The housekeeper had already received notice in advance.
Before Shen An’an returned, a bedroom had been prepared for her.
Shen Nanyue brought Shen An’an back to the room.
By now, Shen An’an was utterly exhausted and drifting in and out of sleep.
After helping her settle into bed, Shen Nanyue sat by the bedside, looking at her sleeping face.
The extensive burn scars on An’an’s face made her heart ache as though it were being sliced apart.
Even now, she still didn’t know what exactly had happened three years ago.
All she knew was that An’an had offended a group of dangerous people.
But An’an had never told her who those people actually were.
What exactly happened three years ago?
Why had An’an ended up in the hands of the Chen family?
The questions in Shen Nanyue’s heart grew heavier and heavier.
She gently raised her hand and stroked An’an’s uneven scarred cheek, whispering softly,
“An’an, from now on, let Sister protect you.”
After carefully tucking in An’an’s blanket, Shen Nanyue quietly left the room.
When she returned to her own bedroom, she saw Zhou Yushen sitting on the edge of the bed, shirtless, awkwardly changing the bandage on his arm.
She walked over and took the medicine from his hand.
“Thank you for today.”
If he hadn’t blocked that strike for her today, she really might have died under Chen Ting’s knife.
“Why be polite between husband and wife?”
Zhou Yushen chuckled carelessly.
His gentle gaze swept over her movements before settling on her slightly worried expression.
A flicker of emotion flashed through his deep eyes as he suddenly asked,
“What did your ex-fiancé say to you just now?”
He heavily emphasized the words “ex-fiancé.”
Shen Nanyue looked up at him and couldn’t help laughing softly.
“He doesn’t even count as an ex. Why are you jealous of him?”
“An ex-fiancé doesn’t count as an ex?”
“I never had feelings for him. The engagement was just my mother’s wishful thinking. Besides, thanks to that engagement, I managed to find traces of An’an in the Chen family.”
Zhou Yushen’s mood improved considerably.
He didn’t continue questioning her about the conversation with Chen Mu.
“Alright. Just don’t let the wound touch water when you shower later.”
Shen Nanyue stood up to put away the medicine kit.
While Zhou Yushen went to shower, Shen Nanyue sat with a tablet in hand, handling work matters while occasionally checking on Shen An’an outside her room.
She was afraid An’an might sleep restlessly.
“President Shen, the financial report I just sent you is the company’s quarterly report for last quarter. Net profit has dropped ten percent compared to the previous quarter, which presents a certain level of risk. The main issue is that the clothing designs aimed at the general market have become too monotonous, causing consumer fatigue…”
Assistant Xu’s voice continued analyzing company risks through the Bluetooth earpiece.
Meanwhile, the messaging interface received another long string of messages from Lu Sheng.
The gist was that after the studio won the fashion runway competition, orders had been flooding in.
The junior designers had practically worn out the sewing machines, and Lu Sheng was urging her to hire more people and return to the studio soon.
Now Shen Nanyue had to manage Shen Corporation, while also dividing her attention toward the studio.
She could already feel the exhaustion creeping in.
After thinking for a long time, she finally replied to Lu Sheng, telling her to handle the hiring while she herself would return to the studio in a couple of days.
After arranging the tasks, she finally returned to the bedroom.
The next morning.
Zhou Yushen encountered an urgent matter and was about to leave without even eating breakfast.
Seeing this, Shen Nanyue stopped him, packed some breakfast into a thermal container, and stuffed it into his hands.
“No matter how busy you are, you still need to eat.”
Warmth filled Zhou Yushen’s heart.
Smiling, he pulled her closer, lowered his head, and lightly pecked her lips before leaving with light steps.
That action caused even thick-skinned Shen Nanyue’s face to flush red.
“Sister, come eat.”
Shen An’an’s voice sounded from the dining room, pulling Shen Nanyue back there.
Shen An’an looked a little more energetic today.
She was still wearing the black cloak and refused to remove the hood even while eating.
“Sis, the brother-in-law you found for me is pretty handsome.”
She teased lightly.
Seeing that An’an had already finished more than half a bowl of shredded chicken porridge, Shen Nanyue relaxed and smiled in response.
“Would your sister ever choose someone ordinary?”
“Of course not. My sister’s standards are higher than the heavens. If brother-in-law didn’t have some real ability, he wouldn’t be worthy of you.”
“You little smart mouth!”
The two sisters laughed and chatted as they finished breakfast together.
Shen Nanyue was secretly astonished.
An’an’s ability to regulate her emotions was still just as strong as ever!
Yesterday, An’an had seemed so fragile that Shen Nanyue thought it would take her quite a while to recover emotionally.
Yet after only one night, she had already adjusted.
She could even joke around with her again!
From the bottom of her heart, Shen Nanyue admired her.
“An’an, I should really stay home with you, but something came up at the company and I need to deal with it.”
“It’s okay, Sis. Go handle your work. I’m fine.”
Shen Nanyue took Shen An’an’s hand and spoke gently.
“Rest well at home. If you need anything, ask Uncle Liu. Take the medicine properly, and I’ve already contacted the best doctors overseas. We should get a reply in a couple of days. By then, we’ll definitely be able to heal your body.”
“Alright, Sis. You were never this naggy before. Go to work already.”
Shen Nanyue rubbed Shen An’an’s head, instructed Uncle Liu to take good care of her, and only then left the house.
After Shen Nanyue left, Shen An’an’s shoulders finally slumped.
Weakly, she walked over to the sofa and sat down.
Seeing this, Butler Liu hurried forward.
“Miss An’an, are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?”
Shen An’an smiled and replied, “I’m fine, Uncle Liu. My body is just too weak. Standing for too long makes me tired. Sitting for a while will fix it.”
“Then rest first. I’ll go prepare your medicine.”
Shen An’an nodded, and only then did Butler Liu leave.
Leaning against the sofa armrest, Shen An’an buried her entire face beneath the oversized black hood.
Under the shadows, her severely burned face twisted slightly.
After curling up in darkness for three years, suddenly coming back into the sunlight still felt unfamiliar.
Shen An’an curled her lips into a self-mocking smile.
Now that she was out, it was time to continue what she hadn’t finished three years ago.
…
The moment Shen Nanyue arrived at the company, Lin Siwan stormed into her office and demanded angrily,
“Sister, Tingting only made Shen An’an donate a little blood to save her life. During these past three years, Tingting never mistreated her either. Why are you so determined to destroy Tingting completely?”
Sitting in her office chair, Shen Nanyue lifted her gaze coldly toward her.
“You came here just to talk about this?”
Lin Siwan pursed her lips, unable to hide the anger in her brows.
She slammed a document down in front of Shen Nanyue.
“Why did you demote me?”
That was the real reason she had come today.
This morning, the moment Lin Siwan arrived at the company, she received notice that she was being removed from her position as General Manager of the Design Department and demoted to an ordinary design assistant.
The enormous gap in status was almost impossible for her to accept.
Her first thought was that Shen Nanyue was behind all of it!
Shen Nanyue had never liked her to begin with.
Since taking over the company, she was bound to make an example of someone—and Lin Siwan was obviously one of her targets.
But she had worked so hard to secure that position.
On what grounds could they just take it away?
So she waited the entire time for Shen Nanyue to arrive at the office, just so she could confront her face-to-face.
— The end of the Chapter–
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