Chapter 40: Endure Even When You Cannot

But faced with Li Shuang’s questioning, Ren Yishan was completely at a loss. She exhaled slowly, forcing a twisted smile onto her strained features.

“My younger sister was in a car accident and has trouble moving around. She’s still resting. I already told her that Miss Li and Miss Hao would be coming today, but she’s always had a mind of her own. If she doesn’t want to do something, no one can force her.”

Ren Yishan's intention was to make Li Shuang feel slighted by Jian Qing’s disregard for the gathering, to let her know she was not seen as important. After all, which heiress from a wealthy and powerful family could tolerate such neglect?

But Li Shuang was only thinking about going out to sea for fun; every fishing trip cost her tens of thousands, and now He Jiangyu was footing the bill, so why not enjoy herself? Glancing at Hao Qing, Li Shuang knew she harbored some feelings for her brother, but she disliked Hao Qing’s demure temperament and those faintly scheming airs, and had no desire to play matchmaker for the two of them.

If she had to let Hao Qing deliver the diamond ring for her, she was certainly unwilling. So, grabbing Ren Yishan’s hand, Li Shuang’s eyes flickered and she secretly slipped the box containing the ring into Ren Yishan’s palm.

Before Ren Yishan could even register what the fuzzy little box was, Li Shuang leaned in and whispered, “This is a gift for the welcome banquet. Yours is already in the gift room; please help me pass this one to Jian Qing.”

Although Li Shuang hadn’t prepared a present for Ren Yishan—since she didn’t consider them close enough—if she let Ren Yishan deliver the ring, she could simply send some money to the gift registrar outside and have her own name written down.

For a moment, Ren Yishan was delighted by the first part of the sentence, but her face fell at the latter. She hadn’t even had the chance to bring Li Shuang and Hao Qing up onto the stage to show off her impressive connections before Li Shuang left. The resentment gnawed at her.

But all these emotions were masked by a fawning smile.

“Thank you, Miss Li, for thinking of my sister.”

Li Shuang nodded, then bid farewell to Hao Qing. “He Jiangyu has invited me out to play, so I’ll be off, Qingqing.”

Hao Qing merely waved, then followed Ren Yishan onto the stage. She had attended many such events before, and unlike the ever-playful Li Shuang, Hao Qing was always present at grand occasions. Groomed by the Hao family as a violinist, she was poised and gentle, with an air of refined delicacy.

She had her father, Ren Tianchuan, escort Hao Qing around the venue, greeting guests and raising toasts, while Ren Yishan took advantage of the opportunity to open the jewelry box Li Shuang had slipped her—

Inside was a diamond ring, its craftsmanship nearly flawless.

Ren Yishan didn't know much about diamonds, but even she could see the brilliance was impeccable, and as she turned it in her hand, blue flashes flickered within the stone.

She slipped it onto her own finger, but before she could admire it, Jian Qing, now changed with Yan Ni’s help, was pushed out of the dressing room.

Sensing someone’s approach, Ren Yishan elegantly snapped the ring box shut and strode over to Jian Qing.

Jian Qing didn’t want unrelated people involved in their confrontation and sent Yan Ni back to the dressing room. Yan Ni obediently complied. Once she had watched her disappear into the room, Jian Qing turned toward Ren Yishan.

“What’s this? The staircase is right behind you—are you planning to stage a scene where I push you down the stairs and make your unborn child disappear?”

“I wouldn’t rule it out.” Ren Yishan, pregnant, was like someone holding four twos and two jokers in a game of cards—she played her hand openly.

“This is a public place. Watch out for the cameras.” Jian Qing sneered, her tone laced with warning.

Ren Yishan crossed her arms, leaning forward slightly. “So what? You, a wild girl raised by your grandparents in some backwater town—if it weren’t for your family name, who knows which factory you’d be working in now.”

Jian Qing paused, her expression momentarily dazed. She couldn't understand why Ren Yishan was bringing this up.

She’d indeed been raised by her maternal grandparents until high school. Her mother was always jetting around on business, her father nowhere to be found—never home, as far as she knew. She doubted she’d even seen him before returning to her mother for high school.

Back then, she was already obsessed with computers; her mother had bought her one, and all the kids from the run-down neighborhood came to watch her play. Those were, without question, the happiest days of her life.

She truly didn’t understand why Ren Yishan would mention such things at a time like this.

Seeing her distracted, Ren Yishan’s smile turned vicious.

“Only clueless old men and country grannies digging wild herbs could raise such an unpresentable heiress. Take my advice and pack your things to leave this house and set up on your own before I make you leave in disgrace!”

“Ren Yishan, do you really think I would push you?”

Jian Qing’s smile was cold and empty, but her fists clenched tightly.

“Then perhaps I’ll just throw myself down the stairs.”

Ren Yishan laughed, stepping back two paces. “There aren’t any cameras here.”

“No cameras, and you still dare to act so arrogantly!”

She had been waiting for Ren Yishan to say just that. As Ren Yishan moved to fall down the stairs, Jian Qing suddenly sprang up from her wheelchair, balancing on one leg. The searing pain in her body was dulled by adrenaline.

She swung her fist in a wide arc and landed it squarely on Ren Yishan’s face.

It was a solid blow.

The implant in Ren Yishan’s nose was knocked out of place.

To be honest, Jian Qing had always admired girls brave enough to get cosmetic surgery—it took a certain kind of courage.

But now she realized Ren Yishan’s wasn’t courage, just recklessness.

Her grandparents were the most precious people in her life, and for Ren Yishan to insult them so blatantly...

Wait!

A troubling thought flashed through Jian Qing’s mind. She hopped quickly back into her wheelchair, covered her legs with a blanket, and shouted,

“Someone, help! My sister fell! Please, someone come help!”

She was so anxious that tears sprang to her eyes. Hao Qing and Ren Tianchuan were the first to arrive, followed by Du Yu and the other young gentlemen who had been invited.

The crowd surged in, blocking off the entire staircase.

Apparently, the love of gossip had nothing to do with wealth—it was a trait ingrained deep in the bone.

“Shanshan! What happened, Shanshan!”

Ren Tianchuan hurriedly lifted Ren Yishan from the floor. She was completely dazed from the blow, blood streaming from her nose, staining her blue dress with red dots. Someone kindly handed her a tissue, and she quickly pressed it to her nose.

Without another word, Ren Tianchuan looked up and began to berate Jian Qing, his voice shrill and furious.

“You pushed your sister? You knew she was pregnant—how could you do such a thing to her?”

“…”

“Jian Qing! Answer me! Are you even human? She’s your sister!”

He lashed out, his anger red-hot.

Jian Qing understood immediately—her grandparents were her greatest weakness. Ren Yishan had baited her deliberately, hoping to provoke her into really pushing.

That being so…

It was very likely Ren Yishan truly was pregnant, and she herself, unable to go that far, could only be used as a pawn.

Fortunately, Ren Yishan had stepped forward two paces, and Jian Qing had only managed to push her to the ground, too far from the stairs for real harm.

A small mercy in a stroke of bad luck.

She had, in truth, pushed her.

But—there were no cameras.