"How dare you talk back!" Madam Shen's eyes widened as she stepped forward, ready to strike again.
Shen Qi retreated a few steps, putting distance between herself and Madam Shen.
"Mom, I'm now publicly known as the Second Young Madam of the He family. If you come here to hit me, aren't you afraid of slapping the He family's face?" Shen Qi said calmly, looking at Madam Shen. "I might be easy to deal with, but He Yining isn't. He's fiercely protective of his own—even if one of his servants gets slapped, he won't let it slide."
Madam Shen hesitated for a moment, then glared hatefully at Shen Qi. "No matter what, this marriage has to end."
"Is divorce something I can decide on my own?" Shen Qi gave a mocking smile. "Since you're so capable, Mom, why don't you go talk to He Yining yourself? If he agrees, I have no objections!"
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Madam Shen snorted coldly. "Have me offend He Yining? Just give him the cold shoulder every day, make his life miserable, and he'll naturally divorce you!"
She didn't dare to offend He Yining, so she wanted Shen Qi to do it instead?
Ha, what a wonderful mother she had!
A mother so biased—how could Shen Qi still believe she was her real mother?
"Mom, is Shen Yinyin your only daughter? What am I in your eyes?" Shen Qi asked bitterly, looking at Madam Shen. "You hit me when you want, scold me when you want. Even a dog gets treated better than me. Why? What did I do wrong to deserve this?"
"Blame it on being your father's daughter," Madam Shen blurted out. "Why didn't you and that short-lived father of yours die together back then? A clean death would have been better—you could have kept each other company underground! The ones who should die just won't, and the living suffer for nothing."
Shen Qi closed her eyes gently. She had heard words like these since she was a child, and they had long numbed her.
But the ache in her heart never stopped.
Not just for herself, but for her brother too.
"Are my brother and I really your biological children?" Shen Qi couldn't hold back anymore. "I've never seen a mother curse her own children like this."
"Oh? What do you mean by that? Grown your wings, want to fly?" Madam Shen's eyes flashed fiercely as she snarled, "Shen Qi, I'm warning you—if you dare disobey me, I'll make sure you never hold your head up again. Just wait and see."
Here we go again!
Either throwing a tantrum or threatening her.
Never answering the question.
Shen Qi said helplessly, "Mom, I was forced into this marriage back then—I had no say. And now, I can't decide on a divorce either. If you can convince the He family to agree to it, I'd be more than happy! Please don't say things like this anymore. If there's nothing else, you should go back. Jinghua Manor is He Yining's place—don't come here again!"
Madam Shen glared, grabbing something to throw.
Shen Qi said coldly, "Mom, are you sure you want to smash things here? Everything here belongs to He Yining, not me."
That one sentence stopped Madam Shen in her tracks.
She put the object down and threatened Shen Qi viciously, "Fine, fine, Shen Qi. You've really grown some nerve. We'll see about that!"
With that, she turned and left.
Shen Qi didn't see her out. Only after a maid reported that she had gone did Shen Qi realize her back was completely soaked.
The psychological scars from all those years weren't something that could disappear overnight.
Shen Qi thought her stance was clear enough—by invoking He Yining, Madam Shen would back down out of respect for the He family.
But she was too naive!
The next morning, when Shen Qi woke up and saw the newspaper, she nearly exploded with rage!
Madam Shen had taken out a newspaper ad, crying about how Shen Qi was unfilial and even abusive!
She also published a photo showing bruises all over her arm.
Shen Qi went online, and unsurprisingly, the internet was flooded with reports about her.
Madam Shen was shrewd—she didn't mention the He family, only Shen Qi.
She vaguely hinted that Shen Qi had latched onto a rich man and was now throwing her weight around, refusing to acknowledge her own mother.
The internet was overwhelmingly condemning Shen Qi, with some even starting to dox her.
Seeing all the insults, Shen Qi felt like a heavy stone was pressing on her chest, nearly suffocating her.
Soon, someone actually found Shen Qi's phone number and started calling her nonstop with personal attacks.
Furious, Shen Qi turned off her phone and went out alone to clear her head.
Feng Kexin looked at the newspaper and the overwhelming online coverage, laughing with delight.
She had only hinted at the Shen family, and they had gone and stirred up trouble!
Perfect!
She wanted to see how long Shen Qi could hold out!
With the Shen family as her unwitting ally, she didn't have to do a thing and could still reap the benefits!
Her brother was right.
Killing with a borrowed knife was the real art.
Shen Qi arrived on the street and suddenly realized she had nowhere to go.
Whenever she went out before, it was always with her brother.
Now that her brother was in Germany, she had no one to turn to, and it felt like the whole world had no place for her.
Shen Qi drove aimlessly, then decided to just go back.
Suddenly, someone rushed out from the roadside and blocked her car.
Shen Qi slammed on the brakes, nearly hitting them.
Just as she was about to lose her temper, the person ran over and hurriedly bowed to her. "Miss, please, can you help us? Our young master suddenly fell ill, but my car broke down, and there's no time to send another from home. Please, have some kindness and help our young master! We won't let you help for free!"
Hearing that someone was sick, Shen Qi's anger faded. "Alright, help him in."
The man was overjoyed and turned to support a tall, slender man.
Shen Qi took a closer look and froze.
What a small world!
The sick man was none other than Feng Kexin's brother, Feng Manlun!
Shen Qi was stunned. "You're from the Feng family?"
The man who had stopped her was taken aback. "You know the Feng family? That's great! Just get the young master to the hospital, and the Feng family will reward you well!"
Shen Qi was speechless.
The Feng family had just given her trouble, and now she ran into them again.
Oh well, she wouldn't hold a grudge against a sick man.
"Buckle up. Which hospital?" Shen Qi asked directly.
"Kangyu Private Hospital," the man replied.
Shen Qi nodded. Kangyu Private Hospital was part of the He family's holdings, famous in H Province and worldwide for its advanced equipment and skilled medical care.
She knew where it was.
Seeing that Feng Manlun had already passed out, his handsome, refined face pale and sickly, Shen Qi didn't waste time. She drove straight to Kangyu Private Hospital.
The area was remote, with little traffic, so Shen Qi sped along.
In less than twenty minutes, they reached the hospital entrance.
Shen Qi had called ahead, so as soon as the car arrived, Feng Manlun was quickly transferred to a stretcher and taken inside.
Watching him being wheeled in, Shen Qi finally relaxed and was about to leave.
But a nurse called out to her, "Family member, please fill out the patient's information first."
Shen Qi quickly said, "Sorry, I'm not a family member. I just happened to pick him up on the road and brought him here. I'll call his family right now to come over."
Family member... that term probably belonged to Feng Kexin.
Feng Manlun was rarely in the country, so almost no one locally recognized him.
Shen Qi, as the newly announced Second Young Madam of the He family, wasn't well-known either.
So, they were conveniently mistaken.
When the nurse heard Shen Qi wasn't family, she paused, then said, "Then fill in whatever you know—it'll help the doctors treat him faster."
"Sorry, I really don't know anything," Shen Qi said with a wry smile. "This is only the second time I've seen him."
Just then, someone rushed out of the emergency room. "The patient has an intestinal obstruction and needs immediate treatment. Where's the family? Hurry up and sign—otherwise, it could be life-threatening!"
Shen Qi pointed at herself in surprise. "But I'm really not his family..."
The nurse glanced at her. "If you're willing to bring him here for treatment, you must know him well. Sign quickly so we can start treatment—the longer we wait, the more problems there are."
Shen Qi opened her mouth, then closed it.
Fine, she'd see it through to the end.
Helplessly, she followed into the office and signed her name.
Feng Manlun was quickly taken into surgery, and Shen Qi felt awkward leaving now. Since she had nothing else to do, she decided to wait around.
Maybe it would earn her some goodwill from the Feng family and make Feng Kexin stop hounding her.
Kangyu Private Hospital lived up to its reputation—within half an hour, a minimally invasive surgery was successfully completed.
As soon as the surgery light went out, Shen Qi stood up to leave.
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from outside.
Shen Qi looked up and saw none other than Feng Kexin.
Feng Kexin strode in with her bodyguards, her eyes landing on the person she hated most—Shen Qi.
Feng Kexin looked at Shen Qi in disbelief. "You brought my brother here?"
Shen Qi steadied herself and replied, "There wasn't time to notify you, so I signed for you."
Feng Kexin looked Shen Qi up and down and said arrogantly, "Name your price."
Shen Qi sighed helplessly, pointing at the operating room. "Your brother will be out soon. It was a minimally invasive surgery—he'll recover quickly. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. Goodbye."