"If I ask for more a few more times, Grandma will get used to it," Shen Banxia said with a cheerful smile.
Xu Cui'e, who had just handed over the red envelope, regretted it even more after hearing Shen Banxia's words. Now she did not even want to give her this one.
But she was nowhere near as quick as Shen Banxia.
"Thank you, Grandma!" Shen Banxia snatched the red envelope and opened it on the spot.
Shen Shuyi did not even have time to stop her.
Shen Banxia pulled two ten-yuan bills from the envelope and said in a shocked voice,
"Grandma, you only gave me twenty yuan!"
Her voice was loud enough for everyone inside and outside to hear.
Xu Cui'e had put twenty yuan in a red envelope for her biological granddaughter on their first meeting. Anyone who did not know better might have thought she was so poor that this was all she could afford.
Clearly, poverty was not the reason. The only explanation was that Xu Cui'e had disliked this granddaughter from the very start.
Shen Shuyi was surprised too. She stared at her mother-in-law in disbelief. She had guessed the envelope would not contain much, but she had never imagined it would be just twenty yuan.
Her mother-in-law must have gone to some trouble to find two ten-yuan bills specifically for this envelope.
Now Xu Cui'e could barely save face. With a stiff expression, she explained,
"It's the custom in the village. This is how elders give red envelopes to the younger generation."
"Oh, I see. Mommy, when you give Grandma a red envelope for the Spring Festival, just put twenty yuan in it too. We mustn't break with tradition!" Shen Banxia turned to tell her mother.
"I said that's how elders give red envelopes to their juniors!" Xu Cui'e snapped anxiously.
"Oh, oh, right. Juniors can't give red envelopes to their elders. Mommy, don't give Grandma any more red envelopes!" Shen Banxia nodded, adding this as though she had taken the lesson to heart.
Xu Cui'e nearly passed out when she heard that.
Shen Shuyi struggled to hold back her laughter. How had she ever thought her daughter was stupid?
Wasn't she far cleverer than her mother?
The next moment, her expression froze. Her daughter had complained earlier that if she had not been stupid, Xu Junshan's people would have killed her long ago. Only now did Shen Shuyi realize what she had meant.
A wave of lingering fear swept over her as she looked at her daughter. She had nearly lost the chance to reunite with her own flesh and blood.
"Shen Shuyi, what a fine daughter you've raised!" Xu Cui'e spat through gritted teeth.
"Thank you for the compliment, Grandma.
"You're absolutely right!
"A fortune-teller said I was destined for wealth and good fortune.
"And thank goodness my dad only had one daughter, and I don't have any sisters.
"Otherwise, my sisters would bring disaster to their parents, their grandma, and their whole family!"
"Who says you don't have any sisters-"
Xu Cui'e's expression changed instantly, and the words slipped out. A moment later, she realized her mistake and hurriedly corrected herself.
"I mean, who's been spouting this nonsense?"
"The fortune-teller! Don't dismiss him. He's incredibly accurate.
"He even predicted that I'd reunite with my biological mother this year. And here I am, back with the Shen Family," Shen Banxia said animatedly.
"You-you-"
"Grandma, don't get so worked up. I don't have any sisters, so what are you afraid of?" Shen Banxia continued to rub salt in the wound.
"I... my blood pressure's getting a little high. I need to lie down. Xiaoli, Xiaoli, help me back to my room!
"If you have nothing else to do here, go home!" With that, Xu Cui'e tottered toward the elevator, supported by the housekeeper.
"Grandma, Grandma, are you all right?
"I'll come see you another day!" Shen Banxia did not forget to shout after her.
That shout nearly sent Xu Cui'e straight to her grave.
Shen Shuyi held her laughter in until they were back in the car and had left the villa. Only then did she look at her daughter and smile.
My mom looks so beautiful when she smiles. That scumbag dad of mine really doesn't deserve her!
For once, her daughter's praise made Shen Shuyi blush. Then she shook her head and cautioned her,
"Aren't you afraid you'll make your grandma angry, stirring things up like that?"
"If she wasn't embarrassed to give her biological granddaughter twenty yuan on their first meeting, why should I be embarrassed?
"Besides, I wasn't stirring anything up. I was just telling the truth!" Shen Banxia said indifferently.
"Your grandma can be petty. I'm afraid she won't like you after this," Shen Shuyi said helplessly.
"I don't care whether she likes me. As long as Mommy and my brothers like me, that's enough!"
"You're my daughter. How could I not like you?
"Where would you like to go next? How about I take you shopping for new clothes?" Shen Shuyi broke into a smile.
She had never held her head so high in front of her mother-in-law.
Today, it was all thanks to her daughter!
How could she not love a daughter like this?
"I already have lots of new clothes at home. You don't need to buy me any more, Mommy.
"If you have any plans, take me along. I'll keep you company."
"I'm not going out this afternoon. My secretary is bringing over some documents for me to sign," Shen Shuyi explained. "If you get bored, I can take you out once I've finished signing them."
"It's fine, Mommy. You do what you need to do. I can read at home.
"I'm transferring to my new school next week, aren't I? I'll study a little more and try to catch up as soon as possible," Shen Banxia replied with a smile.
There'll be quite a show this afternoon. There's a guarantee agreement mixed in with the documents the secretary brings over. Mom won't read it carefully and will just sign it.
By the time she realizes something's wrong, it'll be too late. She'll have guaranteed over a hundred million yuan in bank loans for a shell company under Xu Junshan's illegitimate son's name.
Mom still doesn't know that the secretary who's worked for her for over two years is now Xu Junshan's illegitimate son's girlfriend-and Xu Junshan's future daughter-in-law.
Once again, Shen Shuyi heard her daughter's thoughts. Her lips parted in shock.
Xu Junshan was not merely trying to drive her to her death and seize her family's wealth. He was deranged enough to exploit her to the very last drop, sucking the marrow from her bones!
And he actually had an illegitimate son as well as a daughter. The secretary she trusted was even his illegitimate son's girlfriend.
Yet she had been kept completely in the dark, with his whole family running circles around her.
Just then, Shen Shuyi's phone rang. It was Xu Junshan.
Suppressing her anger, Shen Shuyi answered. From the other end, Xu Junshan demanded disapprovingly,
"Shuyi, what's wrong with you? You took Banxia over and nearly drove Mom out of her mind!"
In the past, Shen Shuyi would have rushed to explain, terrified of being misunderstood. Now she understood that they were all in it together, deliberately smearing her name. Any explanation would be pointless.
"What's wrong?
"We hadn't even been at the villa for fifteen minutes before Mom drove us both out in disgust.
"She said she wanted to see her biological granddaughter, but the moment we arrived, she started finding fault.
"I'm beginning to wonder whether she deliberately told me to bring Banxia over just so she could humiliate her.
"Then she turned around and complained to you, blaming me.
"This isn't the first time she's twisted the truth like this.
"I'm used to it!"
"Maybe Mom didn't express herself well. It's not that she dislikes her granddaughter. Don't overthink it!" Xu Junshan felt awkward after hearing this and could only speak up for his mother.
He thought Shen Shuyi seemed a little different today, but did not dwell on it.
After all, he knew his mother's temperament. She had never liked Shen Shuyi.
No matter how well Shen Shuyi behaved or how dutifully she treated her, his mother always found something to criticize.
But when his mother had called just now, she had sounded beside herself with anger.
He had assumed Shen Shuyi really had infuriated her, so he had called to confront Shen Shuyi without giving it much thought.
Now that he had heard Shen Shuyi's account, it seemed his mother was causing trouble again, leaving him caught awkwardly in the middle.
"I don't want to overthink it, but when you call to question me, I can't help it.
"Mom has never liked me. I'm used to that too.
"Whatever else she is, she's your mother and my mother-in-law. As the younger generation, we still have to show her respect.
"But today, I took Banxia over to meet her grandmother for the very first time.
"The moment we walked in, Mom gave us both dirty looks. She even gave Banxia a red envelope with twenty yuan in it.
"She'd prepared that envelope in advance. What was that supposed to mean?
"Had she planned to humiliate us both from the start?
"Did she really want to see her biological granddaughter? Wasn't she just trying to embarrass Banxia?
"If she really dislikes us both so much, we simply won't go over and offend her with our presence anymore.
"That way, we won't wear ourselves out trying to please someone who won't appreciate it."
Although Shen Shuyi was accusing her, her voice was filled with hurt, as though she had suffered a terrible injustice.
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