Volume One, Chapter Three: The Pleasure of Striking Back

Pain...

A crushing agony radiated through her shoulder blades, as if they were being ground to dust.

Shen Chaowu’s face turned pale, violent dizziness sweeping over her. In her ears, Shen Yanzhou’s icy sarcasm echoed, “Weren’t you always so tough? Can’t handle a little pain?”

The terror of death surged in her chest.

Gasping for breath, Shen Chaowu was shaken and frightened, her small face drained of all vitality.

Without hesitation, she lifted her wrist and delivered a fierce slap across Shen Yanzhou’s face.

A sharp crack resounded.

In a flash, a vivid mark bloomed on Shen Yanzhou’s handsome, peerless face.

His mind buzzed, utterly blank.

Shen Yanzhou, who commanded storms outside and received bows from all, was struck dumb by his own sister’s slap.

He pressed his lips tightly, struggling to restrain his rage.

In contrast, Shen Chaowu’s smile was radiant and dazzling.

That slap released all the grievances of her previous life—what a relief!

It was the thrill of striking back!

The veins on Shen Yanzhou’s forehead throbbed like a frayed, sparking wire. He gritted his teeth but felt no hatred. “Shen Chaowu! You—”

The girl’s clear, chilly voice cut to the bone. “Shen Yanzhou, if you’re going to have an episode, don’t take it out on me. I owe you nothing. Deliberately slamming the brakes to make me suffer—only a child would do such a thing.”

An unsettling tension filled the car.

Arms crossed, Shen Chaowu lounged against the seat, lips quirking. “Let me know when we arrive.”

Shen Yanzhou said nothing, sulking as he gripped the steering wheel.

After being slapped, he still had to play chauffeur?

When had he ever been so humiliated?!

Jiang Yao felt like she was being roasted over a fire, hardly daring to breathe, terrified Shen Chaowu might turn and slap her as well.

The car fell silent.

Arriving at the Shen family estate, the Cayenne came to a stop.

Shen Chaowu unbuckled her seatbelt and tossed something into Shen Yanzhou’s lap before briskly stepping out.

When he saw what it was, Shen Yanzhou’s expression soured even further.

A fifty-cent coin!

“Brother Yanzhou, are—are you alright?” Jiang Yao approached timidly, fear etched on her face but an eager longing for closeness in her eyes. She seemed like a frightened rabbit, her voice delicate and harmless. “Sister Chaowu probably just had a bad mood. Please don’t blame her…”

To her surprise, Shen Yanzhou glanced at her coldly.

Then he strode away without a word.

Jiang Yao’s face went white, biting her lip in embarrassment.

She had always been sensitive and fragile, dependent on others. Shen Yanzhou’s fierce, cold expression cut her to the core, and tears streamed down her cheeks once again.

Housekeeper Aunt Wang returned from grocery shopping and saw Jiang Yao standing alone outside, refusing to enter. Pity stirred in her heart. “Yao, why are you standing out here instead of going in?”

Only then did Aunt Wang notice Jiang Yao wiping her tears with trembling sobs. “Oh dear! What happened?”

Jiang Yao’s father had been the Shen family’s driver for over twenty years.

Since birth, Jiang Yao had grown up under Aunt Wang’s care. She felt deeply for the girl and immediately grabbed her wrist, ready to defend her, “Who’s the blind fool bullying our Yao?!”

But Jiang Yao only hung her head and wept in silence, so Aunt Wang’s voice softened, “Is it because the young lady has returned?”

Jiang Yao dabbed at her tears and forced a weak smile, trying to comfort Aunt Wang. “It’s alright, Aunt Wang. It’s not because of Sister Chaowu. I just…”

Before she could finish, Aunt Wang had already decided it was Shen Chaowu who had bullied Jiang Yao!

Aunt Wang’s heart was full of resentment, unable to hold back her complaints. “That young lady is really something, so petty! Yao, you don’t compete for her food or her clothes. Why target such a gentle girl?”

A clear, teasing laugh drifted down.

Aunt Wang shivered.

She looked up toward the sound. On the second-floor balcony, Shen Chaowu leaned by the window, her slender wrist lazily propping up her chin. Her long, fox-like eyes were fixed on Aunt Wang, and her smile was dazzling and full of mischief.

Shen Chaowu was stunning to begin with. Bathed in the vibrant, gentle sunlight, her beauty was even more striking, impossible to ignore.

Jiang Yao, however, was better at winning people’s hearts.

In just half a year, from the housekeeper to the maids, everyone in the Shen family treated Jiang Yao as a precious princess, while the real heiress, Shen Chaowu, was viewed with criticism.

It wasn’t surprising.

After all, Jiang Yao had a face that inspired empathy, while Shen Chaowu’s beauty was sharp and alluring—less approachable by comparison.

The crisp laughter reached Jiang Yao’s ears, making her bite her lip as tears welled up once more.

Shen Chaowu watched her leisurely, her fingertip pressed to her cheek, leaving a pomegranate-red blush. “Why are you crying? Did big brother scold you?”

“No, no…it’s me…” Jiang Yao shrank back, hiding behind Aunt Wang.

Aunt Wang was taken aback.

She had thought the young lady was the one who’d upset Jiang Yao…

Why wouldn’t Yao say anything and let her believe the wrong thing?

Aunt Wang’s warmth faded a little. She smiled at Shen Chaowu, somewhat stiffly. “Welcome home, miss. I’ll go start dinner.”

Shen Chaowu nodded slightly.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Yao was left alone outside once more.

The sun was setting. The Shen estate sat high above the city, and from the second floor, one could overlook a sea of lights below.

The fiery glow of sunset bathed Shen Chaowu’s face, giving her a radiant, dazzling beauty, as if countless golden flecks were whirling around her, enveloping her, ready to burst forth.

Shen Hanchuan returned to witness this scene.

But he had no time for admiration.

“Shen Chaowu, did you make Yao wait outside and refuse to let her in?” He’d received a phone call from Yao, heard her crying, and rushed back from school.

Shen Hanchuan was a prodigy at the piano, a young, award-winning guest professor at Haicheng Conservatory.

He tenderly wrapped his coat around Jiang Yao.

The temperature difference between day and night was sharp; her small frame was cold as ice.

Shen Chaowu cast a sidelong glance at his disappointed expression, then at Jiang Yao in his arms, and laughed softly. “Whether I bullied her or not, you can just ask her.”

The girl’s gaze was icy cold; Shen Hanchuan froze for a moment, then lowered his head to ask, “Yao?”

Jiang Yao’s face was pale.

She pressed her lips together, her voice barely audible, as if she had caught a chill. “Sister Chaowu didn’t bully me…it’s just that I couldn’t stand the wind, so…”

Having skipped two classes to rush back, Shen Hanchuan was exhausted. He sighed, “Yao, why didn’t you say so on the phone? Why stand outside alone? Don’t you know your health is fragile?”

He felt a vague guilt toward Shen Chaowu. “Chaowu, come downstairs for dinner.”

“No.”

Shen Chaowu brushed past him, lips curling with a frosty smile. “Jin Yao invited me.”

As she was about to leave, Jiang Yao called out softly, “Sister Chaowu, I want to see Brother Jin Yao too. Could you take me with you?”