Chapter 88: Shen · Big Doggy · Yanhui (Two-in-One)

After finishing breakfast, Gu Yan kissed Shen Yanhui on the cheek, preparing to get down from his lap.

"You should go get busy." She was very considerate.

Shen Yanhui, however, held onto her hand: "What are your plans for today?"

Gu Yan thought for a moment: "Hmm... I'm going to visit my professor at the studio in Fengdanbailu."

"Mm, let the driver take you."

Gu Yan agreed, but when she reached the entrance of the dining room, her footsteps suddenly paused.

She trotted back to Shen Yanhui's side, her eyes sparkling.

"What is it?"

"Here, let me show you something." She took a folded piece of drawing paper from her pocket and pushed it toward him.

Shen Yanhui unfolded it; it was a sketch.

In the drawing, he had fluffy dog ears, his tail was raised, a bone was tucked into his suit pocket, and a small caption on the side read: 【Shen · Big Doggy · Yanhui】.

He raised an eyebrow.

No one had ever dared to associate him with a creature like a dog; this young girl was simply bold beyond measure.

"It's just you," Gu Yan said righteously, "You're so clingy, if you're not a doggy, then what are you?"

"Sharp-tongued."

Hearing him say this, Gu Yan deliberately leaned close to his face and bared her teeth: "Just sharp-tongued, so what?"

Shen Yanhui carefully folded the drawing paper and tucked it into his inner suit pocket: "Confiscated."

"Hey, that's mine—"

"It's mine now."

Gu Yan had originally intended to give it to him; she reached out to pinch his cheek and then quickly ran out of the dining room before he could move.

"I'm leaving!"

Shen Yanhui let out a low laugh.

No sooner had Gu Yan left than Sheng Ze sauntered into the dining room, plopped down opposite Shen Yanhui, and said with heavy resentment: "I'm telling you, Old Shen, you're not human."

Shen Yanhui didn't even lift his eyelids: "Are you full?"

"You actually made me squat at the door to eat?" Sheng Ze slapped the table, "There's no one else who forgets their friends for a woman like you!"

Shen Yanhui said: "Not beating you up is already out of consideration for our many years of friendship."

Sheng Ze: "..."

"I don't believe you can manage to keep tabs on every person of the opposite sex who approaches your little sister-in-law!"

Shen Yanhui put down his coffee cup: "Let's talk business."

Sheng Ze rolled his eyes, though his expression turned serious. He pushed a tablet over and said: "It's been verified; the person who sent the photos is one of your grandfather's people, and it was done very covertly."

Shen Yanhui scrolled through the data, his expression as calm as if he had anticipated it long ago.

"The old man knows Aunt Pei is your weak spot." Sheng Ze lowered his voice, "He wants to use this to remind you that you still have people you care about, and he can touch them at any time."

"It's not a reminder." Shen Yanhui put down the tablet, "It's a threat."

He had been making big moves in the company recently, liquidating many people from the old man's side and the other branches.

Sheng Ze stared at him for a long while: "You and your grandfather...?"

Shen Yanhui curled his lips into a mocking smile and did not answer.

Chang Su walked in at this moment.

"Sir." He placed another document on the table, "The due diligence for the overseas merger and acquisition has been completed, and the target company has accepted our terms. Additionally, the Third Master has been contacting several small shareholders recently, offering prices twenty percent higher than the market rate."

Sheng Ze was stunned: "What merger and acquisition?"

Shen Yanhui opened the document: "Let them buy."

"But..." Chang Su hesitated.

"The more they buy, the better." Shen Yanhui closed the document, "When their capital chain tightens, release the odd shares we hold."

Chang Su's eyes lit up: "Yes."

Sheng Ze frowned as he listened: "Wait, what are you talking about? What odd shares? What merger?"

Only then did Shen Yanhui look at him: "Shen Corporation is currently negotiating an overseas merger; I took a controlling stake in the target company three years ago."

Sheng Ze froze: "You... three years ago?"

"After the merger is successful, that company will reverse-acquire Shen Corporation." Shen Yanhui's tone was flat, "By then, Shen Corporation will be due for a name change."

"Does the old man know?"

"He will know soon enough."

Sheng Ze shook his head: "Aren't you afraid he'll actually do something to Aunt Pei?"

"He wouldn't dare." Shen Yanhui's voice turned colder, "He knows the consequences of touching my mother; I would make the entire Shen Family pay with their lives."

Sheng Ze looked at his expression, and a chill ran down his back.

Chang Su added: "Sir has also reserved another plan; if the merger is obstructed, we can acquire through the secondary market. Currently, the floating shares we control are already approaching the critical threshold."

"So this move by the old man..." Sheng Ze realized, "actually played right into your hands? You're using this opportunity to completely... Shen Corporation..."

"Clean it out." Shen Yanhui finished his sentence, "Those who rely on their seniority to bully others, those who stab people in the back—all who should go, must go."

After Chang Su left, Sheng Ze finally recovered: "So you've been waiting for this day all along? Waiting for the old man to hand the knife to you himself?"

