Chapter 5

Yuan Zhongzhou moved closer to Shao Chengze and said, "Last time I already felt it was odd how you knew she was already a mother, seems like there's a story between you two. She's your ex-girlfriend?"

Shao Chengze didn't even glance at him, just pushed his head away.

Yuan Zhongzhou had just been pushed away when he moved closer again. "Or was she your first love?"

Shao Chengze directly kicked him, telling him to get farther away.

Even though he was kicked, Yuan Zhongzhou wasn't angry. The more it hurt from the kick, the more he felt his guesses were correct. Whether she was an ex-girlfriend or first love, she was definitely one of the two.

He stroked his chin and chuckled twice, it seemed his old friend wasn't indifferent towards women, but rather had a great beauty hidden in his heart. The key was this beauty was already married and had a child. In this situation, he should at least feel heartbroken and shed some tears on his old friend's behalf. But why was he so happy instead?

Shao Chengze didn't want to see Yuan Zhongzhou's ugly face, and also didn't want to see the happy family reunion over there.

"Wait here to pick them up, I'm going to the restroom." He threw out a sentence and turned to leave.

It was his grandma's memorial day the day before yesterday. His grandfather had gone back to their hometown for a few days, saying he wanted to accompany his old wife. His flight back was today and he insisted on flying economy class, saying he wanted to "recall the hardships and think of the sweetness", to relive the journey of moving north with his wife from back then.

He was originally too lazy to act out this hypocritical show of deep affection with him, but he had just joined the company and had to at least pretend to be a filial grandson and wise son in front of the board of directors. Since he had to pretend, he might as well do it properly. He arrived half an hour early with his staff to keep up appearances for the old man, so later if he tried to find fault with him again, he could shut him up.

Shao Chengze stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, took out a cigarette and held it in his mouth without lighting it. He couldn't smoke here, he just wanted to use the scent of tobacco to relieve the restlessness in his heart a bit, but this restlessness probably couldn't be calmed down with a whole pack of cigarettes.

The two, one big and one small, didn't seem to want to stop talking. Cheng Jinlan urged, "Save your words for when we get home. Don't keep standing here. Aunt Qu has been busy cooking your favorites all afternoon, she's just waiting for you."

Shi Ran's shoulders stiffened.

Cheng Jinlan added another sentence, "Cheng Jinchuan isn't at Cheng Garden tonight. He went on a business trip temporarily and probably won't be back until Monday."

Shi Ran pretended to smile casually, "He's not a tiger, whether he's at Cheng Garden or not I still have to go eat the food Aunt Qu made."

Cheng Liqi whispered in Shi Ran's ear, "Dad Shi, Uncle isn't a tiger, he's a fickle radish. Grandma said he won't be able to marry his whole life and will have to stay a bachelor in the future." After speaking she imitated Fei Zuhui's manner, sighing deeply and seeming very worried for her uncle's future. Shi Ran's smile reached his eyes. He also whispered in Cheng Liqi's ear, "Let's not mention anything else. You really don't need to worry about this for your uncle. Anyone in this world might not be able to get married, but your uncle definitely will. In the future you'll definitely have a beautiful aunt."

Cheng Liqi tilted her head and thought for a moment. She felt Dad Shi made a lot of sense. "Dad Shi, you're right. Uncle is still very attractive to girls."

"Alright, it's time to go. Grandma will call soon." Cheng Jinlan interrupted the two's conversation. "Cheng Liqi, let mom hold you first. Dad Shi sat on the plane for a long time and is tired."

As soon as Cheng Liqi heard this, she hurriedly had Dad Shi put her down.

Shi Ran didn't let go. Instead he lifted her up higher and said, "You're really underestimating Dad Shi. Not just carrying one of you, even three or four more, Dad Shi can still lift you up. Let's go, mom will lead the way, we're going home to eat yummy food!"

Cheng Liqi hugged Shi Ran's neck tightly, her little butterfly knot barrettes bobbing up and down as she laughed. "I knew Dad Shi is the best!"

Cheng Jinlan couldn't do anything with these two and could only let them be. She didn't bother with them anymore and walked forward by herself. A girl nearby saw her boyfriend come out and hurried excitedly over, but in her haste she bumped into Cheng Jinlan, not holding her milk tea steady. It spilled all over Cheng Jinlan's clothes. The girl was stunned for a moment, and kept saying sorry while taking out napkins and offering to pay for dry cleaning.

Cheng Jinlan's brows furrowed slightly, not because of the dirty clothes. The girl's milk tea had ice in it. The icy wet clothes sticking to her skin felt very uncomfortable since she was about to get her period. But she didn't say anything, just told the young lady to hurry and find her boyfriend. Young love was most passionate, she could understand. She told Shi Ran and Cheng Liqi to go to the car first while she went to the bathroom to clean up a bit.

Shi Ran only wore a t-shirt, otherwise he could have taken off his jacket to give to her. He asked if she wanted him to take some clothes from his backpack for her to change into, but Cheng Jinlan just waved her hand to say no need.

She couldn't accept his clothes, Cheng Jinlan just quickly wiped with some paper towels. Luckily most of the spilled drink was on her arms, so rolling up her sleeves a bit could cover most of it.

While fixing her sleeves, Cheng Jinlan walked out of the bathroom. A pair of black leather shoes entered her vision. She moved left to make way, but the shoes also shifted left. She moved right again and the shoes followed right. Clearly this was on purpose.

Cheng Jinlan looked up to see who it was. Her feet stayed planted in place. She didn't care why he happened to be here. The first thing she thought of was the hair clip. That was the first gift he had given her, it shouldn't be in her hair right now no matter what. Though he probably didn't even remember it anymore, she still didn't want him to see it. Cheng Jinlan turned her body, trying to slip past him.

Shao Chengze took a long stride, blocking her path again.

Cheng Jinlan nearly stumbled right into his arms. Annoyance rose in her heart and she took a step back to widen the distance between them. She spoke sarcastically, "Does President Shao not know there's a saying that goes 'even a good dog won't block the road'?"

Shao Chengze didn't speak, his thin lips pressed in a tight line, his peach blossom eyes staring fixedly at her, not revealing any joy or anger.

There were always a lot of people coming and going near the bathroom. Both of their looks and temperament were exceptionally outstanding, anyone who passed would take an extra glance. Cheng Jinlan didn't want to continue entanglement with him. "My family is still waiting for me. If President Shao has any instructions for me, you can make an appointment at Lan Chuan's front desk."

Her implication was that if they had anything to discuss, it could only be business matters. And there was no business between the Cheng and Shao families.

The word "family" made Shao Chengze's brow twitch slightly. He suddenly smiled and his gaze dropped to her hair. He slowly said, "Miss Cheng and I are old friends, and I'm also an old classmate of Shi Ran's. It's rare for him to come back once, so I was thinking, if it's convenient, we could meet up for a meal together? I still haven't seen your precious daughter, she must be very cute."

Cheng Jinlan's face turned icy. "No need."

Shao Chengze nodded. "You're right, there really is no need." His gaze swept over her hand, "Miss Cheng already took off her ring, afraid before long, this so-called family will cease to be family either."

Cheng Jinlan's thumb subconsciously moved to touch her ring finger. She had forgotten to wear her ring when going out today!