Chapter 6: Sold

Shi Yuan’s first reaction was a rush of blood to his scalp, leaving it numb.

His previously cheerful face was instantly clouded with worry, his eyes filled with anxiety as he hurried towards her.

“Oh, my precious daughter, Ranran, you’re back? It’s good you’re back, it’s good you’re back. Where have you been these past two days? Your father was worried sick.”

Shi Ran sneered. After almost twenty years, she had only just discovered that this man, who was already in his fifties and nearing sixty, and who always appeared amiable, was such a skilled actor. His emotional shifts were instantaneous.

“Weren’t you quite happy just now? I didn’t see any worry on your face.”

“Guests at home? Seems like they have a good relationship with Dad. I’ve never seen them before.”

“Guests? You’re the guest! I’m Dad’s daughter!” The word “guest” instantly provoked the girl. She had been spoiled since childhood and always spoke her mind.

Seeing her impulsiveness and stubbornness, Ruan Qing looked distressed and pulled Shi Keyue closer.

“Keyue, don’t be willful, she’s your sister.”

Dad’s daughter…

Sister…

These words bombarded Shi Ran’s brain. So, before she was born, Shi Yuan had someone else?

What about her mother? What was she?

She glared at the well-maintained woman, her emotions reaching their peak. She yelled, “Get out! Get out of my house!”

The punk boy stood aside, arms crossed, chewing gum impassively, watching the drama unfold.

“Sorry, this is my home too. I can’t leave! Looks like I’m going to disappoint the pretty sister!”

…

After several rounds of shoving and shouting, with Shi Yuan’s hoarse pleas for calm, everyone finally sat down in the living room, quiet.

Shi Ran’s anger had reached its peak but she suppressed it. She just wanted to know how Shi Yuan had done all this behind her mother’s back.

“Did my mother know?”

Shi Yuan: “She didn’t know.”

Ruan Qing smiled insincerely, looking at Shi Ran’s frail appearance, feeling triumphant:

She’s just as stupid as her short-lived mother. This kind of hothouse flower, how will she ever compete with me?

Her end will be the same as her mother’s—played like a puppet, and ultimately dying without knowing how.

“It’s my fault. It’s all my fault… Before I met your mother, Ruan Qing and I were deeply in love…”

Shi Ran: “Don’t be so familiar. I don’t know her, she’s not my aunt!”

Shi Yuan lowered his head, his face full of pain, continuing, “Don’t be like this, Ranran. They’re innocent, it’s all Dad’s fault. Blame Dad for anything, okay?”

“Let Dad finish, then you can hit or scold me, I won’t say a word.”

“Ruan Qing and I were childhood sweethearts. In college, we planned to get married after graduation. But that year, my family arranged a marriage for me, with your mother. The family business was on the verge of bankruptcy, and as the eldest son, I couldn’t refuse, so I had to agree.”

“Before the wedding, I painfully broke up with Ruan Qing. Unexpectedly, a year after the wedding, she came to see me with a child. She was pregnant with my child. A young girl, she cut ties with her family, had no financial resources, and even the baby’s formula was a problem…”

“She had no choice but to come to me, and how could I refuse…”

As he spoke, Shi Yuan began to cry, a fifty-year-old man, his face lined, looking even older as he wept.

“So I supported her outside. Not long after, she had a second child. At that time, I wanted to tell your mother, to get a divorce. I couldn’t keep dragging her along; she was still young and could find a better man…”

“But I didn’t expect…”

“I didn’t expect… Fate is always cruel. She also became pregnant, and shortly after, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not long after, not long after, she passed away…”

“For your sake, Dad didn’t let them move in, and kept them hidden all these years…”

Shi Yuan suddenly knelt down, tears streaming down his face.

“Ranran, Dad begs you, accept them, okay? They’ve followed Dad for so many years, they’ve suffered so much. Dad doesn’t want Ruan Qing to suffer a lifetime. Please, Dad begs you…”

Shi Ran sneered, clapping her hands. The crisp sound echoed through the large living room.

“What a touching love story! Using my mother’s money to support your mistress, Shi Yuan, that’s how you live your life?”

“So? Now you’re repeating the trick, selling your daughter to someone else to save the company? Shi Yuan, your calculations are brilliant!”

Shi Yuan: “Ranran, what are you talking about? I didn’t know where you’d gone these past two days, Dad was worried sick! I sent many people to look for you!”

Shi Ran couldn’t help but clap again, as if only clapping could express her feelings—she admired, truly admired her father’s acting skills.

She couldn’t tell which of his words were true and which were false.

She pulled out the document from her bag and threw it in his face. The sharp edge of the folder cut his forehead, leaving a long gash, blood and tears welling up.

Everyone was startled.

Shi Keyue lunged at her: “You ungrateful wretch, who gave you the guts to treat Dad like that?”

Shi Xu stopped her: “Okay, Keyue, it’s understandable that the pretty sister is angry, don’t hurt her.”

“You lecherous fool! You’re so infatuated with her beauty you’ve lost your mind? You’re siding with her! Don’t forget, she’s your half-sister, get rid of those thoughts.”

Ruan Qing shouted: “Alright, shut up!”

She took a wet wipe and carefully wiped the blood from Shi Yuan’s forehead, applying a band-aid, her voice softening, “Ayuan, it hurts, bear with it.”

After completing the actions, she stood up and looked at Shi Ran, her eyes still gentle.

“Ranran! Your father isn’t easy, he treats you like a precious jewel, he can’t wait to hold you in his hands, don’t treat him like this.”

Shi Ran: “Don’t call me Ranran. You don’t deserve to.”

Shi Yuan didn’t get angry, he sighed, picked up the folder from the ground, opened it and saw the contract he signed with Lu Beiyuan, clearly stating his crime.

And his signature and seal.

He had used his daughter, Shi Ran, as collateral to Lu Beiyuan for one hundred million.

But he had clearly told Lu Beiyuan to keep it secret, and he completely disregarded his words.

It was too late. It was no use saying anything.

He could only play the emotional card.

“Ranran, Dad had no choice… This is the only way to revive the company! The company also has your mother’s hard work, do you have the heart to see the business your mother fought for with her life fail? Dad really had no other choice.”

“Lu Beiyuan isn’t bad either! He’s the richest man in City A, he’s incredibly handsome, Ranran, it’s not a loss…”

Shi Ran: …