Sheng Jiaoyang switched on her phone and saw a number of missed calls. Apart from Xu Qing’s call, the rest were all from the ex-boyfriend.

She ignored the missed calls and went to read her text message records. Indeed, there was a text sent to Xu Qing, which was no different from what Ning Xiaoruan had said.

“I was wondering, little girl, aren’t you afraid of being kidnapped?” Ning Xiaoruan asked as he drove.

Sheng Jiaoyang cast a sidelong glance at him. “Why don’t we try it on you and let you experience it for yourself?”

“No!”

“You people are such a pain in the ass. Why didn’t you just ask me nicely? Was it necessary to use this trick to kidnap me? How do you know that I won’t cooperate?” Sheng Jiaoyang asked unhappily.

Cough cough…Ning Xiaoruan choked on his saliva.

“Don’t blame me! This was Brother Nan’s idea.” Ning Xiaoruan quickly found an excuse.

Sheng Jiaoyang snorted. “Brat! You’re an adult, but your brain resembles a child’s!”

She was now particularly fearless as she wasn’t afraid of being investigated by them. No one would believe such a supernatural occurrence, and Xu Jiaojiao’s body was an unalterable fact.

“I’ve seen it, you really are Jiaoyang’s biggest fangirl. Even that poisonous tongue of yours is the same,” Ning Xiaoruan sighed.

Sheng Jiaoyang suddenly realised that this fool might know of her own body’s physical situation, and asked, “I…how’s my idol now?”

“Because of you, she still hasn’t woken up.”

Did Xu Jiaojiao disappear? Sheng Jiaoyang’s brow furrowed slightly, and when she thought of Xu Qing sitting at home, she felt stifled.

…She had to find out more about her family’s situation. Sheng Jiaoyang once again asked, “Grandfather…I mean, Jiaoyang’s grandfather, is he okay?”

“I didn’t hear anything bad. With Jiaoyang like she is now, how could Grandpa Yang dare to do anything?”

Sheng Jiaoyang was silent.

“If it weren’t for you being one of Jiaoyang’s fans, you would definitely be killed by my cousin.”

Sheng Jiaoyang didn’t answer.

The car was so quiet that Ning Xiaoruan felt uncomfortable.

“Why are you suddenly so silent?”

“I have nothing to say to you,” Sheng Jiaoyang replied dismissively.

“…”

Ning Xiaoruan muttered, “You silly girl, who’ve you learnt all these bad habits from?”

“Is…is there anything wrong with acting like my idol?” Sheng Jiaoyang glared fiercely at Ning Xiaoruan. If you dare to say yes, I’ll kill you!

Ugh! Ning Xiaoruan shuddered under her glare. This girl really is worthy of being Jiaoyang’s biggest fangirl. She doesn’t tolerate anyone saying anything bad about Sheng Jiaoyang.

Once they arrived at the entrance of Ming Hua Garden, Sheng Jiaoyang exited the car.

“Hey, you haven’t told me how you knew that Jiaoyang didn’t like my cousin yet!” Ning Xiaoruan honked the car horn before asking Sheng Jiaoyang.

“She told me!”

“But, she doesn’t know you! Hey, don’t go-”

Sheng Jiaoyang entered the neighbourhood without looking back.

When she entered the house, Sheng Jiaoyang found that the living room light was still on.

“Jiaojiao, you’re back!” Hearing the door open, Xu Qing awoke and stood up from the couch.

“Why haven’t you gone to bed yet?” Sheng Jiaoyang looked at the clock on the wall. It was already 1 am in the morning.

“I was waiting for you.”

“Didn’t I send you a message telling you not to wait up for me?”

When she heard her daughter’s harsh tone, Xu Qing became a little upset. Clutching the hem of her clothes, she stammered, “I-I’ve made some red bean porridge for you…”

“Have you had dinner yet?” Sheng Jiaoyang’s tone eased.

“I’ve eaten already. Go sit down and I’ll get some for you.” As she spoke, Xu Qing entered the kitchen.

Of course, Sheng Jiaoyang was hungry. She hadn’t eaten anything in the evening, she’d had her blood drawn, plus she was on her period; she was close to collapsing.

