After staying in the hospital for another day, Shen Yunmian grew restless.
She was tired of the smell of disinfectant, and even more tired of this hopeless waiting.
Ignoring the doctor's suggestion to stay for another day of observation, she went through discharge procedures and had the driver take her straight to the company.
The black car had just stopped in front of the Shen Group headquarters when a familiar, grating voice pierced through the window.
"Shen Yunmian, get out here! You unfilial daughter—you'll be struck by lightning!"
Zhou Yaqin, dressed in a slightly disheveled expensive suit, her hair no longer perfectly styled, was trying to break past the security guards without regard for her image. Her shrill voice drew the attention of employees coming and going.
Shen Yunmian pushed open the car door and stepped out, expressionless.
The sunlight was harsh. She narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at the hysterical woman not far away—her mother.
The last trace of emotion stirred by blood ties in her heart completely faded into nothing.
Ignoring Zhou Yaqin's crying and shouting, she simply said to Secretary Li, who approached her, "Take her to a small meeting room."
With that, she walked toward the private elevator first, her back straight and cold, as if the woman shouting behind her had nothing to do with her.
Inside the small meeting room, the air was stifling.
After being "invited" in, Zhou Yaqin looked at her daughter sitting at the head of the table, calm and unreadable. A chill mixed with unwillingness rose in her heart. She tried to put on a mother's authority, but Shen Yunmian's all-seeing gaze made her falter.
"Yunmian…" Zhou Yaqin began, trying to play the emotional card.
"Enough." Shen Yunmian cut her off, her voice filled with impatience, as if watching a tired, clumsy performance. "If you keep making a scene, it won't be good for anyone."
To Zhou Yaqin, however, those words sounded like weakness—like Shen Yunmian was worried about appearances and afraid of family scandals being exposed.
As if grabbing a lifeline, she hardened her tone, bluffing, "Now you know it looks bad? Let me tell you, Shen Yunmian, if you want me to stop, you have to agree to my conditions! Let me move back into the villa immediately, restore my cards, and as for Ruoyan, you must stop pursuing the matter…"
"Do you really think things are already at their worst?" Shen Yunmian interrupted sharply, letting out a cold laugh. "Or… would you rather have Grandma personally step in to handle this?"
At the mention of the Shen family matriarch, all the color drained from Zhou Yaqin's face, her pupils shrinking abruptly.
How could she not understand? The only reason she had lived so comfortably all these years was because the old lady doted on her granddaughter and didn't want Shen Yunmian to become estranged from her biological mother, so she had repeatedly tolerated things. But now that her daughter was completely disappointed in her, would the old lady still spare her? Thinking of the matriarch's methods, Zhou Yaqin felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.
Snapping back to her senses, she immediately changed tactics. Tears streamed down her face. "Yunmian, you can't be so heartless! I'm your mother! I gave birth to you, raised you—even if I have no achievements, I've suffered for you! Five thousand a month—how am I supposed to live? Aren't you pushing me to my death?"
"Mom." Shen Yunmian paused, her tone laced with mockery. "Do you really seem like the kind of person who would willingly die?"
That light, dismissive sentence shattered Zhou Yaqin's last bit of composure.
She completely dropped all pretense and spat the most vicious curse at her own daughter: "Shen Yunmian, you ungrateful wretch! I should've strangled you to death back then!"
"Why did you give birth to me in the first place? Don't you know that yourself?"
Shen Yunmian suddenly stood up. The calm, composed mask she always wore finally cracked, years of suppressed pain churning in her eyes before settling into coldness. "You should be grateful you're my biological mother. Otherwise, do you think you'd still be standing here, negotiating with me?" She bent slightly, her voice dropping low. "With just one word from me, I could easily find some excuse like 'needing rest' and send you to a suitable nursing home—or… a psychiatric hospital—and let you 'enjoy your later years' there. That wouldn't be difficult at all."
In an instant, all of Zhou Yaqin's crying and cursing stopped.
She stared in horror, as if seeing this daughter for the first time. On that face, somewhat similar to her own, there was now only cold indifference and chilling resolve. Her eyes made it clear—this was no joke.
