CH 68

The premiere of “Troubled Times” was a great success. Chen Zhiwei got rid of his previous bad luck and became proud of himself, and Fang Luowei won people’s attention with his stunning costumed appearance; but among the main figures, the media paid most attention to Shen Xi.

As an uneducated playboy in the eyes of the public, Shen Xi didn’t seem optimistic before he invested in “Troubled Times”, and the media mentioned him as a loser who had too much money to burn. However, the success of the movie made all the media change their tone, and Shen Xi became a wise man with a discerning eye. After declining all media interviews, Shen Xi and Li Mingxuan left the premiere in a low-key manner.

On the way home, neither of them said anything, and the quiet car was filled with the soft sound of violin, a faint warmth flowing between them.

Taking advantage of waiting for the green light, Li Mingxuan could not help but lean over and give Shen Xi a quick kiss. Shen Xi was in a very good mood tonight; with a smile in his eyes, he took the initiative to reach out and wrap his arms around Li Mingxuan, who was about to retreat, and deepen the kiss. A whistle sounded from the car next to them, and Shen Xi smiled slightly, ending the kiss as the green light was lit.

Li Mingxuan straightened and looked ahead, but the corners of his mouth curled in a gentle smile.

Back in the community, in the elevator the two reached out at the same time and held each other in a tacit understanding. The two of them opened the door of their apartment almost impatiently; no one bothered to turn on the light, and by the glowing white moonlight outside the window, Li Mingxuan pushed Shen Xi to the door and kissed him hard.

Shen Xi tilted his head to accept Li Mingxuan’s kiss, wrapped his arms around Li Mingxuan’s neck and pressed his body against him.

In the moonlight flowing like water, the two bodies were intimately entwined and did not part for a long time.

After the long love-making, Shen Xi was carried into the bathroom by Li Mingxuan. After some careful cleaning, Shen Xi wrapped himself in the blanket and lay down on the bed. Li Mingxuan sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down to kiss him, “Be good, sleep first, I’ll answer a few emails.”

Shen Xi nodded, but found that he couldn’t sleep, so he subconsciously stared at Li Mingxuan sitting next to him.

Under the warm orange light, Li Mingxuan was looking at the computer intently. From Shen Xi’s perspective, Li Mingxuan’s profile was incomparably handsome, and the concentration on his face was inexpressibly attractive. Shen Xi looked at Li Mingxuan quietly, with tenderness in his eyes that he hadn’t even noticed himself.

When he woke up the next day, Li Mingxuan had already left for the office. Shen Xi washed up and turned on his computer. Unsurprisingly, he saw two completely different headlines in the entertainment pages of various portals.

“Shen Sanshao makes a strong comeback with ‘Troubled Times’, and his discerning eye is worthy of being called wise!”

“Shen Dashao and Ershao clash in another scandal over assets, the whereabouts of Shen Group’s huge sum of money is a mystery!”

Two reports with very different contents, yet inextricably linked, placed side by side, contained an indescribable irony. For the first time, Shen Xi, who had always had a negative image, appeared in front of readers in a positive light, while Shen Ji and Shen Cheng, who had always seemed perfect, were implicated in the scandal of unaccounted funds. Shen Xi skipped the story about himself and his eyes rested on the other story. Shen Ji wanted to keep the matter under wraps, but it was still exposed, and in such a way.

In the office, Shen Ji stared at the newspaper in front of him in silence. The atmosphere was indescribably depressing. The assistant carefully glanced at Shen Ji, guessing his mood at the moment.

“The reporters still refuse to reveal the source of the news?”

Shen Ji’s sudden words caused the assistant to freeze for a moment, then quickly react, “I’ve contacted several reporters, and they said they weren’t sure of the source, but strangely enough, they were all very sure of the authenticity of the news.”

Shen Ji lowered his eyes and deliberately ignored the reports about Shen Xi, keeping his gaze on Shen Group reports. The person who broke the news obviously knew the inside story; not only did he tell the ins and outs clearly, but he didn’t even miss any details. Shen Ji’s brow furrowed; the other party did not choose to be exclusive but released the news to all the reporters, obviously wanting to make a big deal out of this matter. He wondered if the person who broke the news was the same as the one who was behind the tampering with the funds. What good would it do for him if the story went viral?

