In Shen Yanlin's bedroom at the Shen family home.
Shen Yanlin sat on the sofa with a cold face, while Uncle Shen was trying to persuade him earnestly.
"Xiaoyan, everything your father has done is for you. You must understand his good intentions."
Shen Yanlin raised his eyes and gave a cold smile.
"No need. Don't use my name as an excuse to interfere in my life."
He looked at Shen's father, his eyes filled with hatred.
"What do you mean to me and my mom? Are we comparable to your job?"
"My mother was critically ill and wanted to see you one last time, but you wouldn't even put aside your work to come back and see her, causing her to leave with regret!"
Shen's father's face turned deathly pale instantly, his lips trembled, and his eyes reddened.
He closed his eyes in pain, his voice hoarse.
"Xiao Yan... I... How could I not want to come back and see your mother one last time?!"
"However, at that time... the situation was extremely urgent! Our research had reached a critical juncture, and we simply couldn't do without it! It was a major project related to national security!"
He opened his eyes, his eyes brimming with tears, and his heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife.
Shen's father murmured, "Your mother...she will definitely understand me!"
"She knows the responsibilities I bear! She once told me not to let her interfere with my work... She will definitely understand..."
“She doesn’t understand!” Shen Yanlin interrupted his father, his tone resolute. “She doesn’t understand! How could she possibly understand?!”
"How many times have you appeared in our lives over the years?! My mother has been taking care of me all by herself; she raised me single-handedly! I don't need you!"
When my mother was seriously ill, she was afraid he would worry, so she didn't want to tell him. She only told him the truth when she was too sick to hide it anymore.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
His mother endured unimaginable pain all by herself, with no one to rely on.
On her deathbed, she murmured her father's name, wanting to see him one last time, but he did not appear, leaving her to depart from this world with longing and regret.
Thinking about all this, Shen Yanlin wished he could kick this hypocritical man out of the house immediately!
He gritted his teeth, forcing back the tears welling up in his eyes, and after a long while, he coldly said: "Since all you care about is your career, you shouldn't get married, shouldn't start a family, shouldn't have children, and should spend your whole life with your career!"
"Shen Zhiyuan! I have my mother, that's enough! I don't need a father like you at all!"
"Please go back to your career as before and don't appear in my life!"
When Uncle Shen saw this, he immediately tried to persuade him.
"Xiaoyan, don't be like this. Your father has his reasons. Over the years, he has always cared about you, and everything he has done is for your own good..."
Shen Yanlin stood up, his emotions running high.
"He cares about me? His concern is to indiscriminately accuse me, insult my friends as 'disreputable,' and forbid me from associating with them!"
"You insulted them today and drove them away, making it impossible for me to make friends in the future! Is this what you call doing it for my own good?"
However, Shen's father did not think he had done anything wrong.
"It is precisely because your mother worked so hard to raise you that I cannot watch you go astray!"
He pointed out the window and said angrily, "Friends who disrespect their elders and speak rudely are simply not worth having!"
"You're still so arrogant, making conclusions without even understanding the situation!"
"Ye Linchen and the other two are better students than me; they're the ones who tutored me!"
Shen's father completely ignored him: "If a person has bad character, no matter how good their grades are, it's useless. You're going to join the army in the future, you can't hang out with these people, they'll ruin your life..."
"Won't!"
Shen Yanlin suddenly interrupted him.
He looked directly into Shen Zhiyuan's eyes and said firmly, "I will not join the army; I want to study painting."
"draw?"
This was an answer that neither Shen's father nor his uncle had expected, and they asked in unison.
"Impossible!" Mr. Shen refused flatly. "Nonsense! What are you talking about! You're not allowed to learn!" As if realizing something, he asked, "You haven't been going to class during the day lately, have you been learning to paint?"
Shen Yanlin glanced at him sideways but didn't say anything.
Father Shen was furious at his attitude and immediately gave an order.
"Since you're not going to school anyway, you're not allowed to leave home for the time being, and you're not allowed to step out the door even once. You can only go out when you've figured things out!"
"What right do you have to restrict my freedom? I'm eighteen years old, I'm an adult!"
Uncle Shen was so annoyed by the argument between the father and son that he stepped forward and separated them.
"Xiao Yan! How dare you talk to your father like that! He's still your father!"
After scolding Shen Yanlin, Uncle Shen turned to Shen Zhiyuan and said, "Zhiyuan, you should also say less. Between father and son, can't we talk things out? Is it necessary to argue like this, like enemies?"
Shen Zhiyuan pointed at Shen Yanlin, trembling with anger: "Speak properly? Does he even respect me as his father?! I think he's been brainwashed by those disreputable girls!"
He suppressed his anger and said to Shen Yanlin, "Whether you hate me or blame me, I'm determined to handle this matter. You have no choice but to go to the army."
"I'm making this clear: I want to study painting, and I will never join the army!"
Shen Yanlin said resolutely.
"Fine! We'll see who gets to decide this!"
After saying that, he pulled Uncle Shen out of the house, slammed the door shut, and pointed to the padlock on the door, saying to Uncle Shen, "Brother, lock it."
Uncle Shen hesitated for a moment: "Zhiyuan, is it necessary to make things this tense?"
"Brother, this kid has been brainwashed by those three girls and can't tell right from wrong. If we don't teach him a lesson this time, who knows what he'll do in the future. Listen to me, you won't go wrong."
Uncle Shen sighed and called to his nanny, Aunt Zhang, to bring the keys.
"Open the door! What right do you have to restrict my freedom!"
"Chen Zhiyuan!"
"Why can't I go out?!"
Shen Yanlin struggled to open the door, but Shen Zhiyuan held on tightly, refusing to let go.
Shen Yanlin's strength was still a bit lacking compared to his; he almost pulled it open several times, but Shen Zhiyuan closed it again.
"Aunt Zhang, hurry up."
Uncle Shen also became nervous and called out to Aunt Zhang.
Aunt Zhang rushed over with the key in hand, hurriedly unlocked the padlock, and locked the door.
"Xiao Yan, calm down inside. I'll also try to persuade your father. We can talk again when you've both calmed down."
Uncle Shen shouted into the house and pulled Shen Zhiyuan into the study.
"Didn't we say we should talk things out? Why are you hitting and yelling at me?"
Upon entering the study, Uncle Shen asked in displeasure.
“Xiao Yan is all grown up now and has his own opinions. You can’t impose your opinions on him.”
Shen Zhiyuan was also full of resentment. He sat heavily on the sofa and told Uncle Shen about his experience at Ye Linchen's house.
“Listen to what those three girls said. Am I vulgar? Am I filthy? Am I dirty-minded?”
"I'm their classmate's father, don't they have any basic respect for me?"
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