Chapter 7 The Young Lady in a Wheelchair 7: White Rose

Today is the weekend, and after a busy week, Ms. Xi finally has some free time. Instead of staying in the large apartment near the company, she returned to the Xi residence.

"I heard from the housekeeper that you've been working out a lot lately. Should I ask Zheng Momo to adjust your training plan?" Chairman Xi said affectionately as she walked, glancing at Xi Congshuang beside her.

From her appearance, one would never guess that the tall, slender figure walking beside the wheelchair was over seventy years old. She had thick, black hair that reached past her shoulders, a crane-like figure, and an imposing aura between her brows.

The most trusted and closest person to Chairman Xi, who has been at the helm of the Xi Group for many years and never married, is her own sister.

However, her younger sister passed away shortly after giving birth due to poor health. She raised her sister's son as her own, but unexpectedly, she experienced the pain of losing a loved one at a young age again.

Now, Xi Congshuang is the only granddaughter left. She feels guilty for not fulfilling her responsibilities as an elder and is always willing to help Xi Congshuang with her requests.

Looking at Xi Congshuang in the wheelchair, Chairman Xi sighed inwardly, thinking that if it weren't for that car accident, Congshuang could have... It's just a pity that after the car accident, she not only injured both legs, but also had a strong resistance to rehabilitation treatment.

Xi Congshuang shook her head: "Zheng Momo is a professional, and this level is very good."

"It's good that you can accept it." Chairman Xi felt relieved. No matter what, it was a good thing that Cong Shuang was willing to make changes.

Unconsciously, I walked out of the garden, and in the distance, I heard the sound of arguing.

"Why is it so noisy over there? What happened?" Chairman Xi frowned and turned to ask the housekeeper.

Xi Congshuang seemed to be deep in thought, and something gradually surfaced.

"I'll go take a look." The housekeeper quickly went forward to check, and returned a moment later, saying, "Mr. Liu's son says that his daughter is not his daughter, that they were switched at birth in the hospital, and now he wants to switch her back."

"What?" This tongue-twister-like question took Xi Dong a few seconds to process.

The Xi residence hadn't been this lively in a long time. As Chairman Xi arrived, she grew even more impatient with her good-for-nothing younger brother.

As I approached the door, a clear female voice rang out, and she argued her case forcefully.

"But Xiaoyan was adopted through proper procedures and we've raised her for so many years. How can you just take her away like that?"

"But our biological daughter has been missing for so many years, and now that she's been found, you won't even let us see her?"

Xi Congshuang's wheelchair was pushed up, revealing the scene in the lobby of the building.

Several people were facing each other. Several file folders were spread out on the table. Mr. and Mrs. Xi Wenyong stood facing another couple. Mr. Liu, with a full head of white hair, sat in the middle of the sofa, holding a teacup in his hand, and occasionally said a few words to smooth things over.

“We don’t mean you don’t want to see Xiaoyan, but you started pulling and tugging at her right away, which scared her.”

The woman, who wore a bank manager's badge around her neck, pushed the girl behind her, trying to hide her with her body. The girl's expression went blank, and she instinctively hid behind her mother.

Mr. Liu spoke up at the right moment: "Their family has been separated for so many years, it's inevitable that they're a bit emotional. Manager Qu, please understand."

"..." The woman called Manager Qu remained unmoved, and her husband beside her also remained silent.

No one spoke first.

Mr. Liu looked at Xiao Yan's familiar school uniform and said, "I remember Xiao Yan is also in high school. Parents all have the same wish: to see their children succeed."

"For Xiaoyan's sake, we're family, so let's not stand on ceremony. Making a scene like this will only leave a bad impression on Xiaoyan. Let's sit down and talk it out."

Finally remembering that this was the Xi family residence, Manager Qu discreetly surveyed everyone in the room.

Manager Qu was well aware of the influence the Xi family wielded in the area. She was used to being diplomatic and knew she couldn't afford to offend the Xi family over the matter of recognizing relatives.

What she cares about most and fears most is that she will never be able to see Xiaoyan again.

Even though she was reluctant, Manager Qu knew that Xi's status as the daughter of the Xi family would be of greater help to Xiao Yan's future.

Mr. Liu was right; that's all parents want.

Just as she was about to speak, she saw Mr. Liu's expression freeze, and he slowly stood up, looking nervous: "Big...Big Sister, why are you back?"

The atmosphere in the room froze for a moment, as there was only one person whom Mr. Liu referred to as his "elder sister".

Chairman Xi chuckled and stepped inside: "A few days ago, when I wasn't coming back, you were looking forward to my return. Now that I'm back, you don't seem to want me to show up."

Their trajectories overlapped in some mysterious way. The girl, forgotten by everyone, watched the imposing woman enter, her eyes filled with unfamiliarity.

Next came a young woman who was wheeled in.

Pale, delicate, with pale lips and a captivating beauty mark under her eye, yet her expression was so indifferent that she appeared exceptionally aloof.

"It's quite lively. I haven't been back for a few days, and the Xi family has changed a lot."

Chairman Xi glanced at everyone in the room, then walked to the center. Mr. Liu, who was sitting in the middle, immediately made room for everyone and frantically signaled to the servants hiding in the corner to prepare new tea for Chairman Xi.

His older sister doesn't like coffee, finding it too bitter; she prefers tea.

The aroma of tea wafted through the air, and the people who had been arguing fell silent upon Chairman Xi's arrival, glancing nervously at each other.

