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55. Reward
Chen Shuyin occasionally envied Zhu Fangning’s simplicity—the change in how someone was addressed did not equate to a shift in love.
She pulled her hand away, stopping Zhu Fangning’s nonsense. “Since she has chosen to be your mother, you should properly accept her. She is not some plaything that can be given and taken back at will, and Pei Yu is not a bargaining chip to be exchanged. Regarding what I said earlier, I apologize.”
“How can you go back on your word?” Zhu Fangning rubbed her throbbing temples and pushed Chen Shuyin’s shoulder. “I don’t accept your apology now!”
Fang Zimiao, caught off guard, quickly hugged Zhu Fangning around the waist and pulled her back. She kept apologizing to Chen Shuyin. “Her mental state hasn’t been great since last month. She’s been saying nonsense—please don’t take it to heart.”
“I am completely clear-headed!” Zhu Fangning struggled against the tight embrace, reprimanding, “You can’t enjoy success yourself and then prevent others from pursuing it.”
She bit down hard on Fang Zimiao’s arm and finally broke free. Holding up three fingers, she declared to Chen Shuyin, “Three days. I’ll give you three days to finalize the divorce with Pei Yu.”
Chen Shuyin closed her eyes slightly, feeling overwhelmingly exhausted.
Zhu Fangning shook her shoulders and urged, “Did you hear me? In three days, I will come to inspect the results.”
Fang Zimiao quickly made a phone call. The bodyguards in the car got out and rushed toward them, restraining Zhu Fangning and carrying her away as she screamed and cried.
As silence returned to the parking garage, Chen Shuyin stared blankly at Fang Zimiao, who was covering her bleeding wound. She quietly opened her bag, took out some cotton swabs and alcohol, and handed them over. “You should treat that first.”
“Can you help me?”
Chen Shuyin hesitated for a few seconds before relenting under Fang Zimiao’s pleading gaze. She decisively disinfected the bite wound and applied a bandage. Then, her gaze drifted beyond it. “You’ve been taking care of her for ten years now, haven’t you?”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but Fang Zimiao seemed to understand the deeper meaning behind it. “I have failed.”
“Ningning has liked Pei Yu since she was a child. Her entire room is filled with things related to him. The day we were at the hospital, she recognized Pei Yu’s back. I managed to cover it up at the time, but when the news came out, she was emotionally triggered and became like this.” Fang Zimiao sighed. “We initially thought her feelings for him were just admiration, like an idol crush. We didn’t realize it ran this deep. I deeply regret not guiding her properly in time.
“You might laugh at me for leaving you back then, but I never intended to marry your father from the start.”
Chen Shuyin tilted her head in confusion.
“When your father was pursuing me, I already liked someone else. I rejected him many times. Back then, he made a lot of money from an investment and gave it all to my father as a bribe. My father was addicted to gambling and saw him as a good source of money. He forced me into marriage by threatening to kill himself. I had no choice but to agree.
“We made a deal to separate after three years. He agreed on the surface, but he secretly made me pregnant with you.” Fang Zimiao covered her lips, choking on her words, unable to continue several times.
The ten months of pregnancy were the deepest period of their relationship.
The moment Chen Shuyin was born, her maternal grandfather gambled away their entire fortune out of guilt and jumped to his death. Chen Zhixiao and Fang Zimiao were left behind to pay off the debts.
During their hardest times, they sold their only house and were left with nothing.
Chen Zhixiao drowned himself in alcohol, and in his drunken stupors, he would say hurtful things that made Fang Zimiao unable to lift her head. Their relationship hit rock bottom. They each borrowed money and fought desperately to earn back what they lost.
At first, they helped each other, but as their businesses grew, conflicts arose. Eventually, they cut ties completely. Fang Zimiao tolerated it for the sake of Chen Shuyin, but by the time high school ended, their relationship was entirely severed.
“I didn’t take you with me, not because I didn’t want to, but because bringing you along meant endless entanglement with him. And every time I thought about him, I remembered how he destroyed my life, step by step.”
Fang Zimiao leaned against Chen Shuyin. “The ties I cut weren’t just with you. I also severed the gratitude I owed your grandmother for raising me. But if she had supported me back then, maybe, just maybe—”
Her voice grew quieter.
“Maybe you wouldn’t exist.”
Chen Shuyin felt as if she were being suffocated on bitter mint. It was too painful to speak.
“Fangning’s father is the man I originally loved. When he found out I got married, he thought we had no future and hastily married someone else. But the moment I divorced, he came back to me without hesitation, supporting and protecting me.” Fang Zimiao held Chen Shuyin’s hand. “I don’t expect your forgiveness, but I want you to understand—I only chose the path I originally wanted to take.”
“Was that what you told Grandma the other day?” Chen Shuyin asked expressionlessly.
“Yes. When I was young, she didn’t like Fangning’s father, so she silently approved of your grandfather’s coercion.
“I have been reaching out to you because I want to make amends. But I know nothing I do now will matter—” Fang Zimiao hesitated before continuing, “I transferred all my guilt toward you onto Fangning. Seeing her like this now makes me suffer. So, I beg you, can you give in to her just this once?”
Chen Shuyin let out a dry laugh. Then, tears spilled from her eyes uncontrollably. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. “Are you asking me to give up my promotion opportunity, or my husband?”
“She is in no condition to work now. I plan to have her take a leave of absence. No one will compete with you.”
Every word felt like a crawling, slimy caterpillar sticking to her face, making her stomach churn. She bit her lip, tasting the metallic tang of blood, and wondered about the connection between herself and the woman before her.
“So you were fully aware of what you were doing? You used your influence to place your stepdaughter in direct competition with your biological daughter?” Chen Shuyin’s voice trembled. “You don’t think that was cruel to me?”
Fang Zimiao hurriedly explained, “When her father and I did it, we didn’t know it was you.”
“But you let it happen.” Chen Shuyin gave her no leeway. “Now that this is settled, how do you want me to cooperate with you regarding Pei Yu?”
Seeing her waver slightly, Fang Zimiao hesitated before saying, “You don’t have to divorce him. Just ask him to visit Ningning’s hospital room every day to help her recover.”
Chen Shuyin scoffed coldly. “And why should I?”
Her voice was icy, and the words hit like a dagger. “Why do you think you have the right to make such a request? And why should I agree?”