“You want to use me to lure him out?” Shen Qianan already knew what Fu Chengyan was capable of, but she still felt a chill down her spine when she heard what he said. “Fu Chengyan, after all, I stayed by your side for so many years. Furthermore, I went through a lot of trouble for you.”
“How did you think you would be able to stay overseas in peace for the past three years?” Fu Chengyan retorted.
Shen Qianan lost her last bit of dignity with his response. “Did you know that I was coming to find you today?”
“No, I didn’t,” Fu Chengyan replied.
“That’s impossible!”
Fu Chengyan continued, “Whether you stay here or not, that man will still appear, and it’s just a matter of time. Is there anything else you need? Otherwise, you can leave now.”
Shen Qianan could not remember how she left Shengyuan. She only remembered stumbling out of his office after being humiliated by Fu Chengyan in front of Shi Nuan.
She wandered on the street, not knowing where she should go or where she could call home. I don’t even know the purpose of life or what is there to live for.
Her unfortunate childhood did not make her feel inferior nor discouraged. However, she felt so small in front of Fu Chengyan. To make things worse, she realized that he had never loved her, not even the slightest bit.
Although she knew it earlier, she still felt miserable when he made it clear to her and tried to cut all their ties.
She did not know how long she had been walking nor where she was. Staring blankly at the traffic on the road outside, she watched the people walking past her. The pedestrians came and went.
A blockbuster trailer was showing on a big screen from a distance away. Shen Qianan raised her head to see a somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar face, and her last line of defense collapsed.
She rushed forward desperately towards the big screen. She wanted to ask why that woman why did she even returned.
However, a strong force pulled her backward, and in the next second, she felt a sharp pain in her arm. Then, she heard a man’s cold voice, “Are you courting death?”
Her eyes widened when she saw Shen Shixiu in front of her. She tried to push him away to escape but was still caught by him. “Shen Qianan, what on earth are you trying to do?”
“Let go of me! Stop bothering me!” Shen Qianan struggled against his grip.
“If I don’t care about you, who else will?” Shen Shixiu frowned, then glanced at Shen Qianan. There was anger in his eyes, and he raged, “Where were you?”
“Why do you even care?”
“Did you go look for Fu Chengyan?” Shen Shixiu could guess it without having to think about it. With Shen Qianan’s temperament, she would not leave so easily.
Since she did not want to leave, Fu Chengyan would be the first person who she thought could help her. However, he was also the same person who pushed her into a dead end. Yet, she never knew about it.
“Are you done with your tantrum?” Shen Shixiu demanded.
“I told you not to care about me anymore.” Shen Qianan looked at Shen Shixiu in annoyance. “Who are you to meddle with my affair? Who do you think you are?”
“I dare you to repeat yourself.” Shen Shixiu sounded cold, and he squeezed Shen Qianan’s arm tightly. His voice was laced with hostility, and it made Shen Qianan’s tremble uncontrollably in fear. “Let go of me!”
“I want you to leave this place with me. You know that I will never change my mind once I’ve decided. You have to leave with me tomorrow!” Shen Shixiu ordered while dragging her by her arm across the road to the opposite side.
Jiang Zhan saw Shen Shixiu walking over and hurriedly opened the door. He greeted, “Hello, Sir.”
Shen Shixiu squinted at him and asked, “Where is Yu?”
“He is inside, taking a nap,” Jiang Nan reported.
“Yu!” Shen Qianan called out.
Her face turned pale, and she hurriedly pushed Shen Shixiu away to get into the car. She only let out a sigh of relief after she saw Yu sleeping peacefully.
She tilted her head and met Shen Shixiu’s gaze. “Yu is still a child. Why do all of you have to use him to threaten me?”
“All of us? Are you talking about Fu Chengyan too?” Shen Shixiu curled his lips. Noticing that, Shen Qianan was startled and stared at Shen Shixiu in a daze.
Meanwhile, Shen Shixiu raised his eyebrows and got into the car before closing the door. “Jiang Zhan, you can start driving now,” he ordered.
“Yes, sir!” Jiang Zhan acknowledged.
Immediately, he got into the car and started the engine.
Shen Qianan was sitting next to Yu. However, because Shen Shixiu was coming closer, she subconsciously stiffened while holding her child in her arms protectively.
Shen Shixiu narrowed his eyes. Looking at how Shen Qianan was reacting, he could not help but show an unpleasant expression on his face. He growled, “You’d rather look for Fu Chengyan than to trust me?”
“Well, do you deserve my trust?” Shen Qianan sneered. “Three years ago, all of you left me in the lurch, and from then onwards, I never pinned any more hopes on you nor anyone from the Shen family.”
Shen Shixiu nodded. “It’s up to you.”
“You…”
Meanwhile, he took out his cigarette pack and squeezed it. His gaze fell on the big screen outside the car window, still showing the trailer. “That woman will be here next month in the capital and Jiang City. Don’t you want to meet her after so many years?”
