Chapter 118: No One Can Take It Away

Chapter 118: Chapter 118: No One Can Take It Away

Her anger flared, and she jumped out of bed barefoot.

"What’s wrong? Who’s bullying you?"

This time, Shen Shuangshuang wasn’t faking it. She just stood there, mouth open, sobbing so hard she couldn’t get a single coherent sentence out.

At the entrance to the hallway, Shen Jiajia had already turned to ask Zhang Dongxue.

"Dongxue, where’s the spare key? Give it to me, quick."

Zhang Dongxue secretly glanced at Shen Shuangshuang’s tightly shut door and ultimately didn’t dare to produce the key.

Just as Shen Jiajia was about to press her, a series of THUMPS echoed from the staircase. Shen Zhenwu was back.

She immediately took Shen Songyao’s hand and coaxed her as they walked downstairs.

"Song Yao, come downstairs with your aunt and sit for a bit, okay?"

"I promise you, that room will be yours today. No one can take it from you!"

Shen Songyao tilted her little face up and nodded sweetly.

"Okay! I trust you, Auntie. You’re the best."

Just as they reached the first-floor living room, they saw Shen Lixin, his face dark, dragging Shen Zhenwu toward the storage room.

"Come on, come take a look for yourself. Is this the master bedroom you picked out for Song Yao?"

He turned, his gaze landing heavily on his son’s face.

"Shen Zhenwu, search your heart. Do you have any conscience left?"

The moment Shen Zhenwu walked in, he saw the old bedframe, broken in two.

His mind was still reeling as his father forcefully dragged him forward.

When he was pulled into the storage room, which was crammed with cardboard boxes, he froze completely.

After two stunned seconds, he subconsciously looked around, and his eyes met Shen Songyao coming down the stairs.

His mind went blank, and he instinctively averted his gaze.

’It wasn’t that I didn’t want to explain; I just had no idea where to even begin.’

’Back when I went to Ning City to get her, I made so many wonderful promises.’

’But what happened the moment she arrived home?’

’She couldn’t even get a single peaceful night’s rest.’

Shen Zhenwu suddenly felt that anything he could say would just be a slap in his own face.

He spun around and immediately demanded of Zhang Dongxue.

"Who told you to touch that room?!"

Terrified, Zhang Dongxue wrung the hem of her shirt and stammered out the name of the person responsible.

"It... it was Miss Shuangshuang... She said... said that room was the most suitable..."

"Shen Shuangshuang?!"

Yang Wanqing slammed her hand on the coffee table with a loud SMACK.

"She eats our food, wears our clothes, we raised her all this time, and she turns around to stab her own sister in the heart?"

She jabbed a finger at Shen Zhenwu’s chest.

"If you don’t give me a proper explanation for this today, then we, mother and son, are through!"

The old matriarch was trembling with rage, and she began to choke and cough before she could even finish her sentence.

Shen Jiayue rushed to put an arm around her shoulders, patting her back with one hand while cursing through gritted teeth.

"Shuangshuang must have lost her mind! Her own sister comes home pregnant, and instead of taking care of her, she shoves her in a dog kennel? Is there no sense of decency in this house? Is there no humanity left?"

"Song Yao is the legitimate daughter of this house, not some stray! Shuangshuang is not satisfied? If she’s not satisfied, she can move out! Did she build this house? What right does she have to order people around like they’re her servants?"

"Sigh, that girl..."

Shen Jiayue just shook her head, swallowing the rest of her words.

"So the storage room isn’t good enough? Does that mean she deserves a suite in this mansion?"

The cold remark came unexpectedly from the top of the stairs, where Yao Yuzhen was slowly descending, holding the banister.

Shen Shuangshuang clung to her arm, tear tracks still wet on her face.

As soon as she spoke, everyone in the room turned to stare.

The moment Yang Wanqing saw her detached expression, her anger flared.

"That’s right! My granddaughter was born to live a life of luxury. She’s a blue-blooded heiress who deserves to live in a bright, spacious room! The child in her belly is a Shen, not some burden brought in by an outsider!"

The old matriarch slapped her thigh.

