Chapter 17 Acting

Chapter 17: Acting

The collaboration between Yuhe and Xingtu quickly caused quite a stir in Yuncheng.

At the dinner table, Shen Siwen slammed his chopsticks down, glowering. His eyes were filled with defiance and provocation. He jutted his chin out, sneering, "The Fourth Family Head is quite impressive, huh? Even Xingtu—such a tough nut to crack—has been landed by you. What underhanded tricks did you use?"

Shen Wenzhou's previously cheerful expression instantly turned cold. He shot a sharp glare and said icily, "Even if you had underhanded tricks, Xingtu wouldn't give you the time of day! How dare you sit there making snide remarks after ruining the deal yourself." He snorted.

Shen Shiyan looked on impassively, wiping his hands with a wet towel. He waited until Shen Wenzhou finished speaking and Shen Siwen's face had turned livid before looking up, his voice gentle: "I should thank my big brothers for the gifts they sent. They directly attracted Xingtu's attention. Really, Yuhe has you both to thank."

"Stop pretending!" Shen Siwen roared, slamming the table as he stood up, only to be jabbed hard in the thigh by the tip of Shen Wenzhou's cane.

Soups and sauces splashed over the edges of the plates. Small teacups rattled and toppled, setting off a noisy clatter.

Shen Ci, lost in thought with his head bowed, was startled. One of his chopsticks fell under the table, drowned out by the noise of clinking porcelain.

Shen Siwen winced in pain. He was growing increasingly less afraid of Shen Wenzhou—the man was getting old. Was he really going to cling to power until his dying day? Holding onto it so tightly at his age, with no intention of stepping down.

He shot a fierce, disdainful glance at Shen Wenzhou. "Dad, your memory is failing you. Have you forgotten what this Fourth Family Head is even doing here?"

The authority in Shen Wenzhou's eyes wasn't what it used to be, but it still carried some weight. His voice was seething. "Shen Siwen, you're out of line. After botching the Xingtu deal, how dare you question your own father like this!"

The atmosphere turned electric with tension. Shen Shiyan stayed silent, watching the absurd scene coldly.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Shen Ci slipped off his chair to retrieve the fallen chopstick. It had rolled quite far under the table, so he shuffled deeper. Just as he was about to reach it, he looked up and saw Li Yun, seated beside Shen Siwen, hooking her foot around Shen Siyu's calf, rubbing it up and down. Shen Siyu didn't seem to mind either; a large hand slipped beneath the hanging tablecloth and gave a firm squeeze to the flesh of Li Yun's thigh, pressed against the chair.

Shen Ci had never seen such a scene before. He felt a rush of heat and shame, quickly grabbing the chopstick and scrambling out from under the table. His movements were a bit hurried, and he bumped against the table's edge—but it didn't hurt.

Perhaps because of what he had just witnessed, Shen Ci felt the air above the table was much fresher and more abundant than below. When his fluffy head fully emerged, he realized he had bumped into the back of Shen Shiyan's hand.

Shen Shiyan had been keeping an eye on Shen Ci. From the moment Shen Ci went under the table, Shen Shiyan's hand had been braced against the edge. Only after Shen Ci sat back up properly did he withdraw it.

Shen Ci cautiously glanced toward Shen Siyu a couple of times. Seeing that neither Li Yun nor Shen Siyu seemed to have noticed anything, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

But just as he retracted his gaze, straightened the fallen chopstick, and leaned back in his chair, Shen Siyu's eyes shifted subtly in his direction before returning forward.

Then Shen Siyu stood up, pressed down on Shen Siwen's shoulder, and patted it a few times in a placating manner. He smiled and said, "Whoever secures the deal, it's all the same—it's still the Shen family's company. It's not like we're keeping score within the family."

His tone was light, and Shen Wenzhou's tense expression relaxed somewhat. Shen Siyu sat back down and took a sip of tea. "Big brother, hurry up and apologize to Dad. We're all family."

Shen Siwen remained stiff and cold, arms crossed, grudgingly muttering, "Dad."

Shen Wenzhou couldn't be bothered to continue the argument so early in the morning. After all, they were his sons—they weren't about to rip each other's throats out.

