Chapter 185: From Now On, I Will Cherish You

Sheng Hongyao's eyes adjusted to the light, and he braced his hands to stand up from the floor.

Seeing him dressed so thinly, Old Madam Sheng called for the housekeeper to fetch a coat, and she draped it over him with her own hands.

She signaled for the housekeeper to withdraw with a look.

The door closed.

"From the very beginning, you treated Shen Yijing as a tool, wanting to make Yu Lan initiate the divorce with you. Did you think I didn't know?"

Old Madam Sheng's words made Sheng Hongyao's body stiffen slightly.

"All these years, you wanted to compensate Shen Yijing, yet you never truly intended to let her marry into the Sheng Family. It just so happened that Sheng Yu's obstruction played right into your hands, and you successfully landed yourself in a dilemma. You have never truly loved Shen Yijing; what is the meaning of this act now?"

"Hongyao, you are a businessman in the traditional sense. Everyone thinks you don't love Yu Lan because you love Shen Yijing. With Shen Yijing by your side for so many years, you maintained the persona of a devoted man, but I know that what you have always loved is money and power. Whether it was Yu Lan or Shen Yijing, you have never loved either of them."

"But later, you pretended for so long that you got into character and fell in love with Shen Yijing? Do you actually love Shen Yijing, or do you love that version of yourself pretending to be devoted?"

Sheng Hongyao slowly clenched his fists and looked at his mother coldly, "What is the difference?"

Old Madam Sheng's gaze deepened, but she did not regret speaking the truth today; only this could make her son clear-headed.

He put on the coat that had been draped over his shoulders.

"If Shen Yijing is dead, then she is dead. Stop targeting A Yu." Old Madam Sheng grabbed his sleeve. "That Zhu Yuan is the apple of A Yu's eye. Don't touch her; it will do you no good if A Yu goes mad."

Sheng Hongyao fastened his buttons. "It would be better if he went mad. How can someone who is emotionally unstable and insane lead the conglomerate and lead the Sheng Family?"

"What are you planning to do?" Old Madam Sheng chased after his pace.

However, Sheng Hongyao gave her no response and strode out of the room.

Watching his back, Old Madam Sheng felt a faint sense of worry. She knew her son too well; there must be another move waiting for Sheng Yu.

What could it be?

Besides Zhu Yuan, what else did he have to hold over Sheng Yu?

Feeling uneasy, she walked downstairs, and the housekeeper told her that Sheng Hongyao had already left.

Her breathing grew heavy, and she said, "Prepare the car."

The housekeeper was slightly stunned. "Old Madam, you are going out?"

Old Madam Sheng had rarely gone out since she grew old; the most recent time was when Sheng Yu drove into the villa Sheng Hongyao had bought for Shen Yijing and nearly killed Sheng Hongyao.

The car left the Sheng Family Old Residence and drove into the Hot Spring Villa twenty-five minutes later.

However, it was stopped by the gatekeeper at the entrance of the villa, and the car could not pass.

The car window rolled down, and Old Madam Sheng said with displeasure, "Take a good look at who I am!"

The gatekeeper spoke in an official tone: "Old Madam, without Young Master Yu's consent, no vehicle may enter the villa."

"I am his grandmother."

"There are no exceptions."

Zhu Yuan was feeding Feiyuan when a servant suddenly came to find her. "Miss Zhu, Old Madam Sheng is here. She was stopped by the gatekeeper at the entrance of the villa."

Her hand, which was pouring dog food into the bowl, paused.

Old Madam Sheng.

A flash of sharpness crossed Zhu Yuan's eyes. Choosing to come when Sheng Yu was away—she was here for her.

She stroked Feiyuan's round head. "Let the gatekeeper let her through."

Five minutes later, the servant entered. "Miss Zhu, Old Madam Sheng has arrived."

Zhu Yuan stood up and handed the bag of dog food to the servant. "Don't let it eat too much; it's fat enough."

