“I have one thing that I must tell you!”
Song Qiuyu lowered her head.
After speaking, she bravely looked up again, her gaze filled with determination.
This wasn’t just for herself, but for her mom and for everyone.
Even if the Jiang family broke her legs with a club after her confession, she would accept it.
She would never give up on Jiang Xiao. At worst, she would use a wheelchair in the future!
“The content of that message is actually…”
“Sweetie!” Su Luo grabbed her daughter’s small, clenched fist.
“It’s actually true.” Song Qiuyu tried her best to suppress her fear and nervousness, as well as the uncontrollable urge to flee.
She frowned and spoke with absolute seriousness.
As soon as those words left her mouth, everyone felt as if they had been struck from behind with a club, their heads spinning.
Su Luo’s hand, which was holding her daughter’s, began to tremble.
She couldn’t believe her daughter had actually confessed.
The Su family stared blankly at Song Qiuyu and then at the worried Su Luo, their hearts filled with complex emotions.
This truth had come too late.
Sigh.
The Jiang family remained silent. Grandpa Jiang gripped his cane tightly, still not fully believing her.
He was weighing the credibility of Song Qiuyu’s words. ‘Is this child trying to test us to see if our resolve will waver? If that’s the case, this girl is quite clever.’
“So you really are Shen Xi?” Grandma Jiang was much more blunt than Grandpa Jiang and got straight to the point.
“Yes, I am Shen — I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry…”
“Is saying sorry useful?” Grandma Jiang’s face flushed with anger.
She shouted and snatched the cane from her husband’s hand.
An elderly woman nearly 100 years old suddenly moved like the wind, as agile as a martial artist.
In a few steps, she was about to charge right in front of Song Qiuyu! “You bastard, you’ve made such a mess of my grandson’s life!!”
Grandma Jiang raised the cane high, wanting nothing more than to break the legs of the troublemaker before her.
A split second before the cane could descend, Jiang Xiao shot up from the sofa and stood resolutely in front of Song Qiuyu.
In the next second, Grandma Jiang’s expression suddenly changed.
She stopped herself, and with a thud, the cane struck the floor.
She clutched her waist, clenching her fist and lightly thumping the painful area.
“Ow, my old back!”
“…”
“Sigh, you’re at that age, yet you still act like you’re 18. With such a big movement, if you don’t throw out your back, who will?” Grandpa Jiang shook his head and looked at his wife, sighing with emotion.
“I threw out my back, but your back is still fine. Don’t forget, you said before that if you saw that girl named Shen Su, you’d break her backbone!” Grandma Jiang pointed at Grandpa Jiang, frowning in dissatisfaction.
Grandpa Jiang naturally understood what his wife meant.
He sighed and looked at Song Qiuyu, who was being protected by his grandson.
“Child, do you want your backbone broken?”
Song Qiuyu shook her head. “No.”
“Then, do you want your legs broken, or perhaps somewhere else?” Grandpa Jiang narrowed his eyes and asked again.
As he spoke, the brains of more than two-thirds of the people present, which were already on the verge of breaking down, simply stopped working.
It was as if an ancient prisoner was being sentenced to death by a thousand cuts, and before the execution, the executioner specifically asked where to start while also asking them to perform a simple math problem like continuously subtracting seven from 1,000.
The Jiang family couldn’t help but feel admiration.
As expected of the old master, he didn’t even need to use his cane.
Just by opening his mouth, he was about to scare Shen Xi to death.
Song Qiuyu was terrified.
Honestly, her legs were turning to jelly.
She had considered the possibility of being beaten by the Jiang family, but she hadn’t expected the old master of the Jiang family to be so unpredictable.
‘Did he even need to ask that question? Of course, I don’t want to be hit anywhere!’ However, she didn’t have the courage to speak again.
She timidly grabbed the corner of Jiang Xiao’s clothes, pursing her lips as she tugged on him.
‘Jiang Xiao, why is your grandpa so scary? Was your family’s ancestry really just ordinary businesspeople?’
Jiang Xiao frowned slightly.
He immediately took hold of her small hand, then looked at his grandfather and the rest of the Jiang family.
He spoke calmly, “Grandpa, I know you’re all very angry. I was also very angry when I first found out, but hitting people isn’t the way to solve problems.”
“I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to the child behind you!” Grandpa Jiang stared intently at Song Qiuyu and said, “It seems she’s so scared she can’t even speak. Is she only going to hide behind my grandson and seek protection?”
At these words, many members of the Jiang family chuckled.
Their admiration for their old master flowed like the waters of the Yellow River.
High-level businesspeople only ever engaged in high-level psychological warfare. A few words or even a look could make an opponent admit defeat.
“Fine, Grandpa Jiang, I admit I’m very afraid.”
It seemed that things were going exactly as they had expected. However, following that, Song Qiuyu used her trembling legs to bravely step out from behind Jiang Xiao! But after only a few steps, she unconsciously gripped the corner of the person next to her even louder and shifted her body slightly back behind him.
If you called her cowardly, she dared to step out; if you called her brave, she shrank back just a little.
Her back-and-forth movements caught the eyes of the Su family, instantly triggering memories for Mr. and Mrs. Su.
She really was Su Luo’s biological daughter. The way she acted when she was about to be hit was exactly the same as Su Luo when she was a child.
Su Ning also remembered some things.
When Su Luo left home, he was still very young — only kindergarten age. He didn’t have many impressions left of this older brother — or rather, sister.
He only remembered that Su Luo had a reckless best friend, and the two of them were always getting into small trouble.
