Because of Yan’s comment, Shen Qi looked offended at once.
“Yan, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Yan realized that she had said the wrong thing. “Fine, fine. I shouldn’t have said it in your presence.”
She giggled and did not look like she took it seriously at all. “Why are you out here? Was your friend here to visit you?”
“Yes.” Only when Shen Qi heard Yan addressing Han Xueyou as her friend did her facial expression become friendlier. She lowered her head and took a glance at the bag in her hand. “She was here to send me something.”
“What’s that?” Yan took the bag over and glanced at it. She could not help but let out a wow as she commented, “It’s the latest Louis Vuitton bag! Damn, your friend is loaded, Qi.”
As someone who did not buy luxury items, Shen Qi didn’t know how much it cost but judging from Yan’s eyes which lit up at the sight of the bag, she had the rough idea that it must have cost a bomb. She then took it back and glanced at it before saying, “If this is so expensive, I think I should give it back to her the next time I see her.”
“Why should you return it?” Yan cast her a sideway glance before blurting suddenly, “Why did she give you such an expensive gift out of the blue? Has she done something bad to you?”
Shen Qi’s heart skipped a beat when she heard her. It took her by surprise that Yan would harbor the same thought as what she had in mind earlier although Yan had made the comments casually.
The thing was, she was very close to Han Xueyou back then but it was never their custom to send each other gifts frequently. On top of that, Han Xueyou would never buy expensive gifts for her. Today, it was the first time she gave her such an expensive gift.
“You are talking nonsense again!” Shen Qi pulled a long face as she was genuinely angry.
Yan immediately offered her apology with a smile, “Sorry about that. I was just joking. Please don’t be angry.”
As Shen Qi was genuinely annoyed, she turned around and was ready to go. Yan immediately caught up to her and pleaded, “Qi, please don’t be angry with me. I was just joking and I meant no harm.”
Suddenly, Shen Qi’s pace came to a halt.
It was because she caught sight of someone who looked familiar standing at the entrance of the office tower; she was craning her neck trying to peek inside but she was stopped by the security guards from going in.
The person looked very familiar to Shen Qi. She was someone whom Shen Qi had not met for a long time—Mrs. Shen!
Suddenly, Shen Qi’s expression started alternating between different emotions as she stood rooted to the spot, staring at Mrs. Shen.
Didn’t she ask her to get out of the Shen family? Why was she here to look for her now?
Was she here to offer her apology because she felt bad about what she had done to her? Or, was it because she missed her as she had not been home for a long while?
At such thought, Shen Qi suddenly felt better deep down inside.
As she was pondering, the person turned around and her gaze just happened to meet Shen Qi’s.
Thereafter, Mrs. Shen started walking toward Shen Qi at a brisk pace with all smiles.
“Yan, I bumped into an acquaintance. You may head inside first.” Shen Qi handed the bag to Yan and asked for her help to bring it in before Mrs. Shen got close to her. Noticing that something was not right, Yan left at once.
Soon, Mrs. Shen reached Shen Qi with a wide grin on her face.
“Qi, you indeed are working here. The guards are not letting me in.”
Shen Qi’s throat was so dry that she could not say a thing; she only stared back at her dazedly.
Feeling guilty under her gaze, Mrs. Shen averted her eyes instinctively and cleared her throat before saying, “Hmm… let’s go to a place where we can sit down and talk.”
They went to a cafe nearby.
As the area was a premium location for commercial buildings and it was also near to the top company in North City—Ye Group, even cafes here were exceptionally high-end and luxurious. Because it was the first time Mrs. Shen stepped foot in such a cafe, she could not help but feel impressed by the cool air flowing out from the air-conditioning and the feel of the leather sofa when she sat in it.
“Is this the life of the affluents?”
Shen Qi did not answer her; she only took a deep breath before taking a sip of her coffee.
She hoped that it would soothe her dry and croaky throat.
After a short while, Mrs. Shen continued, “Qi, I can see you’re having an enjoyable life now. Do you come to cafes like this for coffee every day?
How could Shen Qi afford to come here? Before she could answer, Mrs. Shen added, “I’m happy that you’re living a good life!”
As a lump formed in her throat, Shen Qi found it even harder to speak.
Ever since she was little, she received the least attention from her parents and because of that, she often tried her best to excel in everything she did in hopes of receiving compliments from her mother. This time, as she felt her mother’s genuine concern for her, Shen Qi suddenly became emotional.
Yet, before she could even express these emotions, Mrs. Shen cast her a restless glance before saying softly, “I thought I had ruined your life by marrying you into the Ye family. Little did I know that you would actually manage to make the best out of it. Qi, can you please give me some money?”
The sentiments which had just washed over Shen Qi immediately died down as she stared at the lady in front of her dazedly.
Mrs. Shen cleared her throat before adding, “I plan to transfer your sister to a better school so that she will be able to learn more things, but we can’t afford it. So, I hope you can…”
“So this is the purpose of your visit today?” Finally, Shen Qi opened her mouth but her voice was extremely raucous and her tone was slightly shaky.
“Qi, please don’t blame me for saying this. To be honest, you’re already leading a comfortable life right now. Isn’t it great if everyone can share the comfort you’re having? Your marriage was supposed to your sister’s marriage, and whatever benefits you’re having now originally belonged to her. But right now, you’re enjoying it instead. Since you already have such a fine marriage, why can’t you offer some help to your sister?”
Worried that Shen Qi would reject her request, Mrs. Shen began an endless nag.
“I just thought… that you were here to see me because I’ve been away from home for so long…” muttered Shen Qi as her eyes became red-rimmed. “Do you think I’m really happy to have married into the Ye family? You think I’m living a good life based on what you see, but have you ever cared about whether I’m eating well or whether I’m content? Have you ever asked me this sort of question?”
“How could you not be happy? You married into the Ye family, the richest family in North City! Shen Qi, are you going to abandon us after you’ve become loaded?”
“Ye family, the richest family in North City.” Shen Qi let out a soft chuckle before continuing with her tone brimming with self-mockery, “It’s indeed the richest family. But if they were so excellent, why did you ask me to take my sister’s place in the marriage previously?”
As she was speaking, Shen Qi stared at her mother unflinchingly. “Would you be able to tell me why you didn’t want Shen Yue to marry into the Ye family if they were really so perfect?”
Mrs. Shen went speechless at once as she stared back at her awkwardly.
“Qi, I don’t mean it that way. I really didn’t consider the issue so thoroughly back then. If you blame me for that, I can offer you an apology. But…”
Before she could complete her sentence, she was cut off by Shen Qi, “Both of us are your daughters but you made me marry into the Ye family just because I am a divorcee. Back then, did you really think the arrangement would be good for me, or did you just treat me as a shield to keep Shen Yue away from disasters?”
