Volume One, Chapter Fifteen: He Is So Rude

Jiang Yao hesitated. Biting her lip, tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over. "I... I... Brother Jin Yao..." Her nerves knotted her tongue, and she trembled all over. She knew that if she spoke, she would surely ruin the relationship between Sister Chaochao and Jin Yao. She shouldn’t do that...

But Brother Jin Yao was innocent too!

Her anxious heart slowly settled. Yes, she just didn’t want Jin Yao to be deceived, didn’t want Sister Chaochao to make mistake after mistake. She wasn’t trying to break them up on purpose.

"Sister Chaochao is keeping a man outside!"

In an instant, the atmosphere froze.

Shen Hanchuan’s mouth formed an "O" of shock, his face blank. "Huh?"

Shen Yanzhou and Shen Xingchen exchanged a glance, their brows furrowing ever so slightly, as if weighing the truth of what they’d just heard.

The little sister they’d watched grow up since childhood...

Was she really so wild now? Keeping a man? When did it start? How had they known nothing?

Shen Chaowu, slow on the uptake, only reacted when Jin Yao fixed her with a stony stare. She lifted her head in confusion and asked, "What’s wrong with keeping a man?"

Jin Yao: "???"

He drew in a deep breath, trying to steady nerves that felt steamrolled. A headache threatened.

No one had warned him that his little fiancée was so scandalous!

Jin Yao’s face was ashen. "Shen Chaowu, is what she said true?"

If Jiang Yao wasn't lying, if Shen Chaowu really was supporting a man outside, it would not only be a scandal for both the Shen and Jin families, but also a complete humiliation for himself.

The chandelier swayed, light interlacing with shadow, illuminating the girl’s fair, delicate skin and lips as red and lush as rose petals, parting and closing as she spoke.

"What’s wrong with keeping a man?" she asked, as if it were perfectly natural, leaving Jin Yao momentarily at a loss.

The next moment, Shen Chaowu laughed. "Besides a man, I also keep a turtle, a rabbit, and a prairie dog. Why do you all look so strange?"

"…"

Jiang Yao looked incredulous. She hadn’t expected Shen Chaowu to be so shameless. Stammering, she said, "B-but people aren’t the same as animals…" This wasn’t the same thing at all!

Shen Chaowu’s lips curved into a lazy, smiling arc. Her wrist, pale as snow, propped up her chin with casual elegance, fingertips idly tapping her red lips. "Oh? Are you prejudiced against small animals?"

What prejudice...!!

Jiang Yao felt ready to break, her cheeks burning hot, her words fumbling. "No, that’s not what I meant. I mean keeping small animals isn’t the same as keeping a man…"

"How is it different?" Shen Chaowu’s eyelids lifted.

Her dark pupils shone, the slight upward tilt of her eyes dazzling and seductive, as though she could draw the soul from anyone who looked at her.

Jin Yao was right. From the moment she was born, Shen Chaowu was the most adored little princess in Haicheng’s social circles—a rose carefully nurtured in a glasshouse.

At this moment, Jiang Yao felt a deep inferiority and an even deeper jealousy.

She dug her nails into her palm, forcing a smile onto her ashen face. "Sister Chaochao keeps small animals because they’re homeless and pitiful… But keeping a man, that’s just immoral."

Jin Yao looked at the girl in surprise.

He hadn’t expected Jiang Yao’s values to be so upright.

A faint trace of admiration appeared in his eyes. He despised women who were entangled and unclear in their relations.

Catching the appreciative look in his eyes, Shen Chaowu’s lips twisted with a hint of mockery. So he was drawn to Jiang Yao already? How boring...

She said, "Why are you pitting people against animals? I keep a man because he’s pitiful too. I happen to have money—so what if I support one? Who says I can’t?"

Shen Chaowu pressed on: "Keeping small animals is considered charity, why isn’t keeping a man? Isn’t it a great virtue to help ease Mother Earth’s population pressure?"

"Besides, keeping a man stimulates consumption and boosts GDP."

Her explosive words hit hardest with the old-fashioned Shen Yanzhou.

"??" His sister’s views were so avant-garde.

On second thought, perhaps… there was some logic to it!

Shen Yanzhou rubbed his brow, let out a heavy breath, and forced a smile. "Chaochao, stop fooling around. Where’s the man you’re keeping? In your apartment on Zhujiang Road?"

He was itching to rush over and finish the guy.

How dare anyone try to take advantage of someone under his roof.

Shen Hanchuan, on the other hand, was far more irritable. He snorted, "To do something so shameless and still try to argue—Shen Chaowu, do you even know the meaning of honor, duty, propriety, wisdom, or faith? Why can’t you be more like Yao and save us all some worry…"

"Maybe we should send you to the Zhou family in the capital sooner, so they can teach you some discipline! Before you become utterly lawless and go completely astray!"

After all, things couldn’t be delayed with the Zhou family any longer! He had been soft-hearted before, but now it was clear—Shen Chaowu needed a lesson! A few hard days in the Zhou family, and she’d realize who truly cared for her.

"Shen Hanchuan!"

Shen Yanzhou barked, furious. "You’ve gone too far!"

"What I said is the truth…" Shen Hanchuan pressed his lips together, still defiant, though he realized his words had been too harsh. Guiltily, he glanced at his sister.

Shen Chaowu’s lips curved in a cold, bitter arc. Her heart ached, but she forced herself to sit up straight. "Fine, Second Brother, send me away. The Zhou family doesn’t care who barged into the study, who caused trouble, who tore the painting. They just want a scapegoat."

"I…"

Shen Hanchuan’s throat tightened, guilt and distress twisting inside him. "That’s not what I meant."

He looked up, but the girl was no longer at the table.

Then he saw, in the direction of the garage, a pink Cullinan roaring away.

He cursed under his breath, feeling aggrieved himself. "Such a temper—who is she trying to impress? All these years raising her, and she still turned out wrong?"

The meal ended in discord.

Jin Yao, domineering and possessive by nature, could not tolerate his woman being involved with any other man. Smoldering with suppressed anger, he dragged Jiang Yao by the arm into his car.

His voice was icy. "I have something to ask you."

The strong scent of cologne enveloped her at once, making Jiang Yao’s face flush crimson. She bit her lip, shyly letting Jin Yao take her away.

Brother Jin Yao… he was so rough.

Jiang Yao shrank like a frightened rabbit, her shoulders hunched. She whimpered softly, "Ah… Brother Jin Yao, could you be gentler? It hurts…"

This look was all too likely to stir a man’s primal instincts.

The girl was completely unaware that, in the darkness, the man’s gaze was growing more and more dangerous.

Jiang Yao closed her eyes, her lashes fluttering with anticipation…