Jia Nanfang, still seething, glared at him and said, "Who are you? Stop trying to butter me up in front of me. Anyone associated with Qin Tianyi is no good!"
"Mrs. Shu, Shu Yan, is she... is she alright..."
Jia Nanfang cut him off, "Whether she's alright or not is none of your business."
"Mrs. Shu, allow me to speak a word of truth. Shu Yan's... the child in her belly is indeed not Mr. Qin's. Some people may not know, but I've been by Mr. Qin's side for so many years, and I know best." Xiao Anjing continued to force a smile.
At that moment, the elevator doors opened automatically. Jia Nanfang stepped into the elevator, but couldn't help asking, "What exactly do you mean?"
Xiao Anjing held the elevator door for her and suggested, "Mrs. Shu, why don't we go downstairs for a cup of coffee? Perhaps I can help you and Shu Yan."
Jia Nanfang's expression softened slightly. Without committing, she walked into the elevator, and Xiao Anjing followed.
...
Jia Nanfang kept thinking about what Xiao Anjing had told her, as well as the photo of the Ai family's daughter on Qin Tianyi's desk. The more she thought about it, the more her head ached.
As soon as she returned to the Shu residence, she made a phone call, instructing someone to find out where Qin Tianyi's ex-wife and child were.
If Qin Tianyi could display a photo of them together in his office, then these two people were Qin Tianyi's weakness. Only by controlling them could she make Qin Tianyi obey.
She then went to the study and flipped through some old photos cherished by Old Shu.
There were a few pictures of her mother-in-law when she was young, wearing well-fitting qipaos and her hair styled elegantly. Her demeanor clearly indicated she was from a distinguished family.
The more she looked, the more she felt that her mother-in-law's youthful appearance bore a striking resemblance to the Ai family's daughter. If placed side-by-side, anyone would mistake them for sisters.
She couldn't help but recall an incident from over twenty years ago...
At that time, due to her good background, appearance, and high education, she was personally chosen by Old Master Shu to be Shu Zhongze's assistant.
Shu Zhongze was dashing and handsome in his youth, and he was never short of female admirers.
As his assistant, she not only handled his work but also some of his personal affairs.
At that time, Ai Shunan and his wife had just started their business, opening a small, unknown company.
Ai Shunan wanted to rely on the Shu Group to expand his company.
He went to great lengths, bringing his wife to an upscale banquet, where they met Shu Zhongze.
Ai Shunan's wife had some charm in her youth, and he wanted Shu Zhongze to invest in one of their company's projects.
Shu Zhongze, not wanting to deal with him, jokingly said, "Your wife is quite beautiful. Have her talk to me."
Everyone knew the implied meaning behind those words. Who would willingly wear a cuckold's horns? It was simply Shu Zhongze's way of politely refusing him.
However, to his surprise, Ai Shunan later drugged his wife and sent her to Shu Zhongze's bed.
Afterward, his wife cried and made a scene, threatening to make the matter public.
Shu Zhongze, fearing that his father would find out and disinherit him from the Shu family, was in a panic.
She was the one who helped Shu Zhongze handle the aftermath. Not only did the Shu Group invest in Ai Shunan's project, but they also gave the couple a generous hush-money payment.
The couple also swore to her that they would never mention this matter to anyone again.
As far as she knew, Ai Shunan's business prospered, transforming a small company into a large group, making him a prominent corporate president.
Thus, after so many years, both parties had forgotten about it, and they had had no further contact with the Ai couple.
It wasn't until Qin Tianyi of the Qin family married the Ai family's daughter that she heard that Ai Shunan and his wife had one son and two daughters. The daughter who married the Qin family's fool was never raised by their side.
At the time, she found it a bit strange but didn't think much of it. It was also because of the past incident that Shu Zhongze was unwilling to see the Ai couple again. Although they received an invitation, they made an excuse and did not attend the wedding.
Therefore, they had never seen what the Ai family's daughter looked like. The Ai Group no longer existed, and despite Ai Shunan's years of painstaking effort, it had all come to naught.
She couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy; the ways of the world were unpredictable!
She carefully put the old photos back and left the study with a complicated mood. It seemed that the suspicion she harbored could absolutely not be revealed to Old Shu.
The internal power struggles within the Shu family were already chaotic enough; there was no need to introduce another person out of the blue.
An additional child for Old Shu would pose a greater threat to her and her daughter.
She stopped a passing servant and asked, "How is Miss today? Is she feeling any better?"
The servant respectfully replied, "Madam, after having some breakfast this morning, Miss has been sleeping in her room."
Jia Nanfang went to the bedroom upstairs and gently pushed open the half-closed door to Shu Yan's room. She saw her lying on her side, her quilt askew. Her nearly seven-month-old belly was already very prominent.
She stepped forward, pulled the quilt up for Shu Yan, sat by the bed, and softly called out, "Yan, how long have you been sleeping? It's time to get up and move around..."
But Shu Yan was sleeping soundly, murmuring something in her dream.
Jia Nanfang reached out and touched her face with a pained expression. Seeing her brows furrowed in her dream, she wondered what terrible thing she was dreaming about.
"Tianyi, don't go... Tianyi..." Shu Yan mumbled hoarsely and intermittently in her dream, "This is not my child, no, no..."
Jia Nanfang's eyes widened in shock as she grabbed her hand, trying to wake her from the nightmare, "Yan, Yan!"
She couldn't understand why Shu Yan was so infatuated with Qin Tianyi. That man felt like ice and iron, always keeping people at a distance.
However, Qin Tianyi's family background was decent, and he was capable himself. Old Shu didn't mind such a son-in-law, so she had agreed with and supported Shu Yan's choice.
In reality, this was Shu Yan's one-sided choice. She thought that after Qin Tianyi broke off the engagement, Shu Yan would completely give up. She didn't expect the girl to still foolishly follow him abroad and throw herself at him.
Now, if things were as Qin Tianyi and Xiao Anjing said, and the child in Shu Yan's belly wasn't Qin Tianyi's, how would they salvage the situation!
Initially, she still believed her daughter. But after personally visiting Aoxiang Group today, she was half-believing Xiao Anjing's words but couldn't be entirely certain.
Shu Yan's cries in her dream grew louder, and she suddenly woke up, gasping for breath. It was a dream, thank goodness it was a dream.
"Yan, what did you dream about? Look at the sweat on your forehead." Jia Nanfang wiped the sweat from her forehead and said with heartache, "When a woman is heavily pregnant, she feels particularly uncomfortable. You insisted on having this child against your father and me, what was it all for?"
Shu Yan hadn't recovered from the terrifying dream and wasn't listening to her mother's nagging. She hugged her tightly, still trembling all over, "Mom, I'm scared, so scared..."
She dreamt that the child was born, and it was a baby with yellow hair and blue eyes. What should she do? What should she do? Qin Tianyi would definitely not want her then!
Thinking of this, she began to cry heartbrokenly.