The air fell into silence again for several seconds. The headmaster, who used to teach the Chinese language when he was a subject teacher, was very sensitive to the subtle differences in tone and wording.
During these seconds, his mind raced, thinking—
“Father” and “Hello, Father.” The latter was more polite, but it also felt less intimate. Which real son would speak to his father like that?
Moreover, when Shen Huajia just approached, he mentioned wanting to go see his daughter, without mentioning his son at all. This was worth considering. So, could this son be an adopted or found child?
Oh, right, I heard he got married recently. Since his daughter is already so grown up and he’s getting married, it must be a second or third marriage, so this son is very likely a stepson.
Putting his biological daughter and stepson together for schooling, observing their natural and affectionate interactions just now, Shen Huajia must be quite talented.
The headmaster’s mind spun rapidly, and then, combining the known information, he deduced such a logically flawless result. He adjusted his glasses, smiled slightly, and was very satisfied with his reasoning ability.
Just then, the stepson hesitated, then corrected himself, saying, “Um, no, Uncle Shen, hello.”
The headmaster’s smile froze for a moment. Shen Guangyao nodded at Lu Xingyan, then turned his gaze back to Shen Xingruo.
Neither Shen Guangyao nor Shen Xingruo had time to pay attention to his momentary slip of the tongue. It’s just that Shen Xingruo still had a class, so before they could talk about anything, the bell rang.
Shen Guangyao glanced in the direction of Class One, pondered for a moment, and said gently and restrainedly, “Xingruo, Xingyan, you two go back to class first. After school, I’ll have someone come to pick you up, and we’ll have dinner together.” Despite having his shirt splashed by Shen Xingruo, he still exuded an artist’s elegant demeanor as he stood there.
Shen Xingruo didn’t say anything. In the end, Lu Xingyan agreed to dinner and then took her back to the classroom.
For the next few classes, Shen Xingruo was absent-minded.
In the evening after school, there was a car waiting at the gate.
Although Lu Xingyan wanted to accompany them to check on the progress of recognizing her father, it was obvious that the father and daughter needed a moment alone to talk. He casually found an excuse, watched Shen Xingruo get into the car, and then left.
Shen Guangyao chose a quaint restaurant, with a second-floor window seat overlooking a courtyard with a small bridge and flowing water below, and the distant sound of a guqin.
The waiter who came to take the order was also dressed in a qipao with her hair done up elegantly.
It was all very elegant.
“…and add another dish of stir-fried bamboo shoots with pickled vegetables, and also the chicken stew with mushrooms. That’ll be all, thank you.”
Shen Guangyao closed the menu, nodded at the waitress, then poured a cup of tea for Shen Xingruo and asked, “Why didn’t Xingyan come?”
“Busy,” Shen Xingruo replied, eyes downcast, staring at her teacup.
Shen Guangyao paused briefly. After a moment of contemplation, he picked up the tea, but something seemed to occur to him, so he set it down again without drinking, only looking at Shen Xingruo as he said, “Dad arrived in Xingcheng last night and visited the Lu family. Both Uncle Lu and Aunt Pei praised you.”
“Just now, while you were in class, I also met with your homeroom teacher. The teacher said you’re performing excellently at school.”
Shen Xingruo responded with a nonchalant “Hmm, I’m fine.”
Shen Guangyao looked at her. “Are you fine? Then why haven’t you used any of the living expenses I’ve given you?”
He arranged for money to be transferred to Shen Xingruo’s card every month through his assistant. He never expected Shen Xingruo to resist his decision by not using the living expenses.
If it weren’t for Fang Min’s reminder to check whether the living expenses he provided were enough for Shen Xingruo, he probably wouldn’t have noticed for a long time.
Shen Xingruo didn’t answer his question. She took a sip of tea, then took out her phone and glanced at the time.
Shen Guangyao rested his hands on the table, briefly falling into silence, with only the rhythm of his platinum watch ticking away quietly.
Shen Guangyao was forty-two this year, having risen to fame at a young age and never encountering any major setbacks along the way. Today, he was a significant figure in his field, and everyone usually treated him with great respect. Just a slight frown from him would make many people feel immense pressure.
But this pressure didn’t seem to affect Shen Xingruo. Sitting across from Shen Guangyao, her expression was neither cold nor warm, lacking any enthusiasm.
Shen Guangyao put away his usual mild aloofness and looked at Shen Xingruo seriously. Suddenly, he said, “Dad agreed to let you come to Xingcheng, and I didn’t force you to attend the wedding. I gave you plenty of time to think calmly, but it seems you still haven’t figured it out.”
Shen Xingruo met his gaze without flinching, and countered, “What do you want me to figure out? I didn’t stop you from getting married, and I tactfully provided a place for you and your new family to enjoy your time together. Do you have to insist that I offer my blessings?”
“You know that’s not what Dad meant.” Shen Guangyao stopped the waitress from approaching to refill their tea. “Xingruo, you don’t need to block me with words. Your current attitude is cold and uncooperative. Dad has taught you, to never choose to evade anything. Dad has always hoped that you could have a calm and rational conversation with him about this matter.”
