Jiang Yu glared viciously at Shi Nuan. “Shi Nuan, the Shi family has always treated you well and gave you whatever you wanted. Now that you are reunited with your biological parents, how can you abandon us and leave in good conscience? What’s the meaning of your actions? Aren’t you just being ungrateful?”
Jiang Yu continued to berate Shi Nuan, “Zheng and I raised you and gave you everything that we gave Wei. Even when you were sick, it was I that took you to the hospital. Or have you forgotten about that too?”
Shi Nuan looked up and saw Jiang Yu furiously pointing a finger at her as if she had made a terrible mistake. Despite the ferocity of Jiang Yu’s glare, Shi Nuan remained calm while looking back at her.
Before this, what hurt her the most wasn’t the fact that her biological parents abandoned her. She didn’t even know they existed anyway. All she could remember was how Jiang Yu and Shi Jingzheng treated her. In her heart, they were her real parents.
However, they had always been biased toward Shi Wei and never cared for her. That’s right. When I was sick, it was indeed Jiang Yu who sent me to the hospital. However, has she forgotten how I got sick in the first place? It was snowing heavily then. Taking advantage of the fact that Shi Yunsheng wasn’t at home, Jiang Yu and Shi Jingzheng brought Shi Wei out for a meal and left Shi Nuan outside the house in the cold alone. With no one to let her back in, she huddled in the freezing cold for many hours.
The next day, she had a high fever that just wouldn’t subside. Worried that she might take a turn for the worse, Jiang Yu sent her to the hospital.
Shi Nuan looked at Jiang Yu calmly. Once upon a time, she had put all her hopes on Jiang Yu. In fact, she even thought that the reason why Jiang Yu and Shi Jingzheng resented her was because she wasn’t a good enough daughter. However, despite doing her best to be good, she had never been able to win Jiang Yu’s affection.
If it weren’t for Shi Yunsheng and Jiang Shizheng, Shi Nuan would have thought that familial concern was a myth.
Ironically, Jiang Yu was now talking about how caring she and Shi Jingzheng were to her.
Her experience was so traumatic that she couldn’t be bothered to provide them with a reaction. All she did was stare at them calmly before letting out a smirk. “I will always remember the care you have shown towards me my whole life. If there’s anything you would like my help with in the future, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”
“You…”
Shi Nuan smiled faintly. “Just like when Wei fancied my boyfriend. Didn’t I give him up immediately?”
“Shi Nuan, you…”
“I will accept whatever request you make of me, except this time, I don’t intend to divorce my husband.”
Jiang Yu was rendered speechless.
Meanwhile, Fu Chengyan snorted softly and tousled Shi Nuan’s hair. “Let’s eat!”
As Jiang Yu’s expression darkened, she subconsciously looked at Su Huaibei before glancing at Fu Chengyan.
From the moment they arrived, Su Huaibei’s attention was focused on Shi Nuan. His affection for her was obviously real. As for Fu Chengyan, he didn’t have much to say ever since he entered the house. However, his commanding presence emanated throughout the dining hall still.
When Jiang Yu was berating Shi Nuan a moment ago, Fu Chengyan emitted a frosty vibe while his gaze blazed with murderous intent. Jiang Yu didn’t notice it but Shi Jingzheng did.
Hence, he quickly tugged Jiang Yu’s hand to signal her to sit. “Come let’s eat!” Shi Jingzheng served Jiang Yu some food and whispered, “You should shut up!”
Although she relented by taking her seat, she was still overwhelmed by frustration.
Initially, she had planned to rely on Shi Nuan’s relationship with Fu Chengyan to seek his help for both the Shi family and Shi Wei. However, she was blindsided by the presence of Su Huaibei, especially when talk of Shi Nuan returning to the Su family surfaced.
There was no way she was going to agree. If Shi Nuan really changed her surname and returned to the Su family’s fold, the Shi family would stand to lose all their potential benefits. After all, they did take care of Shi Nuan for many years. Even if she returned to the Su family, she still owed them a lot and they intended to collect.
Su Huaibei was aware of Jiang Yu’s intention. He put down his chopsticks. “I understand how presumptuous this is but Nuan will definitely return to the Su family. If both of you have any requests, I will fulfill them to the best of my abilities.”
“Hmph, aren’t you being too full of yourself?” Jiang Yu poured scorn on him.
Shi Nuan’s face darkened immediately. “What do you want then?”
“I heard about the project at Aureate Jade…” Despite not knowing much about business affairs, Jiang Yu had discussed with Shi Jingzheng about what to ask for yesterday after they heard that Shi Nuan and Fu Chengyan were coming.
Since they were presented with the opportunity today, Jiang Yu greedily made her demands.
Despite not showing it on her face, Shi Nuan was further disgusted by Jiang Yu’s behavior the moment she heard her demands.
Shi Nuan knew that Jiang Yu had an agenda when she protested against her return to the Su family. After all, their familial relationship was as good as non-existent. True to her expectations, Jiang Yu’s target wasn’t Su Huaibei. Instead, it was a project that belonged to the Shengyuan Group.
The Shengyuan Group was among the largest companies in Z Nation, let alone Jiang City. A single joint venture with Shengyuan Group alone was the equivalent of a year’s revenue for Huancheng or even that of a few years combined.
