Shen Hongyang’s expression instantly darkened. He waved his hand, signaling the nanny to leave, then stood up, preparing to head outside.
Just then, a loud laugh echoed from outside the door.
"Ha ha ha, the Shen family is indeed very impressive! I haven’t been here for many years, and the changes are truly great."
However, even this boisterous laugh couldn’t make Fang Yi and Shen Binan, who were locked in an intense battle of stares, end their standoff. Meanwhile, Luo Sumei’s smile faded, just like Shen Hongyang, turning into an expression of embarrassment.
A middle-aged man, accompanied by a young man, walked in as if he were entering his own home—casual and at ease, seemingly not considering himself an outsider.
Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Shen Hongyang slightly furrowed his brows, then immediately smoothed them out, maintaining his calm as he stepped forward: "Third brother."
To be addressed as "brother" by Shen Hongyang, it was clear that this man had some standing.
At the same time, the young man behind the middle-aged man brightened up upon seeing Shen Binan and quickly approached, exclaiming happily, "Cousin!"
But Shen Binan didn’t acknowledge him, for Shen Binan was preoccupied.
Thinking that Shen Binan hadn’t heard him, the young man tried again: "Cousin! Don’t you remember me? I’m Luo Hao."
"Luo Hao my ass! Get lost!" This time someone responded, but it was Fang Yi. He was in the middle of a contest with Shen Binan, and before they could determine a winner, someone dared to interfere, which irritated him.
Luo Hao instantly grew angry, his face darkened as he said coldly, "Kid, who do you think you are! How dare you talk to me like that!"
Fang Yi’s gaze didn’t waver as he retorted, "What does my identity matter to you? Beat it quickly before I have to beat you up."
"You... you... Cousin, who is he!" Luo Hao wanted to get angry, but feared losing face in front of Shen Binan, so he decided to ascertain the man’s identity before taking action.
"Who he is, is none of your business. Now scram! Or I’ll have to beat you up too," Shen Binan said coldly, striking Luo Hao’s heart.
Luo Hao faced a ton of humiliation, his face twisted in embarrassment, while Shen Xiaoxiao sat behind the table, her hand covering her mouth, eyes squinting as she fought hard to suppress her laughter.
At this point, the middle-aged man also noticed the unfolding scene. His son was being humiliated by a stranger, and Shen Binan was humiliating his son too, which immediately caused his brow to furrow.
"Brother-in-law, sister, is this how you discipline your daughter?" the middle-aged man said chillingly.
"Luo Mingyuan, go as far away as you can. I am not your sister!" Luo Sumei said coldly, holding a deep disdain for her own brother, as if bearing considerable resentment.
Now, not only was his son, Luo Hao, suffering, but he too was aggrieved.
"Third brother, your sister has been in a bad mood these past few days, pay it no mind," Shen Hongyang tried to mediate, speaking with calm and equanimity.
"Sister, no matter what, am I not still your brother? Mother sent me here, after all," Luo Mingyuan said.
Luo Sumei was about to speak but was interrupted by Shen Hongyang, who smiled and said, "Alright, alright, since it’s mother-in-law’s wish, why doesn’t third brother sit down first before we talk further?"
At that moment, Luo Hao felt incredibly vexed. Not only was he insulted by this unknown man, but even his admired cousin had insulted him. It was nothing short of a terrible disgrace!
In the Luo Family, although Luo Hao was not from the direct line, he was still a member of the Luo Family. When had he ever faced such humiliation? His princely temper flared up, and grabbing a plate from the table, he hurled it towards Fang Yi.
However, before the plate could get close to Fang Yi, Luo Hao’s face twisted in extreme pain, turning deathly pale. Then, the plate fell to the ground, shattering, while Luo Hao clutched his stomach, his back arching like a shrimp as he retreated backward.
Just as Luo Mingyuan had prepared to sit down, he saw his son’s agonized face, and with an angry glare focused on Fang Yi and Shen Binan, he stammered, "You... you two..."
