The day the Derby was held, it was sunny.
Sheng Xia and Zhao Jingfeng went to their destination by helicopter, cutting the time on the road. They arrived in the morning when the gate just opened. Since Li Chengyu had already checked their seats, both of them strolled through the food stall. Sheng Xia bought a few dishes while Zhao Jingfeng took a bite from her food.
"Your assistant is quite capable. I heard the Royal Seats were hard to get since they used a lottery system."
"Really? Well, it's probably thanks to your luck."
Sheng Xia pouted. "How can you throw it to my luck?"
Zhao Jingfeng took another bite at Sheng Xia's takoyaki. "This is good."
Sheng Xia sneered. "I am glad you like it."
After strolling to their heart's contents, nope, to Sheng Xia's heart content, they went to the parade ring. Sheng Xia was so excited that she felt hungry again after watching the horses.
So they strolled through the food stall again.
Sheng Xia could feel that the man beside her wanted so much to laugh at her stomach's capability. Tsk.
After Sheng Xia fulfilled her hunger, they went to their designated seat. Because they got the best seat, the view was good. Sheng Xia looked at the machine and smirked.
"Hey, Leon, do you want to compete on who is the best at betting on horses?" asked Sheng Xia, her eyes glimmering with confidence.
Zhao Jingfeng lifted his brows, then smirked. "Sure."
"Let's go! I will win this time! You'll see!"
"Mm." Zhao Jingfeng glanced at Sheng Xia with amusement in his eyes.
But, from Race 1 to 10, Sheng Xia only won 4 times, Zhao Jingfeng won the rest. Sheng Xia gritted her teeth, and she almost couldn't believe her luck.
Damn it. My Luck has left the chat group!
Sheng Xia slumped at her table. Her confidence has left her. She peeked at Zhao Jingfeng's face, and that man had a little smile on his face.
Sheng Xia pouted.
"There are two more races. Do you intend to give up?"
Sheng Xia stood up. "No way!"
"Good."
Four hours later, they arrive at their hotel. Zhao Jingfeng looked at the angry back of Sheng Xia.
"Let's go on the rooftop. They have a good eel here."
"Don't wanna!"
Zhao Jingfeng sighed, but his smile didn't disappear. "Or do you want me to make you a tomato's noodle?"
Sheng Xia stopped at her feet. She turned and looked at Zhao Jingfeng in disbelief. "You can cook?"
"Yes, I can. I studied abroad, remember?"
"What does that have to do with cooking?"
"Sometimes I miss my hometown's food, but theirs was a little bit lacking. So I learned how to make them."
"Aaah, I got you. I was lucky enough that we had a housemate who was a master chef."
"Yes, you are lucky."
Sheng Xia grinned. "I know, right? Sometimes, I think all my luck has been used when I met Sister Su."
Zhao Jingfeng's eyes cast down.
Sheng Xia grabbed Zhao Jingfeng's hand, causing Zhao Jingfeng's eyes to widen. "Let's go! The faster you start cooking, the faster I eat!"
"Okay," said Zhao Jingfeng, smiling.
They arrived at Zhao Jingfeng's room, and Sheng Xia nodded when she saw the counter was already full of ingredients.
Sheng Xia sat on the stool, and Zhao Jingfeng rolled his sleeve. Sheng Xia blushed when she saw Zhao Jingfeng's hands. She started to wonder why she felt a little bit shy even though she had seen a lot of men's skin before, usually at the beach.
Sheng Xia pouted and pulled out her phone the she realized there was a new chat from Elaine. Sheng Xia immediately opened the chat.
Elaine : I heard you are watching the Derby right now?
Elaine : There is something that I want to talk to you about
Elaine : When you have free time, contact me, okay, dear?
Sheng Xia immediately video called Elaine. After three seconds, the call was accepted.
"Evening, dear." A beautiful woman popped up on Sheng Xia's phone. There were many flowers behind Elaine. Sheng Xia could even see a bird flying in the background.
"Evening, Sister Su!"
"How is the Derby?" Elaine smiled.
Sheng Xia smiled. "The race was amazing, although my champion didn't win. I hope the horse will win in the next race."
"Good to hear."
"So, what is it that you want to talk to me about?"
Elaine's eyes cast down, and her smile faded a little.
"I know that you were disappointed by the Chengs. I even knew you planned to use your vacation time on things unrelated to the Chengs. But..."
Sheng Xia's smile almost disappeared in an instant when she heard about the Chengs coming out of Elaine's mouth.
Elaine sighed, and a ding rang out, notifying Sheng Xia with a special ringtone that there was an email from Elaine.
"I sent you some information about a family. There wasn't much since the family was quite capable at protecting their information, but once you read it, you will know why I sent this."
Sheng Xia opened the email, and her hand froze.
Shen Family.
She remembered her biological mother's name was Shen Yayi.
Shen, from the Shen Family.
Sheng Xia read the information, one by one.
Her mother was the youngest of four. She and the third one were twins. She was also the only daughter of the Shen. Shen Yayi was spoiled but thanked to her strict mother, Sheng Xia's maternal grandma. Shen Yayi was famous for her personality. She was cheerful, refined, and wise.
Shen Yayi has a lot of suitors, but somehow, her biological father succeeded at winning her over. The Shen Family was against it at first, but when they saw that their daughter had already had her in the oven, they relented.
Her biological father was a startup company owner. Many people speculate that he married her mother to get support for his company. After all, the Shen Family has Shenjin Group.
And in the end, her mother passed away less than a year after her marriage.
Sheng Xia broke out in a cold sweat.
She remembered that Cheng An was older than her by a few days.
She didn't want to speculate about other people in a bad way, but this coincidence was too much.
Sheng Xia spaced out, and Elaine, on the other screen, tried to wake her up, calling her a few times. But Sheng Xia was just too lost in her speculation. Until someone patted her shoulder.
Sheng Xia turned her head and saw Zha Jingfeng with a worried expression.
"Why are you crying?"
Sheng Xia touched her face and finally realized, she was indeed crying.
Sheng Xia wanted to explain, but nothing came out of her mouth.
This is rare.
For her, being cool-headed was needed all the time. She was commanding a lot of people, and their fate was on her shoulders.
But this realization about her mother's fate made her feel lost.
She didn't know what to do.
The only thing she knew now was the knowledge of why the Chengs were so cold to her.
Sheng Xia sneered.
She would investigate this.
If all was good, then she would just go back to her daily routine. Just went back to be Stella Aldridge.
That's all.
But, if her speculation turned out to be true, she wouldn't let the free.
Nobody could exploit her, nor her family and friends.