HBWMA -Chapter 89 Past Events, Old Grievances

Shen Qingyu.

The most unruly little tyrant of the Shen family.

Aside from Shen Zhuang, he had never respected anyone in the entire Shen family.

In his previous life, when the old master convened a family meeting and announced that Shen Lanxi would inherit the position of family head after his death, Shen Qingyu exploded on the spot. For the first time, he lost his temper with the old master and stormed out of Shen Residence. The very next day, he publicly announced in the newspaper that he was severing all ties with the Shen family.

However, he was indeed a remarkable man. After leaving the Shen family, he did not fade into obscurity. Instead, he was like a sharpened blade. With support from his maternal family, he rose rapidly. In time, he even gained enough power to stand against Shen Yuan’s business empire.

But Shen Qingyu’s end was far from good. Because he rose too quickly and too aggressively, he made countless enemies in both the legal and illegal worlds. Eventually, he was betrayed by someone closest to him and drowned in the Nanwan River.

Jiang Huashan remembered feeling a little sad when she heard of Shen Qingyu’s death.

Because when she was driven out of the old master’s funeral by Shen Lanxi, Shen Qingyu was the only one who had ever spoken up for her.

Back then, she had cried and made a scene, insisting on seeing Shen Zhuang one last time, refusing to leave no matter what. Shen Lanxi’s bodyguards dragged her out of Qinyuan along the way.

There were many people at the funeral, but aside from pointing and whispering at her, no one intervened.

It was Shen Qingyu who brought a group of bodyguards and stormed into Qinyuan, kicking away the guards who were dragging her.

Not only that, when Shen Lanxi arrived after hearing the commotion, Shen Qingyu immediately rushed forward and punched him.

“Damn it, Shen Lanxi, you useless piece of trash! You can’t even protect someone right under your nose! Why don’t you just go die?! Wasn’t Grandpa your favorite? I’ll beat you to death today so you can go accompany him!”

Shen Lanxi was no soft target either. He took the punch and immediately struck back.

“Who told you to come?! When Grandpa was alive, even if we begged you three times and four times, you wouldn’t come. And now you show up?! Get lost! Shen Residence doesn’t welcome you!”

The two of them were like firecrackers that had been lit—completely disregarding the dignity of the Shen family as they came to blows in public.

Shen Zhi immediately called the Dark Hall people to clear the area, and that included Jiang Huashan.

When she was escorted out of Qinyuan, she could still hear Shen Qingyu cursing loudly.

“Shen Lanxi, are you even human?! The person Grandpa loved most was that idiot girl! If you don’t let her see him off, do you want Grandpa to die with regrets?! Fuck!”

Hearing this, she immediately grabbed Shen Zhi’s hand and pleaded desperately, “Just one look. I’ll just take one look and leave.”

Shen Zhi hesitated. At that moment, Shen Lanxi’s voice rang out.

“She doesn’t deserve it. Drag her out.”

The young man before her and the man who had stormed the funeral that day gradually overlapped in her mind. Compared to the later “little tyrant,” the current Shen Qingyu still carried a hint of youthful immaturity.

She looked at him for a long time—so long that the others began to notice something was off.

Shen Guiling’s faintly curved lips slowly flattened. His eyelids lifted slightly as he glanced calmly toward the hospital bed. Shen Lanxi’s face remained expressionless, but his gaze had already drifted, landing unconsciously on Jiang Huashan.

Seeing that she still hadn’t spoken, Shen Qingyu gave a lazy smile. In truth, he and Jiang Huashan had already met before this.

Once, the school had required both junior and senior sections to participate in a social practice program. The middle school and high school students were assigned to the same community.

Shen Qingyu had been loafing around on a balcony when he happened to overhear Jiang Huashan chatting with a group of classmates.

Because she was a new transfer student—and had directly entered the elite class—everyone was curious about her.

In order to quickly integrate into her new environment, Jiang Huashan deliberately brought up her connection to the Shen family. She proudly told her classmates that although she was only an adopted daughter of the Shen family, she was the only one allowed to live in Shen Residence. She even bragged that the old master valued her more than anyone else, and that whatever she wanted, he would grant her.

Shen Qingyu only found it amusing. Had the Shen family really fallen so far that just anyone could latch onto their name?

