“What’s wrong? Does the chicken soup not suit your taste?” Mother Shen nervously asked.
“No, it smells good.” Shen Jiangling smiled and took a sip.
He lowered his eyes and tentatively asked in his heart, “Who are you?”
“I’m sorry I pulled you out of your original world of my own initiative, but I really had no choice. You will take care of my family and friends, right?”
Shen Jiangling was startled. He didn’t actually expect a response and was somewhat hesitant, “Since you have this kind of ability, why didn’t you do it yourself?”
“Just treat it as me being a coward and not daring to face all this again.”
“I really have to go. Please take care of my mom, dad, brothers, and them.”
“Goodbye, Shen Jiangling. You must live a good life.”
The final sentence contained earnest blessings and heavy sadness.
After the voice disappeared, Shen Jiangling felt like something had been added to his soul.
When he looked at Father and Mother Shen again, the last trace of awkwardness in his heart disappeared and was replaced by familiarity.
It was as if he was the one that Mother Shen had worked hard to conceive and the child that grew up under the attentive care of everyone.
“Yaya, why are you crying?” Father Shen was startled by the tears streaming down his wife’s face.
“I-I don’t know either,” She whispered. Mother Shen suddenly felt a burst of sadness, as if something important had disappeared. She lowered her head and wiped her tears.
Father Shen felt that his own face was a little wet. He touched it and discovered that he had also started crying at some unknown point.
Shen Jiangling felt uncomfortable when he saw Father and Mother Shen like this.
He put his hand on his chest and solemnly promised, “Don’t worry, I will look after your family and friends for you. I won’t let them wind up in that tragic end.”
**
The next day, the second brother Shen Yixiao, who was filming a movie in a different province, rushed to the hospital.
Shen Yixiao tightly covered his face because he was worried about causing a commotion due to his immense fame.
But even so, the slender figure and long straight legs still attracted the attention of countless people along the way.
Originally, Shen Yixiao was supposed to shine brightly on the stage that belonged to him. But after the Shen Family went bankrupt in the original plot, Father Shen and the eldest brother died in a car accident. Mother Shen couldn’t bear the blow and went mad, so Shen Yixiao could only give up his dream to take care of the unstable Shen Group and his mother and younger brother.
Later, under Leng Sihan’s scheme, Shen Jiangling ended up on that middle-aged man’s bed. He couldn’t bear the humiliation and shattered a glass cup to cut his blood vessel. The rescue failed, and he left the world forever.
Mother Shen was thoroughly in despair, and shortly after the funeral, she jumped off the roof of the Leng Group building, ending her life on the spot.
Shen Yixiao was utterly alone.
He couldn’t accept the truth and drove into Leng Sihan and Bai Lianhua. He wanted to drag them into hell together.
But under the influence of the protagonist’s halo, he died tragically, while Leng Sihan and Bai Lianhua only suffered minor injuries.
So much so that his moth-like behavior even caused the relationship between Leng Sihan and Bai Lianhua to become a step closer.
How ironic.
After entering the ward, Shen Yixiao took off his hat and mask, revealing a face so handsome that it made it difficult for others to breathe.
If one were to say that Shen Jiangling was the moon above the mountains, a tranquil light.
Then Shen Yixiao was the scorching sun, dazzling and bright, with every move carrying a fatal attraction.
He walked the three steps to the bedside in two strides and looked at Shen Jiangling with deep concern.
Even though he was so close, no flaws could be seen on his face.
“Xiao Ling, I heard you were pushed down the stairs by that bastard Leng Sihan and hit your head. Does it still feel uncomfortable?”
Shen Jiangling glanced at the nearby little nurse clutching her chest, so excited that she was about to faint.
He smiled, feeling helpless, “Second Brother, I’m really fine. You didn’t have to rush here purposefully.”
“I’m just coming to take a look. I couldn’t stop worrying.” Shen Yixiao held Shen Jiangling’s face and didn’t dare to use too much force for fear of accidentally hurting him, “Does your head still hurt?”
“It’s much better.” Shen Jiangling answered.
“That’s good.” Shen Yixiao let out a sigh of relief. He lightly touched the bandages and said with a loving expression, “Tell Second Brother what you want to eat, Second Brother will buy it for you.”
“Second Brother, I’m already in my twenties, but you’re still treating me like a child.” Shen Jiangling pouted and hummed.
“No matter how old you are, even if you turn seventy or eighty, you will always be a child in my eyes.” Shen Yixiao squeezed his pouted lips with a smile and joked, “Like a little duck.”
“Humph!” Shen Jiangling acted like a tsundere1 and clapped his hand away while turning his head.
The little nurse covered her mouth for fear that she wouldn’t be able to restrain herself and would start squealing.
She resisted the urge to talk to Shen Yixiao, worried that once she opened her mouth, she would say something that would get her expelled from the hospital. She hurriedly tidied up the tray and rushed out.
When she reached the doorway, her left foot stumbled over her right foot, and she almost fell.
“Brother, look at how you scared the little girl.” Shen Jiangling pushed the responsibility onto him.
“There’s nothing to be done, who made me so attractive?”
“Yixiao’s back, is your role over?” Mother Shen pushed open the door and came in. When she saw the second son, whom she hadn’t seen for a few months, she was startled for a moment before immediately smiling wide.
“Not yet. I heard Xiao Ling was admitted to the hospital, so I directly came back.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Second Brother, don’t worry about me and go do your work. I’ll be discharged in a few days.”
“Our parents are here, and Big Brother and Brother Haotian also come often.” Shen continued, worried that Shen Yixiao would delay important matters.
“It’s okay——” Shen Yixiao’s phone rang before he could finish speaking and he was about to hang up, but when he saw the Caller ID, the corner of his mouth twitched, “I’m going out to answer the phone call.”
