Chapter 85: Engagement

Chapter 85: Engagement

Shen Xingyu was indeed the one who could revive the almost-dead Shen Corporation.

In the business world, he was skilled at exploiting people's vulnerabilities.

After doing so, he softened his tone and spoke sincerely, "The Shen family owes an apology to Lu Ran. Starting from today, the Shen family will give Lu Ran everything he deserves."

Pausing here, he added, "What you mentioned earlier will not happen again."

Ji Min had already calmed down.

Although Shen Xingyu had indeed hit upon the points Ji Min cared about the most and perceived his regard for Lu Ran, approaching the matter from Lu Ran's perspective in an attempt to persuade him, these tactics were nothing new to Ji Min and thus would not affect him much.

Looking up at Shen Xingyu, he asked, "How can you ensure all this?"

Shen Xingyu paused.

Just as he was about to speak, Ji Min raised his hand to stop him, and said with a smile, "In the Shen family, you can't even guarantee your own dignity. How can I believe that you'll protect him?"

Shen Xingyu tensed slightly.

But he quickly composed himself and said calmly, "My dignity isn't important; the dignity of the Shen family is what matters."

Then he pressed on relentlessly.

Fixing his gaze on Ji Min, he continued, "Senior Ji, you're a man of principles. Lu Ran is only nineteen and has an engagement with the Gu family. It's not appropriate for him to be living in the Ji residence."

Raising an eyebrow, Shen Xingyu asked, "Or are you suggesting that the Ji family has intentions of forming an alliance through marriage with the Shen family?"

If it had been any other man, Shen Xingyu wouldn't have dared to say such a thing.

His words were like a ladder, offering a way out for the other party to accept the proposal smoothly.

Yet, in the end, he would not only fail to take away Lu Ran but also inadvertently offer up his own brother.

But Ji Min wouldn't.

This man was exceptionally composed and would never let others' words cloud his judgment or abandon his considerations.

The reason he asked this question was because Shen Xingyu had noticed that Ji Min genuinely cared for Lu Ran.

It wasn't the playful indulgence of a dominant figure towards a pet, but a sincere affection.

Upon realizing this, Shen Xingyu felt a slight relief.

Even if Lu Ran returned to the Shen family, with Ji Min looking out for him, Shen Hongyuan should not go too far.

And it was precisely because of this affection that Shen Xingyu knew Ji Min wouldn't casually make a promise about an "engagement."

For the more one cared for someone, the more unwilling they would be to have that person spend their life with a disabled person.

Sure enough, Ji Min didn't respond.

Shen Xingyu pressed on, "I don't wish for my brother to endure those slanderous whispers."

Indeed, no one dared to spread rumors about Ji Min in reality.

Ji Min fell silent for a moment.

He looked up at Shen Xingyu and asked, "In what capacity are you saying these things to me? As an alumnus or as Lu Ran's brother?"

Shen Xingyu wasn't sure why Ji Min was asking this, so he simply replied, "Of course, I'm Lu Ran's brother."

Ji Min scoffed. "Are you worthy of that title?"

Just three simple words left Shen Xingyu momentarily speechless.

If it were Shen Hongyuan, he would have flown into a rage at this point.

Madame Shen would have gone even crazier.

But in negotiations, Shen Xingyu wasn't someone swayed by emotions.

He immediately said, "He is my younger brother, an objective fact."

Ji Min chuckled instead.

"Little brother?" He lifted his gaze, as if seeing through everything. "Are you here to find me or to say these words because Lu Ran is your younger brother?"

"Shen Xingyu, stop deceiving yourself."

Ji Min sighed. "You merely see Lu Ran as a sheep in the Shen family's flock, while you're the shepherd dog that the Shen family has meticulously trained. Naturally, you have to bring the sheep back when it strays."

"As for whether the sheep is kept alive, slaughtered, or sold, that depends on the master's intentions. You, as the shepherd dog, have no say in the matter."

All pretenses were ruthlessly exposed, and Shen Xingyu pressed his lips tightly together.

The negotiation reached an impasse.

In the distance, Lu Ran had played golf for a while and found it uninteresting. He frequently looked up at Ji Min.

Noticing this, Manager Chen smiled and said, "What are you looking at? If you're tired, come sit with this old man and have some tea."

As he finished speaking.

A golf cart happened to pass by Ji Min's side.

Upon seeing the vehicle, Lu Ran, who had just been standing still, suddenly abandoned his golf club and sprinted rapidly toward Ji Min.

Butler Chen failed to react in time. By the time he looked up again, Lu Ran had already run more than a hundred meters away.

The golf cart approached, passed by, and then receded into the distance.

Ji Min also espied the youth who had run over, panting heavily.

He paused, surprised, and asked, "Why are you out of breath like this?"

