Who is Chrissy?
This was truly a good question. Fernand lay on the hospital bed, utterly speechless, entirely stripped of the confident, commanding aura he had when giving Su Ning her options just moments ago.
He looked like a little chick caught by the neck.
"So you didn't know. Chrissy holds three percent of the shares, which is actually less than Antonio's, so Mr. Fernand..."
"Wait!"
The old man on the bed shouted with all his might. His voice even penetrated the door, reaching the ears of the people outside, followed by a flurry of knocks and concerned inquiries.
Su Ning stopped, feigning confusion.
However, a contemptuous smile curled at the corner of her mouth, and she looked at him with a teasing gaze.
It was as if she was saying something.
Getting so worked up, it seems "true love" is quite important to him after all. Tsk, I miscalculated earlier; I should have kept a firm grip on this leverage...
Then she realized she did not need to be disappointed.
"Fernand, why won't you let her continue? Who exactly is Chrissy? Sharing your genes and holding three percent of the shares... what does all this mean? Could it be... is she your child? But how come I've never known about her?"
The woman looked sorrowful and pressed him urgently.
"Tell me, Sister Anna doesn't have a child by that name."
Calling the other woman "Sister."
What a richly characteristic form of address. I would really love to know how that proud lady of Portuguese noble descent felt when she heard it.
Su Ning thought to herself.
"That's right, Dad. Who exactly is Chrissy? You wouldn't betray Mom and me, right?"
Beside them, Antonio also had tears in his eyes.
He refused to believe it.
He could not believe that the pure, noble, and great love story he had witnessed since childhood—one that broke through all obstacles to be together—would have a massive hole torn into it at the very end, revealing the dark, murky gray beneath.
Therefore...
He looked at Su Ning with red eyes. "You definitely know Chrissy's identity. Tell me, hurry up and tell me! I must know the answer to this question."
He sounded very agitated.
But what did it mean that with every word he spoke, a warning bell chimed in her head?
Su Ning sighed inwardly.
Alas, she was almost getting used to this kind of situation where good deeds went unrewarded. Besides, had she not made it clear enough?
Anyone with a normal, functioning brain would have understood by now!
"Let me explain."
Fernand hurriedly stopped his son. Because he was so agitated, a flush of red appeared on his face that was previously as pale as a corpse's. Then, Su Ning listened as he delivered a flurry of sugar-coating, deflecting, and outright twisting of the truth.
He claimed Chrissy was the child of some close relative, alone and helpless, and he had only adopted her out of sympathy.
As for why she had shares.
Naturally, they were left by the child's biological parents, and it was only due to his noble character...
...that he was unwilling to embezzle them!
It would be a miracle if anyone believed this kind of nonsense. Yet, Su Ning watched as the mother and son's expressions wavered inch by inch. Now it was her turn to question reality.
"...Actually, there is another reason why I adopted Chrissy," Fernand said in a tender, pitiful tone. "Seeing her reminded me of you. If we had a daughter, she would probably look just like that."
At this, the woman could no longer hold back.
"Fernand, I shouldn't have doubted you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, a thousand and a million times I'm sorry."
"Dad."
Antonio also called out emotionally.
The atmosphere among the three was harmonious and warm. Su Ning was almost moved... yeah, right. She turned her head. The shock and "I can't believe that actually worked" expressions on the faces of Lin Sen and the other subordinates were extremely conspicuous.
Thank goodness, she wasn't the crazy one!
Now, Su Ning genuinely felt she had taken a huge risk. This guy was practically on par with Cthulhu, draining sanity points... making people doubt themselves and want to assimilate.
Right at that moment.
"Su, I take back what I just said." Fernand spoke with hidden apprehension, "There is no need to sign a marriage contract. I will still help you... and Antonio."
Huh?
Hearing this, Antonio grew anxious. Just as he was about to say something, he was cut off again.
"I should believe in the greatness of love. Using a marriage contract to forcibly tie a pair of young people together is a desecration of love. At the end of my life, I should repent for even having such a thought. After all, I am a victim of it myself."
Saying this, he looked affectionately at the woman.
Antonio was rendered speechless.
For the first time in his life, he felt that the word "love" sounded a bit unpleasant.
"Yes, love is great and cannot be desecrated. I completely agree with Mr. Fernand's words."
Su Ning said this very sincerely.
However, Fernand felt a pang of guilt. His eyes shifted and landed on his beloved wife, whose eyes were full of attachment and emotion. A certain part of his heart softened again. He had not desecrated love; Chrissy... was just an accident.
And so, the matter was settled.
Su Ning also hadn't expected her goal to be achieved so easily.
With thoughts of "ah, love, love" echoing in her mind, she left.
She left.
She didn't know that in the hospital room after she left, the three of them talked for quite a while longer. When Fernand learned about the agreement between Antonio and Su Ning, he was so angry he almost kicked the bucket right then and there. Seeing the woman's red eyes and his young son's beautiful, handsome face, he suddenly thought of a Chinese idiom—
Gold and jade on the outside, rot and ruin on the inside.
Forget it, forget it.
Even if they truly suppressed Su Ning, Anton would still be no match for those cunning old foxes.
It would be better to let Su Ning take power.
Anyway, with that agreement in place, Anton would be the closest man by her side, and the outside world would also tacitly acknowledge the existence of this relationship. Plus, although Anton lacked capability, he had inherited his own youthful skills in dealing with girls.
Even the most cold and heartless woman would not be able to resist.
Fernand was very confident.
Because the young Anna had a personality quite similar to Su Ning's!
He warned Antonio:
"Before you marry and have a child, you must play the role of a perfect, deeply loving husband. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
Antonio nodded painfully, burying his head in his father's palm, trying to draw strength. He realized with absolute clarity that he was giving up on a love that had yet to arrive.
"It will be alright. Everything will be alright, my dearest son."
Fernand blessed him:
"God bless you. You will have the same good luck that I did."
"Mhm."
Beside them, the woman was already sobbing uncontrollably.
For her severely ill husband.
And for her pitiful son.
......
The door was pushed open.
The people waiting outside all raised their heads in unison. Su Ning didn't even glance at this group of legitimate "princes and princesses." She had barely taken two steps when she was called out to—
"Miss Su."
It was an off-pitch, strange intonation, but it was indeed Chinese. That was the only reason she turned around. She felt like learning English had been a waste of time; she could hear her mother tongue everywhere she went...
Perhaps seeing her surprised look.
The middle-aged "second son" shrugged:
"Don't be surprised. From the day our father fell in love with Anton's mother, my other siblings and I had to add Chinese to our language studies. Because he couldn't bear to let that woman suffer the hardship of learning a language, others had to be the ones to compromise."
"Anton is very much like our father; willing to recklessly sacrifice everything for love."
At this point, his tone turned sarcastic:
"Even if the obstacles are the wife to whom he once made vows before God, and his own flesh-and-blood children."
"But, Su, you are not like that woman. You are like our mother."
"Do you understand?"
