A Favor Done, A Husband Won-Chapter 502 - 496: You Are Safely Loved by Me

The past two days, Mr. Shi has miraculously improved. Although he still can’t say anything, at least when he’s pushed out in a wheelchair to sunbathe, his eyes can open, and his face shows obvious emotions when he looks at each person.

Since Shi Wancheng is returning to the Imperial Capital today, he inevitably has to go back to the Shi Family.

Shi Su took the water from Mr. He: "Thanks."

She went straight to the next room to continue practicing with those contestants. Although it’s her first time participating in such a program, after all, it was her once-beloved dance. Even if it’s only for a few hours, even if her stamina is nearly exhausted, she has to do her best.

Until the last rehearsal ended, Shi Su took a shower, reapplied her formal stage makeup, and sat in the dressing room, her hands and feet actually trembling—she was genuinely tired.

For this visit to the Imperial Capital, Jun and Lin Chen accompanied her. Jun poured her brown sugar water, and stayed by her side constantly asking if her body could hold up.

Once her makeup and hair were done, the makeup artist left. Shi Su said she wanted to rest alone for a while, as there was only half an hour left before the official recording.

Jun and Lin Chen stayed with her for a while, seeing she truly wanted to be alone, they didn’t ask further and went outside to go over the script with the program team.

Shi Su sat on the sofa, rested her eyes for a few minutes, and in her mind were the hours of dance practice today, and an image of the accounts she reviewed this morning.

After remaining still there for over ten minutes, anyone entering might have thought she was asleep when, suddenly, she opened her eyes, got up, and took the accounts out of her bag to look through them again. This time, instead of looking year by year in order, she precisely found what she wanted from a vague memory of what she saw this morning.

In March 1999, Shi Wancheng signed a clothing textile project cooperation agreement with Rubin Company in Jiang City, promising eighty million RMB in funds.

In July 2001, Shi Wancheng, acting CEO of the Shi Group, went to Jiang City for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Shi Hong Group, and in August of the same year, Rubin Company announced bankruptcy and was acquired by Shi Wancheng.

Rubin Company...

Shi Su stared at those words, and some terrifying realizations suddenly sprang into her mind.

That’s the company where her mother worked before she died, which had deep cooperation with the Shi Hong Group in Jiang City at the time. But she was young then, only knowing her mother had relations with Shi Lingkang, resulting in her conception after the relationship.

Shi Wancheng had already become acting CEO back then, representing Mr. Shi to discuss projects, while Shi Lingkang started anew in Jiang City...

But how did Shi Wancheng end up having such deep cooperation with her mother’s company, and a few days before Rubin Company’s bankruptcy and acquisition in August 2001 was exactly when her mother passed away?

At that time, Shi Lingkang suddenly abandoned her mother and married Shi Yunyin’s mother, Xu Yaru.

The year her mother passed away, Shi Su was only a few years old and was very naive, but already had clear childhood memories. When she was transferred into the Shi Family, she clearly remembered Shi Lingkang’s expression as he tried to get rid of her but couldn’t.

She always thought it was because of her unrecognized daughter’s appearance, impacting Shi Lingkang’s standing in Mr. Shi’s eyes. Because of the messy family relationship and mishandling, Mr. Shi denied him everything. She had consistently believed that the reason Shi Lingkang disliked her was solely this.

But actually, in the years after she was born, the Jiang City business circle was stormy and bloody, and she was too little to know anything.

Unknowingly, her second uncle actually had the acting CEO authority and was repeatedly approaching Jiang City...

It means that Shi Wancheng might have known about her mother’s existence and her existence very early on.

Mr. Shi was a stubborn man, starting with the basics to assess his son, whether it’s ability, upbringing, or handling family relationships, he demanded perfection. Yet now, in his dying days, none of his children satisfy him—families and life choices are a mess, it’s either his daughter ignoring family opposition and marrying a useless man, or his son’s family being disharmonious, breeding a rich second generation causing trouble, needing cultivation yet still a failure, or faraway in Jiang City stirring up the real marrying daughter’s mess that is intolerable.

So back when Shi Lingkang wished she would disappear, who was the person outside that small motel fire ordering someone in fireproof clothes to come in and bring the finally crawled out her to safety?

And who sees her, the once best arrow for wounding Shi Lingkang, as an eye-sore now, wanting to send her back into that raging fire.

Though everything is just speculation, echoing in Shi Su’s ear now is what Mr. Shi said the first time he saw her.

Regarding her mother’s death, he didn’t do anything.

What does that mean?

Imperial Capital the Shi Family... Shi Wancheng, Mr. Shi...

All knew her mother was wronged when she died!

But where exactly was the injustice?

What more is there that she doesn’t know?

Why did Mr. Shi remind her to be wary of her second uncle when he’s dying?

Shi Su looked repeatedly at the words on the accounts from twenty years ago, suddenly set them down, looked up at the dressing room’s ceiling, and after a long while, picked up her phone, opened WeChat, opened Jing Jihan’s page, looked at his avatar, looked at his name, and looked at the last words he said to her on WeChat before the fire accident at Six Blessings Building.

Why were they suddenly chatting on WeChat even though both were clearly in the Imperial Capital?

Because before seeing Shi Lingkang at Six Blessings Building, Miss Chen called her downstairs at the hotel to see the script for recording that night. At that time, Shi Lingkang called her to confirm meeting time, after that she set down her phone, sat in the hotel lobby, and sent a WeChat message to Jing Jihan who was in his room. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Shi Su: [Actually, I don’t really want to see him even now, just like I don’t want to touch those past memories. The closer I get to the Shi Family, I find myself more like a turtle retreating into its shell, shrinking away, resisting everything.]

Jing Jihan replied: [You are comfortably loved by me, and can have the courage to do anything.]

Shi Su gently caressed Jing Jihan’s name, and the last WeChat message he sent her.

After waking up in the hospital, she didn’t ask Jing Jihan whether his phone was still there.

Knowing full well his phone might still be off, might be somewhere in the hospital room’s cabinet, or might have been shattered in the fire as the fall from such high floors was too severe.

Yet she still lowered her head, stubbornly looked at Jing Jihan’s name, and sent him a WeChat message.

——[Mianmian’s dad, when will you wake up?]

——[I’m very scared, and I miss you.]