Chapter 869: Playing the Victim

"You are forcing me."

"I'm not, I'm really not."

Sheng Jiang firmly refused to admit it: "How can you say such a thing? I am not forcing you at all. Did I say a single word about the child's background? You are an adult now, with your own ideas and thoughts. I am old and cannot control you... I couldn't control you even when I wasn't old. As long as you are doing well, you don't need to worry about whether I live or die."

Sheng Hanyu:...

He was completely speechless.

Shi Youxuan had come with a hard approach, a choice between two options.

His father had come with a soft approach, ostensibly saying he respected his ideas, but in reality, he was still beating around the bush to get his way.

He said nothing more and turned to leave.

Sheng Jiang made a victory gesture to his wife.

But the old couple rejoiced too soon; the son returned shortly after, holding a bowl of century egg and lean meat porridge.

"Dad, eat. I'll feed you."

"Oh, my head hurts, I have no appetite."

Sheng Jiang lay down, turning his back to him with a long sigh: "Just let me starve to death. Out of sight, out of mind..."

"Alright. If you don't eat a meal, I won't eat either. If you don't eat for a day, I won't eat for a day. I'll keep you company. After all, you are my father."

Sheng Jiang:...

He immediately turned around and objected: "No, you have to eat. You are young and need to take good care of your health. I am old anyway and have lived enough; it doesn't matter if I live a little longer or shorter."

Behind the son, his wife secretly gave her husband a thumbs-up.

Sheng Jiang was adept at using such tactics; playing the victim was his natural talent.

But it didn't work.

Sheng Hanyu was calm and composed: "You don't need to say anything more. It's decided. I will fast with you."

He was a man of his word; he didn't even go to the company, had Lao Qi bring his laptop and phone over, and worked right in his parents' room, never leaving their side.

Sheng Jiang was dumbfounded.

"Gurgle."

His stomach was growling loudly. He was hungry, getting hungrier by the second.

Originally, to make the effect realistic, he hadn't touched a drop of water or a grain of rice all day. He thought his son would definitely compromise, and it wouldn't be too late to eat after the compromise.

Unfortunately, things did not develop in the direction he had anticipated. Not only did his son not compromise, but he also insisted on fasting with him, and he was a man of his word—he even moved his office to his room!

Video conferences were held in the bedroom.

The phone rang incessantly.

Sheng Hanyu didn't have a moment of leisure, putting down one thing to pick up another; he was incredibly busy with work.

Sheng Jiang sympathized with his son's hard work, but it was also too noisy. He liked peace and quiet, but now the room was extremely noisy; it wasn't quiet at all.

"Hanyu..."

"Dad, don't speak. I'm busy."

So he didn't dare to speak anymore and prepared to go out to hide, taking the opportunity to sneak some food while his son was away, as he was truly starving.

"Stay where you are. Wait a moment. Once I'm done, I'll go with you." He kept his word; he said he would "take care" of his father personally and never leave his side, so he never left his side.

Sheng Jiang:...

Was his personal freedom going to be restricted too?

"I'm going out for a walk to get some air." His voice even carried a sobbing tone.

"I'll go with you."

His son didn't make things difficult for him; he closed his computer and turned off his phone. The room became quiet instantly!

And he prepared to stand up to accompany him out.

But Sheng Jiang wouldn't have it: "Just going to leave it like this? You're just not going to hold that emergency meeting? It's a project worth hundreds of millions."

Although the family was wealthy, one couldn't just squander money recklessly, right?

His heart ached.

Sheng Hanyu was very calm: "It doesn't matter. A few hundred million is nothing compared to my father. Of course, you are more important."

At this moment, Wang Yinghao entered carrying a tray with food on it.

Noodles, fragrant fried sauce, finely shredded cucumber, shredded radish, shredded green onion, minced garlic... and thin slices of spiced beef, and a fried sunny-side-up egg with a soft, tender yolk.

If all this were put into a bowl and mixed with chopsticks...

