At twelve noon, Fanjialuo and Baimu were already waiting in the private room. Shen Youquan arrived five minutes late, without his wife and children, but with a tall, handsome man.
"Sorry, I got delayed on the way," he apologized with folded hands. Of medium height and ordinary looks, he had a very refined demeanor.
"This is my driver and bodyguard," he pointed to the man behind him.
"Baimu, Mr. Fan, nice to meet you," the man greeted courteously, nodding while discreetly surveying the environment in the private room to ensure there was no hidden agenda or potential danger, and then left. He was just not at ease leaving the customer alone, so he followed along, with no intention of dining with them.
Baimu focused all his attention on Shen Youquan and paid no attention to the man, but Fanjialuo stared intently at him, his gaze becoming deep and inscrutable.
"Mr. Shen, why didn't you bring your family?" With the door now closed, Fanjialuo turned to Shen Youquan and asked directly.
This was clearly an insensitive question. Who would bring their wife and children to a first meeting with a stranger? If it weren't for the invitation from Baimu, Shen Youquan wouldn't have even spared a glance at Fanjialuo.
"Mr. Fan invited me to discuss an out-of-court settlement, so what does that have to do with my family? Let me call my lawyer right now, and you can discuss any issues with him," Shen Youquan impatiently tried to end the meeting. Even with Baimu present, he was not very patient with this tactless young man.
My problems are not as urgent as Mr. Shen's," Fanjialuo dismissed with a wave of his hand.
"What?" Shen Youquan laughed, "What problem could I possibly have?"
Baimu didn't interrupt, just quietly poured three cups of tea.
"If you are still so ignorant, Mr. Shen, you will soon lose your only child." Fanjialuo sipped his tea lightly, his expression firm.
"My only child? Mr. Fan, don't you watch the news? Anyone who knows me knows that I have two children. So, what are you talking about my only child? This is contradictory to what you said. I lead a clean private life and have never been involved in scandals, let alone fathering a child out of wedlock. Mr. Fan, are you slandering me? I heard that you didn’t even finish high school and that your university degree was paid for by the Fan family. Now that you have nowhere to go and are shut out of high society, I give you some advice - while you are young, try to study more, don't play tricks all day long, and avoid getting in trouble. I have a good temper, so I won't hold you accountable for today's matter. If you want an out-of-court settlement, please come back when you have enough money."
Shen Youquan turned to Baimu and warned, "Mr. Baimu, be cautious in making friends."
Baimu placed his phone in front of Shen Youquan and said with a smile, "Mr. Shen, I'll also give you a piece of advice - if you lack education, then read more, broaden your horizons."
Shen Youquan was instantly enraged, but inadvertently caught a glimpse of the big red headline on his phone screen - "Twins May Have Different Biological Fathers." What nonsense was this? Did they invite him here just to make such low-level jokes?
Shen Youquan diverted his gaze and left the room slamming the door, displaying his anger.
Fanjialuo calmly added, "Mr. Shen, please take good care of your only daughter in the near future. When the troubles in your house are resolved, we can sit down and discuss out-of-court settlement. Also, today's conversation is strictly between the three of us. Please refrain from spreading the word. Otherwise, the situation will become extremely serious - serious to the extent that even someone as powerful as Mr. Shen won't be able to resolve it."
As Shen Youquan stormed off, Baimu sent a message to him, ensuring that he protect his daughter as she might be in danger.
Already in his car, Shen Youquan, furious, responded, "[Baimu, a righteous friend adds to one's strength, while an evil friend brings loss. To reduce your loss, I suggest you stay away from Fanjialuo as much as possible. This man's character is highly questionable.]"
Baimu quickly replied, "[No wonder I've been so successful in the market recently, it's because I've made a beneficial friend. Thank you, and I'm grateful!]"
Shen Youquan's face twisted in anger, and he typed many words, only to delete them one by one. Forget it, what's the use of speaking to such confused people? It's best to avoid them. Fanjialuo went too far - just to avoid paying money, he fabricated such absurd lies! Was he trying to gain favor or destroy his family's harmony?
As Shen Youquan stewed in his anger, his driver observed his expression through the rearview mirror and asked with apparent concern, "Mr. Shen, did you have a fallout with Mr. Baimu? You look rather unwell."
