Shen Qi stood there, a bit dazed. Thank goodness she had brought Xiaoxia along; otherwise, in a place like this, she wouldn’t have found Shen Yinyin even if she dug three feet into the ground!
The men finally finished dressing and rushed over to Shen Qi, greeting her respectfully: “Madam, who are you looking for?” Shen Qi smiled as she greeted them: “Sorry to bother you. I’m looking for someone named Shen Yinyin. She’s about my age, a little taller, and on the thinner side.”
The men all looked at Xiaoxia at once. Xiaoxia gave a slight nod and said, “This is our Second Young Madam of the He family.”
So she really was He Yining’s wife! The men didn’t dare to be careless and immediately replied, “Please, Second Young Madam, come inside. The streets are crowded, and we wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. Don’t worry, we’ll bring the person to you right away.” Shen Qi nodded.
A strong dragon doesn’t crush a local snake. Shen Qi didn’t want to stir up any unnecessary trouble.
She followed the men to a relatively quiet café in the area, where they led her directly to the largest and most luxurious room to wait. Xiaoxia whispered a few words into the bodyguard’s ear, and the guards quickly dispersed, surveying the surroundings.
Shen Qi didn’t know why Xiaoxia was being so cautious, but she couldn’t dwell on it now. She just wanted to see Shen Yinyin as soon as possible and hear her explanation.
Before long, Shen Qi saw Shen Yinyin, looking disheveled and worn, practically stumbling through the door. The moment Shen Yinyin saw Shen Qi, tears started streaming down her face uncontrollably.
These past few days, she had fallen from heaven to hell. Enduring all kinds of torment. She deeply regretted everything she had done before. If she hadn’t brought this on herself, she wouldn’t be in this situation today.
Shen Qi was also taken aback. Shen Yinyin used to be so pampered and delicate, but now, after just a few days apart, she looked as if she had aged over a decade, haggard and worn.
“Shen Qi—no, sis, I was wrong! I really was wrong! Please, get me out of here! I don’t want to stay!” Shen Yinyin tried to rush over, but Xiaoxia immediately stopped her.
“Miss Shen, please keep a safe distance from our Second Young Madam,” Xiaoxia warned.
Despite always wearing a cheerful, easygoing expression, no one knew that Xiaoxia was a champion in freestyle wrestling. Shen Yinyin immediately deflated. She no longer dared to act as arrogant and domineering as before. It seemed these days here had taught her a harsh lesson.
“Sit down and talk,” Shen Qi said calmly. “I have questions for you. Tell me the truth, and I’ll help you.” Shen Yinyin quickly sat down properly across from Shen Qi. Xiaoxia stepped back and stood outside the door, ready to be called at any moment.
Once they were alone in the room, Shen Qi asked, “What did you mean by what you said on the phone?” Shen Yinyin bit her lip, her eyes filled with intense conflict.
These secrets were things she wasn’t supposed to reveal. But she was desperate to leave this hellhole! She couldn’t care anymore. She would use Shen Qi to escape this nightmare!
“My mom… she’s not really your biological mother,” Shen Yinyin said, trembling. “Neither you nor your brother are.” Shen Qi’s face changed dramatically.
“What did you say?” Shen Qi’s voice shot up. “What’s going on?” Shen Yinyin’s lips quivered. She pulled a pack of cigarettes from her bag, lit one, and took a drag before speaking slowly. “It’s a long story. It all started when your biological mother married your father.”
Shen Qi didn’t know what to say.
“I overheard my parents talking once. They said your biological mother was a famous writer and painter in G Province. She fell in love with your father at first sight, and when they got married, the Shen family gave a huge dowry. My father and mother came along as the driver and maid when she married into the Lin family,” Shen Yinyin said, her fingers trembling as she tapped the ash. She bit her lip and continued, “The Shen family was pretty well-known in G Province, so when their daughter got married, the whole province was talking about it.”
“After the wedding, the Shen daughter gave up her glamorous life and soon had a son and a daughter. Around that time, my mother and father started to develop feelings for each other. But they had no money and no way to live a better life. So they hatched a plan.”
“On the night your mother gave birth to you, my mother secretly drugged your father and slept with him. The Shen family saw it and reported it to your mother. Furious, your mother signed the divorce papers the very day she gave birth, left both children with your father, and walked away alone.”
Shen Qi’s heart suddenly ached.
