Chapter 26: The Little Heartless

Cases of malicious baby swapping, in fact, have become rare with the development of society and technology, as well as the improvement of the medical system.

But Sheng Mingzhi was in a very special situation.

In the winter of 2002, Qiu Yu, Sheng Mingzhi's mother, had a big fight with Sheng Yuan and went to a suburban winery alone for the New Year. Qiu Yu had an accidental premature birth at the winery, and the roads were so snowbound that ambulances could not get in and she would not come out.

A few nannies and workers were busy guarding his wife, and Sheng Mingzhi came into the world in a state of chaos.

He lived with his wife in the workers' room in the back garden of the château, and on the same day, Song Qiang's wife and his wife gave birth at the same time.

Song Qiang is a vain, cunning and gambling man who is in debt and cannot repay his debts, so the first time he sees the young master, Sheng family, he is tempted.

That night he took advantage of the night to switch his son with Sheng Mingzhi.

Qiu Yu dies in childbirth after giving birth to twins, just as winter turns to spring and an epidemic breaks out, sealing off YunJing and plunging the Sheng family into an unprecedented panic.

It was only in June 2003 that Sheng Yuan met her twin children.

Because they are dizygotic, even if they don't look the same, Sheng Yuan doesn't suspect anything.

More importantly, the death of Qiu Yu was too much of a shock, and the combination of funeral services, condolences, obituaries, and dealing with the ambitious Sheng family's foreign branch all combined to drain Sheng Yuan of his energy.

Sheng Xue was born frail and sick, and Sheng Yuan spent most of his time caring for his daughter, and inevitably his concern for Song Yi was biased.

Sheng Yuan later abdicated from MingChen at the age of less than fifty, handing over the reins to his eldest son, Sheng Xu, to accompany Sheng Xue as he recuperated from his illness at his maternal grandfather's home in England.

The probability of a biological son being switched is so small that it is rare even among folk, let alone a powerful family like theirs.

So even though Song Yi looked nothing like Sheng Xue, it didn't attract much attention. The year we found out that Song Yi was not of Sheng family blood was when Sheng Xue's condition deteriorated and he urgently needed a bone marrow match.

It was also the year that Song Qiang's external debts reached over six million dollars.

It was only when his enemies came to his door and burned and robbed him that he finally told the truth and brought Sheng Mingzhi to the Sheng family.

The moment Sheng Mingzhi appeared in the Sheng family's living room, the truth was settled without even any identification.

At the age of twelve, Sheng Mingzhi has not yet reached puberty, and at an indistinguishable age, she has a face almost identical to Sheng Xue's.

Sheng Mingzhi remembers the first time he came to the Sheng family.

The gardens were large and the cottage was huge, but he didn't like it at all.

Song Qiang was later sent to prison for 15 years after failing to succeed in his blackmail attempt.

I heard that he died in an accident in his third year in prison.

His adoptive mother, Wan Xia, also died in November of the same year after a long illness, so few people know anything about Sheng Mingzhi's past.

It has been so dormant for so long that Sheng Mingzhi has almost forgotten about it.

But Shen Ling had heard about it, growing up in YunJing, where she played with the kids from the compound and hated Song Yi, who was a snitch.

So much so that when Sheng Mingzhi showed up, she was with him in lightning speed, making trouble for Song Yi with him.

That is all Shen Ling knows about Sheng Mingzhi.

I have heard from adults that Sheng Mingzhi is the son of the Sheng family and that Song Yi is a fake.

Shen Ling remembers that the Sheng family had no intention of sending Song Yi away even after Sheng Mingzhi appeared.

She was very impressed when Sheng Mingzhi transferred to the secondary school in her first year and came first in her first grade exam, edging out Song Yi and causing quite a stir.

Shen Ling, who was straying from the bottom of the class, made a snap decision to hold on to this leg.

When Song Yi's parents died two years later, Song Yi was left a virtual orphan, and the Sheng family was kind enough to take care of him as an adopted son.

However, Song Yi was forced to leave YunJing when she was in high school.

Thinking about this, Shen Ling was suddenly energised.

The doubts that had been pinned down bubbled to the surface.

WeChat messages vibrate with.

I'm sorry. I remembered this shameless b-boy refused to leave your house, how did he end up going to high school abroad?

Sheng Mingzhi looked at the message, sneered and replied slowly.

[Because I pushed him down the first floor stairway (smile)]

[......]

[Your Royal Highness, no less].

Shen Ling withdrew a message.

[No shame in you!

Sheng Mingzhi: [?

Shen Ling looked at the chat message and was a little apprehensive and embarrassed which calmed down a lot.

I thought Sheng Mingzhi would be very concerned about Song Yi's return.

As it turned out, it was true that she had overthought it.

The man was bratty enough to kick someone down the stairs at the age of thirteen, so what did she have to worry about?

She should be worried for Song Yi.

Shen Ling talked to Sheng Mingzhi for a while, holding her mobile phone again.

After taking Song Yi to task from start to finish, and for all his ancestors, Sheng Mingzhi finally put his phone down, satisfied and in a better mood.

