Chapter 13: Shen Lanxue’s Chilling Gaze

Chapter 13: Shen Lanxue's Icy Stare

Soft music played in the café.

Lu Wentang took a sip of her coffee, her expression was complicated.

"Yes." She set down her cup and met Lu Hechi's eyes. "You really aren't Mom and Dad's biological child. That summer seven years ago, you'd just taken your college entrance exams."

Lu Wentang still remembered that day clearly.

The afternoon sunlight melted into the air, as if it could scorch a person.

She had just finished her high school entrance exams, with no summer homework, and was incredibly excited. She'd spent a week playing at her best friend's house before it even occurred to her to go home.

She bought a popsicle at a convenience store on the way and ate it slowly.

When she reached the front door, several expensive-looking luxury cars were parked there. She figured they must be some rich relatives.

Before she could even step inside, she saw her parents come out with red, puffy eyes.

Beside them were her brother and several unfamiliar adults.

In little Lu Wentang's limited understanding, she could only tell that those strangers looked like the big leaders she saw on the news—their every move had an air she couldn't describe.

And her brother stood with those people, a clear divide drawn between him and their parents.

That line didn't just create physical distance.

Time, affection, and family bonds were all severed along with it.

The popsicle fell to the ground. Little Lu Wentang had a sinking feeling—she was about to lose her brother.

And that was exactly what happened.

After that day, her brother seemed like someone she'd made up in her childhood.

They didn't see each other again for a very long time.

Lu Wentang said calmly, "By the time we met again, I was in my third year of college. You were already married and already had Little Star."

She'd even heard about the marriage through the grapevine.

The brother Lu Wentang remembered—

He would use his pocket money to buy her snacks when she was sad, and get Brother Jia Dong to back her up when she was bullied.

Not the cold, distant Lu Hechi who could hardly even talk to her.

"..."

After listening to her, Lu Hechi was silent for a long time.

In seven years, he hadn't gone back to see Mom and Dad even once?

Confusion and helplessness engulfed him. Lu Hechi even had the feeling they were all lying, that this was just a dream.

When he woke up, he would still be that carefree kid.

"That's everything I know." Lu Wentang seemed to think of something else and added, "Oh, right. After Brother Lanxue found out I was your sister, he started reaching out to me regularly."

**

Lu Hechi had learned the truth, but he couldn't wrap his head around it.

On the ride back, the car was unusually quiet.

Lu Hechi didn't look at his phone. He rested his head against the window, quietly watching the scenery roll by.

He didn't know how much time passed before the car stopped at the front door.

Uncle Wang, the driver, got out and opened the back door.

Once he got home, Lu Hechi went to his room and lay down on the bed. The blanket smelled of Shen Lanxue.

He clutched the blanket and buried his face in it.

This was the only way he could feel at ease.

Lu Hechi didn't understand—he'd woken up from a sleep, and it seemed like he had everything.

A loving husband, a cute kid, more money than he could count.

But it felt like he had nothing at all.

"..."

Lu Hechi didn't know how long he'd been lying in bed.

It wasn't until he heard a sound from outside the door that he slowly craned his neck like a turtle and glanced at the door.

Shen Lanxue pushed open the door and saw Lu Hechi sprawled out on the bed, even hugging the blanket with his broken arm.

They locked eyes.

Shen Lanxue closed the door, walked over, and sat on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?"

He reached out and checked Lu Hechi's forehead for a fever, worried he might be sick.

Lu Hechi had been holding it together, but now that he saw Shen Lanxue, it was like seeing someone who'd have his back.

He immediately flung himself into Shen Lanxue's arms and asked in a muffled voice, "Brother, was I a terrible person before I lost my memory?"

Lu Hechi started rattling off his list of sins.

"I actually had biological parents and I just cut off Mom and Dad! And I let my biological parents push around Chen Jiadong! And even when my sister got into college in Qingjing, in the same city I was in, I never went to see her!"

"?" Shen Lanxue carefully supported his broken arm, worried about hurting it more.

He didn't argue with any of it, just said one thing: "If you were really that bad, why would I marry you?"

Lu Hechi pouted. "Because I'm good at buttering people up and I'm handsome."

That one sentence ruined at least half of the heavy atmosphere.

Shen Lanxue didn't want him to stay stuck in that sad mood, so he changed the subject. "Little Star is almost done with school. Want to come pick him up with me?"

Lu Hechi thought of his son and pushed those feelings aside for a moment, then headed out with Shen Lanxue.

Shen Yixing went to a private kindergarten in the northern district—every child who went there came from rich or powerful families.

The street outside the kindergarten was packed with luxury cars.

As the teacher led the children out of the kindergarten, Lu Hechi spotted his little treasure at a glance... and the pretty doll-like little girl beside his son.

The little girl had golden hair tied into two pigtails on her head, shining like a little angel in the sunlight.

And Shen Yixing? He was fawning over her like a little lackey.

Lu Hechi even thought he was seeing a eunuch from ancient times.

He felt a knot in his chest, especially when he thought about how this kid usually treated him—that resentment was even harder to swallow.

He turned his head and asked Shen Lanxue, "Bro, tell me, how come our son's already learned to be someone's little lapdog at such a young age?"

Shen Lanxue was silent as well.

Right up until he got in the car, Shen Yixing was still waving goodbye to her: "Bye-bye, sweetheart, see you tomorrow."

The little girl walked off with a proud toss of her head, not even looking back.

The driver opened the car door for Shen Yixing and bowed, saying, "Young master."

Shen Yixing was about to climb in with his short little legs when he looked up and saw both Lu Hechi and Shen Lanxue sitting in the car, his face beaming with delight.

"Daddy, Papa, you both came to pick me up!"

He cheered happily.

Shen Lanxue strapped him into the car seat and asked, "Did you eat well at school today?"

"Of course I did."

Lu Hechi said in a low, drawn-out tone: "So, how many times did your darling talk to you today?"

Shen Yixing stared at him with wide eyes: "Daddy! You can't call her by her name directly—you have to call her Princess Chu. Only I'm allowed to call her sweetheart!"

Lu Hechi: "..."

"A princess and a eunuch can never end up together."

Shen Yixing didn't get it, looking at his Papa with a bewildered look, seeking help.

Shen Lanxue shot Lu Hechi a glare: "Don't say stuff like that in front of the kid."

Lu Hechi corrected himself immediately: "Sorry, buddy, Daddy shouldn't have called you a eunuch."

Shen Lanxue: "..."

This time Shen Yixing understood. He didn't know what a eunuch was, but he understood what "can never end up together" meant.

He pouted, and his eyes instantly welled up.

"Daddy's so mean. I don't want Daddy anymore."

Lu Hechi hadn't expected his son to be so sharp-tongued yet so emotionally fragile. When he heard the crying, he panicked, not knowing what to do.

"Don't cry, buddy. Daddy will teach you how to win girls over—that's Daddy's specialty."

Shen Yixing stopped crying, hiccupped, and looked at him with tearful eyes, "Really?"

Lu Hechi declared, "Of course—"

He caught Shen Lanxue's icy glare.