Chapter 381: This Is Shen Zhijing. Your Mother Got in a Car Accident
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ruan Danchen declined the call too, thinking it was Liu Ronghua trying to convince her to go back to the Shen family’s home again.
After that, her phone did not ring anymore. However, not long after, she received a text.
[This is Shen Zhijing. Your mother was involved in a car accident.]
Ruan Danchen’s heart stopped, she suddenly felt cold and she shivered. Without thinking, she grabbed her phone and bolted out of the office. She dashed to a secluded area and dialed the number.
“You’re finally willing to talk to me,” Shen Zhijing’s voice was cold and contemptuous.
“What’s the meaning of that text?” Ruan Danchen asked coldly.
“It means exactly what it says. Your mother got into a car accident. She broke her leg. She’s resting at home now. She needs a wheelchair and all that,” Shen Zhijing stated indifferently. There was not a shred of empathy in her tone. Instead, she snickered, “She’s already in this state, are you still not going to come visit her? Sitting in a wheelchair on New Year’s Eve… Just so you know, none of us will take care of her.”
Ruan Danchen did not reply. She hung up immediately and leaned against the frigid wall.
When she dashed out, she did not grab her coat; she only had a thin sweater on. Most of B City used central heating systems Qilin was no exception. Despite that, the heat did not reach the stairwell.
The frostiness of the wall penetrated her sweater, making her back sting with pain.
If Liu Ronghua was truly in a car accident, there was no way Ruan Danchen would not be worried. After contemplating it for a while, she finally called Qi Chenglin.
At that time, Qi Chenglin was in a meeting. When he received her call, he smiled. He was just upstairs, yet she still chose to call him. Even so, it amused him to know that she was only a few steps away, but they still communicated through their phones.
“We’ll pause for a while,” Qi Chenglin announced. He then left the meeting room and answered her call, “What’s the matter?”
“Chenglin, Shen Zhijing told me my mother got in an accident and broke her leg. I want to visit her at the Shen family’s home,” Ruan Danchen explained.
Qi Chenglin furrowed his brows. He was suspicious of Shen Zhijing’s words. “Everything was fine before. Why would something like this happen so suddenly? And on this day specifically?”
“I thought that she might be lying to me too, but, nonetheless, I should still pay her a visit. I can’t rest easy otherwise. I believe that no matter how vile they are, they still wouldn’t joke about something like this,” Ruan Danchen reckoned, but she sounded a little doubtful herself.
Nevertheless, Qi Chenglin did not stop her. “I’ll drive you there.”
“No, you shouldn’t. If they see you, who knows what kind of tricks they’ll play on you again. I’m just informing you so you won’t panic if you can’t find me in the office. Besides, who knows how long I’ll have to stay there. You don’t have to wait for me. If I can’t make it for dinner in the old mansion, please apologize to everyone for me. You can’t skip the reunion dinner, so please go back to the old mansion,” Ruan Danchen instructed. She was worried that he would insist on sending her there and be delayed. Therefore, she suggested, “If you’re still worried, you can ask Xiao Yang to drive me there.”
Qi Chenglin did not promise her anything, he merely uttered, “Okay, got it.”
Ruan Danchen asked for leave from Manager Zou, and Xiao Yang then sent her to the Shen family’s home.
Xiao Yang did not know of her connection with the Shen family but he did not ask either. He stopped the car in front of the Shen family’s house and waited outside just as Qi Chenglin ordered.
Ruan Danchen rang the doorbell. After a while, Aunt Lee came out.
Ruan Danchen had only seen Aunt Lee once; that was seven years ago. Aunt Lee was especially courteous toward her, but she had no idea if it was out of sympathy or merely something she had to do. However, when Aunt Lee saw Xiao Yang, who was standing by the car, she hastily invited Ruan Danchen in.
Ruan Danchen did not expect that, after all these years, she would step into this house again. An indescribable coldness filled her heart. From the moment she entered the courtyard, she was plagued by a feeling of unease.
“Danchen, you finally came back,” a familiar voice called out, just as Ruan Danchen entered the mansion. Immediately after, someone grabbed her hand.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the woman in front of her.
The woman was wearing a festive red Tang jacket. Her makeup looked exquisite and the hand holding Ruan Danchen’s had nails painted a bright red. She gave off a strong air of joy and vitality. She looked nothing like someone who had broken her leg in a car accident. She stood just fine on her two legs.
Ruan Danchen widened her eyes so much that her eyeballs were going to fall out. Her eyes stung and her vision started to turn blurry. She was utterly infuriated.
