This weekend was Sheng Qianxue's sixteenth birthday. Recently, Sheng Qianxue hadn't been targeting Sheng Qianling or making a fuss with him, and Sheng Wenbo's guilt grew heavier and heavier. Thinking about it, he realized that bringing Sheng Qianling directly back to the villa without consulting Sheng Qianxue had truly wronged her. Given her naturally domineering and proud personality, it was normal she couldn't accept Sheng Qianling.
With two days until her birthday, Sheng Wenbo decided to throw a proper celebration for Sheng Qianxue, inviting all her classmates and friends to the house for a lively party to give her face.
He'd been thinking a lot lately after calming down. What he did had indeed made it difficult for his eldest daughter to hold her head up at school. Especially facing the increasingly well-behaved Sheng Qianxue, countless waves of guilt surged up, and even his sympathy for Sheng Qianling dissipated considerably. Qianling was pitiful, but his eldest daughter Qianxue had also been wronged.
When she heard Sheng Wenbo wanted to throw her a big party, Sheng Qianxue wasn't particularly happy. She was especially busy now—busy studying during the day, busy practicing oral English with Shorty, and having video calls with her mom at night. She had no energy to pay attention to Sheng Wenbo and Sheng Qianling.
However, when he asked, she said, "Dad can decide."
Seeing Sheng Qianxue's lack of interest, Sheng Wenbo felt even more guilty. "Then I'll have people prepare. We'll make it really lively this weekend. On that day, our Qianxue will definitely be the most beautiful princess."
"Fine." Sheng Qianxue answered. She glanced at her watch—it was almost time for her call with her mom. "Dad, do you have anything else? If not, I'll go back to my room."
"Why the hurry?" Sheng Wenbo wanted to connect emotionally with his eldest daughter, suddenly realizing that Qianxue, who used to love clinging to him, had become much more distant. "It's still early."
"But I'm a bit tired. As for the birthday party, Dad can handle it."
Sheng Wenbo could only nod. "Alright then. What gift do you want? Dad will buy it for you."
"Dad can decide."
Sheng Wenbo was getting a headache. He thought Sheng Qianxue was angry with him, but she looked completely calm, not like she was sulking. He hesitated—could it be that his eldest daughter had truly matured?
"If you don't say what you need, Dad doesn't know what to buy you. You must have something you like, right?" Sheng Wenbo persisted. Actually, he really wanted to have a good talk with Qianxue, to connect emotionally. He didn't want to grow distant from Qianxue because of Qianling. Thinking about how they used to talk about everything, then looking at the current situation, he felt very disappointed.
Sheng Qianxue looked up. "I'm the Sheng family's eldest miss—what could I possibly lack? If Dad doesn't know what to buy, why not just give me money? When I figure out what I want, I'll buy it myself." Money was the best thing. She was learning investment and stock trading from her mom lately, so asking her dad for startup capital made perfect sense. Besides, Shorty had a huge appetite. She especially liked buying delicious food for Shorty. If she didn't earn more money, how could she support Shorty?
Sheng Wenbo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "So Qianxue has become a little money lover. Fine, Dad will give you money to buy things yourself. But if you think of something you need, just ask me directly."
Sheng Qianxue responded and went upstairs.
Sheng Wenbo watched her retreating figure and couldn't help sighing. Just then, Sheng Qianling returned. Seeing his worried expression, she asked with concern, "Dad, why do you look so troubled? Did something happen?"
"Qianling's back. How is your friend?"
Earlier, Sheng Qianling had called to say a friend was injured and she needed to visit them at the hospital, so she couldn't make it back for dinner. That's why Sheng Wenbo asked.
"He's fine." Sheng Qianling answered, her eyes not quite daring to meet Sheng Wenbo's. After all, with her current relationship with Jiang Yanxi, if her dad found out, she didn't know if he'd be angry. "By the way, Dad, why were you sighing just now?"
