CFRFGC Chapter 86

⌈Will this matter affect my work if it gets out?⌋

Shen Xingyu was eight years older than Lu Ran.

The year Lu Ran was born, Shen Xingyu was taken away by Old Master Shen.

At that time, Old Master Shen was already advanced in age and deeply dissatisfied with his only son, Shen Hongyuan.

Everyone said that the old master was personally grooming the next generation’s heir.

Shen Xingyu didn’t understand any of this back then.

All he knew was that his grandfather was stern and rarely smiled at him.

He had to learn many, many things, and his life suddenly became much harder.

When he was ten years old, Shen Xingyu experienced his first investment failure.

Feeling defeated, he cried to Madam Shen, saying he wanted to go home.

Old Master Shen said nothing but sent Shen Xingyu back home.

However, he took two-year-old Lu Ran and four-year-old Shen Xingzhuo in his place.

From then on, Shen Xingyu only needed to attend lessons at the old house on weekends.

That was the first time Shen Xingyu truly felt the weight of his status and family responsibilities.

He was annoyed by everything, found nothing pleasing to the eye, and disliked children even more.

To teenage Shen Xingyu, trouble-prone Shen Xingzhuo was nothing short of a fool.

Lu Ran wasn’t much better in his eyes.

What made him even more irritable was that, for some reason, this little kid loved clinging to him.

Whenever Shen Xingyu went to the old house for lessons or when Lu Ran returned to the Shen household, the boy would inexplicably follow him around like a little tail.

If Shen Xingyu was studying in the study, Lu Ran would come running in, pulling candy from his pocket and offering it to him, saying, “Big Brother, have some candy!”

Soon after, he’d come rushing in again, holding a cup and saying, “Big Brother, have some water!”

Sometimes, he’d gaze at him with bright, sparkling eyes and say, “Big Bwo, I-I learned a new song today…”

But Shen Xingyu was rarely in the mood to listen.

When he was in a relatively calm state, he would say to the boy, “I’m studying.”

The child would let out an “Oh,” and then quietly leave.

But he wouldn’t go far; instead, he’d crouch by the window of the study, peeking in secretly.

Even Shen Xingzhuo couldn’t lure him away to play ball.

Sometimes, when Shen Xingyu looked up from his heavy coursework, he’d see a fluffy little head poking up outside the window.

To be honest, the first few times he noticed the shadow outside, Shen Xingyu couldn’t quite discern what he was feeling at that moment.

A boy of eleven or twelve wasn’t yet capable of fully understanding his emotions.

He vaguely remembered that it didn’t feel… unpleasant.

But that fleeting warmth would quickly dissipate.

Shen Xingyu thought to himself, “If I smile at this kid now, he’ll probably cling to me even more relentlessly.”

So he’d harden his expression, look at the boy outside the window, and say coldly, “What are you doing here? Go away.”

That was on a good day.

On worse days, it was far harsher.

Once, Shen Xingyu had been scolded again.

Seeing the little boy approach his leg with his usual eagerness, Shen Xingyu lost his temper.

Just as Shen Hongyuan would shout at him, Shen Xingyu now lashed out at the child with a thunderous yell.

“I told you not to cling to me! Can’t you just leave me alone?!”

His voice was loud and harsh, startling the little boy.

The child froze, trembling slightly from the shock.

But he didn’t cry, nor did he run to call Grandpa or Mom.

Instead, he merely looked at Shen Xingyu for a moment before turning around and running away, his small footsteps pattering down the hallway.

When he ran out of Shen Xingyu’s study, Shen Xingyu glanced up.

He saw the boy lightly pressing a hand to his chest, like a little adult, softly comforting himself with his toddler-like, halting speech.

“It’s okay, it’s okay… Big Brother is just in a bad mood, just like how Daddy is only in a bad mood…”

For a moment, Shen Xingyu was stunned.

For some reason, his anger completely dissipated.

It was almost amusing. He even felt an unexpected urge to smile.

The next day, the child he had yelled at acted as if nothing had happened.

