They embraced each other passionately in front of me, completely ignoring me.
I forced a smile.
When has Fu Yanshen ever treated me like a human being?
Shi Jin, who was perched on his shoulder, turned to look at me and said, "Ah Shen isn't an ingrate, it's just that the Sheng family has gone too far!"
She said bitterly.
I also clearly caught the fleeting smugness in her eyes.
She's lying!
Fu Yanshen believed her and even took revenge on the Sheng family for her sake!
Could it be that in his past life, he was seeking revenge on the Sheng family for Shi Jin's sake, causing the Sheng family to be destroyed and its members to die?
But his claim that it was for Shi Xia to get revenge on me was just an excuse?
"Fu Yanshen, is everything she said true? Are you doing this for her, to get revenge on the Sheng family?" I calmed myself down and asked in a composed tone.
Shi Jin pulled away from his embrace and took a tissue to wipe her tears.
I stared intently into Fu Yanshen's eyes, my mind replaying countless memories from past and present lives.
The man looked at me indifferently, his thin lips parting slightly, "Yes."
He spoke sparingly.
That one word was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
In that instant, I felt utterly hopeless.
I stood up, supporting myself on the handrails, and went to the door.
"Sheng Qiaoqiao, sit down!"
The car was speeding along when Fu Yanshen yelled at me.
I reached out and opened the car door.
"Stop the car!" Fu Yanshen ordered the driver sternly.
The car suddenly stopped, and I pushed open the car door and quickly got out.
Snowflakes started falling outside sometime earlier. I wrapped my coat tighter around myself, jumped onto the curb, and walked forward aimlessly. My cheeks were wet, and I couldn't tell if it was water from melting snowflakes or tears.
It turns out that Fu Yanshen was seeking revenge on the Sheng family for Shi Jin's sake.
Because Shi Jin told him that she had been tortured by Bei Chen, resulting in a miscarriage, the removal of her uterus, and being sold to northern Myanmar by her mother, he took revenge on the Sheng family for her sake.
He listened to Shi Jin's every word and did not mind that she had fallen in love with someone else. Even though she had lost her uterus, he did not care.
I couldn't help but recall the words Shi Xia said to me before she died, and now they all made sense.
Shi Jin is Fu Yanshen's salvation from his gloomy and world-weary state; she is his light. No matter how bad she is, he accepts her and cherishes her.
So, what am I?
What did I do wrong? Why should he treat me like a substitute, like a plaything...?
He felt sorry for Shi Jin's miscarriage. If he knew I had died along with my unborn child in my past life, would he have felt sorry for that child?
No, he said he would abort the pregnancy if she got pregnant.
He was afraid that I, his stand-in, would get pregnant, so he even had a tubal ligation.
The cold winter wind, carrying snowflakes, lashed my swollen face. The slight sting seemed to be a reminder that I should stop being sad for the man who had never loved me.
I'm not sad for him, I'm sad for myself.
On a snowy night, on the street, there were few people and few vehicles on the road. I stood alone at the crossroads, not knowing where to go.
I have no "home" to return to now.
Home is a place that gives you a sense of belonging.
I have no home now.
I am like a snowflake drifting in the sky, without roots, without direction, aimlessly wandering in the dead of night.
As I walked, I had a vague feeling that someone was following me, but when I turned around, there was no one behind me.
However, with the help of the streetlights, I could clearly see a long shadow cast on the ground behind the bus stop sign.
It looks like a human figure.
I was startled.
After my emotions subsided, I regained my rationality, felt scared, and realized the danger of a lone woman walking alone at night. I took out my phone and quickly hailed a taxi.
I went back to the apartment I had just rented last week.
I've put my old, luxurious apartment up for sale. It was originally a 20th birthday gift from my dad, and I wanted to sell it to give him some money in an emergency.
After that night, I caught a cold and didn't go out for a week.
I had just recovered from a cold when I received a call from my mother, asking me to come home for dinner.
My mother still loves me and treats me like her own daughter. When she heard that I had just recovered from a cold, she personally cooked me a chicken soup with angelica root and made several of my favorite home-style dishes.
"Qiaoqiao, eat more. Look at you, you've lost so much weight. Do you still weigh 90 pounds?" Mom used serving chopsticks to put a piece of stewed pork ribs on my plate.
She looked at me with loving eyes.
"Mom, I weigh over ninety pounds." I said with a smile, my tone slightly coquettish and a little awkward.
"You're so thin! You're only 1.7 meters tall, just skin and bones. You need to eat more!" she urged me with concern.
I was deeply moved. I lowered my head and kept eating rice, tears streaming down my face.
"Qiaoqiao, your grandfather said that Fu Yanshen has a powerful background, and he has been warned not to interfere in our family's affairs." My mother ladled out another bowl of soup for me, sighing.
What is Fu Yanshen's background?
Can he even control his grandfather?
Recently, Shengshi Group's capital chain broke, causing many real estate projects across the country to stop construction. Owners who bought Shengshi's off-plan properties have also suffered and are now protesting.
Investors had long lost faith in Shengshi, and the stock price had already plummeted to rock bottom.
Dad was at his wits' end, and Mom asked Grandpa's family for help, but it was just a drop in the ocean.
"Qiaoqiao, if this continues, Shengshi won't last much longer. Mom begs you, please go and ask Fu Yanshen to plead for our family, okay?"
After saying this, Mom wiped away her tears.
She told me to plead with Fu Yanshen on her behalf.
"Mom, how could I possibly beg him?" I smiled bitterly, a self-deprecating twitch at the corner of my lips.
"Qiaoqiao, what's wrong with you? I heard that last time that director Xu Zhen bullied you, Fu Yanshen stood up for you and beat him into a vegetative state! That shows how much he cares about you!"
My mother looked at me, her eyes shining with hope, her voice filled with excitement.
Fu Yanshen's blow was truly ruthless. Xu Zhen is still lying in the ICU, and I heard that he will most likely be in a vegetative state when he wakes up.
No one in their family dared to utter a single word against Fu Yanshen, and they didn't even dare to mention settling things privately.
His background can be glimpsed from this.
However, I cannot agree with what my mother said.
"Mom, it's no use. Do you know why Fu Yanshen is taking revenge on our family?" I could only be ruthless and shatter her expectations.
Mom's face darkened. "Why? Qiaoqiao, have you figured out the reason?"
I nodded. "He told me himself that it was for Shi Jin, Bei Chen's ex-girlfriend."
Mom's eyes widened in shock.
I told her everything Shi Jin had said to me.
As she listened, her mother shook her head, her face full of anger. "There are gods watching over us! Jin is truly turning black into white!"
“Mom, I know you and Beichen would never do something so inhumane, but Fu Yanshen is convinced of Shi Jin’s plight and he’s determined to bankrupt our family.”
“He loved Shi Jin very much. I was just a substitute for Shi Jin before. He only married me because I look like Shi Jin.”
I smiled helplessly at my mother.
Mom sighed deeply and remained silent for a long while. "Qiaoqiao, why don't we try begging him as a last resort? We're really at our wits' end..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
