother’s marriage, nor did she want to become a stain in Shen Huaixu’s life.
Kindness has a premium price and should never be cheapened on unworthy people.
Clearly, her mother, Xu Qingru, was just such an unworthy person.
Shen Lanyin smiled, the curve of her lips contemptuous as she deliberately drew out her tone: “Unfortunately, the good die young, while scumbags live for a thousand years!”
Not only was her smile mocking, but her gaze also looked wrapped in sharp blades, and her tone was downright hostile:
“I love it most when you can’t stand the sight of me, yet can’t do a damn thing to get rid of me!”
“Bitch! You deserve to die!”
Xu Qingru raised her hand high and brought it down heavily.
“Slap!”
“Ouch, what the fuck!”
A man clutched his face, crying out in pain.
Xu Qingru’s pupils dilated in shock, her eyes brimming with disbelief as she tried to reprocess everything happening in front of her.
“Young Master Yuanze? Why are you here? Are you alright?”
Looking disdainful, Lu Yuanze ignored her completely.
With a bright red palm print stamped across his left cheek, he turned his head to glare resentfully at the mastermind who had pushed him out to take the slap, looking utterly wronged.
“Uncle, shouldn’t your own woman be the one you step up to shelter from the wind and rain?”
“What kind of move is it to push an innocent bystander like me out here?”
Acting completely unbothered, Lu Xiao stepped out slowly from behind the angel statue.
His careless gaze swept over his grand-nephew like a wolf prowling the wilderness, vigilant, sharp, and carrying a hint of hidden malice.
Lu Yuanze immediately shut his mouth in terrified silence.
After all, the pet great white shark his uncle kept was certainly not a vegetarian.
The mere memory still sent lingering shivers down Lu Yuanze’s spine. He hadn’t lived enough yet and had zero desire to end up as fish food.
“President Lu, what is the meaning of this?”
Faced with two grown men who had materialized out of thin air inside her house without a sound, Xu Qingru stammered in confusion.
Lu Xiao kept his eyes locked firmly on Shen Lanyin, his dark pupils appearing as if filled with countless stars, shining blindingly bright.
“Mrs. Shen, I came here today to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”
“Additionally, my nephew Lu Yuanze spoke improperly last time and offended Miss Shen. I specifically brought him here to offer a personal apology to her.”
Overjoyed, Xu Qingru instinctively assumed Lu Xiao was asking to marry her younger daughter, Shen Qingrou.
“President Lu flatters us. Lanyin is unruly and heavy-handed, accidentally injuring Young Master Yuanze. We should be the ones apologizing to you instead.”
“As for Qingrou’s marriage, we will have to wait until my husband returns.”
Lu Xiao frowned slightly, his sharp gaze casting a thin layer of chilling frost over his long, enchanting black eyes.
“The person I want to marry is Lanyin, not some Qingrou.”
“Lanyin? The person President Lu wants to marry is my eldest daughter?”
Xu Qingru asked back in sheer disbelief, while Shen Lanyin remained completely expressionless, as if this had nothing to do with her.
Lu Xiao nodded matter-of-factly, stating solemnly: “I have admired Lanyin for a long time and hope Mrs. Shen can consent to this match.”
At a complete loss and unable to make a decision on the spot, Xu Qingru could only push back, claiming she could not make the call alone and that Shen Lanyin’s major life decision of marriage had to be determined by Shen Zhaochuan.
Hearing this, Shen Lanyin snorted in disdain and cut straight to the point: “I do not agree. My marriage is my own business to decide, and no one else has any say in it.”
With that, she turned around and left without looking back. Lu Xiao did not chase after her, knowing full well that pursuing her right then would be useless.
“Mrs. Shen, please give Mr. Shen a call. I will discuss it with him directly face-to-face.”
Xu Qingru fell silent for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Half an hour later, Shen Zhaochuan hurried back home.
The Shen and Lu families had long been family friends, cooperating extensively in the business world and standing firmly together.
Shen Zhaochuan was already well aware of the swift, decisive, and ruthless management style of this newly appointed head of the Lu family.
Hearing that Lu Xiao was asking to marry Shen Lanyin, Shen Zhaochuan’s first reaction was shock, followed immediately by overwhelming joy.
Although the Shen family was also part of the elite circle, compared to the deeply rooted Lu family, they still fell somewhat short.
If he could secure Lu Xiao as a son-in-law for his backing, the Shen family’s commercial territory could expand by at least double.
Faced with such massive benefits, Shen Zhaochuan agreed to the alliance without a moment’s hesitation.
Lu Xiao and Shen Zhaochuan chatted amicably, quickly finalizing the wedding date.
In one month’s time, Shen Lanyin would marry into the Lu family as Lu Xiao’s wife.
“Leak the news of my upcoming marriage with Lanyin to all the media outlets in S-City. Remember, it must be on the front page headlines.”
As soon as he walked out of the Shen family gates, Lu Xiao instructed in a low voice.
Lu Yuanze: “…”
Although that vicious woman Shen Lanyin had a breathtakingly gorgeous face and a body hot enough to burn, her temperament and temper were an absolute disaster.
He truly couldn’t fathom why his uncle had become so thoroughly enchanted that he was resorting to forced marriage just to make that female fiend his wife.
Clearly, he wasn’t the only one harboring such thoughts.
At ten o’clock at night, while the streets of bustling S-City bustled with endless streams of pedestrians, Number 88 Longfei Road maintained an exclusive pocket of tranquility right in the heart of the most expensive downtown district.
This high-end private club, offering a sweeping panoramic view of the city’s finest river scenery, belonged to the Dragon Gate syndicate.
It was never open to the public, reserved exclusively for the entertainment of upper-echelon figures within the underworld organization.
Stepping inside felt like walking straight into another bizarre and kaleidoscopic world.