Chapter 34

Xu Yichen and the others wanted to accompany Qi Xu to the old family home, claiming they had his back and listing their “combat power.”

Qi Xu sighed, “We’re not going to fight anyone. What’s the point of combat power?”

In the end, Xu Yichen, Fang Qian, and Jiang Zimu went home, while Xie Huai and Qi Xu headed to the old house together.

Qi Xu was just hitching a ride because Xie Huai said he had business there.

Qi Xu was actually in a pretty good mood on the way. When they arrived at the old family home, they saw two cars parked outside.

Clearly, Old Master Shen had called the whole Shen family.

Qi Xu got out of Xu Yichen’s sports car and greeted Uncle Li standing at the door.

Uncle Li nodded to Xie Huai. “Young Master Xie.”

Then he led Qi Xu inside.

Qi Xu followed behind at a leisurely pace. “Uncle Li, your legs look better than mine—you’re practically flying.”

Uncle Li gave a quiet sigh. Meeting the young master’s teasing and knowing expression, he slowed down his pace. “Young master, when the argument starts, give me a signal with your eyes.”

Qi Xu smiled. “Grandpa’s sending you to bring backup?”

Uncle Li replied, “No, the old man told me to remind him to pretend he’s got a chest pain when the time comes.”

“Impressive,” Qi Xu said, boldly criticizing the old man. “Don’t make him act. I can’t even watch that performance. He should just enjoy the show quietly—this fight’s not going to happen.”

Qi Xu wasn’t interested in quarreling with them or getting caught up in pointless bickering. If this dragged on, there would be more aftershocks. It’d be a waste of time and would only make the Shen family think he was throwing a tantrum—that everything he did was just to grab their attention.

The Shen couple wouldn’t say it outright, but Shen Fengkai definitely thought so.

Qi Xu still remembered the last life’s engagement banquet for Shen Fengkai. One of Fengkai’s friends, knowing Qi Xu’s position in the Shen family, deliberately provoked him. Qi Xu didn’t lose his temper right away, but a few days later that friend’s million-dollar luxury car was smashed, and photos of his affair were sent to his fiancée.

Afterward, Shen Fengkai came to Qi Xu’s office, planted both hands on his desk, and stared him down. “Qi Xu, you went too far. You knew Zhao Hui was my friend. You’re just doing this for show. What is it—since Mom and Dad’s attention is on Zeyu, you’re trying to get some recognition from me?”

What was Qi Xu’s expression back then?

Oh, like someone who just took some strong medicine and was about to throw up—he wanted to puke just looking at Shen Fengkai for another second.

He fought down the nausea and said, “Yeah, dear brother, I just want you to know who your one and only little brother is.”

That one line scared Shen Fengkai into looking constipated—he couldn’t say a word and left in a hurry.

Compared to the disgust Qi Xu felt, Shen Fengkai was nowhere near as repulsive.

Qi Xu walked into the main hall, where the Shen family of four sat neatly.

Shen Zhuohai probably hadn’t slept all night; his complexion looked bad. Zeng Yunyi was the same—already frail, now weak and seemingly barely holding on.

Shen Fengkai frowned tightly the entire time. Shen Zeyu looked at Qi Xu with visible disgust, but realizing they were at the old family home, he put on a harmless, innocent expression.

Old Master Shen sat at the head of the table, head bowed, using the tea lid to skim foam off the tea absentmindedly, seemingly oblivious to the scheming minds in the room.

Qi Xu found it amusing. This scene oddly resembled a government office interrogation, and he was the criminal being pushed forward by the soldiers. The Shen family of four were the victims.

Old Master Shen looked up and met the young troublemaker’s smiling eyes, instantly angered.

Shen Zhuohai glared at Qi Xu, about to reprimand him, but was cut off by the old man.

“Why are you standing there? Come here.”

Qi Xu slowly walked over to stand behind Old Master Shen, next to the main seat, looking down at them from above.

Shen Zhuohai bit his tongue and changed his words. “Dad, you shouldn’t keep spoiling him. Living here a few days has made him unruly. People outside are saying we can’t raise our children properly.”

