Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 392 - Father-Son Chat_1

Chapter 392: 392 Chapter Father-Son Chat_1

Ms. Su’s eyes widened in disbelief, darting back and forth between Nanzhi and Shen Zhiyu for a long time before she seemed to deflate, collapsing to the ground.

The little child in front of her and the lord of the city looked somewhat alike, about sixty percent similar.

Especially when they looked at her now.

"How could this be..." Ms. Su slumped on the ground, her eyes still filled with reluctance.

"A person can’t be too greedy; otherwise, it only harms others and oneself," Lin’s mother wanted to spit in disgust, but not wanting to dirty her own yard, she simply snorted coldly and led Zhiyu towards the main house.

After all this fuss, it truly was tiresome.

The rest of the Lin Family yawned and stretched, following them inside, leaving behind only Ms. Su, who sat dazed on the ground, surrounded by a dozen or so stools of various sizes.

"Let’s go, Nannan," Shen Wenchen said softly, hooking her fingers gently, with no intention of dealing further with Ms. Su.

Ms. Su was over sixty, and the current laws granted extra leniency to the elderly.

There was nothing more he could do.

But knowing the person behind the scenes was enough.

"Mhm," Nanzhi barely glanced at the woman on the ground before retracting her gaze and walking shoulder to shoulder with Shen Wenchen back to the main house.

She had already shown kindness by not demanding compensation from Ms. Su; to give her silver on top of that was more than Nanzhi felt she could do.

"Jingzhi, what brings you here? When I had Lin Yicheng ask you to come by for a meal last time, you just wouldn’t agree," Lin’s mother feigned anger.

"Auntie, I was really tied up with some matters before and didn’t mean to avoid visiting," Wang Jingzhi blushed a bit, sitting there momentarily unsure of what to do.

"So you’ve finished with your business now?"

"No, not yet." The young man felt somewhat embarrassed and stammered, unable to speak clearly.

"You child, what’s the matter? Just speak up," Lin’s mother grew impatient with his dithering.

It was supposed to be just a friendly tease, but seeing his face turn red, she wondered if he had run into some trouble he was too embarrassed to talk about.

"Uncle Lin, Auntie Lin, I, I am getting engaged," the young man’s fair face flushed deep red, emboldened by the attention of those around him to continue speaking.

"Ever since Sister Nanzhi and Miaomiao saved me two years ago, I’ve been filled with gratitude. I’ve come to see you as family.

The reason I didn’t tell you about this sooner is that the situation arose quite unexpectedly, and I feared that the Zeng Family elders would not agree. I hope you won’t be angry with me."

Aside from a few children and Nanzhi, the faces of the Lin Family members were marked by strange expressions.

Although Wang Jingzhi was a handsome man, he was like a gourd with a sawn mouth—despite the occasional visit home in the past two years, he was still a taciturn one, saying little more than greetings and then sitting like a timid daughter-in-law.

And now, out of the blue, he was talking about getting engaged.

And to that Miss Zeng.

Lin’s mother smacked her lips, making sure she wasn’t dreaming.

They all knew about this Miss Zeng, having heard from Nanzhi and Miaomiao.

Back then, they thought Jingzhi would likely break the young lady’s heart. Yet in just over a month’s time, he was ready to settle the marriage.

"Jingzhi, from what you’ve said, have you already been to the Zeng Family?"

Lin’s father, a man of experience, naturally picked up on his meaning.

Was it not clear that his future in-laws had agreed, and only then did he dare return to speak of it?

"I’ve been there," Wang Jingzhi sat upright and proper, his hands clenched into fists resting on his knees, resembling a primary school student asked to sit still by his teacher.

"You rascal, well done," Lin Yicheng excitedly slapped his shoulder, jostling Wang Jingzhi off-balance for a moment.

"It’s all right, it’s all right," Wang Jingzhi rubbed his sore shoulder, still wearing a smile on his face.

After all, he was just a groom marrying into his wife’s family.

Fortunately, the Lin Family didn’t look down on me.

The engagement banquet was set for the sixth of July, and after receiving confirmation that the Lin Family would definitely attend, Wang Jingzhi left with a light step.

Ms. Su left without causing a scene, choosing instead to disappear quietly into the night out of everyone’s sight.

Before leaving, Shen Wenchen just held Nanzhi for a long time, unwilling to let go.

"Father, why don’t you hold me? You’re biased!" Shen Zhiyu tugged at Shen Wenchen’s hem and muttered.

"Then, do you want to go back with Father to the city lord’s residence to sleep tonight?" Shen Wenchen didn’t let go, but simply looked down at the little radish head beside his feet.

Five or six-year-old children are at their smartest.

He had missed out on three years with the mother and son, and he had to make up for that in the decades to come.

Little Zhiyu looked at his father, then at his mother, and finally nodded.

"Okay."

Shen Wenchen arrived alone, but when he left, there was another person on his shoulder.

"Father, I can come down," Shen Zhiyu said from atop Shen Wenchen’s shoulders, feeling both excited and a bit nervous.

He was a big child now, and his father was the lord of Yan City; it wouldn’t be good to be seen by others.

Shen Wenchen ignored him, just held him steady, then lightly tapped his toe and the two of them were on the roof in an instant.

"Father, is this Light Skill?" The sudden feeling of weightlessness and the different view shocked Shen Zhiyu into a daze.

This was a scene he had never seen from the ground.

The towering houses were now all beneath their feet, and the bright moon was no longer the broken image from the window.

The strings of red lanterns now seemed smaller yet made the darkness seem so much less overbearing.

"This is what every household’s lantern looks like," Shen Wenchen said as he stood on the spire, taking in the view of Yan City.

"This is the place Father must protect now."

Shen Zhiyu nodded blankly.

"Father, are Mother and I among those lights?"

After a quiet moment, the little one suddenly asked.

He knew his father cared for him, but it always felt somewhat unreal.

For example, in the two years after his mother disappeared, his father preferred to visit him secretly at night rather than glance at him during the day.

Later they told him it was because his eyes looked so much like his mother’s that his father dared not look at him during the day.

Zhiyu felt like he understood the reason, yet it also seemed so vague.

If Father could distance himself from him because of Mother, then what did he truly count as?

He loved his mother, but he was also puzzled.

"No," Shen Wenchen said, gazing in the direction of the Lin Family, with eyes that seemed to swirl with the milky way.

"Zhiyu, Father knows you blame me."

Shen Wenchen never felt he was all that good to Zhiyu.

He hadn’t been there for him during his first three years, and the two years after that, it was because of his own weakness that he couldn’t treat Zhiyu better.

In his previous life, he had failed his wife and child, and in this life, it was the same.

"You are not among those lanterns, you and your mother are not just a single small lantern, but there, the place in Father’s heart that belongs only to you."

Gazing at the bright moon, Shen Wenchen said slowly.