Chapter 44 – The Simp is Forcibly Loved by the Overbearing CEO 44
The next day, the scandal of the wealthy family became a sensation, spreading like wildfire through every street and alley.
#Star Brilliance Entertainment CEO Sheng Xiaoran is an Illegitimate Child, Sheng Family Stages a Melodramatic Saga#
In the office, Sheng Xiaoran’s face was deathly pale. So, he wasn’t Jiang Lu’s biological son after all. No wonder she hated him to the bone… How ridiculous. He was the last to know the so-called truth.
Where was he to go from here? His heart ached. The old wound was torn open again, revealing a bloody hole from which blood flowed ceaselessly, numbing him to the pain. Alongside the agony, hatred and resentment bubbled up. Jiang Lu had treated him like a dog, making him work to death managing the company, only for it all to be for nothing. Why?! Since she cared so much about the company, he would take it from her. This was what she owed him!
With such a major event unfolding, Sheng Xiaoran desperately needed comfort. But Yan Qianqian, who usually doted on him, was nowhere to be seen. She only sent a single phone call to check in. There was disappointment, of course. But now he had nothing, so he could only place all his hopes on Yan Qianqian. She was all he had left. And only she would stay by his side, never abandoning him.
An excessive need for love had driven Sheng Xiaoran into a state of self-deception. In this state, he was both pitiful and hateful—pitiful for his circumstances, and hateful for his spinelessness.
His phone rang, displaying an unknown number. Sheng Xiaoran wanted nothing more than to ignore everything and escape this suffocating place, but he had no other choice.
“Hello, this is Sheng Xiaoran.”
“This is Bai Shuangyu. I was wondering if the compensation President Sheng mentioned last time is still valid?”
Hearing Shuang Yu’s words, Sheng Xiaoran’s brow furrowed, but he still replied, “Of course, it’s still valid.”
“Then let’s find a place to meet and talk in detail. I’ll see you at the Linger Coffee Shop in half an hour.”
Is he… afraid I’ve lost my power and won’t be able to fulfill my promise? Sheng Xiaoran thought with a bitter smile. Had he fallen so low that even a nouveau riche was looking down on him now? No matter how down on his luck he was, he would never let anyone laugh at him.
His face darkened as he stood up, grabbed his suit jacket, and left to meet him.
The coffee shop was located next to a private hospital under the FI Group. It had a serene environment, with each booth separated by dense foliage, offering a high degree of privacy. When Sheng Xiaoran arrived, Shuang Yu was already there.
“President Sheng, long time no see. What would you like to drink?”
“No need. Just tell me what compensation you want. I’m very busy.”
“This isn’t something we can finish in a moment. Trust me, if you leave, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life,” Shuang Yu said with a confident smile.
The other man hesitated for a moment before sitting down and patiently ordering a coffee.
“What on earth do you want to say?”
“President Sheng, do you believe in rebirth?”
The strange question made Sheng Xiaoran’s pupils constrict, his eyes widening in shock.
“Let me tell you a story, President Sheng…” Shuang Yu chuckled softly and began to speak, slowly recounting the events of two lifetimes as if they were a dream he’d had. And the second lifetime he described had overlapping parts with Sheng Xiaoran’s own dreams!
No! Impossible… The story was too absurd. Sheng Xiaoran refused to believe it. He couldn’t accept that the ridiculous dreams he once had might have been a past life.
“You find it absurd, completely unbelievable, right? To be honest, I didn’t believe it at first either. But the fact is, the events in the dream have bizarrely coincided with my life. If this was a prophetic dream, then I have to thank it for saving my life. I don’t want you to follow in my footsteps. As fellow sufferers, I think we two boot brothers should look out for each other.”
The term “boot brothers” made Sheng Xiaoran’s expression incredibly awkward.
“Aren’t you curious why, in the dream, you clearly secured a spot at the research institute for Auntie Chen, yet she mysteriously committed suicide on the eve of her departure? Don’t worry, I’ll give you the answer.”
Almost as soon as Shuang Yu finished speaking, the bell at the door chimed. The ones who entered were none other than Yan Qianqian and a man of about 35. Because their table was in a secluded spot, and with a little help from Shuang Yu’s magic, the pair didn’t notice his and Sheng Xiaoran’s presence.
“Let me introduce you. That’s my dad’s secretary, Wu Hongyu. Coincidentally, his daughter has the same illness as Auntie Chen.”
His words made Sheng Xiaoran instantly understand what Yan Qianqian was trying to do. But he refused to believe it. No, it can’t be. Qianqian wouldn’t be so cruel. That’s her own mother who gave birth to her and raised her!
Unfortunately, his hopes were destined to be shattered. Yan Qianqian and Wu Hongyu sat down at a table not far from them. After sitting down, she got straight to the point.
“Mr. Wu, I have a spot at the Bain Research Institute. You should know how hard that is to get. I can transfer it to you, but I have one condition.”
“What condition?”
“After you get the spot, you must immediately resign from Nianmeng Construction.”
***
The facts were laid bare before him, leaving Sheng Xiaoran no choice but to believe. Yan Qianqian had indeed transferred the spot! The irony was that this spot was something she had begged him for! He had sympathized with her filial piety and had gone to great lengths to obtain that precious spot. But she had disregarded her mother’s life, using the spot to deal with Bai Shuangyu!
What was the truth? It was peeling away the flesh and blood to reveal the raw bone, then crushing that bone inch by inch, grinding it down, leaving you in excruciating agony! The successive blows nearly crushed Sheng Xiaoran.
“Instead of seeking pity from others, you should first learn to love yourself. You knew she wasn’t a good person, so why did you keep deceiving yourself? You don’t still think that losing your child was just an accident, do you?”
Shuang Yu shook his head, pushed a file across the table, and stood up to leave.
With trembling hands, Sheng Xiaoran opened the file. It contained entry and exit records and photos of Yan Qianqian’s assistant going to a back-alley clinic to get abortion pills. The time recorded on the medical record was exactly the day Yan Qianqian had her miscarriage!
In that instant, his heart plummeted into a bottomless abyss. Sheng Xiaoran felt his world completely collapse. Scalding tears dripped onto the documents in his hands. After a long while, a smile appeared on his lips. He was clearly smiling, but that smile was more bitter and wretched than any cry.
Picking up his phone, he dialed Yan Qianqian’s number.
“Xiaoran.”
The woman’s sweet, cloying voice came through the phone. In the past, he would have found it healing, but hearing it now made him feel as if he had been plunged into an ice cave.
“Let’s… break up.”
[Ding! Vicious Ghost’s resentment -10. Current resentment: 19.]
Xiao Ai’s notification sounded in Shuang Yu’s mind. In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
In the FI president’s office, Shuang Yu was being held in Feng Yan’s arms.
“Baby, my mom’s pregnant… I’m going to have a little brother or sister soon. Aren’t you happy? Aren’t you excited? Shouldn’t we celebrate?” Feng Yan neurotically pressed his ear against Shuang Yu’s stomach, muttering to himself.
Lunatic! What does you having a sibling have to do with me? And you want to use me to celebrate?! Shuang Yu furiously tried to push him away.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
“Tsk, the door isn’t locked,” Feng Yan whispered, nibbling on his earlobe with a low, husky laugh.
Shuang Yu was about to die of fright.
“Be a decent human being!”
Just as he said that, the sound of the doorknob turning could be heard.