HBWMA -Chapter 406 A Forklift Full of Gifts

“A-Ling!”

Shen Qian hurried out of Chrysanthemum Garden and chased after Shen Guiling without stopping.

Shen Guiling lowered his eyes and glanced back, then quickened his pace toward Bamboo Garden.

Lei Xing was guarding the courtyard gate, his honest face full of disbelief.

Did the sun rise in the west today? Since when was Sir running after Young Master A-Ling like this?

“Young Master.” Lei Xing jogged forward to greet him. “Why are you—”

Shen Guiling walked straight past him without even looking. “I need a towel and some ice.”

Only when he got closer did Lei Xing notice the handprint on Shen Guiling’s face. He froze for a moment, then immediately ran into the courtyard to prepare.

Shen Guiling went straight into the main hall.

Shen Qian had never been treated so coldly before. Even if he had gone a bit too far this time, Shen Guiling’s reaction now felt excessively extreme.

Mo Ran noticed Shen Qian’s displeasure and whispered, “Sir, Young Master A-Ling probably doesn’t want to see us right now.”

Shen Qian frowned, his expression growing darker.

Mo Ran added, “I have a little nephew. For a while, every time he came home, his face would be bruised and swollen. When the family asked who hit him, he always said he fell by himself.”

Shen Qian’s expression shifted slightly as he turned to look at Mo Ran.

Mo Ran lowered her head. “Later, the family asked around at school and found out it was actually a little girl bullying him. My nephew hid it because he felt embarrassed.”

Only then did Shen Qian understand—Shen Guiling was feeling ashamed.

He had never raised a child before. This sudden realization stirred an inexplicable feeling in his heart.

After a moment’s hesitation, Shen Qian stepped toward Bamboo Garden.

A few strands of idle sunlight fell across the courtyard. The open space beside the bamboo grove had been turned into a flower bed, where young shoots had already sprouted new branches—lush and full of life.

The glass doors of the main hall stood open, and now and then, the voices of Lei Xing and Shen Guiling drifted out.

Shen Guiling leaned against the sofa, pressing ice against his ear.

Lei Xing pointed at his face. “Young Master, your cheek is swollen.”

But Shen Guiling seemed not to hear, still covering his ear.

Lei Xing, looking simple and earnest, asked, “Young Master, didn’t you go to see Miss Jiang? Why did you come back like this? Did Miss Jiang hit you?”

Shen Guiling leaned against the sofa, his eyelids drooping in exhaustion.

“She really hit you?!” Lei Xing looked shocked. “Miss Jiang is really going too far! It’s one thing for her to hit others, but you, Young Master—you’re so gentle and kind. For her to even hit you is outrageous!”

Shen Guiling curled his lips slightly.

The more Lei Xing thought about it, the angrier he got. He wrapped the ice pack in a towel and handed it over. “Young Master, next time you see her, stay far away. Gao Zhi said that even Young Master Lanxi avoids her now.”

Lanxi would avoid her?

Shen Guiling raised his eyes, glanced at Lei Xing for a moment, then looked away indifferently. “Don’t believe everything Gao Zhi says.”

“Yes.” Lei Xing responded obediently, then cautiously studied Shen Guiling’s expression. “Young Master, this isn’t right. They’re just bullying you because you’re too kind. Kind people get taken advantage of.”

Shen Guiling remained calm. “I can’t cause trouble for Father.”

Shen Qian had already been standing at the door for quite some time. Shen Guiling’s last sentence finally broke the dissatisfaction he had been holding in.

“A-Ling.” Shen Qian spoke at the right moment and walked slowly into the hall.

Shen Guiling’s expression changed slightly. He stood up as if to leave, but Shen Qian patted his shoulder. “Let’s talk.”

Mo Ran shot Lei Xing a look, and the two of them quietly withdrew from the main hall one after the other.

“Sit.”

