Chapter 9: Leave the Wen Family and Be a Good Mistress

Chapter 9: Leave the Wen Family and Go Be Someone's Lover

The old Wen family residence.

Wen Qingshi pulled out several photos of Wen Yu getting drunk at the club.

The photos were crystal clear: Wen Yu was kneeling on the ground, his face inches from a pair of leather shoes, lips pressed against the leather, one button of his shirt collar torn open, and a dark red wine stain on his collarbone like a bruise that hadn't healed.

But the face of the man he was kneeling toward wasn't visible—judging by his posture, the guy was someone big.

Wen Baichuan froze, his fingers hovering over the photos. "Who took these?"

"Club security cameras," Wen Qingshi said. But he was lying—Zhao Chenzui had taken them.

It was supposed to be humiliation, but Zhao Chenzui had gone and pissed off some big shot, and now nobody even knows where Wen Yu is.

"It's my fault for not keeping an eye on my little brother. I took him to the most exclusive club in S Country, where all the big shots hang out. I don't know where he is now..." Wen Qingshi frowned, gripping his shirt collar, looking pained.

But Wen Baichuan wasn't buying it. His dark brown eyes had a faint gold ring around the pupils. "Who brought him there?"

Wen Qingshi's lips twitched. Wen Baichuan knew he was behind it all.

Wen Baichuan flipped the photos over, face-down. "You sent him there. You let him get drunk."

"And you just watched him kneel there, licking some guy's shoes?"

Wen Qingshi pressed his lips together. "Yes."

Wen Baichuan pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't so much angry as worried. "Who else has a copy of these photos?"

Wen Baichuan cared about reputation above all. He didn't care how things blew up, as long as the family's dignity stayed intact. He just felt deep disappointment at Wen Qingshi's stupidity.

"There's also the Zhao family's young master—Zhao Chenzui."

Wen Qingshi answered honestly.

Wen Baichuan's brow relaxed. "Good. If a rival company got their hands on these, it'd be a disaster."

He pulled a pack of cigarettes from the drawer—his craving kicking in from the frustration.

"You think I don't know what you're thinking? You're both my flesh and blood."

Wen Baichuan's whole "loving father" act didn't hold up—he just didn't give a damn about either of them. Do whatever you want.

"I see you get along well with that Zhao kid. What, Qingshi, you got your eye on him?"

Zhao Chenzui was a known playboy, and Wen Qingshi was someone who respected power above all. He preferred partners with serious skills—like the two Shen brothers.

The eldest Shen brother was a powerhouse in business, and the second was just as impressive—a military man, a high-ranking officer.

"Father, Young Master Zhao and I are just friends." Wen Qingshi tensed up, shoulders shrinking. He was genuinely scared of being married off to the Zhao family.

Wen Baichuan seemed satisfied with that answer. It was what he wanted to hear. He lit the cigarette, smiled. "Good."

"Qingshi, you don't want to lose your status as a young master of the Wen family. Since you don't want to marry into the Zhao family, you'll go to someone else."

Wen Qingshi didn't catch on yet. He was still relieved his father hadn't kicked him out over that kid from the mountain village.

"Father, when it comes to dealing with people, I believe I can bring even more to managing the Wen family through my work."

Wen Qingshi glanced at the flipped photo—its white back glaring under the light.

Wen Baichuan laughed at his adopted son's naivety, cigarette between his fingers. "You think I'm sending you to go work for someone?"

"What does Father mean..." Wen Qingshi was puzzled.

"I want you," Wen Baichuan exhaled a lazy puff of smoke, "to go be someone's lover."

The smoke drifted, the ash piled up.

"What?" Wen Qingshi managed a single word. After saying it, his lips stayed slightly parted, like a fish washed up on shore.

A lover?

Wen Qingshi really hadn't seen this coming. In the fourteen years he'd lived in this house, he'd knelt, taken the whip, swallowed every bit of humiliation, and choked the word "adopted son" back down his throat for fourteen years.

