Twist of Fate - Chapter 32

After spending a few days on edge, Xie Jing suddenly received a message from her aunt.

The message said she had returned to China. There was a problem with the company, and this time, she might have to stay for a while.

Upon reading the message, Xie Jing quietly made up her mind to return to China as well.

Shen Xinghe hadn’t been back in two full years, so she didn’t hesitate for even a second. She packed her bags immediately and boarded a flight home with Xie Jing.

.

The day they landed in Jiangcheng, a light drizzle was falling from the sky.

The moment Shen Xinghe’s parents saw them emerge from the airport, they hurried over to greet them.

“Dad, Mom, it’s been a while.” Shen Xinghe waved and smiled brightly.

Xie Jing followed politely and greeted them, “Hello, Uncle, Auntie.”

“You two finally decided to come back.” Shen’s mother pulled Shen Xinghe into a tight embrace and burst into tears, drawing the attention of many passersby.

“Mom, let’s wait until we get home to talk, okay?” Shen Xinghe, still holding her luggage, was nearly knocked over by the sudden hug.

“Alright, let’s all go home.”

Xie Jing declined their kind offer to give her a ride. She had already arranged for a driver before boarding the plane. Uncle Chen, her family’s chauffeur, was waiting for her at the airport.

As she watched the family of three walk away, Xie Jing couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.

“Let’s go home, Uncle Chen.”

The black Bentley drove through the streets and crowds, heading toward a house that was now empty.

After two years away, stepping back into the courtyard where she had spent over twenty years filled with memories made Xie Jing’s heart ache uncontrollably.

The car accident back then had been far too sudden—there was no time to save anything before everything was lost. Later, the leukemia diagnosis completely shattered the last strand of hope, leaving Xie Jing’s world spinning and unstable.

She walked through every inch of the house, trying to find traces of her parents after these two years.

The floral curtains, the filled sink, the roses her mother had planted, and the bonsai her father had bought—these things used to be so common, yet now they seemed like rare treasures.

Just as she was lost in her memories, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

It was her aunt calling.

“Xie Jing, Xinghe said you’ve already returned?”

Xie Jing: “?”

Shen Xinghe sold her out that quickly?

“Hmm? Why so quiet?” Her aunt’s voice over the phone carried a teasing, almost scolding tone. “You had the guts to sneak back behind my back, and now you’re pretending to be all quiet?”

“I’m sorry, Auntie…” Xie Jing murmured.

There was a short silence, then her aunt spoke with a sigh, “Now that you’re back, stay at home and don’t run around.”

Xie Jing nodded obediently, “Okay, I will.”

Click.

Staring at the abruptly ended call, Xie Jing froze for a moment, sensing something odd.

Since when did Shen Xinghe get so close with her aunt?

She thought it over but couldn’t figure it out.

Shaking off her scattered thoughts, Xie Jing stepped into the house.

She hadn’t forgotten the real reason for returning. She first asked Uncle Chen about the current situation at Xie Group and then did some online research herself.
What she found was nothing short of a nightmare.

Ever since her parents’ accident two years ago, the company had gone downhill fast. Failed decisions, consistent losses, biased policies, broken capital chains, overdue debts, insolvency…

Everything pointed to two crushing words:

Bankruptcy.

While Xie Jing had been abroad for treatment, her mother Xie Ruzhuo’s business partners and shareholders had struggled desperately to keep the company afloat for two years.

But recently, they simply couldn’t hold on anymore. The company had finally collapsed.

Xie Jing’s aunt, Ms. Pei Anle, had become the legal representative of Xie Group after her parents passed away. Her sudden return to China was to handle the bankruptcy proceedings.

“Something this big, why didn’t anyone tell me earlier?” Xie Jing was stunned.

Uncle Chen glanced at her cautiously, “You didn’t ask.”

Expression blank, Xie Jing waved him off.

Once he left, she checked the local news, and sure enough, reports of Xie Group entering bankruptcy liquidation were already circulating.

Wanting to understand the full extent of the debt, Xie Jing secretly visited the company—only to be caught by her aunt.

Pei Anle said, “You don’t need to worry about the company. I’m already seeking funding.”

Xie Jing glanced at the desolate office building and asked skeptically, “You’re planning to take it public? In this situation, do you really think anyone will back us?”

“That’s not your concern.” Ms. Pei handed her a cup of hot tea and gently pushed her onto the office couch. “Sit here for a while, I have work to do.”

