Wen Ying followed Song Shao’s gaze downwards. The stocky Wen Hongyan and the frail Shu Lu presented a stark contrast in build between mother and daughter, yet both gave Wen Ying a massive headache!
They were truly two pieces of sticky toffee that she could not shake off.
Wen Ying did not want any contact with such relatives, yet this mother-daughter pair clung on like persistent ghosts.
“I don’t know.”
Wen Ying told the truth. “After all, I can’t exactly hire a hitman to get rid of them, can I?”
Song Shao was amused by Wen Ying. “Don’t joke about that. I’m being very serious discussing this with you. Family ties are hard to sever. Even if you manage to avoid contact, if they keep scheming behind your back every day, you’ll be exhausted, won’t you?”
Indeed, it was exhausting.
Mainly mentally exhausting.
Xie Qian had described Zhao Dong as a toad: it doesn’t bite, but it disgusts people.
Wasn’t Shu Lu’s family the same for Wen Ying?
The disparity between the two sides was now vast. Shu Lu could hardly cause Wen Ying any direct harm. Yet whenever Wen Ying was about to forget this person, Shu Lu would jump out like a toad to disgust her.
Shu Lu was not yet eighteen. The wrong things she did either had someone else take the blame or were hard to define as crimes. For example, this time, Shu Lu had somehow angered Grandma Wen into collapsing… Even if Grandma Wen woke up, what then? They could only condemn Shu Lu morally.
“If you can’t completely change the blood tie that exists between you, have you considered approaching it from another angle? You used to really dislike Yue Shanni, didn’t you? Now it seems you don’t hate her as much. You even took in that little delinquent who once extorted you. I heard she’s long since turned over a new leaf. Last time we ate at ‘Prawn King’, I saw her—everyone calls her ‘Manager Yang’ now… If these people can change, is it possible your cousin Shu Lu could change too?”
Song Shao’s words silenced Wen Ying.
Yue Shanni did seem less annoying now.
Especially after learning Yue Shanni had been admitted to a second-tier university, Wen Ying even felt a fresh impression of her.
The little delinquent Song Shao mentioned was Yang Xi.
Wen Ying saw Yang Xi always carrying the aura of a “fire-saving hero”. Setting that aside, the things Yang Xi had done had indeed hurt others.
Wen Ying asked herself: Why could she let go of her dislike for Yue Shanni, give Yang Xi a chance, even accept ‘Prawn King’ taking in a thug like Xiao Liang, yet never consider straightening out Shu Lu?
Because in her previous life, Shu Lu had always been spoiled by Wen Dongrong, and Wen Ying had never let go of that!
In her previous life, Shu Lu had taken the fatherly love that should have belonged to Wen Ying. Wen Ying said she didn’t care, but deep down, she did.
Reborn twice, she could wrestle with old foxes at the negotiation table. Surely she could handle a vain little girl?
There were definitely ways.
Wen Ying simply hadn’t been willing to do it.
“I don’t know.”
Song Shao was bright and gentle. Wen Ying couldn’t reveal her inner darkness in front of him—if only Xie Qian were here.
The things Wen Ying wouldn’t tell Song Shao, she could say to Xie Qian. No need to start from the previous life—just from this life’s events. Xie Qian would surely understand why she could let go of Yue Shanni but didn’t want to discipline Shu Lu!
Someone as warm as Song Shao must come from a very warm family.
Though Wen Ying hadn’t seen how Song Shao interacted with his parents, thinking of how the free-spirited Song Fo Xiang doted on his daughter Song Chan, she could imagine the tender affection between Song Shao and his parents.
Song Shao wouldn’t understand her!
Wen Ying responded with silence.
Song Shao quickly realised he might have said something wrong. He hadn’t encountered this situation before.
“I’m sorry. Is there something between you that I don’t know about?”
“It’s not your fault. It’s my own issue.”
Wen Ying held the water cup, staring blankly. “Shu Lu wasn’t this excessive before, and neither was my aunt. I’ve never liked the mother-daughter pair, but they weren’t great villains either—just fond of taking small advantages. People like that are everywhere, aren’t they? My dad used to really favour Shu Lu. In his eyes, Shu Lu was more worth cultivating than me.”
Now it was Song Shao’s turn to fall silent.
Song Shao recalled Wen Ying’s insecure and withdrawn self in middle school.
Why would a father dislike his own daughter and favour his niece instead?
Just because the niece seemed lively, outgoing, outstanding, and eye-catching?
In this world, innate excellence is rare as phoenix feathers. Generally, children who stand out among peers are the result of devoted family cultivation!
Yes, cultivate first, then see results.
Not the reverse: see the child as outstanding first, then invest effort!
Wen Ying’s father had completely reversed the order.
Song Shao felt deeply guilty. “I’m sorry. I was meddling.”
