Chapter 2

In the drizzle, assistant Fu Nian was holding a black umbrella. Shen Jinghan was wearing an exquisite and expensive dark brown suit. He was tall and slender, with a handsome and indifferent face. It was unknown how long they had been standing there.

Lin Ran's face turned pale. After not seeing him for many years, he was still the cold and noble son of destiny, while she was covered in stigma and in a miserable state. Even standing next to him seemed like a defilement!

Chen Zhi almost went crazy.

Why is my brother back? Isn't he going on a business trip for over a month?

In the side hall, Chen Zhi's friends were all as quiet as chickens.

Shen Jinghan, the heir to the Shen Garden, a top Hong Kong tycoon, was a legendary figure. Shen Jinghan simply stood there, silently giving them a sense of domineering oppression.

Their family is just a second-rate wealthy family in Hong Kong, and they are all illegitimate children, so they are mixed up with Shen Zhi. They have never seen such a scene before, and they dared not breathe.

Shen Jinghan walked into the side hall.

Lin Ran moved to the side quietly.

The man's tall and majestic figure passed by her, and the sapphire cufflinks on his cuffs seemed to hook onto the wet corner of her clothes and came undone at the touch.

Lin Ran took a step back as if he had been electrocuted.

The corners of his clothes, where he touched them, felt like they were burning with fire.

Shen Jinghan glanced at the side hall with his phoenix eyes and said coldly: "Uncle Liu, throw away all the things in the side hall and replace them with new ones."

The butler murmured, "Okay, Master."

Chen Zhi's face turned even paler, and he cried, "Brother! I'm sorry, I was wrong! I didn't know you were coming back today..."

Shen Jinghan's phoenix eyes were icy cold, and he went upstairs without even glancing at her.

Assistant Fu Nian came forward and said concisely: "Sixth Miss, Mr. Shen asked you to go to the police station to deal with the hit-and-run incident, apologize and compensate. Mr. Shen does not want to see the words "Shen family" appear in the news headlines. From now on, Sixth Miss is not allowed to come to Shen Garden."

Chen Zhi stared at him in disbelief, sat on the ground, and burst into tears.

All of Chen Zhi's cronies ran away in an instant.

"It's finally quiet." A light laugh was heard.

Lin Ruolan, wearing a silk nightgown, came down the stairs and said with a disdainful smile, "Chen Zhi, I told you not to come to Chen Garden, but you refused to listen. If you make a fuss again and disturb the eldest master, I'm afraid you won't be able to come for the New Year. How can you refuse to listen?"

Chen Zhi said angrily: "Do you want you to be hypocritical? I am the daughter of the Shen family. Unlike you two mother and daughter, you rely on men to get to the top. One seduces the old one, and the other seduces the young one. You are both shameless."

Lin Ruolan smiled: "Relying on men to get to the top is also a skill. Your mother doesn't even have the qualifications to live in Chen Garden. It's late at night, hurry up and leave. The noise is making people unable to sleep."

Chen Zhi was so angry that she was shaking all over and rushed out of Chen Garden crying.

Before leaving, he elbowed Lin Ran hard and said viciously, "Don't be so complacent, I'll kick you out sooner or later!"

Lin Ran felt a dull pain in his ribs from being hit by her.

She lowered her eyes and her face turned pale.

"Ranran." Lin Ruolan came forward, warmly took her daughter's hand, and said in a coquettish voice, "Where have you been all these years? Why didn't you contact your mother?

Why didn't you call me when you came back so I could have the driver pick you up?"

Lin Ruolan choked up and said, "Mom has been worried about you all these years."

Seeing that she laughed and cried at will, and her acting skills were perfect, Lin Ran took a step back and said softly, "I'm dirty, don't stain your clothes."

She broke free, unmoved.

There was such a big commotion downstairs just now, but Lin Ruolan didn't come out. She only came down after Shen Jinghan came back.

Over the years, she has never had any expectations of this mother.

When Lin Ruolan gave birth to her, she abandoned her in a small fishing village to fend for herself. It was her grandmother who carried her in her cradle on her back and raised her by selling tofu pudding in the small fishing village, bowl after bowl of tofu pudding.

When she was twelve years old, her grandmother passed away, and Lin Ruolan took her to Chenyuan from the small fishing village.

At that time, she didn't know that Chen Garden was a century-old wealthy family in Hong Kong. She was just amazed at the beauty of the garden, which seemed like a fairy tale world.

It was also at that time that she first met Shen Jinghan, the heir of Shen Garden and her nominal elder brother.

The eighteen-year-old boy was as handsome as jade and as emerald as pine trees. His upturned phoenix eyes looked at her coldly, as if he was looking at a stone or a weed on the side of the road.

