Volume One, Chapter Fifteen: Ensuring the Complete Eradication of the Scoundrel Ono

Pausing briefly, Shang Xubai asked again, “Did you see that Lu Xiaoman has a son?”

Whenever Chu Yan heard mention of Lu Mingxi, she felt a fiery sting on her right cheek.

Her porcelain-like skin bore a faint mark—left by Lu Mingxi’s scratch.

She had almost been disfigured—how she hated it.

“That brat, of course I saw him. He looks exactly like that wretched woman... his mother,” Chu Yan said bitterly.

“You think he doesn’t resemble my uncle?” Shang Xubai asked.

Hearing this, Chu Yan smiled smugly. It seemed Shang Xubai was no fool; he was beginning to doubt the origin of that bastard child.

“The kid looks no older than five. If he’s truly Shang Linyuan’s son, then Lu Xiaoman must have conceived him the night they were together six years ago,” Chu Yan paused deliberately.

She said this to gauge Shang Xubai’s reaction.

After all, Shang Xubai had secretly admired Lu Xiaoman for years, always hoping to win her, only to be beaten to it by his own uncle.

He had harbored this bitterness for years; now, with Lu Xiaoman returning accompanied by Shang Linyuan’s biological son, a new bastard dangling right before his eyes, sharing the family inheritance with them—that was intolerable.

“Why are you so sure that Lu Xiaoman’s son is my uncle’s?” Shang Xubai still clung to a faint hope.

Chu Yan’s pride was evident. “How could a paternity test report be forged? However, Shang Linyuan only obtained a fake report. The genuine one is in my hands.”

Chu Yan’s words extinguished Shang Xubai’s last sliver of hope. He closed his eyes in pain.

Why had it to be his uncle? Why Shang Linyuan?

Orphaned early, Shang Xubai was raised by the matriarch and had grown up playing alongside Shang Linyuan.

Though separated by a generation, their age difference was only five years. Their relationship went beyond uncle and nephew—they were childhood friends.

But Shang Linyuan was more outstanding, having taken over the LR Group early on. Shang Xubai had always regarded him with reverence.

The day Lu Xiaoman was brought to the Shang family, a glance from her entranced him at once with her clear, bright smile.

He had fantasized countless times about a future with Lu Xiaoman, believing that if he were patient and excellent enough, she would one day respond and he could rightfully protect her by his side.

But Shang Linyuan, his own uncle, destroyed all his dreams.

Thinking back, Shang Xubai’s heart was filled with nothing but hatred.

“Are you sure Shang Linyuan has no suspicions?” Shang Xubai asked, still worried.

At this moment, Chu Yan also felt a twinge of concern.

But she replied stubbornly, “Even if he suspects, he has no proof.”

“What if Lu Xiaoman decides to tell my uncle the truth?” Shang Xubai asked.

Chu Yan laughed coldly, confident. “She won’t dare. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have fled far away that night and never appeared again.”

Lu Xiaoman’s love for Shang Linyuan was something both Chu Yan and Shang Xubai knew well.

Only Shang Linyuan remained oblivious.

Years ago, Lu Xiaoman’s father, Lu Zhiqin, shared a close friendship with Shang Linyuan. When his family faced a business crisis and fled abroad to escape debts, he entrusted his high school daughter, Lu Xiaoman, to Shang Linyuan’s care.

That care lasted three years. Shang Linyuan attended every parent-teacher meeting in name as her guardian.

He never showed favoritism; if her grades slipped, he criticized her; if she stayed out late with other boys, he scolded her.

He was like a strict father, and Lu Xiaoman’s feelings were kept tightly locked away, never voiced.

So, the accident six years ago was hidden from Shang Linyuan and the family; she secretly went somewhere else to give birth to that bastard child.

Chu Yan knew Lu Xiaoman’s character too well.

She hadn’t dared before, and now that the child was older, she was even more afraid to confess to Shang Linyuan.

Shang Xubai considered this and felt somewhat relieved.

What if Lu Xiaoman gave birth to his uncle’s child?

They could never be together!

“Destroy the real paternity report immediately. Don’t leave any leverage,” Shang Xubai instructed before hanging up.

“Wait,” Chu Yan stopped him. “Don’t you think the biggest leverage now is that bastard child?”

“What do you mean?”

A sinister expression crossed Chu Yan’s face. “As long as that child exists, his father-son relationship with Shang Linyuan is a ticking time bomb. We have to worry about discovery. Instead of that, it’s better to…”

She left the rest unsaid, confident Shang Xubai would understand.

“They say women can be crueler than men when provoked. So true,” Shang Xubai sneered.

“I’m doing this for your sake. If you want Lu Xiaoman to belong to you completely, that bastard must disappear. Moreover, women always cherish their first man, especially when he’s the father of their child.”

“I’ll think it over carefully,” Shang Xubai said before ending the call.

Holding her phone, Chu Yan looked into the polished mirror before her and slowly let a chilling smile spread across her face.

Lu Xiaoman, why did you come back?

You left me no choice.

With one less burden to hold back, you should be grateful.

Now, Lu Xiaoman did indeed feel grateful.

Since leaving the LR Group, that gratitude only grew stronger.

How fortunate she was that someone had swapped her son’s paternity report with Shang Linyuan’s!

Though she didn’t know their motives, it had undeniably helped her greatly.

Just now, seeing the intimate gestures between Shang Linyuan and Lu Mingxi, and her son defending that man, a sense of crisis gripped her.

Her beloved son, raised with such hardship, was about to fall into another’s arms in the blink of an eye. How could she bear it?

So after leaving, she took Lu Mingxi straight to a shopping mall.

Surrounded by dazzling toys, Lu Mingxi was overwhelmed, but having just received his favorite robot, no other toy caught his interest.

“Mama, didn’t you say there’s an emergency? Let’s hurry,” Lu Mingxi said, clutching the straps of his little backpack tightly.

The precious robot was inside; it couldn’t get damaged.

“You were begging for toys just a few days ago. Today, pick whatever you want,” Lu Xiaoman said generously.

Lu Mingxi glanced at her worriedly. “Mama, are you out of your mind? I made you angry today, and now you want to buy me toys? That’s not like you.”

Lu Xiaoman laughed helplessly.

Was she wrong to be good to her son?

“Do you want a toy or not?” She feigned leaving. “If not, forget it.”

In the past, this trick worked immediately—Lu Mingxi would surrender, cling to her, and start to act spoiled.

But this time, not only did Lu Mingxi not act spoiled, he walked with her toward the exit.

Even after leaving the toy store, Lu Xiaoman couldn’t understand why her son was suddenly so mature.

“Are you really not getting a toy?” she asked again, bending down.

Lu Mingxi tightened the backpack straps firmly and shook his head resolutely. “No. Mama doesn’t have a job now, and earning money is hard. I want to help you save.”

“Good boy,” Lu Xiaoman said, touching his head with affection.

Since returning, she had bought a house outright, nearly depleting her savings.

She had to find a job soon.

But she would never set foot in the LR Group or anywhere related to Shang Linyuan.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you to KFC for lunch.”

“Yay, that’s awesome! Mama, you’re the best!” Lu Mingxi ran ahead excitedly.

At the corner, distracted, he collided heavily with a little girl.

The girl cried out and fell to the ground, wailing.

Lu Mingxi also tumbled, the backpack on his shoulder flying off with a heavy thud as it hit the floor.