Chapter 369: Donate

Guoguo got even more angry!

Isn't this bullying an honest person?

Su Yu glanced at Mingmeng and Shi Xu, who were greeting the guests with forced smiles, and said, "Aren't you going to help? Your parents have an extra person by their side—whose child is that?"

Around the same age as Guoguo and Jiu Jiu, they stuck close to Shi Xu; anyone who didn't know would think they were Shi Xu's son.

Guoguo craned her neck to look, then turned to her unflappable sister and asked, "There really is an extra person, Jiu Jiu—who is that?"

Jiu Jiu only glanced, picked up the coconut milk Luyingying had taken from her bag, took a sip, and said, "Oh, it's someone I don't know!"

【Wulongcha, who is that?】

【Shi Xu's eldest uncle's smartest grandson! Studying abroad, rushed back overnight.】

【The will has already been read, what are they coming back for?】

【His eldest uncle and cousin currently hold the most influence in the Shi Family; they plan to force Shi Xu to adopt, handing the family business to his grandson, otherwise they'll fight Shi Xu to the end!】

Shi Xu inherited the family business but cannot sort out all the family's assets in the short term. That gives those people a chance to act. If Shi Xu refuses the plan, they will unite with other siblings to transfer the Shi Family's assets, leaving Shi Xu with a debt‑laden Shi Family.

【Does Shi Xu know?】

【No. They plan to force Shi Xu to agree before his inauguration, signing an adoption agreement and a notarized will. If Shi Xu agrees, he becomes the new head of the Shi Family, and his family can enjoy ten years of head‑of‑household life. If he refuses, his inauguration will be troubled, and he will inherit an empty, indebted Shi Family. They have already begun preparing to transfer assets.】

Su Yu's phone suddenly rang; she pulled it from her pocket, held it to her ear, and said, "Mom?"

"Mm‑hm!"

"Everything's fine!"

"Okay!"

"Guoguo, Jiu Jiu, it's my mom!"

Guoguo and Jiu Jiu immediately gathered around Su Yu, pushing Luyingying and another bodyguard aside.

Su Yu took Guoguo's hand and held the phone to her ear.

"Aunt Ji Yan, Guoguo misses you so much!"

"Alright! I'll take good care of my little sister!"

Guoguo nodded at Su Yu, then Su Yu, holding Jiu Jiu's hand on the other side, placed the phone to her ear.

Jiu Jiu widened her eyes slightly, her eyebrows flickering, and said, "Aunt Ji Yan, your voice sounds even nicer now!"

"Hehe, I love Aunt Ji Yan the most!"

Su Yu took the phone back and said goodbye to Ji Yan. Jiu Jiu smiled and said, "I'll go tell Mom, Aunt Ji Yan called!"

Guoguo stayed where she was with Su Yu, unwilling to leave, and said, "Sister Xiao Yu, the snacks you brought are still the tastiest."

The food here at the Shi Family didn't suit her taste at all. She didn't like it, and the unfamiliar elders even scolded her for wasting food!

Please! The biggest waste of food shouldn't be that chef who can't even cook a decent meal? Nutritional meals? I can't even finish them—what's the point? "Do you like to eat? Should I have someone bring the snacks from the car to you? Have you been staying at the Shi Family lately?"

Su Yu remembered that Guoguo's family has a villa on the Shi side. But after being away so long, could she still get used to living there? "Yes!"

Guoguo's face crumpled, almost to tears. Living at the Shi Family was worse than staying in a hotel. She was clearly a sweet, kind child, yet forced to lose her temper like a madwoman at the Shi Family!

She asked for a towel to wipe the table, and the servant gave her an adult‑size bath towel—wasn't that deliberately provoking her?

"Living here is so uncomfortable; even a complaint brings trouble to Mom and Dad!"

The steward isn't even from her parents, the servants don't obey, and when Guoguo thinks about having to spend money on all these things later, she just wants to donate the Shi Family!

After saying that, Guoguo gnawed fiercely on the beef jerky Su Yu had brought.

Su Yu shared the food with Guoguo beside her, and Jiu Jiu returned after a short while.

"Sister Xiao Yu, Mom asked me to take you to her room to get something for Aunt Ji Yan. Let's go!"

Mingmeng was surely too busy to step away, so Guoguo and Jiu Jiu found an excuse to leave for a while, delivering the item and gaining some free time.

"Alright!"

Su Yu took Luyingying and a bunch of bodyguards to the temporary villa where Guoguo and Jiu Jiu were staying. The villa's décor was simple, lacking any head‑of‑house grandeur.

Luyingying was left downstairs by Su Yu, scanned the area with a disappointed gaze. The Shi Family's wealth and foundation are solid, so why is the head's temporary villa this shabby? It's not even as good as a guest room in the Su Family!

