Chapter 130: The Eldest and Second Uncles Spring into Action

After leaving the café, Shen Xian sat in the taxi and sighed, “Finally entered the game, but it means I’ll have to bear unimaginable criticism for a while.”

Rubbing his brow, he pondered his next move.

The following two days were relatively quiet.

Strangely, someone named Peach Baby kept sending friend requests to the Postman account online.

After some thought, Shen Xian accepted the request.

“Postman Teacher, you’re so kind! You finally accepted my friend request,” the message was filled with excitement.

“Hello,” Shen Xian replied with a handshake emoji.

“Postman Teacher, you haven’t released a new song in a long time. When will the next one come out?” Peach Baby asked.

“I’m already working on it; it should be out soon,” Shen Xian responded.

After the chat, Shen Xian wrote down the name Peach Baby in his notebook.

He had incorporated her into his plan. Given Peach Baby’s influence, she would become a crucial piece.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Shen Xian and Zhou Wan was rapidly deepening. In a few more days of nurturing, they should be able to reach the stage of kissing.

He found himself looking forward to that.

Around five or six in the evening, the three of them had dinner.

“After the New Year, I plan to send Qingqing to kindergarten,” Zhou Wan said.

Shen Xian nodded, “She’s three now; it’s indeed time for kindergarten.”

“Where will you spend the New Year this year?” Zhou Wan asked.

Shen Xian’s eyes darkened with depth and distance. “Every year, I spend the New Year alone.”

Seeing Shen Xian like that, Zhou Wan felt an inexplicable ache in her heart.

She stepped forward and took his hand. “Would you like to tell me about your past?”

Smiling, Shen Xian asked, “Where would you like me to start?”

Tilting her head and blinking her big eyes, Zhou Wan replied, “From the time you can remember.”

“When I first became aware, I was in a pristine white room where a fire had broken out. I was the only one rescued, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t escape. I only remember crying my heart out, but no one paid attention to me,” Shen Xian said. “Eventually, I passed out. When I woke up again, I was in a small mountain village.”

An old man without children took me in. The village was very remote, over ten kilometers from the town. It took me four to five hours to get to school every day.

The old man was kind and raised me like his own grandson, but he was poor. He scavenged for scraps and used the money he earned to pay my tuition. Occasionally, he’d bring me a packet of one-cent dried tangerine peel candy—that’s the most delicious thing I remember.

But the villagers disliked the old man. They spread rumors about him and me, saying I was his kept companion, that I traded my body for steamed buns. Many adult men in the village would joke with me, holding a steamed bun and saying, ‘Come with uncle, kid, and you’ll get a bun.’

I was only five or six years old then. I didn’t understand why they hated me so much.

Whenever cucumbers, chickens, ducks, or even broken bottles went missing in the village, they’d blame me and storm into the old man’s house to search.

The village chief’s children disliked me most because I studied well and had a good demeanor from a young age. I became the target of the village kids’ bullying. On my way home from school, stones would be thrown at me, and clothes hung out to dry were often slashed.

After the old man passed away, I was sent to the welfare home in Nanzhou City. The director’s wife was kind and gentle. On New Year’s Eve, she would bring me a portion of her homemade dumplings—one serving, for one person—and a government-assigned storage room. That was my entire New Year.

Later, I met Lin Zhixia. She was the first woman I ever loved…”

As Shen Xian recalled, tears welled in his eyes.

Zhou Wan’s eyes reddened as well. She stepped forward and leaned on Shen Xian’s shoulder. “It’s all in the past. From now on, you have me and Qingqing.”

Shen Xian reached out with his right hand and gently stroked Zhou Wan’s fair and smooth cheek.

Their eyes met, and their breaths quickened.

Shen Xian lowered his head, and their lips met.

Zhou Wan closed her eyes, her face flushed with shyness, her breath uneven, and her long lashes fluttered as her heart raced.

Before they could take the next step, Zhou Wan’s phone suddenly rang, interrupting them.

Seeing the caller ID, Zhou Wan’s expression turned noticeably awkward, and she hung up.

But the caller was persistent and called again.

This time, Shen Xian saw the caller’s name: Meng Yanzhou.

“Answer it. It’s nothing,” Shen Xian said.

Seeing this, Zhou Wan picked up. A magnetic, gentle voice came from the other end: “Wanwan, you finally answered my call. I’ve arrived in Nanzhou. I can’t wait to see you.”

Zhou Wan glanced at Shen Xian, then hurried into the room and closed the door.

Shen Xian sighed with a helpless smile.

Not long after, Zhou Wan came out again, her expression uneasy and avoiding Shen Xian’s gaze.

“Who was that?” Shen Xian hesitated but asked.

“An old friend,” Zhou Wan replied.

Shen Xian nodded. Seeing her unwilling to say more, he didn’t press further.

Zhou Wan seemed to want to speak but ultimately remained silent.

Instinctively, Shen Xian felt the relationship between Zhou Wan and Meng Yanzhou was complicated—far from just ordinary friends.

But he chose not to ask. Sometimes, asking only serves little purpose.

If he felt no love, he would step back—that was his last shred of dignity.

They talked a while longer before Zhou Wan said she needed to rest.

Shen Xian nodded and went to his study to write.

At ten o’clock that night, three news articles quietly appeared:

“Chairwoman Ye Yuning of Nanzhou Red-Top Wild Goose Breeding Base Suspected of Purchasing Wild Animals”

“Are Red-Top Wild Geese Truly Farmed or Wild? A Question Worth Considering!”

“Openly Consuming Wild Animals: Is Ye Yuning’s Breeding Base a Front for Wildlife Trading?”

All three articles featured the same pictures and even a raw video circulating on short-video platforms.

The photos were taken by Shen Xian himself.

In the video, Ye Yuning first pointed at a cage and said to the person filming, “Pick any you want.”

Then, at the dining table, she added, “This wild goose meat is tender and indistinguishable from wild ones.”

Because the news was released late at night, it hadn’t yet trended, but it was only a matter of time.

Shen Xian was the first to find these videos and felt a shock ripple through him.

His elder uncles had finally entered the fray and were making their move!