That night, the only one who slept well was probably He Yining. He was genuinely happy today. His wife's first creation was for him. He was the one who recognized his wife's brother! Such a sense of accomplishment! He had been worrying these past few days about how to deal with Lin Xi while unable to find a way to settle Shen Qi. Now, Shen Wu's appearance couldn't have been more timely. By entrusting Shen Qi to Shen Wu, he could free up his hands to properly deal with Lin Xi. Dare to impersonate his little angel? Hmph, prepare to die!
The next morning, Shen Qi was taken out by Shen Wu early. Because the Shen family had arrived. When Shen Qi saw the large group of people before her, she was utterly stunned! Huh? These were all from her maternal grandmother's family? Why were there so many people in her maternal grandmother's family? As soon as Shen Qi entered, she was embraced by an elderly woman: "My precious darling, Grandma has finally found you! Damn that Lin family, they almost lost my precious darling!"
Shen Qi stiffened: "This esteemed elder..."
"Don't call her esteemed elder, call her Grandma!" Everyone else in the room shouted in unison. Shen Qi was slightly embarrassed. She had never called anyone "Grandma" in her life.
"Darling, come, let me introduce you. This is your eldest uncle, second uncle, third uncle, fourth uncle, fifth uncle; these are your eldest aunt, second aunt, third aunt, fourth aunt, fifth aunt; these are your eldest cousin, second cousin, third cousin, fourth cousin. Oh, Xiao Wu doesn't need an introduction." Grandma Shen took Shen Qi's hand and began introducing everyone in the room. Shen Qi stood awkwardly in place, feeling shy. The elders all stuffed things into Shen Qi's hands, saying as they did, "This is a welcome gift, don't think it's too modest." Shen Qi's arms were soon overflowing!
The eldest uncle laughed heartily: "Xiao Qi, don't stand on ceremony with us; we're all family!" The eldest aunt took Shen Qi's hand and said, "Oh my, our girl is so beautiful. She looks just like Yao Yao when she was little..." The others all coughed loudly, and the eldest aunt immediately fell silent. Everyone looked at Grandma Shen. Her expression remained calm as she said lightly, "Alright, let's not stand around talking. Everyone, sit down." With Grandma's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The eldest uncle shot a glare at the eldest aunt before sitting down.
Shen Qi snapped back to reality, her eyes reddening as she said, "Grandma, I'm sorry. I never knew I had so many relatives before." Grandma Shen patted Shen Qi's hand and sighed, "What happened back then was too sudden. Your mother ran away from home, and your father... we were too angry. By the time we went to find you, you had already been taken away." Shen Qi nodded.
Shen Wu stood to the side and said, "Xiao Qi, I never asked you last night—how did you end up marrying He Yining? I never knew He Yining was already married!" In an instant, everyone in the room turned their gaze to Shen Qi. She gave a bitter smile: "This is really a long story. To explain it properly, I'd have to start from the beginning." Shen Qi recounted the grudges of the previous generation from start to finish. When she told how Shen Gang and Shen Cui repaid kindness with enmity, scheming for the Shen family's dowry and the Lin family's property to frame Shen Ziyao and Lin Yuxiang, everyone present was nearly furious. When Shen Qi described how her father was killed and her brother became autistic from witnessing the trauma, Grandma Shen's tears flowed freely.
Shen Qi glossed over her own hardships lightly. Though she said nothing, everyone in the room was sharp-witted. Who didn't know what she had endured all these years? As a mere five-year-old child, she had taken on the responsibility of caring for her brother, and to protect him as she grew up, she had to give up everything. Grandma Shen hugged Shen Qi with heartache: "Xiao Qi, before, you had no family, and others could bully you as they pleased. That won't happen anymore! No one will dare bully you now! Xiao Qi, if you don't want to marry into the He family, this old woman will fight with these old bones to make the He family divorce you!"
Shen Wu quickly glanced at Shen Qi and said to Grandma Shen, "Grandma, let Xiao Qi finish first!" Shen Qi lowered her head and said softly, "My brother is currently undergoing treatment in Germany. I want to wait until he recovers and comes back before discussing anything." The Shen family knew they couldn't match the He family's resources and couldn't find better doctors for Shen Lu. So, hearing this, they all fell silent for a moment. Shen Qi smiled: "I'm fine, don't worry like this. Actually, Yining is quite good to me. The He family has also given me plenty of benefits. At Jinghua Manor, I have the most privileges besides He Yining." Hearing this, the people in the room relaxed a bit.
Shen Qi continued, "Now I'm studying design under Teacher Charles. He's the He family's exclusive designer, and he only teaches me because I'm He Yining's legal wife. I want to study hard so I can better take care of my brother in the future!" Hearing this, everyone felt even more pained. This child, from childhood to now, always had her brother on her mind, never herself. What a tragedy! If they had known that taking in those two children would bring such harm to their daughter and grandchildren, they would never have kept them back then! They would have just given them some food and sent them away.
Hearing that He Yining had already started a manhunt for Shen Cui, the Shen family felt a sense of justice. As long as the He family took action, with Shen Cui's limited abilities, even if she fled to the ends of the earth, she couldn't escape their grasp! "Good child, you've been wronged," Grandma Shen said, wiping her eyes. "Come visit us in G Province when you have time. We'll all be waiting for you at home." Shen Qi nodded: "Grandma, I will! Teacher Charles won't be in the country long. Once I finish my studies, I'll come see you, okay?" Grandma Shen nodded in satisfaction: "Good, good, good. Seeing you grown into a young woman, I can put my mind at ease. Even if I close my eyes now, I'll be content!" "Grandma..." Shen Qi's eyes reddened. "Enough, enough. Come, let's eat," Grandma Shen said, pulling Shen Qi up. "I brought you some snacks from G Province. I'm sure you'll love them." Shen Qi obediently followed.
At that moment, Shen San nudged Shen Wu with his elbow: "Hey, what's going on? How did you find Xiao Qi?" "He Yining is also bidding for the Ministry of Commerce's project. Coincidentally, I'm in charge of it," Shen Wu explained briefly. "Then He Yining told me." Shen Yi, as the eldest and most authoritative, spoke up: "If the He family treats Xiao Qi well, the Shen family won't be ungrateful. We'll repay kindness with kindness. If they don't, Xiao Wu, you know what to do, right?" He cast a stern look at Shen Wu. "Brother, this is official business, not personal. But I'll be here for a while, so I'll keep an eye on things," Shen Wu said with a wry smile. "Before, I didn't know Xiao Qi was here, so I didn't plan to stay long. Now that I know, I'll definitely stay a while longer." Hearing this, the others nodded in agreement.
The Shen brothers had all married late. Shen Yi, at thirty-five, was still single. Among so many bachelors, the only younger sister was the first to marry. "The Shen family took in Shen Cui and Shen Gang, and the one right thing we did was give them the Shen surname. Now that Xiao Qi and Xiao Liu are back with the Shen family, let's not restore the Lin surname. The Shen family's children don't leave the fold," Shen Yi continued. Everyone nodded in agreement.
While Shen Qi was with Grandma Shen, He Yining finally found time to deal with Lin Xi and those behind her. In the car, he dialed Wen Yibo: "Is everything ready?" A mischievous laugh came through the phone: "Yining, you're too wicked!" He Yining smiled back: "Not bad." "Not bad? Last time we got lucky and snatched Feng Manlun's auction. This time, you're really scheming against him!" Wen Yibo laughed heartily. "So, how can you be sure Lin Xi was sent by Feng Manlun?" "Whether she was sent by him or not, I'm going to pin this on Feng Manlun," He Yining said with a proud smile, his tone carrying a chilling edge. "He dared to leave Xiao Qi behind, so he'll have to face my wrath."
Wen Yibo paused, then said, "Don't worry, I've got your back here. I've already pulled five hundred billion RMB with Fan Sheng and Fan Li, and I asked my old man for a trillion. No matter what, I'll help you win this case." "Thanks," He Yining said sincerely. "With so many people watching my funds, trying to cut me off at the knees, I need you to step in." "Too ruthless. Anyone who goes against you is practically asking for death. Alright, that's settled." With that, Wen Yibo hung up.
He Yining put down the phone, a cold, unrestrained smile on his lips. He knew Feng Manlun had been tracking his funds all along. No one was sure about the outcome of this bid. The Ministry of Commerce's initiative included several projects, each with generous profits. These projects were within both parties' financial capabilities, so money wasn't the issue. Feng Manlun and He Yining were both titans spanning Europe and Asia, each with their own teams and foundations. Feng Manlun's only weakness compared to He Yining was that He Yining controlled Africa, while Feng Manlun had no presence there. So this competition was evenly matched. After all, if the cost outweighed the reward, even the He family wouldn't be foolish enough to take the loss. That's why everyone was closely watching each other's fund flows. He Yining watched Feng Manlun, and Feng Manlun watched He Yining. So He Yining adopted a strategy: "I won't move if the enemy doesn't, but I'll let others move!"