Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Half an hour later, the sounds of car brakes screeching could be heard coming from the door. Su Jinshan stood up from the couch agitatedly and sprinted towards the door. As soon as she reached there, a man clad in a black suit entered together with Jiang Ruoyin.
Apart from Jiang Ruoyin’s unkempt hair and tattered clothes, she did not appear to have suffered any major injuries. However, she had a deadpan expression on her pale face and had clearly received a great shock.
Su Jinshan frantically stepped forward and pulled Jiang Ruoyin into her embrace. “Ruoyin, good that you’re alright. You’ve scared me!”
Jiang Ruoyin blinked and looked at her mother. Upon sight of the agitation, joy and worry appeared in her eyes. Jiang Ruoyin seemed to have snapped out of her trance and was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions that had finally found an outlet. She hugged her mother tightly and began bawling at the top of her lungs. “Mother… I… I’m terrified…”
Patting her back continuously in a bid to comfort her, Su Jinshan said, “My poor child. Don’t be afraid. Everything is alright now. I’m here with you. No one will hurt you…”
Jiang Ruoyin wept in agony as if she had been treated unfairly. Teardrops streamed down the aggrieved her face uncontrollably and caused her shirt to be drenched.
Su Jinshan continued to comfort her patiently.
Wen Xinya was rather touched by the sight before her. Mothers were the safe havens of their children. Regardless of how much pain and hardship children have been through, they could always seek refuge and emotional peace in the comfort and warmth of their mother’s embrace.
Tears welled up in Wen Xinya’s eyes and she began to feel a little envious.
Jiang Ruoyin stopped crying and sat down on the couch with the guidance of Su Jinshan. Xia Ruya quickly placed some pillows behind her back. Su Jinshan then stood up to pour Jiang Ruoyin a glass of water while Xia Ruxue grabbed some tissue for her to wipe her tears.
Xia Ruya frantically said, “Aunt Jiang, Ruoyin may not be injured, but she’s definitely traumatized. We’d better take her to the hospital for a checkup!”
“You’re such a thoughtful child. I actually forgot about that,” said Su Jinshan, who was heartened to see that Xia Ruya was extremely concerned about Su Jinshan. Comparing her to the overbearing and tyrannical Wen Xinya, Su Jinshan could not help but feel repulsed by Wen Xinya. In fact, she had taken a liking to Xia Ruya.
Xia Ruya lowered her head in embarrassment and said, “I’m just worried about Ruoyin.”
Jiang Yuqian and Xia Ruxue frantically expressed their intentions to head to the hospital together with Jiang Ruoyin.
After coming to a consensus, they helped Jiang Ruoyin up in a bid to leave.
Gu Yuehan raised his voice and said, “Madam Jiang, please don’t forget the pact we made earlier on. Do I have to remind you, Madam Jiang?”
Su Jinshan froze in shock. How could she have possibly forgotten? She was deliberately planning to use the visit to the hospital as an excuse to distract Gu Yuehan, in hopes that he’d forget about it. Yet, he actually remembered it. After all, she had already made a promise and would only be embarrassing herself if she were to go back on her word. Besides, she had no idea how capable Gu Yuehan was exactly, though she had an ominous feeling.
She had no choice but to turn around and say with a forced smile, “Mr. Gu, why would I go back on my word? It just slipped my mind for a while because I was too concerned about my daughter’s health.”
Xia Ruya hurriedly said softly, “Xinya, this is only a misunderstanding. Aunt Jiang just loves her daughter too much and was too worried about her. That’s why she mistook you for the person who abducted Ruoyin. Look at Ruoyin… she had a close shave with death and hasn’t spoken a complete sentence yet. I’m very worried about her, we must take her to the hospital for a checkup now. Can we talk about the apology later?”
Later simply meant never! Su Jinshan looked at Xia Ruya with an expression that was much gentler before. However, Wen Xinya was the key deciding factor in whether or not she had to make the apology. However, she had already fallen out with Wen Xinya and hence, she simply could not bring herself to be thick-skinned and apologize to her. Unlike Xia Ruya, Wen Xinya’s heart would not soften, and she would not give in even after hearing that Madam Jiang was rushing to send Jiang Ruoyin to the hospital.
Even if Wen Xinya refused to let Madam Jiang go without apologizing, it would only reflect badly on Wen Xinya and she would be seen as a cold and unfeeling person.
Wen Xinya glared at Xia Ruya coldly and quipped. “Xia Ruya, what kind of logic is that? Does an apology require that much time? Besides… I’m someone else’s daughter, too, and my pride is worth as much as Jiang Ruoyin’s. Madam Jiang casually accused me just because her daughter went missing. Was she bullying me because my mother passed away early and I don’t have anyone to stand up for me?”
“Xinya… that’s not what I meant!” Xia Ruya exclaimed with bewilderment written all over her face.
Su Jinshan froze in shock, for she did not expect that Wen Xinya would say such words. She could sense that all eyes were on her. She suddenly recalled how she behaved when she was threatening Wen Xinya in plain sight. Her plan to use Jiang Ruoyin as an excuse to avoid making an apology would fail so long as Wen Xinya refused to concede.
Feeling extremely unjustified, Xia Ruxue glowered at Wen Xinya and hollered. “Wen Xinya, have you got any sympathy at all? Ruoyin survived a close ordeal and yet you’re still driving them into a corner. Aren’t you going overboard!?!”
Overwhelmed with exasperation, Jiang Yuqian barked. “It’s just a minor misunderstanding, and now that the misunderstanding is cleared, how could you have the cheek to make Aunt Jiang apologize to you? Mind you, she’s your elder!”
Wen Xinya sneered. “Why didn’t you guys consider the fact that the tables would turn when you people were maligning me and driving me into a corner?”
They were rendered speechless.
Wen Xinya shifted her gaze onto Su Jinshan and gibed mockingly. “Madam Jiang, I know you’ve built a reputation for yourself in the corporate world through lots of hardship. You must treasure your reputation and weigh the pros and cons. Don’t ruin your own future. If word about this matter spreads, how would others view you? You’re going to be seen as an untrustworthy person who goes back on her words. It’d be a major blow to the Jiang family’s reputation!”
Credibility was the most important quality that businessmen valued. A lump formed in Su Jinshan’s throat—she felt as if Wen Xinya was strangling her. She swallowed her pride and blurted out. “Miss Wen, I was wrong to have maligned you for kidnapping my daughter. I hope you won’t hold it against me!”
Wen Xinya’s smile grew wider and she said with raised brows, “Since you’re so sincere in apologizing, I should be understanding. I can understand that you were just too concerned about your beloved daughter.”
Su Jinshan’s face turned pale and she glowered at Wen Xinya menacingly. “Wen Xinya, the ties between the Jiang family and Wen Family are completely broken from today onwards.”
Wen Xinya sneered. “Madam Jiang, did you forget that all ties between our families have already been broken when my family ceased all partnerships with the Jiang family?”
Gritting her teeth and guffawing sinisterly, Su Jinshan exclaimed, “In that case, Miss Wen, we shall wait and see!”
