Song Rongrong was worried that Shi Nuan didn’t understand, so she repeated herself several times. hi Nuan felt frustrated and touched at the same time. Song Rongrong truly was kind to her, without any pretense. She treated Shi Nuan better than her own family did.
“What are you smiling about?” Song Rongrong had been rambling for a while now, only to find Shi Nuan spacing out. She glared at Shi Nuan and said testily, “I’m trying to explain things to you! Listen carefully!”
“I got it.” Shi Nuan placed the voice recorder in her purse and looked at the pinhole camera that Song Rongrong had attached onto the purse. She silently took note of its position. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle this carefully!”
“Alright! I guess I was just worrying over nothing.” Song Rongrong pressed her lips together tightly. “In any case, be careful of what you drink.”
“I know.” Shi Nuan had learnt from the last incident to not absent-mindedly drink whatever was being served to her. Even so, Song Rongrong’s reminder was timely – it wouldn’t hurt to take extra caution.
“They’re here!”
Shi Nuan watched as Shi Jingzheng and Jiang Yu got out of their car. Shi Wei also exited the same vehicle. Shi Nuan hid behind a tree nearby while clutching Song Rongrong’s hand as she watched her family members enter Jinyi Hotel. Shi Nuan turned pale, but she tried her best to compose herself.
“This is too much! They actually brought that little wench along,” Song Rongrong said furiously. “So this matter surely has something to do with Shi Wei!”
“Of course!” Shi Nuan smiled bitterly and patted Song Rongrong on the shoulder. “I’ll be heading in then.”
“Wait!” Song Rongrong grabbed Shi Nuan’s hand. “Wait a while longer for Yun Shen to show up!”
“No!” Shi Nuan shook her head. “I’ve met Yun Shen once. He’s not as easy-going as he looks. I have to set up the devices before he arrives.”
“Good point!” Song Rongrong nodded. “You’re definitely more attentive. Go on then. I’ll be in the room next to yours!”
Shi Nuan nodded and received a phone call from Jiang Yu just as she was about to walk in. She pursed her lips and swiped her phone to accept the call. “Hello!”
“What do you mean ‘hello’?” Jiang Yu’s hostile voice travelled through the receiver. “I’m telling you, Shi Nuan: you’d better show up today. Don’t even try to avoid this. Where are you? It’s almost 7!”
Shi Nuan’s eyes darkened slightly. “I’m almost there. Which room are you in?”
“3702,” Jiang Yu replied curtly. “Get over here at once.”
Shi Nuan hung up. “I’ll be heading in then!”
“OK!”
The room Jiang Yu spoke of was on the third floor. This floor was often used to host banquets, but it also had private rooms on the west wing, which was rather elegant.
Shi Nuan arrived in front of room 3702. She could already hear her family’s voices before even entering. “Mom, didn’t you say she’d come? Why isn’t she here yet? Could she actually not be coming?”
“That’s impossible. That brat wouldn’t dare to miss this. Have you forgotten that I have her video?” Jiang Yu’s shrill voice penetrated the door.
Shi Nuan’s stretched out hand froze in place and her expression turned gloomy.
Those people inside were her parents and sister, but they had never thought about her. All they ever did was plot against her, and today would be the grand finale of their schemes.
Shi Nuan took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Inside, Jiang Yu and Shi Wei exchange glances. “Get the door already!” Shi Jingzheng said while glaring at them.
Shi Wei rushed over to open the door and sighed in relief upon seeing the woman standing outside. She felt triumphant, but she didn’t show it. “You’re here, Nuan!”
Shi Wei tried to grab onto Shi Nuan’s hand, but the latter swiftly evaded her.
Hurt flashed across Shi Wei’s eyes as she stared pitifully at Shi Nuan. “Nuan, I know you’re still mad at me, but…”
“I’m not mad at you!” Shi Nuan said while dodging Shi Wei. She curved her lips as she challenged her sister, “Did you do something to make me mad?”
Shi Wei froze for a moment. She didn’t expect Shi Nuan to speak in this manner. She sulked and glanced at Jiang Yu miserably. With that, Jiang Yu smacked the table. “What are you saying? What could your sister ever do to anger you? It’d be good enough if you didn’t anger us!”
Shi Nuan looked up to face Jiang Yu, but she merely smiled and remained silent. As her crystal clear eyes bore into Jiang Yu’s, the elder woman was momentarily stunned and a trace of fear emerged in her heart.
But she soon regained her composure and glared at Shi Nuan. “Don’t blame us for treating you like this. I’m sure you know what position the Yun family holds in Jiang City. The fact that Yun Shen had taken interest in you is a blessing. You’d better not be ungrateful.”
“Oh?” Shi Nuan snickered and turned to Shi Jingzheng. “Do you think I’m ungrateful too, father?”
Shi Jingzheng was caught between a rock and a hard place. He felt that this daughter of his wasn’t close to him – he couldn’t even tell what was on Shi Nuan’s mind.
“What do you mean by that? Are you saying your father and I want to cause you harm?” Jiang Yu became infuriated upon hearing Shi Nuan’s words. “Are you not aware of who the Yun family is? They’re much better-off than we are. You’re lucky to have caught Yun Shen’s interest.”
“Lucky? You sure are kind to me, mother!” Shi Nuan said sarcastically as her eyes scanned the entire room. She looked at the positioning of the table and the teacups that were placed on it. With a slight frown, she thought about where she should sit. “To think that you’re giving something so incredible to your despicable younger daughter instead of your precious Shi Wei – you sure are nice to me, mother!”
