Chapter 11

It was clear why they said that people who weren't family wouldn't end up under the same roof.

Chapter 11

That night, Li Rongxiu, who could be said to have finally avenged a great wrong and held his head high, slept exceptionally well. Early the next morning, he was awakened by the irritating alarm. After stretching lazily in bed, Li Rongxiu dozed for a while longer before getting up. He pulled open the tightly drawn curtains and pushed open the window. A ray of sunlight streamed into the room, while a gentle breeze carried the faint fragrance of green grass and flowers.

The sky was brilliantly clear, stretching blue for miles. It was truly a fine day.

Li Rongxiu turned and went into the bathroom to wash up. Half an hour later, having finally made himself presentable, he went downstairs in his school uniform. Everyone in the Li family was already seated at the dining table, waiting for breakfast. The morning newspapers had long since been collected and sorted by the servants, then placed at the end of the table to Grandfather Li's right.

At that moment, the men and women of the Li family each held a newspaper, reading while chatting.

Li Rongxiu walked over and greeted the elders and his eldest brother, Li Rongyu. His gaze swept over the photograph on the front page, and his lips curled into a pleased smile. He recalled how, after Shen Manyao had publicly called off their engagement at the engagement banquet in his previous life, every newspaper and magazine had openly and covertly mocked him, Li Rongxiu, as cowardly, useless, and ignorant—so incompetent that he could not even keep hold of his own fiancée. Meanwhile, they had praised Shen Manyao for refusing to fear power or covet wealth, for decisively abandoning a worthless young master in pursuit of a woman's spiritual and material independence. She had truly deserved to be the goddess in the hearts of all Wancheng's men.

Yet in this life, Shen Manyao and Chi Junrui's scandal had been exposed first, and all the media had turned their guns around, condemning both the Chi and Shen families. Some gossip papers had even taken a different approach, digging up the old story of the Shen family's grandaunt, Shen Lixue, becoming pregnant out of wedlock twenty years ago. They used it to sneer that the Shen family's upbringing was improper, which was why every one of the Shen family daughters seemed to have problems.

They also kindly "reminded" Wancheng's wealthy and influential families that marriage alliances came with risks, and that they should choose their daughters-in-law carefully. They absolutely had to keep their eyes open and choose the right person. Otherwise, they might end up as unlucky as the Li family: even with wealth beyond measure, they still could not avoid being cuckolded. Others praised the Chi family for swinging its hammer well enough to pry away a piece of the Li family's wall. But the consequences of sleeping with a Li family woman were serious. No one knew whether the Chi family, whose business had been flourishing in recent years, could handle them.

Amid all the different opinions, however, almost no one dared discuss Miss Yao's scene-stealing two slaps and perfectly placed kick at yesterday's engagement banquet. It seemed Yao Qilin had put pressure on the media outlets.

Still, no matter what, in this confrontation, the Li family had once again become the victims, just as they had wished. At the shareholders' meeting for the T Country Infrastructure Project, personally presided over by Grandfather Li later that day, the Li family would surely receive the compensation they deserved—precisely the price the Li family had paid after Li Rongxiu was captured in his previous life.

This was also the concession Shen Yingbo had been forced to make after yesterday's engagement banquet in order to calm the fury of the Li family branch.

Things had truly gotten off to a good start!

Li Rongxiu smiled until his eyes curved with satisfaction and sat down to eat. Grandfather Li put down his newspaper, looked at Li Rongxiu, and instructed him gravely, "Don't drive your sports car to school these next few days. Have your brother take you every day."

Like most prominent families, the Li family's adult men all drove specially modified bulletproof luxury sedans. Their eternally dark exteriors conveyed understated luxury, ensuring safety to the greatest extent while displaying their owners' power and wealth. But to spoiled young masters like Li Rongxiu, who had frivolous temperaments and preferred extravagance, the vehicles driven by the family's adult men were unbearably dull. And that dullness had nothing to do with their price.