“Just to trick me to come here, you would jinx yourself into breaking your legs in a car accident?” Ruan Danchen’s lips were trembling. She stared at Liu Ronghua; her heart filled with disappointment she could never put into words.
Just to achieve her goal of duping her into coming back, she was even willing to treat her body like a joke.
“Danchen, I had no other choice. If I hadn’t done this, would you have come?” Liu Ronghua put on her helpless and pitiable face. She held on tight to Ruan Danchen’s hand and smiled lovingly. “Come on in. Aunt Lee is making dumplings. Since you’re already here, come in and have dinner with us.”
Ruan Danchen pulled her hand away violently. She was so angry that she started laughing. “Why would I ever have dinner here? Mom, from the day I was born — apart from the times you needed me — have you ever thought of me as your daughter? Oh, wait, even when you were using me, you never thought of me as your daughter. If you did, you never would have exploited me. Mom, do you even love anyone besides yourself?”
“Danchen–” Liu Ronghua called out but was interrupted instantly.
“Danchen, we want you to come home too. We can all sit together and discuss this as a family. We never would have used this to trick you if you would just give us a chance.” Shen Jialiang approached Ruan Danchen with Shen Zhijing following beside him.
Ruan Danchen did not look at him. She stared at Liu Ronghua and snickered disappointedly. “It seems like you joining the Shen family has been pretty great for you; you all compliment each other perfectly. Every one of you is equally selfish. You don’t love anyone but yourselves.”
“Danchen, how could you say that?! It’s New Year’s Eve. Won’t it be great to have reunion dinner together? We want you to have a family too.” Liu Ronghua reached for Ruan Danchen’s hand, but she quickly moved her hands away and shuffled backwards to the door.
“Chenglin has already given me a family. It’s not something I’m lacking in,” Ruan Danchen uttered in a distant tone. She turned to Shen Jialiang, “Shen Jialiang, did she not explain it to you clearly? Well, if that’s the case, I’ll make things clear right now. I know your goals well, but I’ll never agree to do it. In this life, don’t you even think about using me to fix your relationship with the Qi family again.”
Ruan Danchen snickered and shook her head scornfully. “What is the point of tricking me into coming here? I’m never going to agree to this. You won’t use Youxuan’s identity to threaten me, now will you? If you do, Shen Zhijing’s image would be utterly ruined. Nonetheless, if you dare expose Youxuan’s identity, not only Qi Chenglin, but the entire Qi family will want revenge. So, at the end of the day, all you have is my mother’s position here to threaten me, right?”
Shen Jialiang squinted. His displeasure was evident in his expression.
Ruan Danchen sneered, “I don’t need whatever high status you are offering me. If you want to rat me out to the Qi family then go ahead. I won’t be able to marry Qi Chenglin and your family won’t be able to gain anything from the Qi family. You would think that you can threaten me with that, but, in truth, it won’t do your family any good either.”
“Danchen, can you not say that we are using you?” Liu Ronghua requested softly. “All we want is for you to join this family, and we can all live happily ever after. Wouldn’t that be great? If you help me, I can have a family again. We both can have a family.”
“You’ve always had a family, but you didn’t want it.” Ruan Danchen glared at Liu Ronghua. “Are you saying a mother and daughter can’t be family? I’ve never stopped you from trying to form a complete family. I wanted you to be happy too, but happiness what you really want? In these seven years, don’t you think you’ve lived a happy life?”
Liu Ronghua opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Ruan Danchen sniffled, “Did you even think about how worried I was on the way here, thinking that you had broken your leg in a car accident and now wheelchair bound? I abandoned my work and rushed all the way here, just to find out that you lied to me. Of course you had never thought about that! You have never thought about my feelings anyway.”
Ruan Danchen took a deep breath. Her breaths were shaking as she started choking up. “I don’t want anything to do with the Shen family. If the Shen family wants me to take advantage of Chenglin, I would rather stay single for the rest of my life and die a lonely woman. Back then, you forced me to exploit him once, I’ll never give you another chance to do that again!”
Ruan Danchen accidentally let a single tear spill out. She wiped it away hastily and started at Shen Jialiang coldly. “Shen Jialiang, did I make myself clear? I am a woman of my word. If you have the guts, go ahead and tell the world. As long as I know Chenglin loves me, and that my son is living a good life, that’s enough for me.”
Ruan Danchen kept wiping her tears. “It’s quite unlucky for Chenglin to have a girlfriend like me! I dragged him into this, I wronged him. I don’t have the power to help him, so when I can help protect him by doing something small like this, I will do it! I won’t allow you to succeed.”
Ruan Danchen turned to Liu Ronghua one last time. “Enjoy your reunion dinner tonight.”
Having said that, she turned to leave.
