Chapter 153: The Utterly Shameless Shen Huifang

"Shen Huifang, are you out of your mind?"

"Mom, can you please be normal?"

A low reprimand and a heavy sigh rang out almost simultaneously, coming from Lin Yuangui and Lin Yuxin respectively. The former wore a dark, angry expression, while the latter rubbed her temples, utterly speechless.

"Out of my mind? Not normal?" Shen Huifang's smile vanished as she cast a cold glance at Lin Yuangui. "Lin Yuangui, both of my daughters are about to be taken away by others. Do you have the ability to protect them? If you don't, shut your damn mouth!"

This time, Shen Huifang deliberately lowered her voice, yet her attitude remained supremely arrogant. Lin Yuangui's expression froze; he opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Huifang, who is this?" Elder Shen recognized Luo Song. Although Luo Song belonged only to the Luo family's third branch, he was deeply favored by Elder Luo. The investment company managed by Luo Song alone had grown from an initial startup capital of one hundred million to a market value of nearly one billion in just a few years. Earlier, as they walked in, Gao Yuanjie had taken the lead with Luo Song lagging half a step behind. While an ordinary person might have ignored this detail, in the eyes of Elder Shen, it carried profound significance. Now, hearing Shen Huifang declare that Gao Yuanjie was her prospective son-in-law, even his steady composure failed to keep his heart from racing.

The Shen family hovered between a second-tier and a quasi-first-tier status in Nanshi, stuck in this awkward position for over five years. Advancement seemed merely a step away, yet without a catalyst, that step might remain untaken even by the day Elder Shen was placed in his coffin.

And the grandson-in-law, who was a direct descendant of a first-tier family, would be more than enough to help the Shen family complete their transformation!

"He is the son of the president of Yuxin's parent company, the young master of Qingshi's Hongcheng Group," Hong Chen said calmly, answering for Shen Huifang. Elder Shen narrowed his eyes slightly. Even residing in Nanshi, he had heard of Hongcheng Group, which had risen like a comet in Qingshi. Though established less than two months ago, it possessed the strength to rival the four major first-tier families of Qingshi.

The crucial point was his identity as the young master—equivalent to the future heir of a first-tier family!

Gao Jingsong furrowed his brows deeply, his expression turning grave. His son had been reduced to a eunuch entirely because of Hong Chen, and he had already verified that Hong Chen was merely a pawn of Hongcheng Group. Now that the young master himself had arrived, was today's plan to capture them going to fall through?

The only reason he had endured until now without going to Qingshi to make arrests was that he had heard rumors about the change in ownership of the King's Club and feared that Hongcheng Group would back Hong Chen.

"Heh, Hongcheng Group isn't in Nanshi, so perhaps everyone isn't very familiar with it. However, President Gao is known in elite circles as Young Master Gao; that shouldn't sound unfamiliar, right?" Luo Song glanced around, taking in the sluggish expressions of the crowd, before letting out a light chuckle and speaking up.

Young Master Gao, and coming straight from Luo Song's mouth—he could only be that recent focal figure in elite circles!

Countless speculations surrounded Young Master Gao: some said he was a disciple of a prominent family from the provincial capital gaining experience in the south; others claimed he was the scion of a super-family from the south; and still others rumored he hailed from the capital...

In short, Young Master Gao possessed an immense background, and even the direct-line young master of the Luo family merely served as his follower!

The gazes directed at Gao Yuanjie by the crowd instantly became blindingly bright.

Even Shen Huifang vividly felt this shift. A wave of indescribable superiority and grandness surged in her heart. This feeling was simply wonderful—this was her son-in-law, and he had to be!

"Son... Young Master Gao, there's a matter I'd like to ask for your help with. My daughter has encountered some trouble..." Seizing the opportunity, Shen Huifang practically floated over to Gao Yuanjie as if walking on air. A shred of remaining rationality and reticence kept her from directly calling him her son-in-law. Without caring whether Gao Yuanjie was willing or not, she launched into an account of what had happened to Lin Yuifei the previous night.

Gao Yuanjie's eyes flickered with a flash of realization. No wonder Lin Yuxin had suddenly hurried to leave yesterday; it turned out her younger sister was in trouble.

"Yuxin, didn't I tell you that you can come to me if you encounter trouble?" Instead of making an immediate statement, Gao Yuanjie turned his gaze to Lin Yuxin, his tone carrying a hint of gentle reproach.

Lin Yuxin's expression turned somewhat unnatural. Without refusing outright, she merely offered an awkward smile.

"We're all family here, Young Master Gao. Yuifei will be your sister-in-law in the future. As her brother-in-law, you certainly can't just stand by and pretend you didn't see her being bullied." Seeing that Lin Yuxin remained unresponsive and lacking Gao Yuanjie's patience, Shen Huifang hardened her heart and blurted out shamelessly.

The effect was remarkably swift. Gao Yuanjie offered her a reserved smile and said, "Auntie, don't put it that way. Yuxin and I are colleagues; since Yuxin's sister is in trouble, I will definitely help."

