In the car, Sheng Xia stared at her left hand, which was held by Old Madam tightly, while her right hand was held by the Old Man. Then Sheng Xia moved her sight to Old Madam's eyes and Old Man's eyes. Both of their eyes were puffy, the result of too many tears.
Sheng Xia smiled. "When we go back, I think Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen need to compress your eyes with a cold towel."
The Old Man pouted. "What Mr.?" What Mrs.?"
"Yes, yes." The Old Madam also looked displeased. "You should call us Grandpa and Grandma!"
Sheng Xia's eyes widen. She was so stunned, she was almost frozen.
In those days, she was with the Chengs; not once did her biological father ask her to call him Father. But... not long after confirming their blood relation, both the Shen's elders already asked her to call their respective nicknames.
Once again, this was too ironic.
Sheng Xia bit her lips, and her cheeks got a bit redder. "Okay, Grandpa... Grandma..."
"Good girl!"
"Let's celebrate!" Grandpa Shen pulled out his phone. "We need to tell everyone about you!"
Grandma Shen nodded. "And I will prepare the introduction banquet! People from our circle need to know about our real granddaughter!"
"Ya, Shen Yuchen! Call your brothers to go back home! ... No! I don't want to hear any reason that you guys are busy! This is a family matter! Bring your children too! This is a highly important matter! See you at 6!" Grandpa Shen smiled triumphantly.
He knew why he was so happy.
Cheng An was never close to the Shens.
When Cheng An was a baby, they only saw her once, and when they wanted to visit again, there were always many reasons to block their visit to the Chengs. When she was a toddler, the Second Madam Cheng always blocked them when they wanted to meet with Cheng An.
Only when Cheng An was in junior middle school that they met her once again. But only one time, and it ended horribly. His other grandchildren, not even one, didn't like Cheng An. They only met her again when she started senior high school. And it also ended up badly. Even their Little Fourth ended up crying and traumatized.
He and his wife didn't believe that a girl like Cheng An, who loves to smile and looks so innocent, could traumatize others, especially her own cousin. But since they love their grandchildren who were closer to them, they finally rarely contact Cheng An anymore.
It even left a bad taste on him when he realized that Cheng An was very close to the Songs, the maternal family of the Second Madam Cheng.
So, when Sheng Xia asked about their relationship with Cheng An, Grandpa Shen told her everything.
Sheng Xia was shocked.
She just wanted to prepare, if one day the Shens want to meet with Cheng An, she planned to tell them about the switch back then. It was not an accident but a proper plan with many people involved.
Sheng Xia started to wonder what Cheng An did to make her biological cousins hate Cheng An. After all, Cheng An loved being pampered by many people, and to achieve that, she always showed her best self.
Sheng Xia's brows furrowed, almost touching each other.
"What are you thinking, Little Xia?" asked Grandma Shen after her call with the butler.
Sheng Xia pouted. "Just wondering, what's going on in that small head of Cheng An?"
Grandma Shen looked uncomfortable. "Before, because she was Yayi's daughter, I never dug deeper into some of the suspicions, but now... if I remember correctly, that girl was indeed quite smart and has an unsettled mind. But alas, she was closer to the Songs than us, so... we never tried to check more."
"The Songs? If I remember correctly, they also have a company in the capital."
"They do," Grandma Shen lifted her shoulders, "but we have a different circle of friends."
Sheng Xia giggled. Her Grandma was saying that the Songs were not wealthy enough to have any relation with the Shens.
They finally arrived back at the mansion. Grandma Shen immediately looked for the butler to talk about the banquet. Grandpa Shen then invited Sheng Xia to see her biological mother's old albums.
They entered the elevator and chose the fourth floor. The first door Sheng Xia saw was decorated with a lot of stickers. Sheng Xia smiled with amusement. She remembered her bedroom door at the Aldridge. It was also full of stickers.
Seemed like she had a lot of things that they liked in common.
Grandpa Shen opened the bedroom door, and Sheng Xia finally saw the condition of the bedroom.
