The Shen family was too busy dealing with the aftermath of the sudden power shift. Shen Chengwei was locked in constant meetings with lawyers and board members, trying to regain his position. Feng Xin was managing damage control by arranging meetings with the wives of elite families. Even Shen Wanwan and Xiao Wei had been pulled into the chaos and were instructed to maintain low profiles until things returned to normal.
Nobody had time to worry about the sickly daughter confined to her wheelchair.
Which meant nobody noticed when Shen Yelan started disappearing for hours at a time. Well, the guards at the front gate might have noticed. But given that absolutely no one in the household seemed to care about Shen Yelan's whereabouts or wellbeing, the guards simply turned a blind eye.
Two weeks had passed just like this.
Shen Yelan was currently sprawled on the sofa, watching an idol drama on the television mounted on the wall. Next to her, Sun Lili was sprawled in an equally comfortable position, munching on sliced fruit from a plate Aunt Li had brought out earlier.
With all the chaos they had caused in the Shen family, they seemed to be completely unbothered, as if they were not the ones behind it.
Suddenly, Sun Lili exclaimed out loud in disbelief, her eyes glued to the screen. "He actually took the money? In the history of dramas, this is the first time the girl's family offered money to make a guy leave, and he actually accepted it! What happened to all those promises about true love he made to her? The 'I'll love you even if we have to live in a cardboard box' speech from episode twelve?!"
Shen Yelan didn't respond, but even she looked mildly surprised by this turn of events. Thanks to Sun Lili's influence, she'd watched her fair share of these dramas and had certainly not seen this coming.
From the kitchen, Aunt Li glanced out at the two girls. "Won't the world be such a better place if true love were as easy to find as drama writers make it seem?"
She had met Sun Lili only recently and immediately taken a liking to her. At least, now she knew that Young Miss was not alone and had other people around her.
The drama had just ended on that shocking scene, so Sun Lili turned her whole attention to Aunt Li with gossipy eyes.
"Have you ever been in love, Aunt Li?"
For just a moment, Aunt Li's gaze became distant. Then she looked at Sun Lili, giving her a mysterious smile and went back into the kitchen.
"No way!" Sun Lili jumped off the couch so fast she nearly tripped over her own feet. She ran into the kitchen.
Unlike Sun Lili, Shen Yelan remained on the couch, but she'd turned down the TV volume and was clearly listening to the conversation in the kitchen.
"Is that why you never married?" Sun Lili planted her hands on the kitchen counter and leaned forward, "Tell me who was blind enough to leave someone like you?"
Even now, Aunt Li was quite attractive. One could easily imagine how beautiful she must have been in her youth. The idea that someone had let her go seemed genuinely incomprehensible to Sun Lili.
Her mind immediately began spinning scenarios, each more dramatic than the last.
"Was it another woman who stole him? Or...oh god...was he only with you for your looks and then dumped you when someone prettier came along? No, wait...was it a family interference thing?"
"Not everything is as dramatic as you're imagining." Aunt Li chuckled, shaking her head, "He went abroad for a job opportunity and we lost contact."
"Oh. So all these years...you have been waiting for him to return," Sun Lili murmured to herself with a thoughtful expression and then gave Aunt Li an understanding look. "You've just strengthened my belief that true love exists."
Outside, Shen Yelan internally rolled her eyes at Sun Lili's theatrics. Instead, she turned her attention to her phone and read the messages she had received earlier but had ignored.
[Mad Bai: When are you going to return?]
[Mad Bai: You're not planning on dumping all the work on me, are you?]
[Mad Bai: Don't ignore me.]
[Mad Bai: I know you're reading these.]
[Shen Yelan: Keep up the good work. I am busy.]
Almost instantly, she received a reply.
[Mad Bai: Busy with what?]
[Mad Bai: The last time you said you were busy, you were throwing around money to buy some dead woman's necklace.]
The corner of Shen Yelan's lips twitched when she read this. She remembered spending eighteen million on a necklace of some queen at an auction that she had visited out of boredom. She didn't even remember where she'd put the necklace afterward.
[Shen Yelan: Be good. I'm really busy this time.]
[Mad Bai: ... ]
Shen Yelan decided to ignore him once again and put her phone away. Just in time, Aunt Li announced the dinner was ready.
After dinner, Sun Lili and Shen Yelan were on their way back to the Shen estate. They were in a taxi. The driver was not Zhao Zhan, but it was someone who worked for Shen Yelan.
About fifteen minutes into the drive, Sun Lili suddenly straightened up, as if remembering something important.
"Oh right, I completely forgot to mention this earlier. I looked into any possible connections between the Mo family and the Shen family but didn't find anything. In fact, that funeral was literally the first time they've had any direct contact."
Shen Yelan quirked an eyebrow, not surprised by this result, but it only increased her confusion regarding Mo Jingrui. Mo Jingrui had no reason to form any connection with the Shen family and from what she had observed that day, he did not seem interested in them at all. Rather, it was her he was keeping his eyes on.
She clearly remembered the day of the funeral. From the moment she'd appeared until the moment she'd left, those dark eyes had tracked her movements
It was clear she was the reason he'd been there. But why? Did he perhaps know who she really was? That seemed unlikely. She'd been extremely careful about covering her tracks.
Or did he accidentally... fall in love with her?
The moment this thought crossed her mind, Shen Yelan shuddered. A strange feeling of disgust rose inside her. She wasn't entirely sure why she felt that way, but the idea of Mo Jingrui harboring romantic feelings toward her made her skin crawl.
Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.
She immediately pushed the thought away and vowed never to think about it again.
"Have someone keep monitoring any activity from the Mo family, especially Mo Jingrui."
"Got it, boss."
.
.
In a penthouse apartment across the city, Mo Jingrui stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out at the South City skyline.
His phone buzzed with a message from Deng Weijun.
It was a report from a hospital with the words 'DNA Report' written on top. His eyes skimmed past the technical details and moved directly to the conclusion section at the bottom of the page.
A visible hint of warmth appeared in his eyes, and his lips curved into a smile.
"I finally found you..." he murmured to the empty room, "...Little Sister."