"He thought he could manipulate me." Shen Yanhui looked at the garden outside the window, "But he didn't know that this knife would be the first thing to slit his own throat."

Sheng Ze was awed by Shen Yanhui's strategic planning, and the more he thought about it, the more terrified he felt. Fortunately, he was a friend, not an enemy; otherwise, even ten of him wouldn't be a match, and he wouldn't even know how he died.

He sighed: "From now on, this Shen Corporation will bear the 'Shen' of your Shen Yanhui."

Shen Yanhui, however, gave a light chuckle: "Not necessarily, maybe it will bear the 'Gu'?"

Sheng Ze widened his eyes: "What do you mean?"

Shen Yanhui stood up and said lazily, "Because I am going to marry into her family."

Sheng Ze: "!!!"

Before he could speak, Shen Yanhui had already left the dining room.

——

Gu Yan got out of the car and was stunned for a moment by the house before her.

A small stone building covered in vines.

Her professor really knew how to pick a spot; working in an environment like this, one's mood would likely be three parts better.

Gu Yan knocked on the front door, and footsteps were heard from inside shortly after.

After the door opened, an elderly woman with gray hair opened her arms enthusiastically: "Yan!"

"Professor!" Gu Yan hugged her with a smile.

There was one other person in the studio.

A young man looked up from behind an easel, his eyes lighting up when he saw Gu Yan: "Gu Yan?"

"Jiang Yu?" Gu Yan recognized him, a senior from the same school, now also a young painter with a bit of a reputation.

"What a coincidence." Jiang Yu put down his paintbrush and wiped the paint off his hands, "The professor said there would be an honored guest today, I didn't expect it to be you."

The three of them hadn't seen each other for a long time and chatted for quite a while.

The professor asked about Gu Yan's new series, while Jiang Yu spoke about his guest teaching invitation at the Jingzhou Academy of Fine Arts in the second half of the year.

"Jingzhou Academy of Fine Arts?" Gu Yan was interested, "You're returning to the country to teach?"

"Just a short-term guest position, six months." Jiang Yu nodded, "I was just about to ask you, how is the art scene over there?"

Gu Yan thought for a moment: "The resources and platform are both quite good, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"Just that the academic atmosphere is a bit serious." Gu Yan smiled, "But you should be able to adapt."

Jiang Yu watched her smile, his eyes gentle: "It's much easier to adapt when there's an acquaintance around."

Halfway through the chat, Gu Yan's phone vibrated; it was a schedule confirmation sent by Lin Wei.

As she lowered her head to reply, Jiang Yu got up to pour tea, and when he returned, he naturally straightened the art book that was about to slide off her side.

"Thank you." Gu Yan looked up.

"You're welcome." Jiang Yu smiled, "By the way, the curator for that biennial in London next month is a friend of mine. If you want to exhibit, I can help introduce you."

"I'll consider it. I'll be busy with my personal art exhibition at the beginning of next month, so I might not have time." Gu Yan said.

Jiang Yu: "Understood. But if you decide you want to exhibit, contact me anytime."

Gu Yan smiled and agreed.

The conversation made them lose track of time, and by the time Gu Yan realized it, it was already past five o'clock.

She stood up to take her leave.

"I'll walk you to the intersection." Jiang Yu stood up as well, "I happen to need to send a package."

The two walked side by side along the tree-lined path.

Fallen leaves crunched under their feet, and the sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows.

"Your work has improved a lot over these years." Jiang Yu said, "I saw your piece 'Tides' in Basel last year; the color treatment was exquisite."

"You went to Basel?"

"Yeah, I went with the professor..."

By the side of the road at the intersection, a black sedan was parked quietly.

Shen Yanhui sat in the driver's seat, his fingertips tapping lightly on the steering wheel.

In the passenger seat, Sheng Ze stretched his neck to look outside, his mouth curling up: "Let me see who that is? Little sister-in-law is chatting quite happily with him."

Shen Yanhui didn't speak.

Sheng Ze pushed his luck: "Tsk tsk, look at that, walking side by side, chatting and laughing. If this were photographed, it could be a poster for a youth movie."

"Are you very free?" Shen Yanhui glanced at him.

"Free, very free." Sheng Ze said in a way that asked for a beating.

Shen Yanhui couldn't be bothered to deal with him; he unbuckled his seatbelt, but he didn't move.

Sheng Ze leaned back against the seat, deliberately taking a deep breath: "Do you smell that? Such a sour smell. Hey, can you even handle all this jealousy?"

Letting him blindly eat his jealousy this morning, and now look, a living male has actually appeared by little sister-in-law's side.

If you ask him, Shen Yanhui deserves it.

"Hey... who do you think that guy is? He looks pretty close with little sister-in-law..."

Before he could finish, Shen Yanhui opened the car door and got out.

Sheng Ze paused and scoffed.

Like a dog, really protective of his food.

Meanwhile, on Gu Yan's side, as she was walking, a force suddenly came from her heel.

She stumbled, and Jiang Yu immediately reached out to support her elbow. Seeing her stand steady, he stopped, only hovering vaguely to the side.

"Careful."

"Thank you."

