MCFEM C14

Chapter 14: I’m Definitely Done For, and You Won’t Get Away Either…

Shen residence, master bedroom on the second floor.

Shen Shan’s expression was dark as he stared at the woman in silk pajamas sitting before the vanity.

“Why are you wearing… your sister’s clothes?”

Zhou Qinqin turned slightly, her gaze hooking upward at him. “Since we’re chasing thrills, why not go all the way with it?”

At forty, she still retained her allure, but now carried a unique flavor that only time could add.

Shen Shan’s chest heated, and the face that was usually so stern cracked into a rare smile. “You’re so wanton.”

Lust quickly overruled sense, and Shen Shan embraced her from behind.

“Dropping in so suddenly like this, won’t President Shen blame me?”

“We’re all family here. What’s there to blame?”

“What kind of family, exactly?” Zhou Qinqin asked deliberately.

“You know perfectly well…” Shen Shan brushed her nose playfully. “Even without a title, Ah Zhou is still our son. That bond can’t be shaken.”

“But to outsiders, your only son is Mingjun.”

“Haven’t I told you before? Whatever Mingjun gets, Ah Zhou will get too.” Shen Shan sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if I chose wrong back then.”

“Ah Zhou is far more capable than Mingjun. If he were my legitimate son, my life would be much easier.”

Though Zhou Qinqin feigned reproach, the happiness on her face couldn’t be hidden. Yet the next second, her smile faltered as her eyes flickered toward the door.

Shen Shan, having spoken enough pretty words, was already eager to move on to the real act.

But Zhou Qinqin, uneasy, no longer met him with the same eagerness, even showing faint traces of resistance.

“Don’t worry. I sent the maid away. Your sister has an appointment at the beauty salon—she won’t be back before dark. Ah Zhou and Mingjun are still in class right now…”

The sounds of intimacy gradually filled the room.

Outside the door, Shen Mingjun’s eyes burned red, as though bleeding.

He had thought he’d come at the wrong time—only to realize he had arrived at the perfect moment.

His father actually believed Yu Zhou, that little parasite desperate to marry into wealth, was better than him.

Aside from slightly better grades, what did Yu Zhou have that could compare to him?

He had always thought he was an only child. No matter how much his father belittled him, if he just endured, everything at home would eventually be his.

But now it didn’t seem so.

Yu Zhou.

A wave of panic and dread swept over him. His legs nearly gave out. But fear of being discovered froze him—he couldn’t risk staying and being caught.

He wasn’t ready to rip through this paper-thin veil.

Hastily, he left.

On the way, he bumped into someone.

“Well, if it isn’t Young Master. Just coming out from home?”

Shen Mingjun’s already foul expression darkened further. It was Xiao Chen, an employee at his father’s company.

“Young Master, I did everything you asked last time. How did it turn out?” Xiao Chen’s smile was fawning.

“Oh, that. It was fine.” Shen Mingjun forced a perfunctory reply and tried to leave, but Xiao Chen stepped in his way.

“I made a fool of myself at a banquet because of my drinking. I’d like to apologize to President Shen. Could you make an introduction for me?”

Shen Mingjun sneered.

He’d heard the story—some employee had struck a senior executive at a company dinner, and the man had vowed to ruin him in the industry.

So all that “help” earlier was just a ploy to bring this up now?

Pathetic.

Remembering what he had just overheard at home, Shen Mingjun’s tone grew cutting. “Can’t you go see him yourself? Think too highly of yourself, don’t you?”

“You want to freeload me?” Xiao Chen’s voice trembled.

Shen Mingjun nearly laughed aloud. How could someone be this clueless? “Know your place. Keep pestering, and I’ll make sure you really can’t survive here.”

Seeing the older man struck dumb, Shen Mingjun’s mood lifted.

This sense of lording over someone, crushing them beneath power, was intoxicating. He hadn’t felt this in ages.

Raised as a pampered child, his nightmare began the moment he entered Guanli High and that dreaded Class Eleven. Everyone there came from stronger backgrounds, with fiercer tempers. He couldn’t afford to provoke any of them. The few he dared to needle had sharper tongues, silencing him every time.

But fresh from this small victory, he turned to leave—only for Xiao Chen to seize his wrist.

“This won’t do.” Xiao Chen’s voice had taken on a strange edge. “This isn’t something you can just walk away from.”

Shen Mingjun bristled, but Xiao Chen thrust his lit-up phone into his face.

The moment he saw the screen, Shen Mingjun’s expression collapsed. He lunged to snatch the phone. “Who told you to post this?!”