So he casually shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled past the group of junior high students as if uninterested.

Shen Qingyu was already well-known and strikingly handsome. To a group of younger students, he was practically a legendary figure. The classmates surrounding Jiang Huashan immediately recognized him and excitedly pushed her forward, urging her to greet him.

“Mr. Shen, Shanshan is here.”

Jiang Huashan also put on a flattering smile. “Qingyu…”

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Qingyu’s face twisted in disgust. “Get lost—don’t try to act familiar with me. We’re not close.”

Shen Qingyu was certain Jiang Huashan still remembered this incident, because he clearly remembered that after he said they weren’t close, the short girl’s eyes immediately turned red.

“What outsider?” Old Master Shen struck his cane heavily on the ground. The loud thud startled Shen E. “Who taught you to speak like that?”

Shen Qingyu lazily picked at his ear. “Old—”

Before he could finish, Jiang Huashan shifted her gaze away from him and gently tugged at Old Master Shen’s arm. “Grandpa, don’t be angry. Shen Qingyu didn’t mean it.”

“?”

Shen Qingyu raised his brows. “Shorty, who are you calling? Since when are you allowed to call me Shen Qingyu?”

Old Master Shen also paused. He originally intended to remind Jiang Huashan, but after Shen Qingyu spoke, he immediately turned his fire on him instead. “Shut your mouth!”

Shen Qingyu: “!…”

Jiang Huashan looked slightly wronged. “Grandpa, actually this isn’t the first time Shen Qingyu has said I’m an outsider. When I first started school, my classmates asked about my family background, so I told them I live in the Shen estate and that you’ve always been very good to me.”

“Unfortunately, Shen Qingyu happened to be there that day. When I greeted him, he told everyone we weren’t familiar with each other. After that, my classmates thought I was a liar and stopped playing with me.”

“Bastard!” Old Master Shen was instantly furious. This time he directly pointed his cane at Shen Qingyu. “Did this happen or not?”

“…Heh.” Shen Qingyu laughed in anger. He had thought this timid little thing would only cry when scared, but instead she knew how to bite back.

He nodded. “Yes, it happened. But Grandpa, you didn’t see the smug look on her face back then. I said that because I didn’t want her to bring shame to our Shen family.”

“What look? You should take a good look at your own face right now! What matters most in a family? Tolerance! Consideration! Why do I work so hard to support the Shen family? So that when you go out, people treat you differently because you are Shen family children!”

Shen Qingyu was momentarily speechless.

Old Master Shen turned to Shen Lanxi and Shen Guiling. “You two remember this: at school, you are not allowed to ignore your younger sisters or step on them when they’re down. If I find out that Shanshan, Sui’er, or Mianzhi are wronged at school and you as brothers do nothing, you’ll be punished by family rules when you come back!”

“Yes, Grandpa.” Shen Lanxi and Shen Guiling glanced at Jiang Huashan and Fu Sui’er, then answered in unison.

Old Master Shen was still not satisfied. He patted Jiang Huashan’s hand. “From now on, don’t call him brother. Just call him Shen Qingyu.”

“Heh?” Shen Qingyu widened his eyes. “Grandpa, you’re really!”

Shen Yuan frowned and tried to pull Shen Qingyu away, but he shook him off. The boy pointed at Jiang Huashan. “Just wait and see.”

With that, ignoring Shen E trying to hold him back, he turned and left.

Jiang Huashan didn’t seem affected at all. She turned slightly and helped Old Master Shen calm his breathing. “Grandpa, don’t be angry. We won’t give him the ginseng soup later.”

“?”

Shen Qingyu, who had already reached the door, froze, then turned back in outrage. “Why am I not allowed to drink it?”

He had been too angry earlier and almost forgot the point.

Jiang Huashan smiled sweetly, her expression obedient and harmless.

“I’m doing this for your own good. My mom said boys are weak and can’t handle tonics. Your dad keeps hanging around women’s skirts all day and will get hollowed out sooner or later. You’re his son, so you definitely inherited bad habits—so strong tonics aren’t suitable for you.”

“!”

Everyone present felt their brows twitch in shock and turned to look at the girl on the hospital bed.

She showed no restraint at all—her words were shockingly bold.