Chapter 72: Settling All Scores, New and Old

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Settling All Scores, New and Old

"You’ve screwed over my daughter time and time again, and you expect her to let you stay for the New Year? Dream on!"

Fury shot straight to Shen Zhenwu’s head.

"We made it crystal clear at the hospital: if you wanted to stay, you had to behave yourself and not try any funny business!"

"And what happened? Today is a big day for my daughter, and what do you do? You bring Song Shunqiang and Liu Yumin, the very scum who personally abused Song Yao, all the way from Nanhui City to my house to cause a scene! Do you have any respect for this family at all? Or for me, her father?!"

Song Yao slowly added, "On their way here, they were shouting the whole time, saying I’ve been unruly since I was a kid, that I throw myself at any man I see, that I’m a shameless piece of trash."

When Shen Zhenwu heard this, he froze on the spot. His eyes went wide as saucers, and he whipped his head around to glare at Liu Yumin and Song Shunqiang.

"What?!"

Song Shunqiang was so scared he felt his soul leave his body. His knees gave out, and he dropped to the ground, banging his forehead against the floor. THUD! THUD! THUD!

"I’ve been framed! It really wasn’t me! It was all Liu Yumin and Shen Shuangshuang’s idea! They plotted to sling the foulest mud at Song Yao to make sure no one in Beijing would ever want her, so she’d never get married in her life!"

"I had nothing to do with any of it! I was just the messenger! I just said whatever the two of them told me to say!"

As soon as these words came out, Liu Yumin’s face turned ashen. Her lips trembled, unable to form a word.

Shen Shuangshuang, for her part, simply rolled her eyes back and collapsed, the back of her head hitting the corner of the shoe cabinet. She was out cold.

Beside them, only Yao Yuzhen shrieked and rushed over to help her.

Her fingers pressed into the philtrum below Shen Shuangshuang’s nose as she frantically called for someone to call an ambulance, her voice trembling and cracking.

Meanwhile, Shen Zhenwu let out a roar of fury and strode toward Liu Yumin.

"A child trafficker dares to come here and ruin my daughter’s reputation? You’re asking to die!"

He swung his leg back to kick her, and Liu Yumin let out a piercing shriek, "AHHH!!"

In that split second, Song Yao cried out, "Dad, a life is on the line! Hold back!"

Only then did Shen Zhenwu abruptly stop, forcing himself to pull back most of his strength.

Liu Yumin had just let out a wail when Shen Zhenwu’s foot slammed into her face.

With a sickening crunch, her nose broke on the spot. Blood gushed out instantly, and her body went limp, slumping to one side.

Not a single one of the onlookers was scared; instead, they clapped and cheered.

Who could blame them? Liu Yumin had acted without any shame.

If you were in Shen Zhenwu’s shoes, you probably would have grabbed a broom and chased her three blocks away by now!

With a grim expression, Shen Zhenwu swiftly laid out his plan.

First, Song Shunqiang and Liu Yumin were to be sent to the police station immediately.

They would settle old and new scores at once. Those two, especially Liu Yumin, had to serve their time!

Second, Shen Shuangshuang was to be taken to the police station to have her name changed and her household registration canceled. From this day forward, she would have absolutely nothing to do with the Shen Family!

Shen Zhenwu paused, his gaze sweeping over every face in the hall to make sure everyone had heard him clearly.

Several men had already quietly moved to the side door, waiting only for the order to go out and get the cars.

Shen Zhenwu didn’t say another word, simply jutting his chin toward the staircase.

When he gave this order, Yao Yuzhen wasn’t in the hall.

It turned out that as soon as Shen Shuangshuang collapsed, she had called people over to help her daughter back to her room, so she hadn’t heard any of the commotion outside.

Finally, Shen Zhenwu took a long, deep breath and began to speak to the crowd.

"Everyone, I, Shen Zhenwu, will remember that you were willing to come today. I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life!"

"I really didn’t want to cause a scene, but now that this has happened, you’ve all seen with your own eyes what kind of life my daughter has lived for the past nineteen years, haven’t you?"

As he finished, his voice began to choke up.