Liu Ronghua’s face was blanched. She flinched when she heard Ruan Danchen slam the door. With her eyes filled with tears, she turned to Shen Jialiang. “Jialiang, you saw it yourself. She has made up her mind; it’s futile for you to try and change things.”
“Didn’t she say she didn’t mind?” Shen Jialiang fumed, clenching his teeth. “Well then, since she doesn’t want to help us, we don’t have to keep her secret either.”
“Jialiang, what are you planning?” Liu Ronghua asked anxiously.
…
…
When Ruan Danchen exited the mansion, she noticed that it was snowing.
She had not been in there for long. She guessed that it must have started snowing the moment she stepped through the doorway.
Ruan Danchen looked up. As the tiny snowflakes landed on her cheeks, they melted away almost immediately, turning into small pearls of water, cooling her face. She felt a lot more awake.
She wiped away the tears and melted snow and wondered if her eyes were still red. She did not want Xiao Yang to see her like that.
She took a few unsteady breaths and let herself calm down a little before walking out of the courtyard.
To her surprise, the person standing by the car waiting for her was not Xiao Yang but was Qi Chenglin.
He was still wearing his dapper suit with a black overcoat on top of it. He stood tall under the falling snow. Snowflakes gently floated onto his hair and his shoulders, the individual specks of white could be seen clearly against the black of his hair and coat.
The heart that Ruan Danchen emptied out in the Shen family’s home just now was instantly filled with warmth. Even as the freezing snow fell on her face and her hands, she did not feel cold.
She sniffled and strode toward him. “What are you doing here?”
“I was worried, so I came.” Qi Chenglin pulled her into his embrace out of habit. “I had set up a time limit. If you took longer than I deemed necessary, I would have gone in for you.”
Hearing that, Ruan Danchen smiled warmly. With his arms around her waist, she instinctively placed her hands onto his muscular arms.
Qi Chenglin stared at the pale hands placed on his black coat. Against his coat, her hands were so pale that they appeared to be glowing. As the chalk-white snow floated onto her fair hands, they disappeared instantly, as if they had melted into the white of her hands.
Qi Chenglin frowned. He took her hands and stuffed them into the pockets of his coat. “Why do you always not wear gloves?”
Ruan Danchen smiled faintly. She stared at him intensely, as if he would disappear any second. She had to look at him as much as she could before that happened.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Qi Chenglin raised an eyebrow at her. He lifted his hand, which had a black glove on, and swept away the snow on her hair.
Ruan Danchen shook her head and pressed her face against his chest. She even opened up his overcoat, which was covered in snow, and lay on his clean, dry suit instead.
Due to the insulated overcoat, his suit was warm and cozy, making it exceedingly comfortable to lie on.
Seeing her acting like a child, sticking onto him without a reason, Qi Chenglin gazed at her tenderly and asked, “What happened?”
“It’s nothing. My mom really did lie to me. She’s not hurt,” Ruan Danchen lamented. She did not wish for him to know the full reason for her unhappiness.
“Well, no matter what, it’s still a relief to know that,” Qi Chenglin consoled.
Ruan Danchen nodded. After a while, Qi Chenglin said, “Let’s get in the car first.”
Only then did Ruan Danchen remember they were still standing outside. She hurriedly got into the car. Xiao Yang had already been sent home for the New Year.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Ruan Danchen noticed that Qi Chenglin’s face was a little red from the cold. She took her hands out from his pocket and pressed them against his cheeks. “You’ve been waiting for so long outside. Your face is red from the cold.”
“It wasn’t that long.” Qi Chenglin smiled. He did not tell her that, although he did not go in, he was still terribly anxious and had been standing outside this whole time. Although he could not see inside, he still craned his neck the entire time.
“Liar.” Ruan Danchen puffed up her cheeks and glared at him. She was displeased with him making himself suffer like that.
Qi Chenglin chuckled and squeezed her hands. “When we get home tonight, I have something to show you.”
“What is it?” Ruan Danchen asked curiously.
“I’ll tell you when we get back.” Having said that, he started the engine and drove off. He stole a glance at her and wondered what kind of reaction she would have after seeing it. Hopefully, it would bring her some joy and relief.
…
…
When they returned to the old mansion, Song Yu and the others were in the midst of preparing the food for the reunion dinner. Aunt Liu had already returned home for the New Year. She had prepared the dumplings early in the evening.
Qi Chengyue had returned to Li City with Cheng Dongge for the New Year. Guan Liya was not accustomed to this change yet. In all these years, Qi Chengyue had never spent Chinese New Year away from home before.
Ruan Danchen speedily took off her coat, washed her hands and headed into the kitchen to help out.
