Go home?
Where exactly was her home?
After her father passed away, she no longer had a home.
Following that funeral of hers, Ji Huanlan had never once returned to the Ji family estate. For the past half month, she had been holding down the fort at the turbulent company, barely managing to stabilize things inside and out, just barely able to catch her breath.
Ji Huanlan: ?
Shen Xi: ?
Ji Huanlan: Which one is home?
She didn’t know what had come over her—she’d inexplicably sent out such an overly sentimental message.
Snapping back to her senses, she was about to retract it when, unexpectedly—
Shen Xi: The Shen family is your home.
“Chairman Ji
Because Ji Huanlan had come here on her own, she didn’t know anyone, wandering around like a headless fly.
“What about it? What I said, so what?” the person said in a sloppy, careless tone.
Ji Huanlan finally turned around—not just turned around, but walked right up to the person who had spoken.
She had a slender figure, a graceful, well-proportioned silhouette, and a pair of eyes like mist—impossible to grasp, impossible to see through.
In the few seconds they locked eyes, the other party couldn’t hold her gaze and looked away within moments.
Ji Huanlan smiled. “Do you know who I am?”
The person was fairly young, looking not much younger than Shen Xi—full of youthful arrogance and a streak of rebellion.
The rest of the Shen family said nothing.
“Huo Huo, send him to the hospital’s ENT department and book him a professor-level consultation. It won’t do if he can’t speak properly,” Ji Huanlan said.
Her secretary was named Wang Huo, and Ji Huanlan was used to calling him Huo Huo.
Wang Huo immediately stepped forward and grabbed Shen Xi’s cousin, dragging him out.
Shen Shuo struggled and shouted, “What are you doing?!”
“So you can talk after all.”
Ji Huanlan lowered her gaze, smiling sweetly, with endless patience. “Who am I?”
Shen Shuo’s eyes flickered, and he answered reluctantly, “Shen Xi’s wife.”
Wang Huo’s grip was strong, and Shen Shuo couldn’t break free. He wasn’t just a simple secretary—otherwise, Mr. Ji wouldn’t have left him to Ji Huanlan.
Ji Huanlan swept her gaze around the room, committing each of the Shen family members’ faces to memory.
Her smile didn’t fade. “This younger cousin knows who I am. Do the rest of you know?”
Those people kept their faces dark and said nothing.
They completely refused to show Ji Huanlan any respect.
A future matriarch who had practically dropped in out of nowhere—how could those who already didn’t respect Shen Xi possibly hold her in any regard?
Ji Huanlan knew exactly what they were thinking and wasn’t annoyed. “Huo Huo, break the left leg of the one on the ground.”
“You wouldn’t dare!!”
Wang Huo didn’t hesitate at all, immediately signaling the bodyguards to come help.
“Ahhh—” Shen Shuo’s screams swept across the entire Shen estate.
The moment everyone witnessed that Ji Huanlan’s people truly dared to strike, they all panicked.
“What are you doing?! You’re too vicious!”
“How dare you hit people!”
Ji Huanlan didn’t answer them, only repeated her question: “Who am I?”
That question again!
Finally, a man who looked like an elder of the Shen family spoke up: “Greetings, Mrs. Shen.”
Everyone was astonished to see that Shen Xi’s Eighth Uncle had actually bowed to that woman!
If even he lowered his head, what else could they do?
Then, the dozens of people at the entrance of the Shen residence bowed one after another: “Greetings, Madam.”
The Shen family was vast and influential, and their rules were numerous.
Bowing and greeting the matriarch was the rule, regardless of her age—it could not be changed.
Ji Huanlan didn’t lower her head to look at them, only glanced at Wang Huo. “See if his leg can be reattached. If not, throw it away.”
“Yes, Chairman Ji.”
Ji Huanlan lifted her foot and stepped forward, walking along the smooth gray brick path. If one only looked at her, most would mistake her for a celebrity in the entertainment industry.
“Next time you see me and don’t greet me, you’ll end up the same way as him.”
That sentence was said lightly, yet it made every member of the Shen family shudder.
They had thought Ji Huanlan was nothing more than a pampered, decorative matriarch who didn’t need to be taken seriously—who would have thought that at their very first meeting, before they could even give her a show of force, she had already given them a warning instead?
Entering the Shen residence.
Ji Huanlan sighed inwardly—no wonder it was a century-old family; this estate must have quite a history to it as well.
The Shen family butler came over promptly with tea: “Madam, the Shen residence has been standing for over two hundred years now. It was once a prince’s mansion. Many years ago, the Shen ancestors purchased it and renovated it into the main family estate.”
Green tiles and gray brick, small bridges over flowing water, ornate pavilions rising in splendor, with the mountain peak just beyond in the distant clouds.
This scenery—the Shen ancestors really knew how to enjoy life.
Throughout this time, Ji Huanlan hadn’t let her attention wander for a single moment.
She kept her eyes fixed on the people walking at the very front of the crowd.
Those people were certainly the ringleaders of this bunch. Since Shen Xi had silently dumped this mess on her to clean up, as his nominal wife, she ought at least to show some sincerity about maintaining their sham of a marriage.
“Did I say you could come in?”
A single, light question left everyone stunned.
A young woman who could no longer contain herself immediately stepped forward: “Ji Huanlan, you’re just the Shen family’s daughter-in-law. At the very least, some of these people are your elders. Is this the kind of upbringing you have?”
“That’s right.” Ji Huanlan nodded without a ripple of emotion.
Everyone: …
Ji Huanlan: “You must have heard about my faked death not long ago. I dared to gamble with my own life—do you really think there’s anything I wouldn’t dare to do?”