C19 She Wanted to Keep This Child

The family happily gathered for a meal, during which Shi Qing revealed her divorce from Lu Sinian. However, she instinctively withheld the details about being a stand-in and how poorly the Lu family treated her.

Even though she didn't utter a single bad word about Lu Sinian, Shi Jianhua angrily slammed the table. "I knew that guy wasn't any good. If he dared to wrong my daughter, it's time he learned a lesson!"

Shi Jianhua was always a man of action, and Shi Qing knew exactly what he might do. But now, she really didn't want any more ties with Lu Sinian.

"Dad, let it go. We're already divorced, and from now on, I don't want any connection with him."

To Shi Jianhua, these words took on a different meaning. He looked at Shi Qing in disbelief. "Are you still defending him?"

"Of course not. I just really don't want any more ties with him," Shi Qing replied without hesitation.

At this point, Bai Chunyan, who had been silent, couldn't help but pat Shi Jianhua on the shoulder. "Alright, Qing knows what she's doing. Let's not talk about this when the family finally gets together."

Hearing this, Shi Jianhua chose not to continue the discussion.

After dinner, Shi Jianhua called Shi Qing into the study alone. He brewed a cup of tea and handed it to her. "I'm getting old. Now that you're back home, you need to start learning how to manage the company. Otherwise, the family's businesses will need someone to take charge."

Shi Qing took the white porcelain teacup, unsure of how to respond.

Shi Jianhua seemed to understand her hesitation and sighed before continuing, "I know you don't like being in the spotlight, but as your father, I really hope you can pull yourself together and start learning to manage Xinghan."

Seeing her father offering her a way out, Shi Qing felt a pang of guilt. The family had never publicly acknowledged her to protect her, and realizing this, she finally nodded in agreement.

---

It was nearly nine when Shi Qing got up to head back to Scenery Villa. The dazzling cityscape flashed by her eyes.

Suddenly, just as she was about to reach Scenery Villa, she caught sight of a woman frantically trying to flag down a car on the roadside. There were no taxis, and no one stopped for her.

Slowing down, Shi Qing noticed the woman was holding a child. Seeing her desperation, Shi Qing guessed the child must be sick. With that thought, she pulled over.

"What's wrong? Do you need help?"

As she approached, the woman nodded frantically, her voice breaking with tears, "Yes! Please, help my child." The woman's emotions were nearly out of control.

Shi Qing quickly opened the back door of the car. "Get in, hurry."

Once they were inside, Shi Qing drove to the hospital as fast as possible. In the backseat, the woman kept calling her child's nickname, eventually breaking down into tears.

Hearing her cries, Shi Qing felt a pang in her heart, instinctively thinking of the child she was carrying.

At the hospital, Shi Qing only relaxed once she saw the child being taken into the emergency room.

She approached the mother to comfort her. "It's going to be okay. Don't worry."

"Miss, I can't thank you enough for tonight. If I hadn't met you, I don't know what I would have done..." The woman couldn't hold back her tears again.

Shi Qing, unsure of her own feelings, sat beside the woman, keeping her company as they waited.

Through their conversation, Shi Qing learned that the woman was a single mother. Years ago, she had faced a similar dilemma but ultimately chose to keep her child.

"I watched her grow from a tiny baby to now, and I've never regretted having her," the woman said with a hint of a smile as she talked about her child's early years. "Even though I couldn't give her a complete family, I'm truly grateful for this gift from above. It's what kept me going."

Listening to the woman's story, Shi Qing gently touched her own belly, knowing there was a life inside also waiting to see the world.

She initially didn't want the baby, but then she suddenly changed her mind. She realized she had no right to take away the child's life. If given the chance, she believed she could truly embrace the role of a mother.

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