At night, the reunion dinner was exceedingly rowdy. There were so many people in the Qi family. Everyone sat around a huge round table and filled the room with laughter. It was Ruan Danchen’s first time experiencing this. She turned to watch Qi Youxuan play with Qi Youjin, who was being held by Song Yu as he ate. Indulging in the rowdiness, Ruan Danchen wondered if she would still be able to join them next year.
After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room to watch the Spring Festival Gala. When it came to the gala’s red envelope shake event, Qi Youxuan, the little money-grubber, passed on playing with firecrackers just to win a few yuan.
Thus, the men of the Qi family all watched calmly as their women played this game. Qi Youxuan was jumping around shaking as hard as he could. Seeing how exhilarated Grandmother Qi was as she shook her phone, Grandfather Qi, who had always cared deeply about his pride, had his interest piqued too. In the end, he could not help but join in the fun.
Amongst the explosion of firecrackers and the sound from the television, the doorbell rang. Everyone was too busy shaking their phones that none of them heard it. Nonetheless, Qi Youxuan’s sharp ears picked it up immediately. “The doorbell rang.”
Qi Chenglin glanced at the door and said, “I’ll get it.”
He looked at the video intercom and saw that it was Shen Jialiang, Shen Zhijing, and Liu Ronghua. Liu Ronghua still had on her weak and feeble act. Qi Chenglin tutted. She was already so old yet still acted this way.
After opening the door, he did not wait at the doorway for them to enter. He went back to the living room and announced blandly, “It’s the Shen family.”
Grandmother Qi staggered, “Shen family? Which one?”
“The one you were engaged to?” Guan Liya asked before he could reply.
Qi Chengzhi nodded coolly and returned to his seat beside Ruan Danchen. He grabbed her hand, which had turned to ice. He squeezed firmly and began reassuring her, “Don’t worry. I’m here.”
Ruan Danchen nodded. In spite of that, she still had trouble breathing, knowing what they were here for.
Qi Chenglin put his arm around her shoulders and told Qi Youxuan, “Go back to your room and play by yourself for a while.”
Qi Youxuan looked up and blinked at him. Just as he was going to say something, Song Yu came up to him and took his hand. “Come on, I’ll go with you.”
Qi Youxuan stared at Qi Chenglin for a while, then closed his mouth and left obediently with Song Yu.
When walking down the corridor, Qi Youxuan asked Song Yu, “Auntie, are the bad guys here?”
“Yeah, it’s the bad guys. But don’t worry,” Song Yu assured, smiling. “Now that they’ve entered our den, there will be nothing left of them but bones.”
Qi Chenglin tossed his car keys to Qi Chengji and instructed, “Do me a favor and grab the document kept in my car’s glove compartment. I can’t leave right now.”
Qi Chengji did not argue with him; he took the keys and left quietly.
When he opened the door, Shen Jialiang and the others were standing right in front of him. Seeing Qi Chengji, they were all shocked.
Qi Chengji did not show much expression. He nodded at them coolly and headed out.
Shen Jialiang led the group into the house. When he saw Ruan Danchen, he gave her an evil glare. Since she would not help them and would not let them benefit, they would not let her live a good life either.
Shen Jialiang’s plan was simple: since their relationship with the Qi family was already sour, it would be great if they could benefit through Ruan Danchen, however, since Ruan Danchen would not listen to pleads nor threats, they decided that they would expose Ruan Danchen’s past. They had nothing to lose anyway. Shen Jialiang thought that it was not their fault, so the Qi family would not do anything against them, but Ruan Danchen’s perfect life would from then on be ruined.
Noticing Ruan Danchen frozen in her spot, Shen Jialiang’s lips curled up into an ominous grin. Only then did he turn to Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi and greeted them.
“Have a seat. It’s New Year’s Eve today, why are all of you here? It’s not time to pay New Year calls yet.” Grandmother Qi looked at the three curiously.
Shen Jialiang chuckled and sat down. “Well, we’re here to see Danchen. It’s Chinese New Year, yet she abandoned us and bolted here to spend her New Year. Her mother feels so dejected.”
“Mother?” Guan Liya questioned suspiciously. She looked at Ruan Danchen, then turned to Liu Ronghua.
“That’s right. Madam Liu here is her mother,” Shen Jialiang stated.
His words made it clear to the Qi family that Liu Ronghua was not Mrs. Shen yet.
Liu Ronghua’s eyes were red. Suddenly, she started crying. The whole Qi family was stunned.
“What’s going on? You haven’t said a word and you’ve already started crying. Here, wipe your tears away,” Grandmother Qi said, but she did not move to hand her a tissue or anything like that.