“My mother told your father she was willing to be a stepmother and raise you and your brother as her own. If he didn’t agree, she threatened to sue him for rape, leaving you and your brother orphans. Broken by the blow, your father gave up and married my mother,” Shen Yinyin continued. “Everyone kept it a secret. No one dared to talk about it. The servants who knew were sent away, and those who didn’t just thought your family wasn’t close, never suspecting the truth.”
Shen Qi’s face turned pale. How could this be? Why did it turn out like this?
That woman… she was the one who drove her mother away? Shen Qi felt like crying, but no tears came.
For twenty-three years, she had called the woman who destroyed her parents’ happiness “Mother”! Shen Qi wanted to slap herself.
“What about my father?” Shen Qi gritted her teeth and pressed on.
“After my mother married your father, she gained his trust and got the safe combination. Then she and my father worked together to transfer the company’s assets,” Shen Yinyin said, no longer holding back. To escape, she was ready to spill everything.
“Your father didn’t have to die, but he found out what my parents were doing. He threatened to sue them and ruin them. So my father hired an international assassin to kill him,” Shen Yinyin said, clenching her jaw. “Your brother became autistic because he witnessed your father’s murder.”
Shen Qi shot to her feet, stumbling and nearly falling. “What?” She had never imagined the truth could be this.
Why? Why! Shen Qi grabbed Shen Yinyin’s clothes, her face pale, tears streaming down in big drops. “Why did you do this to our family?”
“I… I don’t know! None of this was my doing!” Shen Yinyin flailed helplessly. “I only found out later!”
“Shen Gang and your mother planned all of this from the start, didn’t they?” Shen Qi glared at Shen Yinyin through gritted teeth. “Why? Was my mother not good to them?”
“My parents were orphans taken in by the Shen family. The Shen daughter was kind-hearted and brought them along when she married,” Shen Yinyin said, panicking. “They were ungrateful, but it has nothing to do with me! I wasn’t even born yet! I didn’t know anything!”
Shen Qi’s vision blurred with tears. She let go of Shen Yinyin and sobbed, “So the Shen family took them in, gave them jobs, and even brought them into the marriage. And in return, they plotted to steal my parents’ wealth, tore my parents apart, left us orphans, and killed my father!”
Shen Yinyin stammered, “You promised me—if I told you everything, you’d get me out of here!”
Shen Qi slumped against the wall, tears pouring uncontrollably. She had never imagined the truth could be so cruel.
She thought, at worst, she and her brother were adopted and that’s why they were mistreated. How could she have known that the woman she’d called “Mother” for twenty-three years was a murderer?
Calling her enemy “Mother.” What a fool she had been!
No wonder her brother refused to call that woman “Mother,” no matter what. No wonder they were always beaten or scolded. No wonder…
She was so stupid. All these years, she had been kept in the dark. No wonder no matter what she did, she could never warm that woman’s heart. No wonder no matter how obedient she was, that woman never saw her.
So that was it.
Shen Qi sat down on the floor, hugging her knees, and wept silently. So many years, so many seasons, so much time—the one who had failed her parents the most was herself! Unforgivable. Unforgivable.
Seeing Shen Qi cry so bitterly, Shen Yinyin grew frightened. She crouched down and said to Shen Qi, “They were never good people! If they hadn’t stolen your father’s wealth, the Shen family would never have risen! Now the Shen family is finished, and my father says since I’m no longer a virgin, I have to entertain those old men! When I refused, he knocked me out! When I woke up, I was here! Shen Qi, save me! I’ve told you everything I know! Please, take me away! I don’t want to stay here! I don’t want to live in darkness forever!”
Shen Qi looked up at Shen Yinyin. Seeing the terror on Shen Yinyin’s face, Shen Qi wanted to slap her. But even if she did, what would it change?
Her mother was gone. Her father was dead. Her brother was sick. Nothing could go back. Nothing was left.
She had thought her life was already dark enough, but she never imagined it could get even darker. Now, she had nothing left.
Shen Yinyin tentatively reached out and grabbed Shen Qi’s arm. “Shen Qi, if you want revenge, go after Shen Gang! He’s the one who was ungrateful, who coveted your parents’ wealth and life! None of this has anything to do with me!”
Shen Qi didn’t respond. Shen Yinyin grew desperate. “Shen Qi, you promised! You said if I told you everything, you’d get me out! How about this—talk to them, let me leave, and I’ll tell you where Shen Gang likes to go most! Deal?”