Early the next morning, Fu Zhiyuan arrived at the Shen family home, with Fu Chengyu limping behind him. He had stubbornly knelt until late last night and could barely stand the pain, sneaking back to his room. If it weren’t for Bai Mengqi leaving some Yunnan Baiyao in his room, he probably wouldn’t have been able to get out of bed this morning.

Shen Father looked at the people before him, his nose nearly twitching with anger, clearly not wanting to see these two. Shen Chuanqiong lightly coughed, reminding him not to forget the main issue.

“Since you’ve come, take this back with you. From now on, the marriage contract between the two families is null and void.” Father Shen pushed the box on the table toward them, his expression displeased. Inside the box was the blue diamond.

Fu Zhiyuan lowered his gaze to look at it and spoke earnestly, “Brother Shen, last night’s incident was the Fu family’s fault toward Xingbao. This gift was given by my mother to him, and none of us are in a position to take it back.”

Father Shen snorted. “This item was given during the marriage arrangement between the two families. Now that the marriage is called off, of course it must be returned.”

Seeing that Father Shen was adamant, Fu Zhiyuan didn’t continue the topic. He slightly turned his head to glance at Fu Chengyu, who stood nervously aside. Fu Chengyu, looking like a quail, awkwardly greeted Father Shen, “Uncle Shen, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault toward Xingbao. You can punish or scold me as you see fit.”

Father Shen sneered, mocking, “The young master of the Fu family, I’m not qualified to casually punish or scold.”

Shen Chuanqiong seized the opportunity to make a cutting remark: “Who are you acting like this for? Stop being such an eyesore.”

Fu Chengyu was mocked by both father and son. Though his heart was filled with dissatisfaction, he didn’t dare to show it.

“Uncle Shen, may I see Xingbao? I want to apologize to him in person.”

“No, Xingbao doesn’t want to see you,” Father Shen flatly rejected without hesitation.

Fu Zhiyuan felt a sense of urgency as he heard Father Shen’s words. His gaze turned even colder as it landed on Fu Chengyu. He had better hope that Xingbao’s mood wasn’t affected by this, or Fu Chengyu would be kneeling for three more days when they returned!

Fu Chengyu, feeling the heavy atmosphere around him, was a little confused. “Uncle, are you… angry?”

Fu Zhiyuan interrupted him in a low voice, “Shut up!”

Fu Chengyu shivered. “…”

Fine, he’d shut up. He didn’t want to speak anyway!

The more Fu Chengyu thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. From last night to today, he had been either beaten, scolded, or punished to kneel. Now, he was facing the cold treatment from the Shen family. He had had enough! Every time he thought of Shen Nanxing’s indifferent attitude toward him, his heart sank even more. When had he ever been treated like this?

Shen Chuanqiong didn’t miss the defiance in Fu Chengyu’s eyes. He sneered, “Fu Chengyu, remember that it’s you who doesn’t deserve Xingbao. If it weren’t for Grandma Fu, you would never have had a marriage contract with Xingbao!”

Fu Chengyu froze for a moment, then lowered his head and said, “You’re right. I’m sorry to Xingbao.”

Father Shen waved his hand. “Enough, leave now. You won’t be seeing Xingbao today.”

At this point, Fu Zhiyuan spoke as well, addressing Fu Chengyu, “Go back first.”

Fu Chengyu, relieved to hear this, felt a little better. It seemed that, for now, the matter was settled.

“Uncle, aren’t you leaving?” Fu Chengyu asked.

Fu Zhiyuan glanced at him and said dismissively, “I have other things to do.”

Fu Chengyu nodded, then said, “Then I’ll leave first.”

Shen Chuanqiong looked at him with slight dissatisfaction. “Why aren’t you leaving with your good nephew?”

Fu Zhiyuan’s expression remained unchanged as he replied, “I have something to do.”

“Take your things and get out of here!” Shen Chuanqiong pointed at the items on the table.

Father Shen also nodded in agreement. “Ahem, Zhiyuan, you should take this back with you.”

Fu Zhiyuan furrowed his brows. “What’s given to Xingbao is his. How could it be taken back?” How could this father and son be so stubborn? He sighed and took a document out of his briefcase, handing it to Father Shen. “Brother Shen, this is a contract I drafted last night. You can take a look at it.”

Father Shen was stunned. “What’s this?”

He flipped it open and saw a land development project. The project had just been approved by the government and was still in the bidding stage. Father Shen flipped further and was shocked to see that Fu’s company, with its strength, could handle the entire project themselves, yet the contract stated that the Shen family would only need to invest 30%, while the remaining 70% would be provided by the Fu family. More importantly, the Shen family could receive 50% of the profits. It was almost as if it was being given to the Shen family for free.

Father Shen furrowed his brows and looked at Fu Zhiyuan with suspicion. “Is this your intention?”

Fu Zhiyuan nodded slightly. “After all, Xingbao has been wronged. This is nothing in comparison.”

Father Shen looked at him with confusion. “The fact that you’re willing to do this is enough. Putting aside other matters, you’re a businessman. This cooperation is like giving money to the Shen family for nothing. What exactly are you after?”

Father Shen knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world, and a sense of unease began to stir in his heart.

Shen Chuanqiong, seeing that they were speaking in riddles, picked up the documents from the table and started reading them. After finishing, he raised an eyebrow and jokingly said, “I didn’t know you were so generous. But I’m not selling my brother!”

Father Shen scolded, “You brat, what nonsense are you talking?”

Shen Chuanqiong shrugged, unconcerned. “Although there’s a lot of cooperation between the Shen and Fu families, this one was only because of Xingbao, right? Plus, the Shen family is only gaining, not losing. The Fu family must be doing this out of guilt.”

Fu Zhiyuan said in a deep voice, “This is my personal decision. It has nothing to do with anyone else! I just want to make it up to Xingbao, nothing more.”

Shen Chuanqiong gave him a thoughtful look. “Are you serious?”

Fu Zhiyuan allowed him to observe, his face calm as he said, “You can take your time to consider it. No need to rush your response.”

Father Shen cleared his throat. “In that case, let Chuanqiong discuss it with you. You young people have more vision; I, as an old man, won’t participate.”

Shen Chuanqiong: “…”

“You old rascal!”

“You didn’t learn anything else but how to mess with your son, huh? Don’t think I don’t know, you’re just afraid that Mom will find out and beat you!”

Fu Zhiyuan noticed that Father Shen had finally loosened up, and his tense body relaxed slightly. “Alright.”

Shen Nanxing looked at them in surprise. “Huh? Dad, aren’t you going to work today?”

When he had just come downstairs, he had heard voices in the living room. If he wasn’t mistaken, today was Monday, right? Shen Nanxing was still wearing his pajamas, his hair a bit messy, and his face showed some traces of sleepiness. When he saw Fu Zhiyuan, his eyes sharpened slightly. “Zhi… Zhiyuan ge, why are you in my house?”

Father Shen looked at Shen Nanxing with fondness and corrected him, “Good boy, you should call him ‘little uncle.’”

If Fu Zhiyuan called him ‘ge,’ then the good boy should call Fu Zhiyuan ‘ge’ too. Otherwise, things would get all confusing!