Aurel Shen Returns to China

Ethan Jiang stood by the bedside, watching her movements.

Once Elena Shen lay down, he stepped into the bathroom to shower.

When he returned, she was still curled beneath the covers, clearly not asleep.

Ethan turned off the overhead light and lifted the quilt as he got into bed.

Elena tensed slightly, instinctively trying to edge farther away—but the moment her waist shifted, she remembered she was already close to the edge of the bed.

The dimmed light cast a serene silence over the room.

Though they'd been legally married for a week now, each night had either been spent with Ethan away on business, or with him fulfilling his marital duties the moment he returned—so fervently that, by the end, she lacked even the strength to keep her eyes open, collapsing into the blankets like a lifeless doll.

Rare were nights like this: sharing a bed, doing nothing, and feeling not the slightest trace of sleep.

Elena remained still, her waist taut beneath the quilt, lost in a tangle of thoughts. Then suddenly, a low voice broke the silence beside her.

"Can't sleep?"

Her eyelids fluttered in the dark.

The swirl of restless thoughts instantly scattered like startled birds.

She pressed her lips together lightly, shifting from her side to lie flat. Her breaths were soft, shallow, and her voice quiet.

"…I can. I'm just about to fall asleep."

Ethan didn't say anything at first.

After a pause, recalling the financial data she had been poring over on her tablet earlier, he spoke again:

"If there's anything about the company or finances that you don't understand, Elena, you can ask me anytime."

The sudden shift in subject startled her slightly.

Once she processed it, she nodded in acknowledgment.

Then, realizing it was too dark for him to see her nod, she added softly, "Okay."

"There's an early meeting at the company tomorrow. I'll need to leave early," he said. "I remember you don't have class?"

"No," she replied.

Worried she might not feel well in the morning, Ethan added, "The house staff won't come up to the third floor uninvited. Sleep in if you need to. If you're still feeling unwell when you wake up, have Butler Pang call the family doctor."

Elena agreed to everything.

She didn't remember when exactly she drifted off.

By the time she woke the next morning, the room was empty. The spot beside her was cold.

She turned her face against the pillow, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep, one hand instinctively reaching for her phone.

The moment she unlocked the screen, a message from her brother stared back at her in bold notification:

[Elena, come to the Shen Group headquarters this morning.]

Her eyes widened in alarm.

Any lingering sleep vanished like mist under sunlight.

Sitting up abruptly, she fumbled to open WeChat, staring at the emotionless message that could mean anything.

In her mind, she vividly recalled the call where Aurel Shen had scolded her upon learning she had secretly registered her marriage with Ethan.

She opened the message box, intending to reply, but after several rounds of typing and deleting, she ultimately sent nothing. Instead, she exited the app and called Auden Zhang from her contacts.

Normally, Auden would pick it up immediately, but today it took several rings.

Elena, nerves tightening in her chest, didn't notice the delay. The moment the line connected, she blurted out,

"Auden, has my brother returned to the country?"

At that very moment, inside the president's office on the top floor of Shen Group, Auden had her phone on speaker, nervously glancing sideways at Aurel Shen's cold, unreadable face behind the desk.

As Elena's voice rang out across the room, Auden swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Yes… Mr. Shen landed in Huaihai City this morning…"

Aurel's gaze slid over to her, cold and sharp. Auden nearly choked.

Then, lowering her voice, she asked, "Miss Elena, will you be coming to the office later?"

Last time, Elena had slipped back into the country behind her back, and upon being discovered, she'd gotten a twenty-minute lecture over the phone. The guilt from that moment still lingered—and now, facing her brother in person so soon after their secret marriage?

That was a punishment only a fool would willingly walk into.

"No," Elena replied without hesitation. "Auden, if my brother asks, just tell him I have something at school today and can't make it in the morning."

Before she could finish, a cold, unmistakable voice came through the speaker at the other end:

"Elena."

Her eyelid twitched violently.

"…Brother?"

In the blink of an eye, her tone flipped from evasion to sweet compliance, as if it hadn't been her dodging the visit seconds ago.

"You're already at the company? You're back so early? Why didn't you tell me you were flying in—I could've picked you up at the airport…"

In the president's office, Aurel Shen stared expressionlessly at his phone screen. Their conversation in WeChat remained frozen at the single message he'd sent her: Come to the company. Not a single word in reply—as if she hadn't seen it.

"No need to come to the airport. Just come to the office."

"It's already eight thirty. You're up, right?"

"Where are you staying? I'll have Jason pick you up."

Three sentences in quick succession shattered any lingering hope of escape. Elena's lips pressed tightly together. Whatever excuses she had withered in her throat.

"…I just got up. But it's okay, I'll come by myself. No need to send Jason."

Before returning Auden's phone, Aurel said, "I'll be waiting."

After the call ended, Elena stared at her phone for a long moment before dragging herself out of bed to get ready.

Following the principle of "the sooner I go, the sooner I get scolded," Elena drove to Shen Group. But her car moved so slowly it could've been mistaken for a turtle crawling uphill.

Still, no matter how slowly one drives, eventually the destination arrives.

As she ascended in the private elevator, the doors slid open to reveal Auden Zhang already waiting outside.

Dressed in a sharp, professional suit, Auden looked composed, though her eyes flicked frequently toward the elevator.

When the doors opened, she stepped forward immediately.

"Miss Elena, you're here."

Elena stepped out, glancing at her and then at the quiet corridor, before turning back to ask in a low voice:

"How's my brother's mood today?"

Auden paused, clearly trying to choose her words carefully.

"…I think… it's alright."

Aurel Shen was a man of tightly leashed emotions. If he didn't want others to know he was angry, they wouldn't be able to tell.

Elena didn't press further, letting Auden return to her desk while she made her way to the president's office alone.

Outside the door, Jason Fang stood waiting.

When he saw her, he nodded respectfully and opened the door. "Miss Elena, please."

Inside, Aurel Shen was listening to a report from the HR director. When he noticed Elena enter, he raised a hand, signaling the director to stop and leave.