You Think You Deserve to Mention My Mother?

Two clinks of tableware rang out from the dining table. Feng Yanshan answered casually, "The basement."

Silence fell for several seconds.

Jiang Li sprang to her feet. The new jewelry on her wrist jingled with her hurried movements. "The basement?! How could you send Tingfan to a place like that?" Her mouth opened, but the cruel words that were about to leave her lips were forcibly swallowed back by reason. "Why didn't you tell me? How can Tingfan endure that kind of hardship?" With that, she headed for the door.

Feng Yanshan slowly raised his eyes and gently set his chopsticks on the table. It was clearly a mild gesture, yet Jiang Li's advancing steps did not move another inch. "Where are you going?"

Jiang Li said nothing.

Seeing this, Feng Zhiyou spoke up. "Dad, no matter what, the basement..."

"What about the basement?! What, Yunsheng can go there when he makes a mistake, but Tingfan can't when he does?" As though his authority had been challenged, his voice turned several degrees colder. "When I discipline my son, since when do I need to hear your opinions? Today, I want to see who dares speak up for that unfilial brat!" He slammed his hand down heavily, making the table shake three times.

Throughout it all, Bai Yunsheng kept his gaze straight ahead and calmly enjoyed his dinner.

The beef was tender.

The soup was delicious.

And also...

Bai Yunsheng picked up his glass and took a sip of juice.

It was sweet, yet refreshing.

Jiang Li naturally saw how calm Bai Yunsheng was. She had clearly warned him over the phone, so why had he still provoked Feng Yanshan? What exactly had happened? She could not lose her temper at Feng Yanshan, but could she not vent it on Bai Yunsheng? As she thought this, the look she gave Bai Yunsheng became increasingly venomous.

"Bai Yunsheng! None of the elders have even picked up their chopsticks, yet you're eating so happily by yourself. Where are your manners?"

Bai Yunsheng's hand paused around his glass. His eyes shifted from the dishes to Jiang Li. Before he could reply, he obediently set his chopsticks aside.

From the corner of his eye, Feng Yanshan glanced at him and deliberately softened his voice. "Your injuries haven't healed yet. Eat less seafood." Then he picked up some greens and placed them in Bai Yunsheng's bowl. "Keep eating. You're my son. Other than me, you don't need to listen to anyone else."

Bai Yunsheng nodded at Feng Yanshan's words and lowered his head to continue eating. Then, as though he had only just remembered that he should respond to Jiang Li, he swallowed the food in his mouth. "Auntie, my apologies."

Jiang Li stared at the scene before her in disbelief. She looked at Feng Yanshan, then at Bai Yunsheng, as an intense feeling of discomfort slowly crawled up her spine.

"If you don't want to eat, then get back to your room."

Jiang Li's eyes reddened, partly from anger and partly from grief. Her chest felt clogged with a breath that would neither rise nor fall, but she did not dare act out. Her feet shifted hesitantly a few times before she finally sat back down, too afraid to resist.

Amusement flickered in Bai Yunsheng's eyes.

Bai Yunsheng knew perfectly well what Feng Yanshan feared most at his age.

Feng Yanshan had always been a man who valued power and profit.

Feng Zhiyou was merely a spark.

Feng Tingfan was the oil poured onto that fire,

And then there was Jiang Li.

These three matters, these three sentences, would not have provoked such a strong reaction from Feng Yanshan if they had happened separately. Yet they had all been crammed together.

Wu Shanye had arrived at just the right time. If he had not come, Bai Yunsheng might have needed to think of another way to make this blaze burn even fiercer.

Even heaven is helping me.

Bai Yunsheng wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Dad, I'm full."

Feng Yanshan hummed. "Have the doctor check you again before bed."

Bai Yunsheng was in such a good mood that he nearly failed to control his tone. "Okay."

After returning to his room, he had a servant help wipe down his upper body. Then Doctor Luoluo came over to examine him again. Throughout the process, Doctor Luoluo seemed to want to say something.

