Twentieth Blood Orange Slice

The Su family's cook uniform was a light yellow ensemble that made Liao Xue's skin look even fairer, as if she were bathed in the glow of a full moon.

No wonder Su Zeye liked the new cook's food—he must have liked the new cook herself!

Liao Xue walked out with her hands crossed over her lower abdomen, a smile on her face, and stopped less than half a meter from Shen Qiancheng.

"Madam, did you find today's dishes to your liking?"

Su Yuling elegantly dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin and nodded. "Thank you for your hard work. The food is delicious, Liao Xue."

Shen Qiancheng shot to her feet. "Father, would you like some soup? I'll go get you a bowl."

Shi Jianren looked at Shen Qiancheng as if she were a ghost, but mindful of being in the Su residence, he nodded. "Fine."

Shen Qiancheng rose and walked to the kitchen on unsteady feet, while behind her, Shi Jianren continued modestly, "Not at all, Chengcheng is indeed a filial daughter."

In the kitchen, the small pot of soup emitted wisps of steam. Liao Xue stood there, her hand resting on the table, her graceful figure dreamlike and ethereal.

"Miss Shen?"

Liao Xue's tone was not familiar, carrying a sense of alienation as if separated by glass.

This was their first meeting since their unpleasant parting in the rental apartment, when Shen Qiancheng had fled in disgrace.

And it happened at a family banquet of Shen Qiancheng's fiancé.

Shen Qiancheng took a deep breath, her tone laced with frustration. "Coming to the Su family—have you lost your mind?"

The soup in the small pot boiled over, mirroring the tense atmosphere between them.

Liao Xue had thought Shen Qiancheng might say something else, but hearing this, she felt a bit disappointed. She turned away, stirring the soup with a ladle, saying nothing.

Liao Xue's unyielding attitude irritated Shen Qiancheng. Liao Xue had never dared to ignore her like this before.

Shen Qiancheng stepped forward and grabbed Liao Xue's right hand, causing the ladle to slip from Liao Xue's grasp. Only then did Liao Xue finally furrow her brows and look at her.

"Are you stupid or blind? Can't you see Su Zeye's ill intentions?"

Liao Xue suppressed a bitter smile, meeting Shen Qiancheng's eyes directly.

"I'm not crazy. Mr. Su's invitation was hard to decline. And since Miss Shen saw to it that I lost one job, where else would I work if not here? I'm not like you, Miss Shen. I have to eat, I have to wear clothes, I have to survive. If I don't work, no one will give me money!" Liao Xue rarely spoke so much in one breath, and even she was shocked by her own outburst. "Miss Shen, whether I live or die, whether I'm happy or miserable, from now on has nothing to do with you. Of course, I won't fall for your fiancé, so you can rest easy. This is the kitchen—please leave."

"Fine, fine, fine," Shen Qiancheng said, trembling with anger. If Liao Xue wouldn't accept her help, then so be it. "I won't bother with you anymore!"

The meal dragged on until the end, and Shi Jianren never saw the soup Shen Qiancheng had promised to bring him. He decided to teach her a lesson and settle the score from the earlier tabloid incident.

When Shen Qiancheng, still somewhat dazed, tossed her bag onto the sofa and headed upstairs without a word to Shi Jianren, he sat imperiously on the sofa and called her back.

"Chengcheng, don't you have anything to say to me?"

Shen Qiancheng's mind was full of Liao Xue's determination to cut ties with her, so she couldn't hear Shi Jianren's imagined grievances.

"No. Leave me alone."

Shi Jianren sneered. How bold. After a few years abroad, she had forgotten whose daughter she was.

"Shen Qiancheng." His voice was as cold as the fine tiles beneath his feet. "Kneel in the study and wait for me."

Kneeling in the study invariably meant a whipping, and Shen Qiancheng's heart was troubled—not so much by the impending punishment, but by the phrase "has nothing to do with you."

Wasn't that exactly what she had always wanted?

So why wasn't she happy?

In the closed space of the study, Shi Jianren was the undisputed king, holding the long whip that symbolized his authority, forcing the prisoner in this room, other than the king, to submit.

It had been three years since Shen Qiancheng had set foot in the study, but instinct drove her to kneel on the floor.

Seeing this, Shi Jianren's mood eased, and he let out a nonchalant hum.

"Do you know why you're being punished?"

Shen Qiancheng knelt upright, her back straight as a pine. There was no fear in her eyes as she looked at Shi Jianren with a gaze that was clear, untainted by desire or emotion, making it seem as though Shi Jianren was the one being unreasonable.

"Since when did Father need a reason to punish me?"

A hint of guilt crept into Shi Jianren's heart. What did Shen Qiancheng mean by that? After all the trouble she had caused over the years, was he somehow in the wrong for hitting her and cleaning up after her?

The whip in Shi Jianren's hand had not tasted blood in three years. He twisted and toyed with it, his voice icy. "Just now at the Su residence, I gave you face. First, you sold my private affairs to the tabloids, then you colluded with Qiao Manbo, and finally, you cracked Su Zeye's skull. One by one, each offense alone would be enough to kill you several times over."

The threatening words rang in Shen Qiancheng's ears, but she seemed not to hear them. She stared straight at Shi Jianren and asked, "Father, would you really let me die? By your own reasoning, you should have beaten me to death long ago, but you didn't."

Shen Qiancheng stood up. "Three years ago, you chose me over Liao Xue. I have value. But Father, are you only after the pittance the Su family will toss you once I marry Su Zeye? The Su Corporation is such a fat piece of meat—I'm drooling just looking at it. Don't you want a piece?"

