When Shen Yao got out of the car, his legs were still weak.
It was the weekend, and after school, he had been fooling around with his buddies at the school gate, flirting with a few girls, trying to coax them into letting him treat them to bubble tea.
Then, out of nowhere, a sedan pulled up in front of them, and two men in black suits stepped out, grabbed him, and hauled him away.
His so-called friends—scrawny cowards just like him—didn’t dare make a peep.
Shen Yao thought he was being kidnapped to have his kidneys harvested, screaming like a stuck pig the whole way.
As the car drove deeper into unfamiliar territory, he was so terrified he almost wet himself.
Only when his shaky legs finally touched the ground did he take in the surroundings—far too luxurious for some back-alley organ-harvesting operation.
That was when it dawned on him: this probably wasn’t what he’d feared.
Then the two men in black escorted him into a dazzlingly opulent room, where his sister, Shen Ying—who’d been missing from home for days—sat casually polishing her nails.
Shen Yao’s anger flared. He stormed over to her, ready to unleash a torrent of complaints, only to suddenly clutch his stomach—
“Where’s the bathroom? I can’t hold it anymore.”
Shen Ying pointed in a direction, and her idiot brother bolted like a shot.
A few minutes later, Shen Yao emerged, refreshed, finally able to take in his surroundings properly.
He was standing in a massive dressing room, where the vanity table was laden with more cosmetics than a high-end department store. Nearby, the array of beauty equipment outshone even the fanciest salon near their school.
Against the far wall was an entire display of shoes, accessories, and countless evening gowns.
Even as a clueless straight guy with zero interest in women’s fashion, the sheer extravagance left him stunned.
And in this luxurious space, an entire team of makeup artists and beauticians bustled around, catering solely to his sister.
Shen Yao marched up to her, indignant. “You’re out here living the high life in a place like this, and you only gave me 500 bucks?”
Shen Ying waved a hand dismissively. “Fine, I’ll give you another 500 later.”
Shen Yao huffed. “You think I’m that easy to brush off? You can’t lowball me like before—I know what you’re up to now. No way you’re getting away with the old rates.”
“This time, you’re giving me at least 600.”
Shen Ying: “……”
Taking her silence as a victory, Shen Yao changed the subject. “Sis, you’ve been gone for days. Aren’t you worried about Mom and Dad freaking out?”
Shen Ying yawned. “Nah. I told them I was out hunting for a rich husband. They were thrilled and didn’t ask any more questions.”
Shen Yao: “……You could’ve at least told me. I made lunch and waited forever for you to come home. Didn’t even hear from you till midnight.”
“Did you just forget about me?”
Shen Ying ruffled his hair like he was a dog and grinned. “How could I forget you? That’s why I called you here—so you could enjoy the good life with me.”
Nearby, the staff exchanged glances, their expressions dripping with disdain.
Shen Ying stood and motioned to her brother. “You must be hungry. Let’s eat.”
She led him to the dining room, where she addressed the staff with a smile. “I heard you got fresh bluefin tuna and wagyu today. Oh, and the Alba white truffle and Ossetra caviar I saw earlier—my brother and I would love to try them.”
“But don’t make the menu too simple. My brother’s still growing, so his appetite’s big. Tell the chefs to prepare their best dishes.”
The staff’s polite smiles faltered, but since Mr. Lu had made it clear that there was no limit to Shen Ying’s dining budget, they had no choice but to comply, even if inwardly they cursed her shamelessness.
Shen Yao had never even heard of half the things she’d just ordered. While she spoke, he frantically Googled them on his phone—only to nearly choke at the prices.
He leaned in and whispered urgently, “Sis, don’t mess around. If we can’t pay for this, they’ll make me wash dishes here till the next century.”
Shen Ying patted his head sweetly. “Don’t worry about grown-up stuff. Order whatever you want.”
“And if you like something, we can take extra home.”
The staff’s blood pressure spiked at the audacity.
But the kitchen worked fast, and soon, dishes began arriving one after another—exquisite flavors Shen Yao had never tasted before.
Hungry from the ordeal and the adrenaline crash, he wolfed everything down.
Shen Ying kept piling more food onto his plate, her expression guilt-ridden. “It breaks my heart, thinking of you stuck at school eating garbage while I’m here feasting.”
