Was the man a scumbag who tricked her into marriage? A powerful man brought his child to her door de

The man was tall and elegant, wearing a black shirt underneath and a dark gray stand-up collar coat over it. The fabric was exquisite and the tailoring was meticulous, which accentuated his handsome and aloof demeanor and made his figure appear even taller and more upright.

Everyone who saw him froze on the spot.

Even Yan Xuxu was surprised that Xie Lanyuan had come.

Grandpa Shen immediately leaned on his cane and approached with swift steps.

After many years apart, Grandpa Shen was overcome with emotion, tears streaming down his face. "You're back! Grandpa has finally waited for you to come home!"

Worried that he might fall, Jie Lanyuan respectfully stepped forward to support him, saying, "I'm sorry, Grandpa, I've made you worry."

This harmonious scene pierced Shen Mingzhou's eyes with tears.

He had been warned as early as at the birthday banquet.

I never expected him to dare come back!

That's practically suicide!

Shen Qingyun was also extremely anxious. "Why did he come back? Could it be that he's back to seize the company?"

In contrast, Ying Xuelan remained calm, saying, "He's just an adopted son, yet he dares to dream of becoming the heir? He's dreaming!"

Yan Xuxu looked at the family's flustered state and ignored them indifferently.

Leveraging the status and influence of the Xie Group in China.

The mere position of president of Ming'an.

They were not good enough for Jie Lanyuan.

Yan Xuxu guessed.

Xie Lanyuan will return to visit Grandpa Shen.

After all, it was Grandpa Shen who protected him from childhood to adulthood.

He also held Mr. Shen in high esteem.

After exchanging pleasantries, Old Master Shen asked Xie Lanyuan to follow him upstairs to his study.

Yan Xuxu wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Xie Lanyuan glanced at her as he passed by.

Only Shen Mingzhou and his family of three remained in the living room.

Yan Xuxu was self-aware; she, as an outsider, was not well-liked.

Just as I was about to find an excuse to go out for some fresh air, I heard Ying Xuelan speak first.

"Your father, Mingzhou, and I need to discuss some things. If there's nothing else, please excuse us."

Yan Xuxu was very happy to agree.

Without saying a word, he turned and left.

Before stepping out of that door, I heard Ying Xuelan say with dissatisfaction, "She had no manners before, and now she doesn't even call out to us. We should have been more firm in the first place and not let her step into our house."

"With her qualifications, she's simply not good enough for my Mingzhou."

"But Su Wanqing is much better than Mingzhou at work; she can actually help him a lot."

Yan Xuxu slowed her pace and listened to everything.

It seems that Ying Xuelan and Shen Qingyun are unaware of the sham marriage.

It must have been Shen Mingzhou who orchestrated Yan Jiaqian's scheme.

She didn't listen much and went straight to the yard for a walk after leaving the gate.

Before the Yan family moved away, the Shen and Yan families lived across from each other.

Grandpa Shen liked her and often invited her over to play.

Over time, she became familiar with the environment.

Yan Xuxu wandered aimlessly, passing through the cobblestone path, and came to a pavilion where she sat down to enjoy the breeze.

Mr. Shen has traditional ideas.

The design and construction of this old house leans towards the ancient style.

Beside the pavilion, besides a lotus pond with expensive koi carp, there are pavilions and towers all around, with various patterns carved on the eaves of the pavilions, which are quite poetic.

As Yan Xuxu gazed at the koi swimming freely in the pond, she couldn't help but recall the scene when she first saw Shen Mohan here when she was eight years old.

At that time, Shen Mohan was wearing a dirty black T-shirt and his face was covered in bruises.

He looked utterly disheveled and dejected.

He sat by the lotus pond, skipping stones across the water, his face expressionless, yet his back held high with unyielding pride.

She called his name, but he ignored her completely.

As a child, Yan Xuxu was very stubborn and persistently tried to win against him by skipping stones on the water, hoping to get his attention in the process.

As a result, he accidentally slipped and fell forward into the lotus pond.

Without saying a word, Shen Mohan jumped into the water.

The thirteen-year-old boy was in the prime of his adolescence and quite strong; he easily lifted her up.

"What a troublemaker. If you don't know how to play, don't play."

The boy spoke words of reproach, but the worry on his face was hard to hide.

Yan Xuxu was soaked to the bone, but she was especially happy because she had successfully attracted Shen Mohan's attention. "Then teach me!"

"I don't teach idiots!"

The boy's face was stubborn, but he turned around, grabbed a pebble, and threw it into the lake. The pebble bounced three times in a row, with remarkable skill and style.

He said he wouldn't teach her, but then he turned around and told her the techniques.

Since then, whenever Yan Xuxu comes to the old house, she comes here to practice skipping stones.

Coincidentally, she always ran into Shen Mohan.

He always looked disheveled.

His body was covered in wounds.

So later, whenever Yan Xuxu came to the old house, she would secretly bring him medicine.

He would deliberately cause trouble when he saw Shen Mingzhou bullying Shen Mohan.

When Ying Xuelan punished Shen Mohan by not giving him food, she secretly brought him food from home.

They became more and more familiar with each other.

They grew closer and closer.

They naturally fell in love after that.

Even after they started dating, he remained very quiet and didn't smile much.

Yan Xuxu always thought that he didn't know how to laugh.

It wasn't until his birthday, when he was laughing so happily with that woman in the restaurant, that she realized he wasn't incapable of smiling, but rather that he didn't want to smile at her.

After Shen Mohan went missing.

For a long time, she was stuck in a dead end, thinking over and over what she had done wrong that made him betray her and choose to leave with that woman.

Even now, she still can't figure it out.

The night breeze was slightly cool, making Yan Xuxu feel a bit cold.

She stood up to leave when she suddenly heard a "thump" behind her, the sound of something falling into the water.

Turning my head, I saw a dark figure standing by the lake. The nightlight hanging on the willow tree shone on him, casting dappled starlight, but I couldn't make out his face clearly.

However, his skipping skills were poor, and the stone sank into the pool without even jumping.

"Shen Mohan?"

She called out tentatively.

The man turned to look at her, a hint of displeasure on his face. "It's me."

Yan Xuxu saw it clearly this time.

It's Shen Mingzhou.

But how did he end up here?

Just as I was about to ask, I heard him speak again, "I called you but you didn't answer. Grandpa asked me to come and call you to the study."

Yan Xuxu took out her phone and looked at it.

She had put her phone on silent mode at some point.

Several missed calls are displayed on the screen.

"Okay." She stepped down from the pavilion and prepared to leave.

Shen Mingzhou caught up and grabbed her wrist, reminding her, "Shen Mohan is inside too."

Yan Xuxu understood what he meant.

He wanted her to help him extract the chat content so he could report back to her.

She nodded perfunctorily, broke free from his hand, and walked towards the hall.

Ying Xuelan and Shen Qingyun were still sitting in the living room.

Seeing her enter, Ying Xuelan said sarcastically, "You are Mingzhou's wife. You should put your husband first in everything, do you hear me?"

Yan Xuxu lowered her eyes and said calmly, "I know what to do."

"You know best."

Ying Xuelan didn't want to see her, so she waved her hand, signaling her to go up.

Yan Xuxu arrived at the study door, knocked twice, and only pushed the door open after hearing the old man's voice.

"grandfather."

She called out, glancing around but not seeing Xie Lanyuan.

Didn't Shen Mingzhou say that he was also in the study?