"Nothing much. I just feel like Qianxue has become much more distant from me."
Sheng Qianling's face paled. "Is it because of my existence that Qianxue has grown distant from Dad?"
Seeing his younger daughter's guilty expression, Sheng Wenbo didn't want to continue this topic. "This isn't your fault. You're still a child—all of this is us adults' fault. I didn't think things through. Qianling, don't overthink it."
"Still, it's because of my existence that Qianxue is unhappy." Sheng Qianling hung her head. "After all, it's because of me that Qianxue's mom left. I'm sorry."
"Qianling, stop saying these things." Sheng Wenbo stood up and patted her head. "Have you eaten dinner?"
"I already ate."
"It's getting late. Go rest and don't think too much. Leave these troublesome matters to me. You're still a child now—you just need to focus on school. I don't want these things to trouble you, and you shouldn't feel guilty. Understand?"
"Mm."
Sheng Qianling obediently returned to her room. Looking back at the man sitting on the sofa smoking, looking somewhat silent, she felt sad. She opened her door, pressing her lips lightly. She didn't want to fight for anything, but Dad was her only relative in this world. So coming back here, she just wanted to receive love from this only relative. But seeing Dad so troubled now, she somewhat doubted whether she'd done the wrong thing, whether she shouldn't have come back. If she hadn't returned, there wouldn't be conflicts with Qianxue, and Dad wouldn't be caught in the middle, troubled.
But to give up this only relative—she truly couldn't bear to.
The Sheng household seemed to grow quieter and quieter, with everyone doing their own things methodically. Without Sheng Qianxue's commotion, everyone was quite unaccustomed. Whenever Sheng Qianxue passed by Sheng Qianling as if nothing had happened, Sheng Qianling would instinctively step back. Later, realizing the other party didn't care about her at all, she felt embarrassed. No matter what topics she brought up or how she spoke with Sheng Wenbo, Sheng Qianxue would at most look up and raise an eyebrow.
She'd occasionally still accidentally be late. Coming down, she'd only see the other party quietly eating desserts, not saying a word against her. She ate slowly, but Sheng Qianxue would never lecture her about being long-winded anymore. When she hurriedly got in the car with her backpack, she'd only see Sheng Qianxue communicating with A-Xin in English. The other party wouldn't give her a single glance, as if she were just air. She often heard Sheng Qianxue's happy laughter. Occasionally glancing over, she'd see Ye Xin's faint smile too. Those two looked truly intimate.
Although the three of them saw each other most often every day, she seemed like just air between them. Sheng Qianxue no longer troubled her. Occasionally hearing her say something, she'd at most snort, then turn and continue talking happily with Ye Xin about something. In short, she could tell—recently Sheng Qianxue was quiet, but seemed very happy about something.
Soon the weekend arrived—Sheng Qianxue's birthday party day. To give her face, Sheng Wenbo invited her classmates, people Sheng Qianxue usually knew, as well as the children of his business partners to the villa to celebrate her birthday. That day, Sheng Qianxue dressed beautifully as always, in a princess dress that Sheng Wenbo had commissioned from a designer specifically for her many days ago.
When he gave it to Sheng Qianxue, he got a "Thank you, Dad."
He stood at the door, watching Sheng Qianxue smile and thank him, feeling somewhat empty inside. In previous years for Sheng Qianxue's birthday parties, he'd always prepared her dresses. Each time before he even brought it out, she'd run to his side, intimately hugging his arm and asking, "Dad, did you prepare a beautiful dress for me today? If it's not pretty, I won't wear it. I'm the dignified Sheng family's eldest miss—if I dress too ugly, I'll become a laughingstock."
Back then, after she got the dress and changed into it, she'd spin in circles in front of the mirror. If she was very satisfied, she'd run to him, happily kiss him, and say, "Dad, you're so good. The dress is beautiful."
But now, when Sheng Qianxue received the dress, she only said thank you.
