Bonus Chapter 3

Tang Jun’en had been troubled recently, as his romantic life was not going well.

Cheng Cuo gave him a bunch of bad advice. After he implemented it, his journey to win back his wife was extended by thousands of miles, so he blocked Cheng Cuo. The two of them did not speak to each other at the Shen family dinner.

Wen Huo arrived at Shen Huaiyu’s house early. When Jin Ge mentioned wanting a grandson, Wen Huo brought Shen Tingwen over. Yiyi was also there. She had been staying at Jin Ge’s place for the past few days. When she saw Wen Huo, she sweetly called her “Mama.”

Their relationships were very complicated. After Shen Naiyi was adopted by Shen Cheng’s aunt, she still lived with Shen Cheng and Wen Huo. She would go to her aunt’s place every few days. Everything was the same, except for her identity. Her aunt was also quite wronged, as she had a child who did not even stay with her. Luckily, the child had been raised well by Shen Cheng and was very grateful. After Shen Cheng explained her background to her, she was always grateful and treated her aunt like her real mother.

Wen Huo touched Yiyi’s head and squatted down to wipe her dirty face. “Baby, you can’t have any more sweets later.” Shen Tingwen wobbled over. “Mama, I’m the baby.” Wen Huo suddenly regretted giving him the nickname “baby.” The little guy thought he was the only baby in the world. She hugged his little waist. “You and your sister are both babies. You’re Tingting baby and Yiyi baby.” Shen Tingwen accepted the explanation and went to play with Yiyi in Jin Ge’s arms.

Wen Huo walked toward the living room and happened to run into Tang Jun’en, who was coming from the entrance looking dejected. She saw that he had no intention of talking to anyone, so she did not greet him. She just walked past him to greet the other relatives.

Shen Cheng was in the wine cellar. Shen Huaiyu had a lot of wine, including some from good years from several wineries in Burgundy. Most of it was given to him by friends, as he was not a fan of wine. Tang Jun’en sat down at the nearest booth in the wine cellar and said, feeling wronged, “Your wife saw me and didn’t even say hello. She’s so cold.” Shen Cheng did not even look at him, but his sarcastic tone was still there. “Why should she say hello to you?” Tang Jun’en glared at him. “You’ve changed.” “Change is a good thing.” “You’ve become heartless and only care about your wife.”

Shen Cheng chose the wine. When he turned around, Tang Jun’en was holding a cigar and a cigar cutter in his left hand, looking as if he had just been dumped. He did not ask, as he knew Tang Jun’en would not be able to hold it in and would tell him. Sure enough, Tang Jun’en’s next sentence was, “What’s with women and their love for being so clever?” Shen Cheng put the wine down, leaned against the edge of the table, and listened. Tang Jun’en tried to light the cigar twice but paused both times after lighting the lighter. “I can figure out her tricks with my toes, but she thinks she’s so smart.” Shen Cheng did not want to discourage him. “You can figure it out, so what?” Tang Jun’en put down the cigar and rubbed his eyes. The feeling of seeing through everything from his previous sentence was gone, and his tone was nothing but defeated. “It’s useless. She still made me lose sleep for several days. I think I might be serious this time. But this is ridiculous. How could I get caught up in this?”

Shen Cheng asked him, “Do you think I’m still lucid when it comes to Wen Huo?” “No, you’re not.” Shen Cheng said, “I can actually figure everything out. But I still go along with her pace. The reason is obvious.” Tang Jun’en knew that Shen Cheng could handle anything with ease, but when it came to Wen Huo, his intelligence became very unstable. Sometimes he seemed okay, not too far from his peak performance, but other times, he was just ridiculous. The uncharacteristic comment of, “Didn’t you say that women with money go bad?” was something he had said during one of those times. He could indeed figure things out. Even if his intelligence went offline for a short time, just like muscle memory, his constantly sharp mind would make the right judgments by habit, but he would still choose to side with Wen Huo. He would always side with Wen Huo.

Of all the women who had tried to seduce him, why was Wen Huo the only one who succeeded? To put it bluntly, if Shen Cheng had not been lenient, what could ten Wen Huo’s have done? He was a man with a chilling past in Toronto. Was he so easy to conquer? Perhaps it was because Shen Cheng was lonely at the time, or perhaps it was a combination of the right time and the right place. The two of them, a couple of scoundrels, ended up in a mutual scheme. After two years of entanglement, they humbled themselves and admitted that they had been utterly defeated in the relationship and acknowledged each other’s importance. When people stop fighting against something, happiness naturally comes. This was a simple and easy-to-understand principle that Tang Jun’en also knew, but he just could not be rational when it came to that woman.

Tang Jun’en took a deep breath. “I’m just a supporting character in your life, but isn’t your life also my life?” We are all the same, living, aging, getting sick, dying, and experiencing love and hatred. There is no difference. Through Shen Cheng’s advice, Tang Jun’en was reminded of his past pathetic self. He saw his own reflection in that pathetic self and suddenly felt that he had figured things out a little. In times of crisis, a brother is always the best. He always knows what he is thinking. Shen Cheng saw that the exhaustion on his face had dissipated a little. He picked up two bottles of wine. “Let’s go.” Tang Jun’en picked up his cigar and followed him out of the wine cellar.

