Chapter Twenty-Six Ranking

"Tell me honestly, who was that guy who tried to hit you? What's your relationship with him?"

Sheng Jiaoyang asked immediately after leaving Jiao's private restaurant.

Having found a sense of security in her daughter's unwavering protection, Xu Qing no longer treated her daughter like a child.

Her daughter was grown up; some things couldn't be hidden anymore.

"He's your father," Xu Qing said calmly.

Sheng Jiaoyang blinked, her mouth slightly open, wanting to say something but unsure where to begin.

So, the scumbag man she pushed to the ground was this body's biological father?

"When your father divorced me, he didn't know I was pregnant with you. Actually, I didn't know at the time either. Later, after I was depressed and went to the hospital, the doctor told me I was pregnant. After finding out I was pregnant, I decided that no matter what, I would give birth to you and raise you smoothly."

"You didn't tell that person you were pregnant?" Sheng Jiaoyang couldn't understand Xu Qing's actions. She should at least have paid some alimony. Look at that man, dressed so well, able to eat at Jiao's house—he must be quite wealthy, right?

"I originally wanted to tell him, but at that time he wouldn't even see me, and he quickly married Jiang Yin."

"So, he had an affair with another woman while still married, and then divorced you?"

Xu Qing nodded sadly.

"What a scumbag!"

Sheng Jiaoyang sighed, then couldn't help but ask, "You must have been quite pretty when you were young, how did you end up with this crooked tree?"

"He was my senior, and he was very good to me back then, you could say he was incredibly attentive. He was a popular figure at school, and my classmates were so envious of me." Xu Qing smiled, reminiscing about fond memories. Sheng Jiaoyang

listened silently, thinking, "Sure enough, beware of your senior."

"When he was about to go off to do his internship, he proposed to me, saying he wanted to settle our relationship completely, and I said yes."

"Wait, you mean you got your marriage certificate before you even graduated?"

"Yes."

"It sounds like he couldn't wait to marry you. If he liked you so much back then, why did he treat you like that later?"

Xu Qing's expression darkened, and she said sadly, "He gradually changed after he started working. It was common for him to socialize until the early hours of the morning. I advised him not to work so hard, but he got angry at me instead. After that, he stopped talking to me about anything related to work. Then one day, I went to a party with my classmates and stayed out late. When I got back to our place, I saw him sitting in Jiang Yin's car, and they..."

At this point, Xu Qing suddenly choked up, clearly the scene she hadn't finished describing had hit her hard.

Sheng Jiaoyang understood without her having to finish.

She understood how Xu Qing felt back then. When she saw the person she liked being intimate with someone else in front of her, she was also in turmoil, feeling utterly tormented. This was just the person she liked, but Xu Qing witnessed her husband's infidelity.

“Jiang Yin’s family must be rich. She’s out of her mind to actively seduce a married man!”

“Back in school, Jiang Yin also bothered him, but he wouldn’t even look at her. In just one year, they became so close. I don’t know what happened in that year to change everything.”

“Is the company he interned at Jiang Yin’s family’s?” Sheng Jiaoyang asked pointedly.

Xu Qing paused, then nodded.

“That explains it. Men are easily changed by their environment once they enter society. He works at Jiang Yin’s family company, and Jiang Yin is interested in him, so it’s no wonder things got messed up.” Sheng Jiaoyang said dismissively.

Seeing Xu Qing’s distressed expression, Sheng Jiaoyang took her arm and said, “It’s right that you didn’t tell him about me. It’ll save you from the embarrassment of him crying and begging for forgiveness when I become successful!”

“Mm.” Xu Qing, who was increasingly reliant on her daughter, had no objection to Sheng Jiaoyang’s words. Instead, she felt reassured. Now, she wasn’t afraid of anything because she had her daughter’s support.

"Hurry, hurry, I feel like my period is coming soon."

After buying sanitary napkins at the convenience store, the two went back.

"Jiaojiao, get up and drink some brown sugar water." Xu Qing carried a cup into the room and said to Sheng Jiaoyang, who was curled up on the bed like a corpse.

"I don't want to drink it." Sheng Jiaoyang frowned. Her period had come on strong and had overwhelmed her in no time.

The original Xu Jiaojiao was indeed young, but her body was in terrible shape. Her endocrine system was severely imbalanced, and her period felt like a death sentence. For someone used to being pampered, it was the cruelest punishment.

"Drink some, it will make you feel better." Xu Qing looked at the weak Sheng Jiaoyang and felt very sorry for her.

Sheng Jiaoyang sighed weakly, propped herself up to sit up against the headboard, took the cup from Xu Qing, and gulped down a few mouthfuls of brown sugar water.

"Rest a little longer, I'll go make some food." Xu Qing patted Sheng Jiaoyang's head.

"I don't want to eat."

"Then Mom will make you some porridge?"

"Okay."

Watching Xu Qing's departing figure, Sheng Jiaoyang suddenly felt that being Xu Jiaojiao wasn't so bad after all. She hadn't experienced the feeling of being cared for by her mother for far too long. No matter how much wealth or how good the living conditions, nothing could compare to the love and care of family.

Perhaps it was just psychological, but she didn't feel so bad at the moment.

She picked up her phone and started browsing the internet.

Entertainment news about Mei Niu was repetitive and repetitive, with the reasons for her breakup with George being nothing more than speculation by entertainment editors: finding someone new, a third party interfering, or even George's family objecting.

Unable to find more information, she clicked on a news article titled "[Choose Your Favorite Supermodel]," which displayed a series of vertically arranged photos, each labeled with a number and name.

At the bottom was a link to vote on the official website.

Sheng Jiaoyang, bored, clicked the link.

She then saw the real-time voting results and was surprised to find herself in sixth place, only 20 votes behind fifth.

Ahead of her was Pu Mingyu, fourth was Xiao Yang, and Luo Yi was third. Second place was held by internet celebrity Yin Meiling, but the most unexpected winner was

Qi Hua!

And her votes were far ahead, more than a thousand votes ahead of the others.

Yin Meiling was already an internet celebrity with a certain level of popularity before participating in the supermodel competition.

Luo Yi and Pu Mingyu have been in the modeling industry for several years and each have their own fan base, so their rankings were expected.

Xiao Yang has an international face, and her temperament and runway style are quite good. She's the kind of person who stands out and is easily remembered. Many people are optimistic about her, and it's really impressive that she ranked fourth without any established popularity.

But Qi Hua ranking first was very surprising.

Qi Hua is spoiled and arrogant, and these days she's been provoked to the point of being constantly angry. It's impossible for her to have such high popularity. Yet, she's in first place, and she's far ahead on the first day of voting. She wouldn't believe there wasn't something fishy going on.

Sure enough, her feeling was right. Qi Hua has a powerful backer, and if nothing unexpected happens, Qi Hua will be sent to the finals.

Sheng Jiaoyang narrowed her eyes, a hint of something intriguing in them.

The world is never short of surprises.