Chapter 93: I Will Sever Ties with the Shen Family

The entire living room was eerily quiet, the air thick with a palpable, hair-trigger tension.

Even Mother Shen sat to the side in silence, though she couldn't hide the secret delight in her eyes.

Father Shen's face was dark as thunder, shooting a sharp, warning glare across the room.

"Shen Linyan, shut up! Is everything a joke to you?! I'll let the Damian incident slide this time, but you better focus on your work!"

Mother Shen wanted to say something, but seeing Father Shen's fury, she merely gave Lu Jingshen a meaningful look.

Lu Jingshen nodded slightly and suddenly spoke up, "Dad, if my brother doesn't want to do it, let it be. It just means he feels he's not suited for it. I can share his burden."

Hearing this, Shen Linyan cast a careless glance over, a barely detectable trace of mockery hidden in his eyes.

He chuckled softly. "Yes, I really am not suited to be the chairman of the Shen Group. Besides, hasn't Mother always wanted Lu Jingshen to take the position?"

Mother Shen paused, picking up her teacup without changing her expression. Her tone was uncharacteristically gentle. "I just think that as the older brother, Linyan, you should give your younger brother room to grow. You too, Shen Zhong. If Jingshen has this ambition, you should support him. After all, Jingshen is your son too. You can't always play favorites with Linyan."

Lu Jingshen was dying to replace Shen Linyan and couldn't wait to prove himself. "That's right, Dad. If you don't believe me, I can find a better investor than Damian. I promise I'll do a better job than my brother."

Listening to the three of them chime in one after another, Father Shen's face grew darker by the second. His brows gathered like storm clouds laced with ice, and his knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists, as if desperately suppressing something.

Bang!

Finally, the fuse was completely ignited. Father Shen raised his hand and smashed the ashtray fiercely onto the floor, roaring, "In your dreams! You, someone with the surname Lu, dare to dream of inheriting the Shen Group! Lu Jincai, put away your petty schemes! Don't think I don't know what you're plotting!"

At that moment, the hypocritical facade of peace in the Shen family was brutally torn away.

Shen Linyan lowered his eyes and sipped his tea, his expression indifferent.

Lu Jingshen stood frozen in shock, while Mother Shen completely exploded.

She slammed her hand on the table and stood up furiously, her voice piercing. "Shen Zhong, explain yourself! Is Lu Jingshen not your son? What schemes am I hiding? Just because Lu Jingshen took my surname, that's your excuse to favor Shen Linyan?!"

"What else could it be?" Father Shen sneered, pointing a finger at Lu Jingshen. "If you're so capable, have Lu Jingshen take my surname. I will never hand the Shen Group over to someone with a different last name!"

"Why should I? We had an agreement back then. My son naturally takes my surname!"

Mother Shen refused to back down, her face dark. "Shen Zhong, even if Lu Jingshen has my surname, he's still your son. It's only right for him to inherit the Shen Group. Why won't you let him? If you're going to play it this way, then I won't hold back either. If the shareholders of the Shen Group find out you're letting an illegitimate son inherit the company, do you think they'll still agree to let Shen Linyan take charge?!"

These words exploded like a clap of thunder in the living room.

The air suddenly became terrifyingly still. Lu Jingshen's mind went completely blank as he instinctively looked at Shen Linyan.

The man sat on the sofa with his long legs crossed, his eyes lowered as he unhurriedly adjusted the watch on his wrist. It was impossible to read the emotion in his eyes.

Mother Shen gritted her teeth, her gaze ruthless. "I raised that dead woman's son for so long, helped you hide this secret for so long, and this is what I get? You stab me in the back! What? Are you waiting for your bastard son to secure his position so you can throw us outsiders out?!"

Father Shen curled his lips into a sneer. "Werent you the one who agreed to bring Shen Linyan back in the first place? If news of your miscarriage had gotten out, the Lu family's assets would have been divided up by your uncles long ago. Letting Lu Jingshen take your surname was already the biggest concession I could make. Even if Shen Linyan is illegitimate, he is still my son. If I want him to inherit, he will inherit!"

Watching them argue endlessly, Lu Jingshen stood to the side and asked hesitantly, "Mom... what are you and Dad talking about? What illegitimate son?"

"What else?"

Mother Shen was full of rage. She put her hands on her hips, pointed at Shen Linyan, and said through gritted teeth, "Shen Linyan isn't your brother at all. He's your father's bastard son from another woman! Your father would rather give the company to an illegitimate son than to you!"

If that dead woman hadn't bribed the doctor to say she could never get pregnant again after her miscarriage back then, she would never have agreed to bring Shen Linyan home to raise.

Hearing this, Shen Linyan slowly lifted his gaze.

He suddenly let out a laugh, his voice mild.

"It seems Mother still doesn't know. I am actually not the heir to the Shen Group. The shares are still in Father's hands. I am merely the acting chairman."

Mother Shen froze instantly at his words.

Then she burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Shen Zhong, well done! It turns out you don't trust anyone! You really are a selfish man!"

The living room descended into chaos, filled only with Mother Shen's sharp, mocking laughter.

Shen Linyan stood up, his expression indifferent. "I will sever all ties with the Shen family. As for who the Shen Group ultimately belongs to, you two can handle it yourselves."

Father Shen, however, stood up with a dark expression and called out to stop him in a deep voice.

"Shen Linyan! If you walk out that door, I'd like to see where else you can go! Everything you have right now was given to you by me. Without me, you would have been trapped in that rental house for the rest of your life! Do you really think you have a way out if you leave the Shen family now?! I let you be the acting chairman; you should feel honored!"

The man, however, didn't stop walking.

His hand grasped the doorknob. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Zhou Wen standing outside.

The young woman wore exquisite makeup and carried several luxury shopping bags. It looked like she had just returned from an outing. Even though she tried to hide it well, the shock in her eyes betrayed her. There was no telling how much she had heard.

She hesitated to speak, opening her mouth to mumble, "Big brother, you..."

Shen Linyan's tone was completely detached: "Move."

The man's eyes held zero warmth. A chill ran down Zhou Wen's spine, and she instinctively stepped aside to make way.

Watching the man's retreating back, Zhou Wen gripped her shopping bags tightly, the look in her eyes growing increasingly complex.

Shen Linyan was actually an illegitimate son of the Shen family.

She glanced into the living room, her gaze landing on Lu Jingshen.

So... the Shen Group would eventually belong to Lu Jingshen after all?

Meanwhile, An Ling was still unaware of everything that had happened tonight.

After returning with An Zhou, she found out that he had secured a major project today.

She heard that they had been competing with the Shen Group for this project and had ultimately beaten them.

No wonder he was acting as happy as an idiot.

In the past, she might have been interested enough to listen to a few details, but running into Xu Huoqing today had completely ruined her appetite.

After eating a few simple bites, she went upstairs, took out her phone, and called Jiang Mai.

Once the call connected, she frowned and said, "Jiang Mai, I ran into Xu Huoqing today."