Hunt her

Two hours before receiving the text message, Shen Yi drove to the doorstep of Yu Zheng's current husband's house after her remarriage.

This is a mid-to-high-end residential community, which includes both large apartments and villas.

Yu Zheng and her current family live in the smallest villa in the villa area.

Shen Yi opened the trunk, took out the prepared gift, straightened his clothes, hesitated for a long time, and then pressed the doorbell.

As no one came to open the door for a long time, Shen Yi grew anxious, fearing that his sudden visit might have disturbed them.

But there was no other way; he had to know what kind of family Yan Xu grew up in. Without understanding her past, he couldn't understand her present.

Shen Yi was breathing heavily, anxiously waiting for someone to arrive.

Five minutes later, Shen Yi rang the doorbell again, and this time someone finally came.

She was a middle-aged woman with a few gray hairs, but her skin was very well-maintained.

She is about the same age as Yan Xu.

Shen Yi bowed slightly: "Auntie, hello, I'm Shen Yi, Yan Xu's friend."

Yu Zheng, wearing a custom-made long dress, adjusted the shawl over her shoulders and looked the young man up and down.

She raised an eyebrow, her expression wary and hostile: "What does her friend want with me?"

Unexpectedly, he was turned away as soon as they met. Shen Yi took out a gift: "This is for you, some jewelry."

"Who is it!" A man's voice came from the living room; it was probably Yu Zheng's current husband.

Yu Zheng turned her head and said to the door, "Yan Xu's friend."

"Oh." The man paused. "Let him in."

Yu Zheng wanted to kick him out, but the male head of the household spoke, so she had no choice but to obey.

Yu Zheng stepped aside to let him in, saying, "Come in, put your things in the entryway."

Shen Yi adopted the humility of a junior: "Yes, Auntie."

Stepping into the living room, I found it filled with a lot of things, a rather cluttered mess.

Although it's a villa, it's not very big, and the living room is cramped and narrow.

Zhou Guoliang sat on the sofa, smoking and watching the news on TV. He had a fat head and big ears, a typical middle-aged and elderly man's figure.

He glanced at Shen Yi sideways, his expression disdainful.

But when he saw that the person who came was Shen Yi, his eyes instantly changed from disdain to flattery.

"Mr. Shen?" Zhou Guoliang immediately put down his cigarette and stood up. "What brings you to my humble abode? Please, have a seat!"

He instructed Yu Zheng, "Go and prepare some fruit and drinks."

Yu Zheng glanced at Zhou Guoliang, then looked at Shen Yi with a puzzled expression, and nodded: "Okay."

Judging from Zhou Guoliang's reaction, it must be another case where he knows Shen Yi, but Shen Yi doesn't know him.

After experiencing it many times, Shen Yi became used to it.

Since they know who he is, he doesn't need to act.

Shen Yi asked directly, "Is Yan Xu your stepdaughter?"

Upon hearing "Yan Xu," Zhou Guoliang's eyes flickered with panic for a moment before he cautiously replied, "Yes, is that right? You need to see her?"

"It's nothing." Shen Yi's expression remained indifferent. "I'm currently pursuing her, so I wanted to ask you guys about her childhood."

Zhou Guoliang hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"She wasn't anything special when she was little, just like any other child." Yu Zheng stood behind him after washing the fruit and heard him ask the question.

Her words revealed impatience—impatience with Shen Yi, and impatience at the mention of Yan Xu.

Even though Yan Xu isn't here, she still speaks of her daughter with this attitude. One can imagine how much beatings and scoldings Yan Xu has suffered at her mother's hands.

Shen Yi: "Do you have any photos of her when she was little?"

Yu Zheng put down the fruit plate and sat down next to Zhou Guoliang: "No, I've never filmed it."

"Never taken any pictures?" How could any parent not document their child's growth? Shen Yi suddenly felt a pang of heartache. "I want to know when Yan Xu's birthday is."

This time, Yu Zheng chose to remain silent and lowered her head to eat the mango.

Zhou Guoliang smoothed things over, saying, "Yan Xu doesn't like birthdays and never celebrates them. Over time, we've forgotten about them."

I haven't documented her growth, nor do I remember her birthday.

"Dad, Aunt Yu, who's here?" A handsome young man of about eighteen or nineteen years old came down the stairs.

Yu Zheng saw a smile instantly appear on his face: "My friend Yan Xu is here to play. Come and have some fruit, I just prepared it."

"Sister's friend? She has friends..." Zhou Yu sat down next to Yu Zheng, looked Shen Yi up and down, "She's not familiar with us, you've got the wrong person."