-

The last set of final photos were taken very quickly and were over in less than an hour.

Little Wang had to go to a night shoot with another artist in the company, so he said hello to Sheng Mingzhi and left.

Sheng Mingzhi came out of the studio when it was almost dark outside.

YunJing is a little chilly after winter, but the young master doesn't need to blow off any steam, as he is transported by the Lu family's car, and hundreds of millions of dollars of luxury cars can be changed on a daily basis.

The Maybach had been waiting by the roadside for a long time and Sheng Mingzhi was freezing.

It's not a matter of saving face, who can see who he is in the dark at night.

Besides, the disgrace is only for the driver.

Mr. Wang is forty-one years old, so it's okay to be embarrassed in front of him.

Before Sheng Mingzhi could even get into the car, he sensed something was wrong.

The next moment Lu Jiayan stepped down from the main driver's seat and pulled the passenger door open for him.

A series of movements flowing smoothly.

It was as if that week of cold war didn't even exist between them.

Sheng Mingzhi suddenly remembered how stupid he had just jumped up and down.

Awkward toe grip.

But when he saw Lu Jiayan again, Sheng Mingzhi didn't seem as angry as he thought he would be.

Rather, he had almost expected it, either Lu Jiayan had come to him on his own initiative or his father had called him.

The Sheng family now has an increasingly close working relationship with Lu Jiayan.

Sheng Mingzhi's role in the Lu family is a great one, and neither his father nor the rest of the Sheng family would have allowed Sheng Mingzhi to go off on a wild goose chase with Lu Jiayan.

More importantly, of course.

Lu Jiayan should still need the Sheng family now, Sheng Mingzhi thought, and he still had a bad score to settle with his brother.

As for how Lu Jiayan knew where he was filming.

It's even simpler.

Even his dad likes to have someone watching him twenty-four hours a day so that he doesn't get into too much trouble.

Not to mention the fact that Lu Jiayan, the legal husband, most likely has a dedicated assistant who is responsible for his schedule and then meticulously reports to Lu Jiayan.

Sheng Mingzhi is not a completely unreasonable person either.

Lu Jiayan had come to pick him up in person, so he went along with the step and gave the old man a face.

After all, there is still a need to keep this plastic marriage going.

"Why did you come to pick me up from work today?"

He broke the silence.

"I was in HaiCheng on a business trip and happened to pass by your place of work." Lu Jiayan saw how cold Sheng Mingzhi was, so he took off his windbreaker and put it on for him: "Why are you so underdressed?"

Wait a minute, big brother.

This step was delivered too hard! The Eunice husband is overacting a bit.

Sheng Mingzhi froze for a moment, thinking to himself that Lu Jiayan had taken the wrong medicine.

Why are you so considerate today?

In the past, he would have frozen to death on the side of the road, and Lu Jiayan would only have sneered and told him to keep warm with his righteousness.

This top ten husband act of taking his clothes off for his date also happens to him?!

Sheng Mingzhi was a bit embarrassed by this, and honestly said, "It's ugly to wear too much. If the paparazzi catch me on camera, they'll say I've gained weight."

Lu Jiayan didn't expect him to be so blunt and laughed lightly, "Aren't you afraid that your fans will be upset if you're caught on camera with me."

Sheng Mingzhi thought to himself that the 4.99 million followers of his 5 million Weibo followers were all bought.

The remaining 18,000 are anti-fans, 1,000 are Little Wang's elite minions, and 1,000 are live fans.

Just that number of fans.

It is true that no one cares if the house collapses.

Sheng Mingzhi, of course, wouldn't say it outright and gave him a look that said, "What's that. I'll just say-"

Lu Jiayan pulled the door open for him and Sheng Mingzhi said, "I'm out shopping with my dad."

Sheng Mingzhi is in a good mood after breaking a set.

I had forgotten about Song Yi's return to China.

Dinner was a French restaurant in the city centre.

The tender steak was cooked to medium rare and Sheng Mingzhi took a few bites before remembering Song Yi.

Song Yi also knew Lu Jiayan.

And even before him, they knew each other before he returned to the Sheng family.

At the thought of it, Sheng Mingzhi lost his appetite and put down his cutlery.

Lu Jiayan saw him stop eating after two bites and raised his eyebrows at him.

Sheng Mingzhi sits at the table and organises his words internally.

In an attitude that was as completely unconcerned as possible, the question was asked, "Did you know that Song Yi had returned to the country?"

There was a sudden silence at the table.

Sheng Mingzhi subconsciously tightened his grip on his knife and fork during the few seconds when no one was talking.

Then Lu Jiayan was heard to say slowly, "Who is Song Yi?"

......

......

I can't believe Sheng Mingzhi couldn't pick a fault with this answer!

He seemed relieved and hummed in a good mood, "You really don't know him? He's a movie star in the entertainment industry."

Lu Jiayan said, "You know I don't know much about the entertainment industry. I only know little Mr. Sheng."

Little Mr. Sheng was inexplicably a little hot in the face.

Although he is often called teacher in the cast and crew, this is the first time he has been addressed in such a serious manner by Lu Jiayan.