"Song Yao, you choose! Whichever room you like today, that room is yours! If anyone dares to say a word, I’ll make them eat dirt!"

Shen Songyao had no intention of being a pushover. She looked directly at her grandmother and spoke.

"Grandma, I already talked it over with Auntie. I’ll take Sister Shuangshuang’s room. Her room has big windows and gets a lot of sun."

The words had barely left her mouth when Yao Yuzhen violently shook off Shen Shuangshuang’s hand and charged at Song Yao.

Her face was pale, her right hand raised high to strike.

THUD!

Before she could even find her footing, her wrist was suddenly seized by Shen Zhenwu. She staggered backward and fell right on her bottom.

She looked up, stunned, her eyes fixed on Shen Zhenwu.

Shen Jiajia had already raised her arms, ready for a fight.

The result?

’All for nothing.’

Her mouth hung open, her eyes practically popping out of her head.

’How many times have I fought with Yao Yuzhen before?’

’Every single time, I was the one who had to swallow my anger and go cry in my room.’

’Who would have thought that today...’

Yao Yuzhen, still on the floor, blinked a couple of times, then suddenly shot up and lunged at Shen Zhenwu like a madwoman.

"You forbid it? Who do you think you are?"

Her voice cracked as her nails raked across Shen Zhenwu’s face, leaving three bloody scratches.

He stood there rigidly, not moving an inch.

Shen Jiajia and Shen Jiayue rushed forward to restrain her by the arms.

"Sister-in-law, stop for a moment, just take a breath, will you?"

"It’s obvious that Shuangshuang is the one in the wrong here."

"Song Yao just came home after being lost for twenty years. But even if she had been here all along, what kind of older sister shoves her younger sister into a shabby room used for storing brooms?"

"We have plenty of empty rooms in this house! And even if we didn’t, they should share. It makes no sense to push your own sister away!"

Yao Yuzhen jerked her arm, smacking Shen Jiayue’s hand away, and shrieked.

"So what?!"

"Shuangshuang is my real daughter! What right does *she* have to take Shuangshuang’s room?"

Song Yao was holding two soft scarves in her hands.

When Yao Yuzhen raised her hand, Song Yao immediately flinched, her voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz.

"I... I bought these as gifts while I was out. I thought the colors were bright and would suit you, Mom, and Sister Shuangshuang perfectly... so I bought them."

"I was going to give them to you in person on the day of the reunion, but... you and Sister Shuangshuang didn’t come that day."

"M... Mom, you don’t seem to like me very much, so... I guess you probably won’t care for these scarves either."

She paused, clutching the scarves a little tighter before turning to leave.

The entire Shen family was stunned.

Shen Jiajia, mindful that Yao Yuzhen had just taken a fall, had been trying to suppress her anger.

But now, hearing Yao Yuzhen fight for Shen Shuangshuang’s place in front of everyone, with every word a blow to Shen Songyao’s heart, her rage exploded.

She strode forward, her roar seeming to shake the entire room.

"Did you get your head slammed in a door?"

"Open your eyes! Take a good look! The one standing beside you isn’t your biological daughter! Song Yao is the one you gave birth to!"

The more she spoke, the more something felt off. She suddenly recalled a few things Song Yao had mentioned before.

’I know perfectly well who gave birth to Song Yao.’

’But this Shen Shuangshuang...’

’Her background really needs a thorough investigation.’

Seeing Shen Jiajia’s eyes fixed on Shen Shuangshuang, Yao Yuzhen yanked the girl behind her.

"So what if I gave birth to the other one? The bond of raising a child for years is stronger than the bond of birth."

"I raised her with my own two hands! I remember the exact day she lost her first tooth. You expect me not to dote on her, and instead coddle someone who just walked through the door?"

Yang Wanqing’s chest tightened, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

"You... to say something like that, you’re worse than an animal!"

Shen Jiajia’s gaze shot toward Shen Shuangshuang.

"Shen Shuangshuang, where exactly did you come from?"

Yao Yuzhen froze.

It was a reaction that Shen Jiajia, Shen Zhenwu, and Shen Songyao did not miss.

The three of them held their breath.

’Just as they thought. Something was wrong.’