By this day, the rain had stopped, and the moisture in the soil dispersed into the air. The sun was obscured by clouds, casting no light, making it a cloudy day with cold winds blowing.
It was only mid-October, yet due to the temperature change, it already had the chill of winter.
Perhaps when the sun comes out and shines on the earth, the temperature will rise back to thirty degrees, bringing people back to the hot summer. The weather in Yicheng has always been like this, unpredictable every year during the transition from autumn to winter.
Shen Jianian hugged her arms, inhaling the cold air, and coughed lightly.
The manor was much larger than she imagined. Her body was weak, and she walked extremely slowly. After a while, sweat beads formed on her forehead and nose tip, yet she still couldn't see the shadow of the gate.
The front yard had fountains, rockeries, pavilions, stone bridges, surrounded by pine trees, with European-style retro lamp posts hidden among them. Every place exuded luxury and elegance. The most spectacular was the black wrought iron fence walls covered with climbing rose vines, blooming in clusters, interwoven with pink, peach, and deep red. Due to the rain a few days ago, withered petals were scattered all over the ground, dancing in the air with the wind.
Behind her came the sound of car tires being crushed, followed by a honk.
Shen Jianian dragged her weary steps aside, thinking she was blocking someone else's way.
However, the car slowly stopped beside her.
The driver's side door opened, Qu Mo got out, dressed in a black suit, with a buzz cut, fierce and solemn eyes, and spoke to Shen Jianian in a stiff manner, like a robot: "Miss Shen, the boss asked me to escort you back."
Shen Jianian hesitated: "Your boss is?"
"Mr. Chen."
Because President Fu sounds like Vice President, people in the company refer to the president as Mr. Chen.
Qu Mo opened the back door: "Please."
Shen Jianian hesitated for a second and eventually did not refuse. She bent down and got into the car because she suddenly realized her pocket was empty, her phone not on her, unable to fetch a penny. The distance from there to the Yin Family was unknown, walking back was unrealistic.
Since she encountered family changes, she learned to compromise with reality; her previous pride, in her current situation, would only make her life more difficult.
Qu Mo got into the car, fastened his seatbelt, and glanced through the rearview mirror at the woman the boss asked him to escort: "Address."
Shen Jianian pressed her lips and gave the address of the Yin Family.
The car moved slowly and steadily on Yicheng's bustling roads. Shen Jianian closed her eyes, leaned against the seat back, her head tilted to the side, forehead against the cool car window glass.
Actually, returning to the Yin Family had no other purpose. She just wanted to question them why they treated her that way.
They told her that President Qin's mother was a famous cellist when she was young, and playing at her birthday banquet would gain the elder's favor, thereby winning President Qin's appreciation, beneficial for the Yin family's business, and could help her reclaim the Lingyue Group in the future.
However, they didn't tell her that the real way to gain President Qin's appreciation was to climb into his bed. What performance program, it was merely a dignified pretense.
Was it Hu Yuzhi and Yin Shuyao's idea, or did her uncle also know?
Shen Jianian's dry throat felt like a hard stone stuck in it, swallowing painfully, causing her to cough incessantly.
To end up in such a situation, who was to blame? Blame her naive trust in the wrong people, thinking that even if blood-related relatives didn't like her, they wouldn't harm her.
*
The car pulled into the upscale villa area. Shen Jianian opened her eyes, wiped away a bit of moisture from her eyes, and looked sarcastically at the tall white building not far away.
Back then, Yin Chengde had no money to buy a house, went alone to Beicheng, and after entering the Shen family's villa, was too embarrassed to ask for money. His sister, Yin Tongshu, kept him for a meal, and afterward, pulled him aside and stuffed a bank card into his hand.
On his way back to Yicheng, Yin Chengde checked the balance in the card, and was quite shocked, immediately called his sister and asked if his brother-in-law would have objections to giving him so much money.
Yin Tongshu laughed and said, "Do you think I could come up with such a large sum of money? This is your brother-in-law's intention. You're my only brother, and my brother-in-law has little family, so it's right to help you."
