Shen Huaishuang soon put the matter behind her and began a busy day of work.
Returning to Star Dream International after work, she found that Lu Zhengting was not home. Not wanting to cook, she boiled some frozen dumplings from the freezer for a quick meal. After showering, she lay in bed, clutching her phone as she hesitated over whether to send Lu Zhengting a message or give him a call. She felt genuinely sorry for what had happened that morning.
After some thought, she decided a message would be better. She typed out a draft and hit send. She waited for a long while, but Lu Zhengting did not reply, and she eventually drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhengting emerged from the bathroom and looked at the message on his phone:
[Lu Zhengting, are you asleep? Is work going well? Oh, right, I forgot to ask this morning—where did you go on your business trip?]
He typed a reply, hesitated for a moment, deleted it, and then placed the phone face-down on the nightstand.
When Shen Huaishuang woke up the next morning, she checked her phone, but there was still no reply from Lu Zhengting. She assumed he was still angry. She didn't blame him; if a woman had run up to her, causing a scene and demanding she divorce her husband, she would be angry too. She decided to wait until he returned so they could talk it through properly. She felt some things were better said in person.
For the next week, she and Lu Zhengting had no contact.
One day, President Wang singled Shen Huaishuang out to accompany him to a bidding event. Upon arriving at the venue, she was surprised to run into Shen Dong and Shen Huaiyu. She didn't go over to greet them, opting instead to follow President Wang into the hall.
"Father," Shen Huaiyu said, "Big sister is becoming more and more outrageous. She clearly has no respect for you."
Shen Dong’s expression darkened. "Ignore her."
Suddenly, Shen Huaiyu added, "Father, Junting Real Estate is bound to win this bid again. Since Big sister is participating, she must know their bid price. I’ll go ask her to tell us. We’re family, after all; surely she’ll help. With their price, we’ll be able to win this bid."
Shen Dong’s eyes brightened. "Fine. Go call Huaishuang outside. Huaiyu, whether our company can secure this bid depends on you."
Shen Dong had already given up. With Junting Real Estate involved, Shen's Real Estate stood no chance and was merely going through the motions. Shen Huaiyu's suggestion had reignited his hope.
"Don't worry, Father, I'll take care of it."
"Good."
Shen Huaishuang was busy carefully checking the bid documents. Since this was her first time participating in a bidding process, she didn't want any errors. President Wang was impressed by her diligent attitude. Seeing Shen Huaiyu walking toward her, she closed her folder.
Shen Huaiyu walked up to her and said, "Big sister, Father wants to see you."
Shen Huaishuang frowned. "The bidding is about to start. I’ll go see him when it’s over."
"No, Father has an urgent matter. You need to come now."
President Wang asked, "Who is this?"
Shen Huaishuang explained, "She is my younger sister, and the man with her is my father."
President Wang knew of Shen Dong, the owner of Shen's Real Estate. He hadn't expected Shen Huaishuang to be his daughter.
Shen Huaiyu urged her again, "Big sister, don't keep Father waiting."
President Wang spoke up, "Go ahead, Xiao Shen. But be mindful of what you say and what you don't."
Shen Huaishuang nodded, understanding his meaning. She handed the bid documents to President Wang and followed Shen Huaiyu to a fire exit, only to find that Shen Dong was nowhere to be seen.
"Shen Huaiyu, where is Father?"
"Father sent me."
"I have nothing to say to you."
"Shen Huaishuang, I have nothing to say to you either. But Father wants to know Junting Real Estate's bid price. Tell me now so I can go report back."
Shen Huaishuang looked at her in disbelief. "Shen Huaiyu, are you out of your mind? What makes you think I’d tell you?"
"Shen Huaishuang, don't forget you’re a member of the Shen family. You should be helping us."
"Oh? Now you remember I’m a Shen? When you plotted against me and humiliated me, did you ever consider that I was family?"
"Shen Huaishuang, this is what Father wants. You’d better give it to me, now."
"Impossible! I am an employee of Junting Real Estate. I will never do anything to harm the company. You can give up that idea."
"If you don't do as you're told, be careful—Father might disown you," Shen Huaiyu threatened. She knew how much Shen Huaishuang cared about Shen Dong and how she craved his love; she would do anything to earn it.
But Shen Huaishuang simply replied, "Let him disown me then. I’ve never received his love or approval anyway, so what difference does it make?" With that, she pushed open the door to the stairwell and walked out.
Shen Huaiyu returned to Shen Dong. "How did it go? Did you get it?" he asked.
Shen Huaiyu shook her head. "Father, Shen Huaishuang wouldn't tell me. She said you aren't her father and she has no obligation to help you."
Shen Dong’s face turned black. "She really said that?"
"Yes. I begged her, but she refused me very coldly."
"Very well. Since she refuses to acknowledge me as her father, I will act as if I have no such daughter."
"Don't be sad, Father. You still have me."
Shen Dong felt comforted and patted Shen Huaiyu on the shoulder. "You are truly a good daughter. From now on, Shen's Real Estate will be yours, along with all my assets. That rebellious daughter won't get a single cent."
Shen Huaiyu was overjoyed. "Don't worry, Father, I will manage Shen's Real Estate well."
"Good. Let's go in; the bidding is about to start."
Shen Dong and Shen Huaiyu entered the hall. The bidding lasted two hours, and in the end, the contract was awarded to Junting Real Estate.
Shen Huaishuang happily clapped and turned to President Wang. "President Wang, we won!"
President Wang smiled. "It was ours to win from the start." Though, he admitted to himself, he had been a little worried earlier—he had feared Shen Huaishuang might leak their bid price. He hadn't expected the girl to have such high professional integrity; she hadn't told her father a thing.
Standing not far away, Shen Huaiyu watched Shen Huaishuang’s joy and felt a sting of jealousy. Shen Dong walked past Shen Huaishuang with a dark expression, letting out a cold snort.
Shen Huaiyu walked over, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Big sister, is there really anything to be so happy about? Even if we won, the contract belongs to the company; it has nothing to do with you."
Shen Huaishuang didn't take the bait and didn't even look at her, busy packing her things. Shen Huaiyu, finding it boring, slunk away.
"Are your father and sister angry?" President Wang asked.
"Probably," she replied.
"Why didn't you tell them the bid price?"
Shen Huaishuang looked up. "President Wang, I have professional integrity. I wouldn't do such a thing. If you’re worried, you can choose not to have me participate in the next bid."
President Wang chuckled. "You wish. Just stay sharp and keep following me to these events in the future."