Still, Li Rongxiu understood that what he had done at yesterday's engagement banquet had nearly ruined Shen Manyao and Chi Junrui's reputations. The Chi and Shen families had lost all face over the matter, but the Shen family was vast and powerful. Even though they had made concessions to the Li family regarding the T Country Infrastructure Project, they had only been badly weakened, not truly crippled. Therefore, Shen Yingbo, who valued face and profit above all else, would never completely fall out with the Li family at a time like this.

The Chi family, on the other hand, had little foundation and would certainly be driven into a corner by the Li family and the Li family's relatives and friends. To prevent the Chi family from making a desperate last gamble when they had nowhere left to go, Grandfather Li had to ensure Li Rongxiu's personal safety.

Moreover, Li Rongxiu had experienced the Shen family's "methods" in his previous life. So, to ensure nothing went wrong, he was willing to give up his little hobby and ride in his brother's "turtle car" to school.

Seeing Li Rongxiu behave so obediently, without throwing a tantrum as they had feared, the Li family men nodded in satisfaction. Only by ensuring that their home front was secure could they devote themselves fully to dealing with the enemies outside. Only then could they drive away every wolf eyeing the Li family fortune with greater precision and ruthlessness—and tear a huge chunk of fat from their opponents.

Li Rongxiu, who had never concerned himself with the family business, was clearly indifferent to what the Li family men planned to do next. Compared to that, he would rather discuss with Mother Li what she should wear to the Zhao Family Club's ribbon-cutting ceremony. He had decided to have a matching suit tailored according to Mother Li's gown, creating a parent-child outfit to win her favor—

After preparing for that "unprecedented" engagement ceremony, he did not have much pocket money left...

After leisurely finishing breakfast, Li Rongxiu followed his eldest brother into the understated black Bach. This model was a new release launched last year by Baoli Automobile Company, one of the Li family's businesses. Its classic jewel-black body and contrasting shoulder lines created a more dimensional visual effect, making it stunning at first glance. Its exquisite craftsmanship and pursuit of perfection in every detail further embodied the meaning of "understated luxury." What made it most sought after, however, was that only two hundred were sold worldwide, each custom-made.

Sitting in the luxurious, elegant cabin, Li Rongxiu lounged lazily against the soft, comfortable leather sofa and asked his brother with a grin, "Do you have any orange juice? I'm a little thirsty."

Li Rongyu shook his head helplessly. No one had ever dared ask for fruit juice in his car. But rules existed to be broken, so Li Rongyu could only say in an indulgent tone, "There's no juice in the car, but I'll have my secretary prepare some. You can drink it after school tonight."

As he spoke, he calmly took a bank card from his wallet and handed it to Li Rongxiu. "The password is your birthday."

Li Rongxiu immediately sat up straight in excitement, swiftly pocketed the card, then beamed at Li Rongyu. "Thanks, Big Brother." His instantly invigorated appearance made Li Rongyu shake his head helplessly, with the strange feeling that he was not raising a younger brother, but a son.

Unfortunately, as the person involved, Li Rongxiu did not notice his brother's silent complaints at all. Having received his pocket money, he no longer had any worries and immediately turned to inspect the car refrigerator. It was packed full of all kinds of champagne and red wine... Li Rongxiu even found an antique-looking bottle of strong white liquor in a corner. He had not known his brother had such a hobby.

After rummaging around and picking through it for a long while, Li Rongxiu pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. In the end, he still did not dare open alcohol in front of Li Rongyu. He could only awkwardly pour himself a glass of ice water. Just as he was about to drain it in one gulp, his gaze suddenly swept over an alley outside the window, and he froze.

Li Rongyu, who had been reviewing documents, noticed something unusual about his younger brother from the corner of his eye and looked up. "What is it?"

"I ran into someone I know." As Li Rongxiu spoke, he told the driver to stop. He set the crystal glass aside, opened the door, and calmly got out. Li Ten, who served as both driver and bodyguard, immediately followed alertly behind Li Rongxiu into the alley.

At the end of the alley, Shen Zongming, the Shen family's young master, had led several people in blocking off a boy on the ground and was punching and kicking him. The boy clutched his head tightly, trying to curl his originally tall body into a ball as he gritted his teeth and endured the violence raining down on him.

