Yan Zhiqing heaved a sigh of relief.
"They didn"t expect me to be home. I was supposed to be rehearsing a play, but it got canceled last minute so I went home instead. I was so mad when I heard their conversation. I wanted to expose them, but I couldn"t do so without evidence, so I recorded their conversation with my phone. The more I heard, the angrier I got with their words. I couldn"t help it and kicked the door open. They knew I heard everything, so they gave chase. They wanted me to keep it a secret, but I refused. When I got into a tussle with my mum at the staircase, I fell down the stairs," Yan Zhiqing said as she lowered her eyes to look at her hand. She was feeling remorseful.
There was some difficulty moving her hand with one arm in a cast. She scratched the nails on her hurt arm with the other hand, which was moving just fine. "I was too rash. If I could have held everything in, none of this would have happened. I could"ve handed the evidence over to all of you and it would have been enough to deal with Lu Zhenghang no matter what he stirred up."
Yu Zi did not have to heart to reprimand Yan Zhiqing, especially when she was in this predicament. It was already a very difficult decision for her to record the conversation as evidence against her mother.
Besides, she understood Yan Zhiqing"s character quite well. Yan Zhiqing was not a bad-hearted person. She may be a little full of herself and used her own set of reasonings to defend the wrong people, but one could still tell that she was not a bad person. She still knew right from wrong, even though she was a little brash with her actions and was never able to hold her temper.
Yan Zhiqing was very direct. She was not fond of Yan Ningbai and she did not attempt to hide it. When she was unhappy about Lin Chu, she would often mention Lin Chu"s family background and her humble status. Yan Zhiqing would express her dislike in front of Lin Chu and be sarcastic toward her, but she had never done anything to stab Lin Chu behind her back. In fact, she would end up dumbfounded after Lin Chu retorted her sarcastic remarks.
This was exactly how Yan Zhiqing acted towards Yu Zi as well because she disliked her. This was the reason for them not having a good relations.h.i.+p with each other. Yan Zhiqing was p.r.o.ne to offend them directly, but she had never done anything sneaky or conspire behind their backs.
It could be because Yan Zhiqing had no talent for underhanded methods. There were many people out there who were not smart enough but preferred to conspire in the dark to harm people, such as Lu Weining and Zhu Hexuan. They believed themselves to be smart enough to be conspiratorial in hurting their enemies but each time, their plans fell apart, yet it did not stop them from trying again with another trick up their sleeves.
Yu Zi felt this was not a matter of intelligence nor talent, it was about the characters of these people. Yan Zhiqing had never done anything as they did. This was proof enough that she was not a bad person at heart. The only thing wrong with her was that she was not brought up well by Jiang Changdai.
Yan Zhiqing had stood her ground during this situation involving Jiang Changdai and Lu Zhenghang. This had meant that she was not completely blinded by Jiang Changdai and still had some good sense in her.
Yan Zhiqing had never been one to backstab and was always a person who does things in an in-your-face manner. She would be sure to let someone know if she liked them or not, which makes her someone who is quite rash. When she heard the conversation between Jiang Changdai and Lu Zhenghang, it was only natural that she could not hold herself back. She was who she was.
There was nothing much for Yu Zi to comment, all she said was, "I know your character, we all do. It"s decent of you to want to reveal the truth and not help your mother and the Lu family destroy the Yan family."
"I"m part of the Yan family too. I can"t stand by and watch an outsider harm the Yan family," Yan Zhiqing said anxiously.
"I know," Yu Zi smiled gently. There was a comforting calmness in her words that gave the other party confidence.
It usually worked on her cunning or anxious clients, even clients who were left with nowhere to go and were on the brink of losing everything, what more Yan Zhiqing.
Yan Zhiqing immediately calmed down.
Yu Zi raised her bed head a little more for Yan Zhiqing to feel more comfortable talking to her. Yu Zi continued saying, "You haven"t spent a lot of time living with us. From the moment you were born, even from when you first started remembering things, you"ve only been home once every year. You"ve only stayed for a month or so with us every time you were back. For the past 18 years, you"ve never really spent a lot of time getting to know your family on the Yan side. Most of your time has been spent with your mum. It"s understandable that you are close to her and would want to side with her. Do you know how many people out there would choose to side with their loved ones even when they have broken the law? All in the name of kins.h.i.+p and indulging their faults, even to the point of helping their loved ones commit crimes. It"s very brave of you to be able to stand up against your mother. I"ve gotten to know this whole new side of you."
"You"re only 18 this year, not some 28 or 38-year-old who has been exposed to society. You haven"t come face-to-face with the twists and turns of human nature or gotten exposed to those with a conspiratorial nature. How much would you know about the true intentions of those plotting something against you? It"s only natural that you can"t hold down your rage and try to confront your mother to get to the bottom of the truth. Besides, that is your mother whom you"ve always trusted. You did not believe that she would harm you, which made you less cautious around her. You"ve done well in this situation, considering your status and situation."
