Shen Rong soon found out about the photos.

When Tian Wenyao received the call from his mother, Shen Rong was under him. Tian Wenyao picked up the phone and glanced at it carelessly; his expression changed slightly and he made a silent gesture at Shen Rong. Shen Rong was almost at the peak when Tian Wenyao suddenly stopped. Unable to give vent to his accumulated pleasure, Shen Rong chung to Tian Wenyao’s waist, dissatisfied, moaning sweetly.

A hint of impatience flashed in Tian Wenyao’s eyes and he gave Shen Rong a warning squeeze but did not push him away. It was only when his mother spoke of the photos that Tian Wenyao’s heart missed a bit and he got to his feet abruptly, “What?”

Tian Wenyao’s action was so sudden that Shen Rong fell back to the bed unprepared. He regained his senses, instinctively looked at Tian Wenyao and met his gloomy eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Rong was puzzled.

Tian Wenyao stared at Shen Rong grimly for a while, “Did you hire someone to take pictures of us?”

“Hired someone to take pictures?” Shen Rong repeated in surprise, then thought of something and looked alarmed, “Did something else break out on the internet?”

Shen Rong’s anxiety did not seem to be a lie. Tian Wenyao watched Shen Rong carefully and his heart slightly settled. Getting dressed quickly, Tian Wenyao coldly mentioned the matter of the photos, left the naked Shen Rong behind and walked out.

Only after Tian Wenyao left was Shen Rong able to react. Thinking about the photos mentioned by Tian Wenyao, Shen Rong didn’t bother with taking a shower. He thought of his mother first, and hurried back home.

“Pop!”

A crisp slap quickly made Shen Rong’s left cheek turn red.

“I remember warning you not to have any more contact with Tian Wenyao!” Zhou Mingmei said coldly.

Shen Rong stood in front of Zhou Mingmei with his head down, silent.

Zhou Mingmei suppressed her anger, “How long have you been in contact with him behind my back?”

Shen Rong bit his lip and said in a low voice, “There has always been contact.”

“All the time?!” Zhou Mingmei was furious, “You ignore my words, but when something happens, you remember that I am your mother and you are really my good son.”

When Shen Rong heard the words “good son”, a trace of guilt flashed on his face.

Zhou Mingmei didn’t notice Shen Rong’s expression; her mind raced to think about how likely it was that Shen Dehan knew about this.

There was a soft knock on the door and the maid’s voice sounded from outside, “Madam, Mr. Shen has just called to say he is coming over.”

Shen Rong was instantly startled and subconsciously looked at Zhou Mingmei whose expression remained unchanged, “I see.”

The maid quickly disappeared behind the door.

Glancing at Shen Rong’s expression, Zhou Mingmei said coldly, “Your father seems to already know.”

Shen Rong could not help but panic, “What should we do?”

Zhou Mingmei’s face darkened, “You must be removed from this matter. No matter what your father says later, you must insist that it was Tian Wenyao who pestered you, that he forced you. Remember?”

Shen Rong hesitated and Zhou Mingmei sneered, “You still want to defend Tian Wenyao at this time? He is the heir of the Tian family, taking the blame for this is nothing for him. And who are you? The illegitimate son of the Shen family who is not recognized, do you want to be exiled abroad once again?”

Shen Rong struggled in his heart as Zhou Mingmei stared at him angrily, “Were you forced or did you offer yourself, choose one?”

Shen Rong bit his lips bloody and finally nodded slowly.

Zhou Mingmei gave Shen Rong a satisfied look and reached out to touch his face, “Later on, before your father says anything, you have to remember that you don’t know anything, got it?”

“I understand!” Shen Rong whispered.

When Shen Dehan arrived, what he saw when he pushed the door open  was Shen Rong sitting in front of the piano in the living room, playing with a serious expression. Zhou Mingmei stood behind him with a smile in her eyes, gently listening to the melody.

Shen Dehan’s original anger dissipated quite a bit after seeing this scene, but when he thought about the photos, his face froze.

“Mr. Shen!” The maid’s voice sounded respectfully, and only then did the two people in the room seem to notice Shen Dehan’s appearance. Zhou Mingmei looked over in surprise, “Dehan!”

The surprise in Zhou Mingmei’s eyes was so obvious that Shen Dehan’s original movement of throwing the photos in his hand could not help but pause. He could only watch Zhou Mingmei greet him and diligently help him take off his coat.

Shen Rong followed Zhou Mingmei and stood in front of him, his eyes full of admiration, “Father!”

Shen Dehan responded coldly, walked past Shen Rong and sat straight on the sofa in the living room.

“During this time, who have you been with every day?” Looking at Shen Rong, Shen Dehan said in a cold voice.

A hint of panic flashed in Shen Rong’s eyes, and he quickly lowered his head, forcing himself to be calm, “Father, I go to the set every day, mostly with Director Zhou.”

