Chapter 499: Chapter 499 - 493: Something Is Different

No one expected Shi Su, after going through a great ordeal, to not distance herself from the Shi Family, but rather to come directly back to live at the Shi Family residence.

The car stopped outside the Shi Family mansion, Shi Su was dressed in a sophisticated mint-colored coat, carrying a handbag. Inside, she wore a white shirt, and on her collarbone lay the blue diamond Jing Jihan had once gifted her, which reflected brilliant rays under the evening glow. Her hair, previously slightly curled, was now cut short to shoulder-length, looking as though it had been deliberately styled to be fluffy; it was a slightly curled dark tea color.

Her wrist was still wrapped in a circle of gauze from a scrape a few days prior. As it was still healing and the outdoor temperature was low, she hadn’t removed the gauze yet.

In private, Shi Su indeed didn’t like makeup, only doing some simple skincare. She hadn’t applied any makeup today, and just coming from the hospital, her complexion inevitably looked a bit poor, so she only applied a matte lipstick. Yet, even this minimal effort made her appear as if she had walked straight out of an oil painting, exuding a casual yet stunning beauty.

Shi Su was indeed beautiful; otherwise, she wouldn’t be so popular in the entertainment industry, able to handle any kind of role. She never weaponized her looks, often appearing bare-faced away from the cameras, as if she wanted to merge herself into the tiny specks of dust within the vast world.

But as Shi Su returned to the Shi Family this time, everyone who saw her enter felt a slight tremor in their hearts, instinctively sensing that something about her had changed.

Someone who initially had no interest in anything related to the Shi Family, who wouldn’t spare a glance at even a brick of the old Shi Family residence, now walked into the Shi Family courtyard, her gaze sweeping over every visible spot, her eyes calm as a serene lake; a flicker in her gaze evoked an unreadable smirk.

Shi Lingkang’s car stopped behind, and as he walked in, he similarly sensed Shi Su’s change.

"Is Mr. Shi awake?" Shi Su ignored Shi Lingkang beside her and instead turned to ask the servants in the Shi Family.

The servant didn’t expect Shi Su, who usually wouldn’t bother speaking a word to anyone in the Shi Family, to suddenly talk to them. It took a moment before responding, "He’s awake, but the old man’s health isn’t great. Although he hasn’t gone to the hospital, many machines from various hospitals have been moved to his room, and for the past two days, he’s been surviving on soup, unable to eat anything else, and he isn’t very coherent when awake."

Shi Su didn’t ask more and went straight to the room long prepared for her at the Shi Family.

The reason it was said to be long prepared was because this bedroom was left for her by Mr. Shi, located in a two-story standalone structure at the back of the residence. The first floor included the servants’ quarters, a small kitchen, and a simple living room, while the second floor housed the master bedroom, secondary bedroom, study, walk-in closet, and bathroom among others. Although she hadn’t lived there for years and hadn’t planned to move in recently, the servants still included her standalone house in their regular cleaning routine, so the room remained clean and tidy.

Shi Yuan had been helping Shi Su with her luggage since getting out of the car, but as they approached the standalone villa, Shi Su stopped and turned back, "I’ll handle this myself."

Shi Yuan obediently handed her the suitcase, standing still without following her inside.

Noticing the young girl didn’t follow, Shi Su looked back, "Not coming in?"

Shi Yuan shook her head, glancing at the standalone villa before retreating a step with some restraint.

Despite growing up in the Shi Family, this girl had never had a good day. She lived in the room her mother used to reside in when she was with the Shi Family, and no servant usually cared for her, even though she was Mr. Shi’s legitimate granddaughter able to openly call him grandpa, but no one really cared for her.

Given Mr. Shi’s character of paying scant attention to family in favor of the family business, he couldn’t spare a thought for Shi Yuan’s situation at home.

"I’m not used to living alone. Why don’t you stay with me?" Shi Su took the suitcase in one hand and pulled Shi Yuan with the other, not giving the young girl a chance to hesitate before directly leading her inside.

It wasn’t a large villa, but luckily it was Shi Su’s own place. With few residents and being standalone, the space on both floors was more than enough.

On the second floor, there was a master bedroom and a secondary bedroom. The secondary bedroom received sunlight with good lighting, comparable to the master bedroom, and was only five or six meters away. Shi Su first looked at the secondary bedroom and directly decided Shi Yuan would stay there from now on.

"But this is your place, Shi Su..."

"If I let you stay, then stay. Don’t overthink it." Shi Su didn’t make Shi Yuan tidy up her things but called a servant who came in to help move Shi Yuan’s things.

The servant hesitated, seemingly unwilling, but didn’t dare to argue against Shi Su’s directive, hesitating before leaving under Shi Su’s cool, warning gaze.

Shi Su knew Shi Yuan was considering whether staying in the same building might be inconvenient if Jing Jihan visited.

But for Shi Su, if she no longer intended to evade the Shi Family’s entanglements from now on, if she was willing to cooperate with Shi Lingkang in playing this father-daughter harmony drama to seize the majority of the Shi Family’s shares, she wouldn’t stay here anymore after doing everything she needed to do. Even if she didn’t want to stay in the Shi Family, she wouldn’t live here, leaving the standalone villa vacant. Letting Shi Yuan move in was suitable.

It was almost one o’clock in the morning.

The standalone villa at the Shi Family was still lit up brightly.

The servants, although unaware of why Miss Shi suddenly made such an ostentatious return, were instructed by Shi Lingkang to serve her well. Since the old man could pass away at any moment, and who would ultimately hold power in the Shi Family was uncertain, they dared not neglect Shi Su. After making a late-night snack for Shi Lingkang, they prepared a bowl of tremella soup for Shi Su.

But Shi Yuan didn’t let the servant go upstairs, running down to fetch it, then scurried up to deliver the soup to Shi Su.

Shi Su sat alone on the sofa in the bedroom, a thin blanket covering her legs, and a laptop placed there, her expression indifferent, obscured further by the rising steam from the tremella soup.

"Not drinking?" Shi Yuan asked softly.

"No, throw it away."

"Uncle asked the servants to send it; shouldn’t it be fine?" Shi Yuan had wised up, knowing what Shi Su guarded against.

Shi Lingkang could himself be under surveillance, so how could he guarantee the absolute safety of those he summoned? Though they were father and daughter, it was merely mutual exploitation.

Shi Su didn’t explain, adjusted the position of the laptop slightly, and said coolly, "Take it away; I’m not drinking."