Yan Zhiqing felt much better after listening to Yu Zi"s words. She felt a weight lifted from her heart especially when seeing that Yu Zi had said the words with sincerity. It looked like Yu Zi had meant every word and was not just comforting Yan Zhiqing.
"To be honest, I"ve completely changed my perception of you after all these. You"re a good little girl," said Yu Zi.
Yan Zhiqing"s faced blushed red and she held it in for a long while before finally retorting, "I"m not a little girl, I"m a grown-up now!"
Yu Zi smiled and did not say anything else. She was not in a hurry to argue with a child.
From the looks of it, Yan Zhiqing was still pretty much a little brat.
Yan Zhiqing was a little tired after regaining consciousness. Yu Zi did not say much to her. Even though her perception of Yan Zhiqing had changed, but they had never gotten along well and had never spent much time together before. There was not much between Yu Zi and Yan Zhiqing to chat about.
Yu Zi stopped talking and the two of them became silent. It was a pretty awkward situation.
"I"m… I"m tired. I"m taking a nap," Yan Zhiqing said as she closed her eyes.
However, one could still see her eyes moving around under her eyelids. She was not sleeping but simply gave an excuse to avoid the awkwardness.
Yu Zi did not bother to expose her pretense. This way, it would be a relief to both of them.
Not long after, Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan arrived. Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu came in after them with Yan Ningbai hopping in behind them.
Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan walked into the room. Old Master Yan was a man who was conscious of his image. He might be agitated but he still tried his best to maintain a look of dignity and did not immediately rush to her side.
Old Lady Yan did not care that much. She ran up in a few steps and grabbed Yan Zhiqing"s unhurt hand and said, "It"s good that you woke up, it"s good. We were so worried about you."
Yan Zhiqing"s eyes became red again. Her mother had not reacted too much to her waking up, the only time she was agitated was when she was afraid Yan Zhiqing would reveal the truth about Lu Zhenghang"s plans.
Yet, her grandparents, whom she had never felt close to rushed to her side the first minute they could. Yan Beicheng would, of course, come to be by her side, and even Lin Chu, whom she had always looked down on and had never given her an easy time, came to see her despite being heavily pregnant.
"Grandma…" Yan Zhiqing called out hoa.r.s.ely. She had finally felt the warmth a family could give.
Even though she did not spend much time with the Yan family every year and did not feel close to them, they were still worried about her and showed their love at such a crucial moment.
"My good child, as long as you"re alright. How could you be so careless to have fallen down the stairs?" Old Lady Yan said as she gently caressed Yan Zhiqing"s head.
Yan Zhiqing"s lips trembled. She felt terrible about the whole thing and no longer have the courage to repeat the story.
Yu Zi noticed Yan Zhiqing"s reaction and helped repeat the story on her behalf.
Old Master Yan was so angry, he stuck out his neck to shout, "Where is she now?! Let me just beat her to death right now and solve this once and for all!"
Old Lady Yan was also angry and punched the bed, saying, "She"s nothing but an animal! What did the Yan family do to offend her?!"
Yan Zhiqing opened her mouth but said nothing. Tears streamed down her face.
Old Lady Yan saw her crying and sighed. "My child, I didn"t mean to say that about your mother, I…"
"I know, I understand. Even I wanted to shout at her this way when I heard that conversation, but she"s still my mother, so I held the words back," Yan Zhiqing said quietly as she swallowed the tears that flowed to her lips.
Old Lady Yan sighed as she held Yan Zhiqing"s hands in her palm while she patted the back of Yan Zhiqing"s hand gently with her other hand. "Sigh. Not only did she try to conspire against our family, she always did the same to you. We"ve seen for ourselves how you"ve always treated her. You"ve always stood by her side wholeheartedly, and yet, she still hurt you because of Lu Zhenghang."
Yan Zhiqing felt even worse after hearing those words. She had not expected Old Lady Yan to still be concerned about such a little thing about her after learning about such big news about Lu Zhenghang trying to destroy the Yan family.
Old Lady Yan was different from Jiang Changdai. Jiang Changdai was only able to love one person and was incapable of giving a second person the same love. When she married Yan Huaiyuan and gave birth to Yan Beicheng, she had already loved Lu Zhenting, which was why she was unable to care for Yan Beicheng even though he was her biological son. Now, it was because of Lu Zhenghang that she could not care less about her daughter, Yan Zhiqing"s life.
This was unfair to her biological children, Yan Beicheng and Yan Zhiqing.
Old Lady Yan was different. She had expected everyone to give attention to Lu Zhenghang"s plot against the Yan family and would not even notice this little thing about her, but Old Lady Yan had given her the attention.
