There was a 24-hour convenience store downstairs.
Shen Qi bought a bunch of things and also picked up some daily necessities for herself and Shen Lu.
When she went to pay, Shen Qi realized that after using this month's salary to cover a year's rent, she really didn't have much money left.
Just as she was about to carry her things upstairs, her phone suddenly rang. Shen Qi picked it up and saw it was a payment reminder from her brother's doctor.
Seeing the tens of thousands in fees, Shen Qi's head immediately throbbed with pain.
Originally, she could have asked the Shen family for this money, but now that she had taken her brother out, the Shen family could legitimately refuse to pay.
Shen Qi suddenly understood. She finally realized why Shen Yinyin had provoked her brother today.
That was probably the plan all along.
Since she had already married off in Shen Yinyin's place, they no longer wanted to be burdened with her brother. They simply forced her to leave the Shen family with him.
This time, she had chosen to leave on her own; the Shen family hadn't kicked her out.
That gave them even more reason to refuse to pay.
Having figured out Shen Yinyin's intentions, Shen Qi couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
What should she do?
How was she going to pay for her brother's treatment next month?
Carrying her things back to the apartment, she saw her brother's happy expression and watched him engrossed in a copy of *Zizhi Tongjian* that she had bought to appear cultured. Shen Qi's heart grew even more complicated.
If she hadn't known before how smart her brother was, she might have considered temporarily pausing his treatment and resuming it when she had more money.
But now...
How could she pause it?
Her brother was so intelligent, so outstanding. After all the effort to get him to this point in his treatment, how could she give up halfway?
Looking into her brother's clear, bright eyes, Shen Qi's resolve wavered once again.
What should she do?
Where could she get some money?
Right, didn't her brother know the password to Shen Gang's safe?
What if she sneaked back and took some money from the Shen family?
No, that wouldn't work!
She absolutely couldn't give the Shen family any excuse to talk!
Shen Qi suddenly hated herself.
If she hadn't been tricked by her mother into handing over all her wages back then, she wouldn't be in this mess now!
All the money she had on her right now wasn't even enough to cover a fraction of the treatment costs.
What was she going to do?
Shen Qi stood in the kitchen, dazed, tearing apart the vegetable leaves without even noticing.
Just then, her phone buzzed again. Shen Qi picked it up and saw another message.
But this one was from He Yining: "Tomorrow at 10 a.m., He's Group CEO office. Accompany me for a working lunch. Deducts 200,000 from your debt."
Shen Qi was stunned. A strange thought popped into her head: Should she become his full-time stylist and ask him to advance her salary?
The thought startled her so much she nearly dropped her phone.
No, no way.
She absolutely couldn't get too entangled with the He family!
After a year, once she divorced the He family's eldest son, she would leave all of this behind forever! Take her brother and go far away!
Shen Lu stared blankly at Shen Qi and called out, "Xiao Qi..."
Even though Shen Qi hadn't said anything, Shen Lu keenly sensed her emotional turmoil: "Xiao Qi, you're angry..."
Shen Qi forced a smile: "No, I'm not!"
"Xiao Qi, lying is bad." Shen Lu looked at her seriously.
Seeing her brother's stern face, Shen Qi quickly went over and pinched his cheeks.
"No, I was just thinking about work. You know, as a stylist, I deal with a lot of clients. Some are really picky, so I need to put in extra effort." Shen Qi changed the subject: "Are you understanding this book? Which part are you reading?"
"The Qin Records," Shen Lu answered obediently.
"Then keep reading. I'll bring you more books later, okay?" Shen Qi tried to distract him.
"Okay." Shen Lu nodded obediently.
Shen Qi made dinner, and they ate a simple meal together.
She set up the bedroom for Shen Lu to rest in while she made do on the living room couch for the night, planning to figure out how to clear out the storage room tomorrow.
Once the storage room was emptied, she could fit a small bed in there.
Early the next morning, Shen Qi grabbed her makeup kit and headed straight to He's Group.
Standing at the base of He's Group's building, Shen Qi couldn't help but gasp.
The headquarters of He's Group consisted of three interconnected office towers covering over twenty acres.
Each tower was over forty stories tall.
The central tower housed the CEO's office.
Around the other two towers was a small private park where employees could relax during their breaks.
To have three super-sized office towers and a private garden in H City, where land was worth its weight in gold, was no longer just a symbol of wealth.
That plot of land had been the "king of land" back in the day.
The He family had won it at auction for five billion yuan and built it into He's Group's headquarters.
This gave a glimpse of just how deep He's Group's pockets were!
Shen Qi approached the front desk and said, "I have an appointment with President He. I'm his stylist."
The receptionist, apparently already informed, replied, "The president is on the 48th floor. Take the elevator up, turn right, and the first office on your left is his."
Shen Qi thanked her and headed up with her bag.
As soon as Shen Qi left, the receptionist went crazy in the company's group chat: "Oh my god! The president actually called a female stylist up! I can't believe it!"
That single message set the entire company group ablaze!
Countless people wailed in the chat: "No way! The president has always kept his distance from women! I was starting to think he might be into men..."
"Are you kidding me? Why would the president hire a female stylist? No, I choose to die!"
"But wait, I think I saw the president getting close to a woman outside once. Now that you mention it, I remember—was that stylist a slim girl with long black hair and delicate features?"
The receptionist immediately replied: "Yeah, she looks really pure, no makeup at all, and her skin is enviably good!"
Another earthquake hit the group chat, with everyone wailing in unison.
Shen Qi had no idea about any of this. Following the receptionist's directions, she finally reached He Yining's CEO office.
He Yining had several offices, one in each subsidiary.
In fact, he rarely used the headquarters office.
The headquarters' affairs were handled by his chief special assistant and delivered directly to him.
Instead, he often worked out of the subsidiary offices, simply because they were closer to Jinghua Manor, where he lived.
This was Shen Qi's first time stepping into such an extravagant, sprawling corporate headquarters. As she entered the elevator, she felt like a country bumpkin visiting a grand garden.