He still brought candy to Shen Xingyu during his lessons.

He still crouched by the window, showing only his big, bright eyes and the fluffy top of his head.

But once it happened, it would inevitably happen again.

Once again, Shen Xingyu lost his temper.

He pushed open the window and yelled at the little boy.

“I told you not to come near my study! Stop bothering me! Do you not understand human words?”

This time, the boy was genuinely frightened.

Shen Xingyu could clearly see the fluffy little head tremble twice in fear.

Then, the boy looked up at him with those obedient, dark eyes, turned, and ran away.

From that day on, Shen Xingyu’s little tail was gone.

The boy stopped following him.

He no longer ran over to give him candy during his lessons, nervously trailing behind him, telling him about the nursery rhymes he’d learned that day.

When Shen Xingyu finished his coursework and looked up out of habit, the fluffy little head was nowhere to be seen.

He walked to the window, pushed it open, and glanced down.

The lawn was empty.

There was no child crouching there, no little face looking up at him with a grin.

Occasionally, after school, Shen Xingyu would glance at the yard from afar.

The boy and Shen Xingzhuo would be squatting together, playing in the sand.

When Shen Xingzhuo noticed Shen Xingyu looking, he’d make a silly face at him with mock disdain.

The boy, however, would just quietly shovel sand into a little bucket with his tiny spade.

Sometimes, when Shen Xingzhuo ran off to play wildly elsewhere, the boy would sit alone by the sandbox, playing by himself.

Later, Shen Xingyu realized that the boy seemed to have grown a bit afraid of him.

Whenever he sensed Shen Xingyu’s gaze, he would hide behind the sofa or cling to an adult.

This was supposed to be exactly what Shen Xingyu wanted.

But sometimes, when he saw the boy playing hide-and-seek with Shen Xingzhuo in the yard, he would feel a strange irritation.

He thought, “If he keeps playing with that idiot Shen Xingzhuo, he’s going to turn into an idiot too.”

And then, something else happened.

Shen Hongyuan took him to meet an important client.

The client had a strong taste in food, so Shen Hongyuan specifically arranged the meal at a Sichuan restaurant and brought Shen Xingyu along.

At first, everything went well.

Shen Xingyu was enjoying the hot pot and his knowledge was broader than most people his age.

Occasionally engaging in conversation, he earned praise from the client across the table.

Shen Hongyuan was also pleased.

However, he still had to belittle his son a little, saying that the boy was not up to par.

Then the waiter brought out a new dish.

It was a plate of spicy rabbit heads.

The plate had vegetables for decoration at the bottom and on top were four rabbit heads neatly arranged.

At first, Shen Xingyu didn’t recognize what animal it was.

After eating one, he curiously asked what it was.

The client across from him told him it was rabbit heads.

But Shen Xingyu loved rabbits.

He had two lop-eared rabbits, and that spring, they had two baby bunnies.

He took great care of the little family of four and sometimes even brought them to school.

He was very careful about their care and never allowed his younger brothers to touch them.

At his age, Shen Xingyu couldn’t understand, nor could he accept, that something he loved could be turned into food and eaten.

He felt disgusted.

Unable to control himself, he slammed his chopsticks down.

“How can they eat something like this!”

He bent over the table, gagging.

At that moment, he had already forgotten the reactions of the people at the table.

He only remembered that the client looked at him for a moment and said, “A boy who’s so timid won’t do.”

Shen Xingyu had no idea how the business negotiations went.

All he knew was that after returning home, Shen Hongyuan was furious.

He ordered him to kneel as punishment.

He called him a useless child.

He also had the servants bring out the rabbits Shen Xingyu had been raising.

That scene was etched clearly in Shen Xingyu’s memory.

Shen Hongyuan raised the rabbit cage high with both hands and smashed it down onto the lawn in the backyard.

The grass was torn up in the chaos.

The cage broke and the four lop-eared rabbits scattered across the lawn.

Shen Hongyuan caught two of the larger ones, and right in front of Shen Xingyu, he personally snapped their necks.

