Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Shao Yibai, don’t you think that you look very pathetic right now?” The door that led to the private room swung open. The woman was dressed from head to toe in expensive garments. Her arrogant demeanor made her look like a queen.
She glanced at the man sitting on the sofa. He seemed cold and entirely emotionless. She furiously spat, “You stink of sin and alcohol. Do you still remember that you were the high-ranking commander of the special forces unit? Has your military rank gone to the dogs?”
The other women in the private room were terribly frightened by this unexpected turn of events. They were too afraid to speak, so they simply stared at Shao Yibai with pale faces.
In most situations, the women who barged in like this were either the first wives or beloved mistresses. This woman’s imposing manner clearly showed that she did not have a normal relationship with Mr. Shao.
The man hid in the shadows. His cold eyes were completely devoid of emotions.
He lit a cigarette and smoked in silence. His posture seemed elegant but conceited. The smoke whirled around his handsome and bewitching face.
“Wei Hongmian, what right do you have to care about me?”
Shao Yibai’s calm demeanor made the woman at the doorway even more furious.
Wei Hongmian controlled her temper and glanced at all the scantily clad women. She commanded in a low voice, “Get out!”
As Jiao Jiao had always been Shao Yibai’s “favorite”, she was a bit more conceited and spoiled. The girls had not seen Shao Yibai for a long time. Their financial backer finally came today after much difficulty, but this woman had to ruin everything. She was secretly very annoyed.
She rose from her seat and glanced at Wei Hongmian. Her lips curled into a smirk before she snarled, “Old lady, I’m sorry, but isn’t it wrong for you to come here and steal our business when you’re so much older than us?”
Judging from the way she was dressed, Wei Hongmian did not work in the same profession as them, but she had come looking for Shao Yibai, so it was most likely that she was Mr. Shao’s old flame.
Jiao Jiao had been through situations like this a lot of times at the brothel. She would usually take the initiative to strike the first blow and suppress the other party’s drive.
Old lady? Stealing their business?
Wei Hongmian was so furious that her face nearly turned green!
The other girl treated her as if she was one of the other prostitutes at the brothel…
“The beggars on the street and those scumbags wouldn’t even glance at an old lady like you, much less Mr. Shao. They’d have to force themselves to look at you even if you offered to sleep with them for free…”
“Thwack!” Wei Hongmian raised her hand and slapped Jiao Jiao. She scoffed, “You little b*tch, I’ll kill you! I’m from the Wei Family. Do you think that I’d let you say those disgusting things to me?”
Jiao Jiao noticed Wei Hongmian’s imposing manner after she was struck. She realized that this woman was probably from an influential family. She had never of the “Wei Family”, but she knew that a normal prostitute would never mention their family background.
She merely stood there as she was too afraid to burst out in anger. She gazed miserably at Shao Yibai.
“All of you can go downstairs. I’ll pass your tips to the madam later. Go on, my darlings.”
Wei Hongmian blushed when she saw Shao Yibai’s bewitching smile. He raised his wine glass and took a sip after speaking. His gaze did not meet Wei Hongmian’s for even a second.
Jiao Jiao covered the side of her face that was hit with her hand and left with the other girls. She gave Wei Hongmian a stern glare before she left.
Wei Hongmian woke up from her enraged stupor once the girls had left. She turned around and stared at Shao Yibai. Sadness welled up inside her heart.
“Shao Yibai, what have you become now?”
“My actions don’t concern you!” Shao Yibai’s previously indifferent attitude had vanished completely. His voice was now terribly cold, and his gaze at Wei Hongmian was mocking.
“That woman has left, but you…”
“There will never be an opportunity for any other woman to marry into the Shao Family in the future. You should just give up!” said Shao Yibai mercilessly.
Wei Hongmian seemed to grow hopeful once again ever since Su Qingcheng left. She constantly pestered Shao Yibai. Unfortunately, the hope that was ignited in Wei Hongmian’s heart extinguished when Shao Yibai rejected her again.
