Page 16

By the time Shen Yao arrived at the Shen family’s ancestral home, it was already 6:30 in the evening. Apart from him and a few family members who were away on business and unable to return, everyone else had already gathered.

The Shen family was a vast clan, not only in terms of influence but also in sheer numbers. The family patriarch was already ninety-two years old—an advanced age by any standard—yet he still appeared to be in relatively good health.

Before retiring, the Shen family patriarch was a high-ranking general. He had spent his entire life navigating the political landscape and only fully stepped down a little over a decade ago. Over his lifetime, he had four sons and three daughters, all of whom were outstanding in their respective fields. His grandchildren were even more numerous, but among them, Shen Yao was the most exceptional.

Although Shen Yao was not the eldest grandson, he was the one who received the most attention, the most effort, and the most pride from the old master.

Shen Yao’s father was the fourth son in the family. His mother had given birth to two sons and one daughter, but their second daughter had passed away five years ago. The eldest son was Shen Yao, and the youngest was Shen Yue.

As soon as Shen Yao arrived, the smile on the old master’s face never faded. The household staff began serving dish after dish.

The atmosphere in the Shen family gradually warmed up. As usual, Shen Yao took his seat beside the old master.

Among all the grandchildren, Shen Yao was the classic handsome but reserved type, while his younger brother was the complete opposite—not only handsome but also talkative.

While Shen Yao silently helped the old master pick up some food, Shen Yue, with his characteristic bright smile, took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

“Brother, do you have a girlfriend?”

Hearing this, Shen Yao’s chopsticks paused slightly. He raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Shen Yue grabbed some cold appetizers for himself and said casually while eating, “Just asking.”

Shen Yao scooped a few spoonfuls of curry mashed potatoes onto the old master’s plate. At his advanced age, the old man could only eat soft, easily digestible foods. It wasn’t until the bowl was half full that Shen Yao finally replied, “No.”

Shen Yue grinned cheekily. “Brother, then I might just beat you to it.”

His words instantly livened up the atmosphere at the dinner table.

“You have a girlfriend, Xiao Yue?” The one who asked was Shen Yue’s youngest aunt, Shen Ping. She was a TV host, and though she had aged, with fine lines appearing at the corners of her eyes, her beauty from her youth was still evident. Because of her profession, she carried an air of elegance, and her voice was warm and soothing—like a gentle spring breeze.

Shen Yue’s smile deepened as if he had thought of something. “Not yet, but soon.” When he set his sights on someone, he would do everything to win her over.

As for failure?

That didn’t exist.

If he personally took action, how could there be a chance of losing?

As for “the third party”—well, he’d just have to apologize.

There was a saying that was popular online: “Women are like clothes, but brothers are like limbs.” When Shen Yue first saw this, he scoffed.

He thought, If I find someone I love, I’ll spoil her to the heavens. If she wants one, I’ll give her two. She can have whatever she wants.

He would take a bullet for his brothers, but he would also stab his brother for a woman.

That was just how shamelessly devoted he was.

But what he never expected was that his seemingly indifferent and detached older brother would take this philosophy to an even greater extreme.

It was only much later that he realized the truth.

Shen Ping chuckled softly at his response. Her laughter was gentle. “So, Xiao Yue, you already have someone in mind? What kind of girl is she?”

The entire family was curious.

The notorious troublemaker of the Shen family had finally fallen for someone!

What kind of woman could possibly tame their little devil?

Shen Yue thought for a moment, carefully choosing his words. “She’s special. I don’t know how to describe her, but you’ll find out soon enough.”

One of his cousins teased him, “So, are you bringing her home soon?”

“Of course,” Shen Yue replied matter-of-factly.

His confident tone made everyone chuckle.

“Is she pretty? What’s her name?” His cousin’s gossip instincts were in full force. She was dying to dig up everything about this mystery girl.

Shen Yue smirked lazily. “Of course, she’s pretty. As for her name… she’s called Weiwei, like in A Slight Smile is Very Charming—Weiwei.”

He had originally heard the name from “the third party,” but now, saying it himself felt strangely natural.

His cousin dragged out her response teasingly, her tone dripping with amusement. “Weiwei, huh?” Such an affectionate name. And he even clarified the reference, as if afraid people might misunderstand.

The family laughed again.

Even the old master smiled faintly. He slowly turned to look at his most outstanding grandson, his aged eyes filled with affection. Though he spoke only a few words at a time, he made his message clear.

“Ah Yao… you’re already twenty-four. When I was your age, my eldest son was already two years old. When will you bring my granddaughter-in-law home?”

At that moment, an exquisite and beautiful face flashed through Shen Yao’s mind.

He didn’t understand why she suddenly came to mind in this setting.

He was silent for two seconds before finally responding, “I understand, Grandpa. I’ll do it soon.”

“I want to see my granddaughter-in-law,” the old master murmured, his frail hand trembling as he grasped Shen Yao’s.

At ninety-two, even though he was still in decent health, how many years did he really have left? He could pass away at any moment.

The one thing he wanted most now was to see Shen Yao marry and have children.

If he didn’t pressure him, who knew how long this indifferent grandson of his would remain single?

The old master thought of Qiao Nan, the girl he had once considered a perfect match for Shen Yao, and let out a sigh.

If things had gone differently… maybe Ah Yao would already be married by now.

Shen Yao felt the frail, withered hand in his palm.

This hand had aged, its vitality slowly fading with each passing day. The man who had given him more love and guidance than even his parents was getting older.

Instinctively, Shen Yao tightened his grip.

He heard himself speak, his voice dry and hoarse. “I know, Grandpa. You’ll live a long life.”

—

After posting on Weibo, Yu Sheng took a bath and then went downstairs for dinner.

As usual, she was the only one at the dining table. Among the Shen family, she was currently the most idle. But eating alone didn’t affect her appetite in the slightest.

After finishing her meal and returning to her room, she opened her phone to check her Weibo.

To her surprise, she had gained 10,000 new followers in just over an hour!

The growth was so fast it felt like she had boarded a rocket.

What happened during this time?

Did someone kindly buy followers for me?

But even bot followers wouldn’t increase this quickly.

Moreover, she noticed that not only had her follower count skyrocketed, but the number of comments on her latest post had also exploded.

A post that originally had only a dozen comments now had over a thousand.

She quickly opened the comments and saw messages like:

— “Princess Shang’s sightseeing group has arrived!”

— “What’s so special about the post that Princess Shang liked and shared?”

— “Beep! Student card. Princess Shang recommended this~”

— “Susu fans, here to check this out!”

Yu Sheng was puzzled.

Who is this ‘Princess Shang’ and ‘Susu’ person?

She scanned through the comments, picking up on a few clues, and tried searching “Shang Su” on Weibo.

As soon as she hit enter, a verified user with over ten million followers popped up—Shang Su