As soon as the door closed, a roar gushed out of the phone, “Shen Yixiao! Where did you run off to! The whole crew is waiting for you! Do you not want to shoot anymore!”
Shen Yixiao moved the phone away and only brought it back to his ear after the shouting was over.
“Director Li, I’m sorry, I was in a hurry and forgot to ask for leave. My younger brother’s in the hospital because he was pushed down the stairs and hit his head. I will make up for it when I return.
“In the hospital? Is it serious?” Director Li’s voice instantly dropped when he heard this.
“It looks okay, but the complexion doesn’t look very good.”
“Forget it, I won’t haggle with you this time. Come back as soon as you’re finished with your matters over there.”
“Okay, thank you, Director Li.”
…
If it was an ordinary director, they would definitely be reverent and respectful toward Shen Yixiao, this movie emperor with acting skills, traffic, and capital. However, Director Li was different.
In front of this serious old man, no matter how big you are, as long as your acting was not good or if you were messing around, you would be scolded like a grandchild.
But it was no match for his strength. It was unknown how many people his movies made famous, so even if they were scolded into crying countless times, as long as he was making a movie, numerous film emperors and film queens were willing to participate in the tryouts.
After Shen Yixiao hung up the phone, he sighed and booked an airplane ticket for the afternoon.
“Xiao Ling, I won’t be able to accompany you these days.” When Shen Yixiao came in, his face was full of guilt.
Although Shen Yixiao was famous, he never put on airs. He was the lead actor, so every delay would cost the crew a lot of money. And although he could easily earn back that money, he didn’t want to affect every else just because of him.
“Second Brother, it’s okay. In a few days, I’ll be discharged from the hospital, and I’ll go visit the crew. We can meet up again then.” Shen Jiangling said with a smile.
“Okay, it’s a deal!” Shen Yixiao stretched out his little finger.
“一deal.” Shen Jiangling hooked his little finger with his and even stamped it with his thumb at the end.
After the agreement was made, Shen Yixiao was once again composed. He waved at Shen Jiangling, but the moment he turned around, the smile in his eyes instantly disappeared.
“Xiao Li, I remember that the Leng Group also has an entertainment company, right?” After getting into the car, Shen Yixiao muttered to himself before asking the assistant seated beside him.
Yes, why are you asking, Brother Chen?”
“Come here.” Shen Yixiao waved him over. The assistant leaned over with a confused look and after listening, his face revealed an expression of mischief.
“Brother Shen, don’t worry, I promise to complete the task!”
“After completing this task, your salary will be doubled.” Shen Yixiao nodded with satisfaction.
“Okay!”
**
A few days later, Shen Jiangling was discharged from the hospital.
In reality, his head was actually not injured that severely. Still, his family was worried and wanted him to recuperate in the hospital until he removed his bandages, so he could only obediently listen.
Shen Jiangling rubbed the top of his head, a little worried, “Doctor, it won’t become bald, right?”
To deal with the wound, a small area of his head was shaved clean, and now that the injury was scabbed over, the area was slippery to the touch.
At least girls could grow out their hair and cover it, but if he just had a bald spot, how unsightly would it be?
“No, it will grow back in a few days.” The question amused the doctor.
“That’s good.” Shen Jiangling let out a sigh of relief.
After tidying up his stuff, he glanced at Father and Mother Shen, who supported him on both sides, and then looked at his big brother and others who followed worriedly behind. He couldn’t help but smile.
Those who didn’t know would think he had some severe illness.
But it felt so good to be loved that Shen Jiangling couldn’t refuse.
The atmosphere was originally good, but the air froze when they met an unexpected guest downstairs.
“Leng Sihan, why are you here?” Shen Xuanjing and Jiang Haotian stood before Shen Jiangling and looked at him vigilantly.
“I heard Jiangling will be discharged today, so I came to take a look.” Leng Sihan looked toward Shen Jiangling.
He initially thought that Shen Jiangling’s anger would be gone after so many days, and he would definitely show a grateful expression when he saw how he specially came to see him off. But as a result, he didn’t.
Leng slowly frowned.
He also felt a bit impatient.
“Is there anything else? If there isn’t, we’ll leave first.” Shen Xuanjing turned his head and glanced at Shen Jiangling, afraid that he would change his mind and jump back into the fire pit.
“Shen Jiangling, you come here. I have something to tell you.” After Leng Sihan spoke, he didn’t even wait for Shen Jiangling to respond before walking aside.
In the past, Shen Jiangling would obediently follow no matter how angry he was.
But that was impossible now.
Leng Sihan walked a few steps, but when he glanced back, he saw that Shen Jiangling didn’t move a single step. His face instantly dropped, “Shen Jiangling, did you not hear that I told you to come over?”
It’s not like he’s never ordered Shen Jiangling around in front of his family before, but Shen Jiangling would always rush forward. They couldn’t stop him at all, and he would even speak on Leng Sihan’s behalf to defend him. Hence, the family had no choice, but to watch him take the initiative to lose money every time.
In fact, they were willing to assist Leng Sihan because they wanted him to treat Shen Jiangling better.
“I heard it, but why should I go over?” Shen Jiangling slowly said, “I’m not some dog you’re raising, so why should I come when you call?”
Jiang Haotian and the others let out a sigh of relief when they heard this.
“You!”
“Leng Sihan, let’s break our engagement.” Shen Jiangling met his gaze and said word by word.
T/N:
I’m glad that Father and Mother Shen noticed the original owner’s departure, albeit subconsciously.
Thank you for reading and all the comments on the previous chapter!
tsundere: someone who appears cold on the outside, but is warm on the inside