Chapter 21: Has She Become This Capable of Enduring Pain?

"Wait a moment!"

Shi Heng raised his arm and tightly gripped the whip Shi Zhenyuan had brought down. He was afraid that if this fierce whip landed, Shi Yi would really lose half her life.

With her current physical condition, she couldn't compare to when she was a child; she simply couldn't take a few lashes.

And she was running a fever, a very high fever.

"Dad, Shi Yi... she has been imprisoned at home by me recently, and I confiscated her phone. She was probably feeling stifled, which is why she thought of going to a bar to drown her sorrows."

Shi Heng thought to himself, she was likely heartbroken and sad because she had to give up the international medical team. After all, threatening her with Wang Mama's safety this time was indeed going a bit too far...

"Shi Heng, are you pleading for Shi Yi?!"

Shi Zhenyuan looked at Shi Heng in disbelief. He wondered if he had heard wrong! Shi Heng and Shi Yi, the brother and sister, had always been at odds, and Shi Heng's hatred for Shi Yi was almost to the point of wishing she were dead.

He didn't expect that at this very moment, Shi Heng would speak up to plead for Shi Yi.

From Shi Yi taking the initiative to kneel and ask for punishment, to Shi Heng pleading for Shi Yi, today's events were all just too strange!

"Dad, I am not pleading for Shi Yi, I just don't want to blow things out of proportion. Since Shi Yi is back and knows she was wrong, why don't we give her a chance? You don't know her stubborn temper; if she's really pushed to the edge, running away from home isn't something she wouldn't do! Regardless, she is still a daughter of our Shi family and holds our Shi family's... secrets. Besides... the family doctor said last time that Shi Yi's body is relatively weak and can't handle being tossed around. Why don't we... let her off the hook today..."

Shi Heng's tone was sincere, and his reasoning was sound, but the anger in Shi Zhenyuan's heart could not be extinguished for a while.

He had waited for a full 4 hours just to teach this daughter a lesson!

However, Shi Zhenyuan knew in his heart that he had already retired, and the true head of the Shi Group was Shi Heng. His status as a father would one day be replaced by his eldest son, Shi Heng.

He couldn't just break ties with Shi Heng over this.

"Hmph! For the sake of your brother pleading for you, I'll spare you this once! Get out of my sight!"

Shi Zhenyuan put down the whip, but he was still not satisfied, raising his foot and kicking Shi Yi fiercely.

This kick landed right on Shi Yi's chest. Shi Zhenyuan used his full strength. With a "thud," Shi Yi's body slammed into the wall behind her.

"Shi Yi!"

Shi Heng's heart gave a jolt. He didn't expect Shi Zhenyuan to use such force with this kick; even he felt terrified watching from the side.

Shi Heng walked over quickly, only to see Shi Yi still kneeling on the ground, clutching her chest. Her long, dense eyelashes were half-lowered, her pale lips pressed lightly together. At this moment, she was expressionless, appearing very calm.

Shi Heng felt as if his heart had been struck by a heavy hammer. Shi Yi's reaction was too calm, too flat; she hadn't even let out a sound of pain. But those fingertips, clenched until they were white, and her trembling eyelashes betrayed the immense pain she was enduring at this moment.

Since when had Shi Yi become so capable of enduring pain?!

Did it seem that these beatings and abuses had already become a daily routine for her, already a part of her life?

Had she already given up resisting?!

"Shi Yi, are you okay?!" Shi Heng asked with concern in his voice.

Shi Yi shook her head and didn't speak, but Shi Heng saw her throat move slightly, as if she had swallowed something.

"Don't worry, that girl has a tough life, she won't die!"

Shi Zhenyuan left a cold remark, then turned and walked up the stairs, returning to his room.

Seeing Shi Zhenyuan return to his room, Shi Yi braced herself on the floor and stood up. The next moment, she suddenly bowed to Shi Heng. Her face was pale to the point of transparency, but the corners of her eyes were forced into a deep red. The entire movement was slow, but her expression was very focused.

Shi Heng stood frozen on the spot. He never expected that one day Shi Yi would bow to him. Was she... thanking him?

But... he was her big brother!

A younger sister actually bowing to her brother to express gratitude?!

"What on earth is wrong with you? Do you need me to send you back to your room?"

Shi Yi shook her head again, then turned silently and limped back to the basement. The moment the door behind her closed, her body bent over, and before she could even cover her mouth with her hand, she "wahed" and vomited a mouthful of blood.

This mouthful of blood had been held in her chest for too long. Although it was just one mouthful, it was relentless, and the bright red blood dripped onto the floor along her pale fingertips.

Immediately after, the familiar pain in her chest surged up like a monstrous flood.

Shi Yi's vision went dark, as if the whole world had been plunged into an abyss.

That narrow waist bent lower and lower, lower and lower. In the empty basement, Shi Yi finally clutched her aching chest and curled into a ball on the cold floor.

She lost consciousness.

A month passed quickly.

This month, the Shi family lived in peace and quiet.

Because Shi Xi was about to have final exams, she lived at school and had no opportunity to cause trouble for Shi Yi. Liu Wanxin and Shi Zhenyuan were also busy with their own affairs.

Every day after work, Shi Heng would check the surveillance video at home, but during this period, Shi Yi was very well-behaved. Most of the day, she stayed in her basement. Except for meals and necessary activities, she didn't leave the room, let alone the house.

But even so, Shi Heng felt even more uneasy in his heart.

He always felt that at certain moments, Shi Yi had become a walking puppet, her soul no longer existed, or... her soul had long since been worn away by the coldness and indifference of her family day after day.

Sometimes, the image of Shi Yi as a child would appear in his mind.

—That was a girl like the wind, lively and cheerful, full of momentum. It seemed she had endless energy and endless fights to pick. Every time, although she was beaten by him until her face was bruised and swollen, she never admitted defeat.

He didn't understand how things had developed to this point.

However, fortunately, according to the plan, Shi Yi was going to start her job at the company next week. Shi Heng looked forward to the new job, hoping it would allow Shi Yi to slowly find herself again.

This day, Shi Yi was reading a medical book in the basement when a "bang, bang, bang" knocking sound echoed at the door.

Shi Yi opened the door to see Zhang Ma standing at the door, a kind and intimate smile on her face.

"Zhang Ma, is there something you need from me?"

Zhang Ma knew that the basement corridor was equipped with the Eldest Young Master's surveillance cameras, so she said:

"Second Miss, can I come into your room for a moment? I have... a few words I want to say to you."

Shi Yi nodded and politely opened the door.

"Mm, please come in." ===== CHAPTER 22 =====