Why Are You Trying to Send Me Away Again?

In her previous life, Chu Tianqing had watched a Japanese drama called The Full-Time Wife Escapist.

At that moment, the phrase played on a loop in her head. She regretted agreeing to come to the banquet with Shen Heng.

She should have played ostrich and kept her head buried to the very end. At worst, her old enemies would have bullied her a little, and she could have gritted her teeth until it passed.

That would have been better than being sliced to death a thousand cuts at a time.

Chu Tianqing stood frozen in place. Suddenly, she felt Jiang Youyi gently pat her shoulder.

She turned her head and saw Jiang Youyi smiling at her, her eyes full of pity and encouragement.

"It's all right. Don't be afraid," she said gently.

Chu Tianqing felt a lump rise in her throat and nearly cried. How could a mother as perfect as Jiang Youyi exist?!

She loved her so much! But she couldn't let it show, or everything would be thrown into chaos!

Across the room, Shen Bufan walked toward them through the crowd, her arm linked with Shen Heng's, graceful and dignified.

Unbothered by the probing, curious looks directed at her, she smiled back openly, radiating her charm without restraint. She went all the way to Father Shen's side before turning to face the crowd.

Father Shen made no attempt to hide the pride in his eyes. He raised a hand to signal the band to stop playing, then stood and said in a loud voice, "Welcome, everyone, to the Shen family's banquet today. Please allow me to say a few words."

"I'm sure you've all heard various versions of the rumors: that an illegitimate daughter has appeared in the Shen family, that I've been unfaithful to my wife, and so on. To be honest, such speculation has had a negative impact on me, my family, and even the Dingsheng Group."

"For those reasons, we wanted to make a public announcement at a formal occasion." Shen Yunsheng paused, then said solemnly, "She is not an illegitimate daughter. She is our biological daughter, who was separated from us and raised away from home—Shen Bufan."

After making the announcement, Shen Yunsheng looked at her warmly and said with fatherly affection, "Come, Bufan, say a few words to everyone."

Shen Bufan spoke with poise and composure. "Hello, everyone. First, I'd like to express my thanks: to my family, and to all of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend our banquet and giving me a chance to introduce myself. My name is Shen Bufan. I'm twenty-two years old and a graduate student at Jincheng University, specializing in control theory and control engineering. That's the clearest label I have, and I hope it will be a starting point for you to get to know me."

After finishing her introduction, Shen Bufan lowered her voice and said to Father Shen, "Dad, I'm done."

Without the slightest exaggeration, Shen Yunsheng melted on the spot. How could he have such an outstanding, well-behaved daughter? And when he thought of how much she had suffered over the years, he truly didn't know how to dote on her enough.

Chu Tianqing admired her inwardly. As expected of the true heiress: she was clever and quick-witted, with considerable depth to her schemes. She could be ruthless enough to go head-to-head with her biological parents, yet also play the good girl to win their love. She was used to reading people's expressions and would always choose the way of living that benefited her most at the time.

Shen Heng, on the other hand, was quite calm. He silently turned to look at his father and gave him a meaningful glance.

Shen Yunsheng came back to himself and picked up with a smile. "Oh, right. Now that we've spoken about Bufan, there's one more important thing I want to make clear. Bufan is our biological daughter, but that doesn't mean Xixi isn't our biological daughter. She will always be a member of the Shen family. Xixi, come here."

Chu Tianqing's heart leaped into her throat. She was terrified that Father Shen would ask her to say a few words too. Wouldn't that be asking to humiliate herself?

She clung to Jiang Youyi like a lifeline, linking arms with her as they went over together and stood on Shen Yunsheng's other side.

Shen Yunsheng looked to his left and saw his outstanding eldest son and younger daughter. To his right were his beloved wife of many years and the younger daughter who had grown up at his side. He felt more content than ever before and truly believed that he couldn't do without any one of his three children.

He put an arm around his beloved wife's shoulders, unable to conceal his excitement, his face glowing as he smiled. "Everyone, that's how things stand. I hope we can have your blessings, rather than groundless speculation, attacks on my family, and malice toward them. We've known each other for years, and you all know how much I value my family. Know when to stop with certain remarks, and make sure they don't reach my ears. Otherwise, don't blame me for not being polite."

He delivered the last sentence in a light, playful tone. The guests smiled in good humor, and applause rose spontaneously, joining into one great wave. The atmosphere was warmer and more harmonious than ever.

The band resumed playing, and Shen Yunsheng took Shen Bufan around to greet the elders and introduce her to the Shen family's contacts.

Chu Tianqing had been with Jiang Youyi, but then the person in charge of the banquet called Jiang Youyi away to deal with some urgent matter, leaving her on her own.

Alarm bells rang in Chu Tianqing's head. A sweep of her eyes showed her several plastic sisters coming over, and she hurriedly dodged them.

Those plastic sisters were the core members of Shen Xixi's little clique.

They had every trait of a villain: they were either stupid, bad, or both stupid and bad. She wanted nothing to do with them, or the troubles afterward would be endless!

Fortunately, Chu Tianqing knew the house well. If she wanted to hide, she could find plenty of secluded places.

But Shen Heng was too good at finding her. After he caught her yet again, Chu Tianqing was genuinely annoyed. "Oh, come on, brother! What exactly do you want? Hasn't the happy family reunion already played out? Why do you keep telling me to come out?"

With that, she pulled the curtain shut to hide herself.

Shen Heng pulled it open again and tilted his head to look inside. "There's something I need to tell you."

Unable to avoid him, Chu Tianqing resigned herself to it and raised her head. "Go ahead."

"I want to introduce you to someone." Shen Heng lowered his eyes, his expression mild, without his usual aggressive manner. "His name is Ye Mingchen. You should know him—the fourth son of the Ye family in Hong Kong. You've met before, but you didn't speak. He's here today too, and I'd like to formally introduce you."

Chu Tianqing's brain crashed. It took her quite a while to ask, "What do you mean by introducing us?"

Shen Heng raised his eyes. Chu Tianqing was leaning against the window, moonlight spilling through the glass and making her look all the more softly alluring. Her eyes were a beautiful amber, innocent and clear.

"I mean just that: get to know him. If you like him, you can take things further." Shen Heng paused, seemingly having made some kind of decision. "The Shen and Ye families are well matched. With me backing you, you don't need to worry about your status. Besides, I know Ye Mingchen well. He's a sincere person, and I believe that if things work out between you, he'll make you happy."

Chu Tianqing couldn't believe it. Her dear big brother had planned out the rest of her life in a few words.

Unfortunately, she didn't feel happy at all. She only felt that her dear big brother thought she was a burden.

Just like when he had wanted to send her abroad to study, this time he was arranging for her to get married.

But she didn't want that kind of life at all, whether it meant going to a foreign land or marrying into a wealthy family and scheming against others.

Her ideal life was to spend her days peacefully and meaningfully in a seaside city where the summers weren't too hot.

"Brother," Chu Tianqing began, only to realize her voice was hoarse. She cleared her throat and continued, "If you find me annoying, I can disappear. I was going to leave that day, but you insisted I stay. I stayed..."

Chu Tianqing choked back a sob and said with difficulty, "Why are you trying to send me away again?"