Without exception, almost everyone was thinking the same thing—how did this great Buddha come back?

The youngest, Xiao Yao, who was supposed to play the emotional card, nervously hid behind his mother. He didn't understand anything and was only instinctively afraid of the woman in the center.

Xi Congshuang had just finished taking her medicine and was holding a cup of warm water in her hands to warm her cold hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cheng Zhishu hiding in the corner with her head down.

With her bangs hanging down, Xi Congshuang couldn't see what emotions were in her eyes.

He took a sip of tea, the cup clinking against the table with a soft thud. Chairman Xi leaned back and said, "Tell me, what's going on?"

“Chairman Xi,” Manager Qu said, worried that if she didn’t speak up soon, she would never have another chance to speak, “Actually, Xiao Yan and I are both innocent in this matter.”

Manager Qu is a banker, used to being smooth and diplomatic, and he can explain things clearly in just a few words.

But all of this is about Xiaoyan being adopted after being switched at birth.

Cheng Zhishu felt like she must be crazy, that she actually had the mind to piece together her own background from the adults' fragmented words.

Back then, Xi Wenyong and his wife were poor. Their child was born in a township hospital. Before they were even discharged, an earthquake struck. The newborns were all kept in one room for care. During the earthquake, the nurses carried them away.

Township hospitals are understaffed; a nurse can only carry a maximum of two children at a time, repeatedly going in and out of the hospital for emergency treatment.

In the chaos, the bracelets on the baby's wrists got mixed up, and the bracelet that should have belonged to Wang Ya's child ended up on Cheng Zhishu's wrist.

Newborns look almost identical except for their gender. Wang Ya, who had just given birth, couldn't see her baby's face clearly; she only saw that it was red and wrinkled.

By the time the earthquake subsided, several days had passed. The baby had grown up and become a fair-skinned, delicate creature, making it even harder for Wang Ya to recognize him. She assumed that the baby was her own child.

The young couple couldn't afford to raise their child, so they sent him to the countryside to be cared for by his mother.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan, who had no bracelet and was abandoned as a baby, was adopted by a couple who couldn't have their own child. After much searching, they finally adopted Xiao Yan, a healthy baby girl.

So Cheng Zhishu is the one who was mistaken; she should be an orphan.

"..."

A profound sense of bewilderment overwhelmed Cheng Zhishu.

I don't know how I should feel.

Her parents became adoptive parents, and now the adoptive parents only want their biological child back. Even the usually outspoken Wang Ya cried in front of Chairman Xi because of this.

Xi Congshuang put down her water glass; the water had cooled down. She asked, "So your original idea was for everyone to stay where they are, but given the current situation, you hope Wen Yan can stay at the Xi family home a few days a week, right?"

Manager Qu knew this was the best possible outcome and quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes!"

Wang Ya clutched the tear-soaked tissue in her hand: "But Xiao Yan and I haven't seen each other for so many years, it shouldn't be like this..."

Xi Congshuang interrupted her, "If the babies were switched at birth, what about the one that was switched?"

The commotion was abruptly abruptly reversed, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it.

"Wh-what, the one that was switched at birth?"

In the corner, the person who was pointed at tensed up, and she finally raised her head to look at Xi Congshuang, who was in a white dress in a wheelchair.

After the rain a few days ago, the weather warmed up again, and everyone around her switched to short sleeves. Only she was still wearing a long-sleeved dress, the hem of which was hidden under a light-colored blanket, like a white rose trapped in a slender-necked vase.

Chairman Xi remained silent throughout, which was a good thing that Xi Congshuang was in the mood to speak.

Xi Congshuang looked at the middle-aged man who had spoken, puzzled. Judging from his position, he should be Xi Wenyong: "You are all fighting for custody of Wen Yan, so what do you plan to do about the one who was switched at birth?"

Xi Wenyong's expression changed several times, but he remained silent.

If we're talking about feelings, he really didn't have much affection for this adopted daughter. She was sent to his mother's place in the countryside to be raised when she was less than a month old. The old lady had a pension, though not much, which was enough to support a child.

When they brought Cheng Zhishu back, she was already a teenager. She was so quiet that she wouldn't say a word. Plus, there were all those rumors that she didn't look like him, so it was even less likely that Xi Wenyong would like her.

Now it seems it wasn't my fault. Xiao Yao loved her so much, how could he not love his own child? It turns out that since there's no blood relation, it's normal to always find fault with him.

Wang Ya looked away: "She took the place of my own daughter and raised her for so many years. I've done more than enough. After that, she can go wherever she wants... she's free."

Then there was another silence, as if no one thought there was anything wrong with doing so.

The person speaking became a woman in a wheelchair. Wen Yan, who was hiding behind Manager Qu, mustered up some courage and peeked out. She belatedly began to look for the person who had been switched at birth.

Then she noticed a familiar school uniform in the corner, and the profile looked somewhat familiar. After thinking about it carefully, she realized that it was the new transfer student from the next class.

Xi Congshuang remained noncommittal, then scoffed, "They just returned to the family and kicked their daughter out after so many years. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the Xi family are all heartless wolves."

Mr. Liu: "Cong Shuang, speak properly! What do you mean by heartless and ungrateful?"

Xi Congshuang: "Sixth Grandfather, that's not right. When have I ever not spoken properly?"

"They are about the same age and were born within a few hours of each other, so she should also be a minor."

"Why isn't anyone saying how her livelihood should be guaranteed?"

The people opposite them couldn't lift their heads because of Xi Congshuang's gaze.