Every question Shen Chi Yan asked was laden with his deep insecurity and distrust. Song Qi Nian wanted to gesture an explanation, but the more she tried, the more Shen Chi Yan misinterpreted her gestures.
Never before had Shen Chi Yan felt so pained and helpless. He feared that if he stayed any longer, he would only hurt Song Qi Nian, so he left home to calm himself down.
In her distress, Song Qi Nian was about to chase after him when her phone suddenly rang. She opened it to find a WeChat message from the old lady.
"Nian Nian, come to the old residence right away. I have something very important to ask you."
The old lady rarely spoke to her in such a serious tone. Song Qi Nian didn't know what had happened, so she took a taxi to the old residence.
When she entered, Lin Lan Xing was also in the living room.
Lin Lan Xing looked at Song Qi Nian with those triumphant and arrogant eyes, as if waiting to see her embarrassed.
"Oh, Fifth Sister-in-law is finally back."
Song Qi Nian ignored Lin Lan Xing and looked at the old lady, whose face was very grim. "Nian Nian, come and sit."
Song Qi Nian nodded and obediently walked over to sit beside the old lady. Immediately after, the old lady handed her a few photographs.
Song Qi Nian's expression changed slightly when she saw the photos of herself, Li Jun Shen, and Ji Luo Fei.
These were taken after she met Ji Luo Fei and Li Jun Shen at the hospital entrance when she went to find Lin Qiu Tong. Who was so bored as to take these pictures and show them to the old lady?
At this moment, Lin Lan Xing spoke up, "Fifth Sister-in-law, I really didn't expect you to know Li Jun Shen and his mother. Then why did you pretend not to know them when they came to our house to cause trouble with Third Uncle last time?"
Song Qi Nian's brows furrowed tightly. As expected, the most boring person was Lin Lan Xing.
Before Song Qi Nian could explain, Lin Lan Xing scoffed again, "I heard that you've known them since you were little. I have reasonable suspicion that you married my Fifth Brother so that you could help Li Jun Shen obtain everything the Shen family has one day."
Song Qi Nian was acutely aware that if this accusation landed, it would shatter her into pieces.
No wonder Li Jun Shen had been appearing in front of her from time to time lately. So, it was to sow discord between her and Shen Chi Yan, and to make the Shen family suspicious of her.
She didn't know if all of this was Li Jun Shen's doing. She only knew that she had to make her stance clear.
Moreover, the fact that the old lady had called her back indicated that the old lady was indeed suspicious of her.
With this thought, Song Qi Nian looked at the old lady and slowly gestured, "Grandmother, I do know Ji Luo Fei and Li Jun Shen, but that was more than ten years ago. Later, they moved, and I never saw them again until they came to the Shen family last time. I only then knew they had returned to the country..."
Before Song Qi Nian finished gesturing, Lin Lan Xing interrupted her with a scoff, "You're lying. You saw Li Jun Shen much earlier than that and still pretended not to know him. If you were just friends, why would you pretend not to know him?"
Song Qi Nian calmly explained, "Because he changed so much, I didn't recognize him. Even when I heard the same name, I didn't connect him with the Li Jun Shen I knew as a child."
Afterward, Song Qi Nian looked at the old lady again. "As for you saying I want to help Li Jun Shen obtain the Shen family, that's simply absurd. I love Shen Chi Yan. The Shen family is also my home. Why would I do such a thing?"
"Who knows..."
Before Lin Lan Xing could finish speaking, Shen Chi Yan interrupted her, "Sister-in-law, think carefully before you slander someone. You can't just rely on a photo and make me carry such a heavy burden. I have reasonable suspicion that you are trying to drive a wedge between me and Shen Chi Yan, and me and the Shen family."
Knowing that the old lady hated troublemakers the most, Lin Lan Xing immediately explained, "Don't spew nonsense. I didn't..."
Lin Lan Xing hadn't expected that after a few days, Song Qi Nian could express herself so well.
When she had seen Song Qi Nian with Li Jun Shen and his mother at the hospital, she had taken the photo without a second thought. She had intended to use it to put Song Qi Nian in a bad light in front of the old lady. If the old lady became suspicious of Song Qi Nian's ulterior motives and caused Song Qi Nian and Shen Chi Yan to divorce, that would be even better.
Who knew that Song Qi Nian's explanation would make it seem like she was deliberately looking for trouble?
"Grandmother, everything the Shen family has now is hard-earned. We must not let it be taken away by those with ulterior motives. You have discerning eyes, and you must not let those with ulterior motives disrupt our harmonious family."
The old lady did not speak. When Lin Lan Xing showed her the photos, she had not doubted Song Qi Nian.
However, concerning the entire Shen family, Song Qi Nian's close relationship with the Ji family mother and son made her have to take it seriously.
The old lady's silence made Song Qi Nian's heart pound. Ever since Li Jun Shen appeared, her life had been a mess.
As expected, anything related to that fellow brought no good.
Just as Song Qi Nian was about to gesture, the old lady finally spoke. "Lan Xing, I know you mean well for the Shen family, but trust and respect should be given to each other in a family. Nian Nian is Ah Yan's wife and my daughter-in-law. I naturally trust her."
Lin Lan Xing's expression was as uncomfortable as if she had swallowed a fly. The old lady's favoritism towards Song Qi Nian was truly biased to the extreme.
She knew that anything more she said would be useless, but she still said unwillingly, "Grandmother, trust is trust, but don't let trust lead to our own harm in the end. I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave."
As Lin Lan Xing left the old residence, she looked back. Seeing that the old lady's expression had not much improved, she smirked and scoffed.
Although she had failed to defeat Song Qi Nian this time, planting a seed of doubt in the old lady's heart that Song Qi Nian might betray Shen Chi Yan and the Shen family at any moment was good enough.
After Lin Lan Xing left, Song Qi Nian squeezed the old lady's hand and earnestly gestured, "Grandmother, I am not an ungrateful person. I know better than anyone how good you and Mother have been to me. Even if I were to die, I would never betray you."
The old lady sighed, gently patted Song Qi Nian's head, and smiled. "Of course, I believe in your character. But Nian Nian, gossip is a formidable thing. You still need to be careful."
Song Qi Nian nodded and hugged the old lady tightly.
Shen Chi Yan's accusations towards her were clearly because someone had said something to him, or he had seen something.
She always felt an invisible hand manipulating everything from behind the scenes, trying to ruin her hard-won happy life.
After leaving the old residence, Song Qi Nian glanced at her phone. Shen Chi Yan hadn't contacted her, indicating he was still angry.
Song Qi Nian immediately sent him a WeChat message: "Are you coming home tonight? I'll wait for you to finish dinner."
However, she received no reply to this message until she was about to go to bed that night.
Song Qi Nian knew she couldn't let things continue this way. The next morning, she went to Dingsheng Group, only to be told by Li Nan Xun that Shen Chi Yan had gone on a business trip to another province.
This time, only Gao Kun Lun had gone with him, not Li Nan Xun.
Song Qi Nian sent another WeChat message to Shen Chi Yan, but still, no reply.
Initially, Song Qi Nian really wanted to write a lengthy message to Shen Chi Yan. But considering that if Shen Chi Yan didn't believe her, writing a lot would be useless as he wouldn't read it, she decided to find ways to cure herself. As long as she could speak, she could explain everything to Shen Chi Yan one by one.
At this moment, Song Qi Nian received a WeChat message from Guan Ming Xu.
"Nian Nian, I've learned about a very reputable hospital abroad. They have treated many people who couldn't speak due to physiological and psychological reasons. Do you want to speak? Shall I help you make an appointment?"