Chapter 467 - 225: Reconciliation
Chapter 467: Chapter 225: Reconciliation
「September 20th.」
A Saturday, with a light, drizzling rain.
A solid black Bentley Flying Spur sped through the puddles, entered Zhonghai Mansion·Jiuxu, and pulled into the garage of a standalone villa via the back entrance.
Shen Yun had been at the Dafeng Economic Development Zone all week, supervising the retooling of the factory’s production lines.
Thanks to the experience from the first time, this round of modifications went very smoothly.
Not only did they add eight more production lines, but their production capacity also increased to match.
At first, the factory’s upper management had been doubtful and displeased with Shen Yun’s decision.
’Why abandon a perfectly good food processing business to produce pet food instead?’
’The difference in customer demand between the two is huge!’
However, when a steady stream of orders began pouring in, the executives all shut their mouths. They even grew to admire Shen Yun.
Over ten thousand.
That was the number of orders Lin Shen had sent over yesterday.
Shennan Pet Food had garnered over 10,000 pre-orders in less than a week since its launch.
’It might not seem like a lot, but the key thing is that it hasn’t even been officially released yet!’
It was only listed in the shop window of the official Shennan Pet Society TikTok account, and it had already received this many pre-orders.
’If we expanded to other e-commerce platforms for an official launch, the order volume would be unimaginable!’
This both thrilled Shen Yun and left her in awe of Lin Shen’s business acumen.
’How on earth did he manage to sell so much?’
’Is the pet industry really a blue ocean market?’
Having clawed her way up in the business world for over a decade, Shen Yun knew she couldn’t miss this golden opportunity.
So, she spent a full week at the factory, personally supervising the retooling of the pet food production lines and having the workers push through overtime to get it done.
And now, as soon as the work was finished, Shen Yun was rushing home.
Because every weekend, Xia Nuonuo would come to stay for two days.
This was one of the few chances Shen Yun had for mother-daughter time, and she couldn’t afford to miss it.
After getting out of the car, Shen Yun carried a cake box into the villa. When she reached the first-floor living room, she found Xia Nuonuo sitting alone, playing her guitar.
Unlike her usual fast-paced rock music, this time she was, surprisingly, playing a song with a slow, soothing melody.
Shen Yun didn’t recognize the piece, but the beautiful, faintly sorrowful tune instantly relaxed her body and mind, melting away the fatigue from her week of work.
She placed the cake gently on the table and folded her arms. Her right hand tapped along to the rhythm, and a faint smile played on her lips.
After quietly listening until Xia Nuonuo finished the entire piece, Shen Yun applauded and praised her.
CLAP CLAP CLAP—!
"That was beautiful! Nuonuo, what song is that?"
"South of the South Mountain."
Xia Nuonuo muttered under her breath.
"I can’t seem to capture the same feeling as Lin Shen’s version. How does he make his music so full of emotion?"
"Nuonuo, come have some cake."
Shen Yun brought plates from the kitchen and cut a slice of cake for each of them. She even made sure to add an extra fresh strawberry to Xia Nuonuo’s piece.
"It’s your favorite, strawberry ice cream cake. The weather’s getting colder, so we probably won’t be able to eat things this cold for a while."
"..."
Taking the cake from Shen Yun, Xia Nuonuo was silent for a moment before suddenly speaking.
"Mom."
"Hm?"
Shen Yun was a little surprised that Xia Nuonuo had suddenly called her "Mom."
"What is it?"
"There’s something I want to talk to you about."
?
Shen Yun blinked, then gave a gentle smile.
"What is it?"
"It’s... about something personal..."
Xia Nuonuo’s voice trailed off. She bit her lip, wrestling with her thoughts for a moment before seeming to muster all her courage and whispering.
"I... I’ve fallen in love with a girl."
??
Xia Nuonuo’s words made Shen Yun freeze, a look of confusion on her face.
"What do you mean?"
Xia Nuonuo stared directly into Shen Yun’s eyes.
"Mom, I like girls. I don’t like guys."
!?
Huh?
Xia Nuonuo’s words struck Shen Yun like a bolt from the blue. She was so stunned her face went blank, and the cake in her hand slipped from her grasp, splattering cream all over the floor with a SPLAT.
Shen Yun couldn’t process this information right away. It took a moment for her to come to her senses. She bit her lip, a storm of complex emotions raging within her.
Confusion, regret, self-blame, anger...
Finally, Shen Yun took a deep breath, trying several times to compose herself before she could speak slowly.
"Um... Nuonuo, since when have you...?"
"For a long time."
Xia Nuonuo silently fetched some tissues and began wiping the cream off the floor.
"To be precise, I went to a hospital for a psychological evaluation without telling you, Mom."
From a drawer in the coffee table, Xia Nuonuo took out a medical diagnosis certificate she had prepared earlier and handed it to Shen Yun.
Shen Yun frantically opened it. Her grave expression slowly turned to shock, and she collapsed onto the sofa. She covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes welling with tears of regret and self-reproach.
The next second, Shen Yun pulled Xia Nuonuo into a tight embrace, stroking her soft, long hair as she sobbed out an apology.
"I’m sorry! Nuonuo, I’m so sorry! It’s my fault! I’m the one who caused you to develop such a deep psychological trauma, I’m so sorry..."
"If I had known this would happen, I never should have divorced Xia Qingguo!"
"Mom, it’s not your fault."
Xia Nuonuo nestled obediently in Shen Yun’s arms. She pulled out a tissue to wipe away her mother’s tears, her voice losing its usual indifference and filling with tenderness.
"Xia Qingguo was the one who cheated first. How could the divorce be your fault?"
"But if I had let you know what was happening beforehand, maybe you wouldn’t have been hit so hard by it?"
Shen Yun loosened her hold on Xia Nuonuo slightly, so they could both see each other’s faces.
One was a face streaked with regretful tears; the other, a conflicted expression with downcast eyes.
Xia Nuonuo was silent for a long time before she finally shook her head and said softly,
"Mom, you were just trying to protect me out of kindness. It’s my fault for not being able to handle it well. I never thought this would happen. It’s not your fault."