Sheng Jiaoyang got up early the next morning in high spirits. Today, she was even more meticulous with her appearance than the debutante party she"d had in her past life. Her hair was styled until not a single strand was out of place. From her makeup to the colour of her fingernails, the silk neckband that adorned her neck and the shoes on her feet, everything was chosen with the utmost care.
She applied a final layer of lip gloss before looking at her exquisite appearance in the mirror. The corners of her mouth lifted up slightly as she smiled at herself confidently before turning around and walking out of the room gracefully.
At the staircase, she met Lilith, who was preparing to go upstairs and urge her to wake up. When Lilith saw her, her face revealed an obviously stunned look.
"Good morning, Lilith," Sheng Jiaoyang raised her head and smiled, automatically greeting her.
"Good morning, Miss Xu!" Lilith replied while smiling. "You look extremely beautiful today!"
"Thank you!" Sheng Jiaoyang nodded and expressed her thanks naturally.
In the dining room, Shen Zhining was sitting at the table holding an iPad, browsing the latest finance and economics news. He heard footsteps, but he still didn"t raise his head to look until the coy words of, "Dear, good morning!" entered his ear. Only then did he glance over to see a tall girl smiling at him sweetly. Her beautiful appearance really gave him a new impression of her, but her words…
It really made him want to throw her out!
Sheng Jiaoyang"s smile stayed on her face as she sat down on the other end of the table. Seeing that the person in front of her was still staring at her, she blinked her eyes with the ill intention to act cute. It successfully made Demon King Shen throw her a distasteful glance, making her smile all the more merrily.
"Dear, what are we eating for breakfast today?"
Shen Zhining narrowed his eyes, seemingly thinking of something. Contrary to what she expected, he beared it and didn"t pay any heed towards her, only indicating to Felix that breakfast could be served.
Felix stood to the side and saw that his boss didn"t eat much. Deeply concerned, he took a step forward and asked, "Boss, is today"s breakfast not to your taste?"
"No." Shen Zhining stood up and headed for the door.
"Dear, when is your grandfather and grandmother arriving?" Sheng Jiaoyang hurriedly stood up, taking advantage of the time when Shen Zhining past her to coquettishly ask him.
Shen Zhining stopped, raised his hand, and pinched her chin as he looked her straight in the eye. He lowered his voice as he clearly enunciated each word, "Listen here, your task is to settle them, not to disgust me!"
Sheng Jiaoyang blinked her eyes and with the same lowered voice, replied, "After I finish my task, how will you prove that you won"t pursue what happened in the past?"
"Prove? You only have a single road left to walk right now. Do your work properly first!" Shen Zhining once again went to walk outside with a cold expression.
"Right, I"m doing it now. But, if we don"t show we"re intimate, who"ll believe we"re in true love?!"
Shen Zhining"s footsteps paused for a while, but he didn"t even turn his head before walking out of the dining room.
Sheng Jiaoyang laughed before sitting down and continuing to slowly eat her breakfast. She took little bites out of the sandwich, her eyes half-narrowed. Innumerable thoughts pa.s.sed through her brain. Disgust? You haven"t seen genuine disgust yet! I"ve only injected an inoculation. The moment she thought about Demon King Shen being disgusted until he didn"t want to continue, but still having to keep a calm and collected appearance, her mood was buoyant.
After she"d finished breakfast, Sheng Jiaoyang moved to the living room"s sofa and played with her phone. She saw a lot of text messages that countless people had sent her. A few people that she was closer with, for example, w.a.n.g Wei, Luo Yi, and Pu Mingyu, whom she"d went on the National Supermodel show together with, sent a message asking whether she"d met with any problems. She replied to each and every one.
Once she"d finished replying to the messages, Sheng Jiaoyang leaned against the sofa. Suddenly, she remembered that Liu Lu had asked her about her Weibo yesterday. She was idle, so she registered for an account and started to decorate her Weibo.
When she heard the booming sounds gradually approaching, she saw Shen Zhining coming down from upstairs.
"Have they arrived?" Sheng Jiaoyang stood up.
Shen Zhining glanced at her, then walked outside. "Catch up."
Sheng Jiaoyang hurriedly followed him.
The island was constructed with a smooth and s.p.a.cious runway. At this moment, a private plane slowly descended, sliding for a segment before stopping.
The cabin of the plane slid open.
Originally, Sheng Jiaoyang was standing side by side with Shen Zhining. When she saw Andy Flynn walking down the stairs, she immediately jogged over to lend an arm to support her.
