Teach Him Until He's Fit to Be Seen Before Bringing Him Out

Shen Keke fell silent. The Shen family really was sharp-tongued. But as long as they were made unhappy this time, he was satisfied. Besides, surely someone would think they were being too aggressive, right?

But the truth was exactly the opposite. After learning the full story, the guests understood the Shen family's actions even better.

If this had happened in their own families, they would have been upset too. Whether the person had done it deliberately or not, someone like that was simply beyond words. They had never seen anyone offend people like this.

When they got home, they would have to warn their children not to associate with the Zhou family's son's boyfriend. If he had not done it on purpose, that meant he was stupid, and associating with him might bring trouble. If he had done it deliberately, that meant he was malicious, and they should stay even farther away.

Shen Keke still had no idea that he would soon be unable to make a single friend in high society. People would not even acknowledge him, much less include him in anything. Without a powerful family background and with such an unpleasant character, who would think highly of him?

At the same time, several elders who had gone strolling around the estate returned. Among them were Shen Father, Shen Mother, Zhou Father, and Zhou Mother.

They did not know what had happened, but naturally, someone quietly explained it to them. The venue also fell silent, waiting for the adults of both families to react.

Only after glaring at Shen Keke did Zhou Mother speak. "Oh dear, he's really caused you trouble. My son's partner comes from a poor family and hasn't seen the world. He's terribly narrow-minded. Please don't lower yourselves to his level. He isn't worthy of it."

When Shen Keke heard that, his palms were clenched so tightly that bloody marks appeared. How could this woman say that about him? It was too much. She had belittled him until he was worth less than nothing.

Poor? His family was considered poor? Xu Qingqing was an orphan, yet the Shen family still treated her like treasure. But Zhou Mother treated him like this.

At the sound of a snicker, everyone noticed Huo Xi standing a little farther back. Zhou Mother naturally knew that Huo Xi laughing could not mean anything good, but she had no choice but to respond.

"What are you laughing at, boy from the Huo family?" Why did it have to be him laughing? If it had been anyone else, she could have pretended not to hear and dealt with them later. She had no idea what Huo Xi was about to say.

"I just think the Zhou family truly passes things down through the generations. You knew he was narrow-minded, yet you still brought him out. What were you thinking? Did you think everyone should naturally be understanding toward him?"

"If he isn't worthy, shouldn't you teach him until he is before bringing him out?" Huo Xi's expression was calm, but his words were especially harsh.

Zhou Mother's face changed repeatedly. In the end, she could only vent her anger on Shen Keke. She viciously pinched him twice before saying, "I'll take him home and teach him properly right now. Until he learns, I absolutely won't let him come out again."

In truth, how could the Zhou family not know that Shen Keke would definitely cause trouble when he came to the Shen family? Their attitude had actually been supportive. They would have loved to see the Shen family embarrassed.

The Zhou family had long been dissatisfied with the status quo. They wanted to make the Zhou family even stronger. But ordinarily, they could not easily meddle in another family's affairs, or they might end up making a wedding dress for someone else.

The Shen family, however, had few members. Shen Father had no illegitimate children or anything of the sort, and his married-out younger sister and brother-in-law were both dead. If something happened to the entire Shen family, Shen Keke, as someone related to them by blood, could inherit their assets. With some maneuvering on their part, it would all fall into place naturally.

Besides, Shen Keke had not been idle within the Shen family all these years. They had also planted quite a few people inside Shen Family Company. After coveting it for so many years, how could they possibly have made no moves at all?

Shen Keke was still useful, so they would not do anything to him. But for the time being, he truly was not suitable to appear in public.

Compared with Zhou Mother's fury, Zhou Father was much calmer. What did temporary gains and losses matter? Once the Zhou family developed further, would everyone not come running to curry favor with them?

After Shen Keke was taken away, the atmosphere remained somewhat subdued. Such a fine wedding, only for this to happen.

"Shen Yu, to celebrate your marriage and the initial success of our project, I prepared a grand gift for you." Huo Xi stepped forward and patted Shen Yu on the shoulder.

"Oh? What is it?" Shen Yu was also curious about Huo Xi's grand gift.

Huo Xi clapped his hands. Assistant He, who had been waiting nearby, walked to the entrance and beckoned to the bodyguards outside.

Six bodyguards entered together, then unfurled three paintings.

"Oh my heavens, aren't those paintings by the Painting Sage from a thousand years ago? Three at once? That's far too generous."

"Not only are they paintings by the Painting Sage, they're also a connected set of three: placing first in the imperial examinations, marrying and having children, then rising through the ranks and gaining wealth."

"I heard each individual piece is worth over a hundred million. How much must all three be worth together? And the important thing isn't even the money, but their collectible value."

Shen Yu had not expected Huo Xi's gift to be so valuable. Giving even one painting would have been considered exceedingly generous, yet Huo Xi had given all three at once.

Wow, Huo Xi actually took out these three paintings to give to Big Brother. Huo Patriarch really likes these three paintings.

After hearing Shen Can's thoughts, Shen Yu decided he would return the paintings to Huo Xi privately later. They were truly too valuable, and Huo Patriarch liked them so much. It would not do for this to bring trouble upon Huo Xi.

Still, it's good that he gave them away. At least they won't end up in that woman's hands later. Two of these paintings were bought by Huo Xi's grandmother just to make Huo Patriarch happy.

Yet they ultimately ended up in another woman's hands. What a waste. Huo Patriarch is truly infuriating just to think about. Did he really love that first love so much?

If he truly loved her, why didn't he leave the family and give up his identity as a member of the Huo Household to run away with her back then? He really wanted everything.

Only Huo Xi's grandmother and Huo Xi suffered for it. Huo Patriarch was truly selfish. He only cared about his own happiness and left everyone else to bear the bitter consequences.

"This was the gift I specially selected as the most fitting for today, so Brother Shen must not refuse it." Huo Xi had deliberately chosen these three paintings. Of course he knew his grandfather liked them.

He had specifically taken them out to give away because he did not want his grandfather to be happy. Two of them had been bought by his grandmother, and his grandfather did not deserve to keep her belongings.

Especially now that he knew these three paintings would eventually end up in that woman's hands, he felt even more certain that he had made the right choice.

Once Huo Xi presented the gift, everyone went over to look. Some grew so excited that they even took out their phones to take pictures. Soon, they forgot the earlier unpleasantness.

With Huo Xi deliberately guiding the mood, no one mentioned what had happened before. The Lu family had originally intended to lighten the atmosphere as well, but seeing that Huo Xi had already taken the initiative, they did not do anything further.

After viewing the gifts, everyone found places to chat. Shen Can sat there reviewing what had happened today. Their whole family had assumed that nothing would happen today.

But they had all forgotten about Shen Keke. Or perhaps they had not forgotten, but they had not expected that Shen Keke would still have his identity acknowledged despite not having saved Wang Patriarch's life. He had merely kept a lower profile than in the original plot, so they had not known.

Today should have been the first time the Zhou family brought Shen Keke out as Zhou Jingxuan's boyfriend, yet Shen Keke had tried to cause trouble for the Shen family without even considering the occasion. They probably would not see him for quite a long time afterward.

Shen Keke hated the Shen family even more than they had imagined. From now on, they would have to be more vigilant against Shen Keke and the others.

By the time Shen Can finished thinking, it was almost time for lunch. Everyone had taken their seats when one person finally arrived late.