This also explains well why Xu Jianmin, a man who had dominated the business world for years, would stumble over a student who hadn't even entered society.
If he had stumbled on purpose, it would make perfect sense.
With a bit of reasoning, it was likely that at the dinner, he had immediately noticed that this woman resembled his school senior.
So he allowed her to help him into the car and cunningly take him to the hotel.
Even when they slept together, only he knew whether he was really drunk.
As for his feigned severity towards the woman after waking up, it was just him coming to his senses after his moment of indulgence.
He knew that if such a scandal broke out, it would damage his image.
Moreover, she was ultimately not his school senior.
If it weren't for the subsequent pregnancy, he probably wouldn't have had any more contact with her.
But by chance, she got pregnant.
Xu Jianmin was overjoyed.
However, when he first learned of the child's existence, he had also struggled.
After all, his daughter was already married, and this woman was even a few months younger than Xu Tingyu.
If the news that he had kept a mistress and had an illegitimate child got out, the image he had painstakingly built over the years would surely crumble.
But he was even more reluctant to part with this child.
Deep down in his heart, he had always wanted a healthy son.
This was a regret that no matter how excellent Xu Tingyu was, could never be filled.
So after much entanglement, he still wanted to keep this child.
He also had a good plan. As soon as the child was born and confirmed to be his, he would persuade Zhang Qiu.
If she was willing, the child would be registered under her name and become their third child.
If she wasn't willing, he was willing to get divorced.
Of course, he was confident that he could persuade Zhang Qiu to accept this child.
Because Zhang Qiu had no source of income. Only by staying with him could she be the glamorous Mrs. Xu.
Without this halo, even if she had some money, she wouldn't be able to bear others' gazes.
However, Xu Jianmin didn't expect that after the child was born, his business would go from bad to worse.
Of course, he didn't dare to reveal a single word to his family. He just kept using money to compensate the mistress outside.
Zhang Qiu rarely asked him about his business and whole - heartedly trusted Xu Jianmin. So in the end, she even took out the property under her name to make up for his losses.
And that mistress had made enough money to live a worry - free life for the rest of her life.
After Xu Jianmin's death, she originally wanted to come to the Xu family with the child to make a scene and get the last share of the inheritance.
But Qi Shifeng's people found her first.
They told her that if she wanted to expose the matter of the illegitimate child, she would definitely not get the inheritance. Instead, she would surely have to return all the money she had taken before.
After all, those were the joint property of Zhang Qiu and Xu Jianmin, and she had the right to get it back.
The mistress was a bit hesitant.
Qi Shifeng's people continued to tell her that if she insisted on making a scene, the Qi family would send their best team to fight the lawsuit.
If she wanted to be an enemy of the Qi family, she could go ahead and make a scene.
Scared by this threat and having also heard that Xu Jianmin had left a large amount of debt when he died, the woman was afraid that she would really have to return the money.
So she didn't show up in front of the Xu family. Instead, she took the child and went abroad.
"Just like that?"
After hearing this, Xu Tingyu still couldn't quite believe it.
How could a woman who had schemed so hard to climb up the social ladder leave so easily?
Qi Shifeng's eyes were a bit complicated. He paused for a while before continuing.
"Generally speaking, that's what happened. However, later I had someone investigate. She didn't raise the child. She sent him to an orphanage."
"She created an image of a rich and beautiful woman for herself and continued to mingle among the wealthy. The child was a burden to her."
When Qi Shifeng learned this news, his mood was also very complicated.
But after all, he was an outsider and couldn't make any comments. So he could only act as if he didn't know about it.
Xu Tingyu was stunned for a long time. Suddenly, she laughed.
"So, my dad planned for so long and spent so much effort to have a child, but in the end, the child was sent to an orphanage?"
A child who had won so much wealth for his mother was actually sent to an orphanage in the end.
I wonder what Xu Jianmin would think about this if he were in heaven.
"That's also his fate."
Qi Shifeng simply commented.
Xu Tingyu looked at him and was in a daze for a moment.
After a while, she said, "I thought you would ask me if I wanted to meet that child. After all, he's my younger brother."
There was a bit of self - mockery in her tone.
This unexpected younger brother.
Qi Shifeng's expression was very serious. "I won't ask that. It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to Xu Jia either."
An illegitimate child whose own mother didn't care about him had nothing to do with Xu Tingyu.
Why should she meet him?
To remind Xu Tingyu that he was proof that her father didn't love her?
Xu Tingyu let out a "puff" of laughter. "Qi Shifeng, I suddenly find that we're really a perfect match."
She would definitely not go to meet this illegitimate child.
Because she had the same thought as Qi Shifeng - going to meet him would be an insult to herself and to Xu Jia.
The product of their father's betrayal of the family was not a younger brother but "evidence of a crime".
"We were meant to be a perfect match."
Qi Shifeng liked this phrase.
He couldn't help but kiss her, and there was a hint of a smile in the corners of his eyes.
"However, does my mom really not know about this?"
Xu Tingyu suddenly asked again.
At that time, she was already married and didn't live at home. Xu Jia also spent most of his time at school. It was understandable that they didn't notice anything unusual.
But Zhang Qiu and Xu Jianmin were together day and night. Didn't she really notice anything when her husband was having an affair?
"As far as I know, she probably doesn't know. Originally, your father was going to persuade her, but he didn't have time to carry it out in the end."
To be more precise, at that time, Xu Jianmin was already overwhelmed by the company's problems.
He simply didn't dare to expose this matter.
Firstly, he had already taken out Zhang Qiu's private property to fill the company's loopholes.
Secondly, he was also afraid that if this matter became public, the Qi family would be disgusted. By then, he would really have cut off all his retreats.
Xu Tingyu let out a soft snort.
Zhang Qiu had told her more than once that she was useless and incompetent for not being able to hold a man's heart.
But the perfect marriage that she had always been so proud of was nothing but a farce.
"Generally speaking, true feelings can change in an instant. In the end, love depends entirely on one's conscience."
She said slowly.
Qi Shifeng didn't say a word. He just silently hugged her tightly.
At this moment, it would be unconvincing to rush to express his loyalty.
Xu Tingyu didn't need any guarantees from him either. She had long known that relying on anyone was not as good as relying on herself.
Asking for anyone's promises was not as good as loving herself well.
I don't know how much time had passed. Just when Xu Tingyu was about to fall asleep, she heard Qi Shifeng ask her.
"So today, were you unhappy because of this?"
Yes and no.
She turned over and nestled back into his arms. "I'm not unhappy now."
She felt more unwillingness.
She had rushed to the sanitarium happily, thinking that Zhang Qiu cared about her. But in the end, she was filled with disappointment.
But now, she knew that at least Qi Shifeng and Youyou cared about her. So she wasn't that unhappy anymore.