Shen Ji was deep in thought when the office door was suddenly pushed open and Shen Cheng walked in with a panicked look on his face.

“Big Brother, what should we do? I don’t want to go to jail!”

The assistant was startled by what Shen Cheng said, and immediately withdrew from the office sensibly, closing the office door tightly.

“Go to jail?” Shen Ji’s face darkened, “Who said you will go to jail?”

Shen Cheng grabbed Shen Ji’s hand, “Everyone in the company says so, embezzling company funds is an economic crime, if we can’t find the one who really embezzled, do I have to go to jail?”

Shen Ji shouted in a low voice, “You haven’t done anything wrong!”

Shen Cheng nodded haphazardly, but did not dare to look at Shen Ji, “But the funds that went to an unknown destination were all signed by me, what should I do, Big Brother?”

Shen Ji patted Shen Cheng soothingly, “Don’t worry, Big Brother won’t let anything happen to you.”

Shen Ji’s reassurance made Shen Cheng feel much more at ease, and his morning worries about going to jail dissipated.

A trace of uneasiness flashed in Shen Ji’s eyes. Although he comforted Shen Cheng, he knew that things were not simple. The finances had been checked twice in a row and the flow of funds all pointed to Ah Cheng. Once the board intervened and handed the matter over to the police, it would be out of his control whether Ah Cheng could be cleared of suspicion.

Shen Ji was about to tell Shen Cheng to go back to his office when his assistant suddenly pushed the door and barged in.

Shen Ji looked over in confusion and realised that the assistant did not look right, “What’s wrong?”

The assistant darted a glance at Shen Ji, his eyes implying that this matter needed to be discussed tet-a-tet. Shen Ji was slightly flabbergasted and turned his head to look at Shen Cheng.

Shen Cheng realised what was going on and said discontentedly, “Is there something you and Big Brother can’t talk about in front of me?”

The assistant looked embarrassed, but still stammered and refused to speak. Shen Cheng’s expression was very dissatisfied as he frowned, got up and chose to leave.

As soon as Shen Cheng left, the assistant breathed a sigh of relief and said hurriedly, “Director Liao of the finance department has found out the person who handled the money.”

“Who is it?” Shen Ji suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

The assistant’s face was grave, “Chang Lei.”

Shen Ji’s face turned ugly, “Where is he now?”

The assistant said, “Director Liao found an excuse to keep him in the conference room, and now there are two security guards guarding him.”

Shen Ji looked cold, “Who else knows about this?”

The assistant was about to say that the only people who knew were them when the door to the office was suddenly pushed open and Shen Cheng barged in with a look of shock and anger, “Big Brother?”

Shen Cheng’s gaze was full of suspicion and disbelief. Shen Ji’s heart sank; from the moment the assistant mentioned Chang Lei’s name, he had already guessed that this matter would definitely be linked to him. He had already prepared in his heart, but Shen Cheng’s subconscious reaction still made him feel incomparably saddened.

Lu Gesen stood behind Shen Cheng with a serious face and said in a low voice, “Cheng Shao, this matter is not yet certain to have anything to do with Shen Shao.”

A hint of hesitation flashed across Shen Cheng’s face. He didn’t want to believe that his elder brother was behind all this either, but Chang Lei was his elder brother’s man and everyone in the company knew it. The comfort that Shen Ji had just given him flashed through his mind, and Shen Cheng hesitantly looked at Shen Ji for a while before turning around and leaving the office without saying anything. Lu Gesen nodded apologetically to Shen Ji and followed him.

The assistant looked at Shen Ji worriedly; even though Shen Cheng finally left, there was no denying that Shen Cheng still suspected Shen Ji in the first place. Thinking of Shen Ji’s trust in Shen Cheng after the misappropriation of funds came out, the assistant couldn’t help but look at Shen Ji again with sympathy in his eyes.