Shen Youquan had planned to respond with a few complaints but found himself unable to speak. Fanjialuo's cool voice kept echoing in his mind- “Don't spread it around, or things will become extremely serious...”
"Umm, they wanted an out-of-court settlement but didn't want to pay too much, so the discussion broke down," Shen Youquan casually replied.
The driver, aware of the two lawsuits between Fanjialuo and KN, nodded and refrained from further questions. He had intended to take his boss to the office, but he was surprised when Shen Youquan declared, "I won't go to the office today. Take me home."
"Okay, Mr. Shen," the driver promptly changed lanes.
An hour later, Shen Youquan returned home, only to hear his daughter crying loudly in the living room. The girl was robust and playful, crying frequently, making people's heads ache; unlike his son, who was gentle and well-behaved. His son even when aggrieved, would quietly shed tears, being too delicate. Besides, the girl resembled Shen Youquan, completely ordinary, while the son looked like his mother, with a cute face and big eyes.
In comparison, Shen Youquan naturally favored his son, especially in his view, sons were always more precious than daughters.
Entering the living room, he indeed saw his daughter crying on the floor, while his son was held by his wife, with teary eyes and a look of grievance. The grandmother handed a rabbit plush toy to her grandson, reassuring him in a soft voice, "Be good, don't mind your sister, she's a little tyrant who wants everything she sees."
The little girl cried out, "That's my toy, his is the teddy bear! When you bought them, it was agreed that each of us gets one. Why did you give everything to my brother?"
Shen Youquan's wife couldn't contain her anger and shouted, "Stop crying! It's just a toy, what harm is there in letting your brother play with it? Why are you so petty? You're the older sister, don't you know how to give in to your brother?"
"But every time, it's me who lets him have it. He always takes my toys!" The little girl cried until her voice was hoarse. She saw Shen Youquan standing at the entrance and quickly ran to hug his legs, choking back her tears as she said, "Dad, please ask my brother to give me back the little bunny. He has a little bear, a little fox, a toy car, and a transformer, but I only have this little bunny. Dad, Dad, I just want this little bunny. Can you ask my brother to give it back to me, please?"
Under normal circumstances, Shen Youquan would have joined in scolding his daughter. But today, for some reason, he choked up as he looked at his daughter, who resembled him greatly, crying to the point of convulsions. He couldn't bring himself to say a word.
At this moment, Mr. Shen walked down from the second floor, and in a harsh tone said, "Cry, cry, cry, all you do is cry! Your brother originally had weak health and was deprived of nutrition by you. You don't know how to give in to him. Why are you so immature? Do you know that his illness, fever, and hospitalization are all because of you? You owe him for a lifetime!"
Shen Youquan couldn't bear it and shouted, "Dad, don't say such things in front of the children! Little Bao and little Gun are siblings, they should love and support each other. No one owes anyone anything!"
Mr. Shen snorted and went to hold his grandson, coaxing him with a smile, "Good boy, stop crying, grandpa will buy you a new toy, we don’t need this old thing."
The little boy shook his head and said softly, "But I like this little bunny."
Mr. Shen immediately changed his tone, "Then this bunny belongs to good boy, let the sister cry, let's ignore her."
The little boy stopped crying and didn't hold the little bunny tightly, but instead casually dragged it by one ear, showing that he was used to snatching and didn't really like this kind of plush toy. Although he was still young, he relied on instinct to compete for the attention and affection of his family. Such a mentality was truly terrifying. However, if you observe carefully, you will find that this is not an exception among children, but a common phenomenon. Children are innocent, yet also cruel, and this innocent cruelty often sends shivers down the spines of adults.
Shen Youquan usually wouldn't carefully observe the interaction between the two children, but today, he involuntarily paid attention to every detail and analyzed the meaning behind various phenomena. He held his daughter, who had cried herself hoarse, and looked at his smiling son, and his heart suddenly started to beat heavily and urgently. He had thought that his daughter was the strong one and his son was the weak one, but now it seemed that his daughter's strength was just a facade, and his son, despite being so young, already knew how to use the mask of weakness to compete for limited resources.
The contrast between the two children seemed to confirm the metaphor of "cuckoo's egg in a magpie's nest," making him extremely uncomfortable! He placed his daughter on the sofa and also lifted his son onto it, making the two children sit side by side, and then taught them the importance of living in harmony, word by word.