Chapter 4: Illness breeds a bunch of ungrateful wretches
In the walk-in closet separated by a wall, Li Zhenzhu snatched the clothes from Shen Qing's hands, raising her voice, "Who are you? What kind of thief dares to steal my cousin's clothes?"
"I'm not a thief," Shen Qing said quickly, not recognizing her and not angry at being robbed, "it was my sister-in-law..."
"You still say you're not a thief? Tell me how you got in!" Li Zhenzhu forgot her purpose in sneaking over and shouted for Aunt Wang downstairs to call the police to catch the thief.
Bai Zhenzhen was the first to come over when she heard the commotion. She saw Shen Qing standing to the side looking wronged and helpless, while Li Zhenzhu was pointing at her and shouting arrogantly.
"Li Zhenzhu, what are you doing? She's my sister-in-law, a guest I invited back. Shut up!" Bai Zhenzhen said impatiently. She was the mistress of the house, and Li Zhenzhu accused Shen Qingzhen of not treating her like an outsider without even asking.
“Cousin,” Li Zhenzhu was startled by her unexpected voice and turned around to complain, “Cousin, I just saw her sneaking around in your dressing room. The Shen family is very poor, she must be trying to steal your things.”
She said these words directly to Shen Qing's face without lowering her voice. Shen Qing's face turned red instantly when she heard them. "I didn't, I would never steal anything!"
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Bai Zhenzhen glared at her. "I asked her to come in and get her clothes. I can give my things to whomever I want. It's none of your business. Apologize to me."
Li Zhenzhu looked at her with disbelief and a bit aggrieved. "Cousin, I'm only doing this for your own good. Besides, why are you asking me to apologize to that guy surnamed Chen? Who do they think they are..."
"She's my husband's younger sister. Offending her is offending me. Apologize right now!" Bai Zhenzhen glanced at her from head to toe, her gaze lingering on the diamond bracelet on her wrist. She walked over and violently ripped it off. "Calling someone a thief, what kind of behavior is that?"
Bai Zhenzhen remembered that she had just bought this bracelet last week at a newly opened jewelry store in the department store. After admiring it for two days, she casually tossed it into her jewelry box. She had no recollection of giving it to Li Zhenzhu.
A guilty look flashed across Li Zhenzhu's face as she covered her wrist and explained, "Cousin, I just really like this bracelet of yours, I'm just wearing it for fun."
"Take it if you like it? Taking something without asking is stealing!" Bai Zhenzhen raised an eyebrow, showing no mercy. "Li Zhenzhu, why don't you look at what you've done before criticizing others?"
"Cousin!" Li Zhenzhu was both angry and annoyed that her face had been exposed. "You are usually the closest to me. I just borrowed it to wear for a while. I didn't say I wouldn't return it. Besides, you have so many pieces of jewelry. Why do you keep harping on it? Did Grandma, Grandpa, and my mom spoil you for nothing all these years?"
It would have been better if she hadn't mentioned those people. The moment she did, Bai Zhenzhen immediately thought of what happened in her dream. She narrowed her eyes and stared at her with hostility, saying, "Isn't it only natural that my grandparents and aunt love me? Don't you know how much money you've taken from my dad all these years? You eat my food, spend my money, and you still dare to covet my things? Li Zhenzhu, is your whole family shameless?"
Li Zhenzhu hadn't realized anything was wrong yet. Bai Zhenzhen, who had always had a bad temper, assumed that Bai Zhenzhen had angered her by discovering that she had stolen the bracelet, which was why she was saying such hurtful things.
She was also a little annoyed. She had originally planned to sneak in and take two new clothes from Bai Zhenzhen while she was sleeping in, but she didn't expect to wake up so early today and unexpectedly run into Shen Qing in the dressing room. Li Zhenzhu had a strange possessiveness towards Bai Zhenzhen's things, so she couldn't help but make a fuss after seeing Shen Qing.
"Cousin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Please forgive me this once. I promise I won't do it again, okay?" Li Zhenzhu suppressed her jealousy and resentment, still trying to coax her into not holding it against her, just like before.
Bai Zhenzhen was too lazy to argue with her anymore. She directly told Aunt Wang, who had come up after hearing the commotion, "Help me check what's missing from the walk-in closet and calculate the damages. If the amount is too large, report it to the police."
"It's true what they say, you can guard against a thief in your own home, but you can't guard against one day and night. Aunt Wang, you can't let any more people with dirty hands into the house from now on," Bai Zhenzhen said before coldly dismissing them. "Now, let's get rid of these eyesores."
Aunt Wang didn't know what conflict had occurred between her and Li Zhenzhu, but she knew that Bai Chuxiong was paying her wages, so she immediately asked Li Zhenzhu to leave.
She heard Bai Zhenzhen getting up downstairs, so she went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for her. Old Liu was cleaning the garden in the backyard, and Li Zhenzhu probably took advantage of that time to sneak in.