Chang Lei admitted that the matter was handled by him behind the scenes and confessed that he was acting under Shen Ji’s instructions, with the purpose being to get Shen Cheng to resign as general manager. The finance department followed Chang Lei’s account and soon discovered that a large amount of unidentified money had suddenly been added to his account recently. The people even found emails between Chang Lei and Shen Ji in his email inbox, all the evidence pointing clearly to Shen Ji.

When the news reached the hospital, Shen Dehan fainted again in shock and anger.

When he woke up again, he found that Wang Changlin was with him.

“Changlin? How come it’s you?” Shen Dehan was helped by Wang Changlin to sit up with great effort.

Wang Changlin helped Shen Dehan adjust to a comfortable position while speaking, “The company’s affairs are in a mess, and neither Ah Ji nor Ah Cheng can leave.”

Wang Changlin’s words made Shen Dehan think of the news he had received earlier and his face suddenly turned ugly, “What did Chang Lei say in the end?”

Wang Changlin smiled bitterly, “The board of directors insisted on handing Chang Lei over to the police, but I stopped them. We’ll talk about everything when you wake up.”

Shen Dehan grimaced, “Changlin, do you believe in Ah Ji?”

Wang Changlin’s heart twitched and he nodded, “I believe in him, but the problem now is that Chang Lei insists it was Ah Ji, and with all the physical evidence, it’s hard for Ah Ji to clear his name.”

Shen Dehan’s brow furrowed tightly. He also believed in his son, but as Wang Changlin had said, Chang Lei insisted it was Ah Ji who had ordered him to do it, and with all the human and material evidence there, it would be very difficult for Ah Ji to clear himself of suspicion. If he handed Chang Lei over to the police, then Ah Ji would certainly be implicated. He didn’t believe that Chang Lei alone would dare to implicate Ah Ji. The matter was full of strangeness from beginning to end. Whether or not the matter was going to be cleared up in the end, there would already be a stain on Ah Ji. But if he didn’t hand over Chang Lei, he couldn’t erase the suspicion that Ah Cheng had embezzled funds. On one side was Ah Ji and on the other was Ah Cheng. The matter had come to a head and he had to make a decision as soon as possible. Was he going to protect Ah Ji or Ah Cheng?

Wang Changlin looked at Shen Dehan silently, and a sneer flashed in his eyes very quickly. No matter what decision Shen Dehan made today, the rift between the father and the son would never be repaired.

The news that Shen Dehan had woken up was quickly communicated by Wang Changlin, and everyone rushed over to the hospital as soon as they received the news.

Shen Dehan sat firmly in the wheelchair and received several other directors of the company. Shen Ji sat behind his father with an expressionless face, while Shen Cheng hesitated for a moment and sat beside him. Shen Cheng’s attitude was noticed by everyone, and all of them felt moved.

Gao Qiulin was the first to speak up, “Dehan, I’m sure you are clear about what we’ve come for. I suggest that this matter be handed over to the police. Whether it’s Ah Ji or Ah Cheng, they should be given a chance to prove their innocence.”

Shen Dehan did not speak with a sullen face. Gao Qiulin smiled and looked at Shen Cheng, “Ah Cheng, you are the victim, what do you think?”

Shen Cheng nodded without hesitation.

Gao Qiulin smiled in satisfaction and turned to Shen Ji, “What does Ah Ji think?”

Shen Ji did not look at Gao Qiulin and said in a cold voice, “I have no objections.”

Gao Qiulin was very surprised by Shen Ji’s response and looked at Shen Dehan with a smile, “Dehan, it’s up to you now.”

Shen Dehan swept a gloomy glance at Gao Qiulin and said in a cold voice, “I disagree.”

“Why?” Shen Cheng was the first to jump up, “Father, now everyone thinks that I misappropriated the company’s money! If we don’t hand it over to the police to investigate it clearly, do I have to carry this blame forever?”

Shen Dehan frowned. Shen Cheng glanced at Shen Ji and then said, “Father, I know you want to protect Big Brother. But as long as Big Brother hasn’t done it, he doesn’t need to worry. Isn’t it good to investigate this matter clearly?”

