Chapter Sixty-Four: Excuses

After someone recklessly teased Shen Zhining, the entire carriage suddenly became so quiet that everyone could hear each other breathing.

Then, a phone rang abruptly.

Sheng Jiaoyang, as if released from a spell, quickly stepped back, took out her phone, and saw it was Luo Yi calling. She glanced at Shen Zhining, who was expressionless and seemingly lost in thought, and answered the phone.

When she heard Luo Yi ask where she was, she was overjoyed and quickly asked their location. After hanging up, she tossed out "I'm leaving" and fled.

Shen Zhining stared at the closed car door, a thoughtful glint in his dark eyes. He placed his right hand on the back of his left hand, both resting on his lap, his fingertips lightly tapping the back of his hand.

Suddenly, he seemed to understand something and smiled silently.

A feigned retreat?

Truly cunning.

A lion, full but lacking toys, catches a fox. Should it kill it immediately, or keep it to play with until it's satisfied?

Of course, it should keep it for now.

The premise is that the fox's behavior is enough to attract the lion's attention.

Meanwhile, someone who thought everything was fine after leaving sneezed just as she reached the wax museum entrance. She rubbed her nose, completely unaware that she had just gotten herself into trouble.

Three people were quietly eating breakfast at a rectangular table.

If Sheng Jiaoyang were here, he would immediately recognize them as Shen Zhining, Grandpa Shen, and Grandma Andy.

Just as they were eating quietly as usual, suddenly Freylin said to Shen Zhining across from her, "Ah Ning, if you have a girl you like, you must tell Grandma!"

The other two stopped and looked at Freylin, their synchronized actions making Freylin secretly amused.

"What's going on?" Grandpa Shen asked in a deep voice.

"Nothing's going on," Freylin blinked, denying it.

Why would she suddenly say that if there's nothing going on? Grandpa Shen looked doubtful, only to be met with his wife's innocent face.

Unable to get an answer from his wife, Grandpa Shen turned to his grandson, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No," Shen Zhining replied.

Grandpa Shen nodded. "Don't always run around like that. Don't forget you have so many capable people under you. Yubuda has told me more than once that his granddaughter can't find you every time she comes to visit, and she suspects you're deliberately avoiding her."

Even now, he wouldn't admit it! Shen Zhining put down his knife and fork and said, "I like people who can cook and have a gentle personality."

"I heard Yubuda's granddaughter is a very good cook and even owns her own restaurant," Grandpa Shen retorted.

"Most importantly, she has to have a gentle personality."

"I think she's quite gentle in front of you," Grandpa Shen changed his tune after being looked at lightly by his grandson's gaze. "I'll take you to meet Andergulie's daughter sometime; she's known for her good personality."

"I like gentle women with black hair and black eyes who can cook all kinds of Chinese food, like my mother."

"Your mother has been gone for over ten years. How could you possibly remember her?" Grandpa Shen didn't want to hear any more excuses.

Shen Zhining didn't speak, only looking at the old man with an unreadable expression.

Seeing the atmosphere suddenly turn so awkward, Freyline quickly came out and said, "Ah Ning, I think that little girl from yesterday was quite nice."

"What little girl?" Old Master Shen frowned.

"A Chinese girl with black hair and black eyes," Freyline added.

"What's her family background?"

Before Freyline could speak, Shen Zhining interjected, "Poor family, single-parent."

"No way!" Old Master Shen said firmly.

Shen Zhining smiled and leaned back in his chair, "But I just like her."

Freyline's eyes lit up. Ah Ning really was interested in that little girl; it seemed she wouldn't have to worry about him remaining a bachelor forever.

Old Master Shen, however, was furious and stormed off to his study, wanting to avoid seeing her.

"Ah Ning, your grandfather just has this bad temper, don't mind him! If you really like that little girl, bring her back to your grandfather sometime. She's lively and lovely; your grandfather will like her after spending some time with her," Freyline said before going to her study to coax him.

Shen Zhining raised his hand, the back of his hand pressed against his lower lip, concealing the smile at the corner of his mouth.

Inside the airport, a group of people hadn't even reached the entrance when they heard shouts from afar.

"What's going on? What's going on?" Xiao Yang was startled.