Wen Ying drank a couple of sips of water. Her earlier dejection turned into determination. “No, class monitor, you weren’t meddling. I should thank you for reminding me that I must face this problem I’ve been deliberately ignoring.”
Wen Ying set down the cup and walked out of the office. Song Shao wanted to follow downstairs, but Wen Ying waved him off.
“I can handle it.”
Wen Ying strode downstairs. Song Shao thought for a moment, then returned to the window.
He saw Wen Ying call out to the two wandering souls.
The stocky one wanted to throw a tantrum, but Wen Ying ignored her completely, focusing solely on dealing with the frail, pitiful-looking Shu Lu.
In the end, Shu Lu helped the tantrum-throwing Wen Hongyan up, and the mother-daughter pair obediently followed Wen Ying aside to the flower bed.
Song Shao was very curious. What exactly had Wen Ying said to make it take effect so quickly?
…
Wen Ying hadn’t actually said much. Before Shu Lu could start sniffling and playing pitiful, Wen Ying threw the question at her first. “What exactly do you want? You’re not stupid. After all this time, you should have seen that Zhao Dong is completely unreliable. Whatever he promised you, getting what he offered will be extremely difficult. Zhao Dong grew up abroad. He has no blood tie to you. He won’t tolerate your mistakes or give you the life you want. He’s just a refined egoist!”
At first, Shu Lu didn’t want to admit it. Wen Hongyan directly lay on the ground.
Wen Ying’s face was cold. “I will only give you one chance to speak. You’d better think carefully before answering. No sniffling or playing pitiful.”
Shu Lu’s sniffling stopped abruptly.
Wen Hongyan rolled on the ground. Shu Lu thought for a moment, then yanked Wen Hongyan up.
“Lu Lu!”
Wen Hongyan shrieked. “Don’t be fooled by her. She’s famous and rich now. How would she know the bitter days we’re living!”
Shu Lu’s gaze flickered. “Grandma’s illness—I didn’t mean it. I just wanted to ask Grandma for some money. When she saw me, she started scolding. We argued a few words, and she collapsed. I got scared and ran… After running a bit, I regretted it. When I went back, Grandma had already been taken by Aunt in the ambulance. I swear, I really did turn back. Otherwise, how could I know so quickly that Grandma was at the provincial hospital!”
Wen Ying frowned. “Don’t bullshit me. First answer my question. What exactly are you trying to achieve with all this trouble? I heard your last job was promoting drinks in a bar. Though not respectable, it earns some money. You’re not so poor that you had to come back to Rongcheng specifically to ask the old lady for spending money!”
The surprise on Shu Lu’s face was genuine.
“How do you know…”
“You’re surprised I know you were a drink promoter in a bar?”
Wen Ying revealed the intelligence from Xie Qian: which small hotel Shu Lu stayed in when she arrived in Modu, how many days before going to the job market, the jobs she had done successively.
Wen Hongyan didn’t even know these things. Wen Ying certainly shouldn’t.
Shu Lu felt great fear, as if her every move was under Wen Ying’s surveillance.
Beyond fear, Shu Lu felt despair.
Wen Ying was too powerful an enemy. Shu Lu couldn’t possibly defeat her alone.
During her time in Modu, society had beaten Shu Lu harshly several times.
No skills, no education—rising above was truly too difficult.
There were shortcuts, of course. Several pot-bellied old men had offered to keep her.
Shu Lu found them too old and ugly, and not rich enough.
Shu Lu had seen real wealthy people, after all!
Working as a drink promoter did earn some money, but the bulk always went to the thugs watching the place. Without their protection, Shu Lu could easily be forcibly taken by drunk customers.
Just as Shu Lu was nearing her limit, wavering several times, hesitating whether to submit to a thug, Zhao Dong had someone contact her.
Zhao Dong had ignored her for so long, then suddenly gave her a task.
Shu Lu had returned to Rongcheng with a mission.
Seeking Grandma Wen wasn’t for pocket money, but to find a reason to reappear before Wen Ying—the plan was good, but Grandma Wen suddenly collapsed, and Shu Lu panicked.
Now Shu Lu was even more panicked because Wen Ying knew her experiences after arriving in Modu, which obviously meant she knew about Zhao Dong contacting her!
Continue helping Zhao Dong, or betray him?
Zhao Dong hadn’t actually given her any good life.
Shu Lu suspected Zhao Dong had long forgotten her, letting her suffer at the bottom in Modu. This time, he remembered her existence only because he needed help, giving her some money to come back and find Wen Ying.
“Mr Zhao—no, Zhao Dong asked me to find a way to beg your forgiveness.”
Shu Lu dared not look Wen Ying in the eye. “…He told me to definitely meet you. Once I did, to kneel and beg. The more people around, the harder it would be for you to refuse.”