“Shao Yibai… You’re really heartless!” Tears streamed down Wei Hongmian’s beautiful face. Her entire body trembled, and her eyes were filled with grief and indignation as she looked at Shao Yibai.
Anyone else would feel sorry for her, but Shao Yibai was completely unaffected.
The man chuckled dryly. “That’s right, I’m heartless! I said that I’d be faithful to her until the end, so I’m going to spend my entire life waiting for that one person. If she doesn’t return, I’ll just remain like this! I was too serious before this, but I’ve realized now that it’s fine to fool around.”
Wei Hongmian never imagined that Shao Yibai only would have eyes for that woman and her only. Despite knowing that she would never return, he had still reserved the position of “Mrs. Shao” for her…
*
Orphanage X, Luo Hai
Half a year had passed since Su Qingcheng first volunteered here. The children loved her because she was beautiful and friendly.
Su Qingcheng had a lot in common with the children. She was just an orphan who happened to have parents.
When she came to the orphanage today to give the children some food, she saw that the orphanage director and several middle-aged ladies were huddled together and discussing something quietly.
“He won’t survive even if we take him in. It looks like he’s already two years old, but there must be something wrong with him. Hear how soft his cries are!”
“Yes, this is the first time I’ve seen a child with such a terrible complexion!”
“It’s so unfortunate. He’s such a beautiful child!”
“There’s a letter here. Come quickly and read it…”
Apparently, the female janitor had discovered a boy standing at the entrance early in the morning. The sobbing child was wrapped in a blanket and seemed to be around two years old. He could not even walk after crying for so long buried underneath his blanket. Now he was sound asleep nestling in the arms of the orphanage director.
The orphanage director hurriedly opened the envelope.
“Oh, this little boy suffers from heart disease. His parents abandoned him here because they can’t afford his medical treatment!”
The orphanage director sighed when she finished reading the letter. There were several other children in the orphanage who were in the same predicament. As a welfare institution, the orphanage was fully responsible for their well-being now.
Su Qingcheng walked over and looked at the child in the woman’s arms. His eyes were covered up by his feathery eyelashes, and his little face was snow-white. Aside from the unnatural purplish-red shade of his lips, he was truly beautiful.
For some reason, the most vulnerable part of Su Qingcheng’s heart stirred at the sight of the boy.
She could have given birth to such a beautiful child if she had married Shao Yibai.
“Director Li, is it true that this child suffers from heart disease?” Su Qingcheng was worried since she was unaware of the severity of this disease.
Director Li nodded. “His parents wrote in the letter that the valves in his heart are defective. The surgery would cost them about four hundred thousand, but there’s a risk of failure. They stopped his treatment because of that…”
The orphanage director lowered her head and glanced at the boy again. She heaved a sigh. “We might have contacted the hospital if the cost was a little lower or if we had support from other organizations. Unfortunately, they needed several hundred thousand immediately. The orphanage has been facing financial difficulties these past few years. How is it possible for us to get so much financial aid in such a short span of time when we’ve taken in so many children like him?”
Su Qingcheng understood that half of the children in this orphanage were abandoned by their parents because of their physical deformities. Those who were suffering from conditions like cleft lips would receive financial assistance for their surgeries if they were lucky.
However, heart surgeries would require a lump sum of four to five hundred thousand. This was truly a sky-high price.
A thought suddenly flashed in Su Qingcheng’s mind as she gazed at the sleeping child. “Director Li, I’ll pay for this child’s surgery. Can I adopt him after he’s gone through it?”
Director Li looked at Su Qingcheng in disbelief. “Little Su, you’re still single. How are you going to get married in the future if you adopt this child?”
A wry smile appeared on the corners of Su Qingcheng’s lips when she heard this. She would never get married again. Her heart had already belonged to someone whom she could never forget.
She had already said that she would spend her entire life waiting for that one person…