The other two smaller rabbits, however, couldn’t be found no matter how hard they searched. Shen Hongyuan was frantic, yelling and nearly overturning the entire backyard.

After his violent outburst, the Shen household gradually returned to calm.

Shen Xingyu still had to attend the next financial class.

He sat in his small study, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

The waiting time was agonizing.

He sat in silence, his mind filled with the image of the two lop-eared rabbits dying.

By chance, he lifted his head and saw a small figure standing in front of the study door.

Shen Xingyu was in a very bad mood.

Anyone who approached, he would assume was there to laugh at him.

Yet, he seemed to also secretly wish someone would come by.

Shen Xingyu looked at the child outside the door and said, “What are you doing here? Get lost!”

The child, still very scared of him, instinctively took two steps back when he yelled.

But after a pause, the child came back.

He stopped at the doorway of Shen Xingyu’s study, carefully not crossing the threshold.

The child was wearing light blue checkered overalls.

He stood there awkwardly, tugging the straps of his overalls down.

Shen Xingyu was momentarily confused, not understanding what the child was doing.

The child pulled down the straps and then rolled up his white sweater a few times.

Then, from his stomach, he pulled out two fluffy little rabbits.

He carefully bent down, gently placing them on the floor with his hands.

After standing back up, he pointed at the two little bundles on the ground and said to Shen Xingyu inside the room, “Rabbits!”

After that, he turned around and ran off.

The straps of his overalls were still not properly fastened, hanging loosely from his arms.

After that, the child and Shen Xingyu’s relationship didn’t improve.

The child still avoided him every time.

Shen Xingyu vaguely remembered that the child came to find him again later.

But he was frustrated about something, and, as usual, he drove the child away angrily.

It was also that time, when he came to his senses, that someone told him the child was missing.

…

In the years that followed, between his busy studies and work, Shen Xingyu would occasionally think back.

The child was so afraid of him.

That day, he must have been out of options, and only then did he come to find Shen Xingyu.

If he hadn’t yelled at him…

Later on, the young man who once crumbled over a plate of spicy rabbit heads, unable to control his temper and yelling at people, disappeared.

Shen Xingyu once thought that he might become someone similar to his father.

But in those long years, he became the person he is now.

Calm, composed, unaffected by emotions, never losing his temper.

His mind is full of weighing pros and cons.

Shen Xingyu’s gaze gradually focused on the balloon fragment in his hand.

The balloon was printed with a cartoon version of a rabbit.

The rabbit had long ears and round eyes.

It looked nothing like the four floppy-eared rabbits he once raised.

After looking for a while, Shen Xingyu suddenly became unsure.

Because he could no longer clearly remember what those floppy-eared rabbits had looked like.

So… it must have been a coincidence.

He had already forgotten.

That four-year-old child, how could he still remember?

Surely, it’s not possible… he has forgotten everything else, yet still vaguely remembers these random things.

For some reason, Shen Xingyu didn’t contact Ji Min regarding Lu Ran anymore.

A few days later, however, it was Shen Hongyuan who reached out first.

It seemed that Shen Xingyu had informed him that Ji Min would not allow Lu Ran to go to the Shen family for the time being, so Shen Hongyuan didn’t mention that matter.

His tone was respectful and proper, only mentioning that some business occasions required the presence of the Shen family’s children and hoped Lu Ran could attend.

He also clarified the details, including when Lu Ran should return and the arrangements.

When Ji Min received the news, he was somewhat surprised.

However, he didn’t entirely intend to limit Lu Ran’s contact with the Shen family.

Attending official events as a member of the Shen family would be beneficial for Lu Ran.

Of course, everything still depended on Lu Ran’s opinion.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ran agreed without a second thought.

He had previously stayed at the Shen family’s house just to keep an eye on them, to see what they were planning to do.

Of course, now he had to go.

Shen Hongyuan was also surprised by how easily Ji Min let Lu Ran go.