With a bowl of soft and sticky red bean porridge filling her belly, Sheng Jiaoyang was almost moved to tears.

It was like the saying ‘The child without a mother is like a stem of grass, while the child with a mother resembles treasure’. In the past, she’d had a nanny who took care of the house. Then again, it was just an employment relationship, so no matter how good the nanny was, it wasn’t possible to treat her like her own child.

Xu Qing had served a common bowl of porridge made with red beans, boiled glutinous rice, and a little brown sugar. There was no secret skill involved in cooking it, and the taste was homely. But, it was the homely taste that made the porridge seem precious because it reminded her of home.

“Hurry up and go to sleep or you’ll ruin your beauty,” Sheng Jiaoyang urged Xu Qing.

“Alright, then you should quickly wash up and rest as well.” Xu Qing didn’t wait for Sheng Jiaoyang to reply as she picked up the empty bowl and headed towards the kitchen.

Sheng Jiaoyang pursed her lips and chuckled, her bad mood due to the day’s events disappearing.

She had a good night’s sleep.

When she got up in the morning, breakfast had been set on the table.

“So early!”

“Didn’t you say that you wanted to go back to the modelling competition early this morning?”

“Mhmm.” Sheng Jiaoyang smiled.

“How do you feel today? Would you like to take a day off?” Xu Qing asked with concern.

Sheng Jiaoyang peeled an egg and took a bite. She shook her head and said vaguely, “It’s okay, I feel much better today.”

After breakfast, she leaned against the kitchen door frame and watched Xu Qing wash the dishes.

“Don’t work there anymore.”

Xu Qing froze. She turned her head and asked nervously, “Jiaojiao, you found out?”

Oh, it’s supposed to be a secret. Sheng Jiaoyang cocked her eyebrow slightly, and said calmly, “You don’t tell me anything, so I had no choice but to find out myself.”

Sheng Jiaoyang told Xu Qing to not go back to work because when she saw Xu Qing the day before yesterday, she’d felt that there was something she was worried about. Also, with how Xu Qing kept herself busy these days, her worries must have something to do with the place where she works.

“I’m sorry, Jiaojiao, Mother didn’t mean to conceal it from you. But, I didn’t want you to be unhappy after hearing it all.”

“If you don’t tell me anything, I’ll be even more unhappy,” Sheng Jiaoyang said sadly. She silently gave her acting skills 32 points.

Xu Qing became anxious and quickly said, “I promise, I won’t conceal anything from you again in the future.”

“Uh huh, then confess everything to me right now!” Sheng Jiaoyang said lazily.

Xu Qing stared blankly for a moment before she realised that she’d been tricked by her daughter. She laughed helplessly. She didn’t know where to start.

Seeing Xu Qing’s overwhelmed expression, Sheng Jiaoyang wondered what problem would make her unhappy after hearing it.

Suddenly, she had a thought.

Could it be…?

“No, you don’t need to tell me. You’re a maid at that scummy man’s house!”

Xu Qing cautiously looked at her daughter and saw a shark-like smile on her face. She felt worried.

“Jiaojiao, I won’t go there again.”

Sheng Jiaoyang wished that she could pull on Xu Qing’s ear and scold her. How could she be so tactless?! Even though she wanted to find a job, she didn’t have to find it as a maid in her ex-husband’s house, okay? If Sheng Jiaoyang ever reached such a low point in her life, she’d go and throw a DNA test in the scummy man’s face and demand he backpay years worth of child support.

If he dared to refuse she would turn his life upside down!!!

“Remember what you just said, and don’t go there again. I’ll help you register for a yoga class, no, I’ll book you a tour group first. You should go have fun and relax.”

If Sheng Jiaoyang said that she would do something, she’d do it. So, she got her phone and started looking for a travel agency.

Xu Qing opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say. She had no choice but to let her daughter have her way.

The decisive Sheng Jiaoyang then bundled Xu Qing up and sent her to the travel agency, all in a very short period of time. Meanwhile, she leisurely reached the assembly point designated by the program team.