The Female Lead Keeps Forcing Me to Take My Meds [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: White Rose 

Today was the weekend, and Director Xi, who had been busy all week, finally had some free time. She didn’t stay in her large apartment near the company but returned to the Xi mansion.

“I heard from the butler that your training has been very strenuous lately. Should I ask Zheng Momo to adjust your plan?” Director Xi walked beside the wheelchair, looking at Xi Congshuang with an affectionate tone.

From her appearance, no one would guess that the slender figure walking next to the wheelchair was over seventy. Her hair was thick and dark, falling past her shoulders. Her figure was graceful, and her demeanor held an air of authority without needing to express anger.

Director Xi, who had never married and had steered the Xi Corporation for many years, most trusted and was closest to her younger sister.

However, her sister passed away shortly after giving birth due to poor health. She raised her sister’s son as her own, only to experience the pain of a loved one’s untimely death once more.

Now, only Xi Congshuang, her granddaughter, remained. She felt she had failed her duty as an elder and was deeply remorseful, granting Xi Congshuang every request.

Looking at Xi Congshuang in the wheelchair, Director Xi sighed inwardly. If only that car accident hadn’t happened, Congshuang could have… Unfortunately, the accident not only injured her legs but also caused her to strongly resist rehabilitation therapy.

Xi Congshuang shook her head: “Zheng Momo is a professional. This level is perfect for now.”

“It’s good that you can accept it,” Director Xi felt reassured. No matter what, it was a good sign that Congshuang was willing to make a change.

Unknowingly, they walked out of the garden, and a sound of argument drifted from afar.

“Why is it so noisy over there? What’s going on?” Director Xi frowned and turned to ask the butler.

Xi Congshuang was thoughtful; something was gradually coming to the surface.

“I’ll go check,” the butler rushed ahead. After a moment, she returned and immediately reported: “Sixth Master’s son says his daughter isn’t his daughter; they were switched at the hospital, and he wants to switch them back.”

“What?” This tongue-twister-like statement made Director Xi pause for a few seconds.

The Xi mansion hadn’t been this lively in a long time. Director Xi’s patience with her good-for-nothing younger brother wore thin as she approached.

Nearing the door, a clear female voice could be heard arguing a point:

“But Xiao Yan was adopted through proper procedures, and we’ve raised her for so many years. How can you just demand her back?”

“But our biological daughter was missing for so many years. Now that we’ve found her, you won’t even let us see her?”

Xi Congshuang’s wheelchair was pushed forward, bringing the scene in the main hall into view.

Several people stood in opposition, with several documents spread on a table. Xi Wenyong and his wife stood face-to-face with another couple. The white-haired Sixth Master sat in the center of the sofa, holding a teacup, occasionally saying a few words to mediate.

“We aren’t refusing to let you see Xiao Yan. It’s just that you rushed in and manhandled her, which has frightened her.”

The woman with a bank manager badge pinned to her chest pulled the girl behind her, trying to conceal her with her body. The girl’s expression was blank, instinctively hiding behind her mother.

The Sixth Master spoke up in a timely manner: “They’ve been separated from their flesh and bl00d for so many years, so their emotions are understandably a bit high. Manager Qu, please understand.”

“…” Manager Qu, the woman being addressed, remained unmoved. Her husband beside her was also silent.

No one spoke first.

The Sixth Master looked at the familiar school uniform on Xiao Yan: “I remember Xiao Yan is also in high school. Parents only have one hope: that their children succeed.

“For Xiao Yan’s sake, let’s stop treating each other like strangers. Making such a scene will only leave a bad impression on Xiao Yan. Why don’t we all sit down and talk properly?”

Finally remembering that this was the Xi family, Manager Qu subtly looked at everyone in the room.

Manager Qu was well aware of the Xi Corporation’s power in the area and was accustomed to being smooth in her dealings. She absolutely could not offend the Xi family over this matter of claiming kin.

What she feared most was not being able to see Xiao Yan anymore.

Even if she was extremely reluctant, Manager Qu knew that the identity of a Xi family daughter would greatly benefit Xiao Yan’s future.

The Sixth Master was indeed right; parents only had that one wish.

Just as she was about to speak, the Sixth Master’s expression froze. He slowly stood up, looking nervous: “D-Director Xi, why are you back?”

The atmosphere in the room froze. Only one person could be referred to as Director Xi by the Sixth Master.

Director Xi scoffed and walked in: “You wished I would come back when I wasn’t here a few days ago, but now that I’m back, you don’t seem to want me to appear.”

The trajectory of events coincided in an uncanny way. The young girl, forgotten by everyone, watched the imposing woman enter, her eyes filled with unfamiliarity.

Following her was a young woman pushed in on a wheelchair.

Pale, delicate, with shallow bl00d color on her lips and an alluring teardrop mole beneath her eye. Yet, her expression was so detached that she appeared exceptionally cold.

“Quite a spectacle. The Xi family changes more and more every few days I’m away.”

Director Xi scanned everyone in the room. She walked to the center position, and the Sixth Master, who was already sitting in the center, quickly vacated the spot, frantically gesturing to a servant hidden in the corner to prepare new tea for Director Xi.

His elder sister didn’t like coffee, finding it too bitter; she preferred tea.

The aroma of tea wafted in the air. The arguing parties fell silent due to Director Xi’s arrival, looking at each other nervously.

Without exception, the same thought was going through everyone’s minds: Why is this formidable figure back?

Xiao Yao, the youngest, who was supposed to be the emotional card, anxiously hid behind his mother. He didn’t understand anything, only instinctively afraid of the woman in the center of the room.

