Shen Yunmian strode in quickly. The loud commotion immediately alarmed Shen's mother, Zhou Yaqin, who hadn't gone to bed yet, along with several servants.
"Oh my! What's going on at this hour—" Zhou Yaqin walked out of the living room in her nightgown, but before she could finish speaking, she saw Shen Yunmian at the entrance—her face livid, clothes disheveled, and most importantly, obvious scratch marks on her face and neck!
Her voice instantly changed in pitch as she rushed forward. "Yunmian, what happened to your face? Who did this? Who dared to hurt you like this?!"
Shen Yunmian impatiently avoided her mother's hand, the anger in her heart burning even stronger.
Was she supposed to say that it was her usually gentle wife who had scratched her?
Even she found that ridiculous!
Suppressing her anger, Shen Yunmian didn't answer the question. Instead, she coldly shifted the focus to another matter, her tone displeased:
"Mom, what exactly happened with Yu Sheng losing the child?"
Zhou Yaqin's eyes flickered instantly, her momentum weakening as she stammered, "W-why are you suddenly asking this? Didn't we already say—Yu Sheng fainted from low blood sugar…"
"Enough!" Shen Yunmian cut her off sharply. "At this point, you're still trying to hide it from me?"
Seeing that she couldn't conceal it anymore, Zhou Yaqin's face showed a trace of embarrassment and dissatisfaction as she instinctively protected her younger daughter.
"Oh, Yunmian, don't say it like that… Xingyao didn't do it on purpose! She's just a child, playful and mischievous. Who would've thought Yu Sheng would be so easily frightened… it was just an accident, who could have expected—"
"A child?" Shen Yunmian was furious. "Xingyao is already twelve years old! Not two! Doesn't she know what should and shouldn't be done? Playing those horror tricks at home—was that an accident? That was stupidity!"
The more she spoke, the angrier she became—not only at Shen Xingyao's recklessness, but also at her mother's indulgence and concealment.
"If you hadn't always spoiled her, would she dare to be so lawless? That was a life! My child!"
Zhou Yaqin felt embarrassed at being scolded but still pitied her younger daughter, pleading tearfully:
"Yunmian, how can you talk about your sister like that! She knows she was wrong, she cried for so long out of fear. She didn't mean it! And isn't Yu Sheng also partly responsible? She knew her body wasn't good, yet she wasn't careful—"
"Mom!" Shen Yunmian was completely disappointed, her voice cold as ice. "Stop making excuses for her."
She ignored her mother's crying and directly ordered the housekeeper who had rushed over:
"Go! Bring the Second Miss down here!"
Soon, Shen Xingyao—still in pajamas, sleepy and dissatisfied—was brought to the living room.
The moment she saw Shen Yunmian's terrifying expression, the injuries on her face, and their crying mother, she instantly lost all sleepiness and shrank back.
"Sis… what's wrong?" she asked softly.
Shen Yunmian looked at her sternly. "Shen Xingyao, I'll give you one last chance. How exactly did the child die?"
Shen Xingyao's face turned pale. Her eyes darted as she instinctively looked at her mother.
Zhou Yaqin was about to speak, but Shen Yunmian shot her a sharp glare that stopped her.
"Speak!" Shen Yunmian barked.
Shen Xingyao trembled. "I…I didn't mean it. I was just playing. How would I know she was so timid…"
"Playing?" Shen Yunmian trembled with anger.
"Wah… I know I was wrong, Mom…" Shen Xingyao cried, trying to hide behind Zhou Yaqin.
Zhou Yaqin hugged her daughter tightly and begged, "Yunmian, she's still a child. She knows she was wrong—just let her off this time… she's already so scared…"
Shen Yunmian was unmoved. She pointed to a corner of the living room.
"Kneel over there and reflect properly. Don't get up until you truly understand your mistake!"
"What?!" Shen Xingyao screamed in disbelief. "I won't kneel! Mom, I don't want to!"
Zhou Yaqin also panicked. "Yunmian, that's not right! What era is this—kneeling as punishment? No way!"
Shen Yunmian's gaze was icy and unquestionable.
"When I made mistakes as a child, Grandma punished me the same way. Precisely because you never discipline her, she dares to be this lawless. Today, she must kneel!"
She signaled to the housekeeper. "Watch her kneel for two hours! Not one minute less!"
The housekeeper didn't dare defy Shen Yunmian in her fury and could only step forward. "Second Miss, please."
Shen Xingyao cried hysterically, clinging to her mother.
Zhou Yaqin cried too, scolding Shen Yunmian for being heartless while shielding her daughter.
Watching the chaotic scene, Shen Yunmian felt her temples throb, utterly exhausted.
She didn't bother arguing further. Throwing out a final sentence—"Crying won't help! She must kneel!"—she turned and stormed upstairs to the study.
She needed to calm down, tend to her injuries, and more importantly, think about Yu Sheng's completely unrecognizable madness tonight.
Back in the study, Shen Yunmian immediately contacted the family doctor, asking her to come over at once.
About half an hour later, the private doctor, Qin Ting, hurried to the residence.
Led into the study by the housekeeper, she saw Shen Yunmian's injuries and gasped in shock. "President Shen! Th-this… what happened? Did you get into a fight?"
She simply couldn't imagine Shen Yunmian fighting someone.
