Chapter 13: Adoption and Abandonment
After a brief silence at the scene.
A loud murmur erupted; they hadn’t expected Mr. Shen, the actor, to have such a past.
“Wow, they really are his parents.”
“These are the Herbert couple, famous entrepreneurs in France in their youth, with a net worth of hundreds of millions!”
“Now he’s truly from a wealthy family.”
“But Mr. Shen, the actor…was he adopted and then abandoned?”
If that were true.
Amidst the huge wave of online abuse, they felt a trace of…sympathy?
The thing children in orphanages fear most is being adopted and then abandoned.
They thought they had finally found a kind-hearted god, but ultimately, they were returned to the cold winter night.
“No way, you guys are too gullible!”
“The Herbert couple is so rich, even if they really didn’t want to raise Mr. Shen, the actor, could they have mistreated him? Does Mr. Shen, the actor, look like he’s suffered?”
“That’s right, he’s already been abandoned, yet he uses the couple’s kindness to pave the way for his future; what kind of heart does he have?”
“The Herbert couple immediately flew to China to defend him when they heard he was in trouble.”
“Shen Jixing, you have no heart.”
…
Fang Siqian scanned the real-time comments on the live stream, a barely visible smile at the corner of his lips.
Although the process was slightly different from what he had anticipated.
He hadn’t managed to get the real reason Shen Jixing was abandoned.
But the result was satisfactory; he proactively smiled and reached out to help, “Mrs. Herbert, let me help you down.”
Mrs. Herbert subtly avoided his hand.
She maintained her gentle and elegant demeanor, her old, grey eyes fixed on the young Chinese man.
“Child, you’re not sincere.”
Her gentle voice was like a fine needle.
“Insincere children don’t have good fortune.”
The smile at the corner of Fang Siqian’s lips changed.
This was probably the gentlest curse, without any immediate impact.
But it would suffocate him in his midnight dreams.
“Is that so?” Fang Siqian pretended to help her down the stairs, his voice laced with a heavy, venomous smile, “Perhaps, he’s even worse than me?”
Although his motives weren’t pure.
He wanted to expose the other person’s hypocrisy, completely exposing it to the sunlight.
Let everyone see what kind of unsavory soul was hidden under the arrogant and godlike mask.
As if this would allow his initial admiration to smoothly transform into hatred.
“It’s you who’s deplorable, not him.”
Mrs. Herbert shook her head disappointedly; her parting words were filled with an obscure sigh, “He’s the best child in the world.”
Fang Siqian only sneered.
The dark clouds in the distant sky pressed down, and a low rumble of thunder echoed.
The reporters hurriedly packed up their equipment to leave.
A female reporter answered a call, “Oh? You want to accept my interview? Really? …Okay, okay, I’ll wait for you in the backstage.”
Fang Siqian, as the winner of this victory, turned and left the venue.
He didn’t expect to see someone backstage.
The person was holding a black umbrella, walking towards him from the rain, his features as clear and beautiful as ink painting, raindrops falling on his shoulders, scattering into a cluster of tiny crystals.
He coldly raised his eyes to look over.
Fang Siqian’s heart tightened; he subconsciously felt guilty.
The security guard was still a YC staff member, scrolling through Weibo without raising his head, “No Entry, don’t you understand…Mr. Shen, the actor?”
He was shocked for two seconds, continuing to flutter his fingers, “Even you can’t…”
“Tied up.”
“???”
Before the staff member could react, he was grabbed by a strong arm.
He met a familiar face, Pei Ming sneered, “Pretty boy, I’ve disliked you for a long time.”
Screams erupted from behind.
Shen Jixing walked past without raising his eyebrows, gently closing the rain-soaked umbrella.
Fang Siqian had been waiting for him for a long time.
“Long time no see, Mr. Shen, the actor.”
He clasped his arms across his chest, calmly greeting him.
Their positions had reversed; he no longer had to be cautious in front of this person.
Shen Jixing glanced at him, “Who are you?”
“…”
Fang Siqian was stunned.
Watching Shen Jixing ignore him like air, he finally couldn’t help but look sideways, “What are you pretending? You must be furious, right?”
He was the mastermind behind this.
A nobody who had been under his feet for six years without a chance to rise.
Now he could actually turn around and destroy him.
Shen Jixing seemed to have heard a not-so-funny joke.
Calmly and indifferently passing him, his voice cold like snow falling from a cliff.
“You think too much; you’re not worth my anger.”
“…”
Fang Siqian watched him walk towards the backstage, finally lowering his proud arms, realizing his hands were tightly clenched and aching.
“Is that so?” He sneered, “I don’t believe it. We’ll see.”
Shen Jixing came to the YC celebration with no interest.
He only came to see the Herbert couple.
As he reached out to knock on the door, he heard Mr. Herbert comforting his weeping wife, “Oh, darling, don’t cry…it’s not your fault; it’s that child who deceived you first.”
Shen Jixing lowered his eyes slightly and knocked on the door.
Old Mr. Herbert opened the door, “Who is it…Nova?”
Even though they hadn’t seen each other since their separation, Old Mr. Herbert knew what he looked like.
At first, he asked people to inquire; later, they didn’t need to deliberately ask, they could see his image on billboards.
He had grown well.
Old Mr. Herbert turned to tell his wife, but Mrs. Herbert had already come to his side, “Nova…”
Her grey eyes were filled with reddish tears, as if she had many things to say.
But when she spoke, only one sentence came out, “You seem thinner…”
Shen Jixing calmly lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, “Perhaps.”
He walked into the rest room, lightly placing the black umbrella to the side, looking at Mrs. Herbert’s grey eyes that always watched him, “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to China? Are you staying comfortably?”
“Most hotels use polyester-cotton bedsheets, and you’re allergic to that material, so when you stay, you should…”
Shen Jixing couldn’t finish his sentence.
He was tightly embraced.
“Nova,” Mrs. Herbert choked back sobs as she hugged him, her voice filled with self-blame, “I’m sorry…I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”
Shen Jixing was quiet for two seconds, lowering his eyes to hug her.
She always had a warm, pleasant lavender scent; Old Mr. Herbert knew she liked purple flowers, so he planted a whole field of lavender for her.
“It’s okay,” he said.
Old Mr. Herbert watched quietly, his heart aching slightly.
He was still as obedient as before.
Obedient, well-behaved, sensible.
His skin was as white as fresh snow, his eyes were deep and beautiful obsidian, quietly and carefully looking at them while holding his star-shaped doll.
Listening to them paint a picture of his future.
They would open the fireplace on snowy winter nights, burning wood that made warm crackling sounds. Santa Claus would pull his sleigh past the window, leaving a ground full of colorful gift boxes.
“Just like this!”
The young silver-haired man magically pulled out several colorful boxes from his arms.
“But first, Nova has to finish the roast chicken Mom made!”
The black-haired boy’s eyes widened slightly; a spark flickered in his eyes.
…Mom?
Perhaps out of youthful shyness, he hadn’t been able to call her “Mom” back then.
He never had the chance again.
The young man rejected the British-style little suit, changing back into his original white sweater, still holding his yellow star-shaped doll, sitting in the car without crying or making a fuss.
Before leaving.
He looked at the apologetic and teary-eyed couple outside the car window, giving them a blessing in the ancient and romantic language of China.
“May you have peace and happiness every year.”