Li Chunhua knew what to expect but still got surprised when she heard the truth directly. If that was the case, it explained why she hadn't seen Shao Jingfei or ever heard anyone mentioning him before.
"Are you shocked? That can't be helped since I bet he introduces himself as a rich young master or something? Peh, the nerve of him, when he was just a child with an unknown background who was mistakenly made by my uncle."
"A…mistake?"
"Yeah. My uncle once made a mistake and accidentally created a child with an unknown woman while he was drunk. The child born from that relationship is Shao Jingfei. I heard he came to search for my uncle once his birth-mother passed away ten years ago. It was a huge scandal that my uncle tried to hide until now." Shao Qian sneered, "That is already proof that my uncle doesn't care much about him. If it weren't for his not-so-useful talent, my uncle would never recognize him as his son."
This wasn't Li Chunhua's first time hearing of such a story. Although a child born out of an affair was still considered taboo, it actually wasn't uncommon in upper-class society, where marriages were treated as an obligation or a business transaction. Shao Jingfei was unlucky to be that child in this case.
She heard that children born under such circumstances will either be added to the family registry and live their lives under people's scorn all the time, or they will be forced to live while hiding their true identity for the rest of their lives.
Whichever it was, that child wouldn't have a simple life.
Based on Shao Qian's explanations, Shao Jingfei's situation seemed to fall into the second category. Li Chunhua didn't know what to think about that.
"He should be grateful that our Shao family is merciful enough to take him in, but the guy is as arrogant as always. So what if he has a talent for discovering hidden gems? Everyone can become one if they have enough experience. I don't understand why my first cousin always defends him. I think he is too absorbed in his good brother's act. What a hypocrite."
A flash of memory flashed through Li Chunhua's mind. She recalled Shao Jingfei's grim and sinister expression when he said that a person should live more freely, and love shouldn't be taken for granted or compromised.
At first, she couldn't understand why he would talk so seriously about a cat problem, but after she heard his background story, Li Chunhua felt that she finally could understand him a bit.
Shao Jingfei probably overlapped Yue's situation with his, who was constantly hounded by how people viewed him. Not as a person, but merely because of his birth.
For Li Chunhua, who grew up showered with people's love, she couldn't imagine how hard it must be to be scorned because of something which was out of your control. Being pitied was one thing, but to be scorned like that probably felt as bad or worse.
"How is it? After hearing his story, did it change your mind? You don't have to feel embarrassed because no one will think badly of you even if you feel you need to gain some distance from that kind of person with an unknown background. It's totally understandable. From how I see it, I don't think you are a regular girl either, Chunhua. May I know which family you came from?"
Li Chunhua smiled mirthlessly but still kept on with her act. She was a professional in this, so it wasn't a problem for her.
"You are joking. I'm just a regular girl you can find anywhere. My family is not even wealthy or reputable. Please don't tease me."
"Fufu, you are too humble. It's okay to brag a little. I have met many people and can tell from a glance if a person in front of me is from the same 'class' or not."
'Just shut up, you catfish,' Li Chunhua cursed inwardly, feeling that this charade had gone on for too long.
She had heard everything she wanted to know. Any more than this, she probably would regret knowing too much. Nothing good would happen if you carelessly tried to pry too deep into another family's dark history. Especially if the family is the powerful one.
"I really am not lying. I'm just a regular girl."
"Aren't we pretty close already? You can tell me everything, and I won't tell a single soul about it. Especially not to that illegitimate child."
CLANG!
The sudden loud sound startled both Li Chunhua and Shao Qian.
When she raised her head, he noticed that Shao Jingfei had been standing beside their table with a dark and ugly look on his face. The sound from earlier was the sound of the tray being slammed to the table.
"S-since when have you been there? You surprised me," Shao Qian, who finally regained his wits, spoke first. His face showed no remorse, even though he had been caught red-handed talking badly about Shao Jingfei behind his back.
"You should've put those gentler. What if you spilled the coffee, and it got to Chunhua? She will get a burn if that happens."
Shao Jingfei's surrounding aura was heavy and menacing as if he would grab Shao Qian's neck anytime and twist it. His silence only worsened the situation since no one could predict what he would do next.
It shocked Li Chunhua to see that a carefree guy could make that intense expression when he was angered.
"You sure like yapping your mouth like a fish. Who gave you permission to say such things in front of her?' Shao Jingfei's tone was chilling and sharp. His eyes narrowed down dangerously at Shao Qian.
Instead of feeling nervous, Shao Qian gloated at his cousin's angry face. "What did I say? I only said the fact. Nothing more and nothing less. Did you feel ashamed now that Chunhua knew about your embarrassing past you wanted to keep hidden?"
Shao Jingfei snorted mockingly. "Yeah, I feel ashamed now that she found out that I actually have a relationship with you and your Shao family. It's a secret I want to bring to my grave since having the same surname as people like you disgusted and shamed me so much; I don't dare to raise my face in public."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