Chapter 35: Chasing All the Way to Sanqing Peak

The old butler spoke.
“Miss Shen Xin.”
“It’s not that the master is unwilling to see you.”
“It’s that a month ago, you used the reason of returning to Y Country after ten years to pay respects to your parents, and the old master agreed. Surely you understand this in your heart.”
Hearing this, Shen Xin furrowed her brows.
“So even after ten years, Grandpa still refuses to forgive me?”
Even if she was at fault, wasn’t ten years punishment enough?
For the past decade, she hadn’t even been allowed to return home.
She could hardly bear it any longer.
She’d just found a pretext to come back—was that wrong?
As she thought this, her face grew paler and paler, almost as if she were suffering from dehydration.
Suddenly, just as the old butler was about to turn and leave, she collapsed to the ground in a faint.
The unexpected sound startled the butler.
“Miss Shen Xin?!”
He quickly rushed forward to check her condition and called for help.
Shen Xin was carried inside to rest.
In this scorching weather, it was true—one could be baked alive.
The sun blazed fiercely, its rays piercing the dense forest of Sanqing Peak.
Yet beneath the thick shade of the trees, there were cool, sheltered spots to escape the heat.
Outside the pavilion, nature blended seamlessly with the lakeshore, where lotus buds were about to bloom, delicate and glistening.
A cluster of jade-green lotus leaves held a dragonfly, its wings fluttering gently. Suddenly, a slender, fair hand caught the dragonfly!
She hadn’t used much force.
Shen Chaoxi sat lazily in her wheelchair, her gaze lowered, watching as the dragonfly was pinched between her pale, long fingers.
“She fainted?”
The butler replied, “Yes, Miss. I saw that Miss Shen Xin seemed unable to hold on, so I took the liberty of bringing her inside.”
“You did nothing wrong.”
“It wouldn’t do to let her faint outside.”
Shen Xin knew this well.
That was why she collapsed.
Perhaps her body truly couldn’t endure, but more likely, it was a calculated display of vulnerability.
Shen Chaoxi had already guessed so.
Therefore, she did not object to the butler’s actions.
After all, the Shen family were not made of stone.
How could they truly stand by and watch a young girl collapse beneath the blazing sun, unmoved?

“Miss, there’s another matter.”
Shen Chaoxi arched her brow.
The butler seemed somewhat troubled as he spoke.
“On her way to Sanqing Peak, Miss Shen Xin picked up a stray dog, so…”
“A stray dog?”
Shen Chaoxi couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
“Yes. When we carried Miss Shen Xin inside, we weren’t sure what to do, so we brought it in as well.”
Seated in her wheelchair, Shen Chaoxi quietly watched the dragonfly between her fingers for a moment, then said,
“Bring it to me.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Upon receiving the order, the butler hurried off to find the dog.
“How is it?”
“Miss, this dog does seem problematic.”
“Heh,” Shen Chaoxi sneered coldly.
To think, after all these years, Shen Xin…
Still, she never ceases to disappoint her.
#
Later, who knows how much time passed.
The wind blowing by the lakeside carried a hint of oppression.
“Sister Shen Xin?!”
From nearby came a lively voice—a young girl spotted her and exclaimed in surprise, then hurried toward the lakeside pavilion.
“Shen Chaoxi, what are you doing!”
There it was—a glare of annoyance directed at the other person in the pavilion.
The girl’s tone was clearly accusatory as she glared at Shen Chaoxi.
Shen Sisi, the second Miss of the Shen family, was also the daughter of Shen Chaoxi’s aunt.
Her ties to the family were half-familiar, half-distant, but the two had no blood relation.
For the so-called aunt was adopted by the grandfather.
“Sister Shen Xin, are you alright?”
After shooting Shen Chaoxi a glare, Shen Sisi immediately turned to the person standing in the pavilion, her eyes full of concern.
It turned out, someone had already been there before Shen Sisi ran over.
“I’m fine.”
Shen Xin shook her head.
Today, she wore a simple white dress and light makeup, her demeanor serene and gentle as she smiled at Shen Sisi, who had rushed over in concern. Her voice was soft, “Sisi, you needn’t worry about me.”

“Sister Shen Xin! I told you I should come with you. Last night, when you said you’d arrived, I meant to accompany you to Sanqing Peak today to see Grandpa. But I overslept—I’m sorry.”
Shen Sisi spoke with a hint of guilt, her voice dropping lower.
It seemed as if the person before her was a frail woman bullied by the eldest Miss of the Shen family, in need of her protection.
And indeed, Shen Xin had grown up in the Shen household, always appearing obedient, timid in manner, speaking cautiously, acting carefully.
As a child, she seemed like someone who’d suffered much while living under another’s roof. When Shen Sisi often visited the Shen family with her mother, she felt sympathy and affection for Shen Xin, and their bond grew close.
Though Shen Sisi never understood what happened later.
Suddenly, the old master sent Shen Xin abroad, and the two hadn’t seen each other for years.
Carefully counted, it must have been ten years.
Shen Sisi always believed it was Shen Chaoxi’s jealousy—afraid that Shen Xin, fostered in the Shen family, would take her place as the eldest Miss.
So, she feigned illness and schemed against Shen Xin, causing the family to send her away.
After all, Shen Xin’s gentle and quiet nature had won the old master’s favor, and even the other young masters were protective of her.
Thus, it was jealousy that made Shen Chaoxi subject Shen Xin to years of hardship.
“Sisi, I’m really fine.”
Seeing Shen Sisi’s concern, Shen Xin felt gratified, quickly shaking her head with a smile. “You needn’t blame yourself.”
“Sister Shen Xin, what happened?” Shen Sisi still felt sorry.
She wanted to know exactly what Shen Chaoxi had done to her, “Did Shen Chaoxi bully you?”
“No, Sisi, don’t misunderstand. Chaoxi didn’t bully me.”
Shen Xin was utterly unwilling to say such things, quickly explaining, “On my way up the mountain, I found a little dog. It seemed pitiful, so I brought it along. I didn’t know Chaoxi disliked dogs, so…”
The more Shen Xin spoke, the more timidly she lowered her head, as though she’d done something wrong, which only made Shen Sisi’s protective instincts flare.
“Chaoxi, I’m sorry, it’s my fault. I didn’t know you disliked dogs.”
Shen Sisi realized it wasn’t a big deal, nothing worth making Shen Xin hang her head as if she’d suffered some great grievance.
Moreover, the girl sitting in the lakeside pavilion, her pale face shrouded in the thin light, hadn’t even looked up, let alone acted like someone receiving an apology.
“Shen Chaoxi, even if you dislike dogs, Sister Shen Xin has been abroad for years; she couldn’t know your preferences. Since she’s already apologized, why must you remain so unforgiving?”
At this, Shen Chaoxi raised her brows and smiled lightly, “You two have said everything already.”
“What else do you expect me to say?”
Tsk, truly amusing.
All the good and bad—
Shen Xin had spoken it all right in front of her.
Did they really need her, the person involved, to clarify any further?