Father Shen interrupted his thoughts, “Alright, Xingbao, don’t worry, we definitely won’t do anything to drive a wedge between you two.” Yeah, right. Under Father Shen’s coaxing, Shen Nanxing reluctantly returned to his room. He couldn’t shake the feeling that his father was hiding something bad and decided to let Fu Zhiyuan know, so he could prepare himself. Fu Zhiyuan responded quickly, telling him not to worry.

When their son went upstairs, Jian Mei pushed Father Shen’s hand away and asked irritably, “Why are you stopping me? I haven’t even asked everything yet!”

Father Shen hurriedly soothed her, “Ah Mei, don’t be angry. We’ll just call Fu Zhiyuan over and find out everything, won’t we?”

He had already made up his mind—since their son couldn’t bear to scold or punish him, he might as well take it out on the one who “kidnapped” his son, hmph.

Soon, Fu Zhiyuan stood in front of the Shen family’s door, accompanied by Fu’s father. Fu’s father had been leisurely strolling in the garden, admiring the birds and flowers, when Fu Zhiyuan dragged him into the car. He was still dazed and hadn’t even had time to get angry when Fu Zhiyuan silenced him with, “I’m taking you to meet your daughter-in-law.” His face showed both shock and joy—he couldn’t believe his workaholic son actually had a wife, and he was overjoyed that the Fu family was finally going to have a happy occasion.

In the car, no matter how many times Fu’s father asked who his daughter-in-law was, Fu Zhiyuan remained tight-lipped, mysteriously saying, “You’ll know when we get there.”

When they arrived at the Shen family’s door, Fu’s father’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that his son’s partner was Shen Chuanqiong? He shook his head helplessly, sighing. Was it possible that these two workaholics were secretly in a relationship? What’s the difference between this and a horror story? Ah, sure enough, working all the time messes with the brain… His son had “kidnapped” the heir of another family, and now he had to face this old face! Sigh.

Also accompanying them was the butler, who was struggling to carry a mountain of things, wishing he had an extra pair of hands. After a long wait, Wu Ma finally went to open the door at Father Shen’s signal. As soon as Fu Zhiyuan and Fu’s father entered, they were met with reproachful gazes from the Shen couple. Fu Zhiyuan calmly greeted them, allowing their scrutinizing gazes to roam over him.

Fu’s father, feeling a little uneasy, didn’t dare meet their eyes. “Cough, don’t be angry. I’ve already lectured this brat on the way here. How could he do such a reckless thing? It’s just outrageous!” To make it more convincing, Fu’s father took his cane and hit Fu Zhiyuan without hesitation.

Father Shen snorted coldly, surprised by Fu Zhiyuan’s cleverness—he had even brought reinforcements! After all, Fu’s father was an elder, and no matter how angry he was with Fu Zhiyuan’s actions, he couldn’t take his anger out on him.

Jian Mei called for Wu Ma to prepare tea and quickly urged Fu’s father to sit down and talk. Without hesitation, Fu’s father sold his son out, joining the couple’s side, and the scene turned into an interrogation of Fu Zhiyuan by the three of them. Fu Zhiyuan furrowed his brow, realizing he had miscalculated. If he had known his father was this spineless, he wouldn’t have brought him along.

Standing before the three of them, Fu Zhiyuan solemnly promised, “Dad, Uncle Shen, Aunt Mei, I’m serious about Xingbao. I love him, and I hope you can give me a chance to prove myself.”

Fu’s father raised an eyebrow, secretly giving Fu Zhiyuan a thumbs-up in his mind. “As expected of my son,” he thought. “Before the Shen family even agrees, he’s already calling them ‘Uncle’ and ‘Aunt’—he really knows how to bend and stretch.”

Clearly, Fu Zhiyuan was treating them as elders. Father Shen snorted again, proudly saying, “Who’s your uncle? Don’t call me that!”

Jian Mei didn’t object to it. Fu Zhiyuan paused, his tone uncertain, and looked at Father Shen before asking, “Dad?”

Before Father Shen could even take a sip of his tea, he sprayed it out in surprise, his face turning red. He pointed at Fu Zhiyuan but couldn’t say a word. How shameless!

Fu’s father was even more embarrassed, almost wishing he could dig a hole and hide in it. Only Jian Mei couldn’t stop laughing, covering her face. She had never realized how amusing Fu Zhiyuan’s personality was!

Shen Nanxing, hearing some noise downstairs, decided to go down and check. When he saw the expressions of the people in the living room, he was filled with curiosity. “Mom, what are you guys talking about?” he asked. Why did the atmosphere in the living room feel so strange?

Jian Mei quickly wiped the smile off her face and said, “Xingbao, you’re just in time. Go comfort your dad!”

Father Shen was still silent after Fu Zhiyuan called him “Dad.” He was angry but couldn’t be. He was deeply uncomfortable.

Shen Nanxing walked over, puzzled, and softly asked, “Dad, what’s wrong? Who made you angry?”

Father Shen pointed at Fu Zhiyuan, who was standing nearby, and said, “Your boyfriend calls me ‘Dad’ right off the bat? What’s this? Does he want to marry into our Shen family?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the first person to lose composure was Fu’s father. He jumped up from his seat, his voice trembling with excitement, “Fu Zhiyuan’s partner is Nanxing?” Seeing his father’s reaction, Fu Zhiyuan realized that he had misunderstood the situation from the beginning.

Father Shen, seeing Fu’s father so worked up, thought that his comment about marrying into the Shen family had upset him. He spoke with dissatisfaction, “What? You can’t bear it?”

Fu’s father slapped his leg forcefully, “Well, that’s great! Let this brat marry into your family then! The Fu Group will consider it a dowry.” He continued with a suggestion, “How about we parents start discussing their wedding plans now? I trust you with Zhiyuan!”

Fu’s father continued rambling on, feeling relieved, “I used to worry that my youngest son’s cold face would make him unappealing to anyone, but now I can finally relax.”

Father Shen had dug himself into a hole and felt frustrated. The Shen couple, seeing how easily Fu’s father had agreed, and noticing how worried he was that his son might be left alone, found themselves momentarily at a loss for words. What was going on? Suddenly, they felt a bit sorry for Fu Zhiyuan.

At this moment, Fu Zhiyuan turned to the Shen couple with a serious expression, “Uncle Shen, Aunt Mei, may I have a word with you in private?” After a long pause, Father Shen nodded and agreed to talk in the study.

…

A few days later, the verdict for Fu Chengyu and Lin Bai came down. Fu Chengyu was sentenced to life imprisonment for kidnapping and attempted murder. His crimes were compounded, and the previous incident where he caused Xia Zimu’s injury had been covered up by Gao Fei, who took the fall for him. However, during this time, Zhou He never gave up on finding evidence of Fu Chengyu’s crimes, and as soon as he found the proof, he immediately handed it over to the police.

Fu Chengyu no longer resembled the once noble heir of a prestigious family. He had become haggard and dispirited. Bai Mengqi visited him on the day the verdict was announced, leaving in tears. Lin Bai, convicted of kidnapping, was sentenced to ten years in prison. After he fainted that day, he was found to have heart disease. When he regained consciousness, he began rambling incoherently and showing signs of mental instability.

When Fu Zhiyuan heard the news, he initially suspected Lin Bai might be faking illness to escape his sentence. But then he thought, if he liked pretending so much, then let him go to a mental hospital and pretend all he wanted! After all, suicides from jumping off the hospital building were not uncommon…