Yan Zhiqing had always been aware that Old Lady Yan doted on Yan Beicheng more. Yan Beicheng had grown up with Old Lady Yan and had suffered so much from Jiang Changdai when he was young. His parents were not by his side, given their kins.h.i.+p and emotional relations.h.i.+p, Old Lady Yan would no doubt give Yan Beicheng more love.
However, Old Lady Yan did not give Yan Beicheng all the love to the extent that no one else could have it. She loved Yan Huaian with the same heart, and she loved Yan Ningbai. She would, of course, also notice immediately the suffering Yan Zhiqing was going through right now.
After all these, Yan Zhiqing finally realized what she had missed out all this while. The people she had never been close to, were the very ones who loved her the most and truly treated her as one of them.
"Grandma, I"m so sorry…" Yan Zhiqing reflected on her mistake for the past 18 years as she remembered the terrible words she had spouted and the terrible things she had done. She was filled with so much shame, she could not lift her head. Her chin rested tightly on the cast around her neck. She was too ashamed to even look at Old Lady Yan.
"I was stupid before and was… I was so rude to everyone and I did so many stupid things and said so many dumb words. I couldn"t even tell who was being true to me. I thought I was smart enough to know. Grandma, I"m sorry to have hurt everyone in the past," Yan Zhiqing cried as she said. Her tears streamed down her face and fell on the blanket.
Old Lady Yan gently rubbed Yan Zhiqing"s hands, and said to her, "Good girl, what"s past is past. Don"t go thinking about it anymore. You"re a good girl, we all know that. This whole situation has been hard on you."
Lin Chu quietly pa.s.sed some tissues to Yan Zhiqing. All Yan Zhiqing could see was the hand on the tissue box. She reached out to pull out a piece of tissue and lifted her head in difficulty, only to see Lin Chu.
A look of embarra.s.sment crossed Yan Zhiqing"s face. She had dealt with Lin Chu plenty of times and Lin Chu had never held back. Lin Chu constantly retorted to her sarcasm and had even instructed her to help save Xu Jiaojiao.
Now that they are face-to-face, Yan Zhiqing felt particularly embarra.s.sed. She paused when pulling out the tissue and it took a while before she finally wiped the tears from her face.
She did not dare to look at Lin Chu and with a red face, her eyes looked to the side before stiffly voicing out quietly, "Thank you."
Lin Chu smiled. Yan Zhiqing suddenly looked quite adorable as she moved around uncomfortably.
Yan Zhiqing had always been a direct person who would immediately express dislike if she did not like someone, but she would never cause harm to that person. She was much better than those backstabbers who were always looking to hurt those they do not like.
After a thought, Yan Zhiqing was nothing more than a child and her actions were just a sign of immaturity.
Lin Chu thought back about being 18 years old. She must have been quite naïve at that age too.
The more loving and forgiving the Yan family was to her, the more Yan Zhiqing was disappointed with Jiang Changdai. Her bed suddenly shook, and Yan Zhiqing moved her body around in curiosity. Her neck could not turn to where the movement was, so she could only stiffly turn her shoulder and neck together toward the direction.
She saw Yan Ningbai climbing up her bed. His pudgy body had tilted a huge portion of the bed.
Yan Zhiqing, "…"
How heavy was this child?
Yan Zhiqing could not help glancing at Yu Zi. Yu Zi got the message from the look in Yan Zhiqing"s eyes and turned away with an embarra.s.sed smile.
Yan Ningbai was sitting cross-legged on the bed. He had kicked off the sports shoes on his feet and carefully avoided Yan Zhiqing"s hurt arm.
Yan Ningbai imitated Old Lady Yan"s actions as he sighed and said in the tone of an old man, "Big niece, stop feeling so sad. Uncle… Uncle will treat you better in the future and stop giving you mean looks."
Yan Zhiqing, "…"
"I won"t call you uncle even if you"re nice to me!" Yan Zhiqing immediately turned her gaze elsewhere and said stubbornly. Her ears had gone red.
Yan Ningbai could not help to laugh out loud. This niece of his was so petty. She might be rejecting with words, but her ears were already red!
"I understand that you can be stubborn when you"re young! As your uncle, I will give in to you more frequently. If someone bullied you, come to me. I"ll help… I"ll help you…" For a long time, Yan Ningbai could not finish his words. It did not seem suitable to say that he will help her get revenge.
Even though he was the senior, he was still too physically small to help her with anything!
Yan Zhiqing raised an eyebrow teasingly, "Help me with what?"
"I"ll help you get good food to console your hurting soul!" Yan Ningbai clenched his teeth. He would have to sacrifice his junk food in the future. That was a huge form of sincerity on his part for his big niece.
Yan Zhiqing chuckled, "Hoho!"
The atmosphere became more light-hearted and not as serious as before, thanks to Yan Ningbai.