It was clean and she could feel it that the bedroom was kept clean and tidy. There was no dust in sight.
Sheng Xia walked toward the balcony and saw a lot of white flowers.
"Your mother loves white. See the wallpaper and the interior? They are all white based and most of the stuff she has is also white in colour," said Grandpa Shen. "How about you, Little Xia? What color do you like?"
Sheng Xia touched one of the flowers that swung with the wind. "I like red. I like strong color."
Grandpa Shen smiled proudly. "That is a nice color."
Be strong, and don't let some man fool you.
Grandpa Shen opened a drawer and pulled out three albums. "These albums were the ones that Yayi has approved to be shown to others. The other albums are hidden in my study. I will let you see it later."
Sheng Xia laughed and sat beside Grandpa Shen. She peeked at the photos in the album. She was mesmerized.
Before she met Elaine, she didn't have any photos of her. There was no baby photo at all. That was one of her regrets about being switched back then. But if she thought more, if she wasn't switched back then, she would be miserable, living with that kind of father and stepmother.
While the two focused on the albums, Grandma Shen came and joined them. The three of them enjoyed the morning in Yayi's room until lunch was ready.
At the dining table, Sheng Xia poured some soup for Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen, enjoying the warmth she got from the elders. While they enjoyed their lunch, a voice came from the door.
"Who are you?"
Sheng Xia put her spoon down and glanced at the newcomer. A handsome teenager with a rebellious aura walked to the dining table and sat across from her.
"Little Feng! You don't have class today?" Grandpa Shen frowned, "You don't skip class, right?"
Grandma Shen called the waiter to prepare a set of utensils for her grandchild. "Little Xia, this is Shen Lingfeng, your cousin. He is a colleague student majoring in psychology."
"Cousin?!" Shen Lingfeng screamed in disbelief. "You-you adopt a grandchild? At this age?"
Grandpa Shen widened his eyes in anger. "What adopt? Are you insane?"
"Then, how can she become my cousin?!"
"Use your head!"
"I did use it!"
"It's probably your brain is too small!"
"Hey! Don't insult my brain! I was the third champion on the National College Entrance Examination!"
Sheng Xia lifted her brows.
Not bad.
Grandma Shen sighed in annoyance. "Enough, both of you! Don't you embarrass in front of Little Xia?"
Sheng Xia laughed and handed a cup of water to Grandpa Shen.
"Look at your cousin! She isn't like you! Always flare my anger!"
"That's not my fault! Grandpa! You are just biased!"
Sheng Xia was amused. This grandpa and grandson combo was amusing. They banter with each other, but it was still obvious they were family.
"She is your Aunt Yayi's daughter!" said Grandpa Shen, feeling his blood boiling.
"What?" Sheng Lingfeng looked at Sheng Xia with disbelief. "Then, what happened with that witch, Cheng An?"
"What do you mean by 'the witch'?" said Grandma Shen, disapproving. "So far, we only know that they were switched back then. Your Grandpa is still investigating. But! It's true that Sheng Xia was your blood-related cousin. Take care of her, okay?"
Shen Lingfeng still stared at Sheng Xia and didn't move even an inch. "You... you look so much like Auntie and Grandma! So that's why!"
Sheng Xia grinned. "Thanks."
"Hey! Isn't that mean that the witch wasn't my cousin? That's wonderful news! Older Brother Cheng will be very happy when he hears this!" Shen Lingfeng looked happy. He pulled out his phone and started to chat with his Fourth Brother.
Grandpa Shen sighed and shook his head. "Why do you always call Cheng An the witch? It's not proper!"
Sheng Lingfeng sneered. "I told you many times, Grandpa. That woman is evil! I bet she knew all along that she wasn't related to us. If not, why was she so close with the Songs?"
Sheng Xia almost wanted to applaud. This boy indeed has a good head.
Sheng Xia started to wonder again.
What did Cheng An do to make her cousin so hostile toward her?