"Since you're so arrogant and disdainful of the Shu family's possessions, why don't you just write a letter of renunciation? I'll have a lawyer notarize it, and then everyone can be at ease." Secretary Zhan said, picking up a memo pad from the shoe cabinet by the door and handing it to her.
Susu pushed the memo pad away, saying with exasperation and amusement, "Are you crazy? Why would I write that for you? It's utterly ridiculous."
"You said you don't want it, so why can't you write it down? Besides, you still have the property and the group left by Qin Tianyi. You can't even manage those, and you still want to be the heir of the Shu family? Greed knows no bounds..."
"You should say that to yourself." Susu didn't want to be entangled with her any longer. She pushed her aside and strode out of the Shu residence.
She would never come here directly again. No matter how luxurious a palace it was, it was a suffocating place.
Anyone who lived here would lose their true nature. She suddenly felt that this wasn't a grand house, but a monster, a monster that could devour people's hearts.
Not long after Susu left, Secretary Zhan suddenly clutched her stomach and cried out, "Help, quick, my stomach hurts so much... so much!"
Several servants in the mansion heard her cries and immediately gathered around.
One of them asked, "Miss Zhan, what's wrong?"
"Susu, Susu just hit my stomach hard. Oh, it hurts so much..." She pretended to lean on a servant's arm with effort, saying, "But she definitely didn't do it on purpose, it was just an accident..."
An old servant directed the other servants, "You, quickly get the driver to take Miss Zhan to the hospital. You, quickly call Mr. Shu."
Secretary Zhan lowered her head, still crying out in pain, but the corners of her mouth, which held a smile, slowly curved upwards. No one could compete with her and the child in her womb for the Shu family's fortune!
...
Susu returned to her apartment, physically and mentally exhausted. Thinking about finding a lawyer for Tianyi and the equity matters Secretary Zhan mentioned, her mind was in a complete mess.
She composed herself and called Xiao Anjing.
She couldn't count on Lu Yuanhong to have a change of heart just because of a letter or a pendant. She still needed to ask Xiao Anjing about hiring a lawyer.
After all, he often dealt with the group's legal advisors and was more experienced than her in these matters.
"Susu, what's wrong? Are you and Tianyi ready to leave?" Xiao Anjing's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Anjing, we can't leave for now." Susu told him the truth. "Tianyi has been arrested by the police. They say he might have killed someone when he was around Lu Yuanhong."
"How is that possible! Murder? No way." Xiao Anjing's tone on the phone became tense.
Susu tried to keep her thoughts clear and said, "I discussed this with Su Kangxi. He said it wasn't as serious as murder, at least it was assault. Tianyi also admitted that he did shoot one of Lu Yuanhong's subordinates at the time."
"Even so, it must have been out of necessity. He's an informant for the police, you can't blame him entirely."
"Su Kangxi is explaining and applying to his superiors, but there's no result yet. From what he said, if it's murder, even an undercover police officer will be sentenced. So, I want you to find the most reputable lawyer in this field and try to save Tianyi."
"Okay, I'll go find one right away!" Xiao Anjing was still in shock. "How could something like this happen? Good deeds go unrewarded! What was Officer Su doing? It's infuriating!"
"Complaining now is useless. We can only try our best to get him out of this."
"Alright."
Before he could hang up, Susu asked again, "Anjing, what's the deal with Shu Zhongze not having taken back his equity? Has he started managing the Shu Group's affairs now?"
"Oh, you'd better ask him yourself about this." Xiao Anjing said, "I was supposed to hand the Shu Group back to him according to procedure, but he said he would continue to hold his original position in the Shu Group. As for other equity, it's still under your name, and he doesn't seem to want it back. I don't know what he's thinking. There's been a lot going on with the group lately, so I forgot to tell you about this."
"Okay, I understand. Nothing else matters now. The most important thing is how to get Tianyi out."
After talking to Xiao Anjing, she put down the phone and realized that Secretary Zhan wasn't entirely unreasonable.
It seemed that Secretary Zhan, by staying by Shu Zhongze's side, had sensed his attitude and thought Susu was instigating him.
But she didn't have the mood to dwell on these things now. Her only concern was still Tianyi.
...
Shu Zhongze rushed to the hospital immediately after receiving a call from the servants at home.
Upon seeing Secretary Zhan, he discovered it was just a false alarm. The doctor said her unborn child was fine, and both the mother and fetus were normal.
However, Secretary Zhan, lying in the hospital bed, kept saying she still felt uncomfortable in her stomach.
The doctor smiled at Shu Zhongze and said, "Your daughter is probably too nervous because of her pregnancy. We've examined her thoroughly, and she's fine..."
"Excuse me, she's not my daughter, she's my girlfriend." Shu Zhongze corrected the doctor's statement.
The doctor quickly said, "Oh, oh, you can take her home now." As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance at Secretary Zhan. Such an age gap relationship was quite rare.
Secretary Zhan lowered her head awkwardly, not looking at the doctor.
Shu Zhongze helped her up and said, "We'll talk about it when we get back."
She seemed particularly wronged and silently followed Shu Zhongze out of the hospital.
They got into the luxury car parked at the hospital entrance. Shu Zhongze asked the driver to wait outside for a moment and then directly asked, "What exactly happened today? I heard from the servants at home that Susu pushed you?"
Secretary Zhan nodded, then immediately shook her head and said, "She didn't do it on purpose, it was my own carelessness. She came to see you, but you weren't here, so I wanted to ask her to stay for a while. She looked like she was in a hurry to leave, and when I tried to keep her, she accidentally pushed me. It's nothing, nothing. The doctor also said my unborn child is fine, so it's not a big deal..."
Before she could finish, Shu Zhongze decisively slapped her. The blow stunned Secretary Zhan.
Shu Zhongze said coldly, "Xiao Zhan, when did you learn to play such childish tricks? If you hadn't insisted on keeping her, she wouldn't have pushed you. Even if she did push you, it certainly wasn't with much force, and yet you even came to the hospital. Are you trying to sow discord between me and her?"
"Mr. Shu, I didn't mean that. My stomach really hurt after she left. I thought it was because she pushed me, or maybe I ate something bad by myself. I didn't blame her, I really didn't." She was terrified by Shu Zhongze's calm demeanor, as if he had seen through her, and there was not a trace of warmth in his eyes.
Shu Zhongze didn't listen to her explanation at all. He had seen too many women like Xiao Zhan in his life. He thought that Xiao Zhan, being so young, wouldn't have such ulterior motives, but he didn't expect that the seemingly honest Xiao Zhan had also developed inappropriate thoughts.
"You can use the child in your belly to secure your livelihood, but don't you dare have any improper thoughts. Otherwise, I can have someone abort this child right now."