"It must be fans coming to pick up their idols. Judging from the shouts, it seems there's more than one celebrity," Luo Yi said.

Sheng Jiaoyang didn't participate in the conversation; her expression clearly showed she was lost in thought.

As they got closer, they heard more shouts.

They could now see what was happening outside: a crowd of people, various name tags held high, shouting their idols' names at the top of their lungs, as if they were all drunk.

Even with such commotion, Sheng Jiaoyang's attention remained unmoved, but she was jolted awake the next second.

"Jiaojiao, Gu Zhou is here too!" Luo Yi teased in a low voice.

"What does that have to do with me?" Sheng Jiaoyang replied in a completely unexciting tone.

"So, do you like Ye Fan, or Qi An? Or perhaps Zhongli Xiaozuo?"

Sheng Jiaoyang looked at Luo Yi with a bewildered expression.

"Aren't any of these seven celebrities your favorites?"

"Why would I like them?"

Luo Yi choked. If she didn't like these top male stars, who else could she like? Suddenly, Luo Yi remembered Sheng Jiaoyang's unusual behavior when he met Lina, and felt she understood something.

Seeing Luo Yi's gaze becoming strange, Sheng Jiaoyang decisively turned his head away, ignoring her.

They boarded the bus the production crew was waiting for outside the airport, but the bus didn't move. Several staff members were missing, and the driver told the three of them to sit in the back, as if someone else was coming. The three of them found it strange.

After a while, the familiar shouts of enthusiastic fans grew louder. Just as Luo Yi and the others looked out the window, a group of people surged onto the bus, and then the bus started moving.

"That was close! My clothes almost got torn." A clear male voice suddenly rang out on the bus.

"Ah, Ye Fan!!!" Luo Yi exclaimed.

"Hey beauties! Mind if we hitch a ride?"

"Not at all!"

Ye Fan deliberately went to the back, wanting to chat with the beauties a bit more, when suddenly he stared at Sheng Jiaoyang for a few moments, then turned and called out to the back, "Fourth Brother, come quick, your little girl is over here!" Xiao Yang

and Luo Yi both looked at Sheng Jiaoyang. Saying it's nothing, who would believe that?

"Fourth Brother, when did you have a daughter out of wedlock?" The most adorable Zhongli Xiaozuo exclaimed upon hearing this.

"..." Gu Zhou, caught in the crossfire.

Ye Fan chuckled and kindly reminded him, "Xiaozuo, have you forgotten the Weibo post Fourth Brother made last time?"

"Ah! Is it that girl who's so good at drawing? Where is she?" Zhongli Xiaozuo, curious, immediately ran to the back, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the three faces.

"She's not here!"

"She just dyed her hair black." Ye Fan suppressed a laugh.

At this moment, Gu Zhou also came to the back. He looked at Sheng Jiaoyang and greeted her, "Hello, Xu Jiaojiao."

I'm not hello at all! Disturbed from his rest, Sheng Jiaoyang pursed his lips.

"Fourth Brother, now I believe it, there really are young girls in this world who won't buy into your act," Ye Fan chimed in.

Gu Zhou smiled helplessly.

In an office, Tan Jie, who had almost broken his back with an over-the-shoulder throw by Sheng Jiaoyang, was standing in front of his desk being reprimanded.

"What's wrong with you? Tan Jie, can't you even handle such a small matter now?" Sitting in the boss's chair was an older middle-aged man, whose body was even more fleshy than the obese Tan Jie.

"President Peng, I've tried my best, but that bitch is so stubborn, and she even hit me..."

"You have the nerve to say that? You were hit by a teenage girl, and the worst part is you couldn't beat her."

What could Tan Jie say?

"Alright, you can leave now!"

"What about Xu Jiaojiao..."

"I'll have someone take care of things. Since she doesn't want to sign with our company, then we'll make sure she can't sign with any company!"

"President Peng, I know someone who's a professor at F University. Do you want me to put in a good word for her?" Tan Jie asked tentatively.

"Go ahead. Someone said the worse she suffers, the better. If your friend does it, he'll naturally get some benefits."

Tan Jie smiled knowingly, and walked out of the office with that sinister smile.