Sheng Xia took a breath and entwined her fingers. "Well... I don't mind telling you about him since all of my family and friends knew about this. I also think you know about this person. We met at a project auction, and then he defeated me twice. At first, I respected him, then I started to find his amazing traits and... somehow... I just realized, he was quite an amazing person."
Shen Linfeng sneered. "Was he that amazing?"
Sheng Xia nodded. "I think so. After all, he was also Cheng An's crush."
"What?!" Shen Lingfeng and Shen Yaoqi shouted like some ghost scared them.
"Who the hell is this man? Capable of ensnaring you and that witch?" Shen Lingfeng brushed his hair.
"I am sane, you know." Sheng Xia threw a pillow at him.
"So... who is he?" Asked Shen Yaoqi while staring at Sheng Xia with gritted teeth.
"He is... Zhao Jingfeng."
Then, Sheng Xia could feel the silence that grew in the room.
"Zhao Jingfeng from Capital Zhao Group?" Asked Shen Yaochen with twitching eyes. He couldn't believe his cousin had a crush on that flower in the mountain.
"Yeah. You know him, right, Brother Yaochen?"
Shen Yaochen laughed derisively. "We were from the same generation and were classmates in a senior high school class."
Sheng Xia's eyes started to sparkle. "Really? Can you tell me how he was when he was a teenager?"
"Why should I tell you?" Shen Yaochen lifted his brows. "He is a bastard who knows nothing about women. You will be disappointed."
Shen Yuchen sneered. "Aren't you the same? I have never seen you with any girlfriend. Are you sure you are okay?"
Shen Yaochen looked at his father in disbelief. "Father, wasn't my Mother your first woman, too?"
Shen Yuchen sneered again. "Do you forget your age or what? Twenty-nine! At least I already have two sons at your age."
"I- Just leave me alone," hissed Shen Yaochen, feeling disheartened.
Ruan Yaning, who sat beside Sheng Xia, smiled while looking at her husband and oldest son banter.
After assuring Sheng Xia that a girl needs to love themselves more before loving others, the meeting was dismissed. Sheng Xia thought to herself that this was a result she probably had to accept because of her mother's actions in the past.
She knew the Shens were just worried, and coincidentally, she had no problem when they were curious about her crush. Somehow, she even ended up a little bit sad. If her biological mother were married to a reliable man, maybe she would have a different life trajectory. Being loved by her family and her husband.
Sheng Xia ate her breakfast while answering many questions about her life in Country A. After that, Ruan Yaning introduced Sheng Xia to her four-year-old daughter, Shen Qingyan. The little girl was so cute, Sheng Xia almost couldn't help herself.
"Are you my new cousin?" asked the little girl with twin ponytails. Her face was a combination of her father's and her mother's.
Sheng Xia lowered her body and smiled dotingly. "Do you mind if we shake hands?"
"Shake hands?" Shen Qingyan looked at her hands and offered them. "Here."
Sheng Xia grabbed the little girl's hand and was mesmerized by how soft it was. Then, Sheng Xia started to wonder if her cousin, Brother Yaochen, was married at the same time as her Uncle Yuchen, that cousin of hers would have a child as old as this cute cousin.
Sheng Xia really wanted to ask her cousin.
Brother Yaochen, why are you still single? Are you really okay?
That day, Sheng Xia and both her aunts, plus Shen Qingyan, went on a shopping spree. Sheng Xia was amused by the power of her aunts at shopping, which was better than hers. After satisfying their shopping needs, they chose a restaurant for lunch.
Because the restaurant didn't have a private room, they chose a table near the window.
"Let's order!" said Wen Kexin, while flipping the book menu. "They really have an authentic taste!"
"I am so hungry," lamented Sheng Xia while smiling, "it's been a long time since I was tired because of shopping."
"Does your Mom like shopping, too?" asked Ruan Yaning.
"She does. But she was a fast one. She only shops for an hour, two max. Usually, she enters a shop, looks around, points out the stuff that she likes, pays for it then goes to the next shop. So, it was quite fast in my opinion."
"Wow." Ruan Yaning felt amazed.
Not long after they ordered their food, the appetizers came. While they ate, a few women's voices drifted from the table not far from them.
"Is that true?" exclaimed one of the four women, sounding agrieved.
"It's true! My Dad's company actress told her manager about it. It was really Zhao Jingfeng!" said the other woman, who was the source of the topic. "She said Zhao Jingfeng was with a woman!"
Sheng Xia almost choked on her food. Ruan Yaning and Wen Kexin looked at each other.
"Do we know that woman?" asked another woman.
"No, but the manager was able to find out her identity."
"Really?"
"I am so sad. I thought he would be single for life!"
"What are you talking about? Man like Zhao Jingfeng will eventually marry, you know?"
"Yep, yep. Well, first, we need to know if that woman will be the future Madam Zhao or just a plaything," said another woman with a face full of schadenfreude.
The woman who held the source information pouted. "I don't think they were playing at all."
"Why?"
"Quick! Tell us! Tell us!"
Sheng Xia's body almost wanted to float to the next table, but her pride stopped her urges to joining their conversation.
Wen Kexin whispered to Ruan Yaning with disbelief. "So, coincidence. We just asked Little Fifth about her crush, and here we are, hearing his love life."
Ruan Yaning furrowed her brows. "But, who is this woman who was capable enough to catch him?"
"I am curious, too. He is as legendary as our Yaochen."
Ruan Yaning laughed. "What do you mean?"
"Being single and out of reach, even if they were almost thirty?" teased Wen Kexin.
Ruan Yaning shook her head, feeling amused.
"So," said another woman at the neighbouring table, feeling impatient. "Who is this woman?"
The woman who started the conversation sighed. "She was quite capable. She has her own company. People said she was beautiful, too. Here, I brought a magazine where she was chosen as the cover."
Instantly, the four women who sat at that table crowded around the magazine.
"Wow, she is pretty."
"But, not that pretty."
"Number 1 businesswoman in tech? Damn~"
"She must be rich."
"But as a madam of a wealthy family, being a housewife is better tho."
"Well..."
At this time, Sheng Xia started to feel something was wrong.
"Stella Aldridge? Is she not from our circle?"
"Yeah, she lived in Country A."
"Isn't that hard to have a long-distance relationship?"
"Well, probably."
"Doesn't that mean it's still not necessarily that they will marry in the future, right?"
"You are right."
"True, true."
All four women looked happy and tried to convince themselves.
In Sheng Xia's table, the silence was loud.
Ruan Yaning and Wen Kexin stared at Sheng Xia with amused eyes, while Shen Qingyan ate her food happily.
Sheng Xia's eyes went around, trying to avoid her aunt's gaze.
"Little Fifth," called Ruan Yaning softly. "Do you mind explaining this information?"
Sheng Xia remembered her mom's gaze every time she talked about Zhao Jingfeng, and now, that gaze could also be seen in her two aunts' eyes.
Sheng Xia broke a cold sweat. Hmm, why am I nervous?