Rebirth from the Ashes

Shen Xi knew that she should be happy but felt nothing so close as a tickle. Instead, bitterness and anguish were piling on like a ton of bricks.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Just let nature take its course.” Li Yuan murmured sweetly in her ear, “Let it be. Leave it to the Fu family and Mr. Jin Yu.”

Shen Xi snuffled. There were a lot of things she could not tell anyone but him. “My mind is all over the place. I can’t stop obsessing about it.”

“They should be the ones having a lot on their mind, not you.” Li Yuan heartbreakingly held her face and looked her in the eye. “All you need to do is accept them. If you’re not ready to, we don’t need to go back to the Fu family.”

Shen Xi shook her head. Her voice was dull. “Uncle Jin Yu and the rest missed their daughter so much.”

To this day, Shen Xi was unable to imagine herself in the role of Fu Qingxi. If the Fu family found her prior to her rebirth, she would have happily accepted the family right away, thinking she was the luckiest and most blessed.

Yet now, she had gone through a lot and discovered her life goals, so these things no longer mattered to her. The Fu family was never in her future plans.

“Don’t you already have the answer?” Li Yuan grazed her nose tip and soothed her, “Stop overthinking it. Get some sleep. If it really bothers you, I’ll talk to Fu Qingli to give more time for you to think it through.”

He knew that the Fu family, minus Fu Qingli, meant a lot to her, especially Uncle Jin Yu. They got along like father and daughter a while back.

At the time, Li Yuan thought his fair lady was such a peach that everyone would fall in love with. Even Mr. Jin Yu who kept his distance from everybody took to her quickly and doted on her like his own.

Now he understood that blood ties were a mystical thing. They grew close despite not knowing the true relationship between them.

“Yes.” Shen Xi closed her lips and cuddled in his arms as all the random thoughts began to disperse. She softly said, “Goodnight.”

Li Yuan lowered his gaze to a close-up of the girl’s face before asking her in a gentle voice, “Do you want a lullaby?”

Shen Xi bobbed her head. “Of course.”

Amid the quiet space, the man’s thick and beautiful singing voice was heard, bearing a magical calming effect. The girl in his arms slowly drifted away to dreamland.

He tightened his grip over the soft body and murmured, “Goodnight.”

His eyes softened as the girl snuggled up in his embrace like a kitten and purred in her sleep.

Shen Xi had a good night’s sleep with Li Yuan by her side.

Alas, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for some people.

Su Ruowan could not sleep a wink. She would be startled awake the moment she closed her eyes. She could foresee things taking a bad turn, and in the worst-case scenario, Li Jingran and Su Yi would be ruined, the Su family would face bankruptcy, and she would wound up in the most miserable state. Never mind a life of luxury, she would have trouble meeting the bare necessities.

The mere thought of it shook her body and she ground her teeth in rage. The useless Su family was to be blamed for all of this as they could not even protect their own assets. Why could they not just go to hell?

She did not ever want to be a washed-up heiress. Su Ruowan must figure out a way to sustain her present life. She did not want bankruptcy nor to live where the d*mn poor dwelled, eat beggar’s food, or wear tattered clothes.

That night, she kept scrolling the news to see if the scandal had withdrawn.

Su Ruowan called the Su family and Su Muyan told her that Su Yi was on it. The news would soon be stopped from spreading. However, the buzz showed no signs of slowing down by daybreak. In fact, it stirred quite a sensation that was spreading like wildfire.

She scrolled the news and checked the trending topics with resentment burning through her veins. Letting out a terrifying shriek, she menacingly picked up a cup and threw it at the window.

Following a loud thud, the cup was smashed into smithereens.

With bloodshot eyes, she dialed Li Jingran’s number. Although her eyes were vicious, her voice reflected a raspy whimpering. “Mom, what’s going on? Why is the news in the top trending list?”

Su Yi, the useless buffoon, said he got someone working on it, but their dirty laundry was clearly still aired on every major website.

The notification about them was pushed to their feed every time they got onto the website too. Instead of getting the situation under control, things were simply getting out of hand.

“Wanwan, your dad, h-he’s thinking of something.” Having been awake the whole night, Li Jingran’s eyes were red-rimmed and streaky while her sunken cheeks were ashen as though she was on her deathbed. She looked horrifying.

She took a glance at Su Yi who was sitting on the sofa across from her.

Su Yi was agitated as he kept dialing the same number, but the line was answered by a robotic female voice. “The number you’ve dialed is not in service, please try again later.”

He suddenly lost it. Like a wild beast pushed to the edge, he kicked the coffee table and smashed his phone. “The d*mn b*stard! He played me!”

Su Yi could not get through to Goody-Two-Shoes. His phone was unreachable. Not only was his 100 million lost, but the matter was becoming a bigger commotion than it already was. At this rate, he would be done for.

While Li Jingran was on the call with Su Ruowan, they heard a loud bang and Su Yi’s exasperated yells ensued. Su Ruowan asked with worry, “Mom, what’s up with Dad? Did something go wrong?”

Trying not to startle Su Ruowan, Li Jingran grabbed the phone and got up. No matter what, Wanwan was innocent in all of this. The darling daughter whom she raised was the only thing keeping her sane. She left all her affections and motherly love to Su Ruowan, even during such circumstances. “You don’t worry about a thing here. Being worried doesn’t solve anything. Are you doing alright there?”

“No, Mom. What should I do? What can I do to help you?” Su Ruowan revealed her loathe in her expression, but her voice carried painful sobbing.

Li Jingran’s battered and numbed heart sank to hear her crying. “Don’t cry, Wanwan. Your parents and brothers will deal with it. Focus on your shoot and don’t worry about us.. We will take care of things.”