Zhou Yaqin's face turned pale with fear. She finally understood—the daughter who once still held back out of familial affection was gone. The Shen Yunmian before her now was the unquestioned ruler of Shen Group—cold, ruthless, and decisive.
"Y-you…"
After a long pause, she didn't dare provoke her further. Stumbling to her feet, she fled the meeting room in near disgrace.
The door closed softly.
Shen Yunmian stood alone where she was. Sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting shifting shadows across her face. She slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her gaze was a bottomless, icy abyss.
In a daze, she suddenly remembered something Yu Sheng had said not long ago: Shen Yunmian, no one will love you. You don't deserve anyone's love.
Heh. Her wife really did understand her.
—
Their argument still faintly carried into Yu Group in the same building.
Gu Wanqing had come to discuss a short drama overseas project with Yu Sheng and happened to overhear some gossip downstairs.
She walked into Yu Sheng's office with clear interest and spoke before even sitting down. "Guess what happened downstairs? Shen Yunmian actually got into a fight with her mom in the lobby—quite a scene." She vividly described how Zhou Yaqin had been "invited" into a meeting room and later left in a daze.
Yu Sheng listened without much reaction, only giving a faint "Mm."
In truth, she had already known about how Shen Yunmian dealt with her mother and Lin Ruoyan two days ago. At first, she had been slightly surprised by Shen Yunmian's decisiveness and ruthlessness, but after thinking it through, it made sense. With Shen Yunmian's personality, how could she tolerate repeated challenges to her bottom line?
That would be a direct insult to her authority.
What truly surprised her was Shen Yunmian's attitude toward that night.
After such an intense—almost brutal—encounter, Shen Yunmian had remained silent until now. Apart from that call she had hung up on, there had been nothing. She had expected that, given Shen Yunmian's usual temperament, she would at least use this to do something—question her, or force her into compromise.
But there was nothing.
Perhaps… what happened that night had truly gone too far, injuring Shen Yunmian's strong sense of pride, leaving her unsure how to face the awkwardness and unwilling to bring it up herself?
Yu Sheng didn't want to think too deeply about it and simply attributed it to that.
"Hey, snap out of it!" Gu Wanqing waved her hand in front of her, pulling her from her thoughts. "With that reaction, you definitely know what's going on, right? Come on, tell me—what happened?"
Yu Sheng collected herself. Unable to explain the chaos of that drugged night, she redirected the topic back to work. "Stop prying. Let's talk about the details of the overseas short drama project."
Though temporarily brushed off, Gu Wanqing kept trying to steer the conversation back whenever there was a gap.
Eventually, Yu Sheng grew annoyed and found an excuse to send her away.
—
After handling family matters, Shen Yunmian quickly sorted through the backlog of work from the past two days.
When she was busy, it helped drive away the gloom in her heart. But the moment she became idle, Yu Sheng's presence invaded her mind from every angle.
Three days.
Since that absurd night, she hadn't seen her wife for three full days. Not even a single word of concern during her hospitalization.
To say she felt no resentment would be a lie.
The soreness in her body still lingered, reminding her of that night's chaos and loss of control. Yet the other person had withdrawn cleanly, as if nothing had happened, as if she were merely a problem to be handled and discarded afterward.
But she wasn't someone who could make unreasonable demands. The root of everything lay in her mother's scheme. If Yu Sheng hadn't arrived in time that night, the outcome would have been far worse.
By both emotion and reason, she had no grounds to blame her.
And yet… something seemed stuck in her chest, suffocating her.
It had been too long since they had been that close. Even if the process was unbearable, the long-lost intimacy still made her reluctant to let go. She couldn't convince herself how, after such closeness, someone could turn cold and indifferent so quickly.
Could it be that, to Yu Sheng, it really was just an unavoidable… even repulsive accident?
This realization was like a needle, pricking at her heart in fine, dense intervals—not sharp, but persistently aching.
Unwillingness spread like vines, growing wildly across the barren field of her heart.
Shen Yunmian clearly realized that if she didn't seize this faint "connection" now, there might truly be no future between them. Yu Sheng would rather stay as far away from her as possible.
