Chapter 43

Chapter 43

"Flight M1314 is approaching Jiangcheng International Airport, with an estimated arrival time of 1:14 PM. The ground temperature is 28 degrees Celsius, and humidity is 70%. Thank you again for choosing Jiangcheng Airlines. We wish you a pleasant journey and look forward to serving you next time."

Shen Liuyun and Shen Muyun were already waiting at Jiangcheng International Airport. "Father"—this term seemed to have only surfaced at the very beginning of Shen Muyun's life. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous, clutching the bouquet tightly, his brows slightly furrowed.

According to Shen Liuyun, Shen Wenjin's latest project collaboration hadn't gone smoothly. However, the company had secured a new partnership, and the collaborating party specifically requested Shen Wenjin to lead it, prompting his spur-of-the-moment decision to return home.

Standing at the arrivals gate, Shen Muyun peered inside. The airport display had just shown that Flight M1314 encountered turbulence, but fortunately, it landed safely.

Seeing Shen Wenjin emerge, Shen Liuyun immediately stepped forward. "Father, why didn’t you take our Shen family’s private jet back?"

Shen Wenjin took the flowers from Shen Muyun’s hands and looked him up and down. "I returned in a hurry; there wasn’t enough time to arrange the flight path. Mu Yun, you’ve lost weight. And what’s that scratch on your face?"

Shen Muyun paused, meeting Shen Wenjin’s unfathomable gaze. He swallowed, genuinely nervous. "Well, Father, I'm fine. It's just that Jiangcheng has been a bit turbulent lately, and some unexpected things happened. But it’s all resolved now, and everyone is safe."

Shen Wenjin got into the car with the two of them. Shen Liuyun handed a tablet to Shen Wenjin, who then reviewed the printed report in his hand.

"Father, this project was personally proposed by the Zhou family. It involves our overseas operations and the chip manufacturing sector. I've reviewed it—their contract is flawless, and their chip production base is located not far from the area you inspected."

"Hmm, I've seen it. The Zhou family does have operations there. It seems fine."

With a sudden "thud," the contract in Shen Liuyun’s hand scattered across the car. Shen Muyun instantly lost his balance, slamming straight into the back of the front seat. Shen Wenjin gripped the front passenger seat with one hand.

"What happened?" Shen Muyun rubbed his sore nose, a stinging pain mingling with annoyance.

The driver glanced outside. "Well, Second Young Master Shen, we’ve been rear-ended."

The driver looked at the car in front and then at the traffic light—it was clear they had been cut off. The people in the other car hadn't gotten out for a while, which seemed suspicious.

"I’ll go see what’s going on." Shen Liuyun opened the car door, preparing to step out.

The driver of the car ahead suddenly moved, flinging open his door and storming over to the Shen family’s car, aggressively pounding on it.

"Hey! You rich people think you can just drive recklessly like this? I’m not paying for the damages—you’d better cover my losses!"

Shen Liuyun found it baffling. The driver had been driving steadily, and the light was green—it was clearly the other car’s fault.

"Hey! Are you trying to shirk responsibility?"

Shen Liuyun took a few steps forward, faced the man, and pulled out a business card. "Hello, here’s my card. Contact me directly after the accident assessment."

The man glanced at Shen Liuyun’s card, then tore it to shreds. "Tsk, so you’re the Eldest Young Master of the Shen Corporation. What gives you the right?"

Shen Liuyun was taken aback—he didn’t know this man at all—but he maintained a calm tone. "Sir, you—"

Shen Muyun, seeing that Shen Liuyun hadn't returned after a while, said, "Father, I’ll go check. Brother, did you run into some trouble?"

"Brother, what’s wrong?"

Shen Liuyun pointed to the shredded pieces of his card on the ground, shrugged, and pursed his lips.

Shen Muyun took a look, pushed Shen Liuyun aside, and pointed directly at the man’s nose. "Hey, there’s no need to be so arrogant. It’s just a car accident—we’ll pay for the damages. Or do you have some other demand? Let me warn you—I’m not exactly known for my patience."

"Oh, which young master of the Shen family is this? So self-righteous. Want to throw down?"

Shen Muyun showed no fear in the face of the provocation. He pulled out a knife he carried and lightly tapped the man’s cheek. "Perfect. It’s been a while since I’ve had a fight. I could use some exercise."

Shen Muyun stretched, smiling at the other man.

A crowd of onlookers gathered, some even holding up cell phones as if recording. The driver got out to stop them from filming, but it was likely some still managed to get some juicy footage.

Shen Liuyun adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and grabbed Shen Muyun’s arm. "Mu Yun, we’re in the wrong here."

Shen Muyun reluctantly replied, "Oh, fine, Brother."

"Sir, we’ve never met. This is an intersection, and the light was green. You stopped suddenly, causing the rear-end collision. If we can’t resolve this, let’s call the traffic police and let them determine responsibility."

The man sneered at Shen Liuyun’s words. "Eldest Young Master Shen, haven’t you people done enough shady dealings? This is just karma."

Shen Muyun, seeing the man’s relentless attitude, wanted to charge forward but was stopped once again by Shen Liuyun.

