Li Juekai sounded resolute despite his calm tone.
Shi Qing felt even guiltier towards Shi Jin. Since he was in the wrong, he was not in the position to insist.
“In that case, we will be making a move first.” Now that Shi Jin had achieved what she set out to do, she had no intention of lingering.
She reached her hands out to push Li Juekai’s wheelchair and left with Gu Qingqing.
The guests couldn’t help nodding as they watched them leave. Their attitude towards them took on a 180 degree change.
“Even though the Li family isn’t made of money, they certainly love their daughter. They gave all the money they received for their land without batting an eye.”
“That’s right. They were clearly very nice people.”
“We were wrong about them. They were honest folks who did not care about getting connected to the rich and powerful.”
“Also, Shi Jin’s Chinese herbs were clearly very effective. I wonder if she is able to treat my old ailment.”
The moment the last person finished his sentence, a lot of the guests at the banquet regretted their actions. If Shi Jin did not leave, they could have asked her about treatment. Sadly, Shi Jin had severed ties with the Shi family, so they were probably the last people she would help.
Since Shi Qing was sick, all the guests bade farewell and left. As they left, they continued talking about Shi Jin.
Shi Xuexin suppressed her jealousy and smiled as she saw the guests out. Shi Jin had outshone her completely yet again!
She had intended on using a violin solo at her father’s birthday banquet to help make up for the set back at the school anniversary celebrations!
She could only count her lucky stars that this was just a family affair. Chu Ling had shown up quietly without getting any reporters or paparazzi involved. Otherwise, it would be a major public embarrassment for her and her mother.
Mr and Mrs Chu seemed annoyed. Chu Ling stood beside Shi Xuexin and comforted her, “Since we don’t want to have anything to do with Shi Jin, isn’t it great that she offered to terminate the marriage agreement?”
Despite the embarrassment Shi Jin had brought about, Shi Xuexin had to agree with Chu Ling.
After Chu Ling’s parents had left, Chu Jia stayed behind and chatted with Shi Xuexin. “Xuexin, didn’t you say that the Li family is impoverished and petty? Although the Fu family is wealthy, the man is old and ugly. Now that Shi Jin has severed ties with Chu Ling, things are really working out for you.”
“From now on, you no longer have to worry about the Li family. Also, Shi Jin has to marry that old man. Now that Shi Jin has announced this publicly, it is a total win for you.”
After Chu Ling and Chu Jia kept comforting her, Shi Xuexin’s mood eventually lifted.
***
Shi Jin left the Shi residence with Li Juekai and Gu Qingqing to see Gu Jingyuan waiting at the same spot. Just as she was about to call him, she received a call from Song Fan.
“Help, Miss Shi!” The moment Shi Jin answered the phone, he nearly wanted to kneel.
The moment Shi Jin heard his voice, she gestured to her parents, walked some distance before answering him, “What happened to Xiuyuan?”
Since Fu Xiuyuan was stubborn in nature, the people around him had trouble handling him. Shi Jin did not want her parents to worry, so she did not tell them about his condition.
Song Fan felt relieved to hear her and hurriedly said, “Mr Fu has been in a foul mood ever since this morning. Although he looks cold as usual, there is clearly a difference in his aura. I can tell he is particularly angry today.”
“He didn’t take breakfast or lunch. We just had a seven hour meeting where he kept picking on everyone. Now, he has locked himself up inside the office and refuses to eat. It is completely dark inside his office and even his blinds are drawn. I am really worried that he might do something stupid…”
Shi Jin suddenly recalled she had told Fu Xiuyuan she was attending Shi Qing’s birthday banquet. Naturally, he knew about it even without her telling him. However, she did not tell him why she was attending the banquet. Also, she had been focusing all her attention on her family ever since they came home and forgot about Fu Xiuyuan’s feelings.
He must be thinking she was at the banquet to see Chu Ling, right? This was such a huge mistake!
Shi Jin had a few words to say to her older brother, so she could not go to Fu Xiuyuan immediately.
“Miss Shi, Mr Fu hasn’t acted like this in a long time to be honest! I really don’t know why he is being like this! Can you please help?”
Although Song Fan was Fu Xiuyuan’s assistant, there was nothing he could do about his boss.
Shi Jin contemplated before she said, “I will send you a recording. After you check out the recording, pick a few juicy parts and let Fu Xiuyuan listen to it. I think he will be fine after listening to it.”
“Huh?” Song Fan was caught by surprise, but he quickly composed himself. If Shi Jin said it would work, it would definitely work.
Shi Jin was relieved that she came prepared and had recorded everything at the banquet. Including what she said about severing ties with the Shi family and not marrying Chu Ling. Also, she made it clear that the marriage agreement Shi Xuexin used to have with the Fu family was officially called off.
She felt these recordings ought to make Fu Xiuyuan feel a lot better. She simply had to trouble Song Fan to find the relevant parts for Fu Xiuyuan.
After Shi Jin sent Song Fan the audio file, she walked over to her parents.
Li Juekai and Gu Qingqing looked at her lovingly. They knew she had done this for the Li family and felt even sorrier, especially when she was such a sensible girl.
Li Juekai raised his head to glance at Gu Qingqing and said coolly, “From the looks of it, it is about time that we pull our resources from the Shi family.”
“You read my mind,” said Gu Qingqing.
After they learned about the baby swap, Yu Xiuhua seemed absolutely kind on the surface.
Gu Qingqing believed her. She felt it was better for Shi Jin to stay at the Shi residence while she focused on taking care of the comatose Li Juekai. Sadly, Yu Xiuhua did so many awful things behind their backs.
The Li family had given the Shi family far more than money.
The Li family did not bring this up so as not to embarrass Yu Xiuhua, so they only gave her $300 000 in cash on the surface. In reality, they had given the Shi family plenty of resources to help their business flourish.
They did not know whether Yu Xiuhua knew about the Shi family’s business matters since Yu Xiuhua did not bring this up at all. They were also unsure if she told Shi Jin about their kind intentions. Instead, she ostracized Shi Jin, treated her poorly at every opportunity, and gave her so much pressure.
Thankfully, Shi Jin was all grown up and had flourished into a sensible young woman.
Gu Qingqing stopped talking about the Shi family when Shi Jin came over.
“Shi Jin, you don’t have to do such things for us in the future,” said Gu Qingqing gently. “We are your parents, so it is our job to protect you. We don’t want to see you bullied.”
“Mom, there was always a tall tree shading me from the sun and rain when I played in the yard as a child. Now that I have grown up, its branches have already contorted from pressure. I think it is my job to protect it and give it support. If I have the power to do it, I will be happy to repay it.”
Although Shi Jin spoke calmly, Gu Qingqing’s eyes instantly turned teary.
Gu Jingyuan came in from outside. He was tall and looked like a righteous man. Even though he resembled Li Juekai a lot, he had a cooler aura. He was wearing an earphone in one ear and seemed nonchalant.
“Big Bro!” Shi Jin couldn’t suppress her warmth.
Gu Jingyuan acknowledged her. Although he did not go in, he had overheard the conversation and couldn’t help looking at Shi Jin deeply.
“Big Bro, I heard you are giving Dad surgery in a couple of days. What are your success rates?” asked Shi Jin candidly.
“60%.” Gu Jingyuan felt annoyed that he was not good enough and had such low confidence in the surgery.
“If you let me help, you will have a 90% success rate.”