Old Master Shen put down his teacup with a bang and said calmly, “Tell me, how many days have you been teaching him? He’s your own son. If you don’t stand by him, and instead join others in blaming him—what kind of father are you?”

Shen Zhuohai frowned deeply. “If he hadn’t acted on his own and caused trouble last night, would the banquet have ended up like that? Our Shen family became the laughingstock of the whole city overnight.”

Qi Xu had no proper posture. He picked up the old man’s cane and casually leaned on it—much more comfortable that way.

Old Master Shen looked at Qi Xu and gave a sharp order: “Stand properly.”

Having just finished military training, Qi Xu instinctively stood at attention, but the moment Old Master Shen turned his head, he slipped back into a lazy stance.

“You should have known that hiding the truth about the two children being switched would eventually be exposed. This whole matter was unfair to Qi Xu from the start. He wants to seek justice for himself—what’s wrong with that? But you, you should know what kind of people the Qi family really are. How dare you manipulate public opinion to turn them into so-called good people.”

Old Master Shen spoke without raising his voice but with an undeniable authority. Qi Xu handed him the cane so he could tap it on the ground—but quickly got a glare in return.

Shen Zhuohai offered a string of excuses. “I’m just trying to protect Shen Corporation. You don’t run things anymore, so you don’t know, but our Shen Corporation—”

Old Master Shen cut him off. “If you have the will but not the ability, I’ll bring the eldest son back to help you.”

Shen Zhuohai’s face changed instantly, fully aware he had spoken out of turn. If the eldest son came back, there’d be no place for their branch of the family in Shen Corporation. Old Master Shen was clearly putting pressure on him.

He quickly glanced at Shen Fengkai, silently urging his eldest son to step in and calm their grandfather.

Shen Fengkai caught the signal and immediately soothed Old Master Shen. “Grandpa, Uncle and his family are currently abroad expanding our overseas market and have made some progress. The internal shuffling won’t affect operations. Besides, Father means well—he knows how hard you worked managing Shen Corporation alone, and he wants to take it to the next level and give you a satisfactory result.”

Having been by Old Master Shen’s side for over a decade, Shen Fengkai could somewhat read what the old man was thinking. Today, Old Master Shen had come out in defense of Qi Xu, so all they could do was comply.

Qi Xu was impressive—he had managed to win Old Master Shen’s favor in such a short time.

Shen Fengkai couldn’t help but look at him with new respect. Especially after last night’s events, if Qi Xu really intended to fight him for the family inheritance, he would be a formidable opponent. Deep down, Shen Fengkai felt a faint spark of anticipation.

He looked at Qi Xu, who still wore that casual, carefree expression, showing no interest in defending himself or caring about his image in front of the family.

Shen Zeyu suddenly spoke up, lowering his eyes with a meek expression: “Grandpa, Dad, please don’t argue and hurt feelings. Last night was all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken it upon myself to prepare a welcome gift for Second Brother. I thought on such a happy day, Second Brother would also prepare a gift for us. Who knew a piano piece would upset him?”

Qi Xu raised an eyebrow, still in the mood to talk: “Little brother, I’m actually pretty happy. You played a childhood memory song really well. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have returned the favor. Don’t you like my gift?”

Shen Zeyu pursed his lips, surprised by Qi Xu’s casual response. After everything that happened last night, wasn’t he supposed to be at odds with him?

“Second Brother, I know you don’t like me, but isn’t it going too far to team up with the media and control public opinion to hit Shen Corporation so hard? Shen Corporation is Grandpa’s life’s work.”

Qi Xu stopped standing and sat down in the chair below the main seat, facing the four of them.

“Do I really have that much influence? Maybe you’re overestimating me. Or maybe you think Qi Guohui raised me this way, and you want to see for yourself.”

Shen Zeyu was sure the news about Qi Guohui was planted by Qi Xu.

But last night, his big brother had lectured him, saying he shouldn’t have done that—that he just wanted the banquet to be livelier.

Shen Fengkai, unsure whether to believe him or not, said, “Zeyu, I’ve watched you grow up since we were kids. How could I not know what’s on your mind? Wouldn’t it be better to go back to being that innocent, happy little brother?”

