When Shuangxu came downstairs that morning, Shen Yu was sitting in the dining room, drinking coffee as he checked his work emails.
She hadn’t known he’d come back the night before. She sat across from him and ate breakfast in silence.
It was unusual for them to be so quiet. Around Shen Yu, she was usually a chatterbox, sharing every little thing with him.
Shen Yu spoke first this time. “Mom said you’ve been going to the hospital every day to look after your Senior Sister.”
“Mm. Senior Sister’s Mom hasn’t been in very good health these past few years. She’s afraid her Mom will worry, so she hasn’t told her family about being sick yet.”
“Let the caregiver look after her. Don’t wear yourself out.”
Shen Yu didn’t interfere with her friendships, but he wasn’t necessarily happy to see the Little Sister he’d cherished go off to take care of someone else.
“I know,” Shuangxu replied.
“Her treatment plan was reviewed by the country’s top hematology experts. There won’t be any problems. Don’t worry.”
He was so concerned about Shu Yang’s illness for her sake. Shuangxu stirred her porridge and murmured, “Mm.”
As if noticing her low spirits, Shen Yu glanced at her. “Are you unhappy?”
“No.” Shuangxu changed the subject. “Brother, do you know any lawyers?”
“Back for barely a moment, and you’re already in trouble?” Shen Yu curled his long fingers around his coffee cup, amusement coloring his voice. “Go on, what kind of trouble have you gotten me into?”
The pale morning light glimmered in his eyes. Shuangxu looked away. “It’s not me. My Senior Sister has a financial dispute with her business partner. The lawyer I found isn’t very good at this kind of thing.”
It wasn’t a big deal. Shen Yu said, “I’ll arrange someone for you.”
“Thanks, Brother.”
The lawyer Shen Yu arranged contacted Shuangxu that very afternoon. He was an experienced attorney who specialized in financial cases; bringing him in to handle such a minor dispute was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
Shuangxu was busy meeting and consulting with the lawyer over the weekend, so she naturally didn’t go back to the Song Residence. She treated Cui Ning’s order as if it had gone in one ear and out the other.
When she returned to the Shen household that evening, Fu Yun was still awake, waiting for her in the living room.
As soon as she saw Shuangxu, Fu Yun asked Mrs. Wang to bring over the milk she’d warmed. “What have you been so busy with these past few days? You’ve been coming home late every night.”
“Helping my Senior Sister with her company.” Shuangxu didn’t really like milk, but she obediently took the glass anyway.
“You haven’t been back to your family’s place since you returned, have you?” Fu Yun said. “When you get a chance, you should go back and see them.”
Cui Ning had probably already spoken to her.
The Shen and Song families were close, and Fu Yun often had to take Cui Ning’s feelings into account so as not to damage their relationship.
“I’ve been too busy lately.” Shuangxu downed the milk in one go and yawned. “I’m so tired, Mom. I’m going upstairs to bed.”
She hurried upstairs to her room. Watching her go, Fu Yun could only sigh. “She runs off every time I bring it up.”
“Miss Shuangxu isn’t close to them. The Song Residence didn’t raise her for even a single day. Director Song hit her so hard back then that her face swelled up. Madam sent her away and didn’t bother with her for all these years. Now she’s only just come back to the country, and Madam is already getting anxious. Does she expect Miss Shuangxu to stay away forever?”
Mrs. Wang had always been firmly on the side of the girl she’d watched grow up. “If it were me, I wouldn’t want to go back just to be scolded, either.”
“Don’t fan the flames,” Fu Yun said. “However you look at it, they’re still her family. The Song Residence will have a say in Shuangxu’s marriage in the future. What good will it do her to make Cui Ning unhappy?”
Mrs. Wang sighed. “With Madam Song acting like that, what kind of good match could she arrange for Miss Shuangxu?”
Fu Yun called Cui Ning back to explain.