The whip froze in Shi Jianren's hand, and his pupils contracted sharply. He had to look up to see Shen Qiancheng's face, on which a wild ambition had already crept across her brow.

At over fifty, he had to admit that the young Shen Qiancheng was more ambitious than he was. In just three years, she had transformed from a daughter who dared to resist but not overturn the table into a second him. Compared to her, all his other children combined couldn't match Shen Qiancheng's ruthlessness and cunning.

What a pity, Shi Jianren thought, lowering his head, that she's a girl.

Shen Qiancheng walked to the desk and sat down, facing Shi Jianren as an equal for the first time.

"I don't ask for much," Shen Qiancheng said, folding her hands and leaning forward in a gesture of conquest. "There's still some time before I marry into the Su family. You know I studied architecture. I need to get into the Shen Corporation. At least let me learn something about management."

Shi Jianren frowned. He had no intention of letting Shen Qiancheng into the Shen Corporation. She was neither Shen Ya's daughter nor his own, so what right did she have to enter?

Shen Qiancheng had long anticipated that Shi Jianren would use that old excuse to prevaricate.

"Father, I'll handle the shareholders' meeting. You just need to nod."

Shi Jianren was just looking for a reason to refuse, thinking he could coordinate with her from outside to take over the Su family. Why bother letting her into the corporation? The shareholders were no easy bunch, and taking down the Su family was no simple feat either.

He wanted to see what she was capable of.

Shen Qiancheng knew that to advance, one must first retreat, and she had taken on what they both saw as the hardest part. No one could refuse that. She got Shi Jianren's promise.

Shi Jianren put away the whip; there was no need for it after this conversation.

Shi Jianren was already scheming. If Shen Qiancheng married Su Zeye at most a month from now, then under his direction, she would be a nonentity in the Shen Corporation for that month. She didn't need to learn anything; she just needed to be a decorative vase in the marriage alliance, obediently following his commands.

As for how to make Shen Qiancheng obey? Wasn't Liao Xue still around?

If this one didn't listen, he could just swap her out for the next.

In the room, Shen Qiancheng read Shi Jianren's thoughts at a glance. The arrogant and self-important were the easiest to deceive. If she said no more, he would never know.

With the conversation fully out in the open, Shi Jianren hypocritically thought he should say a few pleasant words, but just as he opened his mouth, his phone rang.

Shen Qiancheng tactfully turned and left the room.

Shi Jianren answered the call. "Mr. Shi, I'm sorry. Young Master Su suddenly fell ill with vomiting and diarrhea at the hospital. He's unlikely to be discharged on schedule. Madam asked me to inform you that the dinner has been cancelled."

Shi Jianren wanted to say something more, but the caller hung up decisively after confirming he had heard.

Su Zeye, vomiting and diarrhea at the hospital?

#

In the parking lot, drafts of wind whipped through, howling.

A tiny spark flickered on and off in the dim car window. Inside, a woman with a long face and impatient features complained, "Shen Qiancheng, if you can't sleep at night, go bother someone else, will you?!"

Shen Qiancheng turned from the passenger seat. "You're not asleep either at this hour. I need a favor."

Su Tongqin paused. Did she hear right? Shen Qiancheng wanted her help?

Shen Qiancheng said flatly, "You heard right. Find a way to get Liao Xue out of the Su family."

Su Tongqin sneered. "Switzerland must be cursed. Some people go there and come back idiots. Weren't you the one who wanted her out of your house? Now she's gone to someone else's and you're unhappy. Is the whole world yours to do as you please?"

"I—" Shen Qiancheng's eyes blazed with anger. In the past, she would have slapped Su Tongqin twice, but since she needed a favor, she suppressed her fury. "That assistant named Fu Rong, I think that's right. I heard the eldest Miss Su and her are inseparable—sworn friends in adversity. Don't you think something's off about that?"

Everyone has their Achilles' heel. Shen Qiancheng had Liao Xue, and Su Tongqin had Fu Rong.

Sure enough, at the mention of Fu Rong, Su Tongqin's cheeks flushed instantly, and her fist launched unceremoniously toward Shen Qiancheng's forehead. Shen Qiancheng didn't dodge, taking the punch, and even pressed further: "By hitting me, you've agreed to help. No backing out now!"

Su Tongqin's hand hurt from the impact, and she felt she hadn't gained much advantage.

Su Tongqin stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and said slowly, "Let me tell you some bad news. Su Zeye's vomiting and diarrhea means he can't leave the hospital on time."

Shen Qiancheng: "Isn't that good news?"

Su Tongqin: "Liao Xue is the one who made Su Zeye sick."

That was indeed bad news.

Shen Qiancheng turned serious. "How many people know?"

Su Tongqin: "Right now, just me."

Shen Qiancheng clapped her hands. "Truly worthy of Liao Xue. That's also good news."

Su Tongqin warned gloomily, "Since you let me hit you, I'll be kind and remind you. Su Zeye is the Su family's treasure. A cook poisoning him—" She added, "Our family also has ties to the underworld."

"Tsk," Shen Qiancheng wanted to light a cigarette herself, frowning. "Do you think my word carries any weight in your house?"

"Did you make Su Zeye vomit and have diarrhea?"

Su Tongqin suppressed the urge to strangle the person beside her, grinding her teeth. "He's my brother! Why would I want him dead?!"