Chapter 118 – Shen Cheng

Chapter 118 - Shen Cheng

Exploded?

What exploded?

President Yang was flailing his arms about, unable to form coherent sentences.

Both Shen Hongyuan and Shen Xingran also subconsciously froze in confusion.

Shen Hongyuan even reflexively glanced at his phone, thinking that President Yang might have been browsing some significant business news while using the restroom.

It wasn't until an awkward anger appeared on President Yang's face when he repeated, "The toilet exploded!" that Shen Hongyuan and Shen Xingyu, father and son, finally realized what had happened. They rushed into the restroom with furrowed brows.

Shen Hongyuan muttered, "That can't be right, I clearly checked it?"

Upon seeing the state of the stall, Shen Hongyuan's words came to an abrupt halt.

Amidst the initially tranquil and utterly normal toilet bowl, a bizarre array of pearls erupted forth.

These pearls were translucent and colorful, exuding a somewhat fantastical aura at first glance.

That was, of course, if one could overlook the peculiar objects mixed within them.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, these pearls seemed to possess a life of their own, continuously gurgling out of the bowl.

Perhaps it was due to the pearls being beneath, while the, well, waste resided above.

With this surge of pearls...

Whatever had been flushed down was forcefully pushed back up.

Overflowing from the toilet, they spilled across the floor.

"Your... Your restroom!" President Yang's complexion cycled from pale to flush to ashen.

When he had rushed out just now, he still felt a hint of embarrassment.

To come to someone else's house and end up causing an explosion in the toilet—what kind of situation was this?

But!

Now that he saw it clearly, it was clearly the fault of the toilet itself!

President Yang's anger flared instantly.

He shot a glance at Shen Hongyuan and sneered, "President Shen has quite a sense of humor. If you're not satisfied with my conditions, you could have said so directly. There was no need to pretend to agree and then secretly pull such a stunt to disgust me."

Upon hearing this, Shen Hongyuan panicked.

He quickly said, "President Yang! This was an accident! It must have been a prank by one of the children at the banquet. Look, there's nothing wrong with this cubicle over here..."

As he spoke, he immediately opened the door to another cubicle.

To prove his point, he even reached out to press the flush button.

Water rushed eagerly from the tank into the toilet bowl.

At first glance, it seemed entirely normal.

But soon, due to the immense water pressure, the hidden, luridly-developing water droplets beneath surged upward in a tumultuous wave.

With a "whoosh," they pushed against the debris above, sending it splashing high.

Translucent water droplets, mixed with various peculiar substances, danced in mid-air.

A few even sprinkled onto Shen Hongyuan's head.

In that instant, the entire restroom fell eerily silent.

moments later, the unfortunate Yang President stormed out, sleeves flapping.

The other CEOs who had witnessed the scene were all left with their eyes wide in shock.

For a while, it was unlikely anyone would dare set foot on the Shen family's territory.

The once bustling Shen family villa finally quieted down after a long evening of revelry.

Moments later, Shen Hongyuan's furious roar echoed from the bathroom:

"Lu Ran!"

The explosion in the Shen family toilet had undoubtedly posed significant obstacles to Shen Hongyuan's plan for securing investments.

However, the profits from the HZ project were enormous, making the Shens the apple of Beijing's eye for the time being.

Even Shen Xingzhuo's half-dead studio managed to secure a few investments at this crucial moment and was back in operation.

This was the first time Shen Xingzhuo had seen any progress in his career, prompting him to pay a visit to the Shen family home.

Unfortunately, his timing was poor, as Shen Cheng had also made an appearance.

Shen Xingyu and Shen Hongyuan were currently engaged in a heated argument over the matter.

As Shen Xingzhuo entered the house, he overheard Shen Xingyu declare, "I won't approve any allocation of funds this time."

A sharp sound of shattering glass followed.

It must have been Shen Hongyuan losing his temper and smashing the cup.

Shen Xingzhuo paused but still entered the room.

He had moved out to live on his own before reaching adulthood, so he didn't have much of an impression of his cousin Shen Cheng.