Su Yu went upstairs, not heading straight to Mingmeng's room, but following Guoguo and Jiu Jiu to their room to play.

The three entered the room and played with the toys they'd brought from home for a while; Su Yu also admired Jiu Jiu's drawings, then looked at Guoguo's eccentric outfits.

"Even the pajamas I brought can't be worn; there's a mourning at home, and if I wear a blue pajama the servant will nag me!"

Su Yu followed Guoguo into her dressing room.

"Look, it's so tiny here, you can't even turn around properly!"

【Wulongcha, check if there are any bugs or cameras around.】

Wulongcha flew up to a few easy‑to‑hide spots and looked, "None, but keep your voice down. The next door seems to be Shi Xu's room; there are several."

Su Yu held Jiu Jiu's hand, whispered in her ear, "Don't speak; be careful of surveillance and bugs at home. The boy's family who follows your dad wants to scheme against your dad; they're moving assets and want to force your dad to adopt that boy, draft a will, and give the Shi Family to him. Your family must be careful!"

People's thoughts keep changing; who knows if they'll backtrack and use Guoguo or Jiu Jiu to restrain Shi Xu? Su Yu finished, and Guoguo stared blankly. Su Yu stepped out first, speaking a bit louder, "Guoguo, this dressing room really is a bit small. Next time I'll take you to your sister Huo Huo's house; she has lots of dolls."

Jiu Jiu came out smiling, "Sure!"

Guoguo emerged afterward, her mood low.

The three went into Mingmeng's room, took a gift box, and went downstairs together.

"Please put it in the car for me, thank you!"

Su Yu handed the gift box to a bodyguard and followed Guoguo and Jiu Jiu back to the banquet hall. The mourning ceremony, called a condolence, was in fact a social cocktail party. Industry insiders came to the Shi Family to seek cooperation or to probe the family's situation.

A large portion of the guests, seeing Guoguo and Jiu Jiu clustered around Su Yu, didn't approach Su Yu to talk. Everyone was shrewd; seeing Guoguo and Jiu Jiu being excluded by other Shi Family members while staying with Su Yu made it clear what their value was.

They didn't want any entanglement with Guoguo and Jiu Jiu, and consequently gave up the chance to talk to Su Yu.

Anyway, Su Yu's coming‑of‑age ceremony at eighteen will definitely host a grand banquet, and they can talk to her then!

Su Yu stayed until the banquet ended, spending the whole time playing with Guoguo and Jiu Jiu.

The three girls gathered to eat snacks, undisturbed, and it was fairly comfortable.

It wasn't until the banquet was nearly over and the guests were leaving one by one that Su Yu finally left.

Mingmeng was exhausted to the point of collapse. Guoguo and Jiu Jiu courteously stepped forward to support Mingmeng, letting her swap her high heels for flats.

"Yo, you're really living the good life, unlike us, still having to hustle and clean up someone's mess!"

"Yeah, there's someone—no skill, yet clinging stubbornly to the matriarch's seat and refusing to leave!"

"Same old third‑wife rant every day, what 'true love'—ha, you expect her brain to understand anything?"

Mingmeng silently rolled her eyes, pretended not to hear, and said, "Let's go!"

Mingmeng took Guoguo and Jiu Jiu to the big lawn to clear their heads. Jiu Jiu and Guoguo recounted what Su Yu had said that afternoon.

"Mom, should I go back and tell Grandfather?"

Jiu Jiu remembered that Maternal Grandparents had said, "Fortunately our parents didn't inherit the family business, otherwise the whole family's lifespan would be cut short by a dozen years."

Now that this trouble has arisen, it's still more reliable to ask Grandfather for advice.

"Let your dad decide; I'll tell him tonight."

Mingmeng didn't fully trust Su Yu's words, but she also resolved that if Shi Xu chose to daringly take over the Shi Family, she would demand Shi Xu's divorce, spare the three of them, and let them live out their lives safely under the protection of the Ming family.

"But Mom, Sister Xiao Yu said we must be careful; there are cameras and bugs in our villa."

Mingmeng's hand trembled as she tried to keep a calm face, "Are they crazy?!"

Mingmeng was now full of regret—deep regret! Why didn't she listen to her parents, work hard! With a bit of connections she wouldn't have been bullied like this! Her emotions erupted, yet she pretended nothing was wrong.

During dinner, the Shi Family women started giving her snide, backhanded remarks again!

Mingmeng thought she had done nothing yet her privacy was violated, feeling so disgusted she couldn't eat, and seized the moment to lose her temper! "You really think I want this!"

Mingmeng threw something down and left; the women at the table stared at each other, then at their own men! Shi Xu hurried after her.

The Shi family restaurant fell silent in an instant; you could hear a pin drop.

The Shi patriarch, when alive, was a man of a pig‑like nature who liked to imitate ancient emperors; the people who remained here were the illegitimate children he favored and their offspring. Those he didn't favor were given a sum of money early on and sent away.