With labored breathing, Lu Ran hurriedly positioned himself behind Ji Min's wheelchair, unable to utter a word in time.

Pulling the wheelchair back with a sudden force.

He didn't stop until he was more than ten meters away from Shen Xingyu.

This child appeared frail and delicate.

But when he exerted himself, there was a recklessness as if he were willing to risk his life.

Ji Min's wheelchair tilted slightly backward under his pull.

The scene suddenly took on a comical twist.

Seeing how Shen Xingyu avoided him like the plague, he fell silent.

Only then did Lu Ran recall explaining his actions.

Gasping for breath, he pointed at Shen Xingyu and declared earnestly, "Stay away from him. Who knows if he's carrying any cockroaches. What if they fly over to us!"

Shen Xingyu: "..."

Ji Min found himself in an awkward situation, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He turned sideways to gaze at the youth behind him.

Only upon taking a closer look did I realize the person behind me exuded an intimidating aura.

But it was unclear if it was due to the recent swift run or the effort of pulling his wheelchair.

The youth's hands, along with his slender forearms, continued to tremble delicately.

Ji Min's brow instantly furrowed as he reached out to seize the youth's arm, clasping it firmly within his palm.

Over there, Butler Chen was walking over as well, leading Big Yellow with him.

Ji Min wheeled around, guiding Lu Ran back to the round table.

As he turned, he glanced back at Shen Xingyu, who was still standing in place.

Suddenly, he said, "Since you're speaking to me as a brother, I'll consider the engagement."

Shen Xingyu's brows immediately knotted into a tight knot.

By the time Lu Ran was seated beside Ji Min, he still hadn't grasped what the two of them were discussing.

He glanced at Shen Xingyu not far away and asked softly, "What marriage contract?"

The man who had just moments ago pledged to consider the engagement was now being deliberately vague.

He pinched the quivering forearm of the youth, strained from excessive exertion, beneath his fingertips and chided, "Children shouldn't eavesdrop on grown-ups' conversations."

Lu Ran: "..."

He mused to himself that his boss must have some serious issues going on.

Ji Min glanced at Shen Xingyu, who hadn't left, and let out a soft sigh.

Shen Xingyu wasn't the type of person to give up easily.

Lu Ran's team could use some additional support.

Yet these were matters he had no intention of divulging to the youth by his side.

Yet gripping the arm that still trembled ceaselessly within his hand, recalling the sight of the youth dashing towards him at full speed just moments ago, Ji Min couldn't help but feel a lingering trace of annoyance.

He playfully tapped Lu Ran's forehead and scolded, "Didn't you say you weren't afraid? Then why did you pull on my wheelchair and retreat ten meters away? Are you going to abandon your arm?"

Lu Ran covered his forehead.

"I said I'm not afraid of him," he stated.

After that, as if to prove his point, Lu Ran withdrew his hand.

He glanced around and dashed over to a nearby children's golf class, where he requested a small white rabbit-shaped balloon as a reward.

Clinging onto the balloon, he ran back to Shen Xingyu with quick steps.

With a loud "smack," he popped the balloon.

Instinctively, Shen Xingyu turned his head to dodge.

The fragments of the white rabbit-decorated balloon brushed against his cheek as they fell.

Lu Ran approached with an intimidating demeanor.

Having playfully popped the balloon, he stomped off in a huff.

He didn't forget to boast to Ji Min, "See? I scared him, didn't I?"

Ji Min was utterly clueless about the point of his friend's antics.

He simply reached out to hold Lu Ran back, "Take a break, will you?"

Turning around, Ji Min looked at Shen Xingyu.

To his surprise, Shen Xingyu, who had been unwavering just moments ago, was now staring intently at the scattered remains of the balloon on the ground.

His expression seemed somewhat dazed.

Without further ado, he left earlier than expected.

On the way back, the silence in Ji Min's chauffeur-driven car was palpable.

Lu Ran dozed off in the rear seat.

Rushing toward Ji Min with almost full force, he barely paused for breath before dragging both the man and his wheelchair backward by several meters.

Despite being seated in a wheelchair, Ji Min's electric model had powerful brakes, making it particularly challenging to maneuver on the grass. Add to that the considerable weight of the grown man himself.

Suddenly exerting such great force, it would be strange if one wasn't exhausted.

"Let him rest for a while. Wake him up later, we still have classes in the afternoon," Ji Min said.

Butler Chen nodded and, as instructed, handed over a thin blanket.

Ji Min unfurled the garment and gently laid it over the youth in the back seat.

The interior of the car is spacious.

He wheeled himself around and gazed at Lu Ran's sleeping face for a moment.

There might be other reasons behind Lu Ran's fear of Shen Xingyu.

