"I knew bringing her back was a mistake!" Shen Chengwei snapped the moment he was informed his favorite vase was broken by that jinx.
"She has only been back for a few days, and problems are already appearing one after another!"
His expression became uglier the more he thought about it.
Back when Shen Yelan was born, Old Master Shen had invited a fortune teller to read her fate. The old man had only taken one look at the baby before he said the child carried bad luck. At first, Shen Chengwei had not believed it at all.
Unlike his father, he never cared much about old superstitions and fortune telling. Although he disliked Shen Yelan's mother back then, he had no intention of taking his hatred out on a newborn child.
At most, he simply ignored her.
But slowly, strange things really did begin happening after Shen Yelan was born.
At first, they were only small incidents like something expensive would suddenly break inside the house. Then problems started appearing in the company. Later, Shen Chengwei even got into a serious car accident himself.
None of it was necessarily connected. He was a rational man and understood it was probably a coincidence.
But then she went missing. And strangely enough, everything gradually became peaceful again. The Shen family business continued growing smoothly. His career became more successful. Even his health improved. Eventually, he forgot all about the fortune teller's warning.
But now, ever since Shen Yelan returned…no, even before she returned, trouble had started appearing again. First, his employees for years who had never began to make mistakes and he had to fire them. Now, his favourite vase that he had spent a fortune on was shattered.
The fortune teller's words repeated in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.
"Calm down, honey," Feng Xin said softly while placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose."
"Stop defending her!" Shen Chengwei snapped. "She's not a child anymore. If we don't teach her properly now, who knows what kind of disaster she'll cause later?"
Feng Xin sighed softly. "Yes, yes, you're right. We should not spoil her. But you should also know this is all new to her. She just came from a small village. She's never seen this kind of life before. She was still very young when she disappeared, so she probably doesn't even remember living here. It'll naturally take time for her to adjust."
Feng Xin's words sound perfectly reasonable, but somehow, they only made Shen Chengwei even angrier. Because every sentence reminded him of one thing. His biological daughter was an embarrassment he could not show to the world without humiliating himself.
"So what do you want me to do? Should I close my eyes and pretend everything is fine? Do you know how everyone will react if I introduce her as my daughter? Do you know how embarrassing it is for me if they find out Shen Chengwei's daughter is some useless girl who dropped out of school?"
The more he spoke, the more obvious it became that his anger had nothing to do with the broken vase anymore. It was just an outlet to let go of the real anger that he had been suppressing since Shen Yelan appeared.
"You know what…if I don't teach her a lesson now, she won't learn."
Then he raised his voice.
"Butler Wang!"
"Yes, Master." Butler Wang immediately stepped forward from where he had been standing quietly near the door.
He had been in the family since the previous generation when Old Master Shen had still been the one sitting at the head of the table. He had watched Shen Chengwei grow from a boy into the man who now ran everything.
Although Butler Wang was almost the same age as the old master had been, he respected Shen Chengwei far more. Because he had seen firsthand how ruthless this man could be when he needed to be.
And in Butler Wang's opinion, only someone ruthless like Shen Chengwei could bring the Shen family to greater heights.
That was why his loyalty had long shifted to Shen Chengwei long before the old master had passed.
"Make sure that girl stays in her room. Without my permission, she's not allowed to step outside." Shen Chengwei ordered coldly. He paused before adding, "And she won't be having dinner tonight either. Maybe starving for one night will teach her to think before acting."
"Yes, Master." Butler Wang lowered his head respectfully before leaving the office. The door closed quietly behind him.
The room instantly became silent again.
Shen Chengwei still looked furious. Seeing this, Feng Xin gently walked behind him and massaged his shoulders.
"Alright," she said softly. "You've already punished her. There's no need to stay angry and ruin your health over this."
As she spoke, she slowly turned his chair around until he was facing her directly. Then, she sat lightly on his lap. Her finger traced slow circles against his chest.
"You know…" she whispered near his ear, "I went shopping with the ladies today. Guess what I bought?"
Shen Chengwei looked down at her and his gaze darkened. Even after all these years, this woman still knew how to play with his emotions.
He grabbed the hand that was teasing him and asked in a low voice.
"What did you buy?"
Feng Xin leaned closer and smiled seductively.
"Why don't you open the package yourself and find out?"
.
.
In the kitchen, Sun Lili's face twisted in disgust as she listened to the vague sounds coming through the tiny earpiece hidden in her ear. She quickly removed it and stuffed it into her pocket.
Then she stared at the variety of dishes that were being prepared. Finally, her gaze landed on the pot of aged ginseng black chicken soup simmering quietly on the stove.
That soup was Shen Chengwei's favorite, which no one else liked to eat. Feng Xin would usually force herself to drink a few sips just to make him happy.
Sun Lili casually glanced around and then steered the boiling soup. At the same time, a small amount of powder slipped quietly from her sleeve into the boiling pot.
Sun Lili smiled in satisfaction.
I hope they enjoy the dinner tonight.
.
.
Later that evening, at the dinner table, everyone was present except for Shen Yelan.
Shen Chengwei, looking somewhat better than he had two hours ago. He was talking with Feng Xin while Shen Wanwan occasionally joined the conversation.
Only Shen Yucheng looked distracted.
His eyes unconsciously drifted toward the empty space at the table. He guessed that seat had probably been prepared for Shen Yelan.
Earlier, he had already heard about her punishment from one of the maids who was passing by.
He had listened to this and not said anything, because he didn't know what to say. He had met her for approximately three minutes. He didn't know her. Heck, he did not even know she existed until that moment. He had no reason to feel anything in particular about what happened to her.
But for some reason, he could not bring himself to eat.
"Why aren't you eating? Are the dishes not to your taste tonight?" Feng Xin asked when she saw him not eating.
""No, it's good. I am just tired from the school trip," Shen Yucheng smiled and put some rice in his mouth.
You should eat more then," Feng Xin said lovingly while putting food into his bowl. "Look how thin you've gotten after only a few days away."
Shen Yucheng forced a small smile.
"Thanks, Mom."
Dinner continued normally after that. Yet throughout the entire meal, nobody brought up Shen Yelan even once.
Shen Yucheng looked at the empty space once more and the uncomfortable feeling from earlier returned. He looked down at his bowl and kept eating though he barely tasted anything.