"Grandmother Andy, ever since I met you in London, I"ve really missed you. I didn"t think that I"d have a chance to see you again. I"m so happy!" Sheng Jiaoyang wore a sincere smile on her face as she said this.
Fu Lailin patted Sheng Jiaoyang"s hand, using standard mandarin to say, "I"m also very happy to see you again."
Shen Zhining walked over and looked at Daisy, who was supporting Grandfather Shen as he walked down the stairs. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "Why is Daisy here?" Or in other words, why is Daisy here again?
"Daisy was heart-broken by you, so I brought her out to relieve her boredom. Am I not allowed to?" Grandfather Shen"s tone was unyielding.
"…" Shen Zhining couldn"t refute him.
Daisy raised her chin arrogantly, but when she saw Sheng Jiaoyang, who was happily talking with Fu Lailin, her complexion turned dark. Even though the faces of people from the East looked very similar to each other in the West people"s eyes, she still remembered this girl with short hair. After all, in her social circle, n.o.body ever dared to refute her before. It was hard to forget about her.
Sheng Jiaoyang paid no attention to the killing intent in her eyes. Instead, she looked towards Grandfather Shen, who was still trying to figure her out, and greeted him in a lovable way, "h.e.l.lo, Grandfather Shen!"
Grandfather Shen nodded in response, but his expression didn"t change. His gaze was very sharp as he looked at this young girl, attempting to pressure her into withdrawing. He wanted to make her realise her own worth and take the initiative to leave his grandson.
"Woof~" A dog"s bark sounded.
Sheng Jiaoyang"s eyes shone as she turned her head towards the plane"s cabin and saw a bodyguard holding two ropes, each one linked to a dog. One of the dogs was entirely white with pretty fur, and the other dog"s back was black.
"Xiong Zi!" Sheng Jiaoyang shouted with surprise.
The German shepherd suddenly struggled and freed itself from the bodyguard"s hand. Under Sheng Jiaoyang"s gaze, it ran until…it was beside Shen Zhining"s legs.
This little thing that forgets its owner! Sheng Jiaoyang felt sour in her heart. The dog, which she"d painstakingly raised, now only recognised another person as its owner. What was she supposed to do?
Shen Zhining touched the German Shepherd"s head, his gaze sweeping past Sheng Jiaoyang. "It"s too sunny outside, let"s go inside the house."
Everyone took a seat in the living room. Felix had Tom serve beverages and refreshments.
The husband and wife pair, Fu Lailin and Grandfather Shen, sat together on one side, while Shen Zhining sat on the individual sofa. Daisy glared at Sheng Jiaoyang, each occupying one end of the sofa.
Fu Lailin felt the tense atmosphere and took the lead to improve the mood. "Jiaojiao, are you going to school now?"
"Jiaojiao? She"s also called Jiaojiao?" Grandfather Shen looked at Sheng Jiaoyang, astonished.
"Grandfather Shen, my name is Xu Jiaojiao," Sheng Jiaoyang automatically explained.
"Oh. How old are you this year? What"s your family"s occupation?" Once he"d opened his mouth, Grandfather Shen talked politely, starting to inquire about her.
"I"ll turn 18 during New Year"s Eve, and there"s only me and my mother at my household. My mum is currently on vacation, she doesn"t have to work."
"You haven"t reached adulthood and you"re from a single parent family?" The expression in Grandfather Shen"s eyes changed. "How did you and Zhining meet each other?"
"I met Zhining when I was selling my paintings. He really liked my art, so afterwards, we exchanged contacts with each other." Sheng Jiaoyang opened her eyes wide as she fabricated a story.
Grandfather Shen looked towards Shen Zhining, wanting to verify the credibility of the story through him.
"Yes, early on it was her paintings that attracted me," Shen Zhining said.
He didn"t think that his grandson would also be a literature and art person. Grandfather Shen could only say, "Then, could you take out your paintings to let us admire them for a while?" He wanted to see what kind of paintings this young girl could paint, unexpectedly able to attract his cold grandson.
Sheng Jiaoyang looked towards Shen Zhining. She didn"t have any paintings that she could show them.
Shen Zhining looked at her faintly, his complexion unchanging as he said, "I want to keep her paintings only for me to admire."
Sheng Jiaoyang couldn"t help but s.h.i.+ver when she heard that, and she rubbed the gooseb.u.mps on her arms.
Grandfather Shen stayed silent.