Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Shen Gali thought, I didn’t need to finish this meal; he’d wanted to leave half an hour ago. If it weren’t for your precious son clinging to him, would he still be sitting here putting up with your BS?

He grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth, downed the last of his juice, and stood up to leave.

The moment he rose, the doors to the banquet hall swung open.

Instantly, everyone all craned their necks.

Uncle Li, upon seeing the newcomer, wiped his mouth, straightened his tie, and hurried over.

That man appeared.

The eldest son of the Nan family, rumored to be old, ugly, and a bit off his rocker.

His body, wrapped in a dark suit, was still clearly defined—broad, imposing shoulders, and a tailored waist that showed no tightness from excess fat. His legs that made you sigh were straight and slender, with a flash of black cotton socks peeking out from under the trousers, somehow giving off a sexy vibe.

But look at his face—

Wow, mask and sunglasses, the full set~

That just sealed the deal for everyone: this man was too ugly to show his face.

Guess God's fair; He gave him a stunning physique but totally neglected his face.

“Is that Nan Liujing?” someone in the crowd murmured.

“That’s him. I heard he's been lame since he was a kid, in a wheelchair for over a decade. He's not right in the head.” The person pointed to their head.

“Really?”

“Really. And I also heard that his mother’s death had something to do with him…”

“Oh my god—!”

The whispers buzzed like a beehive, non-stop.

Sure enough, whether common folk or high-society wannabes, gossip never gets old.

Shen Gali was sitting nearby and heard everything.

He wasn't a troll, just plain curious: “How do you know all that? Did you see it with your own eyes?”

The group exchanged glances, waved it off, and gave awkward smiles: “Ah, just hearsay, you know how it is.”

A second later, Uncle Li wheeled Nan Liujing over to sit beside Shen Gali.

Seeing Shen Gali standing there, looking ready to leave, Nan Liujing recalled the swapped gift. He curled his lips and tapped a finger to signal him to sit: “Where do you think you're going? The banquet isn’t over yet.”

Shen Gali: “Bathroom. Can't I?”

Uncle Li quickly pushed Shen Gali back down and whispered, “Too many people watching. Let’s talk when we get home.”

His foster mother, upon seeing the golden boy son-in-law, hurried over to greet him, but kept shooting Shen Gali pointed looks, signaling him to go take a hike.

Shen Gali had originally planned to leave, but now he was too full to move, feeling uncomfortable all over, and just wanted to sit.

Nan Liujing exchanged a few fake pleasantries with his foster mother. She said she needed to check on the cake preparation backstage and excused herself.

Before leaving, she gave Shen Gali another look that could kill, telling him to go.

Shen Gali didn’t want to go. He just wanted to sit. If a nice waiter cleared the table, he'd just put his head down for a few minutes.

Across from him, Nan Feiyao seemed surprised his brother had come. After freezing for a long moment, he got up and moved over.

In the original story, Nan Feiyao and Nan Liujing never got along. They competed over everything, liked similar things, and often came to blows over dumb little things.

Nan Liujing, unlike Nan Feiyao who had his mom covering his back, was usually the one forced to surrender his beloved possessions.

Nan Feiyao, raised by his mother with the belief that “if you don't grab it, someone else will,” gradually made it a habit to snatch whatever his brother had, whether he wanted it or not.

Nan Liujing was different; he never snatched openly, only played dirty tricks behind the scenes. So in the early part of the original story, Nan Feiyao was always overshadowed by his brother until Shen Lanqing appeared, sparking his counterattack.

When Nan Liujing saw Nan Feiyao sit over, he raised an eyebrow and looked down on him haughtily.

“Bro, why show up so late? Too bad you'll have to scarf down the scraps.” Nan Feiyao sneered, rubbing in that he was only good for leftovers.

Shen Gali, who had just started to feel drowsy, was woken by this snarky comment. He shot him a sideways look: “If you’re done eating and have nothing to do, you might as well pay the check.”

God knows, he hadn’t intended to defend Nan Liujing; it was purely because someone had ruined his quiet time.

He was calling him out for being a busybody and sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

“Pay the check? Me?” Nan Feiyao pointed at his own nose in disbelief. He certainly wasn’t short on money, but why should he?

“Mm~” Shen Gali hummed, voice going up, “Yes, you pay it. After all, you've obviously got nothing better to do.”

Nan Feiyao frowned and instinctively glanced at Shen Lanqing, not daring to speak.

Under the mask, Nan Liujing’s expression shifted from slight surprise to a fleeting smile—so brief it was almost negligible.

This little firecracker sure can talk.

Shen Gali closed his eyes again to doze off.

Suddenly, grand and majestic background music filled the banquet hall.

The doors opened, and several waiters carefully wheeled in a five-tiered cake.

