Chapter 189: Why Didn’t They Pick Her Up?

For 12 years, Li Juekai was unable to spend much time with Shi Xuexin since he was busy trying to stage a comeback for the family. They were trying to protect Shi Xuexin by sending her to a remote small town to live.

Even though it was a small town, Old Master Li spared no expense in terms of Shi Xuexin’s life and education.

Although they resided in a small town, she was able to receive tutelage from the best teachers. The family sent her for all kinds of extracurricular lessons, gave her a chauffeur, and provided her the best they could afford.

When they were 12 years old, they learned they were swapped at birth and Shi Xuexin was sent to the Shi family immediately. However, Li Juekai went back on his word when he was supposed to pick up Shi Jin.

In her past life, Shi Jin thought she was forsaken because her father did not pick her up.

First, she was unwelcome in the Shi family. Now, her biological family didn’t want her. She was at a sensitive age and felt terribly vulnerable. It didn’t help that Yu Xiuhua and Shi Xuexin kept picking on her. Also, there was a lot of gossip floating in the air. Hence, she lost her mind and fell into the deep end of the pool.

The Li family came to pick her up when Shi Jin was around 15 years old and did their utmost to take her with them. However, no matter how they tried to convince her, she refused to leave with them.

Shi Jin learned in her past life how much her family loved her after she got into trouble. Other than Fu Xiuyuan, they were the only people in the world who cared about her.

Shi Jin secretly regretted giving her father and older brother such a lousy attitude when they came to pick her up a couple of years ago.

She clenched her fists even more tightly in regret.

She was in a daze when she suddenly sensed something warm on her hand. It was Fu Xiuyuan placing his hand on hers and covering it completely. He opened her tightly clenched fist and held her hand with their fingers interlaced.

“Don’t be nervous,” comforted Fu Xiuyuan succinctly.

Shi Jin felt a lot better when she heard what he said. She gazed into Fu Xiuyuan’s eyes and smiled.

***

A flight from Germany gradually landed.

One of the passengers was wheelchair-bound, so the air stewardesses checked on him a couple of times to see if he needed anything.

“No, thanks.” The male passenger was in his fifties. Despite the stern, sad look on his face, he was rather polite.

There was an elegant well-poised lady sitting beside him. Also, a young man sat in the same row as them.

Since they were family, the atmosphere ought to be amicable, but all of them had an imperceptible air of sadness about them.

The male passenger was Li Juekai, Shi Jin’s biological father.

The woman was his wife, Gu Qingqing, and the man was their son, Gu Jingyuan.

They were Shi Jin’s mother and eldest brother.

The three of them had just returned from Germany after treatment. Sadly, Li Juekai’s leg injury did not improve, even though his son was a talented and renowned surgeon now.

They had come back with the intention of giving up treatment and settling down for good. Also, they wanted to get Shi Jin to come home with them.

Li Juekai felt worried just thinking about it and said softly, “I wonder if our daughter has forgiven me.”

Gu Qingqing replied softly, “Honey, I am sure she will.”

“We did her injustice back in the day. We were supposed to pick her up. However, we encountered a traffic accident and my legs got hurt, so we ended up missing the appointment. She was only 12 years old. She must have been terribly disappointed when no one came to pick her up,” sighed Li Juekai sadly as he thought about the past.

After the traffic accident, Li Juekai went into a coma leaving everyone terrified. Only Gu Qingqing was around to take care of Li Juekai since Gu Jingyuan was still studying in Germany and their second son, Gu Zehan, was busy training.

Li Juekai had broken both his legs and the doctors did not know how to treat him, so he was in and out of hospitals a lot.

Gu Qingqing had no choice, but to call the Shi family and implored them to take care of Shi Jin for a few more years. That way, Shi Jin didn’t have to worry about Li Juekai’s condition and could focus on studying.

By the time Li Juekai’s condition stabilized a little, Shi Jin was already 15 years old.

Shi Jin was rebellious and willful when she was 15 years old. Even though Li Juekai kept visiting her every year to take her home, she refused to give in.

In the past two years, Li Juekai suffered a relapse from this old injury. Since he had to go abroad for treatment, Li Juekai and Shi Jin gradually drifted apart.

Li Juekai said in regret, “No matter what happened, we should have picked up our daughter. It was my fault for letting things turn out this way.”

Gu Qingqing regretted their actions equally. They were considering Shi Jin’s well-being when they decided against picking her up from the Shi family, but they failed to understand what a 12 year old little girl wanted. No one asked her how she felt about living with the Shi family.

Since Gu Qingqing did not want to make her husband upset, she never brought up the regret she felt.

She continued comforting her husband, “Don’t worry about it. Now that she is all grown up, I am sure she is sensible enough to empathize with what we did.’

“Will she?” Li Juekai looked miserable.

Gu Qingqing also wanted to know the same thing.

They heard Shi Jin was already very against her marriage to the Fu family, so she was bound to still be angry with her biological family. She must be blaming her parents for abandoning her. Gu Qingqing could not help feeling heartbroken thinking about it.

Since her husband’s legs were paralyzed, she wanted to stay positive, so she forced a smile and said, “I am sure she will.”

Gu Qingqing was saying this to comfort both Li Juekai and her.

They proceeded to look at their phones.

Everyone in the family kept an eye on Shi Jin’s news.

Complicated emotions flooded their hearts when Shi Jin came in second on “Ultimate Singer-Songwriter”. They were proud of her success but also worried that it would be even harder to convince her to come home with them.

Now that she was a successful artist with a massive following, a whole new life was waiting for her. She was completely different from the little girl they once knew.

Even though Li Juekai and Gu Qingqing wanted to be closer to Shi Jin, they did not want to become her burden, so they did not call her to tell her about their return.

In reality, Li Juekai and Gu Jingyuan were decent entrepreneurs. Although they were not as rich as before, they were doing well.

Gu Jingyuan sat by the window without joining in Li Juekai and Gu Qingqing’s conversation.

He finally stood up when he saw people getting up to retrieve their luggage after the plane landed and helped his mother to take care of his father.

He was not much of a talker, but it was fine by Li Juekai and Gu Qingqing. After they got off the plane, they headed towards the arrival hall.