Inside a lavishly decorated villa, a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair asked again in disbelief, "Are you sure it was Lin Mo? You couldn’t have mistaken her, could you?"
Shen Jing sat on the sofa and shook her head. "Impossible. I’d recognize Lin Mo even if she turned to ashes!"
Shen Feng felt a chill run down his spine. "But how is that possible? She died eleven years ago! Even if she was rescued back then, she shouldn’t be transferring into your high school now—she’s twenty-nine!"
Shen Jing bit her lip. "I don’t know either. Why don’t you call the school administration and ask?"
Back then, Shen Feng had been convicted of economic crimes—embezzlement and financial fraud—and sentenced to two years in prison. His wife divorced him while he was behind bars. After his release, he leveraged his good looks and charm to marry into a wealthy family, bringing his daughter along. Now, he was living a different kind of high life.
The school administration would give him some face.
He pulled out his phone and dialed the principal of No. 1 High School.
Shen Jing was restless, her hands clenched tightly together. She had been the school’s beauty queen, but now that Lin Mo had appeared, everyone was calling Lin Mo the new queen. Even Gu Jingzhou, the boy she liked, had taken an interest in her.
She was furious!
What was a twenty-nine-year-old hag doing pretending to be young?
But when she saw Lin Mo during the day, she didn’t look twenty-nine at all—her skin was so tender it looked like it could be squeezed for water.
It made her even angrier!
After finishing the call, Shen Feng relayed the information to Shen Jing.
"Shen Yihan donated a whole building to the school! Damn it! That company was mine! And now he’s throwing money around like this!"
Shen Jing rolled her eyes. "Dad, is that really the point here?"
Shen Feng’s lips twitched. "Oh, right. Lin Mo was rescued back then but ended up in a vegetative state. She’s been lying in a hospital all this time and suddenly woke up recently. She wanted to go to college, so she had to re-enroll in high school."
Shen Jing processed this information. "A vegetative state? So she’s been bedridden for eleven years?"
Shen Feng nodded. "Yes, and lying there for eleven years has turned her into an idiot. Don’t worry. The principal sighed when he mentioned her, saying she’d definitely drag down the school’s average exam scores. If she ranks at the bottom in the next monthly test, they’ll expel her!"
Shen Jing smirked. "Dad, an idiot is easy to deal with. This is our chance."
Shen Feng clenched his fist, fired up. "This time, we’ll take back everything that belongs to us!"
Just thinking about how Lin Mo had once smacked him in the face with a mop covered in filth made his blood boil!
Shen Yihan had always valued Lin Mo highly. If they used the idiot Lin Mo to threaten him, maybe they could even get the company back!
Beep!
The electronic lock on the villa’s front door clicked open.
Shen Feng glanced over and immediately stood up, swaying his hips as he walked over, his voice turning syrupy sweet. "Baby~ You’re back! You must be exhausted~"
"Second Brother, do we have any facial cleanser at home?"
After sending off the tutor, Shen Ji'an asked Shen Yihan, who was working on the sofa.
Shen Yihan looked up. "No, why?"
Shen Ji'an blinked his long-banged eyes earnestly. "Second Brother, your skin seems a bit rough. We should take care of our appearance, or else we won’t look like siblings when we stand next to our sister."
Shen Yihan, wearing Buddhist prayer beads, touched his face and frowned. "Fine, I’ll have Jiang Tang buy two sets tomorrow."
Shen Ji'an grinned. "Thanks, Second Brother!"
Yes! Successfully mooched skincare off Second Brother!
Speaking of appearance, Shen Yihan eyed Shen Ji'an’s long bangs and hesitated.
If their sister hadn’t told him not to interfere—that Fourth Brother had his own sense of style—he would’ve sneaked into Shen Ji'an’s room at night to cut those bangs off!
Shen Ji'an returned to his room and stood in front of the bathroom mirror.
Of course, he knew the long bangs looked terrible.
But he had a long scar on his forehead—it would be horrifying if it were exposed.
He lifted his bangs with one hand, revealing a face with striking bone structure in the mirror.
His narrow phoenix eyes exuded a natural coldness.
Suddenly, Shen Ji'an’s eyes lit up.
The once-gruesome scar across his forehead had faded significantly.
He stared in disbelief, his lips curling into an unstoppable smile.
Who knew the scar-removal cream Mr. Xie gave him would be so effective?
Not wanting to waste Mr. Xie’s kindness, he had been applying it diligently, though he hadn’t held much hope.
He quickly dabbed on another layer of the cream.
At this rate, the scar would soon fade completely.
Then he could finally cut off his bangs and focus on skincare.
He was sure his sister would be impressed!
Mr. Xie was truly his savior—he felt like bowing to him again!
Meanwhile, after texting Jiang Tang, Shen Yihan noticed it was already past eleven.
He sent Lin Mo a message: [Sis, still doing homework?]
Back when she was in high school, she used to stay up until one in the morning every night. It had broken his heart.
There was no immediate reply.
Shen Yihan figured she must be buried in her studies.
The pressure of senior year was immense—even thinking about his own experience suffocated him.
His sister had already endured it once, and now she had to go through it again.
He had no idea how she managed the stress.
[Get some rest soon, Sis. Don’t stay up too late!]
Then, struck by an idea, he sent another message—this time to Xie Guanyan.
[Mr. Xie, do you dislike cats?]
Many people used pets to relieve stress these days.
His sister loved cats, but she wasn’t living with Fourth Brother anymore.
If she could have a cat, she’d definitely be happier.
Xie Guanyan replied quickly: [Why?]
Shen Yihan typed: [Well, my sister really likes cats. I was thinking of buying one for her, but if you dislike them, I won’t.]
Fresh out of the shower, Xie Guanyan frowned as he read the message.
Right—Shanshan used to have a black Devon Rex.
Her phone wallpaper had also been a Devon Rex.
His long lashes lowered as he typed: [I’ll buy it.]
Shen Yihan’s expression darkened at Xie Guanyan’s reply.
This was supposed to be his chance to shine, but now Mr. Xie had stolen it!
So annoying!
After showering and eating supper, Gu Jingchuan lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Li Huanyu was still in the hospital, but he hadn’t gone to visit.
It was just a minor fracture—she was almost healed anyway.
He pondered how to win Lin Mo back.
But before he could come up with a plan, his phone rang.
It was the movie director.
"Hello, what’s up?"
The director’s voice was firm. "Gu Jingchuan, on behalf of the crew, I’m notifying you that if you don’t report to set tomorrow, we’ll replace you as the male lead, and you’ll be liable for a billion-yuan penalty for breach of contract."
Gu Jingchuan’s brows furrowed.
The director had been accommodating until now.
Given his status, it was normal for the crew to wait for him.
And they could always shoot other scenes first.
Why was the director suddenly so harsh?
This was a major production with a high-stakes agreement—the penalty could indeed reach a billion yuan.
Paying that much would ruin him!
Since he couldn’t think of a way to win Lin Mo back immediately anyway…
Gu Jingchuan scratched his head in frustration. "Got it. I'll head to the film studio tomorrow."
The voice on the other end replied, "No need for the film studio. Our next shoot is moving to Africa."
