As soon as these words were spoken, Sheng Wu paused, then as if she had thought of something, she shrank back in fear.

"No, I didn't meet anyone. This is all my own fault!" She raised her eyes and looked at Shen Qinghuan forbearingly, as if she didn't want to cause trouble for anyone.

Upon hearing this, Shen Qinghuan frowned, and her impression of Sheng Wu as lively, cute and simple became more timid. She was very good at observing people's words and expressions, and in just a few seconds, she had a guess in her mind.

"You met my eldest brother." In the entire Shen family, he is the only one who can make Sheng Wu so embarrassed.

"?!" In an instant, Sheng Wu suddenly looked up at her in surprise.

Seeing this, Shen Qinghuan knew that she had guessed right, and she said in a deep voice.

"What did he do to you? Where is he?" There was a hint of anger in his cold coffee-colored pupils.

Sheng Wu's face turned pale, as if she recalled some humiliating scene. The tears that had been suppressed in the corners of her red eyes suddenly fell.

"No, he didn't do anything to me. He, he has left..." Oh no, he was probably rushed back to the hospital again.

She lowered her head, looking weak and aggrieved, but was proud and sarcastic in her heart. Sheng Wu was very skilled at this.

Seeing that only the shoulders of her clothes were torn, Shen Qinghuan came to this conclusion after observation.

"He, mistook you for someone else?"

After all, she knew her eldest brother's temper and he would not do anything unethical, except to one person.

"What do you know?"

Sheng Wu raised her eyes, red as she looked at her in surprise, with deep emotion in her eyes.

Seeing this, Shen Qinghuan had a clue in her mind. She didn't rush to speak, but just took a handkerchief from the side. She originally planned to hand it to her directly, but when she saw the tearful look in her eyes,

"I don't know much. Actually, I warned you before, didn't I? Father has a woman hidden deep in his heart. Big brother and father have a bad relationship, mostly because of that woman. It's just that not many people in the Shen family know about it, and those who do dare not mention it. And I only know about it from occasional clues and fragments of words."

She sighed lightly and raised her hand to wipe the precious tears from Sheng Wu's face.

Sheng Wu was stunned at first and let Shen Qinghuan wipe her tears, but when she heard the last sentence, she couldn't help but reach out and hold her hand that was wiping her tears, as if she had grabbed the only life-saving straw.

"What do you mean? Gui Wu had someone he liked before! Shen Junsheng and his father fell in love with the same woman?"

After a pause, she seemed to have realized something, her pupils fixed on Shen Qinghuan in disbelief, her expression distraught.

"Could it be that I really am just like what Shen Junsheng said, so much like that woman..."

Her eyes became hot and her vision gradually blurred, and the girl's already pale and beautiful face became even more sad and desolate.

Hearing this, Shen Qinghuan frowned. She didn't expect Shen Junsheng to tell her the truth directly. Seeing Sheng Wu crying silently, she frowned and the fingertips that were held by Sheng Wu moved slightly.

"I don't know if you two look alike, but I know that you are you. You are no one's substitute."

Sheng Wu, who was in a daze and crying, suddenly stopped and slowly raised her eyes to look at her.

"Have you guessed it long ago? Chen Guiwu treats me as... a substitute." When he said the word "substitute", his voice was hoarse, as if he had never thought that he could be despised to such an extent.

Shen Qinghuan's expression changed, but she lowered her eyes and did not hide anything. Instead, she told the truth frankly.

"Yes, but at first I only suspected it because my father had been alone for many years, and I had never seen him like anyone. So when I learned that he had married you, whom I had only known for five days, I felt something was wrong. Later, I really suspected it when I picked up your fan. Because my father would not easily show such an important thing to others, but he gave it to you..."

Sheng Wu's pupils trembled, and he suddenly understood something. He looked at her deeply with scarlet eyes and his voice was hoarse.

"So, the second line of poetry on the fan was written by that woman..." Even the fan was left by his beloved woman.

“…”

Shen Qinghuan remained silent and didn't say anything, but his expression already gave the answer.

Seeing this, Sheng Wu suddenly chuckled, "Heh..."

"It turns out that he didn't love me, but just loved my face that was the same as hers... I was a substitute for a dead person..." The pampering in those days was just a substitute for another person.

The smile on her face was particularly desolate and broken, carrying the despair and sorrow of being betrayed. The tears in her eyes seemed to be stained with blood by the scarlet pupils, which was extremely distressing.

Shen Qinghuan's heart tightened when she saw this. She turned over the hand that was held by Sheng Wu and held her hand with her other hand.

"You are not a substitute!" His cold eyes stared at her with a hint of nervous worry, "Sheng Wu..."

"If you want to leave here, I will help you." These words were spoken in a serious manner, and only Shen Qinghuan knew how much weight they carried.

Because not only did she have to disobey her father's orders, but also Shen Junsheng's search, which was considered a betrayal of the Shen family.

Sheng Wu was shocked. "Leave?"

Shen Qinghuan's eyes were solemn and gloomy. "Yes, as long as you don't like it here, you can leave. You don't have to be anyone's substitute, just be yourself."

She really couldn't bear to see such a lively girl trapped in the backyard for the rest of her life, living under the shadow of others. Moreover, her eldest brother had already exposed the relationship today. Given his temper, she was afraid that Sheng Wu would be caught between him and their father in the future and it would be difficult for her to live like this.

"Oh......"

Sheng Wu's eyelashes trembled, and she looked at Shen Qinghuan speechlessly with trembling pupils. After a moment of hesitation, she finally chuckled again, but that laugh was full of sarcasm and self-mockery.

"You think the Shen family is so powerful? I can leave the city. What will happen next? My face has always attracted many people. Without the protection of the Shen family, how can I protect myself in this chaotic world except becoming an entertainer for others to play with?"

She let go of the hand held by Shen Qinghuan and shook her head slightly, not knowing whether she was talking to herself or to Qinghuan.

Shen Qinghuan raised her eyelashes and looked at her speechlessly. Indeed, Sheng Wu's face was too dazzling and it was impossible to live a simple life with her.

Finally, Sheng Wu raised her hand to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, and she stood up expressionlessly.

"Forget it, I'll stay here. Just pretend that what happened today never happened. I didn't come to you, and you didn't tell me this."

Hearing this, Shen Qinghuan frowned and said in a serious tone, "Do you really want to stay here?"

"As long as you are willing to leave, I will find a way to protect you and hide you in a secluded place."

Sheng Wu calmly asked back, "Then I have to hide from place to place for the rest of my life, like a rat crossing the street?" After a pause, she seemed to have compromised with reality.

"At least in the Shen family, I can still eat and drink enough, and be the glorious Mrs. Shen...even if I'm just a substitute."