HBWMA -Chapter 276 It Must Be an Illusion, Right?

Shen Qingyu wore a cocky expression, casually tilting his neck. He raised his hand and caught the incoming “hidden weapon.”

Sunglasses?

Daring to ambush him?

His gaze turned sharp and cold as he lifted his eyes, intending to see which idiot was tired of living.

“?”

Just that one glance was enough for his unruly arrogance to instantly deflate. In a second, Shen Qingyu’s expression changed completely. He rushed forward and carefully supported the person.

“Why is it you? Are you okay?”

Jiang Huashan grabbed his arm. “You said…”

Her expression shifted slightly as she covered her mouth, leaning against the big yellow car. “Ugh!”

“Little Huashan…” Shen Qingyu suppressed his disgust and patted her back to help her breathe. When he realized she was only dry-heaving, he immediately ran back to the car to get tissues.

From the rearview mirror, Zhou Yanheng glanced at them. After a moment of thought, he unbuckled his seatbelt, grabbed a bottle of water, and got out of the car.

Shen Qingyu immediately found a target to vent his anger.

“Zhou Yanheng, how are you driving?!”

Zhou Yanheng raised an eyebrow. “That’s what I should be asking you, Young Master Shen. If your eyesight is bad, go see a doctor. You can’t even recognize your own sister, yet you come barking in front of me? If I had a worse temper, I wouldn’t even care whether there was someone in the passenger seat or not.”

Shen Qingyu’s face darkened, momentarily speechless.

He had already recognized that the yellow “Bumblebee” was Guan He’s new car. When they overtook and drove side by side, he also saw Zhou Yanheng in the driver’s seat. But the passenger was wearing a hat and sunglasses—just a second, he couldn’t see clearly, which caused this misunderstanding.

Seeing that Shen Qingyu didn’t retort, Zhou Yanheng glanced meaningfully at Jiang Huashan.

“So the ‘Whale Harbor noble princess’ title isn’t just for show, huh?”

“Ugh—”

Jiang Huashan gagged again. “Water.”

“Oh.”

Shen Qingyu was about to fetch it when Zhou Yanheng had already unscrewed a bottle and handed it over first.

“Take it.” He avoided looking directly, clearly trying not to feel nauseous.

Jiang Huashan didn’t care whose water it was. She grabbed it and drank heavily, then vomited again. Repeating this cycle, she finished the entire bottle and finally steadied herself.

“Little Huashan, tissue.”

Shen Qingyu, quick to read the situation, immediately handed her tissues once the water was gone.

Jiang Huashan glanced sideways at him, then without hesitation smashed the empty bottle onto his forehead.

“Shen Qingyu, I’m going to tell Grandpa! Not only did you sneak out racing cars, you also tried to murder me!”

Zhou Yanheng crossed his arms and looked over at Shen Qingyu.

Shen Qingyu had no temper left.

“Ancestor, I didn’t know you were in the car! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Zhou Yanheng’s eyes flashed with interest. Shen Qingyu was famously temperamental and violent, yet he was tolerating Jiang Huashan like this.

Jiang Huashan hit him again with the empty bottle.

“Are you retaliating because of the hand cream incident?”

“…No.” Shen Qingyu tried to stay calm, then snatched the bottle from her. “Enough already. I should be asking you—why are you out here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping in your room? What are you doing wandering around?”

“Wandering? I—”

Before Jiang Huashan could finish, Shen Qingyu suddenly realized something explosive.

He turned to stare at Zhou Yanheng.

“Why are you two together?”

“I—” Jiang Huashan started again.

“I didn’t ask you.” Shen Qingyu cut her off again, his dark eyes burning as he looked at Zhou Yanheng.

Zhou Yanheng smiled faintly. “What right do you have to ask me? Just because you’re her brother, you can interfere in her freedom? Since when? Or is it only your Shen family that works like that?”

Shen Qingyu’s face instantly darkened. “Zhou—”

“Zhou Yanheng, shut up!” Jiang Huashan suddenly snapped.

She grabbed the empty bottle from Shen Qingyu and threw it straight at Zhou Yanheng’s face.

“Our Shen family is proper and upright. It’s not your place, you weirdo, to judge us! A brother caring about his sister is completely normal! You just see everything with a dirty mind—go crawl somewhere dark and reflect on yourself!”

Zhou Yanheng was hit squarely in the face and froze for a second, turning to glare at her.

Shen Qingyu quickly stepped in front of Jiang Huashan.

“What are you yelling for?” Jiang Huashan wasn’t afraid at all. She peeked out from behind him, even more provocative.

Shen Qingyu knew Zhou Yanheng’s methods and worried she might suffer, so he gently tapped her forehead.

“I’ll handle this. Go wait in the car.”

Jiang Huashan looked between the two of them. When her gaze met Zhou Yanheng’s deep eyes, she suddenly smiled sweetly. Then she turned around gracefully and walked back into Shen Qingyu’s car.

After she closed the door, Shen Qingyu glanced at it, then said coldly: “She’s not Xiao Lanlan. And the Xiao family isn’t the Shen family. Don’t provoke her.”

