Chapter 13: Tang Yuan’s Brother in Name Only

Chen Meng’s eyes reddened slightly as she held Tang Yuan’s hand. “Yuan Yuan, I just feel that you shouldn’t be like this. You don’t know how much I used to envy you in class—so radiant, proud, like a little princess.”

Tang Yuan lowered her lashes; in truth, she had never felt proud.

Everyone thought she shone because she was the daughter of the Tang family.

But those in the industry all knew she was adopted for an arranged marriage. Before she was ten, she lived in an orphanage.

For the past two years, Shen Zhou had been giving her two hundred thousand yuan every month, but she always sent half of it to the orphanage.

She never forgot where she came from, so she demanded the best from herself in everything.

During her school years, she studied hard and seriously, striving for first place in every exam.

But she realized that what wasn’t hers could never be forced.

She could stand on tiptoe until she was bruised and bleeding, yet the moon remained high in the sky.

So she stopped standing on tiptoe, no longer yearning for Shen Zhou’s love.

She was tired. Just as she was about to say she needed to rest, her phone rang—it was Shen Zhou calling.

He rarely called first; when he did, it was usually important.

The moment she answered, his voice came through. “Come to the Shen family dinner together later. Not at home?”

“Mm... at the hospital.”

“Is the fever still not down?”

“It’s gone. I came to see a colleague. Can you pick me up?”

Tang Yuan lowered her lashes, grabbed the new clothes Chen Meng had bought, and went to the restroom to change.

Chen Meng tried to stop her. “Are you crazy? You just finished a stomach wash, and now you’re going to have dinner with him?”

Her face was pale as she sighed. “It’s something related to the Shen family. I can’t postpone it.”

At least for now, none of this was within her control.

She quickly changed, washed up, sprayed some minty breath freshener, making sure there was no trace of alcohol on her breath before earnestly reminding, “Tomorrow morning, take Yansheng to sign the contract with Director Zhang. Once it’s signed, he’ll have to join the crew.”

Chen Meng’s eyes reddened with concern but she understood that business came first.

“Yuan Yuan, when you put your mind to it, you really throw caution to the wind.”

Tang Yuan had no time to reply. She glanced at Fu Yansheng, standing silently in the corner, worried that today’s events would affect him. She comforted, “Yansheng, don’t feel pressured. Just focus on acting seriously. This is only our starting point.”

There would be many more roles in the future.

He looked up, seeing her pale face, pressed his lips together, his fingers tightening slightly at his side, then cast his gaze out the window.

“Mm.”

He really was... dull.

Tang Yuan smiled faintly. Just as she was going downstairs, she saw Shen Zhou’s car parked at the entrance.

His assistant, Jiang Nian, was in the driver’s seat.

Jiang Nian got out and opened the door for her with a respectful demeanor. “Madam, please get in.”

Tang Yuan sat beside Shen Zhou, who had documents resting on his knee. Her eyes involuntarily traced through the car window toward the hospital’s upper floors.

Only empty curtains hung there, but he had clearly sensed a gaze just now.

It carried a slight hint of sarcasm.

It was very unsettling.

He shifted his gaze back to Tang Yuan, who had just gotten in.

Usually, he barely noticed her, but today her face was pale, and during the sudden brake, she had nearly collided into his arms.

He raised his hand, steadying her shoulder.

“When did you become so weak?”

Tang Yuan was startled, closing her eyes as she tried to soothe the burning in her stomach. “Just a little unwell.”

“Went to the hospital to see a male colleague?”

That gaze didn’t seem female.

Though Shen Zhou often said she should find someone else, if she actually did, it would be a slap in his face—and she would die an ugly death.

“I went to see Chen Meng.”

He didn’t press further.

Tang Yuan’s face was ghostly pale now; anyone not blind could see she was in pain.

But Shen Zhou was too lazy to do more than necessary.

She clutched her stomach and leaned back, hearing him ask, “So uncomfortable?”

She tugged the corner of her mouth, bitterness rising, and snapped, “Thanks for your concern. If you’d been a few minutes later, I probably wouldn’t be breathing.”

Realizing what she had said, she opened her eyes and indeed saw him stunned—probably never having been snapped at like that before.

She looked away, took a deep breath, and softened her tone, “It’s nothing, just a stomach illness acting up.”

He raised an eyebrow, feeling those few seconds of liveliness like a touch, teasing his heart in an inexplicable way.

He chuckled softly, watching the scenery blur past the window. “Yuan Yuan, just now, you made people want to look twice. You should do that in front of your husband more often.”

Tang Yuan’s eyes flashed with a trace of embarrassment. Shen Zhou really liked lively girls from start to finish; after all, his first love was like that.

The young lover he was currently seeing was the same.

Lowering her lashes, she chose to say nothing more.

The next second, he suddenly pried her mouth open and stuffed two painkillers inside.

“Take these, so you can’t say your husband doesn’t care about you.”

She flushed with anger for a moment, then heard him laugh and saw him push open the car door, a satisfied look as if he had just pulled off a prank.

This was Shen Zhou. She had been entangled with him for fifteen years; there was no way he lacked tricks to tease women.

His charm was real when it came to fleeting games.

She followed him and together they entered the Shen family’s grand hall.

Shen Zhou’s mother, Yao Mei, saw her come in and waved impatiently. “Why are you so late? Come on in, everyone’s been waiting for you to brew the tea.”

Shen Ruan, seeing Shen Zhou, beamed with delight. “Brother, you’re here so early today, that’s rare! Did you buy the gift I asked for on your last business trip?”

She was referring to last week when Shen Zhou had gone abroad on business. Tang Yuan had been home, waiting for him wholeheartedly, calling every day to care for him, only for him to bring Song Qianqian along.

Shen Zhou sat nearby, and when he saw Tang Yuan enter the kitchen, he raised his hand and gently flicked Shen Ruan’s forehead.

“I bought it, but don’t talk nonsense in front of Yuan Yuan.”

Shen Ruan rolled her eyes and whispered, “You’ve already cheated and gone abroad playing with Song Qianqian for so long. You might as well divorce Tang Yuan. She’s just a housekeeper in our family. We don’t lack housekeepers.”

Shen Zhou pulled out a set of car keys—a limited edition Lamborghini worth nearly twenty million yuan.

Shen Ruan immediately clung to his arm, pouting, “Alright, I won’t say anything, I won’t say anything.”

Just then, Tang Yuan brought over a pot of tea.

Women of the Tang family were like this, managing everything in the household—from honoring elders to handling every little family matter, leaving no detail untouched.

Even if their husbands cheated, they had to swallow their pride and endure. Because of this, many spoiled rich second-generation heirs eventually had no choice but to marry one of these women back home.

The Tang family had leveraged this tactic to forge ties with several families. Coupled with the sudden rise of the new tycoon Tang Shangxu, the Tang family had firmly established their footing.

Tang Shangxu was Tang Yuan’s nominal elder brother.

All the hopes of the Tang family rested on him alone, and he was indeed outstanding, maintaining a friendship with Shen Zhou.