And how can a dog man say that in such a flat tone of voice?!

We didn't wait for Sheng Mingzhi to savour the name.

Lu Jiayan goes on to say, "Resources can be made available by force, as long as the capital is in place, movie stars can be made, it's not too much of an achievement."

It's over, brother.

Sheng Mingzhi did not understand what Lu Jiayan's sudden efforts to please were all about, though.

But Sheng Mingzhi can't open his mouth when he says that he's not too accomplished as a movie star.

However, it is comforting to hear Lu Jiayan's response.

Although Song Yi was sent abroad in high school, he was raised by the Sheng family for several years, and after returning to China, he was given the green light to work in the entertainment industry through the connections of the Sheng family, allowing him to take too many shortcuts along the way compared to others, and easily reach achievements that many actors would never be able to achieve in their lifetime.

Sheng Mingzhi is not unaware of this, but the truth comes out of Lu Jiayan's mouth in a particularly good way.

Compared to Song Yi's ambition, Sheng Mingzhi's career in the entertainment industry is nothing more than a game of chance.

He has it all and so doesn't care if he is black or red.

In his words, he likewise doesn't give a damn about what he shoots or plays.

He just simply felt that he was good looking and that it was best to show everyone together before he failed to live up to his face.

It is purely to satisfy one's vanity.

The work is clear and unambiguous.

"That's not it either." Little Mr. Sheng feigned modesty for a moment, "It's still a lot better than me."

He was only modest for a second before continuing, "I don't even know what it is about me that attracts people, other than my good looks."

"That's not necessary." Lu Jiayan curled his lips, "You have a better husband to envy than he does."

Sheng Mingzhi: ......

-

After dinner, Sheng Mingzhi rightly returned with Lu Jiayan to the hotel where he was staying in HaiCheng.

For this reason, Mr. Sheng wore a mask and sunglasses on the big night, maintaining the last stubbornness of an entertainer.

After a day of shooting the final photos, Sheng Mingzhi was so sleepy after her shower.

There is a master bedroom and a second bedroom in the presidential suite, and he hesitated for a moment and chose the master bedroom without hesitation.

When Lu Jiayan finished washing up, Sheng Mingzhi was already in bed and started tweeting.

The hotel's ice-silk pyjamas clung to Sheng Mingzhi's skin, and in the warm yellow light, he looked porcelain white and a little fragile, making your mouth dry.

Lu Jiayan is sitting next to him, unnoticed by Sheng Mingzhi.

It was only when the other man's hand was on his waist that Sheng Mingzhi looked up warily.

Lu Jiayan's expression was righteous: "Does it still hurt?"

What hurts.

Self-explanatory.

Sheng Mingzhi inwardly spat, thinking, "Who do you think you are, it's been seven days and still hurts?

Think too highly of yourself brother!

But for some reason, he had the illusion that he couldn't say it didn't hurt no matter what, or the downfall that awaited him was not too good for the naked eye.

Sheng Mingzhi muttered, "Of course it hurts."

Lu Jiayan paused: "Really?"

"Really." Sheng Mingzhi lied unburdened: "Why would I lie to you. It hurts like hell."

Lu Jiayan laughed.

Sheng Mingzhi looks at him inexplicably.

The former whispered, "You lie like that."

"It would make me feel great about myself."

......

......

Sheng Mingzhi directly ignored Lu Jiayan's immodesty and suddenly propped up his upper body, "I'm asking you."

It was a question he had been wrestling with all night, to the point where he would have a heart attack into the latter part of the night if he didn't say: "If, I mean if."

He paused, "My brother must have told you about my past. If I hadn't returned to the Sheng family, and it was Song Yi who later joined you in marriage, would you have said yes."

"No."

Sheng Mingzhi thought Lu Jiayan might think for a while, but to his surprise, he answered in seconds.

Sheng Mingzhi froze and said, "Why?"

Lu Jiayan, slowly, "Because you're better looking than him."

...... Good plain and superficial reasons.

"Why don't you say anything?"

"There's no way I can say you have a poor eye."

"Then let me ask you." Lu Jiayan's peach blossom eyes were slightly raised and his upper body was propped up on the side of Sheng Mingzhi's leg: "If it had been Lu Xiao who had joined you in marriage three years ago, would you have said yes."

Sheng Mingzhi: ......

It's a bit ugly, but it doesn't seem to be completely out of place.

" Brother Jiayan." Sheng Mingzhi was suddenly particularly well-behaved and tugged at Lu Jiayan's sleeve: "I think. We can stop torturing each other. Okay?"

......

Sheng Mingzhi slept almost at the speed of light.

Lu Jiayan seems to have been amused by him, he didn't expect Sheng Mingzhi to pretend, he almost wrote the words "Yes, I just like you for your money" on his face.

To be honest, Lu Jiayan didn't really have a concept of money in the past.

But at this moment, he was suddenly, somewhat inexplicably, glad to be richer than Lu Xiao?

Halfway through the day, he turned off the headlight, leaving only a small nightlight.

Then he gently pinched the tip of Sheng Mingzhi's nose and, as if to vent his anger, sighed, "Little heartless."