When Shen Qian noticed the redness at the tips of Shen Guiling’s ears, he mistakenly assumed he was still feeling ashamed, and immediately put on the face of a kind, caring father.

“You and I are father and son—there’s nothing to feel embarrassed about. As for what happened today, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”

Shen Guiling, “……”

Lan Garden.

By the lotus pond window, the scent of ink diffused through the summer heat.

The cicadas’ cries were sifted by the window lattice into fragments like golden foil, falling upon Shen Lanxi’s wrist as he held his brush.

At the tip of the goat-hair brush, thick ink gathered; when it hovered, it cast a trembling shadow over the paper.

“Young Master.”

Gao Zhi sat bare-chested on the windowsill, legs crossed, crunching loudly on an apple, juice splattering from his mouth.

“Should we have someone keep an eye on the hospital?”

“No need.” Shen Lanxi didn’t even lift his eyelids.

Gao Zhi scratched at the wound on his shoulder and tilted his head toward Chrysanthemum Garden. “Then… should we go take a look at Miss Jiang?”

The brush tip abruptly broke its flow. A drop of thick ink splashed onto the finishing stroke. Shen Lanxi slowly raised his eyes, a sliver of daylight just brushing his brow.

“You want to go?”

“I… cough cough!!” Gao Zhi nearly choked on the apple, pounding his chest hard.

Shen Lanxi watched him silently, expression indifferent.

“……” Gao Zhi clutched his throat and forced the blockage down, his voice strained. “I… want to go.”

Shen Lanxi set the brush aside and calmly tidied the ink and tools. “Put some clothes on.”

Gao Zhi looked down at his own muscular, well-defined physique, clicked his tongue, and jumped off the windowsill.

He had originally been wandering around shirtless to make Shen Lanxi feel guilty—who knew it wouldn’t work at all.

Grumbling, Gao Zhi changed his clothes, then leaned his head back in through the window. “Young Master, ready to go.”

Shen Lanxi was still practicing calligraphy. “You can’t visit empty-handed. Bring the gifts from the side hall.”

“Yes.” Gao Zhi responded lazily, then ran to the adjacent room. But the moment he stepped across the threshold, he was so startled he retreated immediately.

The side chamber was piled high with exquisitely packaged gifts—jewelry, jade, Shu brocade, silk, ginseng tonics—enough to almost fill the entire room.

Gao Zhi’s face darkened as he glanced back toward the study. Has the Young Master dipped into his private stash meant for marrying a wife?

Damn it—this loyal bodyguard had been parading around all day with a hundred whip wounds, and still wasn’t worth as much as someone lying unseen?!

Jealous bitterness welled up in his chest. He knocked on the windowsill. “Young Master, there’s too much—I can’t carry it all. How about we just pick a few?”

Without even raising his head, Shen Lanxi’s voice was firm and unquestionable. “Figure it out.”

Gao Zhi looked as miserable as if he’d swallowed a hundred cans of fermented herring. Swinging his arms angrily, he stormed off.

Not long after, he drove a forklift to the entrance of the courtyard.

These past few days, Shen Garden had been under major renovation, and dozens of excavators and forklifts had been brought into the backyard—now they came in handy.

Gao Zhi also called over the maids working in the front yard. More than a dozen people went back and forth for half an hour before finally moving all the gifts out.

“Young Master, we’re ready to go.”

Shen Lanxi had deliberately changed into casual clothes. But when he turned and saw the carefully selected gifts piled messily on the forklift, his expression immediately darkened with displeasure.

Gao Zhi poked his head out from the vehicle. “Young Master, don’t be so picky. The foreman said the garden work is urgent—I barely managed to borrow this for sixty minutes.”

“……”

Sensing Shen Lanxi’s unhappiness, Gao Zhi quickly tried to please him. “Young Master, you’re injured—how about you stand up here, and I’ll carry you with the forklift?”

Shen Lanxi turned around expressionlessly.