The Xiao family later collapsed for unknown reasons. Qin Yangye, the successor of the Qin family, was incompetent and could not control the family's great ship. As a result, although the Qin family still held a position in Lancheng, they gradually became inferior to the Huo and Shu families in all aspects.
Until now, the Qin family has also collapsed. Qin Tianyi, the most capable person of the Qin family generation, controlled the remaining assets and enterprises of the Qin family, but he was unwilling to use the Qin family's name anymore. He established his own group and even tried his best to draw a clear line with the Qin family.
She didn't know what problems had occurred within the Qin family, but she had heard some about the grievances between the Qin and Xiao families, as well as some of Qin Tianyi's affairs, from her parents.
She had also told Shu Yan and advised her, but Shu Yan simply wouldn't listen.
Shu Yan was still stuck in her childhood affection for Qin Tianyi, always believing that she could make Qin Tianyi fall in love with her.
Once when they were children, the four families gathered at the Shu residence, and the children of the four families also got together to play.
At that time, Shu Yan's two brothers and one sister, taking advantage of the absence of adults, took the opportunity to bully Shu Yan.
They threw her beloved kitten into the Shu family's pond. She immediately jumped into the pond to save the cat, but she was only five or six years old and couldn't swim at all.
After jumping into the pond, she not only couldn't save the cat but also struggled and sank in the pond where she couldn't touch the bottom. Huo Jin, who was the same age as Shu Yan, was by the pond. She also couldn't swim and was so anxious that she just cried, thinking of calling for adults, but she was caught by Shu Yan's brother and sister, who prevented her from calling for help.
She remembered Shu Yan's brother and sister standing by the pond, indifferently watching Shu Yan drown.
Qin Tianyi, who was only a few years older than them, appeared from somewhere and jumped into the pond without hesitation to save Shu Yan. When he turned back to save the kitten, it was already too late.
The adults later learned about it and treated it as a prank, only criticizing and blaming Shu Yan's brother and sister.
But for Huo Jin, who had personally experienced it, she still felt a chill when she thought about it. She had nightmares for a whole month afterward.
This was an even more terrifying experience for Shu Yan.
Shu Yan had described her feelings at the time to her, thinking she would drown again and again, struggling to surface and gasp for a few breaths, her lungs feeling like they were about to explode.
This was probably what people called a life worse than death. When she thought she was sinking into hell, a light pulled her back into the sunlight.
And the young man who pulled her back was Qin Tianyi.
After so many years, Huo Jin knew that Qin Tianyi himself probably didn't remember this incident, but Shu Yan never forgot it.
When she learned that Qin Tianyi had been in a car accident and had become an idiot, Shu Yan hid and cried for a while.
Later, when the Qin family was looking for a marriage for Qin Tianyi, only she knew that Shu Yan wanted to marry Qin Tianyi.
Unfortunately, the Qin family would not come to the Shu family for the marriage of an idiot, no matter what. And Shu Zhongze would certainly not marry his most beloved youngest daughter to an idiot.
It could only be said that fate played tricks on people...
Huo Jin sat by the bed and carefully, slowly pulled away the quilt covering Shu Yan's head.
She made her voice sound light and cheerful, saying, "How long do you plan to sleep like this, forever a sleeping beauty?"
Shu Yan recognized Huo Jin's voice, snatched the quilt back, and said sternly, "Go away, you are no longer my friend! You are here to laugh at me with that poor ghost!"
Huo Jin didn't argue with her and joked, "You still have the energy to scold people, so it seems there's nothing wrong."
Saying that, she got up and pulled open the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling window in the room, letting the sunlight flood in.
Shu Yan threw off the quilt herself and sat up, shouting at her, "What do you want! Who told you to open the curtains? Are you not embarrassed enough, do you want everyone to laugh at me!"
Huo Jin finally saw her clearly. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes were swollen and red. She said with a heartache, "Why would others laugh at you? This is not your fault! If anyone is to be laughed at, it's Qin Tianyi. He broke his promise and was untrustworthy!"
"No! It's all that Gu Susu's fault. She cast a spell on Tianyi and deliberately came to ruin my wedding!" Shu Yan gritted her teeth in hatred.
Huo Jin sat beside her and said, "I don't know if Gu Susu cast a spell on Qin Tianyi, but Qin Tianyi's eyes and heart are only for Gu Susu."
That day in the church, Huo Jin, sitting in the guest seats, saw clearly that when Qin Tianyi walked towards Gu Susu, such a cold person had warmth in his eyes.
Shu Yan and Huo Jin had been best friends since childhood, and they never held back when talking to each other.
She knew that even at this point, Huo Jin's words were not pleasant to hear, but they were the truth.
She could no longer hold back and hugged Huo Jin, crying, "They are all lying to me... Why are they doing this to me here... It's not that he can't get close to women, it's not that he doesn't like women... He only likes that Gu Susu..."
Huo Jin gently patted her back, letting her vent her sorrow.
When she finished crying, Huo Jin said, "Alright, alright, it's just that the marriage didn't happen. Don't give up on yourself anymore. My dad also said that he would stand with Uncle Shu and strike Qin Tianyi's Aoxiang Group together, so that he wouldn't have good days anymore. Now you... are you satisfied?"
Shu Yan stopped crying, let go of her, and wiped her tears, asking, "But isn't your Chang Qingchuan also in Mishang Company, which is under Aoxiang Group? If Aoxiang Group is finished, won't you feel heartbroken for him?"
"Although Mishang belongs to Aoxiang Group, it is not related to Aoxiang's major projects and should not be implicated." Huo Jin said, suddenly realizing when she started caring about Chang Qingchuan. Seeing through her thoughts, she said, "You still can't bear to part with Qin Tianyi, can you? You still haven't realized that he only wants to use you and has no feelings for you..."
"Huo Jin, you know, but he saved my life after all." Shu Yan lowered her head and picked at her fingers, saying, "When he pulled Gu Susu away from the church, I hated him, but I hated that woman who clung to him even more."
Huo Jin didn't know what to say. In love, it's hard to say who is right or wrong. Anyway, people who fall in love are blind.
Shu Yan continued, "I've been thinking these days too. If that woman were gone, and Qin Tianyi was cornered and desperate, he would still come back to me, right? He would truly realize that I am the one who loves him the most and can help him..."
"Yan, can you please be rational?" Huo Jin interrupted her, cupping her face and saying, "Don't you understand what kind of person Qin Tianyi is even now? He, like you and me, is someone who, once decided, won't change easily, and is even more stubborn than us. Pursuing a man is like climbing a mountain, and you are pursuing a thousand-year-old ice mountain."
Shu Yan still said unconvinced, "What am I worse than Gu Susu? I don't believe he can like Gu Susu but not like me! Besides, Gu Susu is not as devoted as I am. Did she ever like Tianyi? Tianyi took her away from the church, and she remarried Tianyi? Isn't she now inseparable from that rich man surnamed Yang! It's all because that Mr. Yang protects her, otherwise, I would have dealt with her before the wedding..."