Shen Lian was hurled into a room by brute force.
Chu Changqi had no intention of giving him a moment to recover. He seemed desperate to vent some emotion on Shen Lian.
Shen Lian curled up on the floor, looking utterly terrified, too frightened to move.
Liu Li stood nearby, his face full of contempt. At a command from Chu Changqi, he turned and left.
In truth, Shen Lian was also in terrible pain. Any abrupt movement left him gasping for air, and his medication had been confiscated when he arrived.
Shen Lian's vision darkened. He could only vaguely make out rows of objects as Chu Changqi paced around on his cane. Shen Lian took a moment to recover and worked to steady his breathing. Only then could he make out what Chu Changqi was saying.
"Ever since he was little, he's barely liked anything worthwhile. If it wasn't some nobody, it was some vulgar commoner. He's my son, Chu Changqi's flesh and blood. What's wrong with liking power and status?"
"Everyone thinks I deceived Ming Mei. But without me, where would Chu Yilan have come from?!"
"He actually dared to scheme against me. Ming Mei, oh, Ming Mei. That child you thought was so innocent and kind-didn't he end up just like me?"
Chu Changqi rambled on, his words disjointed, yet Shen Lian discerned a distinct contradiction. Chu Changqi desperately wanted Chu Yilan to become like him, which was why he loathed everything his son loved. Yet whenever he mentioned Ming Mei, his voice grew heavy with madness, and he seemed utterly unable to accept Chu Yilan's ruthlessness.
But Chu Changqi should have known that, after everything he had done back then, any hope of a harmonious family was nothing but a fantasy.
Shen Lian couldn't imagine how selfish