She couldn't keep waiting like this. Perhaps… her attitude shouldn't remain as rigid as before. Instead, she should use this opportunity to talk things through with Yu Sheng calmly and properly.
This realization brought her a trace of embarrassment, but even more so, a near-desperate helplessness.
It seemed that, aside from lowering her head again, she had no other choice.
Almost resigning herself to fate, Shen Yunmian quickly convinced herself to accept this outcome and, for once, got off work early to go home.
She deliberately picked out a silk nightgown from her wardrobe—soft in texture, with a slightly loose neckline.
Walking into the bathroom, surrounded by misty steam, she stood before the mirror. Her gaze swept over the faint red marks beneath her collarbone that hadn't fully faded. Her fingertips brushed over them unconsciously, then withdrew as if burned.
With complicated emotions, Shen Yunmian finished her shower and put on the nightgown. In the mirror, the marks along her collarbone were just right—subtle yet visible.
She had actually fallen to the point of needing to rely on this to win her wife's pity.
Walking into the living room, she sat in the very center of the sofa, positioned so she could see the entrance the moment anything changed.
Time flowed slowly in the silence.
In her mind, she repeatedly rehearsed what she had already prepared to say—from the gentlest opening to the possible cold responses and ridicule she might face. Every possibility was carefully considered. At first, those words were clear and structured, like a meticulously polished script. But as time passed, the waiting gradually wore down her already fragile courage.
Just as she was about to be defeated by this silent erosion and give up on the futile attempt—
A soft "click" sounded as the door lock turned.
The light in the entryway switched on, dispelling most of the darkness in the living room.
Yu Sheng stood at the door, clearly a little surprised that Shen Yunmian was waiting for her. But the surprise lasted only a moment before her usual calm returned, even carrying a faint trace of understanding.
She seemed to have grown accustomed to this silent, stubborn kind of waiting from Shen Yunmian.
While bending down to change her shoes, Yu Sheng said casually, "Can you stop sitting here like this? It's kind of creepy."
The words seemed to sting Shen Yunmian. She abruptly stood up from the sofa. The warm yellow light outlined her slightly thin figure, but the softness of the nightgown did nothing to ease the stiffness in her body. She looked at Yu Sheng, her eyes filled with visible exhaustion, and beneath that, an unplaceable plea.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally found her voice. "Let's talk."
Yu Sheng turned at that, leaning casually against the partition by the entryway, giving a slight nod in response.
She understood perfectly well—given Shen Yunmian's strong, vengeful nature, there was no way she would simply let that night go. Whether she intended to use it to mend things or just ease the current tension, Yu Sheng decided to stay unmoved and observe.
Shen Yunmian lowered her gaze. It felt like an eternity passed.
Only then did she seem to finally make up her mind. She lifted her eyes, though they drifted slightly, not daring to meet Yu Sheng's directly, and suddenly said, "Sheng Sheng… thank you."
This completely unexpected opening made Yu Sheng pause for a moment, a flicker of surprise passing through her eyes before disappearing.
She immediately understood what the thanks referred to—nothing more than that night when she had been drugged and Yu Sheng's not-so-kind "help." Yu Sheng smiled faintly and accepted it without hesitation. "No need." She paused, her tone turning slightly playful. "After all, President Shen didn't let me help for free—you paid quite a price."
The words were practically explicit, the mockery unmistakable.
Shen Yunmian pressed her lips together and fell silent, her face unable to hide her embarrassment.
Seeing her quiet again, Yu Sheng seemed to lose the last bit of patience. She straightened, her gaze sweeping over Shen Yunmian indifferently, and said, "If there's nothing else, I'm going to rest."
With that, she turned to leave.
"Wait!" Shen Yunmian panicked, her body reacting before her mind.
She stepped forward and grabbed Yu Sheng's wrist. The sudden restraint made Yu Sheng stop. Turning her head, she looked at her, eyes devoid of warmth—only displeasure at being touched.
Shen Yunmian quickly let go, her voice carrying a hint of pleading. "Don't go… I still have something to say."
Yu Sheng shook her wrist lightly, her tone concise. "Say it."