It wasn’t until he met Lu Ran outside the agreed-upon restaurant that he understood.

Behind Lu Ran stood a bodyguard, and both bodyguards were tall and strong.

They stood behind Lu Ran like two small mountains.

Shen Hongyuan: “…”

Lu Ran was also a bit speechless.

He turned around, looking at the bodyguards behind him, and asked, “Big Brother, are you all going to follow me like this from now on?”

The two bodyguards had already been instructed by Ji Min.

They now skillfully explained, saying, “The boss said, this is the treatment his ex-boyfriend deserves.”

Lu Ran suddenly understood.

He thought to himself, so this is the kind of treatment a domineering CEO’s ex gets.

It seemed that today, Shen Hongyuan didn’t really have any ill intentions.

He had set the meeting place outside and had even brought Shen Xingran with him.

Lu Ran looked him over carefully and noticed that Shen Xingran had put some effort into his appearance.

His clothes were also quite refined.

Lu Ran wasn’t sure who they were meeting.

Once they entered the private room that Shen Hongyuan had reserved, three familiar figures came into view.

One of them raised a glass toward Lu Ran, curled his lips into a smile, and seductively said, “Honey, long time no see.”

Lu Ran: “…”

It was the Lino family.

The Lino family was now a competitor of the Shen family. Going further back, they were even family enemies.

Now, Shen Hongyuan was actually meeting with the Lino family.

When the eldest son of the Lino family, Jin, greeted Lu Ran, Shen Hongyuan appeared completely unbothered, as if he had seen such a situation countless times before.

Shen Xingran, on the other hand, glanced at Lu Ran in surprise, a trace of competitive hostility flickering in his eyes.

However, he behaved very obediently and didn’t say anything more.

The dinner began. The Lino family on the opposite side was very polite.

Shen Hongyuan took the initiative to introduce his two sons.

He smiled and said, “My youngest son, I believe you’ve all met him, so I won’t say much more.”

Then he pointed to Shen Xingran. “This is my adopted son, also studying at Y University…”

Lu Ran shot Shen Hongyuan a glance, feeling that the situation was a bit strange.

Soon, the elder of the Lino family, Old Lino, also introduced his children.

“These two are my troublesome sons. The eldest may seem aimless, but when he finds someone he truly cares about, he’s very loyal. The second one is honest and knows how to care for others…”

Lu Ran found it even stranger.

He made an excuse to go to the bathroom and gave Ji Min a call.

Before receiving Lu Ran’s call, Ji Min was looking over a document on his computer.

The document was one he had his assistant gather, detailing information about the younger generation in prominent families.

Ji Min clicked on one page, it was the Gu family.

The first image was of Gu Ningqi, his arrogant face staring back from the screen.

Ji Min frowned, clicked the mouse, and switched to the next page.

The following image was of Gu Zhi.

Compared to Gu Ningqi, his seniority was higher, but he was just as foolish.

Butler Chen stood behind Ji Min, watching the man with a scowl on his face as he skimmed through the document with a critical eye.

Finally, Ji Min concluded: None of them were worth his attention.

Then, he threw the mouse aside and stared out the window, lost in thought.

Until Lu Ran’s call came in.

The young man’s voice still carried a vibrant energy.

As soon as the call connected, he quickly said, “It’s over, boss. I suspect Shen Hongyuan brought me here to set me up on a blind date.”

Ji Min: “?”

Ji Min: “!”

It didn’t take long for him to realize what was going on. His brows furrowed tightly and the usually calm tone in his voice rose noticeably.

“A blind date? How old are you? What are you doing going on a blind date?” the man asked.

But Lu Ran was worried about something else: “If this gets out, will it affect my work?”

“For example, people might say: Ji Min’s ex-boyfriend pretends to be pursuing him but secretly goes behind his back to arrange a blind date. It must mean Ji Min isn’t good enough.”

The boy mimicked the tone of others gossiping with perfect accuracy.

But Ji Min didn’t give it a second thought. Instead, he said, “Wait, that’s not important.”

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