Chapter 38: The Capitalist’s Daughter

Song Huaiwen shot her a cold glance without stopping, continuing to walk forward.

“If you don’t listen, you’ll regret it,” Xu Ruyan shouted unwillingly.

Thankfully, it was scorching hot, and most people were indoors napping to escape the heat. If anyone had seen Xu Ruyan shrieking like a madwoman, her reputation as a gentle lotus beauty would’ve been destroyed on the spot.

Oh wait—her image of being kind and innocent had already crumbled among the girls. After all, walls have ears. The story of her past election scandal had already been spread through letters by members of other art troupes.

Because of this, her so-called “plastic sisters” turned on her, gleefully adding fuel to the fire. Most of the female members had started isolating her.

Now, only most of the boys still thought Jian Yan was making a fuss over nothing and still saw Xu Ruyan as the poor, fragile victim.

Song Huaiwen had already walked some distance away. His instincts told him Xu Ruyan was up to no good. But because this was about Shen Nanqing, after a moment of hesitation, his emotions won out over his rationality—he slowly turned back.

There was an unspoken rule among the art troupes: every year, a regional cross-troupe performance event was held. Officially, it was to exchange and learn from each other, but in reality, it was a subtle competition.

Each troupe would give it their all, showcasing their best pieces in the hope of standing out.

Naturally, the Yandu Art Troupe was no exception.

At this time, the dance Shen Nanqing had choreographed finally had a chance to shine. Most of the troupe’s current programs were stale and uninspired. If they wanted to win, they had to innovate.

So Song Huaizhi assigned this glorious yet challenging task to Shen Nanqing and the scriptwriters.

In the past, Shen Nanqing had danced for very practical reasons. Maybe she started out dancing for love as a child, but after being abandoned by her parents and struggling to survive, dancing had become a way to win awards and raise her own worth. She had gradually forgotten the essence of dance.

But the recent grassroots performance tour had changed her outlook.

The shabby stage, the genuine smiles and applause of the local crowd, and the once-delicate teammates now sweating under the blazing sun for a shared goal—

All of it made her realize that dance truly could bring people joy and comfort. She had already become one with her art, now dancing for the honor of the troupe.

Currently, the most popular dance drama was The White-Haired Girl. Shen Nanqing, however, wanted to base her work on the hit film The Red Detachment of Women, combining Western ballet techniques with elements of Chinese folk dance to create a uniquely Chinese dance language.

To complete this vision smoothly, she had been rising early and staying out late, skipping meals and losing sleep these past few days.

Standing on the shoulders of giants, Shen Nanqing’s dance drama quickly took shape. Once the foundation was set, she passed on the rest to professionals. When she finally had some free time, she realized she hadn’t seen Song Huaiwen in days.

Her gaze drifted to the spot where she had hidden the passbook, deep in thought. She recalled the things Song Huaiwen had said, vaguely sensing he’d meant to leave.

Their separation hadn’t surprised her. She couldn’t give up her career to follow the army, and she wouldn’t expect him to give up his either.

But for him to just leave without even saying goodbye—it left a trace of disappointment in her heart.

“You noticed, didn’t you?” Xu Ruyan arched her brow with a smirk, her pride practically glowing.

Shen Nanqing replied, “Noticed what?”

Ever since she got the call from Li Yanhong, Xu Ruyan had been waiting—for the moment Shen Nanqing would fall from her pedestal. But disappointingly, the Shen family never called, which had given Shen Nanqing the peace of mind to keep working on her projects.

At that morning’s meeting, both Political Commissar Zheng and Song Huaizhi had publicly and generously praised Shen Nanqing. Their words hinted that if her newly choreographed piece could be performed on stage, the achievement would be unprecedented.

That made Xu Ruyan regret not kicking her while she was down sooner. She shouldn’t have waited this long.

Xu Ruyan crossed her arms and said, “Haven’t you noticed that Song Huaiwen is gone?”