Shen Yunmian looked at her, humiliated, and took a deep breath before forcing herself to speak. "I know… I was wrong before. I understand now—over the years, you've done so much for this family, for me. I ignored your feelings… and made you suffer a lot." Her voice was strained. "My mother, Xingyao, and Lin Ruoyan… they all hurt you. I… I understand now."
Hearing this, Yu Sheng let out a silent scoff.
Of course—until the whip hits your own back, you never know pain. If Shen Yunmian hadn't personally experienced the betrayal of being schemed against by her own family, how could she possibly "understand" what Yu Sheng had gone through?
Her gaze flicked meaningfully to the faint marks on Shen Yunmian's neck. "Not easy. Looks like President Shen really learned her lesson this time."
Shen Yunmian's face instantly flushed red, even the tips of her ears burning.
Shame burned through her nerves, but she forced herself to remain steady. With a reckless kind of resolve, she met Yu Sheng's gaze. "You're right. I was punished." She paused, her voice lowering unconsciously. "That day… I was really uncomfortable. It hurt… I stayed in the hospital for two days. I really wanted… to see you."
It sounded like weakness, like an attempt to evoke sympathy, but beneath it lingered a trace of her habitual stubbornness—a subtle accusation that Yu Sheng hadn't visited or even contacted her.
Yu Sheng dismissed this "weakness" laced with blame with contempt.
She let out a cold, mocking laugh. "I was just afraid your pride couldn't take it. After all, the way you cried that night, begging… it was pretty embarrassing. You probably didn't want to see the witness, right?"
Their conversation twisted back and forth in a tense, warped dynamic. Shen Yunmian lowered all her pride, trying desperately to pry open even the smallest crack, while Yu Sheng, holding absolute control, mercilessly struck at her weakest points, trampling her efforts and dignity.
Even Shen Yunmian, trying to remain calm, couldn't endure the humiliation of "crying and begging." She finally spoke up, her voice low. "Yu Sheng, do you have to describe me like that? Can't we… just talk properly?"
"No." Yu Sheng answered without hesitation.
She knew exactly what Shen Yunmian hated and deliberately pressed on those wounds. "Don't like hearing it? Then let me tell you—I humiliated you on purpose that night. I wanted to see you cry, see you ashamed, see you break down! You think you're good at it? You're terrible! I've endured it all these years, haven't I? Returning the favor once—what's wrong with that?" She stepped closer, finally stating her goal. "If you can't take it, then divorce."
The word "divorce" exploded in the living room like thunder.
Shen Yunmian's chest heaved violently, her face turning from red to pale, her breathing growing rapidly.
Just as Yu Sheng thought she would storm off in anger like before, Shen Yunmian forced herself to endure it. The tension in her body seemed to collapse all at once, her shoulders drooping slightly.
Then she spoke, her voice eerily calm, almost despairing. "Fine… as long as you're happy."
Yu Sheng fell silent for a moment.
Shen Yunmian lifted her gaze, looking deeply at Yu Sheng. There was a compromise in her tone that abandoned all bottom lines. "Sheng Sheng, let's start over, okay? I'll agree to anything. We can start as friends… however you want…" She paused, as if exhausting the last of her dignity, forcing the words out, "Even… as bed partners, if that's what it takes. Just… don't ignore me."
Those words—especially "bed partners"—completely exceeded Yu Sheng's expectations.
She stared at Shen Yunmian like she had just heard something absurd, eyes widening, and finally spat out, "Are you insane?"
Before the words even fully settled, she shoved Shen Yunmian aside with force. Caught off guard, Shen Yunmian stumbled backward, crashing hard against the armrest of the sofa.
Yu Sheng, meanwhile, strode straight to her bedroom without looking back, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.
That night, Yu Sheng couldn't sleep.
She hadn't expected Shen Yunmian to become this extreme—to the point of abandoning her dignity just to avoid divorce, just to maintain that legal relationship, allowing herself to be trampled.
This nearly unhinged lack of self-respect made Yu Sheng feel deeply unsettled.
—
After that night, Yu Sheng clearly noticed Shen Yunmian's abnormal behavior.
Before, as long as she spoke coldly or showed impatience, Shen Yunmian would keep her distance, careful not to provoke her. But now, it was as if she had become a different person, filtering out every signal of rejection. She seemed to have changed tactics—no longer confronting head-on, but instead adopting a gentler, persistent approach, slowly wearing her down.