Shen Xingruo nodded. “Alright, go ahead.”
Shen Guangyao didn’t rush to speak. He first recalled the days for a moment. “In less than half a month, it will be your birthday. This year… you’ll be seventeen, and you’ll soon be an adult.”
“Your mother and I met when we were seventeen, at the music academy.”
Shen Xingruo had heard Shen Guangyao and Song Qingzhao’s love story many times before. The young and talented painter and the elegant and romantic violinist were both exceptionally gifted individuals. Their love blossomed through art, and their similar family backgrounds made them the perfect match.
But just as they were discussing marriage, Shen Guangyao’s parents, Shen Xingruo’s grandparents, died in an earthquake in another province.
Shen Guangyao was immersed in grief, and as an artist who knew nothing about inheriting family wealth, he was quickly relieved of his inheritance by trusted relatives.
The Song family naturally did not want to proceed with the marriage. However, Song Qingzhao, deeply in love and straightforward, insisted on immediate marriage once it was mentioned, and even offended her family members.
Since Shen Xingruo could remember, their family’s relationship with the Song family had been distant, with rare visits during holidays.
After her mother passed away, there was even less communication between them. After all, the Song family had many members and didn’t lack one or two grandchildren.
“I and your mother truly loved each other back then, but love… isn’t something that remains unchanged. Falling in love was real, and feelings fading away were real too. Now, I truly love your teacher, and that’s also real.”
“One thing you must understand is, your mother has been gone for over five years. Even if she hadn’t passed away, we would still have parted ways. Your teacher didn’t intrude. Dad also has the right to pursue love.”
“She didn’t intrude, but she learned everything about you and our family from me. I trusted her so much, but she turned around and seduced Dad behind my back. I did see her as a mother figure, but I didn’t want her to replace my mother. Dad, do you understand these things?”
As Shen Xingruo spoke these words, her emotions were unusually revealed.
Shen Guangyao reminded her sternly, “Xingruo, watch your words.”
“Dad and your teacher have explained this matter more than once. Do you think we fell in love because she understood me? Dad could just register at a marriage agency and lay out all the details about assets, and family history, wouldn’t that be more straightforward?”
“Xingruo, your teacher is not as despicable as you imagine. I didn’t agree to the transfer of premarital assets. She is my lawful wife and should share my property.”
“It was your teacher who proposed transferring most of the assets to your name. She said if I didn’t do that, she wouldn’t marry me. Your teacher didn’t want me to tell you about this, fearing you’d disagree, but your words today have gone too far.”
Shen Xingruo looked slightly startled for a moment but quickly resumed her indifferent demeanor.
“My fault, it’s because I, as a father, am not responsible enough.”
Shen Guangyao sighed and leaned back.
He knew Shen Xingruo had always been a stubborn child. When she was in kindergarten, she scared a boy who bullied girls into tears. After the kindergarten teacher understood the situation, she asked them to apologize to each other. At that time, Shen Xingruo already knew to say, “I’m not wrong, why should I apologize?”
In the end, the kindergarten invited him and Song Qingzhao over.
They thought Shen Xingruo’s personality was great. Not everyone in this world needed to navigate through it with smoothness and worldliness, so they indulged her stubbornness.
In essence, Shen Xingruo inherited this trait from him.
Just like the matter of remarriage, Shen Xingruo was strongly opposed to it.
He was also very firm, not swayed by anyone, including his most beloved daughter.
During this silent moment, the dishes were served. Shen Guangyao leaned forward slightly and ladled a bowl of chicken soup for Shen Xingruo.
The two of them ate their meal in silence.
It wasn’t until Shen Xingruo put down her chopsticks that Shen Guangyao followed suit.
Shen Xingruo glanced at the time, indicating she needed to rush back for evening self-study. She made to get up, but Shen Guangyao stopped her. “Xingruo, wait, Dad has one more thing to say.”
Shen Xingruo looked at him, remained silent for a while, then sat back down.
Shen Guangyao thought for a moment before saying, “Before you leave Huize, Dad talked to you about his views. Dad believes that everyone has the right to pursue love, regardless of age, status, or differences. Dad did the same. Whether it can last till the end, it’s something that needs time to verify. What we need to do is enjoy the process.”
“I still hold this view. Including whoever you may fall in love with in the future, whether they are outstanding or… not so widely accepted by others, seemingly not compatible with you, Dad will offer some advice, but absolutely won’t interfere with your decision.”
“It’s just that Dad, in the process of pursuing love, may have neglected the fact that he is still a father. Dad always felt that you had grown up and should understand Dad’s feelings. How would you young people say it? The old house is on fire, yes. But I didn’t try to understand your feelings from your perspective. This, Dad, should apologize to you for.”
Shen Xingruo’s lips tightened.
