“What am I doing?” Ji Xiaoyu laughed coldly. “She’s hardly any older than me, yet she wants to be my stepmom? She needs to take a good long look in a mirror! She came out to sell her body yet also wanted to find a long-term meal ticket while she was at it?!”
Pa!
Ji Xiaoyu stared at Papa Ji in disbelief. “You hit me… because of her?!”
Papa Ji had regretted what he’d done after slapping Ji Xiaoyu, but once he saw the loathing in her eyes, he smothered his regrets..
‘She had always put on that face ever since her mother died, looking at me as if I owed her a huge debt. Back then, I was out on assignment! How would I know something happened to her mom?!’
“You don’t have the right to stick your nose into adults’ business! Go back to your room!” His expression hardened as he rebuked her.
“Fine! All of you are against me, aren’t you?! This isn’t over!” Ji Xiaoyu screamed at the top of her lungs, then turned and ran out.
“Xiaoyu… Why did you yell at the child?” Bai Wei chided.
“She’s already 20! She’s no longer a child! Just ignore her.” Papa Ji had been infuriated by Ji Xiaoyu’s attitude.
……
When Fu Qin’s bodyguards came to fetch him, he tossed them out. Ever since he found out how much Shi Sheng liked to use force, he did his best to avoid direct confrontation with her.
Shi Sheng’s plan to pack Fu Qin up and send him back didn’t work out. On the contrary, it ended up with Uncle Jian moving more of Fu Qin’s stuff over.
Amongst the stuff was that Caucasian Shepherd Dog, Chang Sheng. In these three years, Chang Sheng had stayed in the country, and though he hadn’t gone with them, it was clear he hadn’t forgotten his owner.
The apartment didn’t have that much space to begin with, but it became even more cramped when he came along. Shi Sheng and Fu Qin were currently doing their university studies, so when they returned, they continued at Alice Academy.
This school for rich kids provided education from kindergarten all the way to university level.
Only when they had gone overseas did Shi Sheng discover Fu Qin was shit at academics. His grades were absolutely horrible. Thus, they held study sessions as often as mealtimes.
“If you don’t finish your revision today, you’re not getting any food.” Shi Sheng placed a workbook in front of Fu Qin.
Fu Qin looked at the workbook, his expression unsightly. “So many.”
“Many? How about we add some more?”
Fu Qin pulled the workbook towards him and complained, “This is physical abuse.”
Shi Sheng took a sip of tea, looking quite leisurely and carefree. “Get one question wrong, and you’ll go run one lap downstairs. Get two wrong, run four laps. Three wrong, nine laps.”
Fu Qin’s expression worsened as he lowered his head to focus on the workbook and start scribbling. In the quiet room, the only noise that could be heard was the sound of pen against paper.
A smile slowly spread across Fu Qin’s lowered face.
Bzz~ Bzzz~ Shi Sheng’s phone, which had been placed on Fu Qin’s desk, suddenly started vibrating. Fu Qin looked at it for a moment before lowering his head and continuing with his revision.
“Hey… Yeah? …How about you come over and tell me.” Shi Sheng walked out of the room, not shutting the door behind her. Fu Qin was able to see the living room from where he sat.
Around half an hour later, someone came to visit. Fu Qin had seen him before. This person had met with Shi Sheng when they were out of the country.
But they always talked about professional matters, so Fu Qin could continue his work, reassured.
“…That’s how the company’s been developing. The hacker team you {respectful} commissioned has made some minor accomplishments by now, though they’re still lacking in manpower.”
Back then, his boss has just dropped everything on him and left the country. Other than having to consult her when it came to utilising large sums of money, every decision was up to him.
So now, nearly everyone in the company thought he was the boss. No one knew he was just another employee who received pay cheques…
“How’s Gao Anlang been?”
Hearing Shi Sheng’s words, her CEO employee hurriedly brought himself back to the present. “Old Master Gao stepped down this year, so the Gao Family is currently in a war for succession. The various branches are vying against each other for the position of head of household.