“Director Zhou?” Shen Dehan snorted coldly and threw the photos in his hand in front of Shen Rong, “This is Director Zhou?”

Countless photos scattered in front of Shen Rong, his face alternating with Tian Wenyao’s. Shen Rong stood there in shock, trembling all over.

“Ah Rong?” The first to react was Zhou Mingmei, “What’s going on? You and him?”

Shen Rong trembled and looked at Zhou Mingmei. A trace of pain flashed in his eyes, but he gritted his teeth and lowered his head without speaking.

“You!” Zhou Mingmei pointed at Shen Rong in anger, and suddenly her whole body went limp and she fell backwards.

“Mother!” Shen Rong shouted anxiously and hurriedly made his way to Zhou Mingmei.

“Mingmei!” Shen Dehan caught Zhou Mingmei in time. Zhou Mingmei seemed to have recovered her senses and struggled to squeeze out a smile at Shen Dehan, holding on to him as she slowly stood up, “Dehan, I’m fine.”

Shen Rong’s face was full of worry and carried a vague trace of guilt, “Mother!”

“Pop!” 

Following a sharp slap, Zhou Mingmei looked at Shen Rong with disappointment, “Don’t call me Mother, I don’t have a son like you.”

“Mother!” Shen Rong’s eyes were filled with pain but Zhou Mingmei ruthlessly turned her head away.

Shen Dehan patted Zhou Mingmei in his arms soothingly and looked at Shen Rong grimly, “What is going on with the photos?”

Shen Rong’s body trembled; he clenched his fists and looked at Shen Dehan with eyes full of pain. However, he bit his lip and refused to speak.

“You unfilial son!” Shen Dehan shouted angrily.

Zhou Mingmei grabbed Shen Dehan’s sleeve, her face full of self-blame, “Dehan, it’s all my fault, I didn’t teach Ah Rong well, I’m sorry.”

Seeing that his mother seemed to be taking all the blame on herself, Shen Rong could not help but speak up to stop it, “Mother.”

Zhou Mingmei waved her hand at Shen Rong in disappointment without turning her head to look at him.

Shen Rong gave Zhou Mingmei a painful look and lowered his head in humiliation, his voice thin like a mosquito, “I didn’t want to either, it was him who threatened me.”

“Threatened?” Shen Dehan looked at Shen Rong in shock.

Shen Rong turned his head away in embarrassment, “I’m just an illegitimate child of the Shen family, I’m nothing in his eyes. If he wants to force me, I can’t do anything about it.”

“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” Shen Dehan said angrily.

Shen Rong gave his father a desperate look, “I didn’t dare, I was afraid that you would be disappointed in me, father, and would look down on me. After the last video, everyone thought I seduced him, I…” Shen Rong lowered his head in pain, “Originally, I planned to break up with him completely when I came back this time, but…” Shen Rong didn’t go on.

“But what?” Shen Dehan asked.

Shen Rong shook his head, refusing to speak again.

“Did he threaten you again?” Shen Dehan guessed.

Shen Rong lowered his head in shame.

Shen Dehan slapped his palm on the table bitterly, “What did Tian Wenyao threaten you with?”

Shen Rong shook his head, still refusing to speak.

Shen Dehan was dissatisfied, “What else are you hiding from me?”

Shen Rong gave his father a pleading look, “I have used all of my mother’s savings over the years to invest in a movie.”

Shen Dehan was taken aback, “What does this have to do with Tian Wenyao?”

Shen Rong’s voice became even smaller, “It’s Shen Xi. Shen Xi found someone to cut the movie I invested in. Tian Wenyao said he could help, so…”

Shen Dehan did not expect this matter to actually involve Shen Xi. When he looked at Shen Rong’s embarrassed expression while talking about these matters, Shen Dehan’s heart softened and a wave of guilt welled up.

“Father will definitely help you get justice in this matter.”

“Father!” Shen Rong did not expect Shen Dehan to say this and instinctively wanted to stop him. Zhou Mingmei glanced at Shen Rong silently. Shen Rong gritted his teeth and resisted Zhou Mingmei’s gaze, “Father, you must not affect the relationship with the Tian family because of me. I am not important. I will definitely refuse Tian Wenyao in the future, father.” Shen Rong’s face was full of pleading.

Shen Dehan looked at him and felt that Shen Rong was determined to do what was best for the Shen family. He thought that Shen Rong was afraid that the relationship between the Shen and Tian families would break down because of him. To be honest, he had just said under the spur of the moment that he would seek justice for Shen Rong, and then regretted it. He couldn’t really break off relations with the Tian family because of Shen Rong, and it was even more impossible to discuss such things openly. In the end, he could only wrong Shen Rong, and he felt even more guilty when he thought about it.