Gu Yan looked down and saw that her high heel had gotten stuck in a gap in the stone pavement.

She tried to pull it out: "It's stuck a bit tight."

"Turn it gently to the left." Jiang Yu suggested, "Given the shape of this gap, pulling straight up will only make it get stuck deeper."

Gu Yan did as told, but the heel didn't budge an inch. She tried to use force, and her body swayed.

A powerful arm suddenly wrapped around her waist.

Gu Yan looked up and met a pair of deep eyes.

"Shen Yanhui?" She curved her eyes into crescents. "Why are you here?"

"To pick you up."

Shen Yanhui steadied her, then crouched down. He gripped her ankle, his fingertips lingering on the skin of her lower leg for a moment, then moved down to grasp the high heel; with a twist and a lift, the heel came out easily.

"All done." He stood up, his hand still resting on her waist.

Only then did his gaze turn toward Jiang Yu.

The two men looked at each other, and the air was quiet for a few seconds.

Gu Yan hurriedly introduced, "This is Jiang Yu, my senior. Jiang Yu, this is my boyfriend, Shen Yanhui."

"Nice to meet you." Jiang Yu extended his hand with a gentle smile.

The man before him was imposing, radiating the aura of someone in a position of power. Just looking at him gave one an invisible sense of oppression.

His gaze was scrutinizing, yet his movements were somewhat nonchalant as he shook hands.

"Nice to meet you."

Shen Yanhui withdrew his hand and put it back into his pocket.

"Is Mr. Jiang developing your career in Paris?"

"For the time being," Jiang Yu said. "I'm returning to the country next month. Gu Yan was just introducing me to the art scene in Jingzhou; it was a huge help."

"It's only right; she has always been warm-hearted." Shen Yanhui's hand, which was holding the young woman, tightened slightly.

Gu Yan pursed her lips and smiled, thinking to herself that in Shen Yanhui's heart, she was still someone who was always warm-hearted.

The praise made her feel embarrassed.

"Indeed." Jiang Yu looked at Gu Yan, his eyes gentle. "She was like this back in school."

Gu Yan didn't notice the subtle atmosphere and waved at Jiang Yu with a smile: "Then we'll be going now, see you in Jingzhou next time."

"Right." Jiang Yu nodded. "Take care on the road."

After walking a few steps, Gu Yan stopped acting reserved and leaned her whole body against Shen Yanhui. She reached her hand inside the open hem of his suit jacket and hugged his waist.

"Are you all done with your work?"

Shen Yanhui: "Mm, did you have fun?"

Gu Yan nodded: "It's been a long time since I've seen the professor and my senior, we chatted a lot. I'm bursting with inspiration now; I feel like I could paint ten pieces right away."

Shen Yanhui pinched the hand she was using to cause trouble at his waist.

"Didn't you say I was your muse? Did I not make you burst with inspiration?" He narrowed his eyes, his tone a bit dangerous.

Gu Yan accused him: "You're so busy every day, how long has it been since you were my model!"

Shen Yanhui raised an eyebrow: "That is my fault."

Gu Yan: "Of course it's your fault!"

The man suddenly lowered his head, his warm breath spilling onto her earlobe, making it itch: "I'll let you paint me tonight."

Gu Yan blinked: "You promise?"

Shen Yanhui: "Would I lie to you?"

As the two talked, they reached the car. Sheng Ze in the passenger seat couldn't hold back any longer, stuck his head out, and said: "Sister-in-law, that gentleman just now... was quite handsome."

Gu Yan couldn't fail to hear the provocation in his words, and she glared at him crossly, though it clearly had no lethality.

It only made her seem full of delicate charm.

Sheng Ze was truly impressed by her appearance; how could she be so effortlessly beautiful? Even her wilfulness was just right—a bit more and it would seem affected.

Thinking of this, it was only logical that Shen Yanhui would fall for her.

"Mr. Sheng is also very handsome; if you ask me, Shen Yanhui isn't as good as you." Gu Yan suddenly smiled slyly and said coquettishly.

Sheng Ze: "???"

Don't do this, he still wanted to live.

He glanced quickly at his good brother and, as expected, met a pair of displeased eyes.

"Hehe... Sister-in-law is joking."

Gu Yan lifted her chin and hummed softly, ignoring him, and reached out to pull the back door of the car.

However, she was stopped by the man beside her just as she made the move.

She looked up in confusion; Shen Yanhui wasn't looking at her, but staring at Sheng Ze: "Get out."

Sheng Ze was stunned: "Huh?"

Shen Yanhui's tone was flat: "Doesn't Young Master Sheng know that the passenger seat is reserved for the girlfriend?"

Sheng Ze: "..."

Fine, he would get out.

He slunk out of the passenger seat and squeezed into the back.

Gu Yan couldn't stop laughing and gave Shen Yanhui a thumbs up: "Boyfriend, you're very on the ball."

Shen Yanhui opened the car door and shielded Gu Yan as she got in.

As he leaned over to fasten her seatbelt, he whispered: "Wrong, it's husband."

Gu Yan blushed and said in a very small voice: "Mm, it's husband."