Chapter 14
When Shen Anwu was about seven or eight years old, one day on his way to school, Shang Huilan spoke to him: “Xiao Wu, how about I get you a new father?”
Young Shen Anwu pondered seriously for a long moment. “How can you change him? Even if you and Dad get divorced, he’s still my father.”
Shang Huilan pulled him into her arms, stroking his hair, remaining silent for a long while.
That was the last warm memory he had of his mother.
A few days later, Shen Anwu overheard his mother on the phone with a friend.
“I don’t plan on divorcing. At his age, if I don’t stop him, he could come by every day. If we divorce, he’ll definitely find her again, have a bunch more kids with that other woman, and then come back to compete with Anwu for Yuanyuan?” Her voice sounded weary but resolute. “No divorce. We’ll just live separately from now on.”
Not long after, Shen Anwu transferred to an international boarding school, and his mother moved alone to Hong Kong.
...
For all these years, she never mentioned “divorce” to her son again. Even now, Shang Huilan felt somewhat anxious as the words left her mouth.
But her son’s expression remained calm. “Divorce or not is between you and Dad. As his son, I have no say. Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll definitely support you.”
Shang Huilan breathed a sigh of relief and gazed out the window at the bamboo leaves swaying in the wind, as if recalling memories, though her expression grew ever colder.
“Your father is getting older. If something were to happen to him, I don’t want to have to come back as his ‘wife’ to handle his affairs. And it’s the same for me—if I go first, I don’t want him having any say over my matters after death.”
Out of the blue, this mention of final affairs made Shen Anwu choke. “Mom, we have plenty of lawyers. If you’re really worried, just have Lawyer Li come over these days and go over your will again.”
Shang Huilan withdrew her gaze and glanced at her son. “I know Shen Xingbang’s temper well. Once the divorce process starts, even if we tear apart, that’s how it will be. While my health is still decent, I want to get this done. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t even have the energy to fight later.”
“By the way,” Shang Huilan suddenly grew stern, “I heard Shen Xingbang and Shen Peixiang want to bring that bastard into Yuanyuan?”
After moving to Hong Kong, Shen Xingbang had found a young woman outside and had a son. That girl had been only twenty back then, and Shen Xingbang left the child in the care of his sister, Shen Peixiang.
Over twenty years had passed, and that illegitimate son had already graduated from university.
Because of his mother, Shen Anwu had always been distant from his aunt. He knew she disliked him. At first, he pretended otherwise, but ever since Shen Lexian was born, he stopped pretending altogether.
This time, Shen Peixiang took advantage of his leg injury to try to push Shen Lexian into the company. But the key departments were already tightly controlled; Shen Lexian couldn’t fit in and could only return to the property management company overseen by Shen Peixiang.
Leaning against the sofa armrest, Shen Anwu relaxed his posture but spoke coolly: “He won’t get in.”
Shen Lexian was merely a tool for his aunt to siphon money from their father. The property company was little more than an empty shell; all business had been transferred to a company under her daughter-in-law’s name.
There were some topics Shen Anwu preferred not to discuss with his mother, to avoid her endless scolding and worry.
*
Today was his son’s first day interning at Yuanyuan. Watching him leave with her husband in the morning, Fu Qin felt a sense of having finally made it through.
Compared to other daughters-in-law in wealthy families, she considered herself fortunate. Her mother-in-law lived in the countryside most of the year, returning only during holidays. Her father-in-law’s second wife resided mostly in Hong Kong. Since marrying into the Shen family, she hadn’t endured her mother-in-law’s harshness.
Her father-in-law, Shen Xingbang, was strong-willed and autocratic, but thankfully they didn’t live together. Although her husband was not favored by his father, he was still the legitimate eldest son.
That evening, after her husband and son returned home, Fu Qin directed the housekeeper to set the table.
Shen Shaozhou changed clothes, sat down to eat, and listened to his son recount his first day at the company.
“Dad, Gao Han is really impressive, but he said he can’t mentor me, so I’m following a manager named Li under him.”
Shen Shaozhou nodded. “Manager Li handles the specific tasks in the finance department now. It’s enough for him to guide you.”
