Song Qinian had never been unconditionally defended and doted on by anyone other than Song Guanliang, her grandmother.
Although she was not the direct cause of the old lady's fainting and hospitalization, she was an indirect instigator, which made her feel immensely guilty.
Song Qinian's cries were silent; when she was too sad, her body would tremble, making anyone watching feel pity.
The old lady gently stroked her head, "Alright, alright, no more crying. It's all better now."
The old lady's comfort only made Song Qinian feel worse. Guiltily, she gestured, "I'm sorry, Grandma, I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault, why are you apologizing?"
Song Qinian shook her head. She felt too miserable and didn't know how to express her feelings to the old lady.
Suddenly, she gestured to her grandmother, "Grandma, I don't want to be the vice chairman of the foundation anymore."
Thinking about it, ever since Grandma announced she would be the vice chairman of the foundation, there had been no peace in the family.
If she weren't the vice chairman, there wouldn't be so many conflicts.
The old lady sighed softly, "Niannian, are you blaming Grandma?"
Song Qinian quickly shook her head. Grandma had her best interests at heart; how could she blame her?
"Niannian, listen to Grandma. You must take on this vice chairmanship."
Seeing Song Qinian's confused expression, the old lady said softly, "Ru Xue is kind but too soft-hearted, while Ju Hong Lan is quite assertive. In fact, between the two of them, setting aside other factors, Ju Hong Lan is the most suitable person to be the chairman."
"But you've seen it yourself. As the vice chairman of the charitable foundation, or as a person, Ju Hong Lan has no compassion. She only has power and desire. If the Hong Ou Foundation truly falls into her hands, it will sooner or later ruin the lifelong efforts of my old man and me."
"While I'm still alive, I can keep Ju Hong Lan in check. But I'm old. If I suddenly pass away one day, there's no doubt Ju Hong Lan will use all sorts of means to seize the foundation for herself."
When Song Qinian heard this, her heart clenched. She anxiously gestured, "Grandma will live a long and healthy life, she definitely won't..."
The old lady grasped Song Qinian's hand, stopping her from gesturing further, "Niannian, everyone has that day. Living to eighty-eight in good health is already being exceptionally blessed by heaven. Life and death mean little to me."
Saying this, the old lady sighed, "My biggest concern right now is you and the foundation. I originally appointed you vice chairman to help Ru Xue and, incidentally, to check Ju Hong Lan. I never expected Ju Hong Lan to do something like that to frame you."
Song Qinian blinked, "Grandma, you believe I didn't collude with anyone to set up Ju Hong Lan with a honey trap?"
The old lady smiled slightly, "I've known you since you were a freshman in college. After all these years, I know what kind of person you are. Besides, you love Chi Yan so much, how could you let the Shen family be caught in such public scrutiny?"
The old lady's trust brought tears to Song Qinian's eyes.
She had been terrified when Ju Hong Lan's video was posted online by Shen Qiwen.
She was afraid the old lady would think she was ruthless for the position of vice chairman and be disappointed in her.
How could she be worthy of such unconditional trust from her grandmother?
Wiping her tears, she gestured as if she had made up her mind, "Grandma, don't worry, I will definitely assist Auntie well, manage the Hong Ou Foundation properly, and do my best to help more people in need."
A smile finally appeared on the old lady's face, "Yes, Grandma believes in you."
Then, the old lady stroked Song Qinian's small face and said, "Niannian, life is not easy. Whatever you want, you must strive for it. Even if the outcome is not satisfactory in the end, don't have any regrets."
Song Qinian's body stiffened slightly. She knew her grandmother was talking about Shen Chi Yan.
How she wished she could fight for it, but Shen Chi Yan held too deep a prejudice against her, and his heart still belonged to Lin Qiu Tong. She didn't know what to do.
...
The old lady stayed in the hospital for three days, during which Song Qinian stayed by her side, taking care of her.
Ju Hong Lan tried to visit the old lady multiple times, but the old lady refused to see her.
This made her anxious, thinking Song Qinian had poisoned the old lady's ears against her, and she grew to hate Song Qinian even more.
"What? Mom wants me to prepare to publicly apologize to Song Qinian?"
Ju Hong Lan almost exploded with anger when she heard this.
"Why? Song Qinian clearly plotted against me!"
As she spoke, she tightly gripped Shen Zhengming's arm, "Husband, you must stand up for me!"
Shen Zhengming impatiently shook off Ju Hong Lan's hand, "You can't even handle such a small matter. How dare you ask me to stand up for you?"
"I never expected Shen Chi Yan to intervene. If it weren't for him, Wang Yajie would have already gone abroad."
Hearing this, Shen Zhengming's brows furrowed deeply, "Doesn't Shen Chi Yan dislike his mute wife? Why would he help her?"
"Do I need to think about it? They are family after all. I really didn't expect this Song Qinian, who appears so gentle and easily bullied on the surface, to be so capable. I underestimated her this time."
Shen Zhengming snorted coldly, "Qiwen has just joined the company. You'd better not cause any trouble that affects his future, or I will never forgive you."
After Shen Zhengming left, Ju Hong Lan angrily swept everything off the table onto the floor.
Qiwen, Qiwen! He only cared about his illegitimate son!
None of them helped her; they all treated her as if she were invisible!
But the old lady was too disappointed in her this time. She couldn't rush things. She could only endure for now and then think of another way.
However, Ju Hong Lan did not expect that as soon as the old lady was discharged from the hospital, she would hold a press conference. After apologizing to Song Qinian in front of all the media and reporters, the old lady announced her removal from the position of vice chairman. Song Qinian became the sole vice chairman of the Hong Ou Foundation.
Ju Hong Lan's attempt to steal a chicken resulted in the loss of the rice, and she regretted it deeply.
As soon as the press conference ended, Ju Hong Lan glared fiercely at Song Qinian, her eyes red as she cursed, "Song Qinian, don't get smug. The humiliation I've suffered today, I will surely repay you tenfold in the future."
As Ju Hong Lan left angrily, Song Qinian received a text message from Shen Qiwen.
"Congratulations on winning a battle. I was blind before and underestimated you. From now on, we should help each other."
Song Qinian did not reply and directly blacklisted Shen Qiwen's number.
Since the old lady's injury, Song Qinian had not been home for several days. Shen Chi Yan had never sent her a message. When he visited the old lady, he treated her like air, not even giving her a glance.
Now that the old lady was discharged from the hospital and the foundation matters were temporarily settled, Song Qinian took a taxi back to Xiangshan Yue.
Her phone suddenly rang with a news alert.
"Love bracelets of Xinghuang Entertainment's little princess Lin Qiu Tong and Ding Sheng Group's CEO Shen Chi Yan exposed, hinting at an impending marriage."