Chapter 381: This Is Shen Zhijing. Your Mother Got in a Car Accident
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ruan Danchen declined the call too, thinking it was Liu Ronghua trying to convince her to go back to the Shen family’s home again.
After that, her phone did not ring anymore. However, not long after, she received a text.
[This is Shen Zhijing. Your mother was involved in a car accident.]
Ruan Danchen’s heart stopped, she suddenly felt cold and she shivered. Without thinking, she grabbed her phone and bolted out of the office. She dashed to a secluded area and dialed the number.
“You’re finally willing to talk to me,” Shen Zhijing’s voice was cold and contemptuous.
“What’s the meaning of that text?” Ruan Danchen asked coldly.
“It means exactly what it says. Your mother got into a car accident. She broke her leg. She’s resting at home now. She needs a wheelchair and all that,” Shen Zhijing stated indifferently. There was not a shred of empathy in her tone. Instead, she snickered, “She’s already in this state, are you still not going to come visit her? Sitting in a wheelchair on New Year’s Eve… Just so you know, none of us will take care of her.”
Ruan Danchen did not reply. She hung up immediately and leaned against the frigid wall.
When she dashed out, she did not grab her coat; she only had a thin sweater on. Most of B City used central heating systems Qilin was no exception. Despite that, the heat did not reach the stairwell.
The frostiness of the wall penetrated her sweater, making her back sting with pain.
If Liu Ronghua was truly in a car accident, there was no way Ruan Danchen would not be worried. After contemplating it for a while, she finally called Qi Chenglin.
At that time, Qi Chenglin was in a meeting. When he received her call, he smiled. He was just upstairs, yet she still chose to call him. Even so, it amused him to know that she was only a few steps away, but they still communicated through their phones.
“We’ll pause for a while,” Qi Chenglin announced. He then left the meeting room and answered her call, “What’s the matter?”
“Chenglin, Shen Zhijing told me my mother got in an accident and broke her leg. I want to visit her at the Shen family’s home,” Ruan Danchen explained.
Qi Chenglin furrowed his brows. He was suspicious of Shen Zhijing’s words. “Everything was fine before. Why would something like this happen so suddenly? And on this day specifically?”
“I thought that she might be lying to me too, but, nonetheless, I should still pay her a visit. I can’t rest easy otherwise. I believe that no matter how vile they are, they still wouldn’t joke about something like this,” Ruan Danchen reckoned, but she sounded a little doubtful herself.
Nevertheless, Qi Chenglin did not stop her. “I’ll drive you there.”
“No, you shouldn’t. If they see you, who knows what kind of tricks they’ll play on you again. I’m just informing you so you won’t panic if you can’t find me in the office. Besides, who knows how long I’ll have to stay there. You don’t have to wait for me. If I can’t make it for dinner in the old mansion, please apologize to everyone for me. You can’t skip the reunion dinner, so please go back to the old mansion,” Ruan Danchen instructed. She was worried that he would insist on sending her there and be delayed. Therefore, she suggested, “If you’re still worried, you can ask Xiao Yang to drive me there.”
Qi Chenglin did not promise her anything, he merely uttered, “Okay, got it.”
Ruan Danchen asked for leave from Manager Zou, and Xiao Yang then sent her to the Shen family’s home.
Xiao Yang did not know of her connection with the Shen family but he did not ask either. He stopped the car in front of the Shen family’s house and waited outside just as Qi Chenglin ordered.
Ruan Danchen rang the doorbell. After a while, Aunt Lee came out.
Ruan Danchen had only seen Aunt Lee once; that was seven years ago. Aunt Lee was especially courteous toward her, but she had no idea if it was out of sympathy or merely something she had to do. However, when Aunt Lee saw Xiao Yang, who was standing by the car, she hastily invited Ruan Danchen in.
Ruan Danchen did not expect that, after all these years, she would step into this house again. An indescribable coldness filled her heart. From the moment she entered the courtyard, she was plagued by a feeling of unease.
“Danchen, you finally came back,” a familiar voice called out, just as Ruan Danchen entered the mansion. Immediately after, someone grabbed her hand.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the woman in front of her.
The woman was wearing a festive red Tang jacket. Her makeup looked exquisite and the hand holding Ruan Danchen’s had nails painted a bright red. She gave off a strong air of joy and vitality. She looked nothing like someone who had broken her leg in a car accident. She stood just fine on her two legs.
Ruan Danchen widened her eyes so much that her eyeballs were going to fall out. Her eyes stung and her vision started to turn blurry. She was utterly infuriated.