Fu Qin frowned. “Is Gao Han unwilling to take you under his wing? Should I ask Anwu to say something to him?”
Shen Shaozhou didn’t take the internship too seriously. Since university hadn’t even started, what could an internship teach? It was mostly for experience. He glanced at his wife. “Gao Han is very busy, and now he deals mostly with strategic matters. It’s like asking a university professor to teach a newborn—that would be a waste.”
The analogy almost made Shen Luan choke on his food, and he turned his head aside. Fu Qin gawked at her husband. “What kind of analogy is that? Our son’s about to be a college student!”
“By the way, I heard Aunt Shang is back. Should we invite her to the graduation banquet?” Fu Qin was uncertain about the “mother-in-law” she hadn’t seen for years.
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The graduation banquet wasn’t lavish; only teachers from school, some executives from Yuanyuan, and some business partners her husband regularly interacted with were invited.
As for their own relatives, Fu Qin planned to have a simple family dinner. The real headache was how to arrange the family gathering, now that the so-called “mother-in-law” had returned.
When Fu Qin married Shen Shaozhou, Shang Huilan had already separated from Shen Xingbang, so she hadn’t much contact with this nominal “mother-in-law.”
Shen Shaozhou pondered and said, “You can call her, but I doubt she’ll come.”
He himself had few memories of Shang Huilan. Until he was twelve, he lived in the countryside with his mother and grandmother. Then one day, his grandmother, with bound feet, took him and his mother to the city to find his father.
It was his first time seeing city buildings and riding an elevator. Nervous, he didn’t know where to put his hands and feet. His mother was even more anxious, clutching his wrist so tightly it turned blue.
They went to the address his father left, but the door was opened by a woman—a tall, young, beautiful woman with a slight baby bump, smiling at the three of them.
“Who are you looking for?” Her voice was pleasant and polite, without a trace of impatience.
“Does Shen Xingbang not live here?” Sun Lanxiang pulled out a crumpled calendar page from her pocket, on which she had painstakingly noted the address from a phone call her husband once made to the village shop.
“Who are you to Shen Xingbang?” The young woman’s smile stiffened.
“I am his wife, this is his mother, and this is his son.”
At twelve, the boy was old enough to understand. He remembered the young woman’s face turning pale when his mother said she was Shen Xingbang’s wife.
The woman invited them in and made a phone call, asking them to wait inside. She carried a tiny purse and left.
Later, the father came and drove them away.
Grandmother disliked the woman and cursed all the way back. His mother hung her head, wiping tears. Grandmother muttered, “Why cry? I’m not dead yet! As long as I live, she’ll never enter the Shen family home.”
But it was useless.
Three days later, the father returned to the countryside for the first time in years, carrying divorce papers. Despite grandmother’s scolding and hitting, he insisted on divorcing.
No one knew what he told grandmother, but she finally relented, and his mother signed the papers.
Later, he learned that his father had transferred part of his shares to his mother and given her a sum of money to marry that woman.
When leaving, his father said to grandmother, “Mom, why don’t you come with me to the city? I’ll buy you a house with a yard where you can grow vegetables and raise chickens.”
Grandmother sat on the bamboo chair outside the old house, stitching a shoe sole. “No. You marry your new wife. I only acknowledge Lanxiang.”
Then his father left without even looking back.
...
“Whether she comes or not, we should call her to be polite,” Fu Qin said hesitantly. “After all these years, the house in Zhangshu has been empty. Why doesn’t Aunt Shang stay there? Cuigu is inconvenient.”
Shen Shaozhou said nothing further. Shen Luan felt irritated hearing “graduation banquet,” unsure what there was to celebrate.
Last time, when they invited teachers and his parents’ friends, he was treated like a mascot, paraded around each table. Now another family dinner was planned. This one was even more boring. If not for grandfather attending, he wouldn’t bother going.
Recently, he had attended several classmates’ graduation banquets and saw how each was led around by adults like monkeys. He felt somewhat better.
The Yuege restaurant was expensive and old-fashioned; he didn’t want to invite classmates there. He wanted a place with good food and fun activities.
Speaking of the graduation banquet, Fu Qin suddenly remembered someone and asked casually, “By the way, did that child from the Xu family get in?”