Vaguely, he recalled that when he was young, this cousin used to visit quite often.

Before his father took power, it was said that this cousin, upon hearing his grandfather's dissatisfaction with his father, went out of his way to show concern for his grandfather and attend to him tirelessly.

It was obvious he was trying to curry favor.

After Shen Hongyuan ascended to power, Shen Xingzhuo expected his father to have a hard time accepting this younger cousin.

But to his surprise, while his father might not be great in many aspects, he did have a sense of brotherhood toward this cousin. Over the past decade, he had helped settle numerous troubles for him.

Even when Shen Cheng got someone pregnant outside last time, it was Shen Hongyuan who settled the matter with money.

That incident had initially aroused Madam Shen's suspicions.

Shen Xingzhuo walked into the living room.

He happened to witness Shen Hongyuan pointing at his own chest and telling Shen Xingyu, "He is my younger brother! Don't you, as an elder brother, understand this?"

Something in those words seemed to strike a chord with Shen Xingyu.

He froze on the spot for a moment.

Seemingly unsure of what to say, he pursed his lips and stood there in a daze for a while before lifting his gaze back to Shen Hongyuan.

Shen Xingzhuo caught sight of Shen Xingyu's expression at that precise moment.

He vaguely sensed that, for an instant, the look Shen Xingyu cast at Shen Hongyuan held a hint of envy.

Shen Xingzhuo even thought that Shen Xingyu would agree.

Yet, Shen Xingyu took a deep breath.

He opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Instead, he bent down to pick up the suit that had fallen to the ground, draped it over his arm, and turned to leave the living room.

Shen Xingzhuo and Shen Xingyu came face to face.

The two brothers had never quite gotten along.

Even on Shen Xingyu's birthday, Shen Xingzhuo hadn't shown up, let alone given him any gifts.

They stared at each other for a few seconds in a deadlock.

In the end, Shen Xingyu spoke up, habitually warning, "Be cautious with the investments in your studio recently."

Shen Xingzhuo had always found this tone of his the most irritating since childhood.

It was as if Shen Xingyu believed he was the only capable one in the entire Shen family, while everyone else was just troublemakers.

Shen Xingzhuo pulled the corners of his mouth, sarcastically remarking, "That has nothing to do with you. Mind your own business."

Shen Xingyu didn't say anything else and left with a grim expression.

Watching Shen Xingyu depart, Shen Hongyuan caught his breath, sitting on the sofa.

However, his face wasn't filled with rage but rather a hint of concern.

Upon seeing Shen Xingzhuo, he instinctively spoke in an irritable tone, "You finally decided to come back? Is the studio short on cash again? What great prospects do you have!"

Shen Xingzhuo's temper flared up instantly.

"You either take your anger to Shen Xingyu or Shen Cheng, but don't vent it at me!"

With that, he stormed upstairs and returned to his own room.

Upstairs, Mrs. Shen was still in her dressing room, video chatting with her girlfriends, proudly showcasing the limited edition jewelry she had recently received.

Hearing the dispute downstairs, she instinctively went to close the door and returned to continue chatting with her girlfriends.

Shen Xingran stood in the corner of the third floor corridor, silently watching the scene below.

After a while, he descended to the second floor and knocked on Shen Xingzhuo's door.

Inside the room, Shen Xingzhuo had lost his initial enthusiasm upon returning home.

Lying in bed, he was momentarily unsure of what to do.

After lying there for a moment, Shen Hongyuan's words echoed in his mind: "He's my brother!"

Shen Xingzhuo sat up from the bed, bending down to pull out a cardboard box from under it.

This box had been a gift he prepared for Lu Ran on the day Lu Ran officially rejoined the Shen family.

But that day, he hadn't been able to give it to Lu Ran. Later, when Lu Ran moved in with the Ji family, there was even less of an opportunity to present it.

In truth... if Shen Xingzhuo was willing, there would always be opportunities.

But he always wanted Lu Ran to take the initiative to come closer, to call him 'brother,' before he offered these things to him.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in," Shen Xingzhuo said.

