Never Happy Again

Shen Father and Shen Mother were already a little unsettled. Although they knew their son's feelings were one-sided, thinking of the pain he had endured from years of secret love made them resent Lu Shao somewhat.

Shen Yu, meanwhile, was wondering whether there were any suitable men around him for his younger brother. Though they had never expected Shen Ze to like men, they certainly would not stop him.

His second brother must not have met enough men. Lu Shao hogged his second brother every day—was he not even giving him a 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 in front of you every day, yet you did not even dare tell him how you felt.

[But judging from the Original Plot, Lu Shao might not have regarded Second Brother as merely a good friend.]

[After Second Brother died, Lu Shao unexpectedly took over the company. Back then, Lu Shao had originally told his sister, "Isn't it the same whether you run it or not?"]

[Someone who only wanted to have fun every day actually took over the company and did the work he had once refused to do even under threat of death—getting up early and coming home late every day.]

[He must have done it to make certain things more convenient. He probably felt embarrassed to keep 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 viciously retaliated against Hu Xue and Liu Lei.]

[He also kept investigating the driver who had killed Second Brother. Even after receiving countless answers from the police that it had been an accident, he never stopped.]

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

[In the end, he probably discovered something, but he never came to tell the Shen Household, because by then they could no longer do anything.]

If Shen Ze had met with an accident, his parents had met with accidents, and Shen Corporation had been swallowed up, 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 thrown into such chaos that they simply could not continue.

He had not expected Lu Shao to keep investigating for him. Was it because he truly saw him as a good brother? He just did not know what Lu Shao had uncovered.

[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 held on.]

[Even then, Lu Shao continued investigating. But he could not uncover what came afterward. How could the plot have let him 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, Lu Shao was never happy again.]

[And you're telling me they were just good brothers? Even loyalty did not go that far, did it?]

[And with how Lu Shao kept wrapping his arms around Second Brother, practically wishing his hands could grow from Second Brother's shoulders—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 miserable, as though someone had dug out his heart.

After hearing Shen Can's 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 over this matter.

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

He was not a saint. He would not give 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. Lu Shao had shown no reaction at all, only telling him to put something on quickly before he caught a cold.

Or after showering, he had walked out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. That time, Lu Shao had stared at him and even walked toward him. He had thought Lu Shao was about to do something.

But as Lu Shao passed him, he merely said, "I just realized your skin is really fair," then ran into the bathroom.

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

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

Did Lu Shao know that counted as an indirect kiss? Probably not. He had likely never considered that such a thing existed between brothers.

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

Heaven knew how embarrassed and nervous Shen Ze had been when Lu Shao touched him—and how happy it had 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 thinking about something. The Shen family was worried about Shen Ze's feelings, while Lu Shao was wondering whether he liked Shen Ze.

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

Because no matter how desperately the Shen family controlled their expressions, every one of them showed a different change in expression when they heard that Shen Ze would die.

And Lu Shao's unnatural expression when Shen Can spoke about him and Shen Ze suggested that he had heard it too.

Was letting them hear these thoughts meant to give them a chance to change some things? The Shen Household really was miserable, but Shen Can had said that he himself would suffer terribly. Huo Xi was curious just how terrible it would be.

After letting his mind 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 almost everything; all that remained was for their companies to conduct more comprehensive negotiations.

Lu Shao also left surprisingly 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 whole 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 letting the boy try confessing was not such a bad idea.

"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 persuade him otherwise. "Then tell Lu Shao. Keeping it secret forever isn't the way."

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

Shen Ze smiled and agreed. He would not reject his family's good intentions. 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 back then, he had never thought there would be a future between him and Lu Shao.

So he had never spoken up to prepare his parents. Yet even under these circumstances, they had not stopped him. It showed just how open-minded his parents were.

After all, his parents were from a different generation. His brothers understood because their age gap was not large, but his parents' understanding meant they were open-minded—and that they truly loved him.

"And what about the press conference? Will you handle it yourself, or should I help you?" Shen Yu did not ask because he thought Shen Ze could not handle it. He was simply worried that Shen Ze might find it difficult to act against people from his own company.

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

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