“Mm.” A bad feeling surged up in Shen Nanqing’s heart, but she showed nothing on her face. Her tone remained calm: “I know. The holiday’s over—he’s returned to his original unit.”

Xu Ruyan let out a mocking snort. “Didn’t think someone like you, Shen Nanqing, could lie to yourself. Fine, I’ll give it to you straight—Song Huaiwen doesn’t want you anymore.”

That day, she had summoned the courage to stop Song Huaiwen because Li Yanhong had told her that both Shen Mother and Shen Father had been taken in for investigation by the Revolutionary Committee.

The whole thing actually began when she and Li Haoxuan got their marriage certificate and he brought her back to his family.

People are inherently selfish. Li Gaoyi and Li Yanhong didn’t want her marrying in—it all came down to interests.

But the marriage was already done, and since it was a military marriage, they didn’t dare make too big a scene. Knowing her dowry was generous, they grudgingly accepted her.

Xu Ruyan tried hard to curry favor. Li Yanhong coveted her dowry, so they maintained a superficial harmony. What really made them align on the same front, though, was all thanks to Shen Mother and Shen Nanqing.

Their friendship quickly bonded over badmouthing the Shen family.

When Li Yanhong mentioned that the two-story house belonging to the Shen family was Shen Mother’s dowry, Xu Ruyan smelled something fishy. She poked around and truly uncovered something shocking.

Shen Mother had been fostered by the Shen family at fifteen, and it was said she was a distant relative.

At the time, Shen Wenbai’s father was just a team leader at the machinery factory. But the year after Ye Qilan moved into the Shen family’s home, his promotions suddenly skyrocketed.

In just five years, he jumped to become the deputy director of the factory. Who would believe there wasn’t something shady going on?

Elderly folks remembered that when Ye Qilan first arrived at the Shen home, her clothes were all high-end, and she was skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—clearly a daughter of a prestigious family. Some even rumored that the factory originally belonged to her family.

Later, due to the political upheaval, both the Shen family and Ye Qilan kept a low profile.

Li Yanhong’s hatred of Ye Qilan wasn’t without reason. Back when Shen Wenbai was twenty, the family had arranged a matchmaking meeting for him, and the girl was none other than Li Yanhong.

But Shen Wenbai had already fallen for Ye Qilan and refused the match without even meeting her. Li Yanhong’s dream of marrying into the factory director’s family crumbled.

From that moment on, she bore a deep grudge against Ye Qilan, convinced that this orphaned girl who lived off others had seduced her way into the Shen family.

Plus, Li Yanhong always believed Ye Qilan was beneath her in every way. So when Shen Nanqing claimed that two-story house was her mother’s dowry, Li Yanhong didn’t believe it for a second—she thought Ye Qilan had made it up to save face.

But Xu Ruyan wasn’t Li Yanhong. She’d secretly observed Ye Qilan and her instincts told her that Ye Qilan’s background was anything but simple.

She even paid Li Haojun to dig through the factory’s old records. The director back then had the surname Ye. Later, he immigrated abroad and transferred the factory out of the country. After some back and forth, it ended up nationalized.

Overseas connections, capitalist heritage—if even one of these rumors turned out to be true, the Shen family would be finished.

When Shen Nanqing heard this, she was stunned for a moment, then glanced coldly at her. “Take your meds if you’re sick.”

What did she mean Song Huaiwen didn’t want her anymore?!

She was literally holding the keys to his family wealth! If Xu Ruyan was going to stir up drama, at least come up with something believable. Did marriage knock all the sense out of her?

Seeing she still refused to take the bait, Xu Ruyan played her trump card and spat viciously, “Keep running that mouth of yours! Your Shen family is about to go down in flames. Your mom—some so-called capitalist’s daughter—just wait for the political screening to come for you. I thought Song Huaiwen really liked you, but turns out, the second he heard about your background, he disappeared without a trace. Isn’t that just pathetic?”