When Wen Huo saw Shen Cheng, her eyes seemed to be smiling. The small expressions and actions she subconsciously showed were very girly, not at all like a mother. It was clear that Shen Cheng doted on her like a child. Shen Cheng walked over to her side, put down the wine, and was about to get a decanter from the wine rack in the kitchen when Wen Huo hooked her little finger into his sweater pocket. Shen Cheng stopped, glanced at her hand, and smiled faintly. He tried to take her hand away, but she held on to it instead. “There are so many people here. What are you doing?” Wen Huo hugged him from behind, her face against his back, and her hands went into his pockets. She whispered, “Teacher Chen, your waist is so strong.” Shen Cheng reminded her, “Don’t be mischievous.” Wen Huo looked innocent. “What did I do? I’m just complimenting your waist. Is that not allowed? I can’t compliment you?” “When you compliment me, I want to use it for you.” Wen Huo laughed. She did not believe that Shen Cheng would dare to use his waist on her during a family dinner. “You’re just bragging.” “And what if I do use it on you?” “I’ll call you ‘Daddy.’“

Shen Cheng turned around, picked her up, and carried her upstairs. While the family was happily enjoying lunch, Wen Huo was pinned down by him, calling him “Daddy” over and over again until tears came out. She was enjoying it but also regretting it. Why did she have to be so cheeky? Was an old man like Shen Cheng someone a young rookie like her could flirt with? At the dinner table, Cheng Cuo asked Shen Cheng, “Where are my cousin and my sister-in-law?” Jin Ge had heard a strange noise from the suite upstairs when she went downstairs. She cleared her throat. “Let’s eat first.” Tang Jun’en knew exactly what was going on. “Some people are really out of line. They don’t even care what the occasion is and just act like a horny dog? They wouldn’t lose a piece of meat if they didn’t do it just once or twice. Do they have to do it right after I just had my heart broken? Who are they trying to tease, really?” He had a little to drink and used the alcohol to speak his mind. Everyone at the table awkwardly lowered their heads. Yiyi said very quietly, “I heard Mommy calling. It sounded very miserable.” Shen Tingwen pulled her arm. He cupped his hands together like a small megaphone and whispered in her ear, “Mommy’s calling because she did something wrong. Daddy said Mommy gets spanked when she does something wrong, and that’s why she calls out.” Yiyi whispered back to him, “Should we go save Mommy?” Shen Tingwen was already used to it and shook his head. “No need. In a bit, Mommy will kick Daddy out and throw his pillow and blanket out too, making him stand in the hallway.” After hearing that, Yiyi did not know who to feel sorry for.

With Shen Huaiyu there, even if Shen Cheng and Wen Huo caused a bad influence at the family dinner, no one would say anything. However, they would still be scolded by Shen Wenli. Shen Wenli was very skilled at scolding his son, and Shen Cheng never argued back. In the past, he did not care. He did not care about the pain. Now, he would be comforted by Wen Huo, so he was more than happy to be scolded. Wen Huo would feel very bad every time. She would purse her lips and not say anything as she wiped his wounds. She wanted to curse, but since it was Shen Wenli, she could not. She held it in until she could not anymore and said in a hoarse voice, “Why did he actually hit you? If he doesn’t feel bad, I do. Is my husband the only one who can be bullied? Why did he hit my husband? It’s so unfair.” At times like this, Wen Huo was especially obedient and cute. Shen Cheng liked her so much that he wanted to hug her. “It doesn’t hurt.” “It hurts me!” “Then should I coax you with a lollipop? Will you feel better?” When Wen Huo heard the word “lollipop,” she knew it was not simple. She immediately pulled away from his arms and changed her attitude. “You can wipe the rest yourself. I’m going to get my daughter. Don’t call me unless it’s important. I’m out of service.”

Shen Cheng smiled as he watched Wen Huo quickly leave. She knew how much he loved her now, so when it came to playing games, she would only play when she felt like it. He was no longer qualified to initiate a game. But if he were to force it, she would give in eventually. She could not say no to his body. Shen Cheng put on his clothes, and Shen Tingwen came in with a question for him. He put the ointment back in the medicine box and listened to him. Shen Tingwen said, “When can I go to Malta again?” Shen Tingwen would go abroad several times a year by himself. His family did not interfere, but he had a chaperone. Shen Cheng remembered that he had gone to an international summer camp in Malta during the summer. “You can go whenever you’re not studying.” Shen Tingwen was happy. “Can you tell me why you want to go?” Shen Tingwen suddenly became shy and a little embarrassed. Shen Cheng understood and did not ask anymore.

He later found out that the little guy had a crush on someone. He probably did not know what a crush was at that time, but he knew who he liked to play with. The problem was that the person he liked to play with was the daughter of that person. The legends about that person were not just spread in Qizhou. Shen Cheng was not afraid of a family head like him, but he was always a little reluctant for his child to have any contact with them. But if Shen Tingwen was set on that girl, he would let him. Of course, all of this would happen later, and it would be a story for another time. And so, “The Invisible Light” ends here, but the story of Shen Cheng and Wen Huo will never end.