Still uneasy, Xie Jing opened her contacts, hoping to find someone her parents once knew who could help.

But her phone had been destroyed two years ago, and along with it, all her connections were gone.

Two years later, other than Shen Xinghe, she didn’t know who else she could even reach out to.

She opened WeChat and managed to log in to her old account.

The top pinned contact made her heart skip a beat.

Qin Ning.

Xie Jing stared at the name for a moment before, almost involuntarily, opening the chat.

It was empty. The phone switch had wiped all chat history.

For some reason, the blank screen made her feel hollow inside.

“What’s wrong, Xie Jing?” Pei Anle looked up from a document and noticed Xie Jing dazing out on the couch.

“Nothing.” Xie Jing quickly exited the chat with Qin Ning and scrolled through her contacts. But no matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t find anyone who could pull her out of this mess.

With a sigh, she said, “Auntie, it’s stuffy in here. I’m going out for a bit.”

“Be back by six,” Pei replied, already buried in another pile of paperwork.

Xie Jing agreed and left the office.

She found her aunt’s assistant and asked more about the company. Upon learning that everything—including the Xie family’s assets—was about to be auctioned off, she felt her heart tighten.

This was it.

She was about to lose everything.

For twenty years, life had been smooth sailing. She never imagined a day would come when her family would go bankrupt. She couldn’t lift heavy things or do manual labor—how was she supposed to support herself?

Her illness had already disrupted her plans for graduate school. With just a bachelor’s degree, could she even land a decent job? Would she be able to afford her medication?

For the first time in her life, Xie Jing was truly worried about survival.
.

By six o’clock, Pei Anle picked her up from the office—but instead of heading home, the car drove in a different direction.

“Auntie… is our house gone already? Are we going to rent somewhere to live now?” Xie Jing asked cautiously.

Pei Anle burst out laughing, “What are you imagining? We’re just going to have dinner with Shen Xinghe. Don’t scare yourself.”

“Oh…” Xie Jing clutched her seatbelt quietly, though her mind was still stuck on what the assistant had said: all their belongings were about to be liquidated.

What were they going to do?

.

To thank Shen Xinghe for looking after Xie Jing recently, Pei Anle had invited the entire Shen family to dinner. Xie Jing spent most of the meal distracted and barely touched her food.

Shen Xinghe had heard about the impending bankruptcy too. She desperately wanted to help—but simply didn’t have the means.

Her family’s company wasn’t even half the size of Xie Jing’s. There was nothing they could do.

Still, she whispered to Xie Jing, “It’s okay. If you really go broke, I’ll take care of you.”

Xie Jing looked up at Shen Xinghe, then at her aunt. After a pause, she shook her head gently.

“But, Xie Jing,” Shen Xinghe leaned in mysteriously, “remember Qin Ning? She’s doing really, really well now. If you just… explain everything clearly, maybe she’ll help you for old times’ sake.”

Shen Xinghe had learned about this by chance. Qin Ning now worked for Fang Group, a highly successful, publicly traded company in Jinghai. If she stepped in, Xie Group might not only survive but even make a comeback.

The only issue… was Qin Ning herself.

Shen Xinghe knew this might be difficult. The way things ended between them hadn’t been pleasant.

But there really weren’t any other options.

After dinner, Xie Jing returned home with her aunt.

That night, lying in bed, Xie Jing kept thinking about what Shen Xinghe had said. If she really went to Qin Ning, would Qin Ning be so angry she’d chase her out with a broom?

Probably.

Who goes to their ex for money two years after breaking up?

That’s insane.

Qin Ning probably had a new girlfriend by now. Showing up like that would just be asking for humiliation.

She’d be a laughingstock.

Xie Jing thought about it all night and only fell asleep at dawn.

She woke up at two in the afternoon, groggy and dizzy.

She hadn’t had any transplant rejection symptoms in a while—was she getting sick again?

Before she could figure it out, Uncle Chen came in carrying a tray of light food.

“Thank you, Uncle Chen.”

After eating, she wandered around the courtyard again. As she walked, a bold idea suddenly popped into her mind.

She would go see Qin Ning.

She couldn’t let the house her parents left behind be auctioned off.

If Qin Ning was willing to help, she’d do anything in return—not just take a few hits with a broom, she’d even work for her like a servant for a year or two if needed.