Mrs. Shen’s expression turned awkward at the mention of lodging a police report, and she didn’t dare to answer Shen Qi.
Shen Qi took her mobile phone out and announced, “I’ll call the cops now.”
“Don’t call the cops!” Mrs. Shen grabbed onto Shen Qi’s hand, and her eyes were wild while she tried grasping for a reason. “Qi, it’s useless to lodge a police report about this because the perpetrator is most probably gone!”
“We can still lodge a police report even if the perpetrator is gone, and we will let the police take it from here. Fleeing with a huge sum of money is considered swindling.” Shen Qi appeared as if she was about to make a phone call, and Mrs. Shen panicked so badly that she snatched her mobile phone out of her hand.
“Don’t call the police!”
Mr. Shen finally lost his patience, and he opened the room door before roaring in anger, “Qi, don’t listen to the nonsense your mom is spouting. She took the money and lost everything by gambling!”
“Stop speaking!” Mrs. Shen screamed furiously and rushed toward Mr. Shen while trying to cover his mouth, but he pried her hand away while bellowing angrily, “Why am I not allowed to speak the truth? Have you not fooled Qi enough? How did you procure 300,000 previously? Are you trying to get more money off her after you’ve gambled them all off? Why don’t you take her life away in the process?”
Shen Qi was rendered speechless due to shock.
She stared at the both of them in astonishment.
It’s merely been a few years, yet the finance status of our family has taken a turn for the worse. She walked to Mrs. Shen numbly and stopped in front of the woman before asking in a flat tone, “Mom, when did you become addicted to gambling?”
Mrs. Shen lowered her eyes, and she didn’t have the courage to say anything.
“It happened just recently because she thought that since you’ve married into the Ye family, she has gotten richer than before. She’s been bragging to everyone who would listen, and later on, she was fooled and influenced by them.”
Shen Qi hesitated before asking, “Does that mean that the last time you came to me to borrow money, it was because you gambled off all the family’s money? Is that why you asked me for 300,000?”
Mrs. Shen did not answer Shen Qi, but she looked very guilty.
All of a sudden, Shen Qi thought that this was rather ridiculous. “After that, you did not use that sum of 300,000 to replace the money you gambled off; instead, you continued gambling?”
“Qi, I am so sorry, but you have to save me this time. Otherwise… my life will be ruined.”
Shen Qi shut her eyes in exhaustion. “I came back home thinking that I would find somewhere which would make me feel like I belonged. I never expected… for you guys to bring further trouble and exhaustion to me. Mom, do you know that I have to slowly earn my pay to return the entire sum of the 300,000?”
“Why would you need to return the money?” Mrs. Shen asked in disbelief with bulging eyes while she grabbed onto Shen Qi’s arm. “You are the Young Lady of the Ye family! You are a Young Lady with a very high status; why would you need to return the money? Qi, I know it’s my fault this time, but can you please save me just this once?”
Shen Qi wobbled on her feet while her mom shook her insistently. Shen Qi looked dispirited, and she appeared as if she might lose her balance and fall to the ground anytime soon.
Shen Qi shut her eyes in despair before speaking again. “Mom, do you think that… I am very rich? Perhaps, you think that I am not being shunned in the Ye family? I’ve married into the Ye family for several months, and have you ever asked me… Have you ever asked me even once if I am happy there?”
Mrs. Shen stood rooted to the spot while staring blankly at Shen Qi.
After a few seconds, Mrs. Shen acted like a mad woman, and she started grabbing Shen Qi’s arm violently while screaming, “What do you mean by that? Are you saying that you are not willing to help me? Do you want me to die? You are an unfilial daughter! Did I raise you throughout the years to be an ungrateful and cruel person?”
Mrs. Shen raised her hand after saying that and started hitting Shen Qi non-stop.
Shen Qi stood still while biting her lower lip. “I don’t have the money you want even if you were to beat me to death!”
Mr. Shen came over to stop Mrs. Shen. “Why are you hitting her? Isn’t it enough that you’ve taken 300,000 from her? Qi married a cripple; who could possibly understand her status in the Ye family? You should stop pestering her. Qi, you should go home first. You mom and I will think of something.”
“No! You are not allowed to leave! Who will give me money if you’re gone?” Mrs. Shen screamed like a mad woman because she was terrified at the possibility that she might be beaten up or mutilated physically if she couldn’t pay her debts. Hence, she grabbed on tightly to Shen Qi, and she was so aggressive that she left bloodied marks on Shen Qi’s fair arm.
Shen Qi had yet to recover fully from her previous wounds, and Mrs. Shen was adding new injuries on her arm.
Shen Qi lowered her head while staring blankly at the intricate old wounds under her new ones. She couldn’t help but burst into a cackle of laughter.
I have injuries all over my body, and forget about the fact that no one has ever been concerned about me; they even added to my pre-existing injuries.
Sometimes, I wonder if I am the biological daughter of the Shen family. Why would mom treat me so differently compared to Shen Yue?!
“Qi, just leave now!”
In the end, Mr. Shen couldn’t take it anymore, and he came forward to pull Mrs. Shen back while urging Shen Qi to leave immediately.
Mr. Shen was obviously helping Shen Qi at that moment, and so Shen Qi shot him a grateful look while nodding before leaving the house straight away.
While strolling the streets, Shen Qi suddenly felt as if she did not have a home she could go back to.
However, her phone started ringing suddenly, and she ignored it, but her phone continued ringing relentlessly.
In the end, Shen Qi had no choice but to answer the call since her phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
“Hello?”
Shen Qi’s voice sounded raspy and frail.
“Qi!” It was Yan’s voice, and she sounded especially energetic and lively. “Where are you right now? Why didn’t you come to work today? Are you still on leave?”
Shen Qi hesitated for a moment when she heard Yan’s voice before answering, “Mm-hmm, I’m still on leave today.”
“Whoa, I am on leave today too, and I just woke up from my sleep! Can I meet you? Let’s hang out today!”
Shen Qi stared at the opposite side of the street before blinking several times. “I don’t think we should.”
With my current state, how could I possibly be in the mood to hang out?
“Quick, tell me where you are right now, and I’ll go over to you. Send me your location; I insist!” Yan demanded dominantly. Hence, Shen Qi had no choice but to play along, and so she sent Yan her current location. After that, Shen Qi found a spot to clean the wounds on her arm, and once she was done with that, she waited patiently for Yan’s arrival.
Yan’s expression soured immediately when she noticed Shen Qi’s fresh wounds across her arm.
“What happened? How did you get those injuries? Did you bump into those old hags again? Were they the ones who hurt you?”
She asked several questions without waiting for a reply from Shen Qi, and Shen Qi burst out laughing at her impatience. “No. I scratched myself by accident.”
“You aren’t fooling anyone here,” replied Yan while glaring at her vehemently. Then, she dragged Shen Qi into the car while insisting, “Let’s get you sorted at my house.”
“You—” Shen Qi hesitated.
“I’ll be honest with you—Vice President Ye phoned me and told me that something’s off with you today, and he asked me to keep an eye on you.”
Vice President Ye…
Ye Linhan?
Shen Qi’s gaze softened slightly. I didn’t expect him to…
“What do you think is wrong with that man? Can’t he come and meet you if he wants to treat you well? He asked me to keep you company instead. He has such a strange method of pursuing women, and don’t forget that you are his sister-in-law. Qi, I have to tell you something! Although Vice President Ye is very handsome and gentle, I don’t think he is a decent man because he is obviously trying to steal you away from his brother, and that is unethical!”
