By this point, Shen Jianhua no longer wanted anything to do with Shen Mianmian and the thought of having to pay for her schooling was out of the question; he felt that raising her for so many years was already more than fulfilling his duty.
"Am I really not your illegitimate daughter?" Shen Mianmian asked again; what she couldn’t let go of wasn’t Zhou Lanfang’s poor treatment but rather the indifference of her supposed biological father, Shen Jianhua, towards everything that had happened to her.
Even until his dying breath, he never told her the truth.
Now that she learned Shen Jianhua wasn’t her biological father, Shen Mianmian was not only not sad but she actually felt an unusual sense of relief.
If he wasn’t her biological father, why should she yearn for any familial blood ties?
"I could never have a daughter like you," Shen Jianhua snorted, his face reddening as he said, "Didn’t you say before that you wanted to break off our relationship? You go back and transfer your household registration; whoever wants to take you in can take you in. Don’t ever say you are my daughter again; I have nothing to do with you, not even a penny’s worth."
He had already wasted so many years raising her, and spending even one more penny on her would pain his heart.
Initially, his paternal affection for Shen Mianmian was largely because he hoped she would care for him in his old age. Now that things had escalated to this state, and caring for him was no longer possible, he certainly wouldn’t expect to spend another penny on her.
"Fine." Having confirmed her origins, Shen Mianmian wasn’t sad but rather felt a newfound lightness. "Thank you for the many years of upbringing. Since you also do not wish to have me as your daughter, I hereby declare in front of the police officers that I will no longer have any connection with the Shen family. I will figure out my own tuition and living expenses."
"You said it yourself; make sure you don’t go back on your word," Zhou Lanfang seized on Shen Mianmian’s statement, fearing that she might change her mind. "Officers, you all heard, right? She said she doesn’t want us to take responsibility."
"Shen Mianmian, you’re still a child, don’t speak in anger," the police officers thought Shen Mianmian was simply upset after learning about her parentage and spoke without thinking; a teenage girl who was still in school could face a lot of difficulties if abandoned by her parents.
"I’m not speaking in anger," Shen Mianmian said resolutely. "Even if I have to beg on the streets in the future, I will not ask them for a penny."
"As long as we have your word," Zhou Lanfang’s attitude completely flipped from her previous one of wanting money from Shen Mianmian; now she seemed relieved to be rid of a great trouble. "Officers, she said it, she will not ask us for money in the future, so can we go now?"
The police officers: "..."
Both parties reached a settlement, and although it didn’t seem like a perfect resolution to the officers, there was nothing they could do. They could only mediate in such family disputes.
Reluctantly, they let the couple go.
"Young lady, you were impulsive just now. You’re only sixteen; if they don’t take care of you, how will you continue your studies? High school doesn’t cost much, but with your grades, you can definitely get into Beijing University. Then the expenditures will be huge, how will you handle it?"
"Officers, I know you all have my best interests at heart," Shen Mianmian sighed, her smile tinged with sorrow. "They are just my foster parents. Now that they don’t want to raise me, even if I cling to them, if they set their hearts on not giving me money, I can’t do anything about it. It’s not like I can come to the police station every time I want money, right? Once or twice is fine, but if this drags on, once they realize that not giving me money won’t get them jailed or cause any trouble for them, they will be even less afraid." Read complete versıon only at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽
Actually, her goal was just to break free from Zhou Lanfang and Shen Jianhua, as long as they left her alone.