The Fake Heiress: My Brother's Gaze Is a Bit Off - Chapter 8

The business trip team spent two days in Sri Lanka completing their entire work schedule, leaving the remaining two days for free activities.

Shen Zhaoran, not wanting to move, stayed in the hotel. She curled up on the sofa listening to the sound of the waves while playing games.

When Ruan Yan returned, she saw Shen Zhaoran still lying there and said helplessly, “We have already finished eating and come back.”

“I ate too.” She pointed to the leftovers on the table. “I had the hotel send it up. It tasted average.”

She did not want to go out, but she had let everyone else go, leaving only two bodyguards behind.

Ruan Yan asked, “I am taking them to the ancient castle this afternoon. Are you coming?”

Shen Zhaoran shook her head. “I do not want to go. I am staying at the hotel to look over the design drafts they submitted.”

Ruan Yan replied, “Then I will bring you something delicious back.”

Shen Zhaoran said, “That works.”

As the two were talking, the doorbell rang.

When Ruan Yan opened the door and saw it was the hotel food delivery, she called out toward the room, “Zhaoran! Did you order food again?”

“No!” Shen Zhaoran paused for two seconds after answering. “Wait, my brother must have ordered it. Tell them to bring it in!”

This time, it was not the standard hotel set menu but authentic Chinese food, the dishes still steaming hot.

Ruan Yan took a look and said, “Great, I am hungry again.”

Shen Zhaoran added, “Let us eat together.”

Ruan Yan ladled a bowl of seafood soup and asked, “Can you drink this?”

Shen Zhaoran poked around with a soup spoon and replied, “It is fine, I can drink it.”

She had a mild seafood allergy, meaning she could not eat things like scallops or oysters, but shrimp and crab were fine.

Ruan Yan, eating happily, asked another question, “How did your brother know you had not eaten enough?”

Shen Zhaoran thought about it while drinking her soup. “I sent him a photo of my lunch. He probably guessed I did not eat much.”

Ruan Yan paused. Sometimes she truly admired these two siblings. Every action they took was beyond her expectations, yet it all felt so logical. It was a classic case of one person willing to give and the other willing to take.

On the day of the return flight, Shen Zhaoran kept checking her messages from takeoff until landing. Before departing, she had messaged Shen Junhuai, asking him to pick her up if he was free. He had replied that he had a meeting and was not sure if it would end in time.

Seeing that their conversation had stalled an hour ago, she suspected the signal might be bad and restarted her phone.

Ruan Yan caught up to her and nudged her with her elbow. “What gains did you make on this trip?”

Shen Zhaoran looked up and thought for a moment. “That sapphire would make a nice brooch for my brother.”

Ruan Yan was speechless. “You bought that sapphire to give to your brother? I thought you were keeping it for your own collection.”

Shen Zhaoran nodded. “Do you not think my brother and sapphires are a perfect match?”

“That is not what I meant.” Ruan Yan glanced behind them, then leaned in close to whisper. “I think Shi Jiashu likes you.”

Shen Zhaoran looked puzzled. “Huh?”

Ruan Yan said, “You did not notice? When you had motion sickness on the road, he was the one who provided the medicine. He was worried about whether you were too hot or had heatstroke the whole way. Even when we went out, he was searching for snacks for you, terrified that you would be hungry back at the hotel.”

Shen Zhaoran blinked. “Is Tong Jiu not the same?”

Ruan Yan paused. She is your personal assistant. Is that the same thing?

Shen Zhaoran said coolly, “Fine. If that is what you think, then I suppose he must.”

Ruan Yan looked at her excitedly, only to hear her say, “After this, I will transfer Shi Jiashu to your group. His drafts will no longer pass through my hands to avoid unnecessary contact.”

Ruan Yan widened her eyes. “Just like that?”

Shen Zhaoran nodded. “He is very capable. If he confesses to me, I will feel bad firing him, but it will be awkward for everyone if I do not. So, it is best for him to digest those feelings on his own and never speak them out loud.”

Ruan Yan closed her eyes, glanced at Shi Jiashu, who had been sneaking looks at them, and felt a brief moment of sympathy for him.

“When he first arrived, you even complimented his looks.”

“Is there anyone in our studio who does not look good?”

Ruan Yan sighed. That was true; everyone in their studio was a face-value addict.

Shen Zhaoran took out her phone, glanced at it, and continued. “I do like good-looking people, but it is just for aesthetic pleasure. There is no other meaning. I am not against office romances, provided I am not one of the parties involved.”

Ruan Yan asked, “I have been wanting to ask since just now, what messages have you been checking?”

Shen Zhaoran replied, “My brother said he had a meeting in the afternoon. I do not know if he managed to make time to pick me up.”

Ruan Yan felt numb. “It is all the same if the driver picks you up. If nobody came, I could just drop you off on my way.”

As the group arrived at the parking lot, Shen Zhaoran spotted a familiar car at a glance. Her eyes lit up as she opened the door, only to see Xuan Qing sitting on the other side.

Xuan Qing waved his hand in greeting. “Hi!”

Shen Zhaoran stared at him. She immediately wiped the smile off her face.

Seeing that it was Xuan Qing sitting inside, Ruan Yan patted Shen Zhaoran’s shoulder. “It seems your dear brother is busy. I will take the others and go. See you later.”

Shen Zhaoran sat in the car, expressionless, and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Xuan Qing replied, “Wow, how heartless. You certainly do not have this attitude when you ask me for President Shen’s schedule.”

Ignoring him completely, Shen Zhaoran asked, “Is my brother still in a meeting?”

Xuan Qing said, “Yes. He originally intended to come, but the old folks in the meeting were babbling on endlessly and could not take a hint, so President Shen had to ask me to come pick you up first.”

Shen Zhaoran asked again, “Did my brother clear his holiday time?”

Xuan Qing shook his head. “I am not sure.”

Shen Zhaoran stared at him. “What kind of assistant are you?”

Xuan Qing sighed. “Thanks to you, eldest miss, I am about to be sent to be stationed in Africa.”

Shen Zhaoran’s eyelid twitched. “Is that true?”

Xuan Qing chuckled again. “I am going on a business trip, but not to Africa. I am going to Italy. The operations of the branch company there need some adjustments.”

Shen Zhaoran thought for a moment. “At least the food in Italy is delicious.”

She paused and muttered to herself. “Then who am I supposed to ask for my brother’s schedule from now on?”

Ever since they returned from New York, Xuan Zuo would only tell her the schedule that Shen Junhuai was already willing to share, and even then, the timing was extremely vague.

Xuan Qing suggested, “I can help you hack into the company system.”

Shen Zhaoran replied, “Thank you for that terrible idea.”

Xuan Qing added, “You are welcome. It is my duty.”

When they arrived at the Hengyu building, Xuan Qing took her to the private elevator and said, “President Shen has not finished his meeting yet. You go to his office and sit for a while; I will have someone send you some tea and snacks.”

Shen Zhaoran replied, “I already ate on the plane.”

Xuan Qing asked, “Then some hot milk?”

Shen Zhaoran nodded.

She had not been to the company in a while. She entered Shen Junhuai’s office and looked around; nothing seemed to have changed.

It was not until she sat in Shen Junhuai’s chair that she realized the family portrait that used to be on the desk and the photo of her and Shen Junhuai were both gone.

Shen Zhaoran stared in confusion. She searched the entire room and could not find them, so she began to ponder.

Lately, Shen Junhuai was not just a little strange; he was very strange. Could it be that her brother was hitting his late-blooming rebellious phase at the age of twenty-eight?