Yan Zhiqing suddenly remembered something and quickly said to Yan Beicheng, "Big brother, I have an audio recording here that will prove that Lu Zhenghang was lying about everything! He told mum about everything, about how he wanted to sabotage the Yan family and faking evidence. I heard everything. You can release the recording to the public and no one will believe Lu Zhenghang!"
Regarding this, it was not just a matter of the Yan family believing this. There were still Yan Hui"s shareholders to deal with. Regardless of whether they believed this, Lu Zhenghang"s antics would affect Yan Hui and give the impression that the Yan family was not stable.
The shareholders were already making their plans. No one knew what they were conspiring by riding on the trouble made over this matter and create instability within Yan Hui to find a chance to move up the ladder.
Yan Beicheng"s gaze became gentle and for once, he looked at Yan Zhiqing with a tenderness in his eyes and expression.
Yan Zhiqing was stunned. When Yan Beicheng visited Ning City for work, he would meet up with her but always in the form of a stern, disciplined older brother who always looked serious. He would give her an occasional smile and a gentle look. Since she moved to B City, her relations.h.i.+p with Yan Beicheng had drifted apart more because of Lin Chu. They saw less of each other. Now, Yan Beicheng"s gaze was warm. He looked like an older brother who will forgive any fault of hers.
Yan Zhiqing"s eyes filled with tears again as she received his love at this moment.
She felt so fragile today. She could not help herself and kept crying.
Yan Beiching hesitated a moment before reaching out for Yan Zhiqing"s head. He paused awhile and his palm slowly touched her head. He did not use too much strength but gently gave her a few rubs before moving his hand away.
Yan Zhiqing became rigid over his actions and her mouth opened slightly in disbelieve. She could hardly believe that Yan Beicheng would comfort her with such tenderness.
She quickly lowered her eyes. She closed her eyes to stop her tears flowing and took in deep breaths continuously. Her chest heaved heavily as every bone in her body ached.
Yan Zhiqing opened her eyes as it brimmed with tears and gave an excuse, saying, "I… It"s because I"m aching all over!"
Lin Chu"s lips twitched. She was starting to find this side of Yan Zhiqing funny. She could not help teasing her, "Should I help get you a few more pillows?"
As expected, she heard Yan Zhiqing said stubbornly, "You… Don"t you think this means anything just because I helped you! I"m helping my big brother and I"m part of the Yan family. This… This is what I should have done and nothing else."
Lin Chu sat on the bedside and rubbed her round belly and said, "Yes, yes. My little treasure, my little dear, take a look. Her words may hurt but her heart is gentle. This is your aunt."
"Hmph!" Yan Zhiqing blushed at Lin Chu"s words. She was still not used to her neck being unable to move and kept forgetting about it. She would try to turn to look before realizing she had difficulty with it. All she could do was give Lin Chu a sideways glance.
It was one of those rare moments when Yan Beicheng did not express any unhappiness over her rudeness. He said gently to her, "Don"t worry, we"ve managed to solve this. He came to Lin Chu before to tell her that he was the one that belonged to the Yan family. He"s already planned this for quite a while. Lin Chu did not believe him, of course, and retaliated to his words on the spot. She came home to tell me all about this and I got Wen Ren"s help to dig out all his information since birth. We"ve already gotten enough evidence to refute his claims at the press conference."
Yan Beicheng looked at Yan Zhiqing and Yu Zi. "Didn"t you both know about this? Lin Chu said you were watching it live too."
"There were too many people watching it and we couldn"t log in to watch the live feed, so we were unaware of what happened," Yu Zi explained as she glanced at Yan Ningbai, who was squeezing with Yan Zhiqing on the bed. She reached out to try and carry him down but was unable to move him.
Her expression stiffened and she raised an eyebrow. She decided to ignore him and looked at Yan Beicheng and said, "It"s just as well that everything had been solved."
However, Yan Zhiqing still played the recording for everyone to hear.
Yu Zi had said that two elders were quite angry. Now that they were listening to the recording, they flew into a rage at Lu Zhenghang and Jiang Changdai"s conversation.
"Now that everything has been taken care of, Lu Zhenghang won"t be able to plot anything against us. I"ve gotten Lawyer Zhou to serve Lu Zhenghang with an official lawsuit. We are going to sue that father and son for fraud. Lawyer Zhou did mention that the lawsuit would not hold as it"s too vague of a situation to be defined as fraud, especially since we were able to stop it in time. They did not technically commit any fraud. They would get fined at most, but they won"t suffer any loss. That said, their reputation would suffer a blow and Xing Chuang would be badly affected. If we can"t send them both to jail, then we should cause some damage to their company. We can"t let them get away with this for nothing."
Yan Beicheng lowered his head to look at Yan Zhiqing, a.s.suring her, "Don"t worry. I"ll get back every ounce of suffering you"ve had to go through from them."