Yet, the two of them didn’t even spare him a glance.
"You lost," Shen Binan suddenly spoke.
Fang Yi smiled slightly, his white teeth showing, "No, it is you who have lost."
Shen Binan replied, "Just now, your eyes flickered."
Fang Yi chuckled, "Because an immature brat was threatening me."
Luo Hao, who had just managed to straighten up, shivered and glared bitterly at Fang Yi, emitting a furious growl.
Shen Binnan said with a stern face, "If you lost, you lost. Why look for excuses?"
Fang Yi retorted, "So what if I lost? Are you going to bite me?"
Shen Binnan’s gaze was as piercing as a sword, extremely cold and harsh, to which Fang Yi responded again.
These two were completely immersed in their own world, ignoring everyone else, while Luo Mingyuan’s face had already turned incredibly awkward.
Ignored, he was actually ignored!
"You two!" Luo Mingyuan slammed the table fiercely, causing it to shake a few times, and he bellowed angrily, "You two actually dare to disregard me!"
"Oh, may I ask who you are..." Fang Yi turned his head to look at Luo Mingyuan.
"Luo Mingyuan? Never heard of him. Which onion is he?" Fang Yi curled his lip.
Hearing Fang Yi’s words and the contempt in his voice, Luo Mingyuan seethed with rage.
"Luo Mingyuan is not an onion; he’s my little uncle," said Shen Binnan.
Luo Mingyuan sneered, "Binnan, I didn’t expect you to still remember your little uncle!"
"Of course, I remember. Your shamelessness, underhandedness, and stinginess are all unforgettable," Shen Binnan glanced at him sideways.
Luo Mingyuan wanted to explode with anger but also knew how tough his niece was; otherwise, she wouldn’t speak like that.
"Brother-in-law, sister, what a good daughter you’ve raised!" Luo Mingyuan said icily.
"Third brother, don’t be angry. Why bother getting angry with a little girl? Come on, sit down and eat with us," Shen Hongyang remained calm and amiable, not showing any sign of irritation.
Luo Mingyuan’s face was sullen, "Eat your leftovers? I don’t think so! Brother-in-law, tomorrow I will take Luo Hao to the company. This is my mother’s wish. You will have to agree even if you don’t want to!"
After saying this, Luo Mingyuan huffed and, with Luo Hao in tow, stormed out.
"What was that about? Just like sister said, he really thinks he’s the big cheese," complained Shen Xiaoxiao.
Shen Hongyang didn’t stop her, he just chuckled, then turned to the two and said, "Binnan, you have been working hard these past few days."
"It’s nothing," Shen Binnan replied.
"Fang Yi!" Shen Hongyang looked at Fang Yi, sighed, and then said earnestly, "I’m counting on you."
The statement seemed to come out of nowhere, and Fang Yi didn’t understand its meaning, but felt that Shen Hongyang was acting a bit odd.
Shen Hongyang turned and walked toward the bedroom, his back hunched as he coughed several times. Luo Sumei glanced at her daughter and Fang Yi, sighed, and followed him.
"Cough cough! Cough cough cough!!!"
Once in the bedroom, Shen Hongyang couldn’t suppress his coughing, and Luo Sumei stepped forward to pat his back.
Shen Hongyang turned to gaze at his wife tenderly and said, "I’m fine."
"Fine? You’re almost coughing your way to bronchitis! Luckily, you held it in for so long just now and didn’t let your daughter know," Luo Sumei said resentfully.
Shen Hongyang simply smiled.
"By the way, why did you stop me just now?" Luo Sumei asked.
"After all, he is your brother, and it was your mother who brought him here. I have to give my mother-in-law an explanation," Shen Hongyang said with a smile.
"You..." Luo Sumei was at a loss for words and eventually could only let out a helpless sigh, "I just fear that my brother is coming here with ulterior motives this time."
(Third update! Please vote and leave messages actively; it won’t take much of your time, thanks!)