While the grandfather-and-granddaughter pair were busy showing their concern for one another, Grandfather Shen, on the other hand, was furious after witnessing his grandson being beaten.
"Old Yang, why did you hit Zhining without distinguis.h.i.+ng between right and wrong first?" Grandfather Shen was panting with rage.
Grandfather Yang coldly glared at Shen Zhining and said, "You tell them yourself; do you deserve to be beaten or not? You shouldn"t interfere in my family"s affairs again, nor are you allowed to ever approach Jiaojiao in the future!"
"Old Yang, you"re going too far. Zhining only did this for you, fearing that you"re being deceived."
"No wonder he"s your grandson! Even your words are the same." Grandfather Yang laughed sarcastically.
Fu Lailin hurriedly came forth to mediate and said, "Old Yang, I"m sorry that this has happened. Ning was indeed wrong, but seeing how he did this out of concern, please forgive him this time and don"t be angry…"
Grandfather Yang interrupted Fu Lailin, "Listen carefully, Jiaojiao is my granddaughter! My own granddaughter!"
"What?" Grandfather Shen was surprised.
Grandfather Yang didn"t explain further and merely asked An Jing to take Jiaojiao along with them.
"Grandfather Yang," Shen Zhining finally spoke.
He moved one step and blocked An Jing"s way. He then turned to look at Grandfather Yang and calmly said, "Jiaojiao"s fever just subsided, and it won"t be good if she catches a chill outside."
Seeing that Grandfather Yang was about to break off the two families relations, Sheng Jiaoyang hurriedly said, "Grandfather, I just caught a cold and got a fever. Everything else is fine."
"Besides, Zhining was taking good care of me earlier and even bought me porridge." She didn"t want her grandfather to break all friendly ties with the old friends he"d known for decades just for her sake.
Grandfather Yang finally noticed the broken bowl and sprinkled porridge on the ground. He glanced at Shen Zhining with a softened expression and said, "In that case, let"s wait until you"ve had your flu shot before we go home."
"Can you all leave for a moment? I"d like to have a word with Jiaojiao alone."
Everyone other than Sheng Jiaoyang was kicked out of the room.
Outside the room, Grandfather Shen asked, "Old Yang said that Jiaojiao is his own granddaughter. Could it be that Old Yang has an illegitimate daughter? An Jing, you"ve been with Old Yang for a long time, so you must definitely know the ins and outs."
Everyone"s gaze was suddenly on An Jing.
"It"s up to Grandfather whether he wants to share more or not," An Jing calmly said.
Fu Lailin looked at the taciturn Shen Zhining. "Ning, why were you so impulsive this time? It"s so unlike you."
It was indeed very unlike him to be so impulsive. As Shen Zhining thought of this, a glint flashed in his eyes. Normally, he"d consider everything in detail before he made a move, and he"d never give up halfway.
"Ning, did you do anything to Jiaojiao?" Fu Lailin solemnly asked.
"What could I possibly do?" Shen Zhining laughed at himself. He then turned around and went upstairs.
Grandfather Shen frowned and tilted his head to say, "Andy, Zhining has changed. Did you notice?"
A smile blossomed on Fu Lailin"s face as she said, "If that"s the case, it"s fine with me."
In the room, Grandfather Yang was staring at Sheng Jiaoyang.
"There are no outsiders here now, so tell me the truth, what did Zhining do to you?"
Sheng Jiaoyang hesitated. Seeing how Grandfather Yang had flown into a terrible rage for her sake, she didn"t know if she should tell the truth or not.
Grandfather Yang was very sharp, so he immediately saw through Sheng Jiaoyang. "Jiaojiao, are you not willing to tell even me?"
"Yesterday, I was locked up in a dark room by Shen Zhining, but then he brought me out of there without asking me anything. It"s just that it was a bit cold in that place, so I caught a cold." What Sheng Jiaoyang had just said was a bit of an understatement as she didn"t mention how scared she was when she was locked up.
"Is that really all of it?" Grandfather Yang asked, not believing her entirely.
He"d really gone overboard this time! Sheng Jiaoyang pouted. She was certainly traumatised by this incident. No, in fact, she"d even developed a fear of the dark.
But…
"Well, he…" Sheng Jiaoyang bit her lower lip and she looked away slightly as she added, "I was hungry and he personally fed me porridge."
This time was different from the last time. Before this, she"d fallen ill after filming the rain scene and was hospitalised. Ning Xiaoruan had also been present. Shen Zhining had fed her porridge back then to put on a show for Ning Xiaoruan. However, this time he did it voluntarily. He didn"t even ask her and sat down by the bed and fed her spoonfuls of porridge. After feeding her one bowl, he"d then ask her if she was full. If she wasn"t, he"d continue feeding her some more. At that time, she was dumbfounded and didn"t know what he was thinking at all.
Upon hearing that Shen Zhining had personally fed her porridge, Grandfather Yang was shocked. "Has he discovered your ident.i.ty?"
Sheng Jiaoyang blinked. "I don"t think he has, but I don"t know why he suddenly stopped targeting me."
After a long moment of silence, Grandfather Yang unhurriedly said, "Zhining"s character is too complicated. Fortunately, you don"t like him. In the future, you must find a simple-minded boyfriend. If that"s the case, I can rest a.s.sured."
Sheng Jiaoyang didn"t share her thoughts on this matter. Someone simple-minded, huh? Well, Lin Yu is simple-minded, but she could only see him as a friend. Although she admired that kind of gentleman, she wouldn"t entrust her life to a man merely because she knows that he"s a good person. She has to like him as well!
