Chapter 79: Chapter 079: Who Do You Favor Chapter 79: Chapter 079: Who Do You Favor The second time Shen Yan ran into Qi Si was the day after their first encounter, and Shen Yan heard he had left early.
After breakfast, Shen Yan hurried off to Xinyu for her performance class.
The acting teacher, upon seeing that Shen Yan had joined a drama troupe and still came to attend class so conscientiously,
treated her with much better regard.
The issues Shen Yan consulted about, the acting teacher was also very willing to teach.
At noon, Dai Qiu returned to the company for a bit.
As soon as he walked in, he bumped into Shen Yan, who had just come out of her acting class.
Meeting Shen Yan’s gaze, Dai Qiu couldn’t help but think about the incident that had happened in the parking garage.
Dai Qiu felt a moment of stiffness.
Shen Yan nodded slightly to Dai Qiu.
Just as she was about to walk past, Dai Qiu suddenly called out to her, “Shen Yan.”
“Is there something you need, Brother Qiu?”
With Dai Qiu stopping Shen Yan, everyone’s gaze followed suit and turned their attention to them.
But they weren’t curious enough to stop and listen to the conversation between the two.
Dai Qiu gave Shen Yan a complex look and said, “I saw what happened last time in the garage.”
Shen Yan was taken aback.
She hadn’t expected Dai Qiu to just admit outright that it was he who had let Xu Zishen in.
Even though Dai Qiu didn’t spell it out, his words were tantamount to an admission.
As long as Shen Yan mentioned it to Liu Su, it would definitely be possible to investigate and find out.
That’s why it was said that Dai Qiu had directly admitted it.
“Isn’t it quite normal for Brother Qiu to be in the garage? Why did you mention this to me?”
Shen Yan’s feigned ignorance also took Dai Qiu by surprise.
Was she not going to dwell on the matter?
Could Shen Yan be so generous?
Ever since that endorsement advertisement, Dai Qiu had been trying to probe the true depth of Shen Yan.
Though he had not succeeded, he also had a vague idea that there was nothing simple about what was behind Shen Yan.
If Shen Yan insisted on not letting go of the matter, Dai Qiu was also worried it would implicate Shi Lian.
Therefore, Dai Qiu directly admitted to Shen Yan that it was he who had let Xu Zishen in.
The look Dai Qiu gave Shen Yan now was even more complex than before.
“Brother Qiu isn’t planning to use Xu Zishen’s incident to threaten me, is he?” Shen Yan laughed and added another sentence.
Dai Qiu: “Could the matter with Xu Zishen threaten you?”
Shen Yan: “Of course not.”
“I still have some matters to attend to with President Kang; please, make yourself at home,” Dai Qiu withdrew his gaze from Shen Yan and turned to enter the elevator.
Shen Yan truly hadn’t taken Dai Qiu’s affair to heart.
Of course.
However, if Xu Zishen had committed some harm against her at that time, Shen Yan would have minded.
*
Beijing.
Qi Family.
Just as Qi Si had entered the Qi family’s gate, he was called over by someone from his mother’s side.
Qi Si’s mother was from the prominent Song Family of Beijing, and he had been subjected to a rather cold education from a young age; his parents’ marriage, too, had been one of alliance.
Ever since Qi Si’s father had become bedridden due to an accident, his mother became even stricter in educating him.
Even now, as Qi Si was nearing thirty, Song Jinwei was still harsh with him.
Precisely because of this, the relationship between mother and son was very poor.
Ever since it was decided that Qi Si and the Shen Family would form an alliance through marriage, the majority of the family businesses fell into Qi Si’s hands, and gradually Song Jinwei began to transfer the power she held to her second son, Qi Heng, also hinting at a desire to fade from the business world.
However, recently, Song Jinwei had become discontent with the younger son merely taking over a bit of the power from her hands.
Thus, Song Jinwei had been discussing privately with Qi Si, suggesting that Qi Heng help share the burden of the family business.
Qi Si had not given a response.
The matter couldn’t be settled over the phone, so Song Jinwei directly summoned him back.
To discuss face-to-face; after all, Qi Si would have no reason to avoid it then.
“Mother.”
As Qi Si entered, he glanced at the person sitting on the sofa and called out with a cool tone.
