Chapter 195 - THE SHEN FAMILY (I)
IN another private villa community in B City where only the rich and famous lived, a well-known family was also having their own Mid-Autumn Festival dinner. It was the Shen family.
They belonged to the upper echelon of the country's high society. Not because of a huge amount of wealth but because of their political power. The Shen family's influence in the country's politics was so deep that it said that they could affect how this country was being govern if they so wished.
But, of course, that was only a rumor. Although as they say, there's no smoke without a fire. So maybe, that rumor was not so baseless after all.
The current patriarch of the Shen family was Shen Wang Ji. He once held the position of the country's Premier. But despite being retired for years now, he's still quite active in the country's political scene.
He was blessed with three sons, all very different from one another.
His eldest son - Shen Yi Wu – was like a carbon copy of himself. Stern and full of pride. Currently he's also making his way up to the political ladder. He was now holding a position at the Supreme People's Court. Many believed that he would soon rise to the same position as his father.
The second son of the main branch of the Shen family was named Shen Yi Zhu. Despite being the middle son, he was the one Shen Wang Ji favored most. It was probably due to his bright and carefree attitude. Unlike his other two sons who were both quite reserved with their affection, Shen Yi Zhu was overflowing with it. That's why it was also easy for others to like and love him.
But he had no interest in politics. Unlike his older brother, he didn't become a government official. Instead, he became a photographer. He travelled the world taking photos of people and places. And slowly became well-known.
But before he could truly climb to the top of his chosen profession, a tragic incident occurred that took his life. Leaving his wife and eight-year-old son.
The youngest of the three was Shen Yi Mu. Out of the three, he would be considered the smartest one. Academically speaking. He was always at the top of his class. Winning Mathematics and other Science competitions. Knowing his talent, Shen Wang Ji didn't dare to force his own ideas on him. Because even he knew that that would only hinder his own development. He wanted Shen Yi Mu to be able to fly as high as his wings could take him. To be the best at whatever field he chose.
He just didn't expect that it would be in the field of computer games. Which had long been a huge frustration for him since. He expected him to be a top scientist of this country. But who would have thought that he would be addicted to that thing called computer?
And now, that youngest son who caused endless frustration to his father was parking his car in front of the huge villa of the Shen family.
Shen Yi Mu turned to his nephew sitting on the passenger's seat. One of the perks of raising this kid for 12 years was being able to decipher his emotions. So, despite not having any expression, he could easily tell that this nephew of his was sulking right now. He looked extremely unwilling to go down the car.
Ji Yun always looked like this whenever they visited the main house. Not that he could really blame him. Who would want to go to a place where almost all people acted like they didn't welcome you?
It's all his father's fault. The way he constantly neglected Ji Yun's existence, as if ignoring him would make him go away, it was seriously maddening. With his example, the younger generations of their family also thought that they could treat Ji Yun the same way. Which only led to Ji Yun not having an ounce of familial feeling towards them.
That old man was just so stubborn that even until now, he's projecting the pain he felt for losing his son towards a kid who literally had nothing to do with that lost. All because he didn't like his mother.
His father had been against his older brother's relationship with Eloise – Shen Ji Yun's mother – from the very start. He didn't care that she belonged to a pretty old and rich British family. All he cared about was that she's a foreigner. Which meant that their children would not be pure Chinese.
Being born in the Shen family meant that you would be thought from childhood that the Chinese people were always a level higher than other races. It would be constantly instilled on you until you truly believed that that was the case. That's why most members of the Shen family who had gone into politics could serve their country wholeheartedly.
He and his second older brother were probably the only exemption to this rule. And it was all thanks to their gentle and kind mother.
Their oldest brother had been groomed as the next head of the family by their father himself. He was much focused on him. Which left the two of them – he and his second brother – to the care of their mother. Which he would forever be thankful for.
He would have hated it if he turned out like his oldest brother – an exact carbon copy of their father. From their appearance up to their beliefs. If he did, then he wouldn't have fallen in love with Jiang Yue.
Because in their father's world, being in love with another man was considered a huge abomination. Although he seldom wondered if it would have been better for the two of them if he hadn't fallen in love with him at all. Then their relationship wouldn't have ended in such a way.
Shen Yi Mu shook his head. No, this was barely the time to think about that. He let out a deep sigh and looked at his nephew once again.
"Come on, let's go. I promise, after we eat dinner, we will go immediately," he said.
Shen Ji Yun reluctantly nodded and finally walked out of the car.