“Didn’t your cafeteria recently serve that abomination—cilantro-fried mooncakes?”
Shen Yao looked up. “You saw that on hot search too?”
“But it’s useless. No matter how much people complain online, the school won’t change the cafeteria or convenience store vendors.”
“They’re the principal’s brothers-in-law.”
Shen Ying sighed and gave his head another pat. “You poor thing.”
Her unusual gentleness made Shen Yao suspicious. She was being way too nice—what was she planning?
But all his worries vanished the moment he laid eyes on the mouthwatering setup in the massive game room.
Shen Yao let out an excited shriek and dashed inside, spinning in circles—
“Is all this real? Isn’t this next year’s unreleased gaming console? Holy crap, are these machine specs even possible? And these game cartridges—do they include every game ever released worldwide?”
“What’s this? A VR gaming pod?”
For a high school boy, this was clearly paradise.
Shen Ying watched her younger stepbrother, Shen Yao, dart excitedly between the games, unable to decide which one to try first.
With a smile, she said, “If you like something, take it home to play.”
Shen Yao’s face lit up, but then dimmed just as quickly. “But we don’t have the console at home. Forget it.”
Shen Ying shrugged. “Then take the console too.”
A nearby servant hastily interjected, “Miss Shen, that might not be appropriate…”
Shen Ying paused, then nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”
“He’s in his senior year of high school. A little relaxation is fine, but he can’t afford to get addicted to gaming. What if it ruins his chances of getting into Tsinghua?”
“You’re absolutely correct. He should just come here on weekends to play.”
The servant: “…”
*Who the hell cares about your broke-ass brother’s studies?*
The tension in the room was palpable until Shen Ying turned back to her brother. “No rush. There’s plenty of fun stuff here.”
“Let me show you around first. Try everything out.”
Shen Yao nodded, then suddenly remembered something and pulled out his phone, opening WeChat.
He swiftly added several contacts to a group chat and initiated a video call.
His friends had just witnessed him being dragged away earlier, so they were more or less worried.
The moment they saw his call, they answered.
The next second, his grinning, flushed face filled their screens.
“Guess where I am right now?”
The boys took in the high-end gaming equipment around him and immediately cursed:
“Dude, if you got a job at an arcade, you should’ve said so! We thought you got kidnapped for your kidneys!”
“What, scared we’d ask for an employee discount? Pfft—like we could even afford this place.”
Shen Yao: “…Dumbasses, open your damn eyes. This is a *private* gaming room. *Private.* Your dad’s gonna show you how the other half lives.”
At first, his friends didn’t believe him. But as he panned the camera, revealing the full scope of the gaming hall—the insane collection of games and equipment—their jaws dropped.
A chorus of envious howls erupted from the other end of the call.
Shen Ying let her brother enjoy his moment of bragging.
After the gaming hall, she took him to the garage, the stables, the lion enclosure, and the speedboat docked by the lake.
Luxury cars straight out of Hollywood blockbusters, majestic thoroughbreds, and a regal lion—every sight left the group of high schoolers screeching like a flock of ducks, shattering the deliberately quiet atmosphere of the estate.
By the time his friends were groveling and calling him “Dad,” Shen Yao’s ego had never been more satisfied.
Reluctantly, he finally ended the call.
Noticing his sister watching him, Shen Yao scratched his head sheepishly. “Uh… Sis, Lu Linwei won’t mind me staying the weekend, right?”
Shen Ying shook her head. “*He* sent someone to pick you up. Just enjoy yourself.”
“Seriously? Then… can I try *that* car?”
He pointed at a Bugatti Veyron 16.4.
“I got my license this summer, and I’ll be super careful—no scratches, I swear.”
Shen Ying nodded. “Fine. Take it slow.”
Just as Shen Yao was about to jump in, a staff member quickly intervened. “Apologies, Miss Shen. That’s Mr. Lu’s personal vehicle. No one is allowed to drive it.”
Lu Linwei’s cars fell into two categories: business vehicles with designated drivers, and private collectibles reserved solely for his own use.
The Bugatti, unfortunately, was the latter.
Shen Yao immediately backed off, ready to apologize, but his sister cut in dismissively:
“I’ve driven his ‘off-limits’ cars plenty of times.”
The staff member remained firm. “Miss Shen, you have Mr. Lu’s special permission. That doesn’t extend to others.”
