Stealing ML’s White Moonlight C17

Chapter 17

When Shen Jiashu was fifteen, he met Gu Qinglan. They got to know each other and fell in love. At that time, Gu Qinglan was still the eldest daughter of the Gu family. Although Shen Zhongyuan did not approve of her as his son’s future wife, he allowed their relationship because of her family’s status.

However, when Gu Qinglan turned eighteen, she severed ties with her father and moved out of the Gu family home.

Without the backing of her prestigious family, Shen Zhongyuan looked down on her and began pressuring them to break up. At the same time, the Gu family’s second daughter emerged, claiming that she also liked Shen Jiashu. Shen Zhongyuan took the opportunity to command Shen Jiashu to date and eventually marry her.

But Shen Jiashu was not a machine to be manipulated. Although he attended the arranged blind date as ordered, he publicly humiliated the Gu family’s second daughter, mocking her for shamelessly trying to steal her sister’s man. She was so enraged that she burst into tears.

Despite this, whether out of genuine affection for Shen Jiashu or simply a desire to compete with Gu Qinglan, she insisted on marrying him.

The matter dragged on until Shen Jiashu turned twenty, with no resolution in sight. Shen Zhongyuan still refused to let him be with Gu Qinglan. Enraged, Shen Jiashu decided to leave the Shen family to marry Gu Qinglan. However, Shen Zhongyuan had him kidnapped and brought back to the Shen residence, capturing Gu Qinglan as well. He threatened Shen Jiashu, saying that if he did not marry the Gu family’s second daughter, he would kill Gu Qinglan.

To prevent any complications, the Gu family’s second daughter even drugged Shen Jiashu during a visit to the Shen household, intending to force the situation. If Shen Jiayi had not arrived in time to rescue him, Shen Jiashu might really have been coerced into marrying her.

Understanding Shen Zhongyuan’s authoritarian nature, Shen Jiayi secretly helped Shen Jiashu and Gu Qinglan escape, urging them to leave the imperial capital and never return.

When Shen Zhongyuan discovered that his youngest son had fled with Gu Qinglan, he flew into a furious rage. Even Shen Jiayi was severely whipped by him, leaving him bedridden for days.

Furious at his son’s defiance, Shen Zhongyuan unilaterally declared the severance of their father-son relationship, forbidding Shen Jiashu from ever returning to the imperial capital. To ensure his brother could one day return with dignity, Shen Jiayi poured all his efforts into managing the Shen Corporation, striving to take control from Shen Zhongyuan.

Like a stray dog, Shen Jiashu took the wounded Gu Qinglan and fled to Lan City. There, they started from scratch and built a peaceful life, gradually letting go of their desire to return to the imperial capital.

If not for Shen Jiayi’s sudden passing, he would never have considered returning.

—

“If you resented my brother for neglecting you, you could have confronted him, argued with him, but instead, you degraded yourself by getting involved with your own father-in-law.”

Shen Jiashu’s voice was cold, as if suppressing his fury. “Did my brother find out about you and Shen Zhongyuan? Is that what caused his distress—”

“Yes…”

Liang Yinqiu covered her face, sobbing so hard that her voice was barely audible.

“Good, very good. You adulterous pair!”

Shen Jiashu laughed in his rage and swept everything off the table with a loud crash, his hatred and fury only intensifying.

“I never wanted this! He just happened to come home early and caught us—”

Liang Yinqiu covered her eyes with her hands, her tears falling like broken pearls.

She claimed that Shen Jiayi had been shocked into distress upon discovering her affair with Shen Zhongyuan, but Shen Lihuan found it suspicious. His death couldn’t be that simple.

If he had been capable of neglecting his newlywed wife, it meant he didn’t have deep feelings for her. Even if she had cheated on him with his own father, his emotional turmoil shouldn’t have been so severe as to cause a sudden brain hemorrhage. Unless…

“Dad, as the CEO of the Shen Corporation, Uncle Jiayi had surely witnessed all sorts of shocking events. Would he really suffer a brain hemorrhage just because he discovered Aunt had an affair with Grandpa? That doesn’t seem likely to me.”

Shen Lihuan’s words were like a bolt of lightning, sending shivers through everyone’s hearts.

Liang Yinqiu stopped crying immediately and stared at her, afraid that she would say something she didn’t want to hear.

Shen Jiashu was stunned at first. Then, when his gaze landed on Shen Pingting, who had her eyes widened in disbelief, he suddenly pointed at her and asked through gritted teeth, “Whose child is she? My brother’s… or Shen Zhongyuan’s?”

“Second Uncle, what do you mean by that?”

Shen Pingting panicked. It was already humiliating enough that her mother had an affair with her grandfather—was she now being accused of being an illegitimate child? If this got out, how would she even face the world?

Shen Jiashu ignored her and fixed his oppressive gaze on Liang Yinqiu. Her hands clenched tightly, nails digging into her palms. The sheer panic made her strangely calm.

Since her affair with Shen Zhongyuan had already been exposed, there was no way she could escape this unscathed. Rather than keep denying it and suffer more later, she might as well admit it now and face the consequences.

At the same time, she was filled with regret—why hadn’t she killed Shen Zhongyuan when she schemed against Shen Jiayi? If she had, Shen Jiashu would never have returned to the imperial capital, and she wouldn’t be facing this disaster.

And why hadn’t Shen Jiashu and his family died in that car accident? If he were dead, the Shen Corporation would have belonged to her and her daughter.

—

Shen Zhongyuan’s heart was equally unsettled. He knew he was morally corrupt and had always been promiscuous, but when a beautiful woman looked at him with sorrowful eyes, what man wouldn’t be moved? He had only done what any man would have done—it was just their identities that made it seem so wrong.

Even now, he did not regret his affair with his daughter-in-law. His only regret was that he had grown old, had been away from power for too long, and now had to bow to his son’s authority. If he were younger, and Shen Jiashu dared show him such an attitude, he would have taught him a harsh lesson.

“Why are you pushing your sister-in-law? So what if Pingting is my child? She still carries the Shen family’s blood.”

Even under the influence of medication, Shen Zhongyuan’s body was still wracked with pain. He could only lean against the sofa, glaring weakly at Shen Jiashu. His frail state made even Shen Jiashu feel momentarily dazed.

He resembled an aging lion—his strong body, sharp claws, and lethal fangs were all gone. Now, he was merely a lifeless husk, lying on the ground, awaiting his fate. He was nothing like the towering figure who had once lashed Shen Jiashu with a whip in a fit of rage.

At that moment, Shen Jiashu suddenly realized—Shen Zhongyuan was truly old. He could only assert himself with words now. He would never again be able to deal him the crushing blows and humiliation of the past.

“Hmph, the blood of the Shen family. If she is your daughter, then she is the product of that woman’s disgrace. Her very birth is an original sin!”

Initially, Shen Jiashu had thought that since Shen Pingting was his elder brother’s only descendant, his brother would have wanted her to learn how to manage the Shen family under his guidance, so as not to let his spirit in heaven be disappointed.

But now, knowing that Shen Pingting was actually Shen Zhongyuan’s child, he felt utterly disgusted, as if he had swallowed a fly.

“Aunt deliberately let Uncle know that Shen Pingting is Grandfather’s child, didn’t you? Because Uncle had already begun to suspect your relationship with Grandfather, so you made the first move and deliberately used Shen Pingting to provoke him…”

Although Shen Lihuan spoke with certainty, it was actually just a guess. She was trying to probe Liang Yinqiu, hoping to get a reaction out of her. But as Liang Yinqiu’s face grew paler and paler, she realized that her suspicion had actually hit the mark…

“Wh*re! Vile woman!”

No matter how composed Shen Jiashu usually was, he couldn’t hold back and kicked Liang Yinqiu in the back. She fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Shen Zhongyuan, panicking, slammed the sofa and shouted, “Are you insane?! Stop this right now!”

Shen Jiashu turned around, his expression dark and menacing as he spat out each word through gritted teeth. “Do you really think you can get away unscathed after what you’ve done? Neither of you—I’ll make sure neither of you gets away with this!”

What happened next was too violent and bloody for a minor like Shen Lihuan to witness.

She didn’t want to leave. She hadn’t yet asked Liang Yinqiu who the woman named “Qingrong” was. Even Shen Pingting knew her name, so as Shen Pingting’s mother, Liang Yinqiu must know what kind of person “Qingrong” was.

She couldn’t allow someone like a venomous snake to lurk in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike at her family.

However, she couldn’t resist Gu Qinglan’s stern expression. In the end, she was reluctantly sent back to her room, turning back every few steps.

The next morning, the Shen residence was shrouded in silence. All the servants moved cautiously, as if afraid to make even the slightest noise.

Shen Lihuan slung her backpack over her shoulder, grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of milk from the dining table, and left for Ming High School with an expressionless face.

Her parents refused to let her take a leave of absence, so her plan to gather information had fallen through.

She was in a bad mood. Not wanting to talk to anyone, she shoved her backpack into her desk drawer, crossed her arms, and stared blankly into space.

“Lihuan, what’s wrong? Your face looks terrible.”

You Changqing had arrived earlier than Shen Lihuan and was sitting at her desk working on chemistry problems. When she saw Shen Lihuan enter, she instinctively smiled and was about to greet her. But seeing Shen Lihuan’s unapproachable demeanor, she couldn’t help but be surprised.

Shen Lihuan couldn’t keep up her cold expression in front of You Changqing. She let out a helpless sigh, took a deep breath, rubbed her face, and then turned to her. “It’s nothing. Just morning grumpiness.”

One look at her and You Changqing knew she wasn’t telling the truth. But she wasn’t the type to pry, so she simply nodded and went back to wrestling with her chemistry problems.

When You Changqing stopped talking to her, Shen Lihuan became even more annoyed. She scooted her chair back a bit, picked up a book, and knocked on You Changqing’s desk. “Changqing, what are you working on?” She leaned over to take a look at the chemistry problems.

You Changqing didn’t struggle with any particular subject—her grades were consistently excellent across the board. Chemistry was her weakest subject, but Shen Lihuan excelled in science. Now that she had voluntarily offered her help, You Changqing wasn’t going to be polite. She immediately pointed to a question she didn’t understand and asked Shen Lihuan to explain.

Seeing how much You Changqing needed her… or rather, her explanations, Shen Lihuan smirked. Her bad mood disappeared, and she picked up a pen to play the role of a little teacher. You Changqing listened intently, nodding from time to time and asking follow-up questions. The two quickly became absorbed in their own little world.