Shi Nuan had previously monitored the Aureate Jade project and knew it was worth tens of billions. Both Shengyuan and Prosperous Group were the main investors in the project together with the Jiang family from Sheen City. It was a massive endeavor by all of them. Huancheng was just a small company, hence it was extremely difficult for them to participate.
Shi Jingzheng long had his eyes on the project but he couldn’t even meet the bidding requirements. As such, he could only turn his attention towards Shi Nuan.
After all, the project was managed by Shengyuan. As long as Shi Nuan said the word, Fu Chengyan would definitely agree.
Shi Jingzheng and Jiang Yu thought that they had a wonderful plan. Without doing anything, they wanted to take over such a huge project. It was a wonder that they even had the cheek to ask for it.
Just when Jiang Yu finished, the dining hall fell into silence as no one uttered a word.
Shi Jingzheng waited for Fu Chengyan to respond while Jiang Yu looked eagerly at him.
Shi Nuan suddenly burst into laughter. “What Aureate Jade? Mom, since when did you start doing business? What project are you involved in? Do you think it’s just like the stocks that you and your rich housewife friends buy?”
“You…” Jiang Yu didn’t expect Shi Nuan to blatantly lie. “Shi Nuan, stop playing dumb. I’ll be frank with you. The Shi family has raised you, so don’t think you can abandon us just because you found a better home in the Su family. It’s fine if you want to join them, but you must pay back the twenty-odd years of care that we have showered you. Once you have done that, we will gladly be rid of you.”
“How can you speak like that?” Shi Yunsheng slammed the table in anger. “Jiang Yu, are you the head of the household, or am I?”
“Dad, I think age is clouding your judgment so it’s better if you don’t head it anymore. After all, you’re already old. Isn’t it time you hand the Shi family over to Zheng?”
“You…”
“Hah!” Fu Chengyan suddenly laughed aloud. Raising his hands, he adjusted his cufflinks.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yu and Shi Jingzheng waited with bated breath. They knew it didn’t matter what anyone else said. As long as Fu Chengyan said the word, anything could be resolved.
Fu Chengyan glanced towards Shi Nuan and beamed at her. After that, he turned his attention toward Shi Jingzheng and Jiang Yu.
“What Shi Wei is enjoying at Xinhuang is all due to her being Shi Nuan’s sister. Xinhuang will provide Shi Wei the best prospects and resources for the next five years.” Although his deep and crisp voice wasn’t loud, it was still filled with gravitas. “Xinhuang has spent tens of millions on Shi Wei during this time. May I know if you have even spent one million on May over the last twenty years?”
“You… How can you compare it like that? The debt owed for raising a child is priceless!”
“Oh? Do you want me to present Shengyuan or the Fu clan itself to you as repayment then?” Fu Chengyan gave Jiang Yu the side-eye.
Despite him being seated, Fu Chengyan’s commanding presence simply couldn’t be ignored.
Although he was their junior in terms of familial hierarchy, Jiang Yu still cringed in fear when confronted by Fu Chengyan. Even Shi Jingzheng felt intimidated by Fu Chengyan’s domineering pressure, let alone Jiang Yu.
Fu Chengyan smiled faintly. “I promise that in five years, Shi Wei will become a star, this was what I promised May when we first got married.
“How can that be? Wasn’t Fu Xicheng the one…”
“Haha, do you think that Fu Xicheng is capable of convincing me to groom and promote Shi Wei?” With one hand on the table, Fu Chengyan’s held Shi Nuan’s hand with his other. Supported by her thigh, he gently pinched her wrist.
“Mr. and Mrs. Shi, is there anything else that you’re not satisfied with?”
“If Shi Wei wasn’t May’s sister, Xinhuang wouldn’t have signed her on and also helped suppress the scandals related to her.”
Jiang Yu’s face turned pale and she clenched her fists in anger.
She had previously assumed her daughter was capable and didn’t expect that it was due to her being Shi Nuan’s sister that she was able to rise to stardom. The truth was too difficult for Jiang Yu to accept.
She had been living under Jiang Yuan’s shadow her whole life and was always worried that Jiang Shizheng would abandon her because she wasn’t his biological daughter. Hence, she always made sure she did her very best. However, the one she loved was stolen by Jiang Yuan in the end. Furthermore, her own daughter ended up following in her footsteps unwittingly. Shi Wei was being outshined by Shi Nuan at every opportunity.
“Of course, if Mr. and Mrs. Shi insist on taking over the Aureate Jade project, I can still make it happen. Logically speaking, I won’t reject any capable partners who are interested to bid for the project. However, I must remind you that the Aureate Jade project is a massive undertaking and wouldn’t be making any money in the short term. Hence, you have to consider if you have deep enough pockets to stomach the losses in the beginning.”
Shi Jingzheng turned pale at Fu Chengyan’s words. “You…” How does he know so much? Huancheng has been trying to reinvent itself in recent years. Despite not making any visible progress, Shi Jingzheng was still proud of what he did. However, after Fu Chengyan’s remarks, Shi Jingzheng felt that he had just been humiliated.
“Huancheng is going through a restructuring and just lacks an opportunity.”
