Chapter 3 Breakfast

Chapter 3: Breakfast

The Shen family observed morning admonitions, with everyone from each branch required to have breakfast in the main hall. Shen Shiyan glanced at the clock by the living room door, frowning as he waited in the doorway.

"Daddy."

Shen Ci, freshly washed, held out a hand to Shen Shiyan, a few droplets of water still clinging to his long hair.

"Who taught you to call someone 'daddy'?" Shen Shiyan automatically ignored the outstretched hand, turned, opened the door, and strode out, his voice cold.

Shen Ci withdrew his hand and trotted to catch up. He was young, still growing, and had often gone hungry, making him shorter than other children his age.

Shen Shiyan was nearly 188 cm tall, and one of his strides covered three of Shen Ci's. Shen Ci stumbled along, reaching out to grab the hem of Shen Shiyan's clothes, panting, his breath ragged. "The... the director of the orphanage taught me."

That hand was thin and bony, wrapped in pale skin with no flesh to speak of, gripping him tightly.

Shen Shiyan lowered his gaze to look at his wrinkled clothes. "Let go."

Shen Ci released his grip immediately, obediently lowering his head to stare at his toes. "I can't keep up with you, Daddy."

The clothes the servants brought that morning fit Shen Ci perfectly: a white shirt with a frilled collar paired with dark brown suspender shorts, his long hair loose, making him look like a living porcelain doll. Now his voice was pitifully small, like a mosquito's hum.

Shen Shiyan took a deep breath and gave the butler leading the way an apologetic smile. "Could we please walk a bit slower?"

"Mhm!" The pitiful little face instantly brightened, tears clinging to his eyelashes as he looked up with curved, smiling eyes.

Troublesome.

Shen Shiyan thought to himself, but walked even slower than the butler, falling into step beside Shen Ci.

After many twists and turns, they finally made it from the side courtyard to the main hall. Shen Wenzhou sat with a stern expression in the master's seat, clutching a blue-and-white porcelain teacup, the lid scraping against the rim with a faint, grating sound.

The hall was silent. According to custom, they should offer morning greetings, but Shen Shiyan couldn't bring himself to utter the word "Dad."

Almost everyone in the family was present except for Shen Sicheng, who was studying abroad. No one spoke, as if they were all waiting to see Shen Shiyan make a fool of himself. Only Shen Ci took a small step forward, looked directly at Shen Wenzhou, and sweetly called out, "Grandpa."

Everyone was stunned. Shen Wenzhou snorted coldly and didn't respond. Shen Siyu, always outwardly warm but inwardly cold, was the first to break the silence. "Xiao Ci is so well-mannered."

The tension eased a bit. Shen Shiyan's lips were pressed into a cold, hard line.

"Yes, the older one isn't even as good as the younger."

Shen Wenzhou said with sarcasm, but he didn't press the issue further. After all, he didn't even want to acknowledge the illegitimate son, let alone the illegitimate son's illegitimate son.

As long as appearances were maintained in public, that was enough. At home, he couldn't be bothered to say much.

"It's understandable if the family didn't teach him properly, since he wasn't raised in the Shen family," chimed in Li Yun, Shen Siwen's wife, joining in the mockery. But before she could say more, the topic was snatched away by Liang Ning, Shen Siyu's wife, who was holding her child—

"Oh my, why doesn't Sister-in-law teach him then? After all, you don't have any children and must have plenty of free time."

That was a truly nasty thing to say. Li Yun's face turned pale then flushed with anger. Over the years, she had suffered no small amount of humiliation for being childless.

"Enough!" Shen Wenzhou noticed all the dishes had been served and tapped the floor with his cane. "Let's eat."

When taking their seats, Shen Shiyan and Shen Ci waited until the very end, sitting down in the last two remaining seats only after everyone else was settled.

Shen Ci paid no attention to the veiled conflicts and intricate maneuvers among the adults. He had long had his eye on the food on the table. Once Shen Wenzhou picked up his chopsticks, Shen Ci finally began to eat heartily.

Shen Ci didn't know the names of any of the dishes. After finishing his own small bowl of soup, he licked his lips, feeling he hadn't eaten his fill.

But no one else was touching their food anymore. Shen Siwen and Shen Siyu were discussing company matters with Shen Wenzhou. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Shen Ci gently tugged on Shen Shiyan's sleeve.

"?"

Shen Shiyan didn't speak. He glanced toward Shen Wenzhou's direction and slightly lowered his head.

"Daddy, I want to drink your bowl of soup."

Shen Ci's voice was extremely soft. If Shen Shiyan hadn't seen his eyes fixed longingly on the untouched soup, he wouldn't have known what he wanted.

His slender, pale fingers lightly pushed the side of the soup jar. Shen Ci whispered another "Thank you, Daddy," before taking his own spoon and slowly drinking it.

He really couldn't understand it. Why wasn't the soup served in a large bowl? With such a tiny jar per person, who could possibly get enough?

Although Shen Ci hated to waste food, he still spat out the goji berries from the soup. As he was spitting out the second one, Shen Wenzhou called Shen Shiyan's name, and Shen Ci also looked up.

"Yuhe will be handed over to you to manage from now on. Although it's a small company, it's a legitimate Shen family business. Consider it a training experience."

Shen Wenzhou's words held not a trace of warmth. After all, Shen Shiyan was of Shen blood. Now that he was being kept in the family, rather than letting other families seize upon this scandal, it was better to have Shen Shiyan appear in public, solidifying the fact that he was the fourth son who had been raised outside due to illness since childhood.

Shen Shiyan took the contract passed over by Shen Siwen, his fingertips pressing so hard they turned white. "Thank you... Dad."

With Shen Ci having paved the way and after a whole meal's worth of mental preparation, Shen Shiyan had finally accepted the current reality that Shen Wenzhou was now his father.

Shen Wenzhou snorted coldly once more.

Shen Rong, Liang Ning's young son, was about the same age as Shen Ci and the most spoiled child in the family. After the gathering in the main hall dispersed, he somehow slipped away from Liang Ning's embrace and rushed up to Shen Ci.

"A bastard with long hair, neither male nor female. So disgusting."

People of that age spoke without restraint, their words carrying pure malice.

Shen Shiyan had been kept behind by Shen Wenzhou alone to be questioned about his previous studies; presumably, a tutor was to be arranged.

At that moment, Shen Ci was alone. Just outside the main hall was a small lotus pond, only two or three steps behind Shen Ci. The water was clear, and expensive fish could be seen darting among the lotus leaves.

"Brother Shen Rong." Shen Ci twisted his fingers together, tilting his head as he addressed him.

He was clever and observant; he already had everyone's names in the family memorized.

Before Shen Rong could lose his temper, Shen Ci continued in a pleasant tone, "Brother Shen Rong, if you don't like me, would you like to come over and pull out some of my hair to vent your anger?"

He spoke with utmost sincerity, as if genuinely inviting someone to harm him.

"I won't touch you. You're disgusting."

Shen Rong crossed his arms and sneered, unwilling to even look directly at Shen Ci.

"Brother Shen Rong," Shen Ci had already confirmed their surroundings—no one had noticed them there. He touched the ends of his hair, his expression shifting. "You're also disgusting, and very ill-mannered."

"You dare insult me?" Shen Rong had at most only been scolded a few times by Shen Wenzhou; he had never been treated with such disrespect. Enraged, he reached out to hit him.

But before he could make contact, Shen Ci had already taken a few steps backward following his movement, falling straight into the lotus pond.