Chapter 13 Part 2

These two children were exceptional—Ivy League grads, halos blazing. They’d entered the Shen Group early, seizing key positions. But not from the same mother, they viciously expanded their turf while fighting each other.

Just when everyone thought Shen Guoning would pick one as heir, the fifty-year-old surprised them all with a “third bloom.” He ruthlessly dumped his second wife and married supermodel Wu Hong, thirty years his junior!

Their wedding in a European castle was grand, a century’s spectacle. But his two kids boycotted it—they couldn’t stomach a “stepmom” younger than them.

The year after, Wu Hong bore Shen Guoning a son.

—Yes, that’s right. Shen Yuze grew up in such a twisted family.

On the day Shen Yuze was born, a once-in-a-century downpour hit. Rain poured for days, pooling in the dry depression behind the Shen family villa to form a pond.

So Shen Guoning grandly named his youngest son Shen Yuze.

From childhood, Shen Yuze hated his name. Too much “water” in it, and his life brimmed with his mother’s tears, damp gloom, and cloying mist—like maggots in his bones, wrapping and strangling him, pressing him under an icy pool where he couldn’t breathe.

Who’d have thought, after all this circling, he’d end up in a city named after water.

Shen Yuze returned to his empty home, where the attentive butler delivered his tutoring books to the study.

He hadn’t even had a sip of water when Wu Hong’s call came in.

Wu Hong had fiercely opposed Shen Yuze’s transfer to Jiaojiang. Lately, her mental state had deteriorated sharply. Shen Guoning sent her to a scenic sanatorium for recovery, but she only grew more erratic.

She had a pathological need to control Shen Yuze, monitoring him 24/7. Whatever school Shen Guoning’s older kids attended, Shen Yuze must too. If the eldest son loved horseback riding, Shen Yuze learned it. If the daughter enjoyed concerts, Shen Yuze went…

The moment he picked up, Wu Hong launched into an interrogation: “Xiao Ze, why weren’t you home today?”

Shen Yuze turned on the speakerphone and tossed the phone aside. He sat in front of the computer, multitasking. “I went out with a classmate today.”

“A classmate?” The moment Wu Hong heard those two words, her tone grew even worse. “People from a small place like Jiao River—mixing with them is just a waste of your time!”

Shen Yuze said nothing.

He pressed the power button on the computer, and the host whirred to life as the welcome screen appeared on the display.

With her son staying silent for so long, Wu Hong, who always had an explosive need for control, grew furious. “What’s wrong with you, child? You didn’t even discuss it with me before suddenly transferring from the Capital! What exactly are you…”

“Mom,” Shen Yuze interrupted her, “I ran into Wang Shiya today.”

That name instantly diverted Wu Hong’s attention. Just hearing those three words made her nerves ache faintly. She shrieked into the phone, “How did you run into her? Did she come looking for you? Right, that’s it—I remember now, that vixen is from Jiao River…”

“It was a chance encounter.” Shen Yuze was long accustomed to his mother’s perpetually tense state. As he answered her questions, he maneuvered the mouse to open a webpage. “My classmate and I went to a bookstore to buy books, and Wang Shiya was holding a new book signing event there. We happened to bump into her.”

“A new book signing? Hah, do those people buying her books know what kind of trash she is? If she hadn’t latched onto your dad, she’d still be just an intern reporter!” Wu Hong spewed curses without restraint, using the most vicious language to attack another woman.

She had forgotten—or pretended to forget—that when she had risen to power in her glory days, the woman she had stripped of the “Mrs. Shen” title had gritted her teeth and told her, “My today is your tomorrow!”

She had also forgotten that the root of this entire tragedy wasn’t Wang Shiya at all, but Shen Guoning, who treated all women as playthings.

Shen Yuze had watched such tragedies unfold since childhood. He saw the man he called father surrounded by one beautiful or alluring woman after another. He deceived them with love, tempted them with money, and fooled them with promises of the future.

He despised such a family, such tragedies, such love.

In his ears rang his mother’s ceaseless stream of curses.

