Volume 1, Chapter 48: Song Qinian is merely a passing traveler in your life

After throwing down those cold words, Shen Chiyan got into the car. Liu Xiaohan got up, intending to chase after him, but was stopped by Gao Kunlun.

Gao Kunlun called the security guards, who forcefully threw Liu Xiaohan out of the villa area.

Being tossed out of the neighborhood, Liu Xiaohan muttered curses under her breath. Shen Chiyan had zero respect for her as an elder; was this really the caliber of the wealthy?

Her phone suddenly rang. Liu Xiaohan checked it and saw that Song Qiannian had transferred two thousand yuan to her.

"This is all the money I have right now. Take it and use it for now. If you have any conscience left, don't gamble anymore, and never show your face in front of the Shen family again."

Liu Xiaohan was initially quite pleased upon receiving the money, but after reading Song Qiannian's message, she was practically fuming with rage.

This Song Qiannian had been married into the Shen family for three years without making a single cent, yet her loyalty still sided with the Shen family.

On second thought, since Shen Chiyan hated Song Qiannian so much, how could he possibly treat her well?

Her waist injury this time was caused by a kick from Shen Chiyan. Did that mean Shen Chiyan frequently abused Song Qiannian at other times as well?

At that moment, instead of feeling heartbroken for her daughter, Liu Xiaohan thought that since Song Qiannian had failed to warm Shen Chiyan's heart in three years, there was no point in continuing to waste time in the Shen household.

Since Shen Chiyan wasn't going to shell out a single dime, Niannian had no reason to let him sleep with her for free. There were plenty of wealthy men in the world, and since her Niannian was so pretty, someone else would definitely want her.

...

Song Qiannian had no idea what was going on in Liu Xiaohan's mind; her head was entirely filled with Shen Chiyan's words.

Even though she knew Shen Chiyan hated her and had never regarded her as his wife, hearing him utter those words with such icy indifference made her feel as though she had been cast into an endless abyss, chilled to the bone.

When he took her to the hospital and later came to pick her up upon discharge, a shred of fantasy had still lingered in her heart.

She had foolishly believed that through their time together recently, Shen Chiyan might harbor at least a tiny bit of affection for her.

Now, it seemed that everything had been nothing more than her own self-deception.

Following that, Shen Chiyan did not return home for another two days.

After resting for two days, Song Qiannian rode her little electric scooter to work.

Pan Yingying looked somewhat surprised when she saw Song Qiannian. "Xiao Song, didn't your family ask for half a month of leave for you? Why are you back at work so soon?"

Song Qiannian quickly jotted down some words on a notepad and handed it to Pan Yingying. "My health has fully recovered, so I came back to work. Manager, can my leave be canceled?"

"Of course... As it happens, there's a slight issue with the proposal you and Shen Yushu worked on. Go get him and come to my office together."

Song Qiannian nodded.

Having not seen him for a few days, Shen Yushu looked even more haggard than before. Song Qiannian had a gut feeling that something was wrong. After the two of them stepped out of the manager's office, Song Qiannian worriedly gestured, "Yushu, what on earth is wrong with you? Are you facing any difficulties?"

Shen Yushu's eyes were bloodshot. He looked with complicated emotions at Song Qiannian, who was showing genuine concern for him. After a fierce internal struggle, he shook his head. "Nothing."

"We are friends. If you have any difficulties, you must tell me."

His phone suddenly rang. Seeing the WeChat message from the sender, Shen Yushu furrowed his brow tightly.

Noticing that Song Qiannian was still watching him, he forced a smile at her. "Niannian, I'm really fine. Don't worry about me. I'm going to the restroom first."

Just then, Miao Zi'ai came over to look for Song Qiannian, so Song Qiannian nodded and returned to her workstation.

Outside the restroom, Lin Lanxing, dressed in a black tailored suit, stared haughtily at the delicate yet utterly exhausted man before her, speaking slowly, "Have you considered it?"

Shen Yushu was torn to the extreme. "I... Niannian is my friend. I can't do anything to hurt her..."

"A friend?"

Lin Lanxing let out a cold laugh. "How long have you even known Song Qiannian for you to consider her a friend? And for the sake of a mere friend like her, you're willing to disregard your own grandmother's life!"

Shen Yushu clenched his fists tightly, trapped in intense internal turmoil.

After his grandmother fell and was hospitalized, doctors discovered a malignant tumor in the elderly woman's lungs during a routine physical examination. Treatment would cost at least half a million yuan.

Shen Yushu had excelled during his school years. Upon graduation, he worked as a planner at a small company before jumping ship to the Dingsheng Group.

Over the two years at the Dingsheng Group, his salary had risen every six months, but he had to support not only himself but also his grandmother.

The savings he managed to scrape together were virtually nonexistent. That half million yuan weighed down on him like a massive mountain, leaving him barely able to breathe.

Right at that critical juncture, Lin Lanxing approached him, offering him one million yuan on the condition that he help her deal with Song Qiannian.

Shen Yushu understood the importance of interpersonal relationships. Ever since coming to the Dingsheng Group, he had tried hard to maintain good relations with everyone, but most people wore masks in their daily lives, making genuine friends hard to come by.

Song Qiannian was one of the few people Shen Yushu felt he could truly trust and give his sincerity to.

Most importantly, Song Qiannian was kind and gentle; he simply couldn't bear to hurt her.

Sensing Shen Yushu's hesitation, Lin Lanxing wasn't in any rush.

"One million. Not only can you cure your grandmother's illness, but you can also rent a high-end apartment. Your grandmother has worked hard her entire life. Now that she's old, you surely can't just watch her suffer and die in pain without ever having experienced a single good day."

Shen Yushu clenched his fists even tighter. On the two ends of the scale lay friendship and morality on one side, and family and money on the other.

Lin Lanxing patted Shen Yushu on the shoulder. "Shen Yushu, you're a smart man. Song Qiannian is your friend, true, but a person can have many friends in a lifetime. Song Qiannian is merely a passing guest in your life. You must remember the truth: men die for wealth, just as birds die for food!"

Lin Lanxing's phone suddenly rang. After answering it, she smiled brightly into the receiver and said, "Sure, I'll introduce a handsome guy to you guys then. Rest assured... absolutely handsome, definitely your type."

Putting away her phone, Lin Lanxing smiled. "You must know who I am—the second young miss of the Lin family. I have many wealthy socialites in my circle. If you have the capability to latch onto one of them, you can marry into wealth and reach the pinnacle of life."

Then, Lin Lanxing abruptly changed her tone. "But if you offend me, I guarantee your future days will be ten thousand times more miserable than they are now!"

Shen Yushu bit his lower lip hard, his complexion ashen and wretched.

His inner self was being pulled apart by two opposing forces, leaving him in agonizing pain and despair.

"Shen Yushu, if you don't want such a great opportunity, there are plenty of people lining up to snatch it."

As Lin Lanxing turned to leave, Shen Yushu lunged forward and grabbed her arm tightly. His hands shook violently, his face painted with pure anguish.

"Oh?"

"I..." Shen Yushu squeezed his eyes shut tightly. When he opened them again, the hesitation in his gaze was completely gone, replaced solely by raw ambition and burning desire to climb higher. "I agree!"

At that moment, so-called sincerity and friendship vanished entirely from Shen Yushu's world. He stepped onto a path he mistakenly believed to be a shortcut.