Chapter 100: Signs of a Hairline Fracture

From childhood to adulthood, the two brothers were always compared to each other. The conclusion was always the same: he could never measure up to Shen Yan. Determined to break this curse, Shen Sheng devoted himself to relentless effort throughout his life. Shen Sheng believed that his grandmother had asked him to return to the country to take over because she recognized his abilities and thought he was better than Shen Yan. Yet, in the end, she uttered those words that shattered his hopes.

The atmosphere grew tense, and the old matriarch of the Shen family was filled with unease. She knew very well that when Shen Sheng had severely injured Feng Yuqi before, no one could stop his fury. Suddenly, she found herself worried for her own safety. If they pushed Shen Sheng too far, it would be detrimental to her.

After a long silence, just as the matriarch expected Shen Sheng to lose control, he instead let out a cold smile. “Yes, you’re right. I am no match for Shen Yan.” With that, he left.

The old lady exchanged glances with her servants, finding Shen Sheng’s sudden composure almost unnatural. Though Shen Sheng chose not to go abroad and remained in the country, he did not idle away his time. He had returned not only because of his grandmother’s request but also because the overseas business was not thriving as expected. Shen Sheng had gone to great lengths to conceal this fact so that his grandmother would remain unaware.

It didn’t matter—if things didn’t work out overseas, he would succeed domestically. Over the years, Shen Sheng had established deep roots at home; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to scheme against Ye Qian. He resolved to develop his career within the country. People thought he was inferior to Shen Yan? Fine, he would force them to open their eyes and see whether he was capable or not.

...

Ye Yao Yao naturally caught wind of this news and considered Shen Sheng to be living in a fantasy. Offending her and still hoping to make it domestically? Shen Sheng’s progress was stifled at every turn, making him tremble with frustration. “Damn it, who’s behind all this? Why is everything going wrong for me?”

Shen Sheng needed to produce results quickly to explain himself to the matriarch. In her eyes, he did nothing but waste time every day—he had to prove her wrong by achieving success. Shen Sheng had thought that with his previous foundations in the country and his abilities, he could quickly make headway. But reality proved otherwise.

Two months had passed. For two months, Shen Sheng’s development had been blocked.

Back when he was abroad, he could thrive within half a month. What was going on? Shen Sheng racked his brain but could only conclude that Shen Yan was behind it. No doubt, it had to be him. He was retaliating.

With that thought, Shen Sheng stormed into the Shen Corporation. Shen Yan and the senior management were in the middle of a meeting, and their expressions immediately darkened upon seeing Shen Sheng. They still remembered clearly the losses Shen Sheng had caused the company. Cutting off someone’s income was tantamount to killing their family! If it weren’t for Shen Sheng’s family ties, they would have sent someone to teach him a lesson long ago.

Shen Sheng was about to charge at Shen Yan in fury when the shareholders’ rebukes halted him.

“What are you doing? Don’t you see we’re in a meeting?”

“Have some manners! We’re discussing a multi-billion project here—every minute counts!”

“Exactly. You caused serious losses before, and now you come to disturb us?”

...

Their words stopped Shen Sheng dead in his tracks. He stood still, turning to glare at the old fools with a sinister smile. When they had begged him for promotion, they weren’t so disrespectful. Now, seeing the company hemorrhaging because of him, this was their attitude? Disgusting.

After a moment’s commotion, Shen Yan finally turned slowly to face Shen Sheng. Of course, he knew why Shen Sheng had come. Yes, it was him. Shen Yan was aware that Shen Sheng wanted to build power domestically, and he would never consent. Shen Sheng had already dared to injure Feng Yuqi with some influence at hand—if he gained more, it would be catastrophic.

The atmosphere stiffened, and the awkward one was Shen Sheng. Shen Yan waited a moment before standing up. “Let’s adjourn.”

“General Manager Shen, please don’t leave! The meeting isn’t over yet—this is a multi-billion project!” “Yeah, there’s no need to waste time because of an irrelevant person.”

“Irrelevant person?” Hearing this, Shen Sheng turned sharply to look at the shareholder who fearlessly met his gaze.

“I’ll handle this first. Wait for me,” Shen Yan said and strode toward the door, with Shen Sheng trailing behind under the murderous stares of the shareholders.

In the office, Shen Sheng asked bluntly, “Are you sabotaging me behind my back?”

Shen Yan smiled and nodded as he sat down. “Yes, it’s me. You’re pretty smart to figure it out.”

The next second, Shen Sheng lunged forward, grabbing Shen Yan by the collar with a fierce glare. “Shen Yan, we’re brothers—this isn’t how brothers treat each other.”

“Brothers?” Shen Yan sneered. “Shen Sheng, saying that without shame, are you?”

He slowly pried Shen Sheng’s hand away. “If you really considered me a brother, would you have beaten Feng Yuqi?”

“So it’s because of that,” Shen Sheng scoffed. “You must be lonely, treating a dog like a brother all these years.”

“Dog?” Shen Yan repeated coldly before raising his hand and landing a heavy punch on Shen Sheng’s face. He grabbed Shen Sheng’s collar, raining down furious blows.

“A dog? Yuqi is my brother—he’s just a dog to you?”

The first few punches stunned Shen Sheng, but once he recovered, the two of them grappled fiercely. Shen Yan was still holding back somewhat, but as Shen Sheng’s punches grew harder, Shen Yan matched his intensity.

Soon, the sound of fists cracking echoed through the office, yet no one came in to stop them. They fought with everything they had until exhausted.

Shen Sheng touched his battered face, wincing in sharp pain. Shen Yan was no better off; he got up and returned to his seat.

“Shen Yan, you actually beat me up over Feng Yuqi?”

“What else? If you hurt anyone around me again, don’t you believe I’ll make sure you can’t survive here?” Shen Yan warned.

“Then let’s see about that.”

“Try me,” Shen Sheng said through the pain, rising and leaving with a swollen, bruised face.

That evening, Ye Yao Yao came home from work to find the swollen-faced Shen Yan. She felt a pang of sympathy but couldn’t help laughing. Indeed, obesity was the greatest enemy—no matter how handsome a person was, once they gained weight, their appearance changed completely.

Seeing her holding back laughter, Shen Yan glared fiercely. “My wounds haven’t been treated yet.”

“It’s been so long and you still haven’t taken care of them?” Ye Yao Yao stifled a smile.

Shen Yan sat on the sofa, his bruised face unreadable. “I’m waiting for you to treat them.”

“Alright.” Ye Yao Yao didn’t laugh aloud, but out of Shen Yan’s sight, she had already chuckled several times from different angles.

She fetched a first-aid kit and began tending to his wounds, then returned to her serious expression. When she finished, her smile vanished. Shen Yan’s injuries were severe—several showed signs of fractured bones.