She was a doctor. She could tell that Bai Yunsheng's injuries were strange. They had clearly been treated yesterday, yet they were more severe today than they had been yesterday.

"Doctor Luoluo, how are my injuries?"

Doctor Luoluo withdrew from her thoughts. "Much better." After a pause, she added, "Be careful not to suffer any further injuries. You still need to watch your diet."

Bai Yunsheng put his clothes back on. "Mm, I'll be careful."

Bai Yunsheng slept well, without dreams through the night.

The next morning, shortly after he woke up, someone from Feng Yanshan's side delivered him a set of clothes. It was not a suit, just an ordinary outfit, but the fabric was fine and the tailoring precise. It gave Bai Yunsheng a distinctly different air when he wore it. After tidying himself up, Bai Yunsheng left his room and happened to run into Jiang Li at the staircase. Bai Yunsheng felt a little irritated. Again at the stairs—did he have some kind of unresolved fate with staircases?

"Bai Yunsheng."

Bai Yunsheng's expression was calm. "Auntie." He looked Jiang Li over from head to toe. "Auntie, did you not sleep well last night?"

Jiang Li's expression worsened the moment she heard that. Her son was locked in the basement. How could she possibly sleep?

"Bai Yunsheng, I misjudged you."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's no one else here, so you don't need to pretend. I don't know what tricks you used, but listen carefully. A few years ago, your mother couldn't defeat me. A few years from now, the outcome will be exactly the same. You touched Tingfan. I won't let you off!"

Bai Yunsheng had been smiling, but when he heard Jiang Li mention Bai Zhi, the upward curve of his lips flattened. He scanned the area.

There was no one around.

Jiang Li thought Bai Yunsheng was looking for Feng Yanshan. She stepped forward and sneered, "Looking for Feng Yanshan? He went out early this morning to personally choose a gift for Chairman Meng. Bai Yunsheng, are you trying to pull another trick? Too bad there's no one here to watch now."

Bai Yunsheng turned his face slightly and lowered his head a little. From this angle, he could see whether anyone was downstairs. A few longer strands of hair at his temple brushed against the edge of his brow. They did not even cover his eyelids, yet somehow cast a shadow over him. "Oh, is that so?"

Before Jiang Li could make sense of Bai Yunsheng's strange tone, his hand was already around her throat. The shock in her eyes had not even had time to surface before he shoved her against the stair railing. As her body tilted slightly backward, both feet left the ground. Before she could scream, Bai Yunsheng clamped a hand tightly over her mouth.

"You! You think you deserve to talk about my mother!" His tone was utterly dark, and even the light in his eyes vanished completely. Jiang Li's eyes widened as muffled whimpers escaped her mouth.

Fear.

All Bai Yunsheng saw in Jiang Li's eyes was fear.

But it was not enough.

Still not enough.

Bai Yunsheng's grip steadily tightened, his hand pushing farther forward until Jiang Li's entire body hung suspended over the railing.

As he looked at Jiang Li's pale, terrified face, the years when he had been bullied flashed through Bai Yunsheng's mind.

His mother flashed through his mind.

His hand would not stop trembling. His breathing grew heavier, and red filled his eyes, saturated with hatred.

Jiang Li did not dare struggle at all, afraid that Bai Yunsheng would loosen his grip and let her fall.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Bai Yunsheng finally woke from the overwhelming tide of emotion.

He lowered his head and gave Jiang Li one last look. His grip loosened, and he immediately took a step back.

As Bai Yunsheng's hands withdrew, Jiang Li fell to the ground. Tears spilled down her face as she coughed desperately, her trembling gaze darting toward Bai Yunsheng.

Bai Yunsheng simply stood there, looking down at her from above.

That exquisite face held no expression, like a mask. His stiff features seemed as though they had been painted on.

Jiang Li lowered her gaze, but she did not have the courage to move.

The malice in her eyes was entirely concealed by her lowered head.

Has he gone insane?!

How dare that beast Bai Yunsheng do this?!