Chapter Fourteen: Her Opportunity Arrives When She Gets Drunk

Shen Ruizhang raised an eyebrow. “You’ve taken a liking to her?”

“Hm?”

There was a playful glint in Shen Tingxiao’s eyes. “If I were interested in someone belonging to you, uncle, would you give her to me?”

The words were laced with ambiguity.

As far as he knew, Shen Tingxiao had lived these years with remarkable restraint, never once entangled with a woman. Was it possible he was simply intrigued by Sang Bai for the moment, wanting nothing more than a fleeting amusement? But if he really handed Sang Bai over, Jiang Yunzhu would surely make a scene with him again.

Shen Ruizhang withdrew his gaze and took a light sip of his wine, letting out a soft chuckle. “It’s nothing, just curiosity. Sang Bai is hardly a superstar; she’s not worth the effort.”

The remark sounded as if Sang Bai were a trivial trinket, or perhaps like a senior imparting a lesson to a junior—either way, it was uncomfortable to hear.

Shen Tingxiao looked up, the orange glow of the lamp casting over his face, allowing Shen Ruizhang to see the dangerous depths veiled in those shadowed eyes. He sat there so casually, yet commanded a presence that forbade disrespect—Shen Ruizhang found himself unable to meet his gaze.

A faint shudder rippled through Shen Ruizhang’s heart. Though younger by several years, Shen Tingxiao’s aura was enough to make even him uneasy, to inspire a latent dread. Shen Tingxiao was far from a simple man.

Shen Ruizhang managed a smile. “Let’s drink. It’s rare for you to come home. If you need anything from me, just say the word.”

“Uncle.”

Shen Ruizhang instinctively straightened, glancing over in confusion.

Shen Tingxiao’s thin lips curled in a contemptuous sneer. “I hear, uncle, the company’s been in a state of unrest lately—all over a little starlet?”

The words made Shen Ruizhang pause, wine glass halfway to his lips.

He forced a dismissive smile. “Qingfei is generating quite the buzz abroad, too. I simply saw that she could bring considerable profit to our company.”

“Is that so?”

The response was cold and flat, betraying disbelief.

Shen Ruizhang’s unease deepened.

“Tingxiao, how long will you be staying this time?”

“Uncle, you’re overstepping,” Shen Tingxiao leaned back on the sofa, his expression half-amused yet inscrutable, as if a veil concealed his true thoughts.

Shen Ruizhang’s face stiffened, a shadow of displeasure passing through his eyes. He hadn’t expected Shen Tingxiao to so brazenly deny him respect.

But before he could react, Shen Tingxiao’s smile returned. “No need to worry, uncle. With you here, we all feel at ease. Grandfather even suggested you come for dinner at the house sometime. You’ve managed the company here these years; you’ve worked hard.”

Shen Ruizhang’s expression turned cold. The words sounded like those of an old feudal lord, speaking down to his steward. After all these years of striving, he’d finally earned the title of General Manager, a man respected by all, yet in the eyes of the Shen family’s main branch, he was still somehow inferior.

As silence fell, Shen Tingxiao idly turned the jade ring on his thumb.

Then, he poured a glass of wine for Shen Ruizhang himself, handing it to him. “Uncle, are you in a bad mood?”

Shen Ruizhang shook his head at once. “No.”

“Then drink.” Shen Tingxiao said simply.

After that, he fell silent, but every time Shen Ruizhang set down his glass, Shen Tingxiao would refill it, taking only a delicate sip himself.

At this moment, Shen Ruizhang’s usual air of superiority was nowhere to be seen. Anyone witnessing the scene would find it hard to believe that a man so eminent could be so thoroughly subdued by someone several years his junior.

After several rounds, Shen Ruizhang was visibly drunk.

Shen Tingxiao’s gaze remained clear, yet when it landed on Shen Ruizhang, it flickered with a cold, inscrutable envy.

He arched a brow, a teasing smile on his lips. “Already drunk, uncle?”

Shen Ruizhang met his gaze, feeling a stifling sense of humiliation. What did this man take him for?

Restlessly loosening his tie, he raised his glass in a toast. “Tingxiao, it’s rare for us uncles and nephews to meet—let’s have another.”

But Shen Tingxiao did not accept. His smile was fixed, almost false, and his tone grew light, tinged with admonition. “I’m tired. I don’t want to drink anymore. Uncle, you’ve had enough. Too much wine clouds the mind and hinders important things.”

Shen Ruizhang’s grip on his glass tightened as the smile faded from his face. He looked at Shen Tingxiao.

“You’re right. I am drunk.”

Shen Tingxiao smiled. “In that case, you’d best call someone to take you home, lest you make the news again and leave the Shen family wondering whether you’re troubled by business or by love.”

“Uncle, at your age, surely you don’t need me to remind you?”

Shen Ruizhang’s fists clenched, his embarrassment finally too much to hide. After all his years at the helm of the Shen Group, never had anyone dared shame him so openly. Yet he could do nothing but swallow it in silence—for a single word from Shen Tingxiao could set him against a force he dared not challenge.

He steadied himself and quickly dialed Jiang Yunzhu’s number.

Jiang Yunzhu, immersed in research, stared at the incoming call for a long time before reluctantly picking up just as it was about to end.

“I’m at Nightfall. Come pick me up,” Shen Ruizhang said, frowning slightly.

Jiang Yunzhu pressed her temples, forcing down her impatience and replying patiently, “Uncle, I still have work to finish tonight. Perhaps you could—”

Even Jiang Yunzhu was defying him?

“Jiang Yunzhu.” Shen Ruizhang’s tone turned abruptly stern. “I told you to pick me up. This is not a request.”

Jiang Yunzhu’s fingers curled as she stared at her screen, falling into thought. On the other end, he pressed her again, impatience clear in his voice.

She drew a deep breath. “Uncle, I’ll call Miss Zhou right away.”

With that, she hung up quickly.

Staring at the ended call, Shen Ruizhang was dumbfounded, then his brow furrowed tightly.

She’d hung up on him? And refused to come pick him up?

Suddenly, Shen Tingxiao spoke. “No one to take you home, uncle? If you’d like, I can have someone see you back.”

“Of course not.” Shen Ruizhang retorted at once, offering a polite smile. “She’ll be here.”

Shen Tingxiao paused, then smiled even more broadly. He glanced at Shen Ruizhang’s phone, then lowered his head to text on his own.

Shen Ruizhang eyed him in confusion. Why did it seem that Jiang Yunzhu’s refusal to pick him up pleased Shen Tingxiao so much?

After hanging up, Jiang Yunzhu immediately called Zhou Qingfei.

When Zhou Qingfei answered, there were faintly suggestive sounds in the background, though they soon faded—she must have stepped out of the private room.

Jiang Yunzhu was direct. “Miss Zhou, my uncle’s had too much to drink at the bar. Could you go pick him up?”

Zhou Qingfei scoffed. “Trying to trick me? I won’t fall for it.”

“So you don’t care for my uncle as much as you claim. If you’re not going, I’ll find someone else.”

She made to hang up.

“Wait!” Zhou Qingfei hastily asked, “A-Rui really is drunk?”

She replied with a simple, “Yes,” then quickly sent over the address.

“If you’re late, someone else might take him home,” she added pointedly before ending the call.

Zhou Qingfei stared at her phone thoughtfully. Shen Ruizhang was drunk—her chance had come.