Shen Yunmian sat on the sofa with an unpleasant expression, eyes closed, saying nothing.
Qin Ting set down her medical kit and examined the wounds carefully, then let out a breath of relief. "Fortunately, they're not deep—just scratches. They shouldn't leave scars. But they'll sting and itch for a few days. I'll disinfect and apply some medicine."
As she worked skillfully, she couldn't help asking, "Who on earth did this? Who would dare lay a hand on you?"
Shen Yunmian remained silent.
After applying the medicine and packing up, Qin Ting couldn't hold it in anymore. "Judging by the marks and force… it looks like… um… scratches?"
She observed Shen Yunmian's expression. Seeing no denial—only a deeper frown—her curiosity grew.
She boldly guessed in a lowered voice, "Don't tell me… it was your wife who scratched you?"
Shen Yunmian suddenly opened her eyes, shooting her an annoyed glance.
Qin Ting shrank back, but her curiosity only intensified.
Having been the Shen family's doctor for five years, she knew that the young madam was famously gentle-tempered.
Unable to resist, she whispered in astonishment, "It really was your wife? My god… President Shen, what on earth did you do to push someone so gentle to the point of scratching you like that?"
Those words struck exactly at the most confusing and frustrating point in Shen Yunmian's heart.
What had she done?
She didn't know!
She had only handled things the way she always did—offering what she believed to be the most reasonable and effective solution.
An apology. Compensation. She had even agreed to give Yu Sheng Qiyun Film!
She thought that was enough to show sincerity.
But the result?
The result was Yu Sheng acting like a madwoman—cursing and attacking her!
"I don't know." Shen Yunmian's voice carried a rare trace of confusion as she rubbed her temples. "We were always… fine before."
When she said the word "fine," even she felt how pale and unconvincing it sounded.
Polite and respectful on the surface—was that all it ever was?
Had there already been problems between them that she had never even noticed?
Qin Ting sighed, seeing her like this. As an outsider, she couldn't say much, only offered a gentle suggestion:
"President Shen, sometimes… when a woman is hurt, what she wants might not be a perfectly reasonable solution or generous compensation. She might… need some emotional comfort."
Shen Yunmian listened in silence. She seemed to understand—and yet not understand at all.
Emotional comfort? What was that? Could it solve anything?
After leaving some topical medicine and instructions, Qin Ting departed.
The study was left with only Shen Yunmian.
The wounds on her face still stung faintly, reminding her how absurd everything tonight had been.
For the first time,
she couldn't sleep.
Lying in bed, tossing and turning, her mind replayed over and over Yu Sheng's bloodshot eyes filled with hatred, those sharp, piercing curses, and the way she had lunged at her with desperate madness…
Everything felt unfamiliar—and unsettling.
She and Yu Sheng had always had a stable relationship. Though not particularly deep, it was polite and smooth.
Yu Sheng was sensible, considerate, and composed—never making things difficult for her.
Why did everything change overnight?
Could it be that losing a child really deals such a devastating blow to a person? Enough to completely change someone's temperament?
She truly couldn't understand it.
In the darkness, Shen Yunmian picked up her phone and subconsciously scrolled to Yu Sheng's number.
An inexplicable impulse drove her—she wanted to call again. Perhaps… now that Yu Sheng had calmed down, she might be able to communicate a little more normally?
The call went through.
It hadn't even rung twice before it was directly hung up!
Shen Yunmian froze for a moment. Unwilling to give up, she called again.
This time, instead of a ringing tone, a cold, standardized system voice came through the receiver: "Sorry, the number you dialed is currently busy. Please try again later."
Holding the phone, Shen Yunmian stood there for several seconds before realizing—Yu Sheng had blocked her!
That realization felt like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, chilling her to the bone.
The wife who would always answer immediately no matter how late it was, no matter what she was doing, and respond to her gently—now refused her calls, and had even blocked her.
President Shen stood frozen in the darkness, gripping her phone. The burning pain on her face intertwined with the notification of being blocked, plunging her into an unprecedented state of self-doubt and confusion.
Her wife, Yu Sheng, must have developed serious mental problems.
Yes, that had to be it.
Postpartum depression? Or acute stress disorder caused by the miscarriage?
Otherwise, there was no way to explain such a drastic personality shift and extreme behavior.
Thinking this way, Shen Yunmian seemed to find a reasonable explanation for herself. The irritation and confusion in her heart eased slightly, replaced by a kind of calm focus on "solving the problem."
She couldn't let Yu Sheng continue like this.
No matter for herself, for the Shen family, or for Yu Sheng—it wasn't a good thing.
So Shen Yunmian stopped dwelling on being blocked. She picked up her phone again and directly contacted her private secretary. Her tone returned to its usual calm decisiveness:
"Secretary Li, contact the best psychologist—someone skilled in handling postpartum emotions or post-traumatic stress. Have them go to Jingshui Bay and conduct a comprehensive psychological evaluation and counseling for my wife. Yes, be polite—but make sure she accepts the examination and treatment."
After giving the instructions, Shen Yunmian put down her phone, as if she had completed an important work arrangement.
She stared at the ceiling, the wounds on her face still faintly aching.
She thought that once the doctor examined her and she took medication, Yu Sheng should gradually return to normal, right?
Everything would go back on track.
Ignoring the faint unease deep in her heart, she slowly closed her eyes.
—
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