“Just to trick me to come here, you would jinx yourself into breaking your legs in a car accident?” Ruan Danchen’s lips were trembling. She stared at Liu Ronghua; her heart filled with disappointment she could never put into words.
Just to achieve her goal of duping her into coming back, she was even willing to treat her body like a joke.
“Danchen, I had no other choice. If I hadn’t done this, would you have come?” Liu Ronghua put on her helpless and pitiable face. She held on tight to Ruan Danchen’s hand and smiled lovingly. “Come on in. Aunt Lee is making dumplings. Since you’re already here, come in and have dinner with us.”
Ruan Danchen pulled her hand away violently. She was so angry that she started laughing. “Why would I ever have dinner here? Mom, from the day I was born — apart from the times you needed me — have you ever thought of me as your daughter? Oh, wait, even when you were using me, you never thought of me as your daughter. If you did, you never would have exploited me. Mom, do you even love anyone besides yourself?”
“Danchen–” Liu Ronghua called out but was interrupted instantly.
“Danchen, we want you to come home too. We can all sit together and discuss this as a family. We never would have used this to trick you if you would just give us a chance.” Shen Jialiang approached Ruan Danchen with Shen Zhijing following beside him.
Ruan Danchen did not look at him. She stared at Liu Ronghua and snickered disappointedly. “It seems like you joining the Shen family has been pretty great for you; you all compliment each other perfectly. Every one of you is equally selfish. You don’t love anyone but yourselves.”
“Danchen, how could you say that?! It’s New Year’s Eve. Won’t it be great to have reunion dinner together? We want you to have a family too.” Liu Ronghua reached for Ruan Danchen’s hand, but she quickly moved her hands away and shuffled backwards to the door.
“Chenglin has already given me a family. It’s not something I’m lacking in,” Ruan Danchen uttered in a distant tone. She turned to Shen Jialiang, “Shen Jialiang, did she not explain it to you clearly? Well, if that’s the case, I’ll make things clear right now. I know your goals well, but I’ll never agree to do it. In this life, don’t you even think about using me to fix your relationship with the Qi family again.”
Ruan Danchen snickered and shook her head scornfully. “What is the point of tricking me into coming here? I’m never going to agree to this. You won’t use Youxuan’s identity to threaten me, now will you? If you do, Shen Zhijing’s image would be utterly ruined. Nonetheless, if you dare expose Youxuan’s identity, not only Qi Chenglin, but the entire Qi family will want revenge. So, at the end of the day, all you have is my mother’s position here to threaten me, right?”
Shen Jialiang squinted. His displeasure was evident in his expression.
Ruan Danchen sneered, “I don’t need whatever high status you are offering me. If you want to rat me out to the Qi family then go ahead. I won’t be able to marry Qi Chenglin and your family won’t be able to gain anything from the Qi family. You would think that you can threaten me with that, but, in truth, it won’t do your family any good either.”
“Danchen, can you not say that we are using you?” Liu Ronghua requested softly. “All we want is for you to join this family, and we can all live happily ever after. Wouldn’t that be great? If you help me, I can have a family again. We both can have a family.”
“You’ve always had a family, but you didn’t want it.” Ruan Danchen glared at Liu Ronghua. “Are you saying a mother and daughter can’t be family? I’ve never stopped you from trying to form a complete family. I wanted you to be happy too, but happiness what you really want? In these seven years, don’t you think you’ve lived a happy life?”
Liu Ronghua opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Ruan Danchen sniffled, “Did you even think about how worried I was on the way here, thinking that you had broken your leg in a car accident and now wheelchair bound? I abandoned my work and rushed all the way here, just to find out that you lied to me. Of course you had never thought about that! You have never thought about my feelings anyway.”
Ruan Danchen took a deep breath. Her breaths were shaking as she started choking up. “I don’t want anything to do with the Shen family. If the Shen family wants me to take advantage of Chenglin, I would rather stay single for the rest of my life and die a lonely woman. Back then, you forced me to exploit him once, I’ll never give you another chance to do that again!”
Ruan Danchen accidentally let a single tear spill out. She wiped it away hastily and started at Shen Jialiang coldly. “Shen Jialiang, did I make myself clear? I am a woman of my word. If you have the guts, go ahead and tell the world. As long as I know Chenglin loves me, and that my son is living a good life, that’s enough for me.”
Ruan Danchen kept wiping her tears. “It’s quite unlucky for Chenglin to have a girlfriend like me! I dragged him into this, I wronged him. I don’t have the power to help him, so when I can help protect him by doing something small like this, I will do it! I won’t allow you to succeed.”
Ruan Danchen turned to Liu Ronghua one last time. “Enjoy your reunion dinner tonight.”
Having said that, she turned to leave.
