Chapter 1287: NOT PART OF THE FAMILY

SHEN XIN was completely flabbergasted. This was not the reaction he had expected at all. He thought Shen Ji Yun would at least show a bit of remorse, or even a flicker of guilt for being caught. But no. The other looked completely unfazed, and even worse, he looked proud. What the heck?

"Are you being serious right now?" he asked, his voice filled with pure disbelief. "Do you even realize how this is going to affect Grandpa when he finds out? He almost had a heart attack over what Uncle Yi Mu did. And now you're pulling the same stunt? Did he role model so hard that you also have to be gay, just like him? Are the two of you actually trying to kill Grandpa for real?"

Shen Xin still remembered what happened last Spring Festival clearly. They were all gathered at the Shen family's main house, celebrating the Lunar New Year. The day started off fine, with everyone exchanging greetings and eating good food. But then Uncle Yi Mu arrived. He went to talk with Dad and Grandpa in the study. And that's when all hell broke loose.

Uncle Yi Mu stormed out of the study looking furious. Then they all heard shouting coming from behind the closed door. When they rushed into the study, they saw Grandpa heaving in his armchair, his face pale. Dad was right beside him, trying to get him to take his heart medicine. After Grandpa finally swallowed the pills, he kept shouting over and over that he would disown Uncle Yi Mu, that he was no longer his son, along with a stream of other ugly, hurtful words.

Of course, most them were completely confused and very curious about what had happened. They only learned the full story later that night, whispered among the older members of the family. The whole blow-up was because Uncle Yi Mu had told Grandpa he was gay.

Shen Xin hadn't believed it at first. How could he? Uncle Yi Mu had never given them any hint that he was attracted to men. True, they had never heard of him being in a relationship with a woman, but that didn't automatically make a person gay. Aside from that, Shen Xin was sure none of the others had ever suspected that possibility either. Who would even think it? The idea of someone in the Shen family being anything other than a normal man or woman felt like a fantasy.

And yet, Uncle Yi Mu had just proved that wasn't the case. Still, Shen Xin and his brother Shen Lin refused to fully believe it. So, they went and confronted their father about it days later. Shen Xin thought their father wouldn't give them a clear answer, but surprisingly, he did. Their father told them that Uncle Yi Mu had been in a serious relationship with a man years ago. That man had left, and they had broken up. But now, it seemed that man had come back, and they had gotten back together.

Both he and Shen Lin were shocked to learn that. They knew their father wouldn't joke about something so serious, so it had to be true. Shen Xin honestly didn't know how to feel about it all afterward. But since they never saw Uncle Yi Mu at the main house after that day, it became easy to put the whole fiasco out of his mind. He kind of missed his uncle's visits, but the peace with no family drama was much more welcome. So, months later, that shocking event had completely faded from his thoughts.

Especially since he barely went back to the main house anymore. He spent most of his time either at school or, well, maybe at a few bars. So he rarely had to listen to his grandfather's constant complaints about Uncle Yi Mu, which he was sure were still happening. Even though Grandpa had said he would disown him, Uncle Yi Mu's name was still in all the family records. Grandpa was probably just waiting for Uncle Yi Mu to come crawling back and say he wasn't gay anymore. Shen Xin doubted very much that would ever happen, though.

So, seeing Shen Ji Yun now with a young man, and hearing him proudly say that the guy was his boyfriend, it brought all those memories from the Spring Festival rushing back. And Shen Xin's annoyance at the situation immediately doubled.

Shen Ji Yun let out a short, humorless scoff. "I seriously doubt me being gay would affect Grandpa one bit. In case you've forgotten, he barely even recognizes that I exist. Even if you ran and told him right now that you saw me with my boyfriend, he'd probably just say 'good riddance' and be happy to disown me too. So, you can stop being so dramatic. It's not like I'm really considered part of the Shen family, anyway. The only ones who considered me as family are Uncle Yi Mu and my grandmother. So, their opinion is the only thing that matters to me."

Shen Xin felt something heavy block his throat at Shen Ji Yun's words. He could admit, if only to himself, that he and his brother hadn't treated Shen Ji Yun well when they were children. Shen Lin had mostly just ignored him, acting like he didn't exist. As for Shen Xin himself, well, he had been worse. He was the one who led the other kids from the branch families in bullying him.

He got bored with it when he got older and stopped taking part, but the damage had already been done. The other members of the branch families from their generation had already learned to see Shen Ji Yun as someone they could easily mock and look down on. So, yes, when he thought about it, Shen Ji Yun was right. He had never really been accepted as a member of the family.

But still.

Seeing that Shen Xin couldn't seem to find words to refute him, Shen Ji Yun felt a flicker of disgust. Then he felt a gentle, warm pressure as soft hands slipped into his, fingers intertwining with his own.

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