Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

At this moment, Shen Yifan's heart was filled with impatience and disdain.

Indeed, women are ultimately narrow-minded, only concerned with matters of love, marriage, and trivialities. What do love and marriage matter? As long as he has a successful career, a high position, and fame and fortune, what kind of woman wouldn't want to come to him?

A flicker of disgust flashed across his eyes. Sure enough, Lin Wanqing in this life was exactly the same as in the previous one—short-sighted, superficial, and narrow-minded, forever unable to grasp the essentials.

Interrupted abruptly by her son, Lin Wanqing snapped back to reality, realizing she had misunderstood. She quickly suppressed her enthusiasm for urging him to get married and became serious.

She looked helpless and asked softly, "Oh, it's about the company... What exactly happened? I don't know anything about business management or company affairs, and I've never dealt with these things before. How can I help you?"

Shen Yifan's eyes were resolute, and his tone carried a deliberate earnestness: "Mom, you can definitely help. I can tell you're doing very well in the Li family. The head of the Li family must treat you with great affection, right?"

Upon hearing this, a gentle, shy blush crept into Lin Wanqing's eyes, and she nodded slightly: "Wenqian... he really treats me very well. But what does that have to do with your company?"

"It's a big deal."

Shen Yifan immediately followed up, a shadow flashing across his eyes, his tone deliberately tinged with grievance and resentment: "In the end, the Shen family's crisis is all Shen Jingshu's fault."

Lin Wanqing was taken aback, her face full of confusion: "What does this have to do with Jing Shu?"

"How could there not be!" Shen Yifan lowered his voice, indignant. "She's siding with outsiders, completely disregarding her own family! I'm clearly her own brother, yet she doesn't help the Shen family, but instead helps the Li family and the Mo family at every turn!"

"You've probably heard about the major collaboration recently finalized between the Li family and the Mo family. That project should have easily fallen into the hands of our Shen family! It was Shen Jingshu who interfered, secretly snatching it away and handing over a collaboration that rightfully belonged to the Shen family to an outsider!"

Lin Wanqing frowned slightly, her face full of doubt: "What do you mean? I've heard rumors that the Mo family was interested in Li Beichen's plan, which is why they finalized the cooperation with the Li family. Is there some hidden story I don't know about?"

A hint of stubbornness and resentment flashed in Shen Yifan's eyes as he lowered his voice and said, "Mom, you don't understand the inside story. According to the original trajectory, this cooperation should have easily fallen into the hands of our Shen family."

"What original trajectory? What do you mean it should belong to the Shen family? Yifan, the more you say this, the more confused I get." Lin Wanqing was completely dumbfounded.

"I can't explain these things in a short time." Shen Yifan skipped the explanation impatiently, deliberately emphasizing his grievance and urgency. "You just need to know that this sky-high cooperation was originally the Shen family's only chance to save itself!"

The Shen family had previously encountered a series of misfortunes, facing public backlash and a plummeting reputation, leaving the company already in a precarious situation. I had originally hoped that by cooperating with the Mo family, we could turn things around, stabilize the stock price, cover the losses, and resolve all the crises.

But Shen Jingshu interfered and forced the cooperation onto the Li family!

Now that the cooperation has fallen through, the company is completely on its last legs, and a huge funding gap has emerged. I was utterly desperate, and in desperation, I mortgaged all the company's assets and all my family's businesses, but it still wasn't enough to fill the hole. In utter helplessness, I had no choice but to borrow from loan sharks.

"What?! Loan sharks?!"

Lin Wanqing's expression changed drastically, and she was so shocked that she almost stood up abruptly.

Shen Yifan quickly grabbed her and said in a low voice, "Mom, don't get agitated! This is a restaurant, and everyone around is watching!"

Lin Wanqing instantly regained her composure, forcing herself to sit back down. Her face was deathly pale, and her voice trembled: "You... how dare you get involved with loan sharks? How much has the company lost? Didn't I have Jiaojiao transfer some money to you last time?"

"That little bit of money is a drop in the ocean and can't possibly keep things going," Shen Yifan said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

"Tens of millions aren't enough?!" Lin Wanqing panicked completely. "Just how big is the shortfall?"

Shen Yifan stared at her, speaking slowly and deliberately, his tone heavy: "Eight hundred million."

"Eight hundred million?!"

Lin Wanqing gasped, completely stunned, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"That's why I've swallowed all my pride and come to beg you today." Shen Yifan's eyes were earnest, his posture extremely humble, almost pleading. "If you don't help me, Shen's will definitely go bankrupt this time. Once it goes bankrupt, not only will the company be liquidated, but our whole family will also be burdened with huge debts and will never be able to recover! Mom, please help me."

Seeing her eldest son, who had always been proud and strong-willed and had never bowed his head to beg her since he was ten years old, now pleading so humbly, Lin Wanqing's heart softened instantly, and she felt completely flustered and helpless.

She frowned, looking troubled. "Yifan, several hundred million is no small sum. Mom really doesn't have that much money. The money I gave you last time was borrowed from Wenqian..."

At this point, she finally understood her son's intention and hesitated, "You...you want me to go and beg Uncle Li again to help the Shen family? But the amount is too large. Even the Li family can't just casually come up with 800 million in cash flow..."

Shen Yifan's gaze was fixed on her, his tone firm yet filled with a desperate plea:

"Mom, no one else can help me this time, only you can."

Lin Wanqing ultimately dared not agree rashly.

An 800 million yuan financial hole was an enormous burden, and she felt utterly uncertain about her situation. She and Li Wenqian were only married later in life, their bond thin, and she lacked confidence. Asking for such a staggering sum was something she simply couldn't handle. After much deliberation, she could only softly reassure him, promising to go back and consider it carefully, to explain the situation truthfully to Li Wenqian, and to try her best.

Seeing that she had agreed to help plead for him, Shen Yifan felt a little relieved. However, he still couldn't be completely at ease. He knew better than anyone that even for the well-established Li family, withdrawing 800 million in cash flow at once would be a huge burden. Moreover, the power of the Li family had long since been handed over to Li Beichen, and Li Wenqian had long since retreated behind the scenes, his influence greatly diminished.

But this is his only lifeline right now.

Each lost in their own thoughts, they hastily finished their bittersweet lunch. Afterwards, Shen Yifan insisted on taking Lin Wanqing back to the Li family villa, and Lin Wanqing, unable to refuse, had no choice but to agree.

The car came to a smooth stop in front of the Li family villa. As soon as Lin Wanqing got out of the car, she bumped into Shen Jingshu, who was about to leave.

Shen Jingshu slept in late today, a rare occurrence. Last night, she absorbed the merits accumulated from her live-streamed fortune-telling and the power of her fans' faith, meditating until dawn before taking a nap. After resting in the afternoon, she was preparing to head back to school when she unexpectedly bumped into her mother's familiar figure and Shen Yifan's black sedan as soon as she stepped out the door.

Shen Jingshu initially intended to ignore it and move aside, but they met face to face, leaving her no choice but to comply.

When Lin Wanqing saw Shen Jingshu, Shen Yifan's words from the restaurant earlier instantly echoed in her mind. Remembering her eldest son's tearful account of the Shen family's crisis stemming from her daughter, a wave of resentment and estrangement washed over her. In her eyes, Shen Jingshu was too cold-hearted and selfish, sacrificing her own family's interests to curry favor with the Li family and ingratiate herself with outsiders.