This was later told to Shen Jianian by her mother.
Looking back now, it was truly ironic.
Using her parents' money to buy a house, start a company, and live a wealthy life, yet in the end, she had no place to stay.
Shen Jianian closed her eyes, pushed open the car door with a cold, pale face, stepped out, and stood outside the driver's seat, thanking Qu Mo for driving her back.
Qu Mo nodded in response, and once she walked far enough, he turned around and left the neighborhood.
Shen Jianian tightened her coat around her, stood on the doormat in front of the door, and raised her hand to press the doorbell.
The maid went to answer the door. Once opened, a cool breeze came in. The maid squinted, her look complex.
"Who's here?" Hu Yuzhi's annoyed voice came from the living room.
She had finally found a good opportunity, using Old Mrs. Qin's birthday banquet as an excuse to send the eyesore Shen Jianian to President Qin, planning that her beauty would surely win President Qin's favor, making future conversations with President Qin about collaboration much more convenient. And Shen Jianian, a girl with no backing, wouldn't be able to cause any trouble after losing her virginity.
A win-win situation.
Who would have thought Shen Jianian was so restless, she was practically here to collect a debt from their family, managing to escape even after getting drunk, and even injuring Qin Zhongtian before escaping.
Qin Zhongtian's secretary called, implicitly and explicitly threatening them that without handing over Shen Jianian, they wouldn't have an easy time.
Days passed, Shen Jianian seemed to have disappeared from the world, and those sent to find her didn't bring back a single useful bit of information. Hu Yuzhi was extremely frustrated, her chest aching.
The maid turned to face inside: "The young lady is back."
"What nonsense, the young lady is upstairs, hasn't gone out since morning." Hu Yuzhi was in a bad mood, like a firecracker, exploding at the slightest provocation.
"It's... Miss Shen." The maid added.
Shen Jianian didn't change her shoes, walked straight inside.
Hu Yuzhi saw her foxy face and was instantly filled with anger. The accumulated rage of these days exploded all at once, her voice sharp and harsh: "You wretched thing, you still have the face to come back, won't stop until you destroy our family, right?"
Shen Jianian hadn't even stabilized her stance when a shadow suddenly flew towards her. She turned her head to avoid it, but her reaction was still a second too slow, unable to dodge. That thing smashed into her forehead with a crisp sound.
Sharp pain assaulted her, followed by warm liquid flowing from her forehead.
The thing shattered, Shen Jianian was dizzy, her body swayed but barely stabilized. She looked down, it was Hu Yuzhi's usual bone china teacup for drinking herbal tea, now shattered into pieces on the floor.
Shen Jianian touched her forehead, then brought her hand in front of her face, her fingertips stained with viscous blood.
The commotion downstairs continued, Yin Shuyao seemed to sense something, descended the stairs, and indeed saw Shen Jianian had returned. Her pale face coated with bright red blood, standing in the shadow like a wayward soul.
Yin Shuyao placed her hand on the staircase railing, a mocking smile at the corner of her lips: "Thought you had more spine. If you could really leave and not come back, I'd look up to you a bit more."
"Better follow me to President Qin's place and apologize, set aside your temper, and be with him properly, I won't pursue this matter anymore." Hu Yuzhi warned coldly, "Otherwise, don't blame me for not considering familial ties and sending you over forcibly."
The blood flowing down Shen Jianian's forehead mixed with tears, her gaze icy cold as she looked at the ugly faces of this mother and daughter. She should not have expected them to have such a thing as conscience.
She shouldn't have come back to question anything.
"A society governed by law, is forced buy and sell allowed?" Shen Jianian sneered, her weak body shaking uncontrollably, "If I am unwilling, what can you possibly do to me?"
"You!" Hu Yuzhi's face turned livid, momentarily at a loss for words.
Shen Jianian had no spare energy to tangle with them, turned around and walked away.
"Stop her, don't let her run away!" Hu Yuzhi came to her senses, angrily shouted.