“She’s not deliberately refusing to come back. She probably got busy and forgot. One of her Senior Sisters is seriously ill, and I hear the company’s run into some trouble, too. This Senior Sister took good care of Shuangxu when she was abroad, and they’re very close. She’s been running around for her these past few days—I can hardly catch sight of her.”
Those polished excuses didn’t convince Cui Ning. Her voice was cold. “You can’t catch sight of her, but it seems Shen Yu at your house can.”
Fu Yun’s tone turned displeased. “What’s that supposed to mean? A-Yu has doted on Shuangxu since she was little and treats her like a Little Sister. What’s so strange about them seeing each other?”
Cui Ning didn’t say more. She simply sent Fu Yun a video.
It was from Shen Yu’s birthday party. The atmosphere was cheerful and lively. Shuangxu stood with Shen Yu at the table as he cut the cake. From the angle, it looked as if he had one arm around her.
The video was only a few seconds long. By the time the noisy sounds ended, Fu Yun’s expression had changed.
Cui Ning’s tone remained composed. “Have you forgotten why we sent her away in the first place? If the Shen family thinks things weren’t ugly enough five years ago, I don’t mind risking the Song Residence’s reputation and letting you all disgrace yourselves again.”
*
Shuangxu wasn’t tired at all. Back in her room, she lay face-down on the bed, feeling low.
She disliked the Song Residence not only because she had no affection for them, but also because of what had happened five years ago.
Shuangxu’s background was no secret in their circle. Everyone knew the Eldest Miss of the Song Residence wasn’t Madam Song, Cui Ning’s, biological daughter.
Her birth Mom had been one of Song Mianzhi’s direct subordinates. At the time, Song Mianzhi had only just started working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a handsome, refined superior, and it was hardly surprising that Shuangxu’s Mom fell in love with him.
Their feelings had developed gradually as they worked together. When they got together, Song Mianzhi was still single. But there was a vast gulf between their status and positions. Shuangxu’s grandfather held a vice-ministerial post, while Song Mianzhi’s career was only just beginning. Someone from the humble background of a junior translator obviously wasn’t a suitable match for his prospects.
Mr. Song had forcibly separated them, but Shuangxu didn’t think his opposition was the only reason.
What Song Mianzhi loved most was his career—and himself.
Her Mom had been stubborn, with a strong sense of pride. Forced to resign, she later discovered she was pregnant but didn’t tell Song Mianzhi. She gave birth to the child on her own. Until she was eight, Shuangxu lived with her Mom.
Then her Mom stopped wanting her.
Being abandoned had left Shuangxu with deep-seated trauma. So when the Song family decided to send her abroad five years ago, she had begged and pleaded with them not to. She wanted to call Shen Yu, but they confiscated her phone and locked her in a room. A few days later, they escorted her onto a plane.
Whenever she remembered how that had felt, she felt suffocated.
When Shuangxu got up early the next morning, she found Fu Yun busy in the kitchen, boiling something.
It was ginger soup made with charred red dates and snow pears, sweetened with rock sugar.
Shuangxu didn’t like the taste of ginger and hated drinking ginger soup, so whenever she caught a cold as a child, Fu Yun would make her this sweet ginger soup.
It had been years since she’d had any. The familiar smell made her miss it.
The pear had turned translucent. Shuangxu leaned over and stole a piece with a fork.
“Is someone sick?”
There were three cooks in the household alone, and Fu Yun didn’t often cook herself. There were only a few people she’d make ginger soup for with her own hands.
Shuangxu was perfectly healthy, and Shen Changyuan was away on a business trip. That left only…
“Your brother has a fever.”
Fu Yun poured the hot soup into a thermos. “The temperature’s been fluctuating these past couple of days, and he hasn’t been taking care of himself. When you go out later, drop this off for him on your way.”
As soon as Shuangxu heard that, she hurried to swallow the ginger-flavored pear, grabbed the thermos, and rushed over to Shen Yu’s place.