Zhou Yanheng’s lips curled slightly, but his eyes sharpened.

—

During Xiao Lanlan’s recovery period, Zhou Guochao brought Zhou Yanheng to the hospital to visit her.

The Zhou family’s stance was clear: Zhou Yanheng had let others humiliate Xiao Lanlan because he was dissatisfied with her trying to drag the Zhou family into trouble for self-protection.

At first, Xiao Qi didn’t believe Zhou Yanheng’s one-sided claim. But later, the B-ultrasound report showed Xiao Lanlan wasn’t pregnant—she had lied. Meaning she had tried to use a fake pregnancy to force Zhou Yanheng into submission.

Not only that, the Zhou family also produced surveillance footage. It clearly showed Xiao Lanlan visiting the art building before the scandal, confronting Zhou Yanheng, crying after being rejected, then being taken in by a group of boys who “comforted” her. After entering the room, strange sounds were heard.

Xiao Qi was so ashamed he wanted to disappear.

Bullying the weak, harming family members, and now moral corruption—she was unforgivable.

The moment the Zhou family left, he demanded she be killed for disgracing the family.

Shen E, worried Xiao Lanlan would be beaten to death and afraid of exposing family shame, urgently called Shen Yuan and Shen Qingyu for help. By the time they arrived, Xiao Lanlan was already half-dead.

Yet she still refused to admit guilt, insisting she was framed.

But no one believed her anymore. Even Shen E only cried and begged her to apologize.

In the end, Xiao Lanlan could only watch helplessly as the “wolf” devoured all her little sheep.

Shen Qingyu had personally witnessed how Zhou Yanheng destroyed Xiao Lanlan, so he would never allow this “filth” to approach Jiang Huashan.

—

“Beep—beep—”

A sharp horn suddenly rang out.

Jiang Huashan leaned out of the window. “Are you two about to fall in love with each other just by staring?”

“…”

The intense standoff immediately turned awkward. Zhou Yanheng looked disgusted. Shen Qingyu felt it was unlucky. Both turned to look at her at the same time.

“Wow.” Jiang Huashan adjusted her cap and quietly closed the window.

Shen Qingyu sighed, then picked up the empty bottle again and threw it toward the big yellow car.

“If you understand, then scram.”

The bottle rolled along the car body and got stuck near the windshield wiper.

The headlights suddenly lit up red, like a beast opening its eyes in the dark.

Zhou Yanheng squinted uncomfortably.

The “Black Night Voice,” resembling a domineering king, slowly reversed, straightened itself, then crawled uphill at a sluggish “old-man speed.”

Zhou Yanheng laughed in disbelief.

He had just been threatened by something like this?

—

Inside the car, Jiang Huashan crossed her arms and kept a cold face, refusing to speak.

Shen Qingyu kept turning his head, and in the end he really had no choice but to explain everything from beginning to end.

“I really didn’t know you were in the car. I just came back from the Gu residence, and I didn’t even have time to read the group messages.”

Jiang Huashan said, “That’s not an excuse though. You just crashed right into a car. Do you know how dangerous that was? If something went wrong, you could’ve dragged yourself into it too. If you died, wouldn’t Grandpa end up having to bury his own grandson? You’re not that young anymore—can you stop being so impulsive about everything?”

Shen Qingyu froze for a moment, then overjoyed, “So you were worried about me? You should’ve just said so earlier.”

Jiang Huashan let out a cold laugh. “I’m worried about Grandpa.”

“Fine, fine. Even if it’s for Grandpa.”

Shen Qingyu curled his lips. He wasn’t usually this impulsive, but today he’d had a strange burst of anger he didn’t know where to vent. Zhou Yanheng just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

While they were talking, the phone on the center console suddenly rang.

Jiang Huashan glanced at it. “Grandma.”

The Gu family’s old madam?

Shen Qingyu didn’t even look at it and directly flipped the phone over.

Jiang Huashan couldn’t help but be curious. “Isn’t that Grandma Gu? Why aren’t you answering?”

Shen Qingyu kept his eyes on the road. “It’s not safe to answer the phone while driving.”

Jiang Huashan nodded silently. It looked like they were arguing.

How rare. Shen Qingyu had always been extremely close to Old Madam Gu—he would visit the Gu residence every so often, and sometimes even stay two or three days if she missed him. Old Madam Gu wasn’t Shen Yuan, so why was Shen Qingyu actually giving her attitude?

Shen Qingyu glanced at Jiang Huashan before quickly looking back at the road. “What’s going on between you and Zhou Yanheng?”

Jiang Huashan replied casually, “What do you mean what’s going on? We just ran into each other on the road.”

Shen Qingyu’s gaze darkened slightly. “He’s not a good person. Don’t interact with him in the future.”

Jiang Huashan turned to stare at him.

Shen Qingyu cleared his throat. “I’m not trying to restrict your freedom to make friends, but he really isn’t good.”

Jiang Huashan asked, “How bad is he?”

Shen Qingyu smirked. “The very bad kind of bad.”

