Chen Yixia stood there, her face full of grievance. But she wasn't the kind of person who would lash out randomly, so her attitude towards Uncle Shen was still polite.
She reached up and roughly wiped the tears from her face, then said to Uncle Shen, "Uncle Shen, I know Mr. Si has always had an issue with me. I know he doesn't like me. But I didn't come here on my own volition. It was because he wanted to cooperate with Hanlin that I ended up here. I'm not his punching bag. Why does he always give me the cold shoulder whenever he sees me?"
Chen Yixia had been holding these words in for a long time.
Yes, her family background wasn't as good as those of the rich second - generation kids. But at least she had been doted on by her parents. She had never faced such unfounded cold - shouldering before.
Chen Yixia was a complete optimist. At first, she didn't think much of it. She just thought that rich people were bound to have bigger tempers.
But his attitude towards Qingmian was different. Although he didn't smile much at Qingmian either, at least he wouldn't be as cold and dismissive as he had been just now.
As the saying goes, there's no comparison, no harm. With the comparison, even if she was slow - witted, she could tell that Si Moshen treated her and Qingmian differently.
She knew there was something between Si Moshen and Qingmian that others didn't know, but that couldn't be a reason for Si Moshen to deliberately target her.
The more Chen Yixia thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and the tears couldn't stop flowing.
Hearing her words, Uncle Shen felt a pang of pity.
Chen Yixia was indeed brought here by Si Moshen against her will.
Even if she hadn't come here, what she had learned in school would have been enough for her to have a good future after graduation.
It was just that after Si Moshen had an argument with Jiang... with Qingmian that day, the originally selected Chen Qingmian was replaced by Chen Yixia.
In the end, Chen Yixia was the most aggrieved one.
"Xiaoxia, Third Master has been independent since childhood. His parents passed away when he was young, so his personality is a bit withdrawn. He's not good at dealing with people. He doesn't hate you. He's just like this, always sharp - tongued, but he has no ill will towards you," Uncle Shen defended Si Moshen.
He also couldn't quite understand Si Moshen's attitude towards Chen Yixia. It was indeed different from his attitude towards others.
His words... seemed to be more straightforward.
Apart from Uncle Shen, Si Moshen had no close friends. He took over the Si family's business at a young age and was exposed to the intricacies of the business world too early, so his personality inevitably changed.
He wasn't like this before.
After his parents' death, when he started to take over the Si family, everyone around him was trying to get something from him. Over time, Si Moshen gradually realized that there was no one he could be close to.
This was also the reason why Si Moshen had been so persistent in finding Jiang Zhirou over the years.
No news was the best news, for there was still hope of finding her.
For Si Moshen, Jiang Zhirou might be more like an indispensable family member to him.
Apart from Jiang Zhirou, he had no other family.
Hearing Uncle Shen say that "his parents passed away when he was young", Chen Yixia was stunned on the spot.
Si Moshen wasn't very old, only thirty - five.
Chen Yixia never thought that his parents had passed away when he was so young. Her throat suddenly felt blocked, and she couldn't say a word.
After a while, she looked up at Uncle Shen and asked, "Uncle Shen, why are you telling me this?"
Hearing this, Uncle Shen gave a meaningful smile. "It's nothing. I just want you to know what kind of person Third Master is."
This was the first time he had talked about Si Moshen to an outsider.
The Si family was different from other wealthy families.
There were many side branches in the Si family, and there were countless people eyeing Si Moshen's position.
Si Moshen not only had to guard against outsiders but also against the side branches of his own family. So over time, he got used to being vigilant in the face of everything.
But it was the first time that he had so openly shown his emotions in front of Chen Yixia like this recently.
Uncle Shen had his own agenda.
Chen Yixia had a good personality, was simple - minded and innocent. If such a person could bring something different to Si Moshen, he would do everything in his power to keep her.
Sure enough, after hearing Uncle Shen's words, Chen Yixia's attitude immediately softened. Her voice also became softer. "Then... should I go and apologize to him? What I said just now..."
Chen Yixia suddenly began to blame herself.
Why did she say those things for no reason? It was just a cup of milk tea. There were plenty of places to buy it! She was already living in the manor but still thinking about that six - yuan cup of Mixue Bingcheng milk tea!
Chen Yixia, you should have more ambition!
Hearing her words, Uncle Shen knew that she had taken his words to heart. He smiled at her and waved his hand. "There's no need to apologize. Just act like it never happened. Third Master won't mind."
"Really?" Chen Yixia was skeptical.
Uncle Shen nodded and gave her a reassuring look. "Really. Don't think too much. Aren't you and Qingmian going to perform in a couple of days? Go and practice quickly."
After Uncle Shen's words, Chen Yixia's mood improved a lot. She nodded heavily at Uncle Shen and walked towards the rehearsal room.
...
Qingmian slammed down the last key on the piano. She hung her head, her eyes fixed on her fingers.
Chi Yu couldn't hear anymore.
She didn't know when he would recover, or how much he would recover. Would he never be able to hear again?
Suddenly, countless questions flooded into Qingmian's mind like a tide.
She suddenly felt a bit irritable.
Although she had promised Chi Yu that she would attend classes peacefully, now she couldn't help but want to buy a plane ticket and fly back to the imperial capital immediately. She wanted to drag him to the hospital herself and hear what the doctor had to say.
The doctor...
Qingmian's eyes flashed. She got up from the piano, walked quickly out of the rehearsal room, took out her phone, and dialed Ji Bai's number.
The phone rang for a long time. Just as it was about to hang up automatically, it was finally answered.
Before the person on the other end could say a word, Qingmian's voice came through the phone.
"Brother Ji Bai, I want to know how Chi Yu's hearing is now. You must know, right?"
After Qingmian finished speaking, there was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
She frowned in confusion, took the phone away from her ear, looked at the counting time on the screen, and then put the phone back to her ear.
"Hello? Can you hear me?"
After a while, Lu Wenxi's voice came through the phone.
"Mianbao... You know..."
During the time she had been in Country A, she hadn't been in touch with Lu Wenxi very often, but she hadn't noticed anything abnormal in their conversations.
Hearing Lu Wenxi's words, Qingmian knew there must be something she didn't know.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the phone.
She took a deep breath and then slowly said into the phone, "Wenxi, Chi Yu's hearing... it'll get better, right?"