Ch 29: Is There Really Such a Good Thing? [QT]

Shen Yunrui was startled by Old Master Shen’s collapse. She called for the servants to get an ambulance, then immediately drove off herself.

The Lin family matriarch was utterly shocked. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that her granddaughter-in-law could anger her own grandfather to the point of needing emergency medical attention. This was like raising a white eyed wolf! In her village, someone like that would be drowned in spit from the villagers, gossiped about for a lifetime.

Fear crept into her heart. A heartless and cold-blooded granddaughter-in-law who didn’t care about her own family—how could she care about the Lin family? What if one day, a disagreement led her to harm them? After all, wasn’t the Huo family’s second young master the one who orchestrated a car accident against his own brother? Rich families were too ruthless, and the Lin family, with only one heir in three generations, couldn’t afford to take such risks.

The matriarch rushed back to the Lin family home and pleaded earnestly with Lin Huaizhi, “Our family has always been above the Shen family. But now your wife has angered Old Master Shen into the ICU and looks down on us from the bottom of her heart. Let’s not stay married to her. Come back to the village with me.”

Lin Huaizhi scratched his head in frustration. “I can’t go back! I can’t focus on my studies and can’t pass the civil service exam. I don’t want to work in a small town or have the villagers gossip about how I came back in disgrace. You can go back, but I won’t.”

Hearing this, the matriarch, Lin Huaizhi’s mother, and Lin Jiajia were heartbroken. They all blamed Shen Yunrui as the “misfortune star.” If there had been no marriage swap and Lin Huaizhi had married Shen Yunxuan instead, his life would surely have been much better.

Fearing that Shen Yunrui would ruin Lin Huaizhi’s life, they decided to stay and live with him, even moving into the same house. After all, there was plenty of space.

When Shen Yunrui finally heard that Old Master Shen had passed the critical stage two days later, she dared to return home, only to discover that the Lin family was insisting on living with them. They claimed it was their family tradition.

Scolding her grandfather might have sent him to the hospital, but yelling at the Lin family didn’t work. The Lin matriarch, with hands on her hips, could out-shout Shen Yunrui until she was left speechless. Every other sentence included, “If you can’t make this work, just get a divorce,” leaving Shen Yunrui fuming and her chest aching daily.

She had worked so hard to introduce Lin Huaizhi to high society, teaching him business skills and helping him blend into the circle. Divorce would be handing over the “ripe fruit” to someone else. How could she allow that?

Shen Yunrui demanded Lin Huaizhi take control of his family. But Lin Huaizhi responded that they had endured hardships for his sake and told her to be more understanding and stop causing trouble. In this marriage that Shen Yunrui had fought so hard to secure, her only peace came from discussing work with Lin Huaizhi, as it was the one topic his family wouldn’t interrupt. All her expectations for the marriage had turned into disappointment.

Still, she didn’t care much. She was only interested in Lin Huaizhi’s talent for business, hoping to secure financial stability and possibly make it to the rich list through him. If he couldn’t provide emotional support, she would find it elsewhere. For now, she viewed him as nothing more than her employee.

Shen Yunrui’s behavior had entirely exposed her true colors, ruining her reputation. She decided to go all in on making money, ignoring everything else. Leveraging the benefits she had gained from Huo Siming and her knowledge of her past life, she made significant profits through stock trading and investments, reaping the rewards of her rebirth.

But her achievements paled in comparison to Shen Yunxuan’s. Shen Yunxuan had far more wealth, including an impressive amount of shares, which left Shen Yunrui bitter and unwilling to accept her reality.

She was supposed to be the one living better after rebirth. How had their roles reversed?

A nagging thought emerged: could Shen Yunxuan have been reborn too?

Shen Yunrui reviewed everything that had happened since her rebirth, scrutinizing each detail. So many events seemed too coincidental. Why was Shen Yunxuan doing so much better than before, reaping so many benefits?

But if Shen Yunxuan were reborn, wouldn’t she have chosen the same path as before, navigating it even more easily? Why had she taken a completely different route this time?

As Shen Yunrui pondered, she suddenly recalled something important. In her past life, around this time, the Lin family was just starting their business and secured a major deal. Back then, Huo Siheng was in a coma, Huo Corporation was in turmoil, and Shen Yunrui was miserable. Hearing about the Lin family’s big deal had made her furious, so she had investigated it.

The deal had been incredibly challenging, and no one around her believed they could pull it off. She had even hoped for the Lin family’s failure to enjoy seeing Shen Yunxuan embarrassed. But against all odds, the Lin family had succeeded and risen to prominence in Beijing’s business circles.

Now, Shen Yunrui was determined to secure that deal for Lin Huaizhi. With the same people, the same opportunity, and the same timing, she was confident they could succeed this time.

If she succeeded, she planned to probe Shen Yunxuan. If Shen Yunxuan were reborn, she wouldn’t let such a lucrative deal slip by. If Shen Yunxuan didn’t know about it, Shen Yunrui would take full advantage. Armed with her knowledge of past events, she was certain she could outmaneuver Shen Yunxuan and make her fall hard.

Shen Yunrui couldn’t bear the comparisons between herself and Shen Yunxuan. Her strained relationship with the Lin family, her ruined reputation, and the constant unfavorable comparisons all traced back to Shen Yunxuan. The higher Shen Yunxuan rose, the harder Shen Yunrui wanted her to fall.

