Chapter 10: She Was Slapped So Hard Her Face Swollen

In the morning, as she went downstairs, Shen Yu was sitting in the dining room, sipping coffee and checking work emails.

Shuangxu didn’t know he had returned last night. She sat opposite him, quietly eating breakfast.

This silence was rare. In front of Shen Yu, she was a chatterbox, sharing all sorts of things with him.

This time, Shen Yu was the first to speak: “Mom said you’ve been going to the hospital to take care of your senior every day.”

“Yeah. My senior’s mom hasn’t been well for a few years. I’m afraid she’ll worry if she knows, so we haven’t told her family about the illness yet.”

“Let the nurses take care of the patient. Don’t work yourself too hard.”

Although Shen Yu didn’t interfere with her friendships, he wasn’t happy that his little sister, whom he cherished, was going to serve others.

“I know.” Shuangxu replied.

“Her treatment plan has been reviewed by the top hematology experts in the country. There won’t be any problems. Don’t worry.”

He cared about Shu Yang’s illness, all for her sake. Shuangxu stirred the porridge in her bowl and hummed in agreement.

As if sensing her low spirits, Shen Yu looked at her: “Not happy?”

“No.” Shuangxu changed the subject. “Brother, do you know any lawyer friends?”

“Trouble already on your first day back?” Shen Yu’s long fingers held the coffee cup, his voice tinged with a hint of amusement. “Tell me, what trouble have you gotten into?”

The morning light flowed in his eyes. Shuangxu avoided his gaze: “It’s not me. My senior has some financial disputes with her partner. The lawyer I found isn’t very good.”

It wasn’t a big deal. Shen Yu said, “I’ll arrange it for you.”

“Thank you, brother.”

The lawyer Shen Yu arranged contacted Shuangxu that afternoon. He was an experienced lawyer specializing in economic litigation. Handling such a small dispute was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Over the weekend, Shuangxu was busy meeting with the lawyer and discussing the case. She naturally didn’t go back to the Song family, ignoring Cui Ning’s order.

When she returned to the Shen family that night, Fu Yun was still awake, waiting for her in the living room.

Seeing Shuangxu come back, Fu Yun asked Mrs. Wang to bring over the warmed milk: “What have you been busy with these past few days? You come back so late every day.”

“Helping my senior with company matters.” Shuangxu didn’t really like drinking milk, but she obediently took it.

“You haven’t gone back home since you came back, have you?” Fu Yun said. “Take some time, you should go back and see them.”

It was probably Cui Ning who had contacted her.

The Shen and Song families were close, and Fu Yun often had to consider Cui Ning’s face and not offend her.

“I’ve been too busy lately.” Shuangxu finished the milk in one gulp, yawned, and said, “I’m so sleepy, Dry Mom, I’m going to go upstairs and sleep.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly went upstairs to her room. Fu Yun looked at her back and sighed helplessly: “She runs away as soon as you mention it.”

“Miss Shuangxu isn’t close to them, and the Song family hasn’t raised her for a single day. Back then, Mr. Song slapped her so hard, her face was swollen. Mrs. Song sent her away, and they haven’t cared about her for so many years. Now that she’s back in the country, they’re in a hurry. Do they want Miss Shuangxu to never come back?”

Mrs. Wang，who had raised the girl, sided with her: “If I were her, I wouldn’t want to go back and get scolded either.”

“Don’t add fuel to the fire.” Fu Yun said. “After all, they are her family. In the future, Shuangxu’s marriage will still be arranged by the Song family. If you upset Cui Ning, what good will it do her?”

Mrs. Wang sighed: “Mrs. Song is like that, what kind of good marriage can she arrange for Miss Shuangxu.”

Fu Yun called Cui Ning to talk about this.

“She’s not deliberately not going back. She must have forgotten. Her senior is seriously ill, and the company seems to have encountered some trouble. When Shuangxu was abroad, this senior took good care of her, and they have a very deep relationship. She’s been running around for her senior’s sake recently, so busy that I haven’t even seen her.”

These excuses didn’t convince Cui Ning. She said coldly: “You haven’t seen her, but I see that your Shen Yu can see her.”

Fu Yun’s tone turned unpleasant: “What do you mean by that? Ayu has always doted on Shuangxu since he was little, treating her like a sister. It’s normal for them to see each other.”

Cui Ning didn’t say much, she directly sent her a video.

It was from Shen Yu’s birthday party. The atmosphere was lively and cheerful. Shuangxu and Shen Yu stood together at the table, he was cutting the cake with a knife, and the angle made it look like he was half-embracing Shuangxu.

The video was only a few seconds long. The noisy sound ended, and Fu Yun’s face had changed.

Cui Ning’s tone remained composed: “Have you forgotten why you sent her away? If your Shen family thinks the scandal five years ago wasn’t embarrassing enough, then I’m not afraid to lose face for the Song family and make a fool of ourselves together.”

Shuangxu wasn’t sleepy at all. Back in her room, she lay on the bed, feeling down.

She didn’t like the Song family, not only because she had no feelings for them but also because of what happened five years ago.

Shuangxu’s background wasn’t a secret in the circle. The Song family’s eldest daughter wasn’t Cui Ning’s biological child, everyone knew that.

Her biological mother was Song Mianzhi’s direct subordinate. At that time, Song Mianzhi had just started working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a handsome and gentle superior, it wasn’t strange that Shuangxu’s mother fell in love with him.

They gradually developed feelings for each other at work. When they were together, Song Mianzhi was still single. Unfortunately, their identities and positions were vastly different. Shuangxu’s grandfather was a deputy minister, while Song Mianzhi’s career was just starting. A small translator’s background clearly didn’t match his future prospects.

Shuangxu’s grandfather forcefully separated the two, but Shuangxu believed that his obstruction wasn’t the only factor.

Song Mianzhi was a man who loved his career and himself above all else.

Her mother was stubborn and had a strong sense of self-esteem. She was forced to resign, and later, when she found out she was pregnant, she didn’t tell Song Mianzhi. She gave birth to the child herself. For the first eight years of her life, Shuangxu lived with her mother.

Later, her mother abandoned her.

She had a deep psychological shadow from being abandoned, so five years ago, when the Song family wanted to…

When they sent her abroad, she begged them desperately not to send her away. She wanted to call Shen Yu, but her phone was confiscated. They locked her in a room, and a few days later, they put her on a plane.

Every time she thought about how she felt back then, she felt suffocated.

Early one morning, Shuangxu got up and saw Fu Yun busy cooking in the kitchen.

She was making ginger soup with burnt red dates and snow pear, with rock sugar added, so it was sweet.

Shuangxu didn’t like the taste of ginger, and she hated drinking ginger soup, so whenever she got a cold as a child, Fu Yun would make her this sweet ginger soup.

She hadn’t had it in many years, and the familiar smell made her miss it.

The pear had been cooked to a translucent texture. Shuangxu leaned over and used a fork to pick up a piece to steal a bite.

“Is anyone at home sick?”

There were three cooks in the house, and Fu Yun didn’t often cook herself. The only people who could get her to cook ginger soup were a few people.

She was alive and well, and Shen Changyuan had been on a business trip for the past few days, so it had to be…

“Your brother has a fever.”

Fu Yun poured the hot soup into a thermos. “The temperature has been fluctuating these past few days, and he doesn’t take care of himself. When you go out later, take this to him on your way.”

Shuangxu heard this and didn’t dare to delay. She swallowed the pear with the taste of ginger in her mouth, picked up the thermos, and rushed to Shen Yu’s place.