Song Jinwei’s brows furrowed slightly.
Song Jinwei herself had a strong presence, capable of commanding authority both outside and at home.
People in the business world had even given her the nickname “Iron Lady,”
At this moment, as she furrowed her brow and with such an iceman standing before her, the temperature in the living room dropped to an extreme.
“I’ve told you about the matter, how have you considered it?”
Song Jinwei couldn’t resort to cloying mother-son affection with this son.
It was as cold and confrontational as if she were facing an enemy.
It had always been this way since childhood.
Both had grown accustomed to it.
“The request from Qi Heng?” Qi Si no longer flinched in front of his mother as he did when he was a child, coldly tossing out the question before sitting on the sofa opposite her.
“Your brother, of course, wouldn’t be the one to ask this,” Song Jinwei glanced at him, “it’s just to have him share a small part for you. He is your younger brother; it’s only right for him to help you out.”
Qi Si didn’t bother being polite, “Is it really sharing, or is it grabbing? You know very well.”
“Qi Si,” Song Jinwei’s gaze turned utterly cold, “Must family members really speak to each other so distantly?”
“You were the first to create distance.”
The atmosphere between mother and son became even more rigid.
Song Jinwei looked worse, “Originally, during the marriage alliance with the Shen Family, it was your brother that the Shen Family was interested in. Had your brother not stepped aside, would the Qi family’s power have fallen into your hands?”
Qi Si’s handsome brows furrowed coldly, “Stepped aside? You should say that to grandmother.”
There was no point in continuing the conversation if they couldn’t agree.
Song Jinwei’s face underwent a tiny change once again.
Qi Si stood tall and said indifferently, “Have you forgotten how grandmother died?”
Song Jinwei’s face turned ashen at once.
“Do you have to tear open your own mother’s wounds to feel satisfied?”
Qi Si no longer wished to stay.
He turned and left the living room.
This home, it suffocated him.
Qi Si didn’t visit the old patriarch, nor did he go to the medical room to see his father who couldn’t get out of the sickbed.
Instead, he went to the headquarters to deal with a pile of official business.
It wasn’t until the next morning that he returned to the Qi Family home.
But this return trip brought another argument with his parents.
In the afternoon.
He flew straight back to Shen City.
Shen Yan returned home from her company’s performance class and immediately noticed the unusually low atmosphere in the household.
Liu Su did not dare to speak loudly to Shen Yan, “Every time Mr. Qi comes home, it’s like this. Miss Shen, it might be best not to provoke Mr. Qi today.”
Shen Yan glanced upstairs before nodding, “I don’t have anything to provoke him with anyway.”
Liu Su remained worried.
The last time Shen Yan provoked Qi Si under such circumstances, they all thought Qi Si was going to kill her.
Though Qi Si didn’t kill Shen Yan that time, she was so frightened that she fainted.
At dinner, Qi Si still came downstairs.
The atmosphere was even more oppressively low than usual.
But it wasn’t terrifying enough to scare Shen Yan.
Seeing the servants trembling with fear, Shen Yan swallowed the question about whether he would drive her back to school the next day.
At the dining room.
The two of them ate this meal amidst the chilly atmosphere.
Watching him rise from his seat, Shen Yan couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Qi, is everything alright?”
Qi Si turned around to meet the girl’s clear and calm gaze.
For some reason, having this meal with Shen Yan had calmed his heart quite a bit.
“It’s nothing.”
“If you’re busy tomorrow, I can go back to school by myself.”
“Get up early tomorrow.”
Qi Si dropped these words and turned to leave, but as if something crossed his mind, he looked back at Shen Yan, who was still sitting at the dining table, and asked, “Compared to me, do you prefer Qi Heng more?”
Shen Yan blinked and counter-questioned, “Is the Qi Family planning to change the marital alliance partner?”
Qi Si did not answer her but coldly asked again, “Who do you prefer?”
“If the Qi Family wants to switch people, I think the marriage alliance does not need to happen.” She didn’t want to interact with another stranger.
Shen Yan’s response caught Qi Si off guard. Then, without saying anything, he just nodded and left the dining room.
It had to be said, Shen Yan’s response had improved Qi Si’s mood slightly.