When it was serious, even the police would come to their door, which led to their parents chasing them all over to give them a beating.
Because of that, his parents were always lecturing him, telling him to take it as a warning and not to grow up to be like them.
During those days, the house was always very loud and chaotic.
Although there was never an end to the trouble, at least it felt like a home.
But since Su Luo left, the entire house seemed to have lost its vitality, no longer feeling like a home at all.
“Heh…”
Suddenly, Grandpa Jiang let out a short laugh.
After laughing, he rose from the sofa and gestured to his wife to give him back the cane.
He then walked over to Song Qiuyu, leaning on his cane.
With a smile that carried immense pressure, he bent down slightly and brought his face close to hers, stopping at a polite distance.
Song Qiuyu was so nervous she didn’t dare to breathe. Even so, she forced herself to face the overwhelming pressure radiating from Grandpa Jiang, which felt as heavy as Mount Tai.
She really didn’t want Jiang Xiao to face a difficult choice. She knew his personality well; he would most likely choose to protect her.
But if he did, wouldn’t all her efforts over the past six months be in vain?
She had done so much because she wanted Jiang Xiao to lead a normal life, have friends, and get along well with his family.
Therefore, she absolutely could not back down! She would not let down the courage and trust Jiang Xiao had given her.
Jiang Xiao felt her determination. He let go of his tension and panic, silently holding her hand to lend her strength.
He believed she could do it, but if she couldn’t hold on, she could rely on him at any time.
“I’m sorry, our old master’s eyesight isn’t very good. His glasses just broke, and he’s still having new ones made,” someone said with a laugh.
Song Qiuyu understood the meaning behind that laugh.
All the members of the Jiang family probably wanted to see Shen Xi make a fool of herself. ‘Perhaps if I play along and make a fool of myself, they will be able to vent their anger.
But that kind of thinking is foolish.
To be precise, it would make people think I’m an idiot. How could such a stupid person become Jiang Xiao’s wife?’
It wasn’t just the Jiang family — even she would be the first to reject such a woman!
At this moment, Grandpa Jiang stepped back and distanced himself from her.
As if he had received the answer he wanted, he spoke thoughtfully, “Since you’re so afraid of being hit, how do you still have the face to confess in front of so many of us?”
As soon as he said this, the Jiang family members who were waiting to see Shen Xi’s embarrassment immediately stopped laughing.
Their expressions became subtle, and they frowned. It didn’t seem like the old master was trying to give Shen Xi a warning.
‘Could it be? Is the old master going to forgive Shen Xi for Jiang Xiao’s sake? That doesn’t fit the old master’s style!’
Jiang Yuxuan adjusted his glasses and quietly watched the young girl who dared to face his own father. He remained silent.
“Because I did something wrong!” Song Qiuyu felt the pressure increase as she felt the gaze of Jiang Xiao’s father.
She spoke seriously.
“So, it’s only right for you to punish me, Grandpa Jiang. It’s only right for you to hate me, even if you really want to break my backbone…”
“So, you were so good to my grandson later because you saw how much you had hurt him and suddenly grew a conscience —” Grandpa Jiang deliberately put on a stern face, his tone aggressive.
“Yes… That’s it! I really know I was wrong. I’ve already been working very hard to atone for my sins!” Song Qiuyu hurriedly took the opportunity to speak.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiao wanted to add something, but before he could speak, two people on the sofa couldn’t hold back anymore.
They both stood up and bent down, shouting in unison with great solemnity:
“We are truly very sorry! Please do not blame the child; this is all our fault as parents!”
After speaking, they both looked up with apologetic faces and quickly gave a brief explanation of the circumstances.
However, regarding the reason for their disappearance for over ten years, Song Zhao Ye had to keep it as vague as possible due to the importance of the mission and the fact that there might still be accomplices hiding out there.
Everyone listened intently, including Mr. and Mrs. Su.
Their expressions gradually darkened.
If they were to pursue the root of the problem, it seemed that the two of them were also to blame. But as things stood, it was no longer about who was at fault.
Most importantly, perhaps they also needed to do something.
Consequently, Mr. and Mrs. Su also joined the ranks of those apologizing.
This left most of the Jiang family at a loss.
It was supposed to be a grand execution scene for Shen Xi, so why were more and more people needing to be executed? Even their in-laws were involved now.
Jiang Yingxue was stunned when she noticed that Su Ning had also quietly joined in.
She fell into a brief moment of hesitation.
Strictly speaking, she was now a daughter-in-law married into the Su family.
So, the question was — should she join in too?
Grandpa Jiang suddenly burst into loud laughter. “It seems you really are Shen Xi!”
“?”
So, until just now, Grandpa Jiang hadn’t actually believed she was Shen Xi? Song Qiuyu was deeply shocked.
This was far too cautious.
“However, whether you are truly a girl or not still needs to be confirmed.” Grandpa Jiang could have easily kicked her out of the house, yet he was being excessively prudent.
As he spoke, he turned around, leaning on his cane as he walked back toward the sofa.
“Once we’ve confirmed your gender, we’ll sit down and have a proper talk.”
Hearing this, Song Qiuyu was somewhat stunned.
Her tense body and heart remained tight; she felt as if she had forgotten something.
“Jiang Li, take Shen Xi to the room for an examination…” Hua Shuying looked toward Jiang Li.
However, on the sofa, there was no sign of Jiang Li.
Even Xie Zhuran was gone.
The two people who hadn’t made a sound the entire time had somehow slipped out of the living room unnoticed!