And all it got him was another trade-off. He knew he couldn't compete with the biological eldest son—his brother could marry, and even inherit the Wen family business someday.

He'd settle for being a deputy, hoping for a happy marriage and the Wen family's love.

"Father, you weren't like this before. You said that even as an adopted son, you were still my dad. How can you bear to make me some lowly lover?"

Wen Baichuan kept a stern face. "Qingshi, I know you're sensible, that's why I'm sending you. I'm at ease."

"At ease?" Wen Qingshi's eyes reddened, then he forced himself to stay strong, gritting his teeth. "I know. I was wrong. I shouldn't have taken my brother there."

"But you know I've always looked down on mistresses. Being someone's lover—how's that any different from a street whore!"

Wen Baichuan sighed, still sitting in his chair. "Qingshi, you know I can't bear to let Wen Yu go. How could I send Wen Yu to be someone's lover?"

Wen Qingshi froze, face going pale.

"Wen Yu is your own flesh and blood, but I've been with you for fourteen years! I'm a young master of the Wen family—how could I sink to the level of those mistresses!"

Wen Qingshi couldn't accept it. The pride in his bones shattered. He grabbed the ashtray next to Wen Baichuan and hurled it to the ground, venting his rage through destruction.

"Then... let's cut ties! Don't even think about making me a lover!"

"You're insane!" Wen Baichuan roared. He was always calm, but now an adopted son dared to defy him. "Who the hell do you think you are!"

"You're just a dog the Wen family raised!" Wen Baichuan stared at the shattered ashtray. "What's wrong with street women? They earn their own keep! What about you!"

"An ungrateful bastard!"

Wen Qingshi's knees gave out, and he dropped with a thud, like someone had yanked the bones out of his legs.

He grabbed the edge of the table, fingers digging into the solid wood until his knuckles went white, until his nails bit into the grain. His body lurched forward.

"So, the marriage alliance—you never even considered me from the start?"

"You lied to me before, saying the second Shen brother had taken an interest in me. It was you who said I should marry into that!"

"Then, after Wen Yu came back, it was you who called off the alliance! Mr. Wen, and now you're telling me to go be someone's lover?"

"What do my pride and dignity even mean to you?!"

Wen Baichuan listened to his outburst, truly at a loss for words.

"Wen Qingshi, without the Wen family, you wouldn't be where you are today."

"Wen Yu is my biological son. Do you think I'd let you touch him? You took him to that club, and I let it slide."

"Haven't I been good enough to you?"

Wen Qingshi's body swayed unsteadily as he looked at Wen Baichuan, who was a wolf in sheep's clothing. "Good to me? You want what Wen Yu's worth, and you want what I'm worth too."

"It's just that you're afraid the world will say you, Wen Baichuan, treat your biological son poorly, so the marriage alliance with the Shen family gets pushed onto him. And me? You want to squeeze every bit of value out of me too."

"You talk like you love Wen Yu and feel guilty, but if he ever found out who was behind his mother's death, do you think he'd willingly become a tool for your gain?"

Wen Baichuan's hand clenched the cigarette tightly, then threw it to the ground. Then a sharp slap cracked across Wen Qingshi's face.

Wen Qingshi's ears rang from the blow, his head buzzing like a hive of bees.

A red mark spread across his cheek, a trace of blood lingering at the corner of his mouth, his eyes staring at Wen Baichuan in shock.

The words Wen Baichuan spoke next filled Wen Qingshi with utter despair.

"In seven days, you'll leave the Wen family and go play your role as a kept man."

Wen Baichuan pressed the service button nearby. "Take the second young master back to his room, and station a few guys outside so he can't leave."

As Wen Qingshi was escorted out, a deep bite mark from his own teeth remained on his lips, and his eyes still fixed on Wen Baichuan with unwavering intensity.