"Mu Yun."

"Sir, this is my younger brother. He’s young and hot-headed. You can talk to me. What exactly is this about?"

"Three years ago, the Shen Corporation acquired a piece of land. You promised we could relocate back after two years without any extra charges. Now it’s the third year, and you’re asking us to pay per square meter to move in. Fine, but we were the original residents of that land. Why are you assigning us apartments above the 25th floor?"

Shen Liuyun was puzzled by the man’s words. "A project from two years ago? Wasn’t the relocation issue completely resolved? Or did I miss something?"

The man laughed coldly. "You’re capitalists. We’re just ordinary people. How can we compete with your capital? We’re just common folks, pitifully powerless."

Shen Muyun played with his knife, then stabbed it into a nearby tree. "I’ll listen to my brother and calmly talk with you. Such a big issue—have you even approached the Shen Corporation about it? Or are you just here to pick a fight?"

"Approach you? Of course I did! Your receptionist wouldn’t even let me upstairs. How was I supposed to reach you? You’re so high and mighty, accustomed to making us pay the price. Oh, and they said the Shen Corporation suffered losses on investments in our area—no wonder you’re asking us to make up the difference. Some people just let it slide to avoid trouble, but I won’t!"

As more people gathered in the middle of the road, car horns blared incessantly.

"Hey, up front! Can you move your car? We’re trying to get to work!"

"Seriously, just because you’re rich and powerful doesn’t mean you can block the road!"

"Beep beep... beep beep..."

Seeing the situation, Shen Liuyun took out a check. "Tell me, how much do you want? This is the middle of the road—it’s disrupting traffic and unsafe."

The man snatched the check from Shen Liuyun’s hand, tore it up, and tossed the pieces into the air. "Eldest Young Master Shen, this is a matter of principle. Money can’t solve this."

Shen Liuyun frowned, resting one hand on the car hood, and let out a long sigh. "Then let’s talk privately. How about we move the cars now?"

The man glanced at the long line of cars behind them and the surrounding crowd. "The public’s eyes are sharp. Don’t think you can weasel out of this."

The man got back into his car and parked it under the shade of a tree. Shen Liuyun and Shen Muyun followed suit, parking nearby. The road cleared quickly, and traffic returned to normal shortly after.

Shen Wenjin grew impatient in the car, checking the time repeatedly. The negotiation meeting was approaching, and they were still stuck here.

"Father, if you have urgent matters, go ahead. Mu Yun and I will handle this."

Shen Wenjin nodded. "Alright. I returned on a tight schedule—the meeting with the Zhou family is about to start."

Shen Liuyun waved to the driver and inspected the car for damages. Fortunately, there were only minor scratches on the bumper.

Shen Liuyun immediately notified the insurance company and took photos for evidence.

After dealing with the immediate issues, he turned to the man leaning against his car.

"Sir, whatever your demands are, you can tell me. I’m here now."

The man tossed his cigarette aside and blew a smoke ring toward Shen Liuyun. "Tsk, the Shen Corporation is so composed. But you’re just a young punk. Do you really have the authority to speak for us regarding our land?"

Shen Muyun was about to step forward and say something when Shen Liuyun cut him off directly, "Of course I can. I was the one who won the bid for this land back then, so I take full responsibility."

"Alright, then I'll round up our people to have a serious talk with you. Let me show you how we’ve struggled through these three years."

Shen Muyun’s phone vibrated, showing Lu Huainan’s number. Shen Muyun motioned that he was taking a call.

"Brother Yun, have you arrived home? I’ll be off work soon and plan to swing by to check on your father."

Shen Muyun sighed, "Huainan, I've got a situation here. I’m busy handling it right now."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, "Is it about the incident on the road? Is it urgent? Do you need my help?"

"I’m afraid you can’t help with this matter. It’s related to one of my brother’s old projects. Some relocated residents, who somehow got hold of our schedule, looks like they intentionally caused the crash."

Lu Huainan was immediately concerned, "A car accident? Brother Yun, are you hurt? You haven’t fully recovered yet."

"Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ll talk to you later. I need to check on how my brother is doing now."

Lu Huainan gave a short laugh, hung up the phone, and immediately opened the GPS tracker on his phone. Watching the blinking dot on the screen, he gave a few instructions to his assistant and headed out immediately.

"Young Master Shen, your words sound nice, talking about compensating us for emotional damages. If it were that easy, why are we still living in those prefab houses?"

Shen Liuyun pursed his lips, "This matter is indeed Shen Corporation's oversight. There must have been some discrepancies during the verification process. However, we’ll need to review the relevant archives to draw a conclusion. Sir, please remain calm. My secretary is already on the way with the original contract and details of your relocation situation."

"Brother, how are things on your end?"

Shen Liuyun gave a wry smile, "Not great. To be honest, I really don’t have much recollection of this matter. I remember the relocation was fully completed, and we even held a celebration banquet that day. You were in Las Vegas at the time."

Fragments of memory seemed to surface in Shen Muyun’s mind, echoing the original owner’s words: "Such a trivial matter, and they even held a celebration banquet? The Shen family really has money to burn."