The phone crashed to the pavement, its battered screen going dark.

“Smashing it won’t help. I already sent it out.” Xiao Chen’s voice still shook, but beneath it was a rising thrill.

“Forwarding additional details: the G family in question is Gu Jewelry. The younger brother who quarreled over love is none other than Gu Jewelry’s current CEO.”

Shen Mingjun reeled, dizzy, blurting out, “Who told you to use names?”

Ignoring him, Xiao Chen’s fervor mounted, loud enough to draw curious stares from passing pedestrians.

“Not only that, but he raised the child with disputed parentage under his own roof. And according to former Gu family staff, the two seem to share an unspeakable relationship.”

Shen Mingjun’s blood turned to ice. Staring in horror, he choked out, “When did I ever tell you this?”

“I—I only wanted you to leak a little dirt, to trip up Gu Yang. Are you trying to get me killed?”

“Didn’t you say, ‘use your imagination’?” Xiao Chen’s voice steadied.

“…Delete it.”

“My phone’s smashed, remember?”

“Use mine. Just delete it, now—”

“I won’t.” Xiao Chen was utterly calm now.

Shen Mingjun’s mind was flooded with dread—memories of when he had once posted Gu family gossip online, only to be doxxed and disciplined. He Ming’an had even called his home on the school’s behalf, earning him a brutal beating from Shen Shan. He still flinched at the memory of the belt.

But this time, it was worse. And with Yu Zhou now in the picture… Would Shen Shan just abandon him entirely?

“What good does this do you, attacking the Gu family?”

“You’ve got it wrong. I’m not the one attacking the Gu family—you told me to. Who am I compared to you?” Xiao Chen’s reasoning was sharp. “I’ve got the chat logs. A new device restores them easily.

“When Gu President, Shen President, or whoever asks me, I’ll show them everything. If I’m going down, you’re coming with me.”

“Since they want me gone anyway, I might as well fight. I’m just a pitiful wage slave, Young Master. Get me President Shen’s forgiveness, and I’ll stop. Otherwise… who knows what else I might leak.”

“Oh, and you’ll have to replace my phone. I want the newest fruit Pro Max.”

Facing this man turned inside out, Shen Mingjun finally understood what it meant to be caught between a tiger’s jaws.

Just as he was about to agree in order to buy time, his phone rang.

It was Shen Shan. Under Xiao Chen’s stare, Shen Mingjun’s hands shook as he answered.

An enraged voice thundered through the speaker: “I don’t care where you are—get back here now—”

—

The cold wind whipped past, tugging at Gu Yang’s scarf.

He stood dazed on the curb, aware of furtive stares from all sides.

“Is that him? The guy from the trending search?”

“Looks like it. Same as the leaked photo. What a coincidence.”

“He’s actually better looking in person, not a catfish.”

“Shh, don’t let him hear.”

The whispers pricked sharper and sharper.

Finally unable to stand it, Song Yinxing strode up, seizing Gu Yang and dragging him into a narrow alley.

“Song… Yinxing?” The boy blinked at him, speaking his name aloud.

“Mm. I was working part-time at the fried chicken shop nearby,” Song explained quickly to avoid misunderstanding.

Choosing his words, he continued, “That shop mostly gets middle-schoolers and high-schoolers. Kids our age are bound to notice hot searches. Don’t take it too hard. It’s not as widespread as it feels.”

“Why are you still working at the fried chicken shop?” Gu Yang asked curiously.

The book hadn’t mentioned so many side jobs. Was it because of the ten thousand yuan he owed him?

Song Yinxing faltered, staring at him in silence.

The scarf, more decorative than warm, had slipped askew in the scuffle. His nose was pink from the cold, skin pale like porcelain with a faint bluish tint.

Had he been too slow to notice?

“It’s close to home. The owner’s an aunt I know. I just help when I can. Hourly pay.”

“I see.” Gu Yang nodded, then smoothly circled back. “So, you saw that gossip about me too.”

Only then did Song Yinxing realize how rash he had been. He nodded awkwardly, mumbling, “It popped up on the homepage. I wasn’t… looking for it.”

“Really? Funny how it didn’t push it to me, the person involved. I only saw it in the class group chat.” Gu Yang tugged his scarf back into place before it could fall.

Song Yinxing opened his mouth. He had braced himself for all kinds of reactions—yet not this, just treating it like casual gossip.

“So…” Gu Yang finished adjusting his scarf, then looked up with nonchalance.

“Do you have anything you want to ask me?”