The food on the table had gone cold, and soup was splattered everywhere. Shen Wenzhou found it irritating to look at. He turned to Shen Shiyan and gave a few instructions regarding the Xingtu collaboration, perhaps to put Shen Siwen in his place. He stood up and placed a hand on Shen Shiyan's right shoulder. "Assistant Li will email you the core project proposal for the deep-sea oil and gas venture. Just come to me for approval on R&D funding."

With that, the pressure on Shen Shiyan's shoulder lifted. Shen Wenzhou didn't even give Shen Siwen a decent look before turning and heading back to his room, hands clasped behind his back.

The servants, keenly observant, began clearing the table. Since it was the weekend, Shen Ci didn't have school. After exchanging a few polite words with his two brothers, Shen Shiyan also left the dining room with Shen Ci.

On the way, Shen Ci held onto Shen Shiyan's little finger and asked, "Daddy, does Aunt Li get along very well with Uncle Shen?"

Shen Shiyan was puzzled. "They're husband and wife. It's normal for them to get along well."

Shen Ci shook his head. "Not that Uncle Shen."

Shen Shiyan slowed his steps, understanding what Shen Ci meant. He looked down at the boy. "Shen Siyu? Why do you ask?"

Shen Ci couldn't think of a good way to describe what he had seen, so he just said he'd tell Shen Shiyan once they got home.

As soon as they entered the living room, Shen Ci looked around and, noticing the housekeepers were absent, sighed in relief. He pushed Shen Shiyan to sit on the sofa and said seriously, "Daddy, now you're Uncle Shen, and I'm Aunt Li."

Before Shen Shiyan could nod, Shen Ci was already in character. He sat beside Shen Shiyan, took off his fluffy slippers, and used his small toes to climb up Shen Shiyan's trouser-clad calf, gently rubbing up and down.

A light, ticklish sensation shot up from his calf and spread throughout his body. Shen Shiyan frowned and grabbed Shen Ci's ankle. Before he could even begin to scold him, he realized what Shen Ci was reenacting.

On the slender ankle in his grasp was a small black mole. Shen Shiyan didn't let go, looking into Shen Ci's light-colored eyes. "You saw this under the table?"

Shen Shiyan's hand was cold, bent as he held Shen Ci's ankle—the sensation was very noticeable. Shen Ci pulled his leg back slightly, and Shen Shiyan reacted as if burned, quickly releasing his grip.

Shen Ci sat up properly, swinging his legs. "Mm. Daddy, Aunt Li was playing with Uncle Shen just like that."

The smooth texture of Shen Ci's skin lingered on Shen Shiyan's hand. He rubbed his fingertips together. "Did you see anything else?"

Shen Ci then said earnestly, "Yes. Daddy, now you're Aunt Li, and I'm Uncle Shen."

Shen Shiyan felt a headache coming on. He didn't understand why it had to be acted out, and he also felt it wasn't appropriate for a child to talk about such things. Nevertheless, he straightened up and assumed the role of Li Yun.

To say he was acting was an overstatement—he simply sat there, head slightly tilted, watching Shen Ci.

Suddenly, his whole body stiffened, as if he'd crashed. Because Shen Ci's hand slipped into the gap between his thigh and the sofa and gave a firm squeeze right at the top of his inner thigh.

"Shen Ci!" A flush crept up to the tips of Shen Shiyan's ears. He rebooted, restarted, and practically sprang up from the sofa, taking two steps back.

Shen Ci looked somewhat innocent, blinking at Shen Shiyan. "Daddy."

After standing frozen for a long moment, Shen Shiyan finally remembered Shen Ci was just acting. But the strange sensation in his thigh refused to fade. He composed himself, straightened his already neat clothes, and said, "Don't mention this to anyone. Pretend you didn't see anything."

Li Wei'an was due to arrive at half past ten. Shen Shiyan turned to head to the bathroom for a shower, then seemed to remember something and turned back to add, "And don't act it out with anyone else either!"

Watching him enter the bathroom, Shen Ci replied, "Okay, Daddy."