She washed her hands and walked to the living room, seeing at a glance the old lady sitting on the sofa wearing a Chinese-style suit.

Old Madam Sheng was seventy-five this year, about the same age as Zhu Yuan's grandfather. Living a life of luxury and being well-maintained, she looked even younger than her grandfather.

"Old Madam Sheng." Zhu Yuan greeted her obediently, her harmless appearance lacking any lethality.

Seeing Zhu Yuan, she said calmly, "Sit."

This was the first time Zhu Yuan had seen her up close. She had seen her from afar once at Lu Huaizhan's funeral and knew that Old Madam Sheng and Lu Huaizhan's grandmother were close friends.

However, Old Madam Lu looked more kind-hearted than her.

Sheng Hongyao looked seventy percent like her.

She sipped her tea. "I saw you once at A Zhan's funeral. At that time, I thought you were a sensible and tactful girl. I didn't expect you to be with my grandson now, and even less did I expect that he would let you live here and give you the air of a mistress."

Zhu Yuan pretended not to understand her words and smiled. "It's quite comfortable here, suitable for recuperating."

The topic was successfully diverted by Zhu Yuan, not giving her a chance to ramble.

Old Madam Sheng indeed turned her attention to her. "Is your health better?"

"My health is mostly better, but my spirit isn't great; I don't sleep well."

Old Madam Sheng looked her over carefully. "You don't sleep well?"

Zhu Yuan hummed. "I often have nightmares and think I've been kidnapped again. I nearly died in the snow mountains, and I'm still afraid to this day. The doctor says this is post-traumatic stress disorder; if it's not handled well, I might go mad, and it's not easy to recover."

Old Madam Sheng had prepared a bellyful of words, nothing more than wanting Zhu Yuan to treat big problems as small ones, to not hold grudges for the sake of her elders, and not to intensify the conflict between the father and son, Sheng Hongyao and Sheng Yu.

But given Zhu Yuan's current situation, she feared saying these things would only stimulate Zhu Yuan.

"I will find a skilled old doctor of traditional medicine to help you restore your health."

Zhu Yuan said gratefully, "Thank you, Old Madam. Is there something you needed to see me about today, Old Madam?"

"Nothing much, I just happened to be passing by and came to take a look."

She looked at Zhu Yuan, had no choice but to swallow those words back, stood up, and said, "Rest well."

Zhu Yuan also stood up and asked politely, "Won't you stay for lunch before you go, Old Madam?"

Old Madam Sheng waved her hand. "No."

Watching Old Madam Sheng get into the car, Zhu Yuan turned around, pulled her shawl tighter, and curled her lips into a smile, but the next second she frowned, a wave of heartache surging in her heart.

In the Sheng Family, there was not a single person who cherished Sheng Yu.

Judging by the old lady's reaction just now, the purpose of this trip was to start with her, to keep Sheng Yu from retaliating against Sheng Hongyao.

But from beginning to end, the only person in the wrong was Sheng Hongyao; Sheng Yu had repeatedly tolerated it, yet she had never once felt sorry for Sheng Yu's situation.

In the evening, just as Sheng Yu walked through the door, Zhu Yuan threw herself into his arms, and the man naturally opened his arms to catch her.

Zhu Yuan hugged his waist tightly.

Faced with this sudden embrace, Sheng Yu placed his warm palm against her face and asked in a low voice, "Did the old lady give you trouble?"

Zhu Yuan shook her head and said in a muffled voice, "I made her swallow her words."

Sheng Yu had already heard from the servants about the general gist of their conversation.

But seeing her look so heartbroken yet proud right now, his heart truly softened, and he lowered his head to kiss her lips, "Then why aren't you happy?"

"Sheng Yu."

She looked up from his arms and gazed into his eyes, "From now on, I will cherish you."

A flicker of light flashed in the depths of Sheng Yu's eyes, as he had already guessed what she was thinking.

"How will you cherish me?"

Zhu Yuan's eyes turned red, "Cherish you to death."