The door opened, and Shen Xingran poked his head in, addressing him with a smile, "Brother."

For an instant, Shen Xingzhuo felt a sense of joy. It was as if this simple "Brother" gave him a sense of belonging and worth within the family.

However, their relationship had been somewhat strained recently, making the situation a bit awkward now.

"Why are you knocking when entering my room? Just come in," Shen Xingzhuo remarked.

Shen Xingran chuckled and stepped inside, comforting him, "Brother, I saw Father getting angry again just now. Are you alright?"

As he spoke, he noticed the cardboard box in Shen Xingzhuo's hands, recognizing it as something Shen Xingzhuo had brought back the other day.

With feigned curiosity, Shen Xingran approached and asked, "Wow, Brother, what's in there?"

The box was filled with old items.

Shen Xingran spotted a deflated, colorful rubber ball and instinctively reached for it.

However, his hand was stopped by Shen Xingzhuo.

The atmosphere turned tense once more.

After a brief hesitation, Shen Xingzhuo closed the box and said, "They're just some toys from our childhood."

With that said, he pushed the box back under the bed.

Shen Xingran slowly retracted his hand.

But soon, a smile returned to his eyes as he continued the previous conversation:

"Brother, don't take it too hard. Dad has been in a bad mood lately because Big Brother keeps suggesting that Lu Ran join the Shen Corporation."

Shen Xingzhuo was taken aback. He asked, "Did Shen Xingyu suggest it?"

"Mm…" Shen Xingran nodded, as if it was nothing. "Big Brother really wants Lu Ran to come back."

Shen Xingzhuo fell silent for a moment.

"Oh," he replied. "That's good. He should have come back anyway."

Shen Xingran smiled but didn't say anything more.

Ever since Ji Min was discharged from the hospital, Fang Chen had been rather unhappy.

Lu Ran was already incredibly busy to begin with.

When Ji Min wasn't around, he wasn't much of a party-goer. Now that Ji Min was back, Lu Ran spent even less time hanging out with him.

Although Fang Chen had many friends, most were only interested in him due to his family background.

He didn't want to give up on Lu Ran, such an entertaining companion, so easily.

Thus, Fang Chen took the opportunity of a weekend to visit Ji Min's place once more.

Upon arrival, he scooped up Big Yellow and grumbled, "Lately, I feel like Big Yellow doesn't even recognize me anymore."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ji Min emerged from the study.

The man seemed perfectly fine.

He merely carried a cup to refill it with water.

As he passed by the sofa, he greeted them casually, "Fang Chen is here. Have fun, you two."

Fang Chen forced a laugh. "Haha, hello, Mr. Ji."

Ji Min nodded in response.

After Ji Min left, Fang Chen let out a sigh of relief and resumed his complaint, "You haven't been hanging out with me lately."

For a fleeting second, Lu Ran felt guilty, but he still defended himself, "Well, I'm there when we're gaming."

Fang Chen rolled his eyes but leaned in closer, saying, "Do you remember the person you helped me deal with last time? Well, he's in deep trouble now!"

The two of them leaned in close to chat, simultaneously pouring themselves glasses of juice.

Lu Ran had just picked up his glass of juice.

There was Ji Min stepping out of the study again. Upon seeing the fruit juice in Lu Ran's hand, he frowned.

The man drew closer, his finger lightly grazing the rim of the youth's cup. With a hint of resignation, he said,

"Who was it that complained about an upset stomach last night? And now you're drinking something icy?"

With that said, he took the juice from Lu Ran's hand and replaced it with a cup of warm water.

After attending to this matter on his own, Ji Min politely turned to Fang Chen and said, "Please forgive me, Lu Ran isn't very mindful when it comes to eating, so I need to be more attentive."

Fang Chen: "..."

When Ji Min left, Fang Chen picked up his phone, turned off the screen, and held it up to examine his reflection for a while.

"What are you looking at?" Lu Ran inquired.

Fang Chen replied with a poker face, "Checking if I'm glowing."