“Shen Shixiu, you are just trying to take revenge on me!” Shen Qianan suddenly yelled, and she unintentionally awakened her child.
Yu opened his eyes and started wailing.
Shen Qianan quickly hugged Yu to comfort him. After she finally managed to calm him down, she gritted her teeth and said, “Shen Shixiu, what on earth do you want from me? The person who destroyed your parent’s relationship was not me.”
“Do you think I am taking revenge on you?” Shen Shixiu scoffed then glared at her. His cold glare made Shen Qianan feel like shrinking away. He continued, “Do you think you are worthy of it? Are you even worth the trouble? If I want to punish you, you would not be living in peace till today.”
Shen Qianan could see the same wave of anger or worse in Shen Shixiu his eyes when he looked at her. It was the same look of hatred he had for Fu Chengyan.
She could not take it any longer and raged, “It turns out that I’m a nobody to you.”
“If you want to belittle yourself, don’t blame it on me.” Shen Shixiu retracted his gaze and frowned. Looking at the state Shen Qianan was in, he could not bring himself to say anything else. “Jiang City isn’t the place for you. You should return to the capital.”
“You think I should stay in the capital?” Shen Qianan had calmed down, and she asked lightly. Glancing at Shen Shixiu, she said, “My mother was the third party and was wrong to destroy your family. Isn’t that right?”
Shen Shixiu looked at Shen Qianan without saying a word, but the latter continued, “I knew that. It doesn’t matter what you do to me because I deserve it. It’s too bad that my mother has an affair with your father.”
Then, she looked away and said, “I guess it makes sense that you would want to vent your anger on me.”
Shen Shixiu frowned. “I see that you still think highly of yourself.”
“Why else are you doing this to me then?”
“Shu Qing is in Jiang City,” Shen Shixiu announced.
In response, Shen Qianan trembled. “What did you say?”
“I said that your biological mother, the one who destroyed my family, Shu Qing, is here at Emerald Garden at this instant.”
Still shaking, Shen Qianan’s eyes teared, and she stammered, “She’s back?”
Gritting her teeth, she seemed to hate her more than Shen Shixiu.
“Yes, I got the news recently,” Shen Shixiu replied.
“Why are you telling me this?” Shen Qianan snarled, “Why are you only telling me this only now?”
“Is that important?” Shen Shixiu looked at Shen Qianan calmly. “Well, is her presence even important to you?”
Is that important to me?
I want to figure it out too.
I hoped that she would come back so I can ask her why she abandoned me after giving birth to me. Why did she leave me with the cold-hearted Shen family? Why did she become a mistress? Why…
On the other hand, I don’t want her to come back, and I also hope that she would disappear from the surface of the earth.
I don’t even know what Shu Qing means to me.
Once again, she reminded herself that she was an illegitimate child of a woman who destroyed a family.
“If you want to meet her…”
“I don’t want to!”
Shen Shixiu scoffed, “It seems like you are afraid to meet her.”
“Afraid? Why should I be afraid? She is the one who should be afraid. As a big star in Hollywood, if everyone knew that she had been a mistress and even had an illegitimate daughter, it would tarnish her reputation. Why should I be afraid then? She should be afraid instead!” Shen Qianan fervently denied.
Shen Shixiu raised his eyebrow in doubt, “Are you sure?”
“Shen Shixiu, are you mocking me?” Shen Qianan retorted.
“Maybe I am. After all, life is too boring. It makes me feel better to see how miserably others are leading their lives.”
“Shen Shixiu!” Shen Qianan shouted. “Do you not fear retribution?”
“I don’t believe in retribution.” Shen Shixiu looked at Shen Qianan coldly. “If you don’t want to go back to the capital, I won’t force you anymore. However, there is nothing you can achieve by staying here. You will not get Fu Chengyan’s love, and Shu Qing will not change her attitude towards you either. As for that man you are looking for…do you think he cares about you?”
“What did you this?” Shen Qianan fixated her gaze on Shen Shixiu. Although she was alarmed, she did not look as shocked as she did when she was with Fu Chengyan.
Shen Qianan tightened her fist, “How did you find out about this?”
“I found out three years ago.” Shen Shixiu then turned his attention to Shen Qianan, “I know more than you do.”
Suddenly, Shen Qianan laughed though there was sadness in her eyes. “All this while, you knew I was struggling, but you still watched me go through all of that without helping me? But I am sure that must be better than punishing me.”
Without a word, Shen Shixiu stared at Shen Qianan. However, the latter continued to laugh. I am so pathetic!
“How is Shi Nuan better than me?” Shen Qianan looked at Shen Shixiu and accused, “You like Shi Nuan too, right?”
Shen Shixiu scrunched his brows. Shen Qianan looked at him, then she chuckled, “There’s no way you can’t fool anyone with the way you look at her.”
