Feeling mortified, Shi Nuan stiffened. Without any expression on her face, she uttered, “What?” No! This is impossible!
Su Huaibei knew this news would come as a massive shock to Shi Nuan. Even he himself had found it hard to digest when he first came to know about it, let alone Shi Nuan. He had taken a long time before he could finally accept the truth.
Shi Nuan suddenly had no idea where to place her hands. She stared at Su Huaibei and rubbed her hands anxiously. “You must be kidding me,” she uttered with an awkward chuckle.
“No, I’m not.” Su Huaibei shook his head. “In fact, I only came to know about this only a few days ago. I’ve been contemplating on whether to tell you this for the past few days, and I’ve decided that you have the right to know about this.”
“So, you mean Shen Qianan and I are both your children?”
Su Huaibei nodded firmly. This time, Shi Nuan was rendered speechless.
She had no idea what to feel about her biological parents.
She wasn’t even sure whether she should be furious at them or not. She wanted to react the same as Shen Qianan was towards Shu Qing at the press conference earlier, but she didn’t feel as furious as Shen Qianan was right then. Probably because she had next to no memory about Su Huaibei and Shu Qing, she harbored no other feelings towards her stranger-like parents.
Of course, Shi Nuan also had no idea what Shen Qianan actually felt back then. How will I actually feel if I found out that my father, whom I’ve lived with and thought to be mine, is actually not my biological father?
Shi Nuan chuckled bitterly. How kind of me. I could hardly digest my own emotions, yet I’m here worrying about Shen Qianan’s mental state.
“Then, what’s your motive in telling me this?”
“You two are sisters related by blood, so I want to-”
“You want to reunite with Shen Qianan as well? To atone for your absence in our lives and not fulfilling your role as a father?” Shi Nuan interjected. She curled her lips when she saw the surprise flashing across Su Huaibei’s face. “But has it ever occur to you that maybe both Shen Qianan and I do not need your atonement at all?”
“I-”
“You shouldn’t be telling me this now. What you should do is to explain this to Shen Qianan herself. I suggest you meet up with her and tell her this yourself once you recover. I cannot help you with this.”
Shi Nuan adjusted her shirt and turned to Su Huaibei. “I’ve asked Shaoqing, and he said you’ll be discharged in a few days’ time. Since you’re doing well, I shall take my leave first. I have matters to settle back home.”
“Nuan!”
Su Huaibei called out to her when he saw her leaving. “You don’t want to accept Qianan as your sister, right? I know some conflict happened between the two of you, so I-”
“You’ve misunderstood me,” Shi Nuan cut him off. “I’ve said before that I am willing to accept you as my father because you want to atone for your absence, and it just so happen that I am not against that. But that doesn’t mean I will accept anyone to be my family, be it Shu Qing or Shen Qianan. After all, this is your business and not mine, isn’t that so?”
With that, Shi Nuan left promptly, leaving Su Huaibei to contemplate her words.
She was too rational; so rational that her reaction could be perceived as cold-blooded. But it was that rationality of hers that made her steer clear from all the conflicts of her family.
Su Huaibei had to admit that Shi Nuan was a smart girl. Just like that, his daughter had kicked all his problems back to him. Indeed, she would be fine with him reuniting with his loved ones, but that doesn’t mean she would accept all of them as her family. She would only accept him as her biological father and no one else.
Maybe that’s why she could get herself out of all this mess and live a life free of troubles.
After Shi Nuan left, Fu Yi reentered to see Su Huaibei staring into space. He immediately called out to him upon seeing his blank expression. “Mr. Su, it’s time to take your meds.”
Fu Yi handed him the pills and poured out a cup of water for him. “Please have your meds, Mr. Su.”
Su Huaibei took his meds and continued staring ahead for a long time before asking, “Fu Yi, am I doing things wrong?”
Surprised by the question, Fu Yi paused in his actions. “What do you mean, Mr. Su?”
Su Huaibei pinched his nose bridge in frustration. “Do you think I shouldn’t have come back from the start?” If I didn’t come back, I’ll still have a reason to stick to Shu Qing. Then, everything else wouldn’t have happened.
Shi Nuan just wants to have a simple and happy life. She doesn’t need me to mess with her life. After all, it’s my own selfishness that caused all these…
“Mr. Su, I only know that everything you did is right. For the whole of your life, you’ve never put yourself before others, I think it’s forgivable for you to make some selfish decisions for your own sake. Humans are selfish in nature, anyway.”
At that, Su Huaibei snorted bitterly. “Well, I’m getting old. Old man tends to overthink things. By the way, how’s Qing? Is she alright?”
“The servants from Emerald Garden reported that Ms. Shu didn’t leave the house for the past few days.” Fu Yi was about to help Su Huaibei lie down in his bed when someone knocked on the door.
Fu Yi paused in his actions and uttered. “Please lie back down, I’ll get the door for you, Mr. Su.”
To his surprise, it was Shu Qing standing outside the ward. “Ms. Shu! What brings you here?”
Shu Qing’s face was unhealthily pale. Unlike her dressed-up self, she came without her make-up, which made her pale complexion looked sallower than usual.
Fu Yi turned to Su Huaibei instinctively, only to see Su Huaibei already stunned in his place.
“Let her in.”
Hearing that, Fu Yi stood aside to allow Shu Qing in before closing the door behind him. He then stood guard outside the ward to keep an eye on his boss.
