CFRFGC Chapter 21

⌈”Are you going to threaten me?”⌋

Shen Xingran was thinking the same thing.

Yes, this couldn’t go on any longer.

Outside the Shen family’s gate, Lu Ran was still telling stories to passersby, his face tilted up toward his audience.

His listeners had grown from one to several. It was a leisurely time of day and Lu Ran’s story was particularly attention-grabbing. The plot, serious with a hint of absurdity, made people want to stick around to see just how far the absurdity would go.

Besides, Lu Ran was genuinely likable in appearance. Sitting on the ground and looking up at people with those innocent eyes, he gave off an air of charm and obedience.

He had been like that since he was a child. When he was rescued from a flash flood, his health had not yet recovered, so the orphanage didn’t arrange for him to be adopted right away. By the time he was healthy again, he was old enough to start primary school. At that age, finding a family willing to adopt him became more difficult.

Lu Ran hadn’t expected that, despite being so likable to others, when he arrived at the Shen family, no matter what he did, he was always seen as an eyesore.

Someone couldn’t resist asking, “So what happened next? After the child was pushed into the pool, surely the parents would realize that something was wrong with the adopted son?”

Lu Ran shook his head. “Bias doesn’t need a reason. The parents thought their child had just stood too close to the pool and got in the adopted son’s way.”

“Ugh…”

“How could that happen?”

The crowd let out sighs of disbelief.

“And then?” they asked eagerly.

“After that, the lost child realized his parents would never truly love him, so he left home,” Lu Ran said with a smile. “He went out into the world and lived a free and happy life.”

That was, in a way, a good ending.

But it was still heart-wrenching and the women listening couldn’t help but vent their frustration. “What idiotic parents! Favoring the adopted son is one thing, but when you finally find your own son, shouldn’t you shower him with more love?”

Lu Ran just smiled without saying a word.

In his past life, he would never have shared any of this with outsiders. He had realized that Madam Shen and the others didn’t like him mentioning it. Besides, Lu Ran himself found it painful and shameful to bring up. He had been constantly manipulated by the Shen family, often questioning why he could never measure up to Shen Xingran.

If anyone dared to speak to Lu Ran like that now, he wouldn’t hesitate to curse them out.

The listeners hadn’t dispersed yet. Some were still pondering over the story and couldn’t help adding their thoughts, “That’s definitely a story. If it were real life… Families like ours would still go looking for their child, no matter what.”

Lu Ran looked up at the person who spoke.

The group of well-to-do women exchanged knowing glances.

“Why do you have to bring them back?” Lu Ran asked.

He was still too young and even with his past life’s experiences, there were many things he didn’t fully understand. So when faced with someone more experienced, he couldn’t help but ask.

The women were momentarily taken aback by his question, then smiled and replied with a vague answer, “Leaving someone out in the world isn’t ideal. After all, they’re family. Later, there’d be issues like inheritance and shares to deal with…”

Lu Ran blinked thoughtfully.

While they were chatting, two security guards in uniform approached from a distance.

Originally, the guards had been walking over with electric batons in hand, looking serious and imposing. But when they got closer and saw Lu Ran sitting on a sleeping bag with schoolbooks and a backpack spread out in front of him, they paused.

The two guards exchanged glances.

They had just received a call from Madam Shen and they had assumed it was some thug causing trouble. But now that they were here, it was just a student.

And a visibly diligent one at that—he was doing homework even as the sky began to darken.

Besides, every person entering and leaving the neighborhood had to be registered by the homeowners. This student had clearly been added to the system not long ago.

The guards were confused.

They glanced at the women chatting with Lu Ran, then back at him.

Lowering their voices, one of them asked, “Why are you out here, kid?”

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow at the security guards. He had expected Madam Shen to call them sooner; this was a bit later than he’d anticipated.

“I’m just sitting here doing homework outside my own home,” Lu Ran replied.

“Then… why don’t you go inside?” the guard asked again.

Lu Ran smiled and said, “Because I was kicked out by my family. Didn’t she just call you guys to come and kick me out?”

“Uh…” The guards exchanged glances, unsure of what to do next.

“Who said you’re part of this family? Stop spewing nonsense at my doorstep!” Madam Shen couldn’t hold back anymore and rushed out.

Seeing so many people still gathered around her front gate, she froze for a couple of seconds. But this time, she was firm, directing the security guards, “What are you standing there for? Get him out of here!”

Lu Ran looked at her innocently, “Madam, how are we not family? Didn’t we just do a paternity test recently? Should we go do another one right now?”

Madam Shen was momentarily speechless. “You—you’re just a distant relative. I let you come here and I can make you leave!”

As soon as she said this, she noticed that the women gathered around were giving her strange looks. Distant relative…

In that “story” Lu Ran had just told, the biological mother had also introduced her long-lost son to others as some distant relation.

At first, they had just thought of it as a bizarre story. But now… everyone couldn’t help but start thinking more deeply about it.

Under the weight of their gazes, Madam Shen felt an inexplicable sense of panic and embarrassment.

The security guards, on the other hand, were growing reluctant to get involved.

These wealthy families often had their disputes. When they fought, they wished the other would drop dead, and when they made up, they acted as if they were inseparable.

In any case, it wasn’t their place to meddle. Besides…

Making things difficult for a student, especially one still in school, seemed pretty low.

“Madam, maybe it’s better to talk this out calmly.”

“Why not take him inside and sort things out?”

Madam Shen was stuck in a difficult situation, but she had already made up her mind. Today, she was determined to kick Lu Ran out.

Just as she was about to speak and press the issue, a voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.

“What’s all the commotion here?”

Shen Hongyuan had finally come home.

He initially thought Madam Shen was hosting some kind of social gathering when he saw the people outside. But as he walked closer and noticed the security guards holding batons and Lu Ran lying at the front gate, the smile on his face froze.

He had only been away for two days! What had happened now?

Regardless of what went on at home, Shen Hongyuan always maintained a composed and cultured image in public. Seeing the situation, he quickly walked over and bent down, his expression calm, but through gritted teeth, he asked Lu Ran, “What are you doing lying here?”

Though his voice was low, Lu Ran raised his voice deliberately, “Can’t you see? I’ve been kicked out!”

The smile on Shen Hongyuan’s face was barely holding together.

Shen Hongyuan shot a glare at Madam Shen but kept smiling apologetically at the onlookers. “I’m so sorry, everyone. Just a little spat between the kid and the adults, that’s all.”

“I’m not having a spat,” Lu Ran said, holding his dog in his arms. He didn’t explain his background but instead spoke pitifully, “You’re the ones who brought me here and now you want to throw my dog away, even threatening to kill it!”

The crowd’s expressions turned to shock. Who would have thought that the seemingly glamorous Shen couple would act like this? Even if Lu Ran was just a relative’s kid, treating him this way seemed over the line. And wanting to kill his dog? That’s downright animal abuse! If word of this got out, it would be disastrous.

“And you don’t let me stay in the guest room. In such a big house, you made me stay in the servant’s quarters and even forced me to live in the storage shed in the yard,” Lu Ran continued, laying bare the Shen family’s dirty secrets.

Shen Hongyuan, who always cared about his public image, was left red-faced by these revelations. Forcing a smile, he tried to deflect, pretending to be uninvolved. He turned to Madam Shen and asked, “How could you treat a child like this?”

“I—!” Madam Shen, almost fainting from the accusation, snapped, “Why is this all my fault?”

Before she could continue, Lu Ran spoke again. Ruthless, he pointed at Shen Hongyuan and directly exposed him, “It’s not just her, you’ve done plenty of things like this too!”

Shen Hongyuan: “…”

Madam Shen, on the other hand, felt a small, guilty sense of satisfaction.

Shen Hongyuan’s dignity was crumbling fast. He bent down to whisper in Lu Ran’s ear, trying to negotiate quietly. But Lu Ran shrank back dramatically, pretending to be frightened, “Wah wah wah, are you trying to threaten me?”

Immediately, the wealthy women in the crowd directed their disapproving glares at Shen Hongyuan.

With no other choice, he finally said, “The guest room wasn’t ready. You can move in tonight.”

Still pitiful, Lu Ran replied, “I’m not asking to live on the second floor or take over the third, but at least give me the biggest room on the first floor, right?”

Once again, the crowd’s judgmental eyes turned toward the Shen family, as if saying, “The kid’s been so well-behaved and you’re still being this stingy?”

“Of course, we’ll make sure you’re taken care of,” Shen Hongyuan gritted his teeth as he spoke.

“I don’t believe you. Unless you get someone to clean it up right now,” Lu Ran said firmly.

Shen Hongyuan’s smile faltered, but he had no choice but to order the servants to start preparing the room immediately.

Seeing the situation resolved, the crowd gradually dispersed after a bit more lingering. A few of the wealthy women even whispered some words to Lu Ran before they left.

Despite all the chaos, Madam Shen had failed to teach Lu Ran a lesson. Instead, she had lost one of the largest rooms in the house. But none of this mattered to Lu Ran.

In his past life, he had always been a shadowy, awkward presence in the Shen family, never formally introduced to the upper-class circles. So when he was in a car accident and confined to a private hospital, no one cared.

But after today’s commotion, though the occasion wasn’t entirely formal, he had shown his face in front of these elite families. Whether as the “relative” they claimed him to be or as the lost child from the story, someone would take note of him.

This would make it much harder for the Shen family to quietly get rid of him now.

Upstairs, Shen Xingran watched silently as the servants moved Lu Ran’s belongings inside, one by one. He watched as Lu Ran strolled confidently into the Shen family’s yard, through the villa, and into the living room, with his dog by his side.

He opened his phone.

A message had just been sent.

“Brother Lin, I’m sorry. I’ve been hiding something from you. Actually, Lin Yi… was bullied, really badly. I’m sorry. The person who bullied him is somehow connected to me…”

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