When Rong Qian saw Xu Mo’s reaction, she knew he wasn’t familiar with Shen Yi’s past.

Rong Qian understood perfectly well that whitewashing a person’s reputation wasn’t difficult — especially when that person was already dead.

She didn’t know to what extent Shen Chi’s image had been elevated in the public eye, but in her eyes, Shen Chi was nothing more than a man guilty of domestic violence, infidelity, and every manner of depravity imaginable.

“Meng Yuxin, I’m telling you right now, plainly and seriously — Shen Chi’s death has absolutely nothing to do with my Shen Yi!”

Shen Yi’s hand, which had been holding his teacup, paused for a moment. Then, the corner of his mouth curved into an involuntary smile.

Shen Yi had always known that no matter the moment, she would stand in front of him as his shield. In this world, she was the only one who would protect him like this.

He loved hearing her say “my Shen Yi.” Every time those words reached his ears, his heart would warm, because it reminded him that he, too, was someone who was loved…

That he wasn’t alone.

Meng Yuxin refused to back down and retorted: “What do you know? I’m telling you, if you dare spout any more nonsense —”

“Are you sure it’s nonsense?” Rong Qian cut her off again.

Meng Yuxin tried to speak further, but the calm, steady look in Rong Qian’s eyes made her heart falter with uncertainty.

“Meng Yuxin, I’m genuinely curious — what gives you the right to strut around here with your nose in the air?” Rong Qian crossed her arms and began to assert herself.

“While it’s true that Shen Chi did marry you and bring you into his home, that still doesn’t change the fact that you were the third party in his affair while he was already married. And from what I know, after he brought you in, he never once laid a hand on you.”

Meng Yuxin’s face shifted between pale and flushed. How did she know that?

“Your little situation isn’t even worth my time to discuss at length. But how dare you use Shen Chi’s death to pressure my Shen Yi — that, I will not let slide.” Rong Qian’s gaze turned cold and sharp in an instant.

She summoned the commanding presence of someone interrogating a suspect, and an authoritative aura rose naturally from within her.

“Shen Chi’s death — rather than calling it just deserts, it would be more accurate to call it the consequences he brought upon himself.” Rong Qian said coldly. “I told him clearly that he wouldn’t live past three years. Yet he still refused to make amends, stubbornly pressing forward, and drove Shen Yi away once again.”

“Meng Yuxin, let me be clear — it is not Shen Yi who wronged Shen Chi, but Shen Chi who wronged him.”

“How much suffering did Shen Yi endure because of him as a child? How many beatings did he take? None of you will ever know. He endured the humiliation and stayed — because of his own kindness. Yet all of you assumed he stayed for the inheritance, and used that to crush him. How utterly laughable!”

The more Rong Qian spoke, the more incensed she became. Heaven knew how much this woman, Meng Yuxin, had made her fume over the years. She was determined to vent every last bit of that anger on his behalf today.

Xu Mo had been watching in stunned silence. In the end, he could only arrive at one conclusion: in the future, he could afford to offend anyone — just not this Miss Rong.

Meng Yuxin, startled and flustered, blurted out: “How do you know he wouldn’t live past three years?”

“Is there anything remarkable about that? I know how long all of you have left to live…”

The words had barely left her mouth before Rong Qian realized she’d said something she shouldn’t have. Without changing her expression, she added casually to Meng Yuxin: “Would you like to know when you’re going to die? I can calculate that for you.”

“How dare you curse me!” Meng Yuxin was successfully provoked, and her attention was successfully redirected.

As for Shen Yi, a strange gleam passed through his eyes as he watched Rong Qian.

Even after Meng Yuxin pulled Yao Na and stormed off, Rong Qian still couldn’t swallow her indignation. Weren’t they here to argue things out? How did they just up and leave?

“Miss Rong, was everything you just said true? Did the boss, when he was young…” Xu Mo stole a glance at Shen Yi out of the corner of his eye, not daring to be too direct.

Rong Qian had no such hesitation. She said bluntly: “Exactly what you’re imagining. The life he lived as a child — it was worse than being in prison.”

Hearing that, Xu Mo finally understood why Shen Yi had let her keep talking earlier.

But there was something Xu Mo was curious about. He asked Rong Qian: “Miss Rong, how do you know all of this so clearly?”

“Because I lived with him for a few months.” Rong Qian was perfectly matter-of-fact about it, not even bothering to come up with a cover story.

Xu Mo was even more curious about their past after hearing that — but before he could press further, Shen Yi spoke.

In the gentlest of tones, he said the most “cutting” thing: “Xu Mo, you misspoke just now. I’m noting that account.”

Xu Mo’s face fell miserably. Boss, I was wrong, please let it go…

By the time the whole Meng Yuxin episode had run its course and they finally sat down for breakfast, it was nearly ten o’clock.

Fu Bozhong hadn’t come downstairs during the confrontation, but he’d witnessed everything from above. He was deeply gratified that Rong Qian had stood up for his young master, and to show it, he enthusiastically kept piling food onto her plate throughout the meal.

Xu Mo recalled something and asked Shen Yi: “Boss, do you know which Yao family that is? Why was Meng Yuxin so convinced you wouldn’t dare refuse?”

Shen Yi didn’t have much of an appetite. After eating a little, he set down his chopsticks.

He said: “You may not have heard of the Yao Family, but the name Yao Zhengxing — that you must know. He’s the Gambling King, a man with wealth measured in the billions.”

Xu Mo’s eyes went wide instantly. Billions? Good heavens!

No wonder Meng Yuxin had been so confident. Given Yao Zhengxing’s standing in Hong Kong, who would dare cross him? There simply wasn’t anyone who could afford to.

Xu Mo thought about Yao Zhengxing’s billions, then looked at his own boss. Suddenly, his confidence wavered. He asked: “Boss, do you have even a hundred million in savings?”

Rong Qian, who had been quietly eating her congee, caught the question and shot him a look. The nerve of him, asking something like that.

Shen Yi, however, replied: “Do you have that little confidence in my income?”

“That’s what I thought, there’s no way he could possibly — oh!” Xu Mo stopped mid-sentence, realization dawning on him. His eyes lit up instantly. The implication was clear — he did!

Though, really, one couldn’t blame Xu Mo for being so surprised. It was mostly because Shen Yi rarely spent money. Aside from necessities, he almost never bought luxury items.

Even his designer suits were gifted as part of endorsement deals.

Come to think of it, the only thing Shen Yi had ever spent lavishly on was this house. His diet could be modest, but when it came to where he lived, he chose only the best.

And the master and guest bedrooms — he had personally supervised every detail of the renovation…

Wait. Xu Mo suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

Something came to him, and he whipped his head around to stare at Rong Qian. His gaze was intense and unblinking.

Rong Qian was taken aback. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

So this was the truth…

Xu Mo finally understood. Shen Yi hadn’t bought this house for himself at all — he’d prepared it for her.