Chapter 195 - Not Just Slander
All these things about the Shi family were public knowledge.
Over time, Yu Xiuhua kept bitching about the Li family as though they had done the Shi family a huge injustice.
In hindsight, everyone finally caught on to how vastly different Shi Jin and Shi Xuexin's lives were when they were kids.
"Does this mean we can call it quits for everything that happened in those 12 years?" asked Shi Jin.
"Of course. No one owes anyone anything." Even some of the guests felt the same way. After all, they were around to see it when the Shi family fell into decline when Old Master Shi started losing his sight. Shi Jin had a tough life when she was a kid.
"I did stay here for three more years, but I moved out when I was 15 years old.. In reality, I only stayed here for three more years, right?" asked Shi Jin.
Yu Xiuhua had to admit. "That's right."
One of the guests was startled. "Just three years?"
Yu Xiuhua kept telling people how hard it was for her to raise two daughters, and that the Li family refused to come and take Shi Jin home.
Everyone thought Shi Jin refused to leave. Also, Shi Jin kept visiting Old Master Shi, so everyone thought she was still living in the Shi residence. Now that Shi Jin had exposed the truth, everyone felt bewildered.
"Oh? Did Shi Jin only spend three more years in the Shi residence?"
"Does this mean Shi Jin only kept showing up here because she was here to visit Old Master Shi?"
Everyone finally caught on to the fact that Yu Xiuhua had told a lot of lies.
Shi Xuexin couldn't bear letting anyone criticize her mother, so she quickly said, "Shi Jin wasn't around most of the time since she was busy chasing after Chu Ling. Mom keeps telling her to focus on studies since she was just a kid."
Everyone remembered how Shi Jin kept chasing after Chu Ling.
Chu Ling also glanced at Shi Jin.
Shi Jin Smiled and said, "That's true. I acted in three of Chu Ling's shows as unimportant roles. I probably spent about three months on those in total. As for 'Ultimate Singer-Songwriter', I had even less interaction with Chu Ling, right?"
She had Fu Xiuyuan to thank for this. He had insisted on taking her away so that she didn't have to suffer at the Shi residence.
Since he kept stopping Shi Jin from going anywhere and kept her locked up at Repulse Bay Villa so that she could not see Chu Ling, Shi Jin ended up wasting less time on Chu Ling.
Even though Shi Jin had wasted a lot of time on Chu Ling, she spent most of her time doing her best to outwit Fu Xiuyuan. In reality, she hardly wasted or spent any time with Chu Ling.
Three months and five years were genuinely vastly different.
Everyone contemplated and came to a conclusion that Shi Jin genuinely did not like Chu Ling as much as they thought.
Although she used to run after him, it was normal since they used to be childhood friends.
As for the recent program, Shi Jin had avoided him like a plague, cut off the orchid, and wrote a song entitled "Get Lost". It was clear that she did not have a crush on Chu Ling.
The moment they thought about Chu Ling and the competition, everyone automatically recalled Chu Ling's plagiarism incident. They automatically turned to look at Chu Ling as they contemplated.
Mr and Mrs Chu instantly knew what everyone was thinking when they stopped looking at Shi Jin and turned their attention to Chu Ling. They promptly looked a little annoyed.
Shi Xuexin immediately regretted her words. She shouldn't have gotten Chu Ling involved tonight.
She swiftly said, "I simply read about it on the entertainment news, so I was worried about you since you were living on your own."
"Which source is more reliable? Me or the tabloids?" asked Shi Jin rhetorically.
Since Shi Xuexin was a young woman from high society, she would never admit she trusted the tabloids more.
She said, "Shi Jin, I know you are upset that my parents didn't take care of you. Even if you stayed for only three more years, my parents still had to take care of you. Nothing can compare to parents' love for their children. No matter how you feel about them, they brought you up, so you are indebted to them."
"Naturally, the Shi family and my parents don't need you to repay them. However, I hope you can stop hating us and let go of any resentment you have against us."
Everyone felt moved by what she said. She was right. Even if the Shi family did not do their best and Shi Jin only spent three more years under their roof, they did Shi Jin a favor.
This meant that Li Juekai and Gu Qingqing were irresponsible parents who now wanted to make use of Shi Jin to get connected to the Shi family.
Shi Jin sneered out loud as she looked at Shi Xuexin hilariously before she said, "That's right. I'm certainly not going to repay the Shi family, but let me make it clear why I won't be doing it. The truth is, I didn't continue living here. Also, I did not bring my parents here so that they could be friends with the Shi family either. I have never taken anything from the Shi family."
"Instead, my parents were very good to me. My parents were unable to pick me up because my father encountered a severe traffic accident and had to undergo several surgeries and kept getting transferred in between hospitals. My mother was afraid that I might get worried, so she chose not to take me home. She was also worried I might get distracted from school if I left the home I grew up in."
Third Aunt scoffed, "If you are not using the Shi family, then what are they doing here?"
"If it were true, they shouldn't have come to the Shi family to begin with. What traffic accident? If you ask me, he is just making excuses," said Seventh Aunt in ridicule.
Shi Jin couldn't be bothered with them. Instead, she said, "Although my parents didn't pick me up, they hardly left me in the lurch. Ever since I was 12 years old, my parents gave the Shi family $300 000 every year. Is $300 000 a year not enough to raise a child?"
"Let me ask you this. I have left the Shi residence ever since I was 15. Why hasn't the Shi family returned the money to me or my parents yet? Instead, they go around spreading gossip that I refused to go back to my biological parents and made people think that my parents and I are vain and materialistic."
The moment she finished her sentence, everyone went quiet.
This news had come without warning and everyone turned to look at Shi Qing and Yu Xiuhua in shock.
Li Juekai held onto the wheelchair handle tightly and Gu Qingqing placed her hands on his back.
Li Juekai and Gu Qingqing were both pleased and sad to hear this. Their daughter had known about their actions all along and wanted to seek justice for them today!
They had never told her about it before. In the past, Shi Jin refused to believe what they said. Also, they didn't want to give her any pressure.