Hearing this, Jiang Huashan felt reassured. So Shen Qingyu also knew Zhou Yanheng was a scumbag.

The two of them drove at a snail’s pace. By the time they reached Shen Garden, it was nearly ten o’clock. Shen Qingyu personally dropped Jiang Huashan off at the entrance of Chrysanthemum Garden.

“Go in. Sleep early.”

Jiang Huashan yawned and was about to wave goodbye when she suddenly thought of something. She tilted her head. “What was wrong with Gu He today? He looked like he’d seen a ghost when he saw me. The more I called him, the faster he ran.”

Shen Qingyu froze slightly. “Really? That happened?”

Jiang Huashan looked around. “Where is he? Didn’t he come back with you from the Gu residence today?”

Shen Qingyu looked impatient and pushed her shoulder toward the courtyard. “Stop acting like an old lady asking everything. Go to sleep already.”

Jiang Huashan snorted and turned to leave.

But Shen Qingyu immediately grabbed her again. After all, it wasn’t easy for him to finally show a bit of concern today—if he suppressed her enthusiasm now, she might never even visit his grave in the future.

“Fine, stop throwing a tantrum. The riding stable just got a batch of new horses. I already told them to keep the best one for you. I’ll take you out in a few days.”

Jiang Huashan looked him up and down. “You still have time for that? The two idiots next door have been studying until dawn.”

Shen Qingyu was uninterested. “Let them. I’m going to lose anyway.”

Jiang Huashan caught the low mood in his voice and frowned. “We haven’t even started yet. How do you already know you’ll lose?”

Shen Qingyu looked at her. Her bright eyes were even more dazzling than all the stars in the sky combined. Suddenly, his mood lifted. He reached out and messed up her hair.

“You’ve grown up? Learned how to comfort people?”

“…”

Jiang Huashan expressionlessly slapped his hand away. “I wasn’t done speaking. Giving up before the fight even starts—you really are the worst one here.”

“?”

Shen Qingyu tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at her.

Jiang Huashan turned and was about to run, but he grabbed the collar of her clothes and pulled her back.

“So Shen Lanxi and Shen Guiling are the ‘two idiots,’ then what are the three of us—me, Shen Lanxi, and Shen Guiling—called?”

Jiang Huashan looked up at the sky.

Shen Qingyu tugged her closer, but lost control of his strength. Their chests nearly collided for a moment. That strange contact caused his mind to go blank. Strange, absurd images flashed through his head.

He suddenly snapped back to reality and pushed her away.

“!”

The whole exchange only lasted a few seconds. Jiang Huashan hadn’t even reacted before she was shoved away, her elbow scraping the ground and breaking the skin.

“What are you doing?” she demanded in disbelief, glaring up from the ground.

Shen Qingyu stepped forward, then immediately retreated three steps. “Get up yourself.”

Then he turned and ran. That desperate escape looked no different from Gu He’s.

“Miss Jiang?”

Aunt Zhang heard the noise and hurried out in a thin coat. Seeing Jiang Huashan lying at the gate, she panicked and rushed over.

“Oh my! What happened? How did you fall?”

Jiang Huashan gritted her teeth, still lying there. “Aunt Zhang, don’t panic. Do you have your phone? Quick—take a picture of me.”

Shen Qingyu dared to play tricks on her? Then he shouldn’t blame her for being ruthless.

Thump—thump—

Shen Qingyu leaned against the door, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of his throat.

At that moment, his phone in his pocket vibrated again. It rang for a long time before stopping, then started again shortly after. Repeatedly. If he didn’t answer, the old madam probably wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully all night.

Clutching his chest, Shen Qingyu picked up the phone. The moment it rang again, he answered.

“Qingyu, it’s Grandma’s fault. Grandma shouldn’t have made decisions on her own. Tell Grandma what kind of girl you like? I’ll find one exactly like that for you, okay?”

Shen Qingyu froze. His mind was instantly filled with that pair of peach-blossom eyes. Almost unconsciously, he blurted out, “I like pretty ones.”

The moment he said it, he realized something and shut his eyes in frustration.

“Grandma, does the medicine tonight cause hallucinations?”

The old lady quickly denied it. “No! Absolutely not!”

Shen Qingyu gritted his teeth. “Are you sure?”

Old Madam Gu hesitated. “Well… maybe a tiny bit?”

Shen Qingyu: “Only a tiny bit?”

Old Madam Gu quickly corrected herself. “Actually… quite a lot. More than most people can handle.”

Shen Qingyu pressed a hand to his forehead. “Grandma, please don’t drug me again in the future. It’s really troublesome…”

At the Gu residence.

“Alright, alright!” Old Madam Gu hurriedly coaxed before hanging up.

Gu He looked puzzled. “Old Madam, the medicine we gave young master is just a normal stimulant. It definitely doesn’t cause hallucinations.”

“I know,” the old lady said. “I just went along with his words. He was so angry today—he needs an excuse.”

Gu He nodded and rubbed his hands together. “Old Madam, when can I return to Shen Garden?”

The old madam waved her hand. “Not for now. Stay here a few more days.”