“You… You little brat,” Jiang Yu spluttered in anger. “I’m your mother; why would I ever think of hurting you?”
“Of course not. You weren’t the one who spiked my tea, nor did you record a damning video of me. You weren’t the one who forced me to come over either.”
“You wench!” Jiang Yu couldn’t no longer hold it in and delivered a hard slap.
Shi Nuan had expected Jiang Yu to hit her, so she let it happen instead of avoiding the slap.
The sharp, crisp sound seemed to resound through the room. Shi Wei gasped and rushed over to Jiang Yu while eyeing Shi Nuan carefully. “What are you doing, mom? How could you hit Nuan? Are you OK, Nuan? I’ll buy you some medicine!”
“There’s no need!” Shi Nuan said coldly. “It’s almost time anyway. Mr. Yun is going to show up any time soon; are you sure you still want to talk about our family matters at this time?” Shi Nuan took the chance to take a seat and quickly attached the voice recorder underneath the table.
Just as the recorder stuck, the room door opened. Dressed in a pink shirt with a coat hanging on his arm, Yun Shen stood lazily at the door, surveying the room in amusement.
Shi Nuan felt her palms sweat from her nervousness as she gazed into Yun Shen’s cunning eyes. She quickly retracted her hand and put her purse down, trying her best to remain calm.
Yun Shen caught sight of Shi Nuan panic-stricken behavior and gave her a meaningful look.
Shi Nuan pursed her lips and stared back at him. “Long time no see, Ms. Shi Nuan!” Yun Shen said with a raised brow.
“You’re here, Mr. Yun! Come on in!” Shi Jingzheng and Jiang Yu quickly welcomed the man into the room. Shi Wei was slightly stunned to see Yun Shen’s face.
She had already met Yun Shen once, but she didn’t get a proper look at his face because of the injury he had sustained at that time. Now that she saw how attractive Yun Shen looked, Shi Wei couldn’t help but feel surprised and slightly jealous.
Why does Shi Nuan get all the good-looking men? It was once Fu Xicheng, and now it was Yun Shen. Even at the mall back then, Fu Chengyan would look at Shi Nuan differently.
Shi Wei cast a piercing glare at Shi Nuan while no one was looking.
“Can’t you see that Mr. Yun is here, Nuan? Come over and welcome him!” Jiang Yu shot daggers at Shi Nuan with her eyes, urging her to get up.
Shi Nuan stayed in her seat and grimaced. “I’m not feeling too well right now. You won’t mind, would you, Mr. Yun?” She responded neither haughtily nor humbly.
Yun Shen merely cocked an eyebrow, instantly feeling that Shi Nuan was much more interesting than anyone else in the Shi family. His lips curled into a sly smile. “If that’s the case, please just remain seated, Ms. Shi Nuan!” He said and walked over to sit next to Shi Nuan.
Shi Nuan stiffened for a moment and straightened her back.
Feeling amused, Yun Shen casually reached out and placed an empty teacup in front of Shi Nuan. “Your hand should still be fine, right?”
Shi Nuan frowned. She really didn’t like how frivolous Yun Shen was, but she tried her best to control her emotions. Twitching the corners of her lips, she poured the man a cup of tea.
Seeing Shi Nuan behaving obediently, Shi Jingzheng heaved a sigh of relief. “It’s our honor to have you here, Mr. Yun,” he said before turning to Shi Nuan. “What happened previously was a mistake on Nuan’s part. We hope you’ll forgive her for her recklessness back then and for injuring you, Mr. Yun.”
“Oh?” Yun Shen asked with a raised brow. “Why did you call me over today, Mr. Shi?”
Shi Jingzheng immediately stood up. “My daughter has learned her lesson and is here to apologize to you today, Mr. Yun. Isn’t that right, Nuan? You said back at home that you felt sorry so you wanted to personally apologize to Mr. Yun,” said Shi Jingzheng while he narrowed his eyes at Shi Nuan.
Shi Nuan snorted internally when she saw how all of Shi Jingzheng’s attention was now on her. Jiang Yu and Shi Wei were also staring right at her. Gritting her teeth, she spoke, “I was indeed wrong for what happened back then. I shouldn’t have hit you with the vase, Mr. Yun!”
Yun Shen quirked an eyebrow. He didn’t expect Shi Nuan to apologize and was rather disappointed that she didn’t put up a fight.
However, Shi Nuan was not done. “But for the things you did to me back then, I guess it wasn’t too much for me to hit you, right, Mr. Yun?”
“What is this nonsense?” Jiang Yu screamed in vexation. “Are you aware of what you’re saying? What did Mr. Yun do to you? You little brat…”
“Shut it!” Yun Shen shouted. He glanced at Jiang Yu, but his charming eyes were ice-cold.
Jiang Yu subconsciously flinched and backed away while Shi Jingzheng glared at her. “Please don’t mind us, Mr. Yun. My wife is but a commoner!” Shi Jingzheng said before turning to Shi Nuan. “Hurry up and apologize to Mr. Yun already!”
“Apologize?” Shi Nuan scoffed. “Your own daughter was bullied by him, but instead of helping me, you’re asking me to apologize?” Shi Nuan looked at Shi Jingzheng and Jiang Yu in disappointment. “Come to think of it, you were the ones who drugged me and offered me to a random man. I shouldn’t even be surprised by what you do at this point!”