After Shen Zhe publicly humiliated Su Ya, Mrs. Shen collapsed to the floor like a withered petal caught in a storm. The screams of Su Ya and the frantic scuffling of the servants sent the entire mansion into a state of chaos. Yet, amidst the swirling turmoil, Shen Zhe stood as immovable as an icy monolith. His fingers remained tightly entwined with Lin Yan's, his gaze detached and cold, staring at his mother as if he were merely inspecting a flawed architectural blueprint.
He slowly knelt beside her. Instead of the expected panic, Shen Zhe reached out to stroke her hair with a tenderness that felt bone-chillingly predatory.
"Mother, are you really resorting to this again?" He whispered, a dark, low resonance in his voice. "From the time I was a child, every time I refused to bend to your will, you would faint with such flawless precision. But you've forgotten one thing: your son died once in the depths of that abyss. A man who has walked through the gates of death no longer fears the passing of anyone... not even yours."
Mrs. Shen kept her eyes tightly shut, but her chest heaved slightly, her breath trembling with an uncontrollable shudder. Shen Zhe let out a faint, dark smirk and signaled Lin Yan with a cryptic glance. Lin Yan understood instantly. She pulled a razor-sharp silver hairpin from her tresses and handed it to him, her eyes gleaming with a morbid, feverish excitement.
Shen Zhe took the pin, feeling the cold bite of the metal against his fingertips. He leaned close to his mother's ear, his breath hot but his words as sharp as a scalpel:
"Mother, if you're truly unconscious, then you shouldn't feel any pain, right? Your heart isn't strong... perhaps I should use this pin to carve a small opening in your chest to 'let the air in'? If you still refuse to wake, I'll personally escort you to the afterlife, and then Lin Yan and I will follow you in a lovers' suicide. The three of us will be one big, happy family in the underworld forever. How does that sound?"
The needle-sharp point began to graze the thin, fragile skin of her neck, where her pulse was thrumming erratically with primal terror. The sheer, unadulterated madness in her son's voice struck a chord of absolute horror within her. She realized he wasn't bluffing; he was prepared to do it.
Unable to maintain the charade for another second, Mrs. Shen bolted upright like a coiled spring, violently shoving his hand away. She gasped for air, her face pale as a ghost, her pupils constricted by the purest form of fear.
"You... you were really going to kill me? Shen Zhe, this demoness has stripped you of your humanity! You're a monster, not my son!"
Shen Zhe stood up leisurely, nonchalantly brushing an invisible speck of dust from his expensive trousers. His face shifted instantly, returning to a mask of calm, filial piety that was hauntingly fake.
"You're awake? How wonderful. I was only worried you were sleeping too deeply to hear my heart's desire. Next time you feel like fainting, Mother, do try to pick a softer rug. This marble floor is unforgivingly cold. It would be a shame if you fell ill and missed the day I officially bring Lin Yan into this house."