Xi Congshuang had just taken her medicine and was simply holding a cup of warm water to warm her chilled hands. In her peripheral vision, she saw Cheng Zhishu hiding in the very corner, head bowed.

Her fringe hung down, preventing Xi Congshuang from seeing the emotion in her eyes.

Director Xi took a sip of tea. The cup hitting the table made a soft, yet audible sound. She leaned back: “Speak. What exactly is going on?”

“Director Xi,” Manager Qu spoke first, worried she would lose her chance to speak otherwise, “Xiao Yan and I are truly innocent in this matter.”

Manager Qu was a banker, accustomed to being smooth. She clearly explained the situation with her eloquent tongue.

However, her explanation was only about Xiao Yan being switched and subsequently adopted.

Cheng Zhishu felt she must be going crazy, still having the presence of mind to piece together her own background from the adults’ fragmented conversations.

Back then, the Xi Wenyong couple had poor living conditions. The child was born in a rural town hospital. Before they could be discharged, an earthquake hit. The newborns, who were all being nursed in one room, were hurriedly carried out by the nurses during the quake.

The rural hospital was understaffed, and one nurse carried a maximum of two babies, repeatedly running in and out of the hospital to rescue them.

In the chaos, the bracelets on the babies’ wrists were mixed up. The bracelet that belonged to Wang Ya’s baby was mistakenly put on Cheng Zhishu’s wrist.

Newborns, apart from their gender, largely looked alike. Wang Ya, having just given birth, hadn’t clearly seen her child’s appearance, only thinking the baby was red and wrinkled.

By the time the earthquake settled, it was already a few days later. The babies had developed, becoming pale and soft. Wang Ya was even less able to distinguish them, assuming the baby she had was her own.

The young couple at the time lacked the financial means to raise a child, so they sent the baby to the countryside to be cared for by the husband’s mother.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan, who had no wristband and was treated as an abandoned baby, was adopted by a couple. Unable to have their own child, they had sought out and adopted Xiao Yan, a healthy baby girl.

So, Cheng Zhishu was the one who was mistakenly taken. She should be without biological parents.

“…”

A vast, suffocating sense of confusion enveloped Cheng Zhishu.

She didn’t know how she should feel.

Her father and mother had become her adoptive parents. Now, her adoptive parents only wanted their biological child back. The usually fierce Wang Ya was weeping constantly over this matter in front of Director Xi.

Xi Congshuang set down her water cup. The water was cold now, no longer warming. She asked: “So, your original idea was for everyone to return to their rightful place, but given the current situation, you hope that Wen Yan will spend a few days a week living here at the Xi house, is that right?”

Manager Qu knew this was the best possible outcome and quickly said: “Yes, yes, yes!”

Wang Ya clutched the tear-soaked tissue in her hand: “But Xiao Yan and I haven’t seen each other for so many years, it shouldn’t…”

Xi Congshuang interrupted her: “Since a child was swapped, what about the one who was wrongly taken?”

The agitated atmosphere was doused with cold water, losing its fervor.

“W-What about the one who was wrongly taken?”

In the corner, the girl being referred to tensed her slender back. She finally raised her head to look at Xi Congshuang, wearing a white dress in the wheelchair.

After the rain a few days ago, the weather had warmed up again. Everyone around was in short sleeves, but only Xi Congshuang still wore a long-sleeved dress, the hem concealed beneath a light-colored blanket, like a white rose trapped in a slender-necked vase.

Director Xi had remained silent throughout. It was a good sign that Xi Congshuang was in the mood to speak.

Xi Congshuang looked at the middle-aged man who had spoken, who, based on his position, should be Xi Wenyong, and asked, puzzled: “You are all fighting for Wen Yan’s custody. Then what do you plan to do about the one who was wrongly taken?”

Xi Wenyong’s face flickered through a range of emotions, and he remained silent.

If one spoke of affection, he truly didn’t have much for this adopted daughter. She was sent to his mother in the countryside to be raised less than a month after birth. The old woman had a pension, small but enough to barely raise a child.

By the time Cheng Zhishu was brought back, she was over ten years old, a girl who wouldn’t utter a word even if beaten. Coupled with the rumors that she didn’t look like him, it was even more impossible for Xi Wenyong to like her.

Now it seemed it wasn’t his fault. He loved Xiao Yao so much; why wouldn’t he love his own child? Since there was no bl00d relation, it was normal to always find her displeasing.

Wang Ya averted her eyes: “She occupied my biological daughter’s position, and we raised her for so many years. We’ve done enough. After this, she’s free to go wherever she pleases…”

Another silence fell, as if no one felt there was anything wrong with this plan.

The speaker was now the woman in the wheelchair. Wen Yan, hiding behind Manager Qu, gained a bit of courage and secretly peeked out. She belatedly began looking for the person who had been swapped.

Then she spotted a familiar school uniform in the corner. The profile of the face seemed vaguely familiar. After a moment of thought, she realized it was the new transfer student from the class next door.

Xi Congshuang was noncommittal, giving a cold scoff: “To kick out the daughter you’ve raised for years right after being reunited with your own flesh and bl00d—anyone hearing this would think the Xi family are heartless beasts.”

Sixth Master: “Congshuang, you need to speak properly. What heartless beasts?”

Xi Congshuang: “Sixth Grandfather, you’re mistaken. When have I ever not spoken properly?

“Both children are the same age and were born within a few hours of each other, so she should also be a minor.”

“Why is no one discussing how her livelihood should be guaranteed?”

The people opposite Xi Congshuang were unable to meet her gaze.