Grandfather Yang didn"t ask further and left the room. He had to settle the score with Zhining in case he goes mad on another day and hurts Jiaojiao again.
Sheng Jiaoyang stared at the door for a second before sighing. After sighing, she didn"t know what she was sighing for.
"Where"s Zhining?" Grandfather Yang asked when he didn"t see Shen Zhining.
"He went upstairs," Fu Lailin replied.
"An Jing, go and get Zhining. I must make some things clear to him."
In the room, Sheng Jiaoyang only heard this part. She didn"t know what they talked about afterwards. Nevertheless, she didn"t see Shen Zhining when she left with her grandfather.
When she got home, she happened to run into Xu Qing and Li Weiqi, who were about to go out. Xu Qing didn"t know about Sheng Jiaoyang being kidnapped. She only noticed that her daughter"s complexion didn"t look so good, and asked with concern, "Jiaojiao, are you tired from work?" She thought that Sheng Jiaoyang had gone out of town to promote her work like last time.
"A little bit." Sheng Jiaoyang quickly changed the subject and asked, "Are you going somewhere?"
"We"re going to pick up Weiqi"s parents at the airport."
"An Jing, ask the chauffeur to drive them to the airport," Grandfather Yang instructed.
"There"s no need. Weiqi drove his car here in the morning. We"ll just drive there ourselves!" Xu Qing quickly waved her hand and declined.
"Alright then, be careful on your way," Sheng Jiaoyang said.
"Okay. Jiaojiao, you should rest early," Xu Qing urged.
Watching the two figures leaving hand in hand, Sheng Jiaoyang"s lips curled into a smile.
"Jiaojiao, quickly go and have a good rest," Grandfather Yang also urged.
"Alright, I"ll go back to my room now and have a rest. I"ll go right away!" Sheng Jiaoyang immediately obeyed and went upstairs.
Grandfather Yang withdrew his gaze and instructed, "An Jing, go contact the best security company. In the future, whenever Jiaojiao goes out somewhere, we must ensure her safety. Arrange four bodyguards to follow and protect her in public, and arrange a dozen more to protect her in secret."
"Okay, got it!" An Jing complied.
When Sheng Jiaoyang returned to her room, she kept having the feeling that she"d forgotten something. When she lay down on the soft bedding, she suddenly remembered that she"d stood Director Cen Jin up!
Although it wasn"t intentional, it was now a fact that she"d stood him up. It no longer mattered whether she could act in the movie or not. Since both of them were part of the entertainment industry, they might run into each other eventually. Thus, she"d better give him a call and apologise.
Immediately after, she realised something else.
She"d forgotten to take her phone with her!
"This is really…" Sheng Jiaoyang covered her eyes, speechless at herself.
Forget it, she"d just buy a new cell phone tomorrow.
In the evening, Sheng Jiaoyang and Grandfather Yang met Li Weiqi"s parents. They weren"t much older than Grandfather Yang, but they looked much younger.
"I still can"t believe that we"re about to become in-laws!" Mr Li excitedly said.
"This must be fate," Grandfather Yang smilingly said.
The two families sat around the dining table, laughing and chatting.
Li Weiqi"s parents" comments made it obvious that they approved of Xu Qing. How could they possibly not approve of her now? If a piece of gold was delivered to you, no matter how ugly-looking it was on the surface, its intrinsic value was very tempting.
They"d rushed over to attend Mr Yang"s dinner banquet. After Mr Yang officially acknowledges Xu Qing as his daughter at the banquet, the person their son would marry would be Mr Yang"s daughter. If that"s the case, they didn"t need to worry about people gossiping about the status of their daughter-in-law anymore.
The banquet was held as scheduled. Although it was a bit rushed, everything was well-prepared. Considering the fact that Grandfather Yang had sent a lot of invitations, it was estimated that at least 90% would attend even if some people couldn"t make it. Therefore, the dinner was held in the most luxurious and s.p.a.cious banquet hall of the hotel. There was enough s.p.a.ce to accommodate all of the guests. Drinks and food had been prepared in advance, and the security was all in place.
"Wow, Xu Qi, all of them must be rich people, right?" Zhang Aiyan hooked her arm around Xu Qi"s and followed her future parents-in-law into the banquet hall. She exclaimed when she saw all the luxuriously dressed guests.
Liang Dahui, who was walking in front of her, felt embarra.s.sed when she heard this. She turned her head and berated in a low voice, "Don"t make a fuss about nothing and stop acting as if you"ve never seen the world before!"
Zhang Aiyan stuck out her tongue and murmured, "It"s true that I"ve never seen anything like this before."
Xu Qi involuntarily nodded. He"d also never seen anything like this. His aunt was truly lucky! She"d actually become a rich heiress at her age. There"s no one who can beat her luck.
Liang Dahui stared at the beautifully dressed young heiresses before sweeping a glance at Zhang Aiyan, her future daughter-in-law. Aside from her looks, how else could she possibly compare with those heiresses? How could someone as outstanding as her son have such a useless wife? Only the young ladies here were worthy of Qiqi.
"Dear, did you ask Xu Qing yet?"
Xu Ze guiltily smiled and said, "There"s no rush. It"s not too late to ask her after she"s been officially acknowledged."
Liang Dahui pointed to a certain spot and exclaimed, "Isn"t that Xu Qing"s boyfriend? Are his parents standing next to him? Come, let"s go say h.e.l.lo!"