After she changed, standing in front of the mirror, he asked, "Qianxue, do you like it?"
"I like it very much." Sheng Qianxue answered, her tone distant and polite. "Thank you, Dad. It's beautiful."
"As long as Qianxue likes it." He inadvertently saw the jade pendant around Sheng Qianxue's neck. "When did you buy this?"
"Mom sent it to me—a birthday gift." Sheng Qianxue happily touched the jade pendant. "I'll take some photos to show Mom later. She'll definitely be very happy."
Sheng Wenbo was somewhat surprised. "You've contacted your mom?"
"Yes," Sheng Qianxue said matter-of-factly. "Mom and I are mother and daughter. Even if she went abroad, she wouldn't forget me. We talk every day."
Sheng Wenbo couldn't help asking, "Did she say when she's coming back to see you?"
"Does Dad hope Mom will come back?" Sheng Qianxue looked directly at Sheng Wenbo. "I didn't tell her there's one more person at home. Does Dad really hope Mom will come back here and see an extra person in the villa? If Dad hopes Mom will come back, I'll mention it when I talk to her tonight. I'll say you miss her. I'll help persuade her to come back. Is that okay?"
Sheng Wenbo thought about Xue Xuan returning and seeing Sheng Qianling living here—what kind of scene that would create. He instinctively refused. "Let's not. We all need to calm down. Let's talk about this later. Besides, you know your mom's temperament..."
"Of course I know." Sheng Qianxue glanced at Sheng Wenbo, finally grabbing A-Xin's arm. "Dad, I'm going down. Don't make them wait too long. I also think Mom shouldn't come back for now. Her emotions have finally stabilized. I don't want her to be sad again or worry about me."
She led A-Xin, passing by Sheng Wenbo with her neck held high, still the proud eldest miss of the Sheng family, her arrogance never fading. Before when she used to make a fuss and liked to criticize Sheng Qianling, Sheng Wenbo always hoped she could be quiet and mature. Now that she was quiet and mature, Sheng Wenbo felt uncomfortable again, suddenly feeling Qianxue was so far from him.
Sheng Qianxue, her back to Sheng Wenbo, descended the stairs with an elegant and proud posture. At the turn of the stairs, she said quietly to A-Xin, "See? In his heart, even my mom can't compare to Sheng Qianling. Because he's afraid Sheng Qianling will feel wronged, he says they all need to calm down. So I don't hope Mom comes back at all. If she comes back, she'll only be sad. I hope she can be happy. Since Dad is no longer my old dad, no longer the person who cared about my mom, what's the point of Mom coming back?"
"Qianxue, today is your birthday. You should be happy."
"Happy, I'm incredibly happy. Wearing an expensive princess dress with so many people supporting me. Almost all the young people from prominent families in the city came." Sheng Qianxue raised her chin. "I'm not sad at all—very happy."
But A-Xin still saw the loneliness flash in Sheng Qianxue's eyes. She tightly grasped the other's hand and said gently, "Aunt Xue will always love you, will always be your mom. And I'll always stay by your side."
Sheng Qianxue froze, looking at A-Xin somewhat incredulously. "Shorty, will you follow me for life?"
"Mm."
Sheng Qianxue stared at A-Xin for a while, then laughed softly. "Shorty, you're really a clever little thing. You know following me means no worries about food. After all, you eat so much—following me is indeed a wise move. You'll be glad for your choice. I won't let you starve." Though she spoke mocking words, her lips curved up, and the loneliness in her eyes disappeared, replaced entirely by happiness. This shorty really knew how to please people. Truly worthy of being her person.
Well then, since Shorty said she'd follow her for life, she wouldn't let her go.
When Sheng Qianxue appeared before everyone, she immediately attracted everyone's attention. Seeing the gorgeous princess dress she wore, many eyes showed envy.
