Chapter 39

After shattering the phone, Shen Xiao straightened up, looking down at her arrogantly and domineeringly, declaring, "I forbid it!"
Shen Yu stared at the shattered pieces of her phone and muttered, "What gives you the right to forbid it?"
She hadn't actually planned to agree to Yuan Yue's acting offer anyway. Her main task now was to keep an eye on this lunatic and prevent him from turning dark. As for those love letters, she hadn't bothered reading the later ones.
But she didn't feel like explaining any of this. She simply felt that this person was too authoritarian, making her both angry and upset.
He said coldly, "Because you're my sister. Without my permission, you're not allowed to go anywhere!"
Shen Yu glared up at him. "I'm 20 years old! Do you plan to lock me up for my whole life?!"
Without thinking, Shen Xiao blurted out, "Exactly! I will lock you up for life!"
For a moment, Shen Yu was stunned by his words. Pressing her lips together, she stared at him with wide eyes, her eyes reddening and glistening as if she might burst into tears at any second.
Shen Xiao held his breath, looking wary, then snapped harshly, "We're arguing! No crying allowed!"
Experiments had proven that Shen Yu only had to cry or give him the cold shoulder, and Shen Xiao would be at a complete loss. So now, even when he wanted to lose his temper, he had to hold back, not daring to fully unleash it.
The mist in Shen Yu's eyes grew heavier, gradually condensing into tears that threatened to spill over. But upon hearing Shen Xiao's aggressive tone, she sniffled and held them back.
"You're being unreasonable!" she accused.
Shen Xiao frowned, disbelief written all over his face. "Not only did you accept a bunch of messy love letters, but you also want to act in some random play with a strange woman? And now you're saying I'm the one being unreasonable?"
By the end of his rant, he was so angry he laughed bitterly. Planting his hands on his hips, he paced back and forth in front of her. Spotting the shattered phone on the ground, he stomped on it viciously, grinding it under his heel for good measure.
Shen Yu took a deep breath, stamped her foot, turned around, and walked away.
Shen Xiao hadn't finished venting his anger. Seeing her leave, he couldn't help but shout, "Where do you think you're going?"
Without looking back, Shen Yu replied, "I'm not going to argue with you. I'm going to lock myself away right now!"
Shen Xiao: “…”
How dare she! She was even more defiant than him!
And so, the Shen siblings entered another cold war, initiated unilaterally by Shen Yu, of course.
Not long after the gathering, Teacher Song officially resigned. The pressure of making it on her own was too great, so she decided to return to her southern hometown to get married. The students held a small farewell party for her in the classroom. Since Teacher Song had been with them since first grade, everyone had grown quite fond of her.
After bidding farewell to Teacher Song, a new homeroom teacher took over. To everyone's surprise, it was someone they already knew, Teacher Lin Cong.
Lin Cong was close in age to the students, handsome, easygoing, and fun-loving. Everyone remembered how charming he looked while playing pool, so there was no awkward adjustment period. The moment Lin Cong arrived, he blended in seamlessly with everyone.
The happiest of all was Bai Muyu. With the advantage of proximity, she felt confident she could win Lin Cong over in no time.
For some reason, Shen Yu didn't have a good impression of Lin Cong. She always felt there was something dark and sinister in the way he looked at people. His gaze was like a scalpel, and whoever he stared at felt like a lab rat, ready to be dissected at any moment.
Though the analogy was a bit gruesome, that's exactly how she felt.
One day, Shen Yu and Li Yiyi went to the cafeteria for lunch. On their way out, they ran into Lin Cong, who was also heading back. The three of them ended up walking together.
It was December, and the cold was biting. Shen Yu, bundled in a thick coat and scarf, huddled close to Li Yiyi as they shivered their way forward. Li Yiyi had a cute face but was quite petite, likely not even 1.6 meters tall. Standing side by side, their height difference was obvious.
In contrast, Lin Cong wore only a trench coat, looking poised and elegant.
"Are you heading back to the dorm or the classroom?" he asked the two girls.
Shen Yu didn't have a dorm. If she ate lunch at school, she always returned to the classroom.
Li Yiyi, who had planned to accompany her that day, replied, "We're going to the classroom."
Lin Cong said, "In that case, could I trouble you to come with me to the administration building? I need to pick up some promotional materials for the classroom. It's on the way."
Before Shen Yu could say anything, the ever-helpful Li Yiyi nodded enthusiastically and pulled Shen Yu along as they followed him toward the administration building.
Lin Cong's office was a large shared space for several teachers, but at this hour, all the teachers had returned to their dormitories to rest. The office was quiet and empty.
Lin Cong took out the materials and handed them to the two of them. There wasn't much, just a few books' worth, and it wasn't heavy. As Lin Cong passed them over, Shen Yu instinctively took all of them.
Lin Cong smiled at her up close and said softly, "Sorry to trouble you. Just leave them under the lectern."
Shen Yu nodded and prepared to leave with Li Yiyi. But when she turned around, she saw Li Yiyi half-leaning over Lin Cong's desk, looking at a photo frame on it. Shen Yu followed her gaze and glanced at it too.
The photo showed two people: Lin Cong and a middle-aged woman. Lin Cong in the picture looked much younger than he did now, probably from his high school days. The woman beside him was also quite tall, with a slender build and weary eyes, giving the impression that she didn't come from a wealthy background.