Shen Luan replied, “He didn’t get into a bachelor’s program. He got into the art specialist program at Xun University.”
Xun University’s art program was difficult to enter; even the specialist line required high scores. Fu Qin was surprised. “I wouldn’t have guessed. I hadn’t heard your aunt mention it; I thought he failed.”
Fu Qin looked at her son. “Then you’ll be at the same school. Maybe you’ll see each other often.”
Shen Luan’s expression was indifferent. “Xun University has tens of thousands of students. We’re not even in the same major.”
Fu Qin nodded and smiled gently. “Before, you weren’t allowed to date in high school. Now that the college entrance exams are over, your father and I won’t interfere much, but don’t mess around. You’re a boy; dating a few girls is fine. But I’m warning you, your mother won’t approve just any girl.”
A white magnolia-like face flashed through Shen Luan’s mind, and a flicker of awkwardness crossed his eyes. “Mom, I know.”
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After dinner, Shen Luan went to his room and immediately began making calls. The first was naturally to her.
“Don’t worry. No parents. Just a gathering of classmates,” Shen Luan assured repeatedly. “We’ll have dinner there, play billiards, sing karaoke, watch videos.”
Wan Yue hadn’t expected to get a call from Shen Luan so soon after returning, inviting her to his graduation banquet. “Have you told Xu Qingling and Feng Bo?”
Leaning against the headboard, Shen Luan said, “No. You’re the first person I called.”
Wan Yue felt her ears warm and softened her tone. “Okay—I’ll tell them later.”
Shen Luan hadn’t planned to invite Xu Qingling, but hearing Wan Yue say so, he didn’t mind and smiled. “Alright. Then please tell them.”
That evening, when Wan Yue went to the Xu family supermarket, Xu Qingling wasn’t home; her brother was minding the store.
“Where’s your sister?”
Xu Junwen, having been caught by their parents to watch the store, was in a foul mood. Hearing Wan Yue’s question, he snapped, “She went out to work.”
“To work? What kind of work?”
“How should I know?”
“With the family business so busy, why would she work outside?”
“Hah!” Xu Junwen was speechless. “My parents won’t pay for her college living expenses, so she’s earning her own.”
“If she comes back, tell her I need to see her.”
“Okay.”
Wan Yue hung her head and walked back, her steps heavy. Someone like Xu Qingling wouldn’t hide working outside from her. She wasn’t the type to keep secrets—happy or angry, it showed on her face.
Lately, staying home was boring; she spent time tutoring her younger sister in first year of high school. She wanted to hang out with Xu Qingling, but now it seemed Xu Qingling had cut herself out of her life overnight.
Wan Yue lowered her head and suddenly bumped into a wall.
Looking up, she saw Wei Donglai. He stared into her eyes, surprised but otherwise expressionless. He clicked his tongue, somewhat displeased. “What, don’t want me back?”
Wan Yue rolled her eyes. “Of course not!”
Wei Donglai relaxed and moved closer, looking her over. “Only gone one day and already this dark?”
Wan Yue caught the scent of shower gel on his neck, blushed, and pushed him hard. “Mind your own business!”
Wei Donglai chuckled. “It’s fine. I just like dark skin.”
Wan Yue frowned, feeling she needed to be clear. “Wei Donglai, don’t think just because your parents pay for my college, I’m sold to you! I’ve said, after graduating, I’ll pay them back.”
Wei Donglai’s face darkened under the night sky. He gritted his teeth but forced a smile. “Who said you were sold to us? I’m just a sucker who likes you, okay? A toad wanting to eat swan meat—is that so wrong?”
Glancing at Wan Yue’s tightly clenched, embarrassed little face, he quickly changed the subject. “Went to see your girlfriend just now?”
Wan Yue nodded and told him about Xu Qingling working outside. “Wei Donglai, do you think I should get a job this summer too?”
Wei Donglai snorted. “What kind of work can a girl do? Either someone gropes your chest or your legs. If you want to work, why not be my boss? I’ll let you manage all my company’s accounts.”
“Trash mouth!” Wan Yue covered her ears and ran away.
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