In a villa located in city B, Shen Muchuan sat on the sofa. He looked at a document in his hand, his eyes revealing a deep and hesitant expression.
His assistant placed something on the coffee table in front of him, a delicate gift box with understated yet exquisite patterns, exuding a sense of quality. “Mr. Shen, the shirt you ordered three days ago has been delivered.”
Shen Muchuan opened the box, inside of which lay a finely crafted shirt and two pairs of cufflinks made of agate.
In his mind, Shen Muchuan couldn’t help but visualize how his brother would look wearing this shirt. His gaze flickered, and a hint of joyful smile appeared in his eyes.
Shen Muchuan had sharp and stern features, typically giving him a cold and hard appearance. However, at this moment, his smile carried a touch of tenderness.
The assistant watched from the side, but his gaze was completely drawn to the pair of cufflinks. His eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but be amazed. He had seen this Cartier design on the official website before, and just a small pair like this would cost over two hundred thousand.
The packaging was so exquisite; it was definitely meant as a gift.
As for whom it was meant for, there was no need to even think about it. Who could make their boss go to such great lengths to prepare a gift?
But what did it mean to have two pairs?
After placing the box down, Shen Muchuan lowered his head and glanced at the documents. After a while, he furrowed his brows tightly and asked hesitantly, “Do you think he will accept this?”
The assistant on the side couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. He thought to himself that the troubles of wealthy people were truly unimaginable. With one-third of Shen Corporation’s shares plus half of Zhongcheng’s shares, it was estimated that he had around eight billion yuan. Yet, he was casually talking about giving it away, and he was worried about whether someone would accept it?
Most importantly, he hadn’t forgotten that just two months ago, the boss was willing to go to court to reclaim the company’s shares. Now, he wanted to give them away? Was it all because of the accident? Although the other party had indeed saved his life, could everything from five years ago be easily wiped clean just like this?
“Mr. Shen, if you’re asking me, then I definitely can’t refuse.” After all, it’s tens of billions.
He thought seriously and realized that even if it were his own brother, he wouldn’t give it away, let alone an enemy he had hated for five years.
If it was just giving away half of Shen Corporation’s shares, he could barely understand it. After all, as an adopted son of the Shen family, they had lived together for over a decade, so there was some emotional connection. Moreover, this time Shen Muchuan owed the other party his life…
But Zhongcheng was different. Even though Shen Muchuan had his own business now, it was something he had worked tirelessly on for the past five years, pouring in all his effort. Now, saying he wanted to give away thirty percent of the shares was something he couldn’t comprehend at all.
He even began to suspect if the accident at that time was a ploy from the other side.
If that were really the case, he would be truly frightened. It would mean that Qiao Yue’s methods were incredibly sophisticated.
—
Around 7 o’clock in the evening, at a high-end restaurant in the city center.
Shen Muchuan took out the gift placed on the adjacent seat, gently caressing the textured pattern on the box’s surface with his fingertips, and his gaze involuntarily softened.
When Qiao Yue arrived, it had been almost half an hour, and the appetizers and soup were already served. But when he saw the surroundings, he was momentarily stunned.
The restaurant’s lighting was dim and the decoration was luxurious and ambiguous. Each dining table had freshly arrived flowers, flown in that afternoon, with vibrant and full petals, and the water droplets on them refracted a sparkling hue in the candlelight. The whole restaurant appeared extremely romantic…
Qiao Yue furrowed his brow, seemingly not expecting the dining location to be in such a place.
Shen Muchuan, observing Qiao Yue’s surprised expression, felt quite anxious. Even the muscles under his shirt couldn’t help but tense up, and he found himself sweating a little on his forehead. He only started to relax a bit after he saw Qiao Yue sit down without any apparent questions.
The restaurant had a tranquil atmosphere, a gentle cool breeze brushed by, distant strains of a band playing a melodious serenade reached their ears. The open-air garden sparkled with colored lights, and a faint fragrance of flowers wafted through the air.
It was not clear how much time had passed before Shen Muchuan began to feel his emotions gradually calming down.
He looked up at Qiao Yue and noticed that he was earnestly focused on his meal, his eyes lowered. The ambient lighting cast a warm glow on his face, making his complexion appear exceptionally fair.
Shen Muchuan contemplated for a moment and said, “Brother, there’s something I want to give you.”
Qiao Yue took a sip of water and raised his eyes, asking, “A gift?”
Shen Muchuan smiled and then, under Qiao Yue’s puzzled gaze, took out a document, gesturing for him to take a look. “Brother.”
Qiao Yue set down his utensils, furrowing his brows slightly. He accepted the document from Shen Muchuan’s hand but after reading it for a while, his frown deepened.
It seemed like the lighting was too dim. After looking at it for a while, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples as if he had a headache.
It was a legally notarized property transfer document.
It even mentioned that in the event of any unfortunate incident happening to Shen Muchuan, Qiao Yue would become the primary heir to his estate.
After Qiao Yue finished reading, he said with a headache, “What do you mean by this?”
