The banquet had reached its final stage.
The guests were dispersing on their own.
Through the windows, the lights outside flashed one after another—luxury cars pulling out of He Yuan.
Some circles weren’t ones you could just enter if you wanted to.
Once you were in, you realized it was a completely different world from the outside.
Having money didn’t necessarily mean having power, but having power always meant having money.
And hardly anyone ever complained about having too much money—only not enough.
For high society, “money” might just be a number by now, but it was still a sensitive word no matter the time or place.
At a moment like this, 996 stirring up talk of “money” made the entire Guan Family tense up.
Dazzled by the lavish display of gifts.
The banquet had invited quite a few people, most of whom had brought presents. Even if “it’s the thought that counts,” those gifts were all quite valuable.
And all of them belonged to Shen Ju.
These people had come for Shen Ju.
It was enough to make Shen Ju realize that his status was truly different now.
The Guan Family had both money and power, holding an unusual position in their circles.
As the Guan Family’s biological youngest son, Shen Ju was born to enjoy a status far beyond that of ordinary people. Yet he’d lived as one for eighteen years.
And over those eighteen years, every investment meant for him had gone to Guan Mulin instead.
That had cost a real fortune in manpower, resources, and cash.
Not to mention Guan Mulin was still staying with the Guan Family.
He’d continue enjoying everything he’d had before.
Was that fair?
Of course not.
That was exactly what 996 was telling Shen Ju.
To get him to do the tasks, it had to appeal to reason and emotion—best with genuine feeling, so the roleplay felt authentic.
The Guan Family fell silent.
They didn’t know what to say to this topic.
In their eyes, that shit-stirrer was right, of course.
They did owe Shen Ju a lot.
So for now, they could only listen patiently to the shit-stirrer’s nagging.
【Host, perfect timing. Since money came up, you should settle accounts with your parents properly.】
996: 【Your biological parents definitely owe you. Use this chance to ask for the moon!】
【Pocket money—lots of it! Got it?】
Shen Ju: 【Oh.】
Here we go.
Qin Soxi was already prepared to open her wallet!
How much was right?
Why not just make up for the past eighteen years’ worth right now?
As she pondered, Shen Ju turned to them.
Shen Ju licked his lips, glanced at Guan Lifeng, then at Qin Soxi. “Dad, Mom, for pocket money… you gotta give me a bit more, right?!”
His tone was utterly righteous.
996 nodded inwardly.
Nice.
That had to rub the Guan parents the wrong way, right?
Qin Soxi thrilled silently: Good boy! Call me Mom, and my life is yours!
Guan Lifeng cleared his throat lightly and cut straight to it. “How much pocket money do you want?”
It was asking him?
Shen Ju froze, not having thought it through. Hesitantly, he subconsciously held up one finger.
Qin Soxi and Guan Lifeng: One million?
A bit low for our baby.
Shen Ju hesitated before speaking. “One… one thou…sand…”
Qin Soxi and Guan Lifeng: “…”
They thought they’d misheard.
“How much?”
From their tone, Shen Ju figured it was a done deal.
So he doubled down righteously. “One thousand!”
Qin Soxi and Guan Lifeng: …I’ve never heard such a niche word in my entire life.
Even a million might scare the kid.
But one thousand? No way!
They couldn’t bear to offer so little!
They’d split the difference.
Qin Soxi bowed her head, her eyes full of mixed emotions and heartache. She pulled out her phone, transferred 100,000 to Shen Ju’s account.
“Baby, take this for the holiday first.”
Ding-dong?
Shen Ju looked down at the bank transfer notification on his phone: “…”
996 fell silent too.
Uh…
Was this right…
Shen Ju’s face lit with sudden realization, at a total loss.
Bound by his persona, he couldn’t return it. He could only stammer thanks and accept it with gritted teeth.
It broke Qin Soxi’s heart—she secretly thwack-thwacked Guan Lifeng several times.
The banquet fully dispersed, and Shen Ju prepared to head back to his room.
Before leaving, he glanced at Qin Soxi, hesitating. “I want to go out tomorrow.”
“Sure thing, baby.”
Qin Soxi stepped up to Shen Ju and ruffled his hair. “Baby, you’re Mama’s child too. In front of me, you can say whatever you want, do whatever you want. Mama missed your whole upbringing, but from now on, Mama will always be by your side—along with Daddy, Grandpa, and your two brothers.”
Though Guan Mulin and Shen Ju were born the same day, a close check of the times showed Guan Mulin was over an hour earlier—making him the actual older brother.
These words caught Shen Ju off guard.
He met Qin Soxi’s gaze, then quickly looked down, clenching his fingers.
“I know,” Shen Ju said softly.
“…Thanks, Mom.”
Qin Soxi’s eyes reddened uncontrollably. It’s okay, take it slow. After all, that shit-stirrer’s still clinging to the kid—we can’t spook it. Gotta get rid of that shit-stirrer someday!
