Never Happy Again

Shen Father and Shen Mother were already a little unsettled. Although they knew their son was the only one with feelings for the other man, thinking of the years he had spent secretly in love made them somewhat resentful of Lu Shao.

Shen Yu, meanwhile, was wondering whether there were any suitable men around him for his younger brother. Though he had not expected Shen Ze to like men, they certainly would not stop him.

Had his second brother just not seen enough men? Lu Shao monopolized his second brother every day—did that mean he never gave him the chance to make friends? Shen Chi planned to invite a few handsome buddies to take his second brother out sometime.

Shen Yao was still stunned. So his second brother really liked Lu Shao? How could he bear that? The person you liked was right before your eyes every day, yet you did not even dare tell him how you felt.

[But judging from the original plot, Lu Shao might not have seen Second Brother as merely an ordinary good friend.]

[After Second Brother died, Lu Shao took over the company, to everyone's surprise. Lu Shao had originally been the sort of person who told his sister, "Isn't it the same whether you manage it or not?"]

[Someone who only wanted to play all day actually took over the company and did the job he would rather die than do before—getting up early and coming home late every day.]

[He must have wanted to make certain things easier to handle. He probably felt awkward constantly asking his sister and brother-in-law for help.]

[After the Shen Household had already made its move, Lu Shao stepped in as well and ruthlessly retaliated against Hu Xue and Liu Lei.]

[He also kept investigating the driver who had killed Second Brother, never stopping even after the police repeatedly told him it had been an accident.]

[When the police could not find anything, he hired people to investigate on his own and had them keep watch on the driver's every move.]

[In the end, he must have found something, but he did not come tell the Shen Household, because by then, they could no longer do anything.]

If Shen Ze had met with an accident, his parents had too, and Shen Corporation had been swallowed up, then that proved his eldest brother had also met with trouble. His third and fourth brothers probably had not fared well either.

It was not that the Shen Household had not wanted to keep investigating. He understood his family—they must have been in such chaos that they simply could not continue.

He had never expected Lu Shao to keep investigating for him. Was it because he really saw him as a good brother? He just did not know what Lu Shao had discovered.

[Just when Lu Shao found some clues, the Lu Household quickly suffered an accident. If the Lu Household had not had such deep foundations, they probably would not have been able to withstand it.]

[Even then, Lu Shao kept investigating. But afterward, he could not uncover anything more. How could the plot have allowed him to find it?]

[With something weighing on your heart for an entire lifetime, could the rest of your life truly be happy? But it seemed that after Second Brother died, he was never happy again.]

[And you're telling me they were just good brothers? No matter how loyal you were, surely it did not go that far.]

[Besides, Lu Shao was always wrapping an arm around Second Brother and hanging all over him, like he wished his hand could grow onto Second Brother's shoulder. Did that look like brotherhood?]

Did he like Shen Ze? Lu Shao was not sure. But when he heard that Shen Ze would be framed and might even die, he felt unbearably distressed, as though someone had dug out his heart.

After hearing Shen Can's inner thoughts, Shen Ze was happy about what Lu Shao had done for him, but he was also saddened that Lu Shao might spend the rest of his life unable to find peace because of it.

As for whether Lu Shao liked him, he did not dare think about it. No one knew better than he did just how straight Lu Shao was.

He was not a saint. He had not simply given up on the person he liked without making even the slightest attempt. He had tried.

For example, he had deliberately gone shirtless in front of Lu Shao, but Lu Shao showed no reaction at all. He only told him to put something on quickly, lest he catch a cold.

Or after showering, he would walk out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around him. That time, Lu Shao had stared at him and even walked closer. He had thought Lu Shao was about to do something.

In the end, Lu Shao merely passed by him, said, "I just realized your skin is really fair," and ran into the bathroom.

Lu Shao might not have noticed anything else at all. He had simply been waiting for Shen Ze to finish using the bathroom so he could go in.

And Lu Shao had no reaction whatsoever to sharing a cup with him. He could even take something Shen Ze had bitten and keep eating it.

Did Lu Shao know that counted as an indirect kiss? Perhaps Lu Shao had simply never considered that such a thing could exist between brothers.

He and Lu Shao had even scrubbed each other's backs in the bath, though every time Lu Shao only let him scrub his back. In any case, Lu Shao never seemed embarrassed by Shen Ze touching him.

Heaven knew how shy and nervous he became whenever Lu Shao touched him—and how happy it made him. Forget it, he would not think about it anymore. He should never have liked Lu Shao in the first place, or there would not have been so much trouble.

Everyone present was more or less lost in thought. The Shen family worried about Shen Ze's feelings, while Lu Shao was wondering whether he liked Shen Ze.

Only Huo Xi was not thinking about anything. However, he realized that he was apparently not the only one who could hear Shen Can's inner thoughts.

No matter how desperately the Shen family tried to control their expressions, every one of them showed a different reaction when they heard that Shen Ze would die.

And when Shen Can spoke of the things between Lu Shao and Shen Ze, Lu Shao's unnatural expression suggested that he had heard it too.

Were they being allowed to hear those inner thoughts so they would have a chance to change certain things? The Shen Household truly had it rough, but Shen Can had said Huo Xi's fate was unimaginably tragic. He was curious just how tragic it could be.

After letting his thoughts wander for a while, Shen Can picked out two outfits and chatted with his family. Huo Xi left after dinner. He and Shen Yu had discussed nearly everything; next, their companies only needed to conduct comprehensive negotiations.

Lu Shao also left unexpectedly early this time. Usually, whenever he came over, he stayed for dinner before leaving. Today, he needed to go home and think about his relationship with Shen Ze.

The moment Shen Can went upstairs, the entire family immediately surrounded Shen Ze. They wanted to persuade him to stop liking Lu Shao, but Lu Shao had done so much for Shen Ze later on, and he might not necessarily dislike him. Perhaps it would be good to let their son try confessing.

"Ze'er, do you really like Lu Shao?" Shen Father was the first to ask. After receiving Shen Ze's utterly certain answer, Shen Father did not try to dissuade him any longer. "Then tell Lu Shao. Secretly loving someone forever isn't the way to go."

"Don't worry, Second Brother. If it doesn't work out, I'll introduce you to handsome guys." Shen Chi immediately followed Shen Father's words.

Shen Ze smiled and agreed. He would not refuse his family's kindness. They had always supported every decision he made and respected every choice he made.

He had never told them beforehand that he liked men, because he had never believed there could be a future between himself and Lu Shao.

So he had never said anything to prepare his parents. Yet even under these circumstances, they did not stop him. It showed just how open-minded his parents were.

After all, his parents were of that generation. His brothers understood because their age gap was not large, but for his parents to understand meant they were open-minded—and that they truly loved him.

"And about your press conference, will you handle it yourself, or do you want me to help?" Shen Yu asked this not because he thought Shen Ze could not handle it, but because he feared Shen Ze might find it hard to act against people from his own company.

"I'll handle it myself. Don't worry, Big Brother. Since they planned to treat me that way, I won't show them mercy." Shen Ze had already decided what to do the moment he learned they intended to scheme against him.

Without Shen Can knowing, Shen Ze reported Hu Xue after catching her peeking at and copying his designs. Liu Lei, whom Hu Xue confessed had stolen the drafts, was naturally arrested as well.