A Favor Done, A Husband Won-Chapter 492 - 486: Jing Jihan Chuckles, a Butcher?
Shi Lingkang saw Shi Su’s smile and asked, puzzled, "Why?"
Shi Su seemed not to have heard his question, suddenly turning to Jing Jihan: "Can you guess who I wanted to marry most when I was little?"
Jing Jihan’s refined brows moved slightly: "Who?"
Shi Su chuckled to herself first, looked down at the ribs on her plate, and said casually, "When I was little, I really wanted to marry a butcher."
Shi Lingkang: "..."
Jing Jihan: "..."
Seeing the sincerity in Shi Su’s eyes, it was clear she wasn’t joking.
Jing Jihan chuckled lightly: "A butcher?"
"Yeah, when I was at home as a child, there were always ribs cooked by the housemaid aunt on the table. But every time it was my turn to eat, they were either cold, picked over, fatty, spoiled, or accidentally burnt. I never had a proper piece of rib at the family table, and no one ever picked one for me. In fact, sometimes there wasn’t even a single piece left, and I couldn’t even see a bone." Shi Su’s voice wasn’t loud, sounding as if she was narrating calmly, yet every word seemed to carry irony.
"So, my biggest dream at that time was to grow up quickly and marry a butcher, so that I could have lots and lots of ribs to eat every day."
Shi Su said these words smilingly, while Jing Jihan’s face seemed unchanged, but his eyes grew notably cool and somber, and the increasingly awkward Shi Lingkang felt as if the surrounding air had dropped several degrees.
The grievances Shi Su suffered in Jiang City at the Shi Family during her childhood were never intentionally mentioned by her again, except for honestly confessing her past in front of Jing Jihan at the beginning, she never emphasized more on what she went through.
Even though she didn’t say, Jing Jihan also knew and could guess, but hearing this brief sentence or two really from her mouth, these huge grievances were just the tip of the iceberg.
Most of it was buried under time, only Shi Su herself knew about the days she’d spent enduring and surviving in a corner of the Shi Family.
Shi Lingkang quickly picked another rib and placed it on Shi Su’s plate, although she hadn’t touched her chopsticks at all.
"Indeed, as your father I neglected you then, making you suffer at home. Today I especially wanted to have a meal with you, have a good chat, which also includes apologizing." After Shi Lingkang sat down, he picked up his wine glass: "During those ten-plus years you grew up before me, I failed as a father, not giving you a bit of warmth at home, and repeatedly made you sad because of Yunyin and her daughter. It’s my fault, these past years Mr. Shi also hasn’t spared me from criticism at his side, having my own daughter grow up full of grievances while I foolishly cared for others’ children. Looking back back then, I just longed to give myself a few slaps."
"But Shi Su, life is still long, and we’ll have many more decades between father and daughter, those I owed you back then, I’ll strive to make up for in the future. I know you don’t want to acknowledge me as your father, so I haven’t forced you to call me Dad again. But after all, you’re part of the Shi Family. In recent years, the family hasn’t been thriving with people, and at my age, you’re my only biological daughter. I was indeed confused before, towards you, towards your mother. These debts perhaps wouldn’t be cleared even if I ended up in hell. But this family, you can’t leave."
"Now you see the situation of the Shi Family, even if you come back, you’re bound to face threats as you bear the Shi name, as the only granddaughter of Mr. Shi. No matter if you’re in Jiang City or abroad, people will still eye you. Your every move will no longer be magnified in front of the media, not just for fans to see. Every step you take in the future will be closely watched by all levels of the business circle in the Imperial City."
"Furthermore, regarding Shi Dongyang’s issue, I didn’t expect the trouble he started for you was just the beginning. You foresaw it wouldn’t end, and getting him inside early indeed saved a lot of trouble. Without Mr. Jing’s pressure, he probably would have been bailed out just in three days. Now he can’t get out, but your second uncle’s side won’t let it go. That day at the hospital you’ve been tailed once already, Xiang Chao told me about it later. We pulled the hospital’s surveillance but found nothing. It’s clear that the monitoring room or some staff in that hospital have already been bought. You’ve probably already figured out who’s tailing you and wanted to take you away."
"No need to remind me, I’m clear about this." After Shi Su finished, she called a server and ordered a bottle of mineral water.
She didn’t plan to eat the dishes on this table or drink any wine.
"If meeting me was just to say these useless apologies, then it’s really unnecessary. Apologies I don’t need, nor they’re useful." Shi Su toyed with the mineral water cap, without even lifting her eyelids, she said, "Actually, Shi Xiangchao is already your best choice, but you keep wanting me back, making me suspicious whether Mr. Shi didn’t suddenly fall ill without leaving a will as rumored."
She raised her eyes, looking plainly at Shi Lingkang: "Besides being his real granddaughter, is there another reason you want me back so much? He couldn’t have been so muddle-headed to have divided the shares in the will ahead of time, and there’s a portion left for me?"
The atmosphere in the private room momentarily turned a bit quiet.
A jolt ran through Shi Su’s heart.
Could she have just randomly guessed correctly?
With the thin familial ties she had with the Shi Family, how could Mr. Shi possibly allocate shares to her?
Shi Su suddenly turned her gaze towards Jing Jihan, seeing him sitting quietly to the side, his calm gaze unchanged, fingers brushing slowly against the glass’s rim, without speaking, but clearly having his own conclusions within his heart.
Could Mr. Shi really...
Shi Su withdrew her gaze, finally understanding Shi Lingkang’s intention in finding her.
If there truly were shares left for her in an established will, and Shi Lingkang also had a portion, their combined shares as father and daughter would be substantial, and now that Shi Dongyang was in jail, unless Mr. Shi was biased, her second uncle’s shares certainly wouldn’t exceed theirs. Thus, the final person in power would be Shi Lingkang.
This matter would be up to her to decide, whether she wanted to side with Shi Lingkang.
But currently, it’s merely speculation; everyone’s saying Mr. Shi suddenly fell ill, who knows if he prepared ahead of time? After all, during that recent meeting in Hong Kong, Mr. Shi seemed to be in pretty good spirits and physically healthy. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
Yet just these speculations are enough to make the Shi Family anxious.