“You can come to work at Shen Group in a few days. Making movies is for people who don’t have a job, don’t learn from Shen Xi.”

Shen Rong had a disbelieving look on his face, “Father.”

Shen Dehan patted him soothingly, and Shen Rong tried to suppress the excitement in his heart as he flocked around his father.

Shen Dehan didn’t stay for long. After sending him away, Zhou Mingmei gave Shen Rong a warning glance, “Remember what you just said, don’t have any more dealings with Tian Wenyao in the future.”

Shen Rong’s surprise and joy faded a lot after these words, but facing Zhou Mingmei’s gaze, Shen Rong finally chose to compromise.

The matter of the photos seemed to have passed like this. There was no news coming from both the Fang and Shen families, and the media was also calm. Tian Wenyao’s heart, which had been on tenterhooks for several days, was finally completely relieved, and he appeared in front of Fang Jiaying with a relaxed expression.

“Jiaying, what do you think of this dress?” Holding a green tube dress in his hand, Tian Wenyao was saying gently to Fang Jiaying.

Fang Jiaying shook her head and Tian Wenyao hid the impatience in his eyes and picked up another dress, “How about this one?”

Fang Jiaying gave it a hesitant look and shook her head again.

Tian Wenyao took a deep breath and took another one, “How about this one?”

Fang Jiaying hesitantly looked at the several dresses on the bed, unable to make a choice.

“Still haven’t changed your clothes?” Fang Jiaying’s mother appeared at the door, dissatisfied. “Jiaying, there are already guests starting to arrive, so don’t dawdle.”

Fang Jiaying gave her mother a petulant look, “Today is a very important day for me, of course I have to choose carefully. Wenyao, why don’t you go out to receive the guests first?”

After he’d accompanied Fang Jiaying for half a day to choose a dress, Tian Wenyao’s patience was exhausted, and he took advantage of the situation to get up, “Okay.“ When passing by Fang Jiaying, Tian Wenyao naturally bent over and kissed her on the cheek, “No matter what you wear, you are the most beautiful in my heart.”

Fang Jiaying smiled, “I just hope to impress you enough so that you never forget it.”

Although Tian Wenyao found this statement a little strange, he didn’t think much of it. He just thought that Fang Jiaying wanted to show herself at her best in front of him. He smiled and followed Mrs. Fang out.

Behind him, Fang Jiaying casually drew a light-coloured dress and slipped it on. She wasn’t picking, she just didn’t want to accompany Tian Wenyao to socialise hypocritically in front of all these people.

It was the third anniversary of Tian Wenyao and Fang Jiaying’s engagement, and although both the Tian and the Fang families said that they were only celebrating on a small scale, the circle in Zhongjing was so big that most people had received invitations.

Shen Xi rushed back to the Shen family early that day. No matter whether he was happy or not, as a member of the Shen family, he needed to accompany his father today.

Shen Xi’s father was obviously very displeased with Shen Xi’s presence and chose to ignore him after a cold glance. Shen Xi frowned imperceptibly; he was used to the fact that his father did not like him, but today his father’s coldness towards him was too obvious. Had he done anything to provoke his father recently?

After only a moment of thought, Shen Xi gave up this idea. He suspected that in Shen Dehan’s heart, his birth was a provocation, let alone anything else.

When Shen Dehan showed up at the Fang’s house with a few members of his family, Li Mingxuan and Li Xiyong were chatting with today’s host. As Shen Xi’s figure appeared, Li Mingxuan’s eyes lit up and after gesturing to Li Xiyong, he walked towards Shen Xi.

“Uncle.” Li Mingxuan smiled and greeted Shen Dehan, his gaze swiping vaguely over Shen Xi. Shen Xi smiled at him and a hint of imperceptible tenderness flashed in Li Mingxuan’s eyes.

Shen Dehan looked at Li Mingxuan amiably, “Where is Xiyong?”

Li Mingxuan gestured towards the hall, “Father is over there with Uncle Fang.”

Shen Dehan nodded, “I’ll go over first, you young people get together. Ah Ji, you accompany me to say hello.”

“Okay!”

As Shen Dehan and Shen Ji’s figures disappeared into the crowd, Shen Cheng immediately smiled ingratiatingly at Li Mingxuan, “Cousin!”

Li Mingxuan chuckled, “I know, go and find Wenyao.”

Shen Cheng nodded and hurriedly looked around for Tian Wenyao’s figure, leaving Li Mingxuan and Shen Xi standing together.

Li Mingxuan’s gaze softened, “Let’s go together after it’s over.”

Shen Xi was very surprised, “Doesn’t Cousin need to go home with Uncle and Aunt?”

Li Mingxuan smiled and reached out to rub Shen Xi’s hair, “No, I told Father, not to mention that home is where Xiao Xi is.”

Li Mingxuan’s words were so sweet that Shen Xi couldn’t help but smile, startled.