Shen Yuze stayed silent; he was long accustomed to it.

He focused on operating the computer. With a light click of the mouse, a webpage buried deep in his bookmarks popped up and automatically loaded the latest page.

What he was browsing was the most popular social platform among young people these days, available as both a mobile app and web version.

Shen Yuze had tried it for a while at a friend’s invitation but had soon grown bored and deleted his account.

Unexpectedly, not long after he left, a friend told him—”Something interesting happened.”

It turned out that after his departure, a foolish little mouse had donned his coat and begun performing a farce in plain sight.

This little mouse was so bold and reckless, fumbling in the dark without realizing it had stumbled into the cage of a trapped beast.

And its every action was being watched by that silent beast.

Shen Yuze had to admit, this was the most entertaining thing in his dark, oppressive life filled with scheming and infighting.

For this reason, he had left the Capital where he grew up and come to this small city thousands of miles away.

In the receiver, Wu Hong’s cursing never stopped for a moment.

The young man’s eyelashes fluttered lightly as his deep amber eyes fixed on a newly refreshed post on the screen.

@fake-diaond: I think I’m finally going to have a friend. [Rainy Day] [Umbrella] [Book]

……

After posting the latest update, Lu Ping put away his phone and hid it in the drawer.

Just as he hid it, his bedroom door was pushed open.

His little sister, dressed in a blue Princess Dress, bounced into his room. Lu An never knocked when entering; she was always the picture of innocent princess charm.

“Bro~!” An An said proudly, as if showing off. “It rained today—did Princess Elsa protect you?”

Thinking of the umbrella his sister had stuffed him with, Lu Ping’s mouth twitched. “Yeah, thanks to your umbrella, neither Brother nor my classmate got wet.”

Hearing that she had helped her brother made An An even happier.

Lu Ping pulled out his backpack and gave her the bilingual Princess Elsa fairy tale book.

As expected, the little girl squealed in excitement the moment she saw the princess on the cover. She couldn’t wait and ran downstairs holding the book to show off to their parents.

The house had poor soundproofing, so even from his bedroom, Lu Ping could hear his sister’s excited voice: “Mom, look what Brother gave me!”

“Oh my, it’s an English book! Have you thanked your brother yet?”

A little while later, footsteps sounded outside the door. Lu Mom, wearing an apron, came up the stairs and stood outside Lu Ping’s bedroom.

“Pingping, did you have fun going out with your classmate today?” Lu Mom wiped her hands on her apron. The damp, cold weather in Jiao River, combined with her years of constant labor, had left her hands incredibly rough. Every winter, they were covered in chilblains, yet with those hands, she had made countless glutinous cakes to send Lu Ping to the best high school in the city.

Lu Ping nodded and took out the remaining money from buying books, handing it back to his mother.

Lu Mom didn’t take the money. “Keep it for yourself, Pingping. It’s been a while since I gave you any pocket money.”

“Why would I need pocket money?” Lu Ping was very sensible. “I have my meal card for food and my bus card for transit. I don’t have many expenses—holding onto it is useless.”

“How could it be useless?” Lu Mom said. “Didn’t you use it today when you went out with your friend? You kids drink milk tea and eat skewers—that all costs money.”

An image instantly flashed in Lu Ping’s mind: after school, he and Shen Yuze charging into a street food stall, left hand clutching a taro coconut boba tea, right hand holding five skewers of grilled gluten… Uh, stop, stop, stop!

Shen Yuze didn’t seem like the type to drink milk tea or eat skewers, from head to toe. Lu Ping banished the fantasies from his head.

But Mom was right—having some money on him was useful. Lu Ping stopped refusing and pocketed the money.

Lu Mom chatted with her son a few more sentences, but with the dishes simmering in the kitchen weighing on her mind, she didn’t say much before heading back downstairs.

“Mom! I forgot to mention something.” Lu Ping suddenly called out to her.

“What is it?”

Lu Ping’s eyes curved into a bright smile, full of spring warmth. “On Monday morning, I want to bring a glutinous cake to share with my desk mate.”