"..."

What's the difference between saying this and kicking Yan Xu out directly?

More importantly, when her stepson provoked her biological daughter, Yu Zheng, as the mother, did not react at all.

Instead, she handed him water, saying, "You must be tired from studying. What would you like to eat tonight? Aunt Yu will make it for you."

"Tsk! What are you eating? The guests are still talking about food!" Zhou Guoliang glared at Yu Zheng. He knew Shen Yi's identity, so he would give Yan Xu some dignity out of respect for Shen Yi.

Yu Zheng didn't know Shen Yi; she only knew that he was related to her daughter.

No one associated with Yan Xu deserves kind words.

Shen Yi had only been in this house for ten minutes, but their intentional or unintentional rejection made him feel like several hours had passed.

Especially Zhou Yu.

He was sitting closest to Shen Yi and kicked him, saying, "Hey, are you interested in her? If you want her, take her."

"Take?" Shen Yi was astonished by the boy's choice of words. "She's your sister, and you talk about her like that?"

What kind of object is Yan Xu? Why use the word "take"?

Yan Xu speaks with a barb, and the reason he is unwilling to get close to people is probably because of these people.

Zhou Guoliang roared, "Zhou Yu, get up there and start studying!"

Zhou Yu went upstairs in a huff, unwilling to accept his fate: "Hmph, something nobody wants actually has friends."

His words, spoken neither too lightly nor too heavily, happened to fall into Shen Yi's ears.

Shen Yi clenched his fists and slowly stood up: "Uncle, I might have to teach your son a lesson."

After saying that, Shen Yi strode away, angrily grabbed Zhou Yu by the back of the neck and dragged him to the ground.

With a scream of pain, Shen Yi punched him twice more in the face.

Yu Zheng, anxious, rushed over to pull Shen Yi away, but Zhou Guoliang stopped her: "Don't go, sit down!"

Yu Zheng was so anxious that tears were about to come out. She was restless and kept jumping up and down. She gritted her teeth and sat down again, saying, "Don't hit him. If you want to hit someone, hit me."

Yu Zheng treated Zhou Yu like her own child and couldn't bear to see others beat him like that.

Shen Yi vented his anger with a few punches before stopping, rubbing his wrist which was still a little sore.

Zhou Yu lay on the ground, curled up, sobbing.

Shen Yi acted as if nothing had happened, stepping over him and sitting back in his original seat.

At that moment, the wildness that had been hidden within him for so long erupted once more: "Uncle, I'll teach you a lesson, any objections?"

"No objection..." Zhou Guoliang said through gritted teeth with a forced smile, "It's my fault for not raising my son well. I will pay more attention in the future."

In front of Shen Yi, Yan Xu was his Achilles' heel.

No one can say a bad word about her.

Even she herself couldn't do it.

Yu Zheng broke free from Zhou Guoliang's hand and ran over to help Zhou Yu up.

Seeing the bruises on his face, she suddenly covered her face and cried, feeling guilty for not protecting Zhou Yu.

"I'm sorry, Xiaoyu." She hugged Zhou Yu tightly, like a mother hugging her son.

Seeing this scene, Shen Yi's heart ached again.

He bit his lower lip, hesitated for a long time, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Auntie, have you ever hugged Yan Xu like this?"

Why can a mother give maternal love to a child with whom she has no blood relation, yet feel rejection towards her own child?

Yu Zheng wiped away her tears: "Xiao Yu, go to the clinic at the entrance of the community first."

Zhou Yu nodded, then walked out the door crying.

Seeing him leave, Yu Zheng immediately stood in front of Shen Yi and slapped him.

A solid slap.

Shen Yi and Zhou Guoliang were both stunned by the slap.

Zhou Guoliang realized what was happening and immediately pulled Yu Zheng away, apologizing in a humble voice: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, President Shen. Are you alright? I'll drive you to the hospital right away."

Shen Yi pressed the tip of his tongue against his back molars; there was a bloody taste.

He sneered, stood up, and used his significant height difference to intimidate Yu Zheng, demanding, "Have you ever stood up for Yan Xu like this before?"

Yu Zheng kept quiet about Yan Xu and turned her face away from him.

A familiar figure appeared at the doorway. Yu Zheng smiled disdainfully: "No, she's not worthy."

This statement seemed to be an answer to Shen Yi, but her gaze remained fixed on the person at the door as she spoke.

Yan Xu withdrew his leg from the threshold and stood at the door like an uninvited stranger: "Shen Yi, let's go."