Sheng Jiang swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

What a sin.

He glared fiercely at his wife to express his dissatisfaction.

Wang Yinghao read the look in her husband's eyes. Was he dissatisfied with her?

But she didn't understand what she had done wrong, and her expression was very innocent.

"Mom, take it away. We aren't eating." Sheng Hanyu found it funny inside, but on the surface, he had no expression at all.

"Eat a little. Your father's stomach isn't very good to begin with, and he's already been hungry for a day..."

"Dad, why don't you eat a little?"

Sheng Jiang was now in a dilemma. If he ate, the plan he had worked so hard to come up with would go down the drain.

If he didn't eat, the noodles were just too fragrant.

Fried sauce noodles were his favorite; why cook fried sauce noodles at a time like this?

He swallowed another mouthful of saliva and steeled his resolve: "I'm not eating. I have no appetite, I can't eat."

"Fine, I have no appetite either. Mom, take it away."

Wang Yinghao: "Are you two really not eating? Noodles are chewy and delicious only when eaten now; if left too long, they'll turn into a lump..."

Sheng Jiang raged: "Take them away, take them away, you nagging old woman."

"Who is an old woman?"

"Wife, I was wrong."

His attitude in admitting his mistake was decent; Wang Yinghao glared at him, then took the noodles away.

The lingering fragrance remained in the room, but his stomach felt even hungrier.

This couldn't go on; Sheng Jiang understood his son, who could hold out against him until the end of time.

"Sigh!"

"Sigh—"

"Sigh, my poor grandson; I don't know if he can get enough to eat out there. Zichen has never left my side, and now that I haven't seen him for many days, I don't know if he misses his grandfather..."

"Son, I'm already at such an old age, and I have no other hobbies; I just want to stay at home, dandle my grandchildren, and enjoy family happiness. You say the children aren't home, and my soul has followed them away. Just agree to Xuanxuan's request; that Yafei is an outsider, while Xuanxuan is our family."

"I have my own plans."

He understood the logic, but knowing and doing were two different things.

Xuanxuan was his wife, the person closest to him; they would spend a lifetime together in the future. He could treat her very, very well to make up for the debt he owed his wife at this moment; as long as he could compensate for everything, it would not be too late.

But the guilt toward Yafei could only be compensated for by adopting Xiao Fei in the way she had instructed.

"I miss my grandson, I miss my grandson..." Sheng Jiang switched on his repeater mode.

"I will have Xiao Fei come over to keep you company."

"Forget it! I don't want that!"

Sheng Jiang refused flatly: "Flesh that isn't one's own won't stick to one's own body. It's not like I don't have a grandson; why would I bring someone else's child here to keep me company? I don't care for it, and I don't need it."

"Xiao Fei is very pitiful; he has no father or mother, no relatives."

"There are many pitiful people in this world. I don't object to you helping others within your own capabilities. Xuanxuan is not an unreasonable child; she can understand you, but why must you insist on saying he is your illegitimate son?"

"Son, the reputation of an illegitimate son doesn't sound good. Don't think that this way the child will have a father and a sense of belonging; in fact, it's not like that. A child carrying that label will be affected for their whole life. Think about your second uncle's children; does Ze Rong have a good relationship with them?"

He spoke with earnest, well-intentioned advice, and Sheng Hanyu actually listened.

It was indeed like that; his father was right.

His second uncle, Sheng Hai, was romantic in his youth; he kept his family life stable while having other families outside, supporting several mistresses and fathering several children.

Those children were taught from a young age to eye the Sheng Family assets, but in the end, Sheng Hai died an unnatural death, and they received nothing—all their efforts were in vain.

His third younger brother's relationship with them was, if not exactly like fire and water, then close to it. Regarding the Sheng Family assets, those people even hired a Lüshi to sue him in court, which caused quite a stir in Jiangzhou at the time.

If the relationship ended up like that, did his persistence still have any meaning?

Sheng Hanyu began to examine his own decision for the first time.