Li Zhenzhu is a regular here. The guards at Cuihu Bay recognize her and won't stop her. Judging from what Miss Zhenzhen said, this is like raising a thief in the family. Aunt Wang, with a stern face, didn't give Li Zhenzhu a chance to explain. Seeing that she refused to leave, she simply pulled her out and used the telephone line that had been repaired that morning to inform the guards that she was not allowed to come in again.
After dealing with Li Zhenzhu, Bai Zhenzhen patted Shen Qing on the shoulder and told her to go change her clothes. She then turned around and went back to the bathroom to wash up as if nothing had happened.
Bai Zhenzhen knew the saying "haste makes waste," and she wasn't a fool who only knew how to throw tantrums. She believed things had to be dealt with one step at a time.
Li Zhenzhu stealing her things was a trivial matter. She had noticed it before, but she didn't make a fuss about it because of her grandmother and uncle. Now that she knew from her dream that all that family affection was fake, why should they still indulge her?
After getting ready, Bai Zhenzhen went downstairs for breakfast, and Shen Qing changed into a simple light yellow dress and sat down at the table with her.
She had already eaten breakfast, so Aunt Wang brought her a cup of hot milk and asked her to have breakfast with Bai Zhenzhen.
Shen Qing was actually quite nervous at this moment. She wanted to say something but was afraid of disturbing Bai Zhenzhen's meal. After hesitating for a long time, she finally apologized when Bai Zhenzhen had almost finished eating, "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry. Have I caused you trouble again?"
Shen Qing had witnessed the whole farce. She actually knew a little about why her sister-in-law didn't like them, and she was afraid of upsetting her again.
"What does it have to do with you?" Bai Zhenzhen was full after only drinking half a bowl of bird's nest porridge. She pushed the bowl away and told her, "I may have a bad temper, but I'm not unreasonable. People who have really done bad things are still self-righteous. Why are you apologizing to me when you haven't done anything wrong?"
Her last sentence wasn't just about Li Zhenzhu stealing her things; Bai Zhenzhen's mocking gaze also reflected how she and her father hadn't noticed that they had raised a bunch of ungrateful wretches.
Whenever she had a moment of free time, those things from her dreams would keep swirling in her mind. While Bai Zhenzhen was filled with anger and resentment, she was also filled with worry for Bai Chuxiong.
Her father was tall and strong, and always in good health. How could he have died just because she angered him, as she dreamed? Bai Zhenzhen didn't want to believe it, but after last night's experience, she had to take it seriously.
Thinking of this, she became restless and just wanted to go and see if Bai Chuxiong was having any health problems.
At this moment, Shen Qing suggested that she was fine and wanted to go back to school.
Bai Zhenzhen was busy with something, so she asked Uncle Liu to take her to school. Before leaving, she told Shen Qing that she would take her out shopping to relax another day.
After seeing the person off, Bai Zhenzhen immediately called a taxi. She was going to find her father, Bai Chuxiong. Although the things in her dream were unbelievable, her father was the closest person to her in this world. She would tell him about anything that happened. She never intended to hide the things in her dream. Besides, her father was much more capable than her in business. She believed that as long as her father was around, no one could covet what belonged to the Bai family.
Bai Chuxiong now lives on a farm in the suburbs. He bought the land and developed it himself. The buildings are modeled after their old house in their hometown in the north. The surrounding environment is quite nice, with mountains and water.
A few years ago, Bai Chuxiong suddenly changed his mind and announced his withdrawal from the business world, handing over the company to an agent to manage, and then moved to this place to cultivate his mind and body.
There was a lot of speculation about his actions. Some people even suspected that he had some serious illness. Bai Zhenzhen was not married at the time and was so scared that she took her father to the hospital for a check-up overnight. Of course, nothing was found.
Bai Chuxiong laughed at her for believing everything he heard, saying that he was just tired of the business world and that he had earned enough money to support him and his daughter for the rest of their lives, so it was time for them to retire early.
Bai Zhenzhen believed it. She had grown up in her father's arms since she was a child. To her, Bai Chuxiong was like a mountain that would never fall down, a giant who sheltered her from the wind and rain. So she never realized that Bai Chuxiong's body had long had problems.
This time, in addition to telling her father about the things she dreamed about, Bai Zhenzhen also wanted to personally take him to the hospital for a thorough check-up so that she could feel at ease.
The road to the farm is well-maintained. Although Bai Chuxiong has stopped participating in business in recent years, he still holds the title of the richest man in China. People often come to him for advice, and some old friends often come to get together with him.
Bai Zhenzhen took a taxi up the mountain without even telling her father beforehand. When she arrived at the farm gate, the security guard saw her and let her in directly.
So she entered the main building without any hindrance, and when she didn't see Bai Chuxiong on the first floor, she went straight to the second floor.
As she turned the corner of the stairs, she was about to call out when she noticed that the door to the study next door wasn't closed properly. She instinctively tiptoed over and heard a voice coming from inside.
"Boss Bai, your illness really can't be delayed any longer."
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