These cautious little tests were like stones tossed into an icy lake—they didn't cause a storm, but they made Yu Sheng feel the irritation of being slowly boiled alive. Some invitations she could outright refuse, but at certain unavoidable public occasions, Shen Yunmian's deliberate closeness left her no escape.
Just as her frustration peaked, an international call broke the fragile balance.
The call was from her mother, Wen Jing.
The background carried the noise typical of foreign streets, but Wen Jing's tone was unusually hesitant and awkward.
Yu Sheng, sharp as ever, immediately sensed something was off and asked with concern, "Mom, what's wrong?"
"Sheng Sheng…" her mother hesitated before cutting to the point. "Well… there's someone pursuing me."
Yu Sheng held the phone, frozen for a moment, then in disbelief asked, "Mom… what did you just say?"
Wen Jing's speech finally became slightly more fluent. "Sweetheart, the person pursuing me is the director of the hospital where I see a doctor. She's five years younger than me, never married, and is a mixed-race woman…" She paused, voice dropping lower. "She… also happens to be quite wealthy."
The last part sounded odd. Yu Sheng knew her mother—she had never cared much about material things or wealth. Yu Sheng detected the subtle peculiarity and asked, astonished, "Mom, when did you start caring about money?"
On the other end came a brief silence, only the faint buzzing of the line audible.
After a long pause, Wen Jing whispered, "Sweetheart, Mom… worries about you. Mom… can't really help you."
In that instant, Yu Sheng realized everything. A surge of sour, overwhelming emotion washed over her.
Her mother had seen how trapped Yu Sheng was in her marriage, weighed down by property disputes and family obligations, unable to act decisively. This thought had arisen from a desire to ease her daughter's burden—by finding herself a capable support, her mother hoped to pave a safer path for Yu Sheng's eventual divorce.
The complexity of such love left Yu Sheng speechless for a moment.
"Mom…"
Sensing the unusual tone in her daughter's voice, Wen Jing panicked, hurriedly explaining, "It's not just because of that! She… she's actually quite good, very caring toward me… Sweetheart, if you're unhappy, Mom will refuse her immediately. Don't feel sad—don't take it to heart, okay?"
Her mother's anxious reassurances, careful as if afraid of adding trouble to her daughter, stirred a mix of emotions in Yu Sheng. Having been protected her entire life, her mother now had to confront these harsh realities for her sake.
Yu Sheng took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
If her mother genuinely liked this person, she had no reason to intervene. But she could not allow her mother to rush into a relationship because of her situation.
After careful thought, Yu Sheng made a decision.
She would personally fly to France to meet this suitor and understand the situation clearly.
"Mom," Yu Sheng said softly, easing her tone, "don't worry, I'll come over and take a look, alright?"
"Great! Sweetheart, come quickly—I miss you too." Wen Jing's happiness was unmistakable.
"Okay, I'll book my ticket and come see you right away."
After hanging up, Yu Sheng immediately pressed the intercom.
"Qingyu, come in."
Soon, Su Qingyu entered, still composed and efficient as ever.
Yu Sheng looked up, calm and serious. "I need to fly to France immediately to handle some personal matters. My return date is uncertain. You are in full charge of daily operations here. For any major decisions, contact me via email."
Her speech was steady and organized, clearly delegating responsibilities.
Su Qingyu took notes carefully, occasionally asking a question or two to ensure nothing was missed.
"Understood, President Yu." Su Qingyu closed her notebook, eyes concerned. "Do you need me to arrange your travel?"
"No, I'll handle it myself." Yu Sheng shook her head, her fingers quickly booking the next flight to France on her tablet. "You just ensure the company runs smoothly."
"Understood."
Once Su Qingyu left, the office returned to silence.
Yu Sheng leaned back, eyes resting on the gray, overcast sky outside the window.
Her mother's call acted like a mirror, clearly reflecting the trap she was in. Shen Yunmian's recent invasive "approaches" now seemed even more ironic in hindsight.
Perhaps it was time for her to get some fresh air.
—
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