“Wow—the birthday kid's cake is here! Who's lucky enough to cut it with him?” The crowd buzzed, everyone thinking “Pick me! Pick me!”

The five-tiered cake tower: milk from cows in New Zealand that were milked at dawn, flown across the ocean; fruits from Australian orchards, still had morning dew on them from the farmers' picking, packed and flown over along with the milk, bringing heartfelt birthday wishes for the universally beloved birthday boy.

Shen Lanqing was invited onstage, wearing a confident, gracious smile. Under everyone’s gaze, he blew out the candles and made a wish.

The emcee took the opportunity: “Young master, why not invite your favorite guest up to cut the cake together?”

At these words, everyone in the audience sat up straight.

Shen Lanqing’s mother even clasped her chest, an excited smile on her face, and what looked like tears glistening in her eyes.

She had already mentally prepared the moving speech she would deliver when her son called out “Mom.”

Nan Feiyao also sat up straight, his gaze fixed on Shen Lanqing’s face, lingering on her face.

He wanted to take this chance to express his sincere admiration for Shen Lanqing.

Thump, thump.

My heart pounded out of rhythm.

Shen Lanqing looked at the carved copper knife in his hand, slowly raised his head, his gaze firm and bright: "I would like to invite..."

Mother: Good boy, say 'Mom'.

Nan Feiyao: Sweetheart, say 'Husband'.

"I hope my brother can come up and share the first sweet bite with me." He spoke with sincere resolution, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

Crack! Several hearts shattered.

In an instant, everyone's gaze turned to Shen Gali's table.

Shen Gali comforted himself: It's okay, I'm not his only brother. Right now, if I look at my cousin across the table, with everyone's ambiguous stares, he'll think he's the one being called. Once he goes up, Shen Lanqing won't dare to send him back.

Shen Gali looked up and stared hard—

Wait, where's cousin?!

Cousin left—walked out with his overbearing mother half an hour ago.

Shen Gali: ...

So that means... I have no choice then.

What a massive cringe-fest this is, like making eye contact with someone in a public restroom without dividers, so mortified I could die.

Then, at the worst possible moment, applause that makes you want to crawl into a hole started ringing out.

Shen Gali stood up with difficulty, walking toward the stage with heavy steps, every fiber of his being showing reluctance.

Seeing him walking so slowly, Shen Lanqing, without tact, stepped forward and grabbed him, as if he might bolt, with a sweet smile: "Brother, let's cut the cake together. We'll eat the middle piece ourselves and not share it with anyone."

His voice was loud, and the whole audience heard it clearly.

Shen Gali: ...

Take that back. You don't care about saving face, but I do.

Under the jealous and resentful gazes of the crowd, Shen Gali, guided by Shen Lanqing's hand, held the knife together with him and slowly cut along the edge of the top cake layer.

Immediately, thunderous applause erupted from the audience, but each harbored their own agenda.

Shen Gali held the middle piece of cake, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. In the center of the cake sat a chocolate pony representing Shen Lanqing's zodiac animal, grinning at him mischievously.

Shen Lanqing didn't forget to make an important speech:

"Actually, everyone is equally important in my heart, but my brother is special to me. Before returning to the Shen family, my adoptive parents only had me as a child, so I always wished for a sibling. The wish I made on my birthday last year has finally come true today. I will definitely cherish this hard-won brother."

He was moved by his own words, tears glistening in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Shen Gali held up the little pony, looking weak.jpg

Below the stage, Shen Lanqing's mother dug her sharp nails into her palm.

She shouldn't have listened to her idiot husband and kept this jinx in the country; indeed, wherever he is, nothing good happens.

The emcee struck while the iron was hot: "I believe all the guests attending the banquet have carefully prepared gifts for our birthday star. Now, each family sends one person to the stage to let our birthday boy see some amazing gifts!"

The guests attending the banquet this time were all going all out to leave a good impression on the real young master of the Shen family, pulling out all the stops.

For the sake of face, everyone clamored for Shen Lanqing to open the gifts on the spot.

There were pure gold four-piece gift sets, violet jadeite, dzi bead bracelets, and so on—everything you could imagine.

Nan Feiyao, who doted on him, waved his hand and gifted a seaside penthouse worth twenty million.

Shen Lanqing said a perfunctory "thank you" for each gift he opened. Only when receiving the seaside penthouse did he show a slight flicker of emotion, but it was more surprise.

Almost everyone had given their gifts, leaving only Shen Gali.

Each family only needs to send one person to the stage. It's only common sense that Nan Liujing, who has a leg disability, cannot go on stage.

So Shen Gali went up again.

The guests below gritted their teeth. They wanted to see what extraordinary treasure the one personally chosen by Shen Lanqing—the only one to eat the middle piece of cake—would give.