Then someone gave a frivolous whistle, followed by a familiar voice from above—

"Shen Zongming, you're getting more and more impressive. You actually have the leisure to lead a bunch of lackeys in beating up a beggar. Looks like those newspapers were right—you Shen family really do have improper family values!"

The moment Shen Zongming heard that voice, his eyes burned with rage and his head began to throb. He abruptly turned around, glaring viciously at Li Rongxiu. Then his gaze fell on Li Ten behind Li Rongxiu, tall and expressionless, and his pupils suddenly shrank. His mind instantly cleared. He suppressed his hidden urge to beat Li Rongxiu senseless to vent his sister's anger, snorted coldly, and said disdainfully, "You're pretty free yourself. Instead of going to school at this hour, you came here to play international police officer. Do you really think you're some kind of champion of justice?"

He said this purely to mock the comments in that morning's gossip papers. God knew how terrible an impact those exaggerated reports had brought upon the Shen family. Shen Zongming estimated that once the stock market opened that morning, the Shen family's shares would drop by at least thirty percent...

All of that was thanks to that little bastard Li Rongxiu. He had said long ago that this useless idiot was not good enough for everyone, but no one had believed him. Now look at things—The Shen family's situation was even worse than before the marriage alliance.

Watching Shen Zongming nearly explode with anger, Li Rongxiu, who despised him by association, became even happier. He leisurely mocked the Shen family a few more times until Shen Zongming could no longer bear it and left with his men. Only then did Li Rongxiu turn around and look down at Shen Yujun, who was curled on the ground like a puddle of mud. Clicking his tongue, he shook his head. "Why do I feel like every time I see you, you're getting beaten up? Are you born with a face that begs to be punched, or are you missing a beating in your five elements?"

Shen Yujun, who had been about to get up: "..."

Chapter 12

Li Rongxiu brought the filthy Shen Yujun before his eldest brother. Li Rongyu, who was obsessive about cleanliness, looked coolly at Shen Yujun's dirt-stained clothes and remained silent. The considerate Li Rongxiu immediately said, "School isn't far from here anyway. I want to take Shen Yujun there on foot and let him change clothes in my dorm room."

It had been one thing when they did not know each other, but now that they did, he could not simply watch Shen Yujun suffer so miserably. Besides, helping him would also make the Shen family unhappy. It was killing two birds with one stone.

Li Rongyu immediately agreed. "All right."

After a pause, he added, "Have Li Ten escort you to school. Don't wander around after school. Wait for me to pick you up."

The tone, as if he were instructing a three-year-old child, made Shen Yujun curl his lips slightly. The movement tugged at the split wound on his mouth, and the sudden pain made him hiss softly. Li Rongxiu watched with glee and said, "Serves you right!"

Shen Yujun's expression stiffened. Li Rongyu shook his head helplessly and said to Shen Yujun, "Rongxiu has been spoiled by us since childhood. Please be understanding, Young Master Shen."

Knowing full well that Li Rongxiu had surely revealed all his secrets, the naturally vigilant Shen Yujun still maintained his disguise of being stubborn, reckless, and thoughtless in public. He shook his head at Li Rongyu and said directly, "Not at all. I should be thanking Young Master Xiu for getting me out of that situation. If not for him, I definitely would have been beaten badly today."

Li Rongyu noticed that, while speaking, Shen Yujun deliberately wore an indignant expression. He raised his right hand and wiped the corner of his split mouth with the back of it, then stubbornly listed how he generally held the upper hand in their past clashes. Perhaps because he felt that Li Rongxiu and the Li family already knew his true nature, Shen Yujun unconsciously relaxed somewhat and forgot to conceal his eyes. Those orchid-blue eyes were quietly still, deep and secluded, like an ancient well without a ripple.

Li Rongyu could not help sighing inwardly. He had heard the ancients speak of sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall, enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens, but he had never met such a person before. Yet after seeing Shen Yujun's conduct now, he suddenly understood the saying that those destined for great things did not fuss over trifles. A faint worry also began to rise in his heart—