The interaction between the two was noticed by Li Xiyong who watched them in silence. Shen Dehan, who was talking to him, followed his line of sight, “When did Mingxuan and Shen Xi get on so well?”

Li Xiyong swept a glance at Shen Dehan who looked puzzled and changed the subject with a wry smile.

Seeing that there were more and more guests and Fang Jiaying had not yet appeared, her father looked at her mother with dissatisfaction, “Where is Jiaying?”

“Probably still changing her clothes, I’ll go look for her.” Mrs. Fang was about to turn when she saw Fang Jiaying slowly walking down the stairs.

“Why are you so late?” Mrs. Fang complained in a low voice.

Fang Jiaying smiled and didn’t say anything.

“Jiaying.” Tian Wenyao walked over from a distance. Fang Jiaying had a pleasant smile on her face and took the initiative to hold his arm.

Today’s party was organised by Fang Jiaying. Originally, Tian Wenyao’s mother had planned to hold the party at the Tian’s house, but Fang Jiaying insisted on holding it at the Fang’s house, so Mrs. Tian went along with Fang Jiaying’s wishes. ADuring the party, Fang Jiaying arranged a number of interesting settings, and the atmosphere was very lively.

Seeing that the atmosphere reached its climax, Fang Jiaying stood in front of the crowd holding Tian Wenyao’s arm.

“Today is the third anniversary of my engagement to Wenyao. I have a gift for Wenyao.” Fang Jiaying said, looking at Tian Wenyao with a smile.

Tian Wenyao was taken aback, and then understood that this was Fang Jiaying’s surprise to him. He cooperated happily and put a surprised smile on his face.

Fang Jiaying motioned everyone to look at the left side of the hall, where a huge projection screen had been hung up for some time. With a gesture from Fang Jiaying, the lights in the hall were instantly extinguished, leaving everyone in the dark.

The corners of Shen Xi’s mouth slowly curled up. He was about to enjoy Shen Rong’s diligent performance when he was unexpectedly gathered in Li Mingxuan’s arms. Soft lips pressed against his lips and a wet, slippery tongue slid in. Shen Xi’s heartbeat sped up and he reacted fiercely, kissing back, the thrill making his whole body feverish. The screen started to light up and the two men separated quickly, standing side by side in the darkness, their lowered hands clasped tightly.

As the screen became brighter and brighter, everyone’s attention couldn’t help but focus on it, and a sweet, greasy moan suddenly reached everyone’s ears.

“Wenyao!” The moan was accompanied by a male voice calling out. 

Before the crowd could react, the screen lit up and two men appeared on it, naked and intertwined together. A low exclamation sounded in the crowd.

Tian Wenyao’s heart instantly sank. His whole body seemed to freeze, unable to even move, while his thoughts were incomparably clear.

The moment the initial moan sounded, Tian Wenyao had a bad feeling, but he didn’t expect Fang Jiaying to go this crazy. He could already predict how his reputation would be tarnished in Zhongjing and he would never be able to hold his head up again.

Fang Jiaying intimately leaned to his ear, “Do you like it? My surprise for you.” It was obviously a sweet female voice, but it was like a demon whispering in Tian Wenyao’s ear.

“Turn it off, hurry up and turn it off!” Tian Taoping’s angry voice rang out loudly.

As if echoing his words, the scene on the projection screen changed. It was still the same two men, but this time their actions were even more over the top.

Someone was whispering, “It’s that bastard son of the Shen family.”

“I think his name is Shen Rong, born to Shen Dehan’s mistress.”

“Do you guys still remember that video that was circulating on the internet five years ago?”

“It seems that Shen Dehan intends to recognize that illegitimate son.”

Countless whispers sounded in his ears as Shen Dehan stood there, only to feel that all the people were looking at him and laughing at him, that the Shen family’s centuries-old reputation had been completely destroyed at Shen Rong’s hands this night.

“Look at the illegitimate son of the Shen family. Look at Shen Dehan’s son.”

These few words kept drilling into Shen Dehan’s ears. He was gasping for breath. At the moment the lights came on, he could no longer support himself and fell straight down.

“Father!” Shen Ji cried out in panic, leaning down to look at Shen Dehan.

The crowd suddenly panicked as Shen Dehan collapsed.

Shen Xi stood far behind, looking through the crowd at Shen Dehan who lay on the floor, and the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily.

The next moment, Shen Xi was fiercely swept into the arms of Li Mingxuan, who patted him gently and said comfortingly, “Uncle will be fine.”

The inquiring gazes that originally fell on Shen Xi gradually moved away as Li Mingxuan continued to comfort Shen Xi in his arms, and the attention of the people around them was once again attracted by Shen Dehan in the centre.

Li Mingxuan gently patted Shen Xi and lowered his eyes, hiding the complex emotions within.

Previous / ToC / Next