They instinctively looked at Sheng Qianling standing to the side, wanting to see something from her face. Sheng Qianling was also looking at Sheng Qianxue. That pride and innate noble elegance Qianxue possessed was something she could never learn. Qianxue could proudly survey everyone, but she couldn't do these things—she still had to work hard to maintain relationships with people around her.
Qianxue could ignore everyone. She couldn't.
Qianxue excelled academically and was outstanding in all aspects. If not for her proud personality, she should be more popular. And she, besides having a gentle temperament and greeting everyone with smiles, seemed inferior to Qianxue in every way. In front of Qianxue, she always felt very inferior.
Jiang Yanxi came too. He saw the loneliness in Sheng Qianling's eyes and patted her lightly. "What's wrong?" When he saw Sheng Qianxue, he just glanced over briefly. He wasn't interested in such young misses. At the Jiang family, he'd seen too many such young misses. These young misses and noble young masters were all especially domineering. Seeing Sheng Qianling's dejected expression, he instinctively thought Sheng Qianling had been bullied at the Sheng house.
"Did she bully you?"
Jiang Yanxi looked at Sheng Qianxue's position with disgust. "Qianling, did she?"
"No, no, you misunderstand." Sheng Qianling quickly shook her head. She nervously tugged at Jiang Yanxi. "Really no. She never bullied me." Only when she first came to the villa did Sheng Qianxue mock her with cold words, but each time the mockery pinpointed her mistakes. Outside, at school, even though Sheng Qianxue disliked her, she wouldn't confront her, much less argue with her in front of outsiders. Perhaps this was Qianxue's pride.
Jiang Yanxi didn't believe Sheng Qianling's words. In his view, these legitimate young misses from big families mostly detested illegitimate children who appeared accidentally, wishing them dead. Just like him—being beaten and harassed by various thugs, wasn't that at those people's orders? Because of this, his gaze at Sheng Qianxue grew increasingly hostile.
A-Xin sensed Jiang Yanxi's gaze, lightly raised her head and glanced over. Jiang Yanxi felt it and stared at A-Xin. A-Xin looked directly back without blinking. Jiang Yanxi hadn't expected this shorty beside Sheng Qianxue to be completely unafraid of him. He assumed A-Xin was just Sheng Qianxue's lapdog who'd also help bully Sheng Qianling.
"Shorty, what are you looking at?" Sheng Qianxue had long noticed A-Xin watching Jiang Yanxi. She said quietly in A-Xin's ear, "What's so interesting about him, hm?"
A-Xin looked away. "I was just glaring at him, not looking."
"Glaring at him?" Sheng Qianxue was puzzled. "Why glare at him for no reason?"
A-Xin explained plainly, "He was glaring at you."
Sheng Qianxue: "..." She glanced at Jiang Yanxi again. This time it wasn't hard to see the disgust in his eyes. She scoffed. "Probably thinks I bullied Sheng Qianling and finds me displeasing. Over-imaginative fool. Does he think I'm those people from the Jiang family?"
The Jiang family's stinking reputation was already famous far and wide. Men throughout the Jiang family almost all had several mistresses outside. Illegitimate children were countless—someone like Jiang Yanxi wasn't unusual at all. But the legitimate young ladies and masters of the Jiang family weren't pushovers. Growing up in constant competition, dealing with these outside illegitimate children—they had various methods of torture. As long as they didn't kill anyone, the Jiang family wouldn't interfere. If illegitimate children had the ability to move into the Jiang house, they wouldn't mind. The Jiang family didn't value character, only benefits.
Sheng Qianxue didn't care about Jiang Yanxi. No problems occurred at her birthday party. Unless they were idiots, no one wanted problems here. If something happened, it would be their own face lost. The Sheng family's eldest miss hadn't fallen from favor—they still needed to curry favor with her. Sheng Qianxue received many gifts but didn't care, not even interested in opening them.