Gao Anlang is the third son of the eldest branch, but his misdeeds have often been used against them by the third branch.”
The Gao Family was a large clan. The eldest branch was composed of Old Master Gao’s children. The second and third branches were the children of his brothers. However, only those who were capable could lead the Gao Family.
Since the people of the second branch held government positions, they couldn’t deal in business at the same time. Hence, the fiercest competition was between the eldest and third branches.
“Gao Anlang’s not doing too well in the Gao Family. Heard he’s recently obsessed with a young model.”
“A model? Male or female?” Shi Sheng’s brow lifted slightly. Back then, the pill she had fed Gao Anlang had the effect of making him unable to get it up when faced with girls.
Only when he tried with males would he succeed… And only if he was the bottom…
“Male.”
Shi Sheng hummed lowly for a moment. “Give the third branch some back doors.”
If he lost the Gao Family’s backing, Gao Anlang would quickly invite trouble on himself. The CEO understood what Shi Sheng meant by giving them ‘back doors’, so he immediately went to arrange things.
And as expected, not long afterwards, news circulated that the third branch of the Gao Family had taken over. The eldest branch only received some shares and fixed assets.
Since the first and third branches had never gotten along, if the old head of household were to die, the third branch’s members were sure to block off any means of living for the members of the eldest branch.
But before they had the chance to make a move, a bunch of videos went viral. Amongst them was the one featuring Gao Anlang, naked and in the wilderness, with the words “I am a beast” carved on his body.
Having gotten the hint, the inheritor immediately threw into the open all of the evidence they had gathered on Gao Anlang over the years. They appeared determined to knock him down.
……
When she met Bei Ze once again, it was at the gates to the cinema. Fu Qin had made a fuss about wanting to go to the movies.
Bei Ze had matured from an inexperienced teenager into a man of indomitable spirit.
He was like a beacon of light, and just standing there caused the surrounding females to softly shriek. He’d take a look at his watch from time to time, though he never revealed any hints of impatience.
Perhaps he felt it was too noisy, for when he tried to call a number, he walked towards Shi Sheng’s direction.
He then stopped in his tracks. The surrounding hubbub seemed to quieten down, leaving only the three of them.
Bei Ze’s expression was slightly complicated, but he soon revealed a relieved smile. “Xiaozhi, you’re back?”
“Yep.” Shi Sheng nodded her head.
There was an awkward silence that was only broken when Bei Ze suggested they go have a seat at a nearby café.
Shi Sheng didn’t mind. She looked at Fu Qin, who was thinking of something with his head lowered. When Shi Sheng asked him, he simply gave a somewhat distracted nod.
Bei Enterprises collapsed soon after Shi Sheng had left. Shortly after, Father Bei fell ill and was hospitalised. Mother Bei left then, taking away their last sum of money. Because there wasn’t enough money to pay the medical fees, Father Bei left this world not long after.
Bei Ze had to deal with the mess Bei Enterprises had become and also pay back the massive debts it owed to its creditors. Just as everyone was waiting to watch him make a fool of himself, he managed to bring Bei Enterprises back from the brink of death in just three years.
He became a legend. Outsiders might not be aware of the real reason, but Shi Sheng was.
It was because of Lin Yin going all out to help. Lin Yin had threatened the Lin Family with committing suicide in order to get Bei Enterprises the capital it needed to continue surviving.
As Lin Yin was the only heir to the Lin Family, they naturally couldn’t allow her to die. It was also at that time that Shi Sheng gave up on attacking Bei Ze.
The Jiang Family also helped out a bit. It was probably Jiang Nana’s doing. Back then, all Jiang Nana knew was that Bei Zhi had gone abroad, but not that she had already cut off all ties with the Bei Family.
So the Jiang Family had actually meant to help Shi Sheng. Since Shi Sheng had given up on attacking Bei Ze, she naturally wouldn’t stop the Jiang Family from giving him help.