Shen Guangyao continued, “I’ve always thought that my Xingruo and I share a spiritual connection. Just need some time to think calmly, and you’ll figure it out. But when your teacher and I went to Rome this time, she kept persuading me to come and see you, saying that you’re still a young girl who needs more love from her father. What you may care about isn’t the remarriage itself, but that I won’t love you the way I used to.”
“I don’t know if you think this way, but I’ve thought about it for a long time. I have to admit, your teacher does understand better than me how to be a qualified parent. So, I listened to her advice and came to see you.”
“Dad still needs to seek advice to make decisions about seeing you. This also proves that Dad is indeed not qualified enough, but Dad is willing to learn to become a better parent, to balance the conflicts between you and this marriage.”
“Your teacher said something right, sometimes many things aren’t inherently wrong, but not everyone can accept them emotionally. You may still not be able to accept Dad and your teacher being together in the short term, but it’s okay. Dad will come to see you often in the future, regardless of whether you accept Dad’s marriage or not. You’ll always be Dad’s little princess.”
The air fell quiet for a few seconds.
Suddenly, Shen Xingruo stood up, grabbed her backpack, and moved to leave, her eyes slightly red.
Shen Guangyao also got up, “Dad will walk you out.”
Shen Xingruo paused for a moment, not saying anything, but also not refusing.
Shen Guangyao escorted Shen Xingruo to the gate of Mingli School.
When they got out of the car, Shen Xingruo didn’t say anything.
But after walking a distance, she suddenly turned back, waved to Shen Guangyao, and then turned away.
Shen Guangyao closed the window and waved back at her retreating figure, finally with a smile on his face.
Shen Guangyao had taken leave when he met Wang Youfu earlier, so Shen Xingruo didn’t need to attend evening self-study tonight.
Upon entering the school, she headed straight for the restroom.
After calming her emotions a bit, she returned to her classroom.
The first session of evening self-study had already begun, and when Shen Xingruo suddenly walked in, the students in the class subconsciously looked up at her.
Liu Xingyan also raised his head.
Xu Chengzhou and the others had invited him to play basketball tonight, but he didn’t go. Instead, he sat in the classroom specifically to work on the English reading comprehension that Shen Xingruo had assigned him that day.
Seeing Shen Xingruo return, his gaze followed her until she took her seat beside him. He then asked, “How was it?”
Shen Xingruo glanced at him, “How was what?”
Liu Xingyan paused, “How was the meal?”
“…,” Shen Xingruo ignored him.
Liu Xingyan leaned closer to observe and suddenly asked, “Are you okay? Why were you crying?”
He instinctively reached out to touch Shen Xingruo’s eyes.
Shen Xingruo ruthlessly slapped away his hand, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Liu Xingyan chuckled, “Who’s talking nonsense? You didn’t even blend your BB cream properly.”
From his angle, he could see a faint powder mark around Shen Xingruo’s eyes, and that scent was something he would never forget, the scent of the BB cream she had applied to his mouth back then.
It was obvious she had dabbed some around her eyes to conceal the traces of crying.
Shen Xingruo put down her pen, took out a small mirror from her pencil case, and carefully checked.
—Indeed.
She faced the mirror and lightly tapped the area around the powder marks with her ring finger to smooth them out.
Liu Xingyan chuckled softly, “You’re not admitting it.”
Shen Xingruo didn’t say a word, she just stomped on his foot hard.
After that, Lu Xingyan chased after her with a few questions, but she refused to say more. When he annoyed her with questions, she mercilessly smacked him on the head with a book.
However, Lu Xingyan noticed that Shen Xingruo’s state had improved a lot since that night. Specifically, it showed in her increasingly accurate and ruthless hits toward him.
As the final exams approached under the scorching sun, Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo’s birthdays arrived as scheduled. Their birthdays fell on the second day of exams, so nobody was in the mood to celebrate. Those who wanted to celebrate didn’t dare to, knowing that mentioning it would lead to a lecture from their parents. So, everyone agreed to party after the exams were over.
Nevertheless, they had already received quite a few gifts in advance. When their classmates found out that they shared the same birthday, they were quite surprised. Some joked privately, “Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo are quite compatible, aren’t they? They both have good looks, and similar names, sit together, and share the same birthday. What a coincidence…”
“Compatibility? Have you seen their grades? You couldn’t catch up with them even if you were flying a helicopter.”
Some had rather peculiar concerns, like Li Chengfan. Upon hearing that Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan shared the same birthday, he caught them and asked, “Hey, you two share the same birthday? Then who’s older?”
When Lu Xingyan heard this, he became sensitive. “I was born in the early morning, she was born at midnight. I’m older.”
Whenever someone asked him, he had to explain it all over again, emphasizing the word “older” as if he was about to write on the blackboard, “I was born twenty hours earlier than Shen Xingruo.”
Shen Xingruo got annoyed, tapping his desk while writing her exam. “Stop making noise. So what if you’re older than me? Do you want me to call you big brother?”
“…,” Lu Xingyan touched the back of his neck, pretending to be indