Chapter 128: The Educated Youth Who Abandoned His Wife and Child -60

Still reeling from shock, they returned home.

But to Shen Yuanming’s surprise, the two elders were unusually calm.

“Yuanming, Xiuyan’s back, huh?”

“So, when are we moving?”

Shen Xiuyan asked, “Shall we go now?”

“Sure, sure.” The two elders beamed with joy. They had thought they’d spend the rest of their lives in that old house, but who would’ve guessed they’d be moving into a new one in their twilight years?

All thanks to their son marrying such a wonderful daughter-in-law!

Without her encouragement, how could their son have gotten into college, let alone started doing scientific research?

Just earlier, their daughter-in-law had said the new house was a bit bigger than the old one, and it would be more comfortable for the whole family to live together.

The two elders were so excited they could hardly wait to go see it—and then come back and brag to the neighbors.

But since Xiuyan and Yuanming had just returned, they couldn’t just rush off immediately.

So the group hurried out—well, more like the elderly couple charged ahead while the three younger ones chased after them.

The scene was actually kind of funny.

Shen Xiuyan quietly fell back a few steps and came up beside Su Mingyue.

He gave her a thumbs-up. “Impressive. What did you say to Mom and Dad? They took it so well.”

Su Mingyue’s nose practically lifted with pride. “Well, who do you think I am?”

Shen Xiuyan grabbed her hand and kissed it. “Exactly. My wife is amazing!”

Although the elders had accepted the idea of moving, they were still stunned when they saw the sleek car waiting to pick them up.

Shen Jianguo raised a trembling hand. “Th-this is…”

Su Mingyue smiled. “This is the private car arranged to pick up Xiuyan.”

Zhou Guiying gasped, “My son gets a private car now?”

“That’s right.” Su Mingyue, looking as calm as if this were the most normal thing in the world, helped the elders into the car.

Her composed demeanor made the elders feel embarrassed to keep acting surprised—they didn’t want to lose face for their son.

Because there were bodyguards, one car wasn’t enough for everyone, so they had to split into two.

Naturally, Su Mingyue intended to ride with the elders. But just as she was about to step in, Shen Xiuyan swiftly pulled her back.

He quickly turned and signaled, “Bro, you ride with Mom and Dad.”

Shen Yuanming: “…”

What a great little brother he had. Their parents might hold back a bit with their daughter-in-law, but with him? No chance.

Sure enough, the moment he got in the car, he was bombarded with a storm of questions.

God knows he didn’t know anything either…

Seeing him hesitate, Shen Xiuyan snapped, “What are you looking at? Single dogs don’t get to watch.”

Zhou Guiying, stifling a laugh in the car, called out, “Yuanming, come on! Don’t interrupt the young couple. Can’t you read the room?”

Shen Yuanming snorted. Truly his own mother and brother…

Was his life not worth anything?

What’s the big deal? It’s just a wife. If it comes to that, he’ll go find one too!

*

The two cars drove one behind the other and soon arrived at the new house.

The Shen family trio were once again stunned. What kind of place was this? There were even soldiers guarding the gate…

Those upright postures, that commanding presence—it all looked incredibly secure.

But their hearts were pounding with nervous excitement.

The car slowly came to a stop in front of a three-story Western-style villa.

Zhou Guiying hesitated to get out. “This… this is where we’re going to live?”

No way. Their daughter-in-law had only said it was “a bit bigger” than their old place. This is what she called a bit bigger???

This was easily ten times the size, maybe more. Back in the day, only landlords could live in a place like this!

Shen Jianguo felt like his body was filled with lead. After a long pause, he finally said, “No way. Come on, let’s get out and take a look.”

Shen Yuanming thought back to the mischievous smile on his brother’s face earlier, and suddenly his heart gave a few involuntary trembles.

Maybe… just maybe… this really was the house…

Sure enough, as soon as they got out of the car, they saw the young couple waiting at the door.

Three stunned faces. Six wide eyes.

Their future home really was this villa.

Shen Xiuyan quickly stepped forward and gestured grandly. “You’ll be living here from now on.”

“You?” Zhou Guiying asked blankly. “Aren’t we all living together?”

Shen Xiuyan shook his head, then waved his hand like a general surveying his domain.

“Nope. We’re living separately. Several of the houses in this compound are ours.”

The three Shen family members turned their heads mechanically to follow where he pointed—and were completely speechless.

All of this… was theirs???

Shen Xiuyan gently pushed the petrified trio inside and sat them down on the sofa to help them recover.

After a moment, Zhou Guiying finally managed to say, “Can… can we take pictures?”

Now it was Shen Xiuyan’s turn to be speechless. That’s his mom for you—still thinking about showing off at a time like this.

He nodded. “Of course. Mingyue, go get the camera from our place so Mom can take some photos.”

Shen Jianguo sheepishly raised his hand. “I want some too…”

Shen Xiuyan: “Alright, alright, everyone gets a photo.”

Once the camera was brought over, the two elders forgot everything else. They focused entirely on taking pictures, determined to capture the most beautiful angles of the house.

They couldn’t wait to show these off to the neighbors back home—make them green with envy.

Let them gossip all they want. This would shut them up for good!

Shen Yuanming, unlike his parents, didn’t have that kind of mysterious logic. Sitting on the sofa, he looked around at Shen Xiuyan and then at the house, utterly lost.

He suddenly felt like he didn’t understand the world anymore…

*

The day after the elders were settled in, Brigade Leader Su and Liu Yanyun also arrived safely in B City.

They hadn’t noticed anything unusual on the train, but the moment they got off, they felt completely out of place.

Everyone around them was in a hurry, dressed smartly and stylishly, exuding energy.

The couple couldn’t help but sigh—this really was the big city. Everyone dressed better than in the countryside. You could instantly tell who was from the city and who wasn’t.

Dressed in their plain, patched-up clothes, the two looked at the unfamiliar world around them, nervously rubbing their hands.

They tugged at their clothes in anxiety. Dressed like this, wouldn’t they embarrass their son-in-law? But they were already here—there was no turning back.

Gritting their teeth, they followed the soldier assigned to escort them.

Sure enough, on the way out of the station, they could feel the curious stares of passersby at every step.

This was the capital, after all. Conditions were far better than most places, and people dressed like them—patched and worn—were rare.

Once outside the station, they stood out even more.

Shrinking under the weight of so many eyes, they hunched their shoulders.

Just then, a gentle male voice called out, “Mom, Dad, over here.”

They looked up and saw Shen Xiuyan and Su Mingyue leaning casually against a car.

All fear forgotten at the sight of their daughter after so long, the couple were overwhelmed with joy and ran straight toward them.

“Mingyue, Xiuyan, how have you two been?”

“We’re doing great.” Su Mingyue gave them each a warm hug, then affectionately linked arms with Liu Yanyun and helped her into the car.

“You must be exhausted from the journey. Let’s go home first.”

Only then did the couple realize—they weren’t seeing things. That really was a car. They were going home in a car.

This was the big city. Not wanting to embarrass their daughter and son-in-law, they suppressed their shock and put on their calmest expressions as they got in.

Even though their hearts were in turmoil, they didn’t let a hint of it show.

That actually surprised Shen Xiuyan. He hadn’t expected his in-laws to take it so well.

Brigade Leader Su and Liu Yanyun were doing a great job keeping up appearances, but the crowd that had been watching them since they stepped out didn’t buy it.

Seriously—dressed like that, but riding in a private car? Who were these people pretending to be poor?

Just goes to show—you really can’t judge a book by its cover, especially when it comes to older folks.

Damn, he’s good—he’s pretending to be broke so convincingly they’re almost buying it. Looks totally real.