She smiled brightly at him, but he turned away coldly, leaving her with an indifferent back.

If she could live her life over again, she would rather never have been here.

Lin Ruolan was just pretending, and when she heard that, she quickly withdrew her hand and said with a smile, "It's good that you're back. Your face is so thin, I'll ask Aunt Liu to stew some tonic for you to replenish your body.

Come, quickly clean up Miss Fifth's room and have someone prepare a midnight snack."

The housekeeper was in a dilemma: "How should I respond to the young master?"

Lin Ruolan sneered: "It's just a one-night stay. The eldest master goes out early and comes back late. He won't ask about these trivial matters. Be smart."

The butler retreated silently and went up to the third floor.

The person in charge of Chen Garden is naturally Shen Jinghan.

The housekeeper stood at the door of the study, knocked three times, and reported in a low voice: "Master, the Third Madam asked the Fifth Miss to stay overnight at Shen Garden."

There was no movement in the study.

The butler stood quietly for a while, then turned and went downstairs.

The eldest young master didn't say anything, which meant he tacitly agreed.

There was no light in the study. Dark clouds obscured the moon, and faint light from the sky poured in, illuminating a tall and slender figure in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

Chen Jinghan looked at the rhododendrons in full bloom outside the window with dim eyes, flicked the thick cigar ash with his fingertips, and a pile of cigarette butts were scattered in the ashtray.

He lowered his eyes and saw that the wet parts of his cuffs had dried completely, leaving no trace.

*

Lin Ran's room was a bedroom converted from the storage room on the first floor.

In the middle is a jade vase and crane screen, on one side is the storage room, and on the other side is her bedroom.

Her entire fortune is not as valuable as that screen.

Shen Garden covers a large area and has many rooms, but when she moved in at the age of twelve, she only had half a bedroom. Her mother ordered her not to go upstairs, and she could only eat in the kitchen with the servants. She was not allowed to appear in front of the Shen family.

She did as she was told.

After a few years, Shen Zhongqi saw that she was well-behaved and sensible, so he verbally adopted her as his adopted daughter. She didn't change her surname, wasn't included in the ancestral hall family tree, and didn't have the qualifications to live upstairs. Her status was just slightly better than that of a servant, and she was kept as a little toy and given food to eat.

When Lin Ran came out of the shower, she saw Lin Ruolan rummaging through her suitcase.

She watched quietly for a while, and when she saw her throw all her drawings on the ground, she said calmly, "What are you looking for?"

Lin Ruolan was caught red-handed, but she was not panicked at all. She smiled and said, "Ranran, your suitcase is broken and your clothes are wet. I will have someone send you new clothes tomorrow.

"But how did you use that fake passport? Where have you been all these years? Did you sneak out of the country?"

Lin Ran looked gloomy.

She was very tired today and didn't want to bring up old issues with her on her first day back. If she wanted to stay in Shen Garden in the future, she would have to rely on Lin Ruolan.

Lin Ruolan smiled guiltily and said, "Okay, Mom won't ask anymore. Let the past be the past. From now on, just listen to Mom and I will pave the way for you and find you a powerful family."

Lin Ran didn't say a word.

In Lin Ruolan's eyes, her only value was marriage. However, her reputation was not good, and her mother might be disappointed.

"I asked Aunt Liu to make some midnight snacks. You can go to the kitchen and eat later. Also, Shen Jinghan is at home, so you should stay away from him."

Lin Ran nodded.

Lin Ruolan left quickly. Lin Ran picked up the messy documents on the ground. With a "ding" sound, an anonymous message came in on her mobile phone.

“Once you get the topaz seal from Shen Jinghan, I will tell you the whereabouts of the child.”

Lin Ran's face turned pale and he clutched his phone tightly.

The message is sent from abroad and has been specially processed. It can only be received but not replied.

The phone number could not be found.

Three days ago, she received this anonymous call in Dublin. The caller said that the child she gave birth to was not dead and he knew the whereabouts of the child.

Seven years ago, after she was kicked out of Shen Garden, she discovered that she was three months pregnant.

With no other options, she had to return to the small fishing village where she grew up and gave birth to the child at the risk of her life. However, the hospital told her that the baby was stillborn.

She didn't know how she survived those dark years. It was like a nightmare from which she would never wake up.

Now, she was told that her child was not dead.

Lin Ran's eyes were red.

"Knock knock knock—" There was a knock on the door outside.

The housekeeper said in a low voice, "Fifth Miss, the eldest young master wants you to go to the study."

Lin Ran's expression changed.

What is coming will eventually come.