Shi Yiqing, making herself look pitiable, continued her woeful tale, "I can’t change what happened in the past, but I don’t want to hurt anyone in the future."
As she spoke, she looked at Zhuang Yueyan, "Eighteen years ago, I was born to you, and that can’t be changed."
"If it wasn’t for you placing me in the Shi Family, I wouldn’t have been able to meet my parents or become their treasure. For this, I am grateful to you, even if it makes me look despicable."
Listening to her words, several people exchanged glances, at a loss for words.
Now that Shi Yiqing had laid everything out, they couldn’t really argue with her.
After all, what she spoke was the truth.
If it hadn’t been for Zhuang Yueyan, she wouldn’t have been able to live the life she had these past years.
Now, expecting them to make Shi Yiqing blame Zhuang Yueyan was indeed a bit unreasonable.
But what Zhuang Yueyan had done couldn’t be covered up either.
Wei Lan still harbored deep dissatisfaction towards her.
Zhuang Yueyan met her gaze and said with a mocking tone, "Can’t you be a little less petty?"
Wei Lan was taken aback, looking at her in disbelief, "What did you say?"
Zhuang Yueyan repeated, "I said, can’t you be a little less petty?"
"You—" Wei Lan pointed at Zhuang Yueyan’s nose, wanting to scold her.
But before she could speak, Zhuang Yueyan interrupted, "All these things have passed, I don’t even hold them against you anymore, what else do you have to say?"
"Since Qingqing doesn’t want to choose between us, why don’t we just not make her choose? Wouldn’t that be better?"
Wei Lan was stunned, "What do you mean?"
Zhuang Yueyan looked at Shi Yiqing and asked softly, "Qingqing, would you like to have another mother?"
Shi Yiqing stammered, "I, I don’t know."
Wei Lan, however, rejected the offer for her, "She has me as a mother, that’s enough. She doesn’t need another one."
Zhuang Yueyan pouted, "Qingqing hasn’t even spoken yet, and you’re making decisions for her?"
She drew out her tone deliberately, "Could it be that Qingqing doesn’t even have the right to make her own decisions in your home? If that’s the case, then perhaps I need to change my mind."
"After all... a family environment where one doesn’t even have autonomy is not suitable for our Qingqing."
Wei Lan, upon hearing such slander, immediately felt even angrier.
She looked at Shi Yiqing, wanting her to explain, "Qingqing, tell her, how do we treat you? Saying you have no autonomy? It’s because I have a close relationship with Qingqing. Our mother-daughter bond is so strong, we interact like sisters!"
Zhuang Yueyan pouted and snorted, "Interact like sisters? I sure didn’t see that."
"All I’ve seen is your tyranny."
Zhuang Yueyan said this and looked at Shi Rusong, "Mr. Shi, would you like to say something? How should we handle this?"
Shi Rusong felt his head swelling with annoyance. Shi Ruhong quickly retorted, "I want Qingqing to inherit my mantle and become a painter."
Hearing this, the other three turned to look at him, "What right do you have to dictate Qingqing’s future?"
Shi Ruhong was quite proud, "Qingqing is my biological daughter, she has inherited my genes, and she will definitely become an excellent painter."
"I don’t want to see her talent buried. Is that so wrong?"
Saying this, he looked at Shi Yiqing, "Qingqing, listen to your dad. Dad has now become one of the most prominent figures in the art world. As long as you’re willing, whatever you want to do, dad can help you."
Shi Yiqing was somewhat swayed.
She was well aware of Shi Ruhong’s stature.
It was precisely because she knew of his exceptional standing that she couldn’t help but be moved.
If she could leverage Shi Ruhong’s connections to become a proud painter, could she then outshine Shi Yaoguang?
At that thought, her breathing quickened a bit.
When faced with a choice between four options, she still couldn’t decide resolutely.
Under the intense gaze of the four, Shi Yiqing eventually found an excuse and slipped away.
She entered the bathroom and sent a message to Shang Minghao, hoping he could lend a hand.
After receiving the message, Shang Minghao’s eyes deepened, and he immediately set out for Mingzhu City.
This matter was something Shi Yiqing couldn’t handle on her own, but he could help.
Shi Yaoguang, for her part, was unaware of the Shi Family’s entanglements, and even if she knew, she wouldn’t take them to heart.
Shi Rusong and Wei Lan had made their choice between her and Shi Yiqing a long time ago.
As long as they didn’t come to disturb her, she would act as if they didn’t exist.
If Shi Yiqing chose to give up supporting the elderly, she might make an effort to comply with the state regulations and provide the two with a certain amount of money.
Supporting them on a monthly basis.
She was unaware of the Shi family’s affairs, so naturally, she didn’t need to worry about them.
At the moment, she was faced with a new endorsement...
Luxe Homestead’s necklace "Goddess’s Favor" had originally invited her, but Shang Minghao snatched it away, making it Shi Yiqing’s.
Having lost this endorsement, she could only look for a new one.
It wasn’t that she had to endorse something, but mainly because she was in a battle with Shi Yiqing.
At such a critical moment, she couldn’t afford to drop the ball, could she?
Without Goddess’s Favor, what to endorse... became a crucial question.
Together with Quan Jinbei, after much selection and deliberation, she finally found an endorsement that was somewhat appealing.
It was a luxury handbag from House C.
The material used to manufacture this handbag was animal fur.
Shi Yaoguang had looked into it before and knew that the materials were harvested through live skinning.
Meaning, the process of sourcing was extremely painful for the animals.
Shi Yaoguang was reluctant to accept such an endorsement because, after all, during her missions with the Quick Transmigration Bureau, she had experienced what it was like to be an animal.
Avoiding harm when possible was obviously the best course of action.
Even if she couldn’t change the minds of most people, she didn’t want to lead such a trend.
Endorsements she had passed on for various reasons piled up, yet none seemed right.
Quan Jinbei frowned, thought for a long time, and finally suggested, "How about you endorse the Protection Shield?"
Shi Yaoguang’s eyes showed several question marks.
"Endorse the Protection Shield?"
Quan Jinbei thought his idea was quite feasible.
"The function of the Protection Shield doesn’t need much explanation..."
He was two hundred percent confident in the Protection Shield Shi Yaoguang had brought out, "When the Protection Shield comes out, won’t your role as the spokesperson shine even brighter than Goddess’s Favor?"
Shi Yaoguang obviously understood the logic, but...
Endorsing the Protection Shield or such was still a bit mystical.
She had already made contact to produce the Protection Shield before, but had not gone into mass production.
This was something she still needed to negotiate with the higher-ups.
Regarding this, Quan Jinbei said, "I can handle the promotion of the Protection Shield."
Shi Yaoguang thought about it and agreed.
And so, the two of them happily made the decision.
To reject all the merchants’ invitations and endorse the Protection Shield.