“I’ve said it many times before,” Shen Muchuan replied, “You don’t owe me anything, and there’s no need for any compensation.”
Shen Muchuan looked at him and explained, “This isn’t about compensation.”
At this point, he paused, locking eyes with Qiao Yue, “Moreover, Brother, you should understand the meaning of being an heir…”
Qiao Yue was stunned, and for a long time, he couldn’t react.
Seeing him not speaking and no sign of happiness on his face, Shen Muchuan’s just calmed emotions began to tense up again.
Perhaps he had been too hasty. After all, it had only been a month, and their relationship had just started to improve a bit.
In this not-so-brief silence, Shen Muchuan’s heart slowly sank. He looked at Qiao Yue and added, “Brother, do you think this is too sudden?”
He smiled and continued, “It’s been five years, and maybe I’m rushing things. We could take some more time to think about it…”
Qiao Yue shook his head within the visibly tense gaze, sighed softly, and said, “I thought that just getting along as we are was already good enough.”
“Let’s leave the past behind, shall we?”
As soon as Qiao Yue finished the second half of his sentence, Shen Muchuan’s face turned pale in an instant. He seemed blindsided by Qiao Yue’s sudden statement. He had considered that his brother might not accept so quickly, given they hadn’t seen each other for so long. It couldn’t be expected to return to the way it was in just a short month of being together.
But he never anticipated that Qiao Yue would directly say such a thing.
“Let’s leave the past behind…” What did that mean?
Shen Muchuan’s face was ashen. “Brother, are you still angry with me? Blaming me for all the things I did to you before?”
Qiao Yue placed the document down and slowly looked away. “No… I’ve never blamed you.”
Shen Muchuan stared at him, a deep sense of panic gradually gripping his heart. “Then… why?”
Could it be that what he heard at the hospital room door that day was all a misconception?
He had always believed that his brother felt the same way he did, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Was he the only one who couldn’t forget the past and move on?
Qiao Yue simply looked at him and didn’t say anything further.
Shen Muchuan didn’t dare to press for more answers. He was afraid that the fragile relationship they had just managed to repair might be shattered again. As for his brother not agreeing now, maybe with time, he would change his mind.
At the end of dinner, Shen Muchuan gently persuaded his brother to accept the shirt he had prepared, and this time Qiao Yue didn’t refuse.
In this situation, Shen Muchuan felt content. At the very least, it indicated that his brother still cared about him. With this thought in mind, he felt a glimmer of hope.
However, the shares and property remained untouched. Shen Muchuan couldn’t bear the thought of his brother living a difficult life, but if his brother was resolute in refusing, he couldn’t think of a way to change the situation.
—
This routine continued for about another half month. One evening, while Shen Muchuan was in the middle of an important meeting, his phone, placed to the side, vibrated suddenly.
He was feeling irritated from arguing with some shareholders, and he instinctively reached for his phone to silence it. However, as his gaze met the incoming call notification, he abruptly stopped.
He excused himself from the meeting and walked out, his voice devoid of any anger as he answered, “Hello?”
But just as he answered, the call was abruptly disconnected from the other end.
Shen Muchuan was perplexed and dialed the number again, but this time, there was no answer at all.
Shen Muchuan was growing increasingly anxious. He informed his assistant to handle the remaining work and then drove straight to Qiao Yue’s home.
When he arrived downstairs, he noticed the lights were on, a sign that someone was at home. However, when he reached the door and knocked repeatedly, there was no response.
Just as he was about to consider forcing the door open, he heard footsteps coming from the living room.
After a considerable delay, the door was finally opened.
Upon seeing the person at the door, Shen Muchuan immediately pulled him inside and scrutinized him from head to toe, searching for any signs of injury. When he didn’t see any, a fraction of the weight on his heart finally lifted.
His tense muscles relaxed as he realized his brother was unharmed. He was covered in cold sweat, and he said, “Brother, why didn’t you answer my calls? I was worried something had happened to you.”
Qiao Yue apologized, “I might not have heard it.”
Shen Muchuan didn’t dwell on it, but even though his brother seemed fine, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. He sensed an indescribable sense of desolation emanating from him, and even his gaze seemed unfocused.
That evening, Shen Muchuan, as usual, tried to find an excuse to stay over at Qiao Yue’s place. He had already prepared himself for the possibility of being turned down, but to his surprise, Qiao Yue agreed.
After taking a shower in the bathroom, Shen Muchuan picked up the pajamas Qiao Yue had prepared for him and tried them on. He noticed that the pants were a bit tight. He buried his face in the fabric and took a sniff, only to embarrassingly realize he had an unexpected reaction.
He took another cold shower and when he came out, he found Qiao Yue in the living room, watching the news. Qiao Yue had a pair of thin gold-framed glasses perched on his nose, but it seemed like he wasn’t really paying attention to the TV. He appeared deeply lost in thought.
Shen Muchuan watched and wondered when his brother had developed nearsightedness. Why was he wearing glasses even at home?
That night, Shen Muchuan slept in the guest room next door. In the middle of the night, he was abruptly awakened by a loud crash coming from the living room.
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