For that money, many women were willing to spend a night with the Shi patriarch and bear his children. No one present knows exactly how many sons and daughters he has.

If Shi Xu truly relinquishes his inheritance rights, everyone present—and the illegitimate sons and daughters who were sent away—could inherit that portion.

Just filing lawsuits could drag them and the Shi Family to death!

The illegitimate children's ties are weak, but the law firms eyeing a share aren't afraid of them.

"Mind your own wife's tongue!"

At present, the man with the greatest say in Shi Company spoke.

Others rolled their eyes and sneered secretly, "Your wife and daughter‑in‑law are the ones dancing the most!"

But they didn't refute the man's words.

They envy and resent Shi Xu, yet their current lives still depend on siphoning money from Shi Company. They are the ones who least want the Shi Family to fall, and if needed, they'll help Shi Xu.

Mingmeng, fuming, took the essential documents and her two daughters back to her natal home. Guoguo and Jiu Jiu also carried a backpack each, filled with their important belongings; everything else they abandoned, to be bought later.

"Don't be angry; it's not worth it!"

Shi Xu stopped Mingmeng, intending to coax his wife properly.

"Get lost, I won't tolerate this nonsense; I'm going back to my natal home!"

Seeing his wife truly angry, Shi Xu said, "Wait for me; I'll go upstairs and get the things we need. We can't go trouble our parents‑in‑law empty‑handed!"

Mingmeng "whooshed" upstairs, and within minutes came down carrying a bag on her back and a bundle wrapped in a bedsheet.

"All set, it's all here; let's drive!"

Shi Xu looked at the bedsheet bundle Mingmeng had thrust into his arms, sighed, "I'm not going to back out!"

Although he felt ashamed to bring a mere bedsheet, the embarrassment grew familiar. Shi Xu loaded the items into the car, and Mingmeng shouted, "Check the car thoroughly; I don't want to die without a whole body and give your newcomer a seat!"

"What newcomer? Stop talking nonsense!"

"I'm just kidding; their whole spectacle today was practically begging for the mourning lead to be me!"

"Don't speak ill‑omened words!"

Shi Xu could understand Mingmeng; he felt equally suppressed.

Shi Xu honestly inspected several cars according to Mingmeng's criteria, finally choosing the one with the best safety performance and smooth brakes, and left with the mother and two daughters.

In the car, Shi Xu said warmly, "Guoguo and Jiu Jiu must also feel wronged, right?"

To his surprise, Guoguo and Jiu Jiu were unusually quiet.

He glanced at the rearview mirror; the two daughters looked perfectly fine, yet why were they silent?

Shi Xu muttered along the way, and when they stopped at a traffic light, he turned to look at the two daughters, "Why aren't you speaking? Are you uncomfortable?"

Guoguo and Jiu Jiu shook their heads, and finally the relatively composed Jiu Jiu spoke, "Dad, we're very angry and don't want to talk."

"……"

That's a good reason! Shi Xu said no more, and drove quietly to the Ming residence.

"Let's go upstairs to change clothes; put the stuff in the storage room first. Auntie, cook for the four of us; we haven't eaten yet!"

Mingmeng's mother came out upon hearing that and frowned, "Why haven't you eaten!"

"Mom, I'll explain later!"

The family of four changed all their belongings from head to toe, didn't eat right away, and instead relayed the information Su Yu had provided.

"Damn, those damn dogs!"

Shi Xu couldn't hold back and swore outright! Seeing his father‑in‑law's disapproving look, he lowered his head silently.

Mingmeng's father tapped the table; unlike his daughter, he knew some rumors about Su Yu and fully trusted her abilities.

"Shi Xu, what are you thinking?"

"I want to donate it!"

Mingmeng's father said sternly, "Nonsense, you can't just donate such a huge family business; how will you support your wife and children later?"

Mingmeng didn't understand, "Dad, they will definitely find a way to kill me!"

Guo Guo and Jiu Jiu stood obediently in the study, not daring to speak. In their hearts they supported Dad; that big trouble, let's just give it up!

They didn't want a little brother at all! Mingmeng's mother gave her daughter a sideways glance, and Mingmeng instantly fell silent.

Shi Xu didn't see his mother-in-law's glare, echoing his wife's words, "Dad, this is true; those people's methods are quite vicious, who knows how many illegitimate children they've harmed in secret! There's no sense in guarding against thieves for a thousand days! We can't joke about Mengmeng's safety!"

"You go eat first; I'll discuss this with Shi Xu."

"Okay!"

Mingmeng took the lead in agreeing, leading the two daughters downstairs. Mingmeng's mother also went down, explaining clearly to the two granddaughters their grandfather's behavior. The family can't have any rifts!

Thanks, dear ones, for your votes~ four thousand words~ dear ones, good night~