Li Guirong gritted her teeth: "You wretched girl, do you think that if you don’t go, your father will pay more attention to you? Right now, he only has that girl Shi Nuan in his heart, where is there room for you, his eldest daughter? Do you really want your father to be completely bewitched by that girl and then abandon the three of us?"

In the past, Shi Jiaojiao would have certainly panicked upon hearing this, as she valued her position as Miss Shi Family greatly.

The reason her group of friends surrounded her was precisely because of this, wasn’t it?

But now, it was different. In her heart, Shi Yuanbo still cared for her. He gave Shi Nuan ten percent of the shares, and didn’t he also give them to her? 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Together with Tian Chao, they owned thirty percent of the shares, whereas her mother had none.

Tian Chao was still young, and the shares were temporarily under her mother’s control, but she wasn’t a child anymore. Her shares, her money, would not be handed over to anyone!

Shi Jiaojiao gave a faint smile and said, "Mom, you’re overthinking. Ultimately, I’m Father’s daughter, our blood ties are here. No matter how mad Dad gets, he won’t let go of me. Besides, Mom, you don’t need to worry at all. With Tian Chao around, your position in the Shi Family is unshakable. Even Shi Nuan couldn’t challenge that. Okay, Mom, I’m a bit tired and I’ll go upstairs now. You should head up earlier too and not overthink!"

After finishing, Shi Jiaojiao stood up and walked straight upstairs. Seeing this, Li Guirong was so angry that her body trembled, yet she couldn’t utter a word.

Only after Shi Jiaojiao’s figure disappeared did she gritted her teeth and muttered, "Crazy, crazy, everything’s crazy. This family, it’s all crazy, all crazy..."

...

Upstairs in the study, Shi Nuan followed Shi Yuanbo inside.

Shi Nuan hadn’t come to Shi Yuanbo’s study for quite a long time.

In her memory, the study was still decorated and arranged personally by her mother back in the day.

Inside, there were naturally many traces of her mother.

Indeed, as Shi Nuan entered, a familiar feeling washed over her.

Not just the room’s setup, even many of the objects and ornaments were chosen personally by her mother back then.

At least half of the books on the study’s shelves were purchased by her mother in those days.

Li Guirong, since marrying in, probably never considered those details much, hence never asking about them.

Only a few of her mother’s photos, originally there, were removed, but although the photos were gone, the memories remained.

And those memories, were not just hers; her father Shi Yuanbo also shared them.

Shi Yuanbo sat on the sofa and invited Shi Nuan to sit; Shi Nuan obediently complied.

Once she sat, Shi Yuanbo looked at her and gently asked, "In two days, it’s the stockholder meeting. Have you finished preparing your speech for Nuannuan?"

Shi Nuan’s eyes flickered slightly; Song Yansheng guessed right. Her father indeed intended to support her.

She pursed her lips briefly and said, "Still working on it..."

Shi Yuanbo nodded, "Although you’re a year younger than your sister Jiaojiao, I can see you’re different from her. You, you want to achieve great things, and I believe at this stockholder meeting, you can truly shine..."

Shi Nuan’s lips moved slightly, and she said, "I’ll do my best!"

Shi Yuanbo smiled warmly, "I know, our Nuannuan doesn’t let go easily when she grabs an opportunity. I still vividly remember your performance at your thesis defense!"

Shi Nuan lowered her gaze, saying nothing.

Shi Yuanbo continued, "Nuannuan, you should be able to feel that your father wants to groom you."

Shi Nuan paused, then looked up at Shi Yuanbo. Although she had been feeling this for days, hearing him say it directly still took her by surprise.

"Why?" Shi Nuan eventually asked.

She indeed had many doubts, many incomprehensions; after all, her father had betrayed her mother back then, tangled with Li Guirong, and eventually married her.

And all those years of neglect towards her as his daughter were because of his son, because he desperately wanted a son to be his heir!

To say now that he wanted to groom her, how could she not feel puzzled?

Shi Yuanbo said, "No real reason; just that Father believes Nuannuan is someone who can make Shi Family flourish. Only with Nuannuan can Father be at ease; giving it to Jiaojiao, to Tian Chao, to anyone else wouldn’t settle him..."

Shi Nuan was even more perplexed. True, she had interned at Shi Family for over two months, but her performance during those two months was fairly ordinary, without anything exceptional.

Especially since Shi Yuanbo seldom came to the company, he wouldn’t fully understand her situation anyway.