Liu Ronghua’s face was blanched. She flinched when she heard Ruan Danchen slam the door. With her eyes filled with tears, she turned to Shen Jialiang. “Jialiang, you saw it yourself. She has made up her mind; it’s futile for you to try and change things.”
“Didn’t she say she didn’t mind?” Shen Jialiang fumed, clenching his teeth. “Well then, since she doesn’t want to help us, we don’t have to keep her secret either.”
“Jialiang, what are you planning?” Liu Ronghua asked anxiously.
…
…
When Ruan Danchen exited the mansion, she noticed that it was snowing.
She had not been in there for long. She guessed that it must have started snowing the moment she stepped through the doorway.
Ruan Danchen looked up. As the tiny snowflakes landed on her cheeks, they melted away almost immediately, turning into small pearls of water, cooling her face. She felt a lot more awake.
She wiped away the tears and melted snow and wondered if her eyes were still red. She did not want Xiao Yang to see her like that.
She took a few unsteady breaths and let herself calm down a little before walking out of the courtyard.
To her surprise, the person standing by the car waiting for her was not Xiao Yang but was Qi Chenglin.
He was still wearing his dapper suit with a black overcoat on top of it. He stood tall under the falling snow. Snowflakes gently floated onto his hair and his shoulders, the individual specks of white could be seen clearly against the black of his hair and coat.
The heart that Ruan Danchen emptied out in the Shen family’s home just now was instantly filled with warmth. Even as the freezing snow fell on her face and her hands, she did not feel cold.
She sniffled and strode toward him. “What are you doing here?”
“I was worried, so I came.” Qi Chenglin pulled her into his embrace out of habit. “I had set up a time limit. If you took longer than I deemed necessary, I would have gone in for you.”
Hearing that, Ruan Danchen smiled warmly. With his arms around her waist, she instinctively placed her hands onto his muscular arms.
Qi Chenglin stared at the pale hands placed on his black coat. Against his coat, her hands were so pale that they appeared to be glowing. As the chalk-white snow floated onto her fair hands, they disappeared instantly, as if they had melted into the white of her hands.
Qi Chenglin frowned. He took her hands and stuffed them into the pockets of his coat. “Why do you always not wear gloves?”
Ruan Danchen smiled faintly. She stared at him intensely, as if he would disappear any second. She had to look at him as much as she could before that happened.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Qi Chenglin raised an eyebrow at her. He lifted his hand, which had a black glove on, and swept away the snow on her hair.
Ruan Danchen shook her head and pressed her face against his chest. She even opened up his overcoat, which was covered in snow, and lay on his clean, dry suit instead.
Due to the insulated overcoat, his suit was warm and cozy, making it exceedingly comfortable to lie on.
Seeing her acting like a child, sticking onto him without a reason, Qi Chenglin gazed at her tenderly and asked, “What happened?”
“It’s nothing. My mom really did lie to me. She’s not hurt,” Ruan Danchen lamented. She did not wish for him to know the full reason for her unhappiness.
“Well, no matter what, it’s still a relief to know that,” Qi Chenglin consoled.
Ruan Danchen nodded. After a while, Qi Chenglin said, “Let’s get in the car first.”
Only then did Ruan Danchen remember they were still standing outside. She hurriedly got into the car. Xiao Yang had already been sent home for the New Year.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Ruan Danchen noticed that Qi Chenglin’s face was a little red from the cold. She took her hands out from his pocket and pressed them against his cheeks. “You’ve been waiting for so long outside. Your face is red from the cold.”
“It wasn’t that long.” Qi Chenglin smiled. He did not tell her that, although he did not go in, he was still terribly anxious and had been standing outside this whole time. Although he could not see inside, he still craned his neck the entire time.
“Liar.” Ruan Danchen puffed up her cheeks and glared at him. She was displeased with him making himself suffer like that.
Qi Chenglin chuckled and squeezed her hands. “When we get home tonight, I have something to show you.”
“What is it?” Ruan Danchen asked curiously.
“I’ll tell you when we get back.” Having said that, he started the engine and drove off. He stole a glance at her and wondered what kind of reaction she would have after seeing it. Hopefully, it would bring her some joy and relief.
…
…
When they returned to the old mansion, Song Yu and the others were in the midst of preparing the food for the reunion dinner. Aunt Liu had already returned home for the New Year. She had prepared the dumplings early in the evening.
Qi Chengyue had returned to Li City with Cheng Dongge for the New Year. Guan Liya was not accustomed to this change yet. In all these years, Qi Chengyue had never spent Chinese New Year away from home before.
Ruan Danchen speedily took off her coat, washed her hands and headed into the kitchen to help out.
