She wasn’t angry at He Qiuqiu for protecting the director from injury after all, He Qiuqiu had grown up in the orphanage and had a deep bond with the director.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t angry.
She had already asked, and the thug at the time had been holding a brick. A mild concussion was really just He Qiuqiu’s luck.
What if her luck had been worse?
Besides, there were so many ways she could have stopped it. Even using the wooden stick in her hand to hit the thug on the head would have been better than what she did.
Using her own head to block it what was she thinking?
He Qiuqiu looked completely helpless, holding her wrist, and for a moment wasn’t sure if Shi Sheng was scolding her for the wound on her head or for her stupidity.
In the end, under Shi Sheng’s watchful eye, she still shakily picked up the spoon.
But the moment the soup touched her lips, her eyes lit up immediately.
“My goodness, how is this soup made? Even as a simple broth, it tastes incredible, with no off-flavors at all.”
Shi Sheng was about to reply when her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID, then instructed, “If it tastes good, finish it all.”
She stepped out of the hospital room, went to the fire escape, and then answered the call.
“What is it?”
Lin Xunan, accustomed to Shi Sheng’s cold demeanor, asked directly, “You’re the one behind what happened online today, aren’t you? But aren’t you a Shi family daughter? How are you going to explain this at home?”
Shi Sheng didn’t bother explaining in detail, just replied coolly, “No explanation needed. That’s the real Shi family heiress I’m the fake.”
“What? What do you mean? Isn’t the Shi family a wealthy clan? How could they have swapped children?” Lin Xunan was genuinely shocked.
During their school days, the Shi couple’s protection of Shi Sheng had been almost obsessive.
With that level of care, how could a child swap have happened?
Shi Sheng didn’t elaborate. She wasn’t willing to expose all that had happened to her to anyone, so she just said, “It’s just some melodramatic stuff wealthy families go through.”
After hanging up, Lin Xunan sat in silence for a long moment.
If it hadn’t been for that Shi couple, could he have truly become Shi Sheng’s friend? Just as he had hoped when they were kids.
Meanwhile, back in the hospital, Shi Sheng returned to the room, eyeing the spotless thermos and raising her eyebrows in satisfaction.
He Qiuqiu noticed Shi Sheng’s faint frown and urged, “Shengsheng, you should go back. I’ve got He Bing here.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of myself!”
After He Qiuqiu’s repeated assurances, Shi Sheng nodded.
Stepping out of the hospital, she looked back at the brightly lit building, the lingering scent of disinfectant still clinging to the air.
A trace of disgust showed in her eyes. She hated hospitals no, she detested them.
During He Qiuqiu’s hospitalization, Shi Corporation had been working hard to guide public opinion, and Ye Xiangwen’s eldest brother had indeed helped a lot.
But Shi Sheng was not about to let the Shi family off easy.
Once the public attention dwindled, she would immediately have her team write incendiary posts to stir trouble for the Shi family.
At the same time, she arranged for her subordinates to infiltrate Shi Corporation.
If it was about hacking skills, none of her subordinates could match He Qiuqiu but He Qiuqiu was in the hospital, and Shi Sheng wasn’t about to exploit a patient.
Adding more people to the task was enough.
This storm targeting Shi Corporation lasted a full week, with both sides vying for control.
Unfortunately, Shi Corporation’s PR team was highly capable. They knew Shi Yiyan’s case of taking someone else’s enrollment spot was indisputable and impossible to cover up.
So they took a different route: they suggested Shi Mingqian buy Shi Yiyan a university spot abroad, then enroll her in Huada University as an exchange student.
That way, all previous evidence was invalidated.
Sure enough, when the Shi family posted all the prepared evidence online and offered large giveaways to appease the public, the online condemnation gradually subsided.
Shi Sheng had already anticipated this.
On the day everyone thought the matter was resolved, she released evidence her team had found of Shi Corporation’s tax evasion. He Qiuqiu then erased all traces.
That night, Weibo exploded.
Programmers just off work barely ate half their dinner before rushing back to work, cursing all the way.
Only then did Shi Sheng feel truly satisfied.
Those who had forced an orphan to sell her enrollment spot and hired thugs that injured He Qiuqiu had to face the consequences.
At that moment, the Shi family was in complete chaos, just as Shi Sheng had imagined.
Shi Corporation’s carefully cultivated reputation was destroyed overnight.
Shi Mingqian’s carefully maintained mask could no longer hold; he was like an enraged beast, on the verge of exploding.
This time was much worse than the previous incident.
Buying an orphan’s enrollment spot could be seen as a matter of morality but tax evasion involved legal consequences.
Reality isn’t a novel: being wealthy didn’t mean the state would overlook crimes.
The only consolation was that it was the Shi family’s first tax investigation. As long as they made up for it and scapegoated someone, the crisis could be quelled.
But their reputation was irreparable.
That night, even if Ye Xiangwen mentioned her family, Shi Mingqian couldn’t calm down.
At this point, he didn’t yet know that his long-hidden secrets would also be exposed in the wake of this storm.
Shi Yiyan, meanwhile, hid in her room, afraid to appear publicly; even her meals were delivered by servants.
The real explosion came the next day, as the crises temporarily resolved by giveaways and PR tactics returned like a tsunami.
Not only did the company’s stock plunge, but even the official blog had its comment section shut down, countless products were returned, and stores under the company were attacked.
Some vandals, fully armed under the cover of night, bypassed security cameras and threw feces at the storefronts.
It wasn’t serious, but highly insulting.
Because of how big this scandal became, many potential partners refused cooperation, delivering another huge blow to Shi Corporation.
That day, Shi Mingqian, exhausted in both body and mind, returned home to see his daughter approaching.
Seeing her face, annoyance and irritation immediately showed on his own.
If she hadn’t been so high-profile in the first place, things wouldn’t have reached this point.
He even harbored a secret thought: maybe it would have been better if he hadn’t switched her back.
Shi Sheng wouldn’t have caused such a mess.
Years of high-status living had made Shi Mingqian never consider himself at fault.
He forced down his anger and asked, “What is it?”
Shi Yiyan wasn’t stupid. She saw her father’s impatience, and because of that, she rushed to salvage her image.
“Dad, didn’t you say Shi Sheng was betrothed to Mr. Shen? The Shen family is one of Jiangcheng’s top clans. If my sister could marry into that family now, wouldn’t our crisis be solved quickly?”
Her words left Shi Mingqian momentarily stunned, his slightly narrowed eyes glinting with sharp light.
These days, he had been overwhelmed by various troubles and almost forgotten about this foster daughter.
Now he realized it had been some time since he had last heard from her.
Seeing the satisfied look on his face, Shi Yiyan knew she had made the right move.
After all, this whole mess had originally been caused by Shi Sheng so why should Shi Sheng get to hide away and enjoy herself?
She wanted to see if Shi Sheng could still smile after marrying that illegitimate son!