After the party ended, her gaze remained on A-Xin. Seeing A-Xin seemingly show no indication, she really couldn't hold back anymore. "That... Shorty..." Sheng Qianxue's eyes kept scanning A-Xin. "Did you forget something?"
"Forget what?" A-Xin smiled.
Sheng Qianxue pouted and pushed A-Xin. "Shorty, you're really heartless."
"The birthday gift—did you prepare a birthday gift for me?" Perhaps having her image collapse several times in front of A-Xin, she didn't care anymore. She said through gritted teeth, "Don't tell me you forgot to prepare one. Although you're poor, you can afford a few dozen yuan bracelet from a street stall, right? Even if you don't buy a bracelet, going to an accessory store to buy a notebook works too."
Facing the fierce Sheng Qianxue, A-Xin smiled lightly. "I prepared one. It's in your room, in a very large box."
"A large box?" Sheng Qianxue was somewhat surprised. "Did you buy a doll?"
"You'll know when you look." A-Xin didn't explain.
Sheng Qianxue was suspicious but turned back to her room. Sure enough, she saw a somewhat large box on her desk, wrapped too. Looking at its size, it didn't seem like a doll. Usually, boxes containing dolls should have one transparent side, or the outer wrapping should be very exquisite.
This box didn't look very exquisite no matter how you looked at it.
But since it was prepared by Shorty, she was still looking forward to it.
She opened the box full of anticipation. Thinking there'd be some surprise, she lifted the lid, saw what was inside, and her expression changed from surprise to horror.
"Shorty, the box you prepared isn't the one on the desk, right?"
A-Xin stood at the door. Hearing Sheng Qianxue's trembling voice, she answered slowly, "It is that one."
"Not the one wrapped with pink checkered wrapping paper, right?"
"It is the one wrapped with that pink checkered wrapping paper."
"Shorty." It was Sheng Qianxue's voice through gritted teeth. "Are you sure?" Her voice grew increasingly dangerous.
A-Xin answered, "Sure, no problem." She walked in to see Sheng Qianxue holding a thick stack of books and materials, her expression strange. She laughed at her. "Is this the gift you're giving me?"
"Yes. We're about to be in our second year of high school—time is getting tighter. These are all the most classic problem types I worked hard to find, encompassing various difficult problems from recent years. There are also some foreign famous works, development history, cultural history, etiquette books—all very useful for our studies. Didn't you say you were preparing to go abroad?"
Sheng Qianxue: "..." Want to cry—what should I do?
She sighed, put down the books and materials, patted A-Xin's shoulder. "Shorty, you're about to lose me." She pushed A-Xin out of the room. "You've already lost this young miss."
The door closed. She looked at the materials on the desk with a headache. Giving her reference books and practice problems—very good, Shorty. Today we've formed a grudge.
Speechless as she was, she still organized the reference books. Suddenly, at the bottom of the box, she discovered a small box. She hesitated, picked it up, opened it, and was stunned.
It was a beautiful jade bracelet.
She had some eye for these things. One look at this jade bracelet's appearance told her it was very expensive. The bit of disappointment in her heart completely disappeared. She happily put the bracelet on her hand, looked again at those reference books, and felt happy inside. Actually, Shorty was quite creative. Growing up, few people gave birthday gifts like reference books.
Truly worthy of being her person.
The next day in class, Sheng Qianxue's lips kept curving up. Usually serious in class, her peripheral vision kept scanning A-Xin's face. She nudged A-Xin with her elbow, rolled up her sleeve—on her slender, fair wrist hung a beautiful jade bracelet. She said quietly, "Very expensive, right? Did you spend all the money you've been saving? You're really willing to spend."
"Are you out of money?"
"Don't worry. Whatever you want, I'll buy it for you. With me supporting you, you won't starve."
A-Xin glanced at her. "The teacher is looking at you, Qianxue."
Sheng Qianxue quickly straightened her back, staring at the blackboard. Her peripheral vision still on A-Xin's profile. Tsk, Shorty is really cute.