Noticing them looking at the photo, Lin Cong leaned in with a smile and said, "That's my mom. She lives in the countryside and hasn't been well lately. I'm planning to bring her to the city to live with me."
Li Yiyi made an understanding sound and stood up, saying, "Teacher Lin's mom is quite tall too, isn't she? Around 170 cm?" Being on the shorter side herself, she paid extra attention to height.
Lin Cong chuckled, "No, she's about 168 cm." After a moment's thought, he added, "My mom was very beautiful when she was young. Her profile looks a bit like Shen Yu's."
Shen Yu frowned inwardly, thinking, Why compare me to his mom? How awkward!
Li Yiyi laughed and said, "Yeah, Shen Yu is 170 cm, really tall!"
Shen Yu tugged at Li Yiyi's jacket and said, "Let's not disturb Teacher Lin's rest anymore. We should head back to the classroom too."
Lin Cong looked at her, his smile warm and gentle, and said softly, "Go ahead."
The two left the office and walked out of the administration building. The chilly wind that greeted them made them shiver, and they quickened their pace.
"Teacher Lin seems to have a good relationship with his mom, keeping her photo on his desk," Li Yiyi remarked with a sigh. She went home every weekend, only to be scolded by her mom, and they'd end up arguing, every single time.
Shen Yu, however, didn't quite agree. "Then why doesn't he display a recent photo with his mom instead of one from his high school days?"
Li Yiyi was stumped by the question, furrowing her brows as she thought about it. "Maybe Teacher Lin is just nostalgic?"
Shen Yu raised an eyebrow. "Maybe."

The employees at Shen Corporation noticed that their boss had been in an especially foul mood these past few days. While he had never been particularly cheerful before, lately, he was frequently flying into rages, especially during report meetings. The managers from various departments barely had a chance to speak before CEO Shen would launch into a tirade, berating them from start to finish for a solid two hours without even pausing for breath.
Same as always, a group of people entered the meeting room, only to come out shortly after looking utterly dejected. The managers, who usually strutted around arrogantly in front of their subordinates, now appeared listless and dispirited.
As soon as Shen Xiao returned to his office, he impatiently took off his coat and tossed it aside. Passing by his desk, he kicked over the two chairs meant for guests, cursing under his breath, "We spend so much money every year just to hire a bunch of useless idiots. If they don’t have the ability, they shouldn’t hog the positions. Damn it."
Secretary Du, who had followed him in, sighed helplessly and looked up at the ceiling. He remembered that just half a month ago, Shen Xiao had praised those very managers as rare talents in management...
Truly, a man’s words are as deceptive as a ghost’s!
Shen Xiao slumped into his executive chair, reclining halfway and propping his feet up on the desk. He said to Secretary Du, "What do you think about the matter we discussed last time? Is it feasible?"
Secretary Du replied, "You mean joining forces with the Li Group to suppress the Situ Group?"
Shen Xiao nodded, fiddling with his phone out of habit. He instinctively wanted to check Shen Yu’s location but then remembered that he had smashed her phone a few days ago. He had no idea if she had bought a new one since then.
She had been giving him the cold shoulder these past few days, and he hadn’t even had the chance to gift her a new phone. How irritating!
Secretary Du continued, "It’s feasible, but we’ve never had any dealings with the Li Group before. If we suddenly propose a collaboration, there won’t be enough trust between us."
"Bai Muqing’s older brother is a department manager at the Li Group. We can start by investigating through them," Shen Xiao suggested.
"If the collaboration succeeds, the distribution of profits will be quite complicated," Secretary Du pointed out.
Shen Xiao sneered disdainfully, "Did I say anything about sharing profits with them? They’re the ones butting in, not us provoking them. So don’t blame me for turning my back on them when the time comes."
Secretary Du widened his eyes, "You mean…"
Shen Xiao grinned mischievously, "Haven’t we done plenty of backstabbing before? Let’s set a trap for them to fall into. When the time comes, we’ll make sure they lose both their people and their money."
Secretary Du clicked his tongue inwardly but nodded, "I understand."
Shen Xiao waved him off impatiently, "Hurry up and get it done. How can a single business deal take so long to finalize? Are they all incompetent fools?!"
"Should we contact Bai Muqing? You mentioned her brother is with the Li Group," Secretary Du asked. If they intended to collaborate with the Li Group, there would be many issues to discuss down the line.
At the mention of that woman surnamed Bai, Shen Xiao frowned and said, "I’ll contact her myself."
Secretary Du thought the conversation had ended and was about to return to his office when Shen Xiao suddenly asked him another question.
"Why would a girl dislike the person I’m dating and always try to interfere?" He didn’t provide any context, just threw out this abrupt question.
Secretary Du could only interpret it literally and replied matter-of-factly, "It means she likes you, loves you, and wants to be in a relationship with you."
Shen Xiao stared at him, dumbfounded, "That can’t be right, can it?"
"Why not? If she didn’t like you, why would she care who you date?"
Shen Xiao rested his chin on one hand while pulling out a pack of cigarettes with the other. Suddenly, his hand trembled, and both the cigarettes and the lighter fell to the floor.