After the Young Master’s Death, He was Kissed by His Mortal Enemy! - Chapter 71

Outside the Shen Corporation building, Shen Ran looked up at the towering structure and let out a deep sigh.

Once upon a time, he used to walk in and out of this place with such joy.

Back then, he was the young master of the Shen family. The Shen Corporation was his family’s business, and he always came here to visit his parents.

But his identity was fake, and the love from his parents was an illusion.

Sometimes, Shen Ran even wondered if the Shen couple had adopted him all those years ago just so that when the Shen Corporation eventually collapsed, he would be left behind as a scapegoat.

Was the love that Shen Xianming and Fu Sijie showed him after hypnotizing him simply a product of guilt?

Just as sorrow began to rise in his heart, Shen Ran quickly pushed it back down.

He had already grieved over this far too many times, endured too much pain, and shed too many tears.

If he were to wallow in it again, then he truly would be too weak.

Sometimes, people need to be a bit cold-hearted—toward others, and toward themselves.

No matter what, the “Shen” in Shen Ran’s name certainly didn’t come from Shen Xianming.

After all, when Ai Wenchuan found him at the gates of Qingshan Orphanage years ago, he had a small wooden plaque in his swaddling clothes with the name “Shen Ran” carved on it.

He was Shen Ran from the very beginning. And he would be free.

And the first step toward that freedom would be…

“Cheng Yi,” Shen Ran suddenly turned to him with a serious expression, his tone solemn. “Promise me one thing, okay?”

Seeing how serious Shen Ran looked, Cheng Yi also put away his usual lazy demeanor. “Go ahead.”

“The grand prize at the company annual party lottery is a luxury apartment worth tens of millions. Use your connections and get me that prize. I want that apartment.”

Cheng Yi: “…”

Use his connections? To win the grand prize?

For a moment, Cheng Yi even raised his hand, tempted to knock some sense into Shen Ran.

He genuinely wondered what Shen Ran’s brain was made of—asking him to use his connections at the Shen Corporation?

His biggest connection in the Shen Corporation… was probably Shen Ran himself!

Cheng Yi replied in exasperation, “Here I was, worried you’d get emotional seeing this place again, and I was thinking about how to comfort you. Turns out, Boss Shen isn’t nearly as fragile as I thought.”

“Of course not,” Shen Ran said smugly, shaking his head. “Don’t forget the real reason we’re here today—to make some money! Let’s go, the annual party venue is this way.”

Once he got into the spirit, Shen Ran was full of energy, leading Cheng Yi through several twists and turns with confident familiarity toward the event hall.

What Shen Ran didn’t notice was that, shortly after he and Cheng Yi stepped into the building, another familiar figure silently appeared behind them.

Chen Xu.

Bathed in the gentle glow of the afternoon sun, Chen Xu’s gaze remained completely devoid of warmth.

As he stared at the backs of Shen Ran and Cheng Yi, his eyes were filled with calculation and coldness.

Following quietly, Chen Xu clenched his fists tightly.

Even though he told himself he had no feelings for Shen Ran, he still couldn’t accept being dumped so abruptly.

He hadn’t gotten everything he wanted from Shen Ran yet—how dare Shen Ran leave him?

If he could win him back, that would be ideal.

…But even if he couldn’t, he would make sure to get in the way of that damned Cheng Yi. There was no way he’d let the two of them be together.

Just thinking about the smug, provocative look Cheng Yi had outside that tearoom that day made Chen Xu grit his teeth in anger.

Cheng Yi was nothing more than the owner of a small company, a minor businessman.

It was bad enough that he stole someone else’s man, but he even had the audacity to flaunt it right in front of him, as if afraid Chen Xu didn’t know.

Shameless. Absolutely shameless.

His fists clenched and loosened again. Chen Xu’s gloomy eyes locked onto the affectionate duo ahead of him as he made his way toward the backstage area of the venue.

With the lesson from last time still fresh in his mind, Chen Xu knew better than to confront Cheng Yi head-on.

Anyone who argued with that sharp-tongued Cheng Yi would likely end up speechless.

He would have to take a more roundabout approach.

Chen Xu remembered that Shen Ran had once mentioned he had told his parents about their relationship.

And now Shen Ran was openly bringing Cheng Yi to the Shen Corporation’s annual party?

Chen Xu didn’t believe that once he showed up, the Shen couple wouldn’t grow suspicious.

After all, powerful families valued etiquette and propriety above all. If he told them that Cheng Yi had schemed his way in as a homewrecker, using underhanded tactics, he was certain the Shens would never allow Shen Ran to stay with him.

Ideally, after driving a wedge between Shen Ran and Cheng Yi, he might even be able to walk away with a generous breakup settlement from the Shens.

Heh.

——

The Shen Corporation was, after all, a massive enterprise. It wasn’t surprising that the building housed a venue capable of accommodating several thousand people.

With the Lunar New Year fast approaching, a cheerful atmosphere permeated every corner of the company today.

Employees passing by all wore relaxed smiles or faces brimming with excitement.

After all, who wouldn’t enjoy attending a lively annual party—on company time, with pay, entertainment, bonuses, and even a lottery?

“I don’t know why,” Shen Ran muttered as he walked down the corridor, “today’s supposed to be all festive and bright, but I’ve got this weird chill down my back.”

He suddenly shivered, rubbing his arms dramatically.

“A chill down your back?” Cheng Yi raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah! Feels like something creepy, like someone’s watching me—and not in a good way. Like a villain or something. Even my hands are cold!”

Shen Ran glanced around cautiously, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

He had been in and out of the Shen Corporation many times before, yet he’d never felt anything unusual.

Only this time… it was oddly cold.

Just as he was looking around, Cheng Yi suddenly took his hand.

“Let me feel.”

Warm fingers wrapped around Shen Ran’s icy ones. Cheng Yi gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Yeah, they’re cold. Let’s keep holding hands like this.”

God knew how hard Shen Ran had to try not to break into a grin right then. He turned his head away. “…Tch. If you wanted to hold my hand, you could’ve just said so—what’s with all the theatrics?”

“Mhm,” Cheng Yi replied, “I just wanted to hold your hand.”

…

A soft blush spread rapidly from Shen Ran’s neck all the way up to his cheeks.

Cheng Yi, most of the time, had a tongue sharp enough to draw blood. But every so often, like now, he could be startlingly sincere and direct.

In the past, Shen Ran thought nothing was more exciting than those ambiguous moments of mutual teasing before a relationship began.

But now, he was starting to realize that being on the receiving end of such blunt affection could be just as smile-inducing—if not more.

Many employees recognized him as he walked through the building, and greetings echoed all around.

“Shen Ran, hey! You’re here!”

“Good to see you, young Master Shen! Happy early New Year!”

Shen Ran smiled and nodded in return to each of them, his heart briefly flashing back to not long ago, when he had asked Cheng Yi to pretend to be his boyfriend and meet his parents.

Back then, their relationship had been fake.

But now, it couldn’t be more real.

“Hey, Cheng Yi,” Shen Ran said suddenly, narrowing his eyes.

“When we went to see my parents, you asked me to hold your arm and then even kissed me—be honest, weren’t you just taking advantage of the situation?”

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