Shen Zeyu’s eyes reddened immediately. “Big Brother, but I’m not happy anymore. It feels like this family doesn’t have room for me.”

Shen Fengkai patted his head and said, “How could a family this big not have room? As long as you obey and stay close to Mom and Dad, everything will be fine.”

Was that a warning? Shen Zeyu’s heart sank.

Right, his responsibility was to stay by Mom and Dad’s side, to be the little lapdog pretending not to understand anything.

He used to think that with that role, he was like a fish in water in the Shen family.

Whenever their parents and big brother argued about business, he would mediate, giving Shen Fengkai a chance to breathe. In his big brother’s eyes, he was indispensable.

His standing in the Shen family had grown.

Big brother had been involved with Shen Corporation since he was sixteen. Shen Zeyu was eighteen now, but aside from knowing the top executives were all unaware, he had no real involvement.

Before the college entrance exam, he didn’t mind—he thought he would get into Shen Corporation someday. He was happy being the pure little brother loved by his parents and big brother.

But Qi Xu came back, and everything changed. He no longer had any chance to enter Shen Corporation.

He should be glad Qi Xu had bad relations with the Shen family so much that Qi Xu wasn’t even as favored as he was.

Still, why did he feel like Qi Xu was doing this on purpose, deliberately not competing with him? Where did Qi Xu get that confidence?

Was it Xie Huai?

Shen Zeyu recalled the figure from last night, who hadn’t even glanced his way once.

In everything, the order of arrival matters—why should Qi Xu get special treatment?

Qi Xu’s words didn’t anger Shen Zeyu but upset Zeng Yun instead.

“Xiao Xu, don’t scare your little brother. He’s never been exposed to people like that.”

Qi Xu sneered coldly: “Yeah, he hasn’t been exposed. Or maybe he should be.”

Zeng Yun’s face turned pale, and Shen Zeyu quickly stood to comfort his mother.

Standing up for his mother, Shen Zeyu said, “Do you really have to take Mom’s words that way? Don’t you know she waited for you all night at home? You didn’t reply to a single message and didn’t come home all night.”

Seeing Old Master Shen’s stern expression, Shen Fengkai tactfully said, “Last night Xie Huai told me he was with Qi Xu. I also told Mom so she wouldn’t worry.”

“I’ve already had people investigate the online news and media reports. It turns out Ruifeng took advantage of the situation, using this to damage Shen Corporation’s reputation and secure Yu Hai’s project. Shen’s PR team is handling it,” Shen Zeyu said quietly, lowering his head and saying no more—because the more he said, the more mistakes he made. He had already lost control.

Qi Xu learned from Shen Fengkai the “reason” behind the news release and had to admit that the young Xie Huai’s ruthless tactics were already showing signs of sharpness. No wonder by the age of 28, he had become a top player—far surpassing Shen Fengkai.

“Qi Xu, anything else you want to say? Say it all at once today,” Old Master Shen gave him a look—showing his support.

Qi Xu did have a few things to say: “Don’t use my name again to hold banquets for Shen Corporation. I won’t attend. Also, stop spreading the image online of me as a hardworking, diligent student. The truth is, I skipped school, fought, and even got into trouble with the police. And one last thing—if something happens at school, don’t come to me.”

Each of these points was directed, though Qi Xu didn’t name names to spare their faces.

Old Master Shen seemed unsatisfied with these three points and prompted, “Anything else?”

Qi Xu knew what he meant—to come clean about the child swap years ago.

Last night’s four-word warning was meant to warn Shen Zeyu not to cause trouble again, not to actually reveal the past.

Qi Guohui was someone Qi Xu could handle on his own. He didn’t want the Shen family to exploit his background for profit and stage another ridiculous tearful drama.

There was no need for that.

Qi Xu looked at Old Master Shen and smiled: “Also, I don’t want to drink traditional medicine anymore.”

Old Master Shen immediately turned grim, refusing to look at this troublemaker, and declared on his own: “I’ve already put Qi Xu on the trustee fund list. When I die, even if you don’t care about him, he won’t starve.”