But Ji Min could somewhat comprehend the sentiment that Lu Ran felt, his reluctance to acknowledge Shen Xingyu's illness and desire to avoid him.

After today's conversation with Shen Xingyu, Ji Min sensed that, compared to the rest of the Shen family, Shen Xingyu held a somewhat familial affection for Lu Ran.

But in Shen Xingyu's world, such feelings didn't amount to much.

Ji Min himself had few close relatives.

He could roughly imagine how Lu Ran had felt growing up as an orphan.

When surrounded by others with complete families, young Lu Ran must have consoled himself, imagining that his parents and loved ones surely loved him deeply, they just hadn't found him yet.

That illusion was utterly shattered when he was taken back into the Shen family.

Yet, people are reluctant to accept that they are destined to be unloved by nature.

They refuse to acknowledge that they deserve such a family, such parents.

One has to cling to fantasies to survive.

Thus, they imagine that Mom and Dad have simply forgotten him after such a long time, that they no longer recognize him.

If they were to remember him, they would love and protect him.

But these frail illusions were shattered by Shen Xingyu.

Shen Xingyu remembered him and treated him like a younger brother.

But so what?

It seems he is still the one who remains unloved.

This is what they call familial affection.

The familial affection he had yearned for over a decade, in the end, amounted to nothing.

Ji Min reached out to gently rub the youth's forehead.

After leaving the golf course, Shen Xingyu returned to his company.

He was so occupied that he didn't return to the Shen family's residence until late at night.

Upon entering, he was met with Shen Hongyuan's cold expression.

Shen Hongyuan glanced at him and asked, "How's the progress on the project?"

Shen Xingyu sighed. "Dad, it's not that fast."

With a stern expression, Shen Hongyuan inquired further, "What about Lu Ran? Why hasn't he returned?"

Shen Xingyu opened his mouth but remained silent.

"Useless!" Shen Hongyuan scolded. "You can't handle family matters, and your work is a mess. What exactly have you been up to lately?"

Saying this, he threw the stack of documents in his hand onto Shen Xingyu's body. "This is the bidding proposal from the Lino family. Study it well for me!"

Shen Xingyu stood his ground.

He only picked up the documents after Shen Hongyuan had gone upstairs.

He had already received this file earlier that morning.

He was well aware that Shen Hongyuan's behavior toward him was a result of his personality.

The other reason was that Shen Hongyuan was terrified by his own gradual aging.

With the extra document in hand, Shen Xingyu climbed the stairs with leaden steps.

Before entering his room, he glanced at the adjacent one.

The child had moved out, leaving the neighboring room empty once more.

Shen Xingyu entered his room, switched on the light, and resumed his seat at the desk to review several proposals sent by his subordinates.

Moments later, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Shen Xingyu said.

The one standing outside was Madam Shen.

She pushed the door open and peeped in. "Son, I just heard your father scolding you again. Are you alright?"

Warmth welled up within Shen Xingyu.

He shook his head, about to say that he was fine.

But Madam Shen had already pushed the door open and squeezed inside.

As if her previous words were just an introduction, she quickly dismissed them from her mind. Holding her phone out to Shen Xingyu, she said,

"I remember you have a membership with this brand. I really like their new collection this season—this piece, this one, and this one..."

"All these items are limited edition. I've sent them to your WeChat; make sure you remember to help me grab them, okay?"

Shen Xingyu opened his mouth.

At this moment, he couldn't distinguish the differences between the outfits that Madam Shen had mentioned at all.

He wanted to say that he had been busy lately and might forget, and that his assistant was swamped with work as well...

But after Madam Shen finished her instructions, she left the room humming a tune.

The door closed, and silence returned to the room.

The initial concern seemed as intangible as a mirage.

In that instant, Shen Xingyu suddenly felt exhausted, extremely so.

The pile of work on the desk weighed down on him like a mountain.

Behind him was a steep cliff, offering no support.

For the first time, Shen Xingyu found himself unable to continue working.

He got up and went downstairs, opening the sliding door to the backyard before sitting on the steps to smoke.

After two cigarettes, the pack was empty.

Shen Xingyu reached into his pocket and fumbled around for a while, eventually pulling out a fragment of a balloon.

It depicted half of a rabbit's ear.

Then he found another piece, featuring the rabbit's large eyes and two front teeth.

Staring at the fragments in his hand, Shen Xingyu took another deep drag from the nearly extinguished cigarette.

Shen Xingzhuo was only two years older than Lu Ran, so it was likely that he didn't remember anything from their childhood.

But when his younger brother went missing, Shen Xingyu was already twelve years old.

He clearly remembered who his real brother was, and who was the adopted son that came later.

Who was the genuine "Shen Xingran."

However, Shen Xingyu didn't have a particularly good relationship with Lu Ran when they were young.