Shen Dehan’s face was cold, “Things are not as simple as you think.” He had always suspected that the person behind the incident was among the company’s directors, and of course Gao Qiulin was the most heavily suspected. He was worried that the resultless investigation of this matter would completely ruin Ah Ji.

Shen Dehan’s attitude was so firm that Shen Cheng felt incredibly disappointed, “Father, are you worried about tarnishing Big Brother’s reputation, so you are willing to sacrifice me?”

“Ah Cheng!” Shen Dehan shouted angrily.

Shen Cheng stared straight at Shen Dehan, “Isn’t it so? Father, you are worried that this matter will not be investigated clearly and implicate Big Brother, but what about me? Do I have to keep carrying the charge of misappropriating the company’s money? Big Brother is your son, what am I?”

Shen Dehan’s face became increasingly ugly, and Shen Ji reached out and pulled Shen Cheng back, “Ah Cheng!”

Shen Cheng shook off Shen Ji’s hand, “It’s none of your business!”

Shen Ji lowered his eyes and turned to his father, “Father, it’s better to leave this matter to the police.”

Shen Dehan flatly denied, “No!”

Gao Qiulin winked at the director beside him, who smiled and said, “Since Dehan is so determined, it is not impossible to handle this matter privately, Dehan has to give us an explanation. While we are all here, why don’t you tell us how you plan to handle this matter? It’s certain that Chang Lei misappropriated the company’s funds, and it’s also certain that the flow of the funds went to Ah Cheng. It’s certain that these two things happened, so can we have an explanation? Is it possible that Chang Lei has a mental problem and the money he embezzled was not used for him but for Ah Cheng?”

The director’s words were understood by everyone. Whether Chang Lei was instructed by Shen Ji or not, the fact that he had embezzled the funds was here, and it was also a fact that the flow of funds went to Shen Cheng. Shen Dehan now either admitted that Shen Ji was behind all this and that Shen Cheng was wrongly accused, or he pushed Shen Cheng out. Since Shen Dehan was not willing to involve Shen Ji, then the blame for this matter could only be carried by Shen Cheng.

Shen Dehan looked coldly at the director, who nodded at him with an unchanged expression.

For Shen Dehan, both Shen Cheng and Shen Ji were Fang Yun’s sons and were equally important to him, but if he had to distinguish between priorities, then Shen Ji was the heir he had trained, and Shen Group and the Shen family were to be handed over to Shen Ji in the future, so there must not be any stain on him.

The atmosphere in the ward became tense. Shen Cheng sat there without any hope. He had already known what decision Shen Dehan would make.

Shen Dehan was about to speak with a grim face when Shen Ji suddenly stood up, “I did it.”

Everyone in the ward looked over in surprise at the same time. Shen Ji said expressionlessly, “I will be responsible for paying back the money that Chang Lei embezzled from the company. As for the other punishments, everything must be in accordance with the company’s rules.”

“Ah Ji!” Shen Dehan exclaimed in shock and anger, “Are you crazy?”

Shen Ji didn’t answer his father’s words, but said in a flat tone, “Father, let’s leave this matter as it is, I’ll go back first.”

Shen Dehan watched Shen Ji get up and leave, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Gao Qiulin snorted, “Since Ah Ji has already admitted it, let’s handle this matter privately, there’s no need to involve the police, we have to save face for Dehan at any rate.”

Shen Dehan stared at Gao Qiulin with a deadly gaze, unable to say a word.

The matter was quickly dealt with. The board of directors decided to dismiss Shen Ji and he would not be allowed to participate in the management of Shen Group in any form in the future. As for the funds embezzled by Chang Lei, Shen Ji would be responsible for filling the hole within three days.

Shen Xi soon received a message from Lao K. Everything was just as he had envisioned. The corners of Shen Xi’s mouth curled up in pleasure as he gently deleted the text message from his phone.

The board of directors’ resolution had actually deprived Shen Ji of his inheritance rights in disguise. Even if he held the shares of Shen Group in his hands in the future, he could only be an “idler” who would only receive money but could not participate in any decision making.

This was the life that Shen Ji once set for Shen Xi. How did he feel now that he had stepped on this path himself?