Mrs. Shen wanted to say something more, but Mia Dou spoke up: "Mrs. Shen, you really have a wonderful temperament. So considerate and cultured—truly admirable."
With one sentence, Mia Dou put Mrs. Shen on a pedestal.
Now Mrs. Shen couldn't even get angry if she wanted to.
After all, she still wanted to leave a good impression on Mia Dou, to make it easier for her son to pursue her.
"Of course," Mrs. Shen said through gritted teeth. "After all, they're all siblings. I just want them to have a good future."
Mia Dou gave her a look of admiration. "You really are something, Mrs. Shen. So generous."
Victor Shen, though annoyed that so many lovers brought their kids to the house, still, as someone with a serious case of 'breeder syndrome' and 'male chauvinist syndrome,' actually thought Mia Dou made sense.
He started to like Mia Dou more and more.
He felt more and more that Mia Dou was his ideal daughter-in-law!
Sensible, understanding, and generous.
The once empty house suddenly became lively.
You see, Victor Shen had five lovers outside the home, and each gave him children—some even had two.
So, in an instant, the house was packed with a dozen extra people.
Among them, there was even a little girl under five years old.
So how could it not be noisy?
If it wasn't someone calling out, it was someone crying—the whole house was in chaos.
But no matter how crowded it got, Coco Shen's room was non-negotiable.
Mia Dou shared a room with Coco Shen, not fighting with anyone else for space.
But the Shen Family lived in a regular townhouse—three floors in total. First floor: living room, kitchen, bathroom. Second floor: four bedrooms. Third floor: three bedrooms.
Even with all the rooms combined, it still wasn't enough.
In the end, they had to add extra beds to the largest room, squeezing in five girls.
Victor Shen's other son had to share a room with Jason Shen.
Mrs. Shen got her own room, while the five lovers split into two rooms.
Victor Shen had no choice but to sleep in the study. The only truly good room was the one shared by Coco Shen and Mia Dou.
So, in an instant, the whole house was packed—there wasn't room for one more person.
With so many people, keeping the place clean was impossible.
Just one night, and the once tidy home looked like a swarm of locusts had passed through—total mess.
The veins on Mrs. Shen's forehead were about to burst.
But what could she do?
All she could do was put up with it!
Even though the school spot had nothing to do with her, she still had to act generous, taking care of everyone's food, drink, and sleep—she was about to cough up blood from the stress.
If it were only this, she could live with it.
But she had to watch those five little minxes openly flirt with Victor Shen right in front of her!
Back then, Victor Shen thought having lots of lovers was a sign of a man's success.
Now? He didn't think so anymore.
Not one of them was easy to deal with.
For example, right after he'd comforted the third lover, who came crying to the study, the fourth showed up with snacks as an excuse, clinging to him and refusing to leave.
Before the fourth even left, the fifth came sashaying in, saying her child missed their dad.
The fourth, hearing this, acted as if she didn't have kids too, so she turned around and brought her own child over to see their dad.
Everyone else saw this and thought, 'Are you the only ones who know how to find Dad?'
We know how to do that too!
The study basically turned into a marketplace.
A bunch of kids were crying, fussing, and shouting—Victor Shen was about to lose his mind.
Mrs. Shen watched coldly from the sidelines. She finally understood—men were unreliable; the only one she could count on was her son!
As long as Jason Shen made something of himself and inherited all the family assets, that was enough.
But looking at things now, with current laws, there was no way he could get everything for himself.
So the only option was to let the Shen Family rise first, then get a divorce and split the assets!
While Mrs. Shen was calculating, Mia Dou came down with a glass of water. "Mrs. Shen, why aren't you resting yet?"
Mia Dou glanced, intentionally or not, at the study on the second floor, lowering her voice: "It's so late, why isn't anyone asleep yet?"
Mrs. Shen forced a bitter smile, not knowing what to say, so she just replied, "Sorry to let you see this, Miss Dou."
Mia Dou quickly said, "No, no, Coco and I are good friends—I'd never laugh at you! But I do think, since Jason Shen is the only child officially listed in the Shen Family's household, the family assets shouldn't go to anyone else..."
Mrs. Shen's eyes lit up, as if she'd found a kindred spirit. She said, "But, as you can see, our family's situation..."