Shen Zhuohai frowned: “Dad, don’t say things like that. You’ll live a long life. Qi Xu is my son—I would never neglect him.”

Old Master Shen snorted coldly: “How do I know if you’ll care after I’m gone? And Qi Xu is living with me now, keeping company with this old man who doesn’t have many years left. He’ll have plenty of time to spend with you later.”

Zeng Yun was stunned, seeming not to understand what Old Master Shen meant. “Dad, what are you saying?”

Old Master Shen explained plainly: “Qi Xu’s household registration will be moved here. Or if he prefers living alone, so be it. Don’t bind him.”

“Bind”?

That word, used to describe a parent-child relationship, was harsh. But for Qi Xu and the Shen couple, it was more than appropriate.

It wasn’t Qi Xu binding them—it was them binding Qi Xu.

Zeng Yun looked at Qi Xu with hope. He was her newly recognized biological son; surely he wouldn’t want to leave his biological parents.

But Qi Xu didn’t look back at her. He lowered his head, playing with his cane, and said slowly, “I want my own household registration.”

Qi Xu’s attitude guaranteed today wouldn’t end too badly. Old Master Shen called the Shen family back to the old house to avoid having Qi Xu confront them alone.

Besides supporting Qi Xu, as the family’s pillar, he needed to maintain this fragile household.

Qi Xu understood what Old Master Shen was thinking—not trying to mend his relationship with the Shen family but hoping Qi Xu could rely on the Shen family name to exist in this world.

If he was destined to leave, every extra day counted. He could call the old man “Grandpa” without worry.

Old Master Shen didn’t pretend to be heartbroken to end the conversation. The Shen family left the old house in a heavy silence.

Shen Fengkai looked at Qi Xu with meaning—this little brother had much more backbone than he expected. He had really thought Qi Xu would lean on Old Master Shen as a supporter.

He truly was a brother of the same bloodline.

Qi Xu, unaware of Shen Fengkai’s thoughts, said with extra annoyance, “You’re welcome to come to my place again. No need to see you off.”

After the unrelated people had left, Uncle Li and Qi Xu both stood in front of Old Master Shen.

Uncle Li said sternly, “You just said ‘die’ twice. Spit twice quickly to ward it off.”

Qi Xu nodded along, “Spit two more times, just to be safe.”

Under pressure, Old Master Shen covered his mouth and spat twice. Uncle Li nodded in satisfaction and left.

Qi Xu handed the cane back to the old man and heard him say, “You think they’re not good parents.”

Qi Xu answered carefully, “To others, maybe they are. But to me, they’re not.”

Old Master Shen sighed deeply and after a long pause said, “That kid Xie Huai is waiting for you at the door. It’s getting late. Go back to school.”

Qi Xu walked to the door but didn’t see Xie Huai. Suddenly, he heard movement behind him. Turning around, he saw Xie Huai coming out from the side yard, holding Qi Xu’s incense burner.

“Breaking and entering?” Qi Xu joked.

Xie Huai returned the incense burner. “Uncle Li said you have to light the incense yourself. The burner recognizes its owner. In one week, seven times lighting incense, five times it went out for no reason.”

Qi Xu gasped in surprise, picked up the incense burner and examined it carefully. “Your uncle isn’t selling some spooky stuff, is he? The incense burner has come to life? It won’t suck out my energy and turn into a person, right?”

Xie Huai looked at the agarwood bracelet on Qi Xu’s wrist. “You should watch that bracelet. You never take it off. Who knows, maybe when you wake up in the morning, there’ll be someone lying in your arms.”

Qi Xu smiled with a little excitement and hope. “As long as they’re good-looking, I’d be thrilled. Waking up with a beauty in my arms? That’d be a perfect death.”

Xie Huai was speechless, or perhaps had nothing to say. He threw out a shallow comment and then got into the business van.

Qi Xu hugged the incense burner and followed him into the vehicle, planning to set the burner up in a private space. If it really turned into a person, that’d be quite a shock.

Not for him, but it might scare the person sleeping next door.