At night, the reunion dinner was exceedingly rowdy. There were so many people in the Qi family. Everyone sat around a huge round table and filled the room with laughter. It was Ruan Danchen’s first time experiencing this. She turned to watch Qi Youxuan play with Qi Youjin, who was being held by Song Yu as he ate. Indulging in the rowdiness, Ruan Danchen wondered if she would still be able to join them next year.
After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room to watch the Spring Festival Gala. When it came to the gala’s red envelope shake event, Qi Youxuan, the little money-grubber, passed on playing with firecrackers just to win a few yuan.
Thus, the men of the Qi family all watched calmly as their women played this game. Qi Youxuan was jumping around shaking as hard as he could. Seeing how exhilarated Grandmother Qi was as she shook her phone, Grandfather Qi, who had always cared deeply about his pride, had his interest piqued too. In the end, he could not help but join in the fun.
Amongst the explosion of firecrackers and the sound from the television, the doorbell rang. Everyone was too busy shaking their phones that none of them heard it. Nonetheless, Qi Youxuan’s sharp ears picked it up immediately. “The doorbell rang.”
Qi Chenglin glanced at the door and said, “I’ll get it.”
He looked at the video intercom and saw that it was Shen Jialiang, Shen Zhijing, and Liu Ronghua. Liu Ronghua still had on her weak and feeble act. Qi Chenglin tutted. She was already so old yet still acted this way.
After opening the door, he did not wait at the doorway for them to enter. He went back to the living room and announced blandly, “It’s the Shen family.”
Grandmother Qi staggered, “Shen family? Which one?”
“The one you were engaged to?” Guan Liya asked before he could reply.
Qi Chengzhi nodded coolly and returned to his seat beside Ruan Danchen. He grabbed her hand, which had turned to ice. He squeezed firmly and began reassuring her, “Don’t worry. I’m here.”
Ruan Danchen nodded. In spite of that, she still had trouble breathing, knowing what they were here for.
Qi Chenglin put his arm around her shoulders and told Qi Youxuan, “Go back to your room and play by yourself for a while.”
Qi Youxuan looked up and blinked at him. Just as he was going to say something, Song Yu came up to him and took his hand. “Come on, I’ll go with you.”
Qi Youxuan stared at Qi Chenglin for a while, then closed his mouth and left obediently with Song Yu.
When walking down the corridor, Qi Youxuan asked Song Yu, “Auntie, are the bad guys here?”
“Yeah, it’s the bad guys. But don’t worry,” Song Yu assured, smiling. “Now that they’ve entered our den, there will be nothing left of them but bones.”
Qi Chenglin tossed his car keys to Qi Chengji and instructed, “Do me a favor and grab the document kept in my car’s glove compartment. I can’t leave right now.”
Qi Chengji did not argue with him; he took the keys and left quietly.
When he opened the door, Shen Jialiang and the others were standing right in front of him. Seeing Qi Chengji, they were all shocked.
Qi Chengji did not show much expression. He nodded at them coolly and headed out.
Shen Jialiang led the group into the house. When he saw Ruan Danchen, he gave her an evil glare. Since she would not help them and would not let them benefit, they would not let her live a good life either.
Shen Jialiang’s plan was simple: since their relationship with the Qi family was already sour, it would be great if they could benefit through Ruan Danchen, however, since Ruan Danchen would not listen to pleads nor threats, they decided that they would expose Ruan Danchen’s past. They had nothing to lose anyway. Shen Jialiang thought that it was not their fault, so the Qi family would not do anything against them, but Ruan Danchen’s perfect life would from then on be ruined.
Noticing Ruan Danchen frozen in her spot, Shen Jialiang’s lips curled up into an ominous grin. Only then did he turn to Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi and greeted them.
“Have a seat. It’s New Year’s Eve today, why are all of you here? It’s not time to pay New Year calls yet.” Grandmother Qi looked at the three curiously.
Shen Jialiang chuckled and sat down. “Well, we’re here to see Danchen. It’s Chinese New Year, yet she abandoned us and bolted here to spend her New Year. Her mother feels so dejected.”
“Mother?” Guan Liya questioned suspiciously. She looked at Ruan Danchen, then turned to Liu Ronghua.
“That’s right. Madam Liu here is her mother,” Shen Jialiang stated.
His words made it clear to the Qi family that Liu Ronghua was not Mrs. Shen yet.
Liu Ronghua’s eyes were red. Suddenly, she started crying. The whole Qi family was stunned.
“What’s going on? You haven’t said a word and you’ve already started crying. Here, wipe your tears away,” Grandmother Qi said, but she did not move to hand her a tissue or anything like that.