"Oh, that reminds me of something," Mia Dou said, acting as if she just remembered. "Actually, our country's laws protect the rights of legal wives. If a husband gives things to women outside the marriage, using joint property, the wife can get her share back. The Shen Family doesn't just belong to Mr. Shen—half of it is yours! Oh, listen to me, what am I telling you this for? I just came down for a drink of water. Even if you don't think of yourself, you should think of your child. I just think Jason is a great kid, and he'll go far. Why give up long-term benefits for short-term gains? Anyway, enough of that, you should get some rest."
With that, Mia Dou went to the kitchen for water, politely returned to her room.
But Mrs. Shen fell into deep thought.
From Mia Dou's words just now, she clearly heard her appreciation for her son.
So, does that mean her son and Miss Dou might have a chance?
Exactly.
Why bother worrying about these petty little gains?
No matter how much they fuss, that spot at the elite academy isn't going to Jason Shen anyway.
Instead of fighting with those women, it was better to use this as leverage and get more for her son.
When Victor Shen dies, who knows which little minx will end up with the benefits!
No way—she had to grab as much money as she could before Victor Shen wrote his will.
Mrs. Shen couldn't think about resting anymore—she hurried out of the house.
Coco Shen and Mia Dou stood by the window, watching Mrs. Shen slip out into the night, and burst out laughing together.
"Things are getting more and more interesting," Coco Shen said. "Guess where she's going?"
"Obviously, she's off to ask her people for help," Mia Dou replied. "I don't believe for a second that a woman like Mrs. Shen, who climbed to the top, doesn't have a think tank behind her."
"Bingo," Coco Shen smiled, then the smile quickly faded. "That woman is no pushover! Back then, she used just one sentence to make my loser dad get a divorce."
"What did she say?"
"She said, 'I had his fortune read—Jason Shen's fate is extremely noble, and he's destined for greatness.'"
Mia Dou looked at Coco Shen in disbelief. "Just because of that sentence?"
"Yep." Coco Shen nodded. "For a guy obsessed with masculinity and legacy, that hit the spot. Victor Shen has spent his whole life dreaming of making it big—he can't wait for his son to join the upper class. So, if someone is destined for high society, how could he be an illegitimate child?"
So, that woman did nothing—she just sat back and watched Victor Shen get rid of his first wife, then married into the Shen Family with her illegitimate son, erasing her past.
Tsk, tsk, tsk—if you believe that woman doesn't have a think tank behind her, you're a fool.
But that think tank has been hiding so long—it's time for them to show themselves.
"Did you get Jason Shen's stuff?" Coco Shen asked.
"Got it." Mia Dou produced a clear bag containing Jason Shen's hair and other biological samples—all things you could use for a DNA test.
"Thanks." Coco Shen smiled.
This time, she was going to make sure Jason Shen was ruined forever.
Victor Shen, that loser dad, probably didn't even know his genes were defective—he was doomed to never have a son, only daughters could survive.
She really wanted to see Victor Shen's face when he found out the truth.
"Who do you suspect is Jason Shen's real father?" Mia Dou asked, then seemed to realize something. "You mean, Mrs. Shen's think tank?"
"Yes," Coco Shen nodded lightly. "I've always suspected it, just never had the chance to prove it. Now that I do, I'm not letting it go."
"When my mom was dying, she told me that before she had me, she was pregnant once, but the fetus stopped developing at three months. She was devastated and got checked out. Turns out, the doctor told her the problem wasn't hers—it was my loser dad's," Coco Shen said calmly, as if talking about someone else.
"Victor Shen's genes are defective—his Y chromosome is abnormal. Any boy would fail to develop and be naturally eliminated. Only the X gene can survive. That's why Victor Shen has so many lovers and daughters, but only two sons."
"So, Victor Shen's other son isn't his either?" Mia Dou was astonished. After all this, both of Victor Shen's women had cheated on him, and he still thought he was lucky!
"Yep," Coco Shen said. "Of course I wouldn't tell him. Let him enjoy being a dad—what's the harm?"
After that, the two girls exchanged a smile.
Now, they'd stirred up this whole mess.
From now on, they'd be the ones in charge of the story.
After watching Mrs. Shen speed off in her car, Coco Shen pressed the communicator on her collar: "The target has left—follow her. Try to get hair or other biological samples from whoever she meets."
A simple reply came through the earpiece, then everything went quiet.
The Yin Corporation's intelligence network wasn't something you could use lightly.
This privilege was granted by Vincent Yin—just this once.
But once was enough.
The agent smoothly followed Mrs. Shen's car and soon found her hiding spot outside.
Mrs. Shen had no idea she was being followed. She hurried to an old apartment complex, went straight to a small building, and knocked on a second-floor door: "Brother Xue, something's happened! What should I do?"