Shen Huifang had previously identified who Young Master Lu was. Gao Yuanjie raised his gaze to look over, causing Lu Bin's expression to turn exceptionally ugly. They heard Gao Yuanjie say gently, "Young Master Lu, I must ask you to give me some face. It's just a misunderstanding. With your magnanimity, please don't bicker with a young girl. Since you injured your leg, let this financial compensation serve as my apology."

As soon as he finished speaking, his bodyguard stepped forward and handed a bank card to Lu Bin. Lu Bin hesitated slightly. At that moment, Luo Song chimed in, "Young Master Lu, we all run in the same circles and see each other all the time. Over such a trivial matter, why talk about compensation?"

Lu Bin caught the underlying meaning. Seeing Luo Song's darkened expression, he knew instantly that this bank card was dangerously hot to handle.

"Since Young Master Gao and Young Master Luo have both spoken, if I were to keep dwelling on a mere misunderstanding, it would make me look petty." Weighing the options for a moment, Lu Bin chose to yield.

Earlier, even when Elder Shen alternated between threats and cajoling, Lu Bin had remained utterly unwilling to back down. Now, solely for the sake of giving Gao Yuanjie face, Lu Bin compromised. Amidst the profound shock of the crowd, the looks they cast toward Shen Huifang's family grew exceedingly complex. They could only lament why they didn't have a talented and beautiful daughter like Lin Yuxin.

Shen Huizhou's face turned ashen; her body trembled, and her heart trembled along with it. What kind of incredible luck had Shen Huifang stumbled upon to actually secure such a golden turtle-in-law? Imagining the humiliation of having Shen Huifang ride roughshod over her head in the future, she felt an overwhelming urge to just slam her head against a wall and die!

"Young Master Gao, I just knew your words would carry the most weight! Our family's Yuxin was spoiled rotten since childhood and barely listens to us parents, but she will definitely listen to you."

Faced with Shen Huifang's shameless flattery, the crowd broke out in goosebumps, yet she remained utterly oblivious. She slapped her forehead and cried out, "Oh, I almost forgot, there's one more little trouble..."

Noticing Shen Huifang looking in their direction, Qian Jingsong's expression tightened. Cutting her off, he said, "Young Master Gao, I am Qian Jingsong, president of Qianrun Group. My purpose here today is to take him to see my son. My son has some personal grievances with him and needs to settle some matters face-to-face. I kindly ask you to grant me some face as well."

After all, Qian Jingsong was a man of vast experience. Since Lu Bin had made concessions purely because of a single sentence from Gao Yuanjie, if he stubbornly insisted on taking Hong Chen and Lin Yu.xin away—leaving aside whether he could actually succeed—even a forced removal might bring disaster upon the Qian family afterward. Just how deep Gao Yuanjie's foundations went was unclear to him, but Luo Song was an authentic young master of the Luo family, and the Qian family was simply not on the same tier as the Luo family.

Therefore, he decisively made his choice: he would target only Hong Chen!

Following the direction of Qian Jingsong's finger, Gao Yuanjie turned his gaze toward Hong Chen. Lin Yu.xin hesitated and said, "President Gao, please..."

Yang Meihua suddenly interrupted, "Yuxin, you and Hong Chen are merely in a contractual marriage. You've been separated for ages, and you're just one step away from getting a divorce certificate. You could say he has zero relation to you now. Are you really going to unconditionally shield him for the trouble he stirs up outside?"

Yang Meihua was filled with unwillingness, but circumstances dictated otherwise. Even in her foolishness, she could see that Gao Yuanjie harbored romantic intentions toward Lin Yu.xin. With Gao Yuanjie protecting them, not to mention herself, even the Qian family wouldn't dare to act rashly against Shen Huifang's household.

Right now, her only option was to retreat to a secondary plan and hold Hong Chen alone accountable. That fellow was the principal culprit and absolutely could not be let off the hook. This was also her ultimate bottom line!

Finding her pressure on Lin Yu.xin insufficient, Yang Meihua turned her sights to Shen Huifang. "Huifang, if you still acknowledge me as your sister-in-law, say something. Am I making sense or not?"

Shen Huifang hesitated for a single second before abandoning Hong Chen without a shred of bottom line. "Sister-in-law makes complete sense. Hong Chen is no longer part of our family, and whatever he does outside has not the slightest connection to us."

Turning back to Gao Yuanjie, she chimed in, "Young Master Gao, to be frank, even our own family can't stomach Hong Chen's actions. He and Yuxin have always slept in separate rooms, lingering in our house just for free food, drink, and lodging. Later on, I gave him a sum of money and made three conditions with him: first, move out and live elsewhere; second, divorce Yuxin the moment she found a boyfriend; and third, whatever he does outside has nothing to do with our family."

With that, she cast a cold glare at Hong Chen and barked harshly, "Hong Chen, the personal grievance between you and President Qian's son is something you should face yourself, both in reason and in logic. If you're still a man, honor the agreement and show the courage and responsibility of a real man!"