He had to be extra careful whenever Shu Qing was around Su Huaibei. After all, she was the only one who could easily aggravate him and trigger his illness.
Shu Qing remained rooted at the entrance even after the door was closed. After noticing her standing like a statue, Su Huaibei called out to her, “Since you’re here, come in and have a seat.”
Shu Qing hesitated, but went over to him eventually. The moment she saw Su Huaibei’s pale complexion, she couldn’t help but avert her gaze away from him.
“What brings you here?”
Su Huaibei spoke in a distant tone, which was very different from his usual way of talking to her.
In the past, Su Huaibei’s tone was lively with emotions; be it gentle, or happy with elation. At times, he would be enraged, or even gave her the cold shoulder. He would display all his emotions, which would change around her. But today, this was the first time he looked so calm and devoid of all emotions as he spoke. This made Shu Qing immensely uncomfortable. He felt so distant, it was as if he would vanish into thin air right then.
Shu Qing’s lips quivered at the thought. “I wanted to see… Whether you’re dead or not.”
Su Huaibei chuckled. “Well, I’ll have to disappoint you then. As you can see, I am very healthy and the doctor said I still have a long life ahead.”
Although Su Huaibei was smiling, his smile never reached his eyes. “Why? Now that you know that I’m healthy, do you regret missing all the best opportunities to kill me?”
“You! Must you talk like that, Su Huaibei?”
“What else can we talk about other than hurling curses at each other?”
Shu Qing tightened her grip on her bag and stared hard at Su Huaibei.
He looked almost the same as his younger days, only older looking with some wrinkles. His eyes were also sharper than before. Unlike the usual loving gaze he had whenever he was with her, his eyes were now distant and indifferent.
“I… I met up with Shen Feng.”
“Yes, I know.” Su Huaibei nodded. “So?”
“You… You have nothing to ask me? To ask about what happened during your disappearance for that six months, and what actually happened to me in that dinner? Don’t you want to know about my relationship with Shen Feng, and… Qianan?”
Shu Qing stared unblinkingly at Su Huaibei, trying to catch any hints of change in his expression.
But she was disappointed by his reaction. Su Huaibei simply listened to her calmly, his face still devoid of any expression she wished to see on him. In fact, he didn’t even respond to her words.
The ward was dead silent to the point that Shu Qing could even hear a pin drop in the room.
Clenching her fists to suppress her emotions, Shu Qing met Su Huaibei’s gaze. She could feel her heart dying within her. “You, you really have nothing to say to me?”
“Jiang Yuan.”
Su Huaibei called out her real name for the first time in ages. Shu Qing’s face paled further, only to hear him adding, “Nuan has agreed to return to the Su family.”
Shu Qing stiffened at his words. “What do you mean by that?”
“You may go now.”
“Go? Where else can I go?” Shu Qing asked in confusion.
“Nuan is a filial child. I’ve decided to spend the rest of my life with her and watch over her happy life. You should have a life of your own too, so please leave.”
Shu Qing staggered backwards at his words. “You’re asking me to leave just like that?” Her voice trembled as she spoke. Su Huaibei was surprised by her disbelief, but he ignored it and nodded firmly. “Yes. Didn’t you always want to leave me in the past? You even dreamed of leaving me in your sleep. Now, you’re free to go.”
Shu Qing scoffed in response. “Su Huaibei. Who are you to decide if I stay or leave? Back then, you locked me up when I wanted to leave. And now you’re chasing me off after getting bored of me?”
“Yes. Since you want to leave, I’m letting you leave.”
“Fine! Su Huaibei, fine!” Shu Qing balled her fists and her figure trembled in rage. “I’ve long since wanted to leave, the only reason I didn’t was because you threatened to harm Qianan if I did. Why else would you think I will stay by your side for so many years if not because of Qianan?”
Shu Qing glared hatefully at Su Huaibei and turned to leave.
After she left, sounds of violent coughing can be heard from inside the ward. Gripping the side of the bed, Su Huaibei coughed while clutching his chest in pain. His face was sickeningly pale, yet he tried very hard to suppress the pain in his heart.
“Mr. Su!”
Fu Yi wanted to come in, but Su Huaibei stopped him with a yell. “Get out! Don’t let anyone in without my permission!”
Fu Yi looked at his boss in worry before turning to the departing Shu Qing. Clenching his fists, Fu Yi gritted his teeth and chased after her. “Ms. Shu!”
Just before Shu Qing could leave in a taxi, Fu Yi blocked her way and stared coldly at her. His gaze was almost murderous, as though he wanted to eat her alive.
Shu Qing did not have a good impression of Fu Yi either, hence she retorted rudely, “Why? Did your dearest Mr. Su regretted his decision and asked you to drag me back again?”
“No, Ms. Shu. You’re overthinking. I just think you should know very well how Mr. Su has been treating you all these years, and I’m witness to all his kindness.”
“But of course. You are the witness of all his mistreatment towards me.” You’re even the one to execute all those mistreatments on me.
Judging from her disdainful expression, Fu Yi knew Shu Qing did not remember a single trace of Su Huaibei’s love and care towards her. She only remembered Su Huaibei’s reaction when he was mad and aggravated by her.
“Well, it’s good that you finally leave anyway. Otherwise, Mr. Su has to worry day and night that you would leave him one day.” Fu Yi stared firmly at her. “Oh, and there’s one more thing you should know, Ms. Shu.” Fu Yi blocked the car door and lowered his gaze. “The truth of that incident.”