“If you start letting just *anyone* share his prized collection, Mr. Lu won’t be pleased.”
*Not every stray cat or dog gets to touch these cars.*
The unspoken condescension was thick, but Shen Ying’s expression darkened.
“‘Just anyone’?” she repeated coldly.
“This is my *little brother.* The pride of the Shen family. If I can touch it, so can he.”
“And I’ll say the same to Lu Linwei’s face.”
Shen Yao’s eyes welled up. “Sis… I didn’t know you still cared about me this much.”
Lately, she’d been bossing him around, even hitting him—he’d started to think she hated him.
Meanwhile, everyone else in the room was choking on their own outrage.
*This woman’s a full-blown ‘brother-obsessed’ enabler!* *She’s shamelessly milking her man to spoil her brother!*
Although with President Lu's wealth, such things were beneath his notice, the mere idea of the esteemed Lu being entangled with a gold-digging "brother-obsessed" woman was enough to make one's vision darken with frustration.
Over the next two days, the people in the mansion could only watch helplessly as the shameless freeloaders became two in number.
After trying out numerous activities, Shen Yao found that gaming was still his favorite pastime.
So, most of his remaining time was spent in the game room, indulging in the unparalleled gaming experience provided by the top-tier equipment.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but Shen Yao felt his skills had improved significantly.
That afternoon, he played until Shen Ying called to urge him to dinner, reluctantly powering down the console before heading to the dining room.
As he passed through the hallway, he overheard a group of people talking.
At first, Shen Yao paid no attention, but a few sharp, insulting keywords caught his ear.
He stopped in his tracks, and the voices became clearer—
"Acting like this is their own home."
"With their ambiguous status, it’s bad enough they’re mooching off others, but now they’ve brought their whole family along."
"What can you expect? Like sister, like brother. The sister’s shameless, and the brother, young as he is, has no sense of shame either. Treating someone else’s house like it’s theirs."
"Hahaha, the ‘precious heir of the Shen family’—what kind of backwater village girl would even say something like that?"
"Jokes aside, keep your eyes sharp these next few days. Lock away anything valuable in case sticky fingers come knocking."
"You really think they’d go that far?"
"Pfft. You expect manners from people with no dignity?"
"Come on, don’t talk about a kid like that. His sister says he’s ‘Ivy League material.’"
"Pfft—"
"Hahaha…"
Shen Yao fled back to the dining room, his face burning with humiliation. He was just a high school student, unfamiliar with the complexities of adult relationships.
But back when Lu Linwei had stayed at their place, he and his sister had taken care of him without asking for a single penny.
Sure, even a bathroom here was more luxurious than his entire home, but it wasn’t like he’d invited himself.
Lu Linwei had insisted on bringing him here, claiming it was his treat. Surely he wasn’t so undeserving of even that much hospitality?
He approached his sister, muttering, "Sis, maybe we should just go home…"
At his words, Shen Ying’s eyes immediately lit up with satisfaction.
These people looked down on her, and they certainly wouldn’t spare any kindness for the little brother she’d "dragged along to freeload."
Unlike her—an adult who could navigate subtle insinuations with precision—an eighteen-year-old high schooler, especially one uninvolved, needed things spelled out clearly to feel the sting.
This way, gathering evidence would be much easier.
Shen Ying stood up and pulled something out of Shen Yao’s pocket.
Shen Yao stared, baffled—he had no idea when it had even been placed there.
Before he could ask, the sound of a car pulling up outside interrupted them.
Lu Linwei had returned a night early.
Impatient to be back, he headed straight to the dining room to find Shen Ying.
To his surprise, her expression upon seeing him was one of sheer relief—
"President Lu, you’re finally back."
Lu Linwei’s lips curled upward. He knew it—she’d been pining for him. There was no way she could go days without missing him.
After all, she’d grown used to his constant presence, morning and night.
Just as he was about to gloat, Shen Ying pulled her brother forward.
With a look of grievance, she declared, "President Lu, I’d like to invoke the supplementary clause in my employment contract."
"The one regarding the protection of employees’ physical and mental well-being."
"During your absence, I suffered severe workplace harassment—harassment that even extended to my unrelated family members."
"I demand compensation from the company for the emotional distress caused to both me and my brother."