He raised a hand to press the corner of his right eye, stopping a tear from falling.

His shoulders slumped slightly before he immediately straightened them again.

"The first time I became a father, someone stole my child and swapped her with another! I spent all these years searching the world for her, without finding a single trace... And all the while, she was out there, cold and hungry, being cursed and scorned. And now that I’ve finally brought her home, she has to stand here while people stab her in the heart!"

"As a father, I’m just... a complete failure!"

As the last word left his lips, his shoulders visibly sagged for a moment before he forced them straight again.

When he finished speaking, the hall was silent.

A warmth spread through Song Yao’s chest, her nose tingled, and tears welled up in her eyes...

’Having been reborn, she had finally grasped what she had waited for her entire past life, right up until her last breath.’

’Her biological father’s love.’

As the guests listened, the expressions on their faces slowly changed.

Their initial disgust was completely gone, replaced now by looks of heartache and pity for Song Yao.

Shen Zhenwu wiped his face with his hand, straightened his back, and spoke with an exceptionally serious tone.

"Actually, I already took care of the paperwork a few days ago. This house is being transferred directly into my daughter’s name. Consider it... the first welcome-home gift to make up for everything."

As he spoke, he pulled out a piece of paper bearing a bright red official seal.

Song Yao stood frozen, her lips moving, but she could only manage a single word: "Dad..."

Shen Zhenwu smiled, his eyes as gentle as a spring lake. "My child, the hard days are over. From now on, every penny I save, everything I own, will be left to you. I owe you for nineteen years, and I’m going to make it all up to you, bit by bit."

He wasn’t looking at anyone else; his gaze remained fixed on Song Yao’s face.

His right hand rose slowly and finally came to rest gently on her right shoulder, his palm warm and steady.

The entire room was stunned. No one made a sound, and no one dared to spoil the moment.

But at that very moment.

"Shen Zhenwu! This house is in both of our names! Who do you think you are, giving it away just like that?!"

Yao Yuzhen’s voice rang out, and Song Yao’s eyes lit up.

’Here it comes!’

She almost couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from turning up.

Yao Yuzhen’s face was taut with anger as she stepped forward and shouted coldly, "Shen Zhenwu, get in the room with me!"

Shen Zhenwu turned his head and gave Song Yao a slight nod. "Don’t be afraid. No matter what she says, this house is yours alone."

He turned and went into the room. Not even thirty seconds later, the room erupted.

They went back and forth, the smell of gunpowder practically wafting out.

The room was terrifyingly quiet. Yao Yuzhen’s face was drawn tight. "Transferring the house to Song Yao? Did you ever once discuss it with me?"

Shen Zhenwu’s brows knitted into a knot.

"We only have one biological daughter. Whether we discuss it or not, isn’t the result the same? Won’t everything in this family be hers in the future anyway?"

"Have you completely forgotten our real child?"

Yao Yuzhen’s voice suddenly shot up, cutting him off completely.

"I raised Shuangshuang with my own two hands! I’ve said it before: even if Song Yao comes back, Shuangshuang’s position in this family will not change one bit! She is still my daughter! If you do this, what does that make Shuangshuang?"

Shen Zhenwu was stunned. "Yao Yuzhen, are you serious?"

"I mean every word!"

She said through clenched teeth, "This matter has long been settled in my heart."

"Stop right there!"

Shen Zhenwu roared. "Especially after what happened today! I can’t tolerate the mess that Song Shuangshuang has made! From now on, she is not to set foot in this house again, and she is forbidden from using the Shen surname!"

Yao Yuzhen clutched her chest, gasping for breath and trembling.

"You... your words are like a knife stabbing me in the heart! In your eyes, as long as Song Yao is happy, you wouldn’t even glance at me if I were dying on the side of the road, would you?"

"Wake up, Yao Yuzhen!"

Shen Zhenwu’s temples throbbed, his anger surging. "That is our biological daughter! The person you’ve been doting on for half your life was born to the child trafficker who stole her! And here you are, protecting the child of our enemy like she’s your own flesh and blood!"

"Today, everyone saw them sling mud at our daughter to her face, and you just stood by and watched? What in the world is going on in your head?"