Shit-stirrer, shit-stirrer, shit-stirrer.
Once Shen Ju was in his room, Qin Soxi grabbed her phone and hammered away furiously in the “Special Incident Investigation Bureau” group chat.
Qin [Chief]: [From now on, that workhorse-named thing’s codename is shit-stirrer!]
Chief’s Wife: [Why not just call it workhorse?]
Qin [Chief]: [You cursing yourself and our eldest?]
Team Member Xiao Yao: [Not really…]
Team Member Xiao Lin: [Does Little Brother need a codename?]
Qin [Chief]: [He does. I know Baby’s nickname—we can use that.]
Chief Guan finally popped up: [Why didn’t you call him by his nickname to his face before?]
Qin [Chief]: [Dad, you can use voice-to-text, or just send voice messages~]
Chief Guan bubbled up: [Daughter-in-law’s so thoughtful.][Voice-to-text is handy.][I should learn you young folks’ tricks.][But I knew long voice messages annoy people.]
Qin [Chief]: [Dad, you’re the most thoughtful! [Thumbs up x3]]
The Chief’s husband tried steering back: [Baby’s nickname was given by his late biological parents—Mulin.]
The group went quiet for a beat.
After Qin Soxi thwack-thwacked Guan Lifeng again, she resurfaced: [Okay, topic’s done for today. Tomorrow’s mission: See if we can still hear Baby talking to the shit-stirrer from afar… Hmm, calling Baby that feels fishy too. Poor kid.]
Chief’s Husband: [Weren’t we using codenames in the group from now on?]
Qin Soxi didn’t reply—probably off thwacking offline.
The next day, at Ankang Hutong.
Shen Ju had lived here for thirteen years.
Not counting the earliest five—from age five to eighteen, he’d stayed here, at his aunt’s house.
His aunt was Xu Ru, Shen Ju’s mother’s—no, Guan Mulin’s biological mother Xu Ning’s—older sister. She was an elementary school teacher with a son named Jian Yi, two years older than Shen Ju. Currently in his senior year of high school like Shen Ju, they’d been in the same school and even the same class before Shen Ju transferred to the Guan Family’s school.
Shen Ju hadn’t come with Guan Mulin.
Given the persona he was playing, he wouldn’t take the initiative to come here with Guan Mulin anyway.
Plus, inviting him might shatter the persona.
Neither Shen Ju nor 996 wanted to risk it.
He just wanted to come back and see the place.
Ankang Hutong was an old, rundown neighborhood. Valuable on paper, sure, but unsellable—essentially worthless in practice. Residents weren’t truly wealthy, sharing courtyards with several households. Petty squabbles were inevitable, arguments commonplace. One family’s drama was everyone’s business.
Just recently, Ankang Hutong had buzzed with excitement.
All about Shen Ju being claimed by the Guan Family.
The nephew they’d raised for over a decade turned out to be someone else’s—and from a rich family at that. The luxury cars at the alley mouth were low-key yet exorbitantly priced, screaming money and power. Some said Xu Ru might’ve raised someone else’s kid for nothing, but she’d hit the jackpot—big time. Her own son’s future was secured.
Sour grapes abounded, bubbling for days.
Some tried prying how much Xu Ru had gotten.
But she shut her door and ignored everyone.
Until today, with Shen Ju back…
Even keeping a low profile, he’d barely entered the alley when someone spotted him.
“Isn’t that Shen Ju? Why’re you back?”
“Yeah, didn’t they say you got picked up by rich folks to live the good life? What’s this, coming back already?”
Someone who’d lost face at Xu Ru’s saw Shen Ju and assumed they were all family. They couldn’t resist sniping. “Aw, did that family kick you out? After all, your aunt’s real nephew hasn’t come back to live. Must still be the favorite with your bio parents, huh? Shen Ju, not doing well over there? Spill for us.”
Shen Ju pressed his lips, unwilling to answer.
Blocked and unable to break free, he was getting anxious when a voice came from behind…
“Not like we’re concubines fighting for favor—one getting favor spoils the other?”
A cool, detached voice rang out, blunt as could be. “We raised him, after all. Can’t he even come back to visit? If he didn’t, you’d call him ungrateful?”
“What’s the huddle for? Lunchtime soon—y’all not eating at home? Or was breakfast too salty, no appetite?”
The crowd: “…”
They turned to see who it was. Wanted to snap back, but experience said it’d end badly for them. They slunk away grudgingly.
Shen Ju lit up at the sight and ran over. “Bro!”
Seeing the bag in Jian Yi’s right hand, he reached out. “Bro, let me carry that.”
Jian Yi dodged, shooting Shen Ju a glare. “Long time no see—where’d you bump your head stupid? I’m disabled, not useless.”
Shen Ju paused. “Bro, don’t always talk about yourself like that.”
His gaze couldn’t help drifting left.
The man before him had refined, handsome features—cool brows with a hint of gloom. From his left elbow down, the sleeve hung empty.
