Chairman Feng's family and A Lang's mother's family were once rivals. To ensure their families' development, the patriarchs of both families decided to arrange a marriage alliance to merge their corporations.
Chairman Feng married Ruo Yun, A Lang's mother.
This union was seen as a perfect match—talented and beautiful, with comparable family backgrounds. Everyone believed it was a beautiful, destined marriage.
But no one knew that Chairman Feng had a first love.
He was so consumed by his love for her that, although he agreed to the marriage, he initially treated Ruo Yun well, and more accurately, he had always treated Ruo Yun very well.
At least, that's how it appeared on the surface.
Therefore, when Ruo Yun became pregnant, Chairman Feng became busy with his career, and no one suspected anything.
Little did they know that at that very time, Chairman Feng's first love was also pregnant. He became absent from home, spending his time accompanying that woman through her pregnancy.
By the time the child was born, Ruo Yun died during childbirth.
Compounded by a mishap in Ruo Yun's maternal family, their company gradually declined. Only then did Chairman Feng openly bring his first love and her child into their home.
Aunt Cao gripped her teacup tightly, gnashing her teeth. "That bitch thought she was going to have a good life, but she didn't know heaven was watching!"
She had only been there for one day before she was in a car accident.
But Aunt Cao didn't even have time to be happy before A Lang was diagnosed with poison in her body. She immediately suspected that the first love had poisoned her, but without any evidence, she dared not speak.
Even though that bitch was dead, Chairman Feng's love for her was so profound that he doted immensely on her child, Feng Yilian, out of love for her.
A Lang was in poor health, her chances of a marriage alliance were lost, and she needed a special medicine that no one had ever heard of to cure her illness...
In Chairman Feng's eyes, A Lang was nothing but trouble.
After hearing the story, the living room fell into a prolonged silence. Shen Qing faintly sensed something and turned towards the stairs. There stood A Lang, silhouetted against the light, her expression unreadable.
Shen Qing's lips moved. "A Lang, come down."
A Lang walked down slowly and sat beside her naturally, clutching the hem of her clothes as if finding security there. Her gaze was clear, fixed on Aunt Cao.
Aunt Cao's nose twitched, and tears streamed down her face. "Who... who are you?"
She had a fleeting feeling that this look was reminiscent of the one she had seen in the young lady's eyes more than ten years ago, when she left.
"This is A Lang."
Shen Qing placed an arm around A Lang's shoulders, offering her courage.
Aunt Cao's tears flowed uncontrollably now, her vision blurred with mist. Unable to see A Lang clearly, she frantically wiped her eyes, turning the corners of them red.
"A Lang, young lady... is it really you? You're so beautiful, just like your mother..."
"Do you have a photo of my mother?"
A Lang asked softly.
Aunt Cao's freshly wiped tears fell again, and she sobbed, "I don't have one either. When I left back then, I left in such a hurry that I couldn't take anything. Let alone the madam's photo, Chairman Feng wouldn't even allow me to take a single strand of her hair. He was too cruel."
A Lang slowly lowered her gaze, a flicker of disappointment crossing her face.
"I will help you find something that belonged to your mother," Shen Qing said, looking at her fair, delicate profile. She was suddenly reminded of herself; a mother's significance to a person is immense.
It is something that no one, no emotion, can replace.
A Lang looked at her with a hint of bewilderment. "Actually, I don't remember my mother."
She was born at the exact moment her mother died.
Aunt Cao was driven away just a few days after A Lang was born. Chairman Feng also forbade anyone from mentioning her mother to A Lang. As a result, when she thought of her mother, her mind was a blank slate.
The bewilderment in her eyes stung Shen Qing.
She couldn't help but pull the girl into her arms, her usually cool voice tinged with hoarseness. "I promise you, when all this is over, I will help you reclaim her existence."
A Lang nodded, appearing very well-behaved.
Shen Qing glanced at Aunt Cao. Seeing that her tears hadn't stopped since seeing A Lang, it was evident she genuinely cared for her. "Aunt Cao, would you be willing to stay?"
Aunt Cao froze, tears still clinging to her cheeks.
"Can I?"
"Of course."
Shen Qing looked down at A Lang. "She needs someone to take care of her, but I don't trust strangers. And the rest of the household isn't in the best health. It would be best if you were willing to stay."
Aunt Cao quickly wiped away her tears, her hands trembling with emotion. "I am willing, I am willing to stay!"
She had dreamed of being able to accompany the young lady again. Back then, she had only spoken out of injustice for the madam, which had enraged Chairman Feng and led to her dismissal.
Thinking back now, she deeply regretted it.
If she had known, she would have suppressed her anger and certainly not acted impulsively.
After their discussion, Shen Qing invited Aunt Cao to stay. However, Aunt Cao said she needed to go back and pack some clothes before bringing them over.
Shen Qing agreed.
No sooner had Aunt Cao left than there was a frantic knocking at the door.
The door opened, and Fan Hang burst in, his face contorted with anger and anxiety. "Shen, please help me! If you don't help me, I'm finished!"
"What's wrong?"
Shen Qing sat down on the sofa and took a sip of water from her cup.
Fan Hang, however, was too agitated to sit. He paced restlessly on the floor. "Chairman Feng just called my father, saying he wants to expedite the wedding. My father agreed!"
"And they've set the wedding for next week!"
Shen Qing was also surprised. "Why the sudden rush?"
Hadn't they said they would wait for her to consider it properly?
No.
She looked at Fu Jingshu. "Did you... do something again?"
Fu Jingshu remained unfazed. "I didn't do anything. I just instructed my subordinates to move faster. Although they are clumsy, they know how to follow orders."
Shen Qing remained noncommittal.
While the two of them spoke as if Fan Hang wasn't there, he was on the verge of despair. "What are you two doing? Don't be so unhurried! Save me, I don't want to marry her!"
He was almost giving up hope!
Shen Qing chuckled and soothed him. "Alright, alright, it's not that I won't help you, but... haven't you told your family about Feng Yilian's situation?"
If he had, her family shouldn't have agreed, considering how much prominent families valued their reputation.
Mentioning this made Fan Hang even more distressed. "How can I say it? Chairman Feng has kept this matter so secret that I have no way to bring it up. Even if I did, my family wouldn't believe me, and I have no proof."
His family now believed that person was indeed him and insisted he take responsibility immediately.
He truly had no words for his suffering.
Furthermore, Chairman Feng had promised his family that if the marriage proceeded quickly, they would help the Feng family corporation overcome its difficulties, and in return, they would offer a three-point discount on future collaborations.
Three points!
For two such large families, even one point represented a huge profit, let alone three.
His father had no reason not to agree.