Meanwhile, Shen Yunxuan was preoccupied with adapting to her role as Huo Corporation’s Vice President, establishing her new company, mentoring Shu Yue in managing it, and enjoying her budding romance with Huo Siheng. She had no time to pay attention to the Shen family’s drama.

To her, they had long become mere passersby in her life. If not for their constant scheming against her after her rebirth, she wouldn’t have retaliated; she would have forgotten about them entirely.

But that day, as she was leaving the office, Shen Yunrui blocked her way. Shen Yunxuan tried to sidestep and leave, but Shen Yunrui smirked, “What’s wrong, sister? Afraid to face me? Or scared I might notice something off about you?”

Amused, Shen Yunxuan replied, “You’re the one always doing underhanded things. What could I possibly be afraid of?”

Shen Yunrui didn’t get angry at the jab and instead said, “How about a cup of coffee? I’ve got some good news to share.”

Seeing the probing look in Shen Yunrui’s eyes, Shen Yunxuan hesitated. Could it be that Shen Yunrui had figured out she was reborn too? She had always been careful, never doing anything unreasonable. Deciding to see what Shen Yunrui was up to, she agreed and followed her to a café.

As they sipped their coffee, Shen Yunrui observed Shen Yunxuan carefully before suddenly saying, “Huaizhi secured the Xinghui contract.”

Shen Yunxuan was caught off guard. She hadn’t expected this topic. In her previous life, she was the one who had landed that deal. Did Lin Huaizhi really have the ability to pull it off in this life? Glancing up, she saw Shen Yunrui staring at her intently and asked, “And? What about it?”

Feigning pride, Shen Yunrui replied, “That deal will help us establish ourselves and take the company to the next level. What do you think?”

Unmoved, Shen Yunxuan took a sip of her coffee and said, “Congratulations, then.”

Her indifference, as if she had never heard of the deal or its potential impact, left Shen Yunrui scrutinizing her for a moment before relaxing. It seemed Shen Yunxuan wasn’t reborn after all; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so calm.

A smug smile crept across Shen Yunrui’s face as the superiority from her rebirth returned. At that moment, Shen Yunxuan received a call from Madam Huo.

“Yunxuan, are you done with work? Why aren’t you home yet?” Madam Huo asked warmly.

Shen Yunxuan smiled, “Mom, I’m wrapping up a meeting. I’ll head back soon. Don’t wait for me to eat.”

“No way. I had someone prepare special tonics for you. We’re waiting to eat together. Oh, and I’ve had a few outfits custom-made for you. Try them on when you get back; we can have them adjusted if needed. Alright, I won’t nag anymore. Just don’t work too hard and come home soon.”

“I will, Mom,” Shen Yunxuan replied, her tone filled with warmth. Madam Huo’s gratitude for saving Huo Siheng had turned into motherly affection, giving Shen Yunxuan a sense of familial love she had never experienced before. She hung up with a gentle smile still on her face.

The sight of that smile pierced Shen Yunrui’s heart. In her past life, Madam Huo had barely tolerated her, privately complaining to Aunt Lan about being deceived by the Shen family. She had scorned Shen Yunrui’s reputation and lamented rushing Huo Siheng into marriage.

Yet now, Madam Huo treated Shen Yunxuan with such warmth and care. What made her so special?

Shen Yunrui refused to let herself lose to Shen Yunxuan, especially in the marriage swap she had insisted on. Forcing a smile, she said, “The Huo family treats you well, sister. The Lin family is good to me too. This jade necklace was a gift from my mother-in-law, and I even bought a matching one for her so we can wear them as mother-daughter pieces. Looks like we both ended up with happy lives. Surely, you don’t blame me for the marriage swap anymore, right?”

Shen Yunxuan glanced at the jade necklace, then at her watch. “If this is all you wanted to say, I won’t waste my time. Since we’ve cut ties, let’s pretend we don’t know each other. Don’t call me sister again—I don’t need a sibling like you.”

With that, she grabbed her bag and left. Though Shen Yunrui’s expression darkened, she didn’t stop her. She had already probed enough and had no desire to sit across from Shen Yunxuan any longer. Seeing her so polished and successful only fueled her frustration.

Still, Shen Yunxuan’s parting words—about not needing a sibling like her—stung. Why was she being judged? First Madam Huo, now Shen Yunxuan. Did no one want her to have a good life?

---

Back in her car, Shen Yunxuan couldn’t help but laugh as she recalled the encounter with Shen Yunrui.

She knew Lin Huaizhi’s father had once had an affair, nearly leading to a divorce. Lin Huaizhi’s mother despised anything green. There was no way she would have gifted Shen Yunrui a jade necklace! If Shen Yunrui really bought a matching necklace for her mother-in-law, she’d likely be scolded into tears.

As for the Xinghui deal, Shen Yunxuan had avoided it in this life because the owner of Xinghui was notoriously eccentric. In her past life, she had only succeeded thanks to a capable assistant who discovered and resolved critical issues, eventually uncovering the owner’s peculiar preferences.

A month ago, she had tracked down that same assistant and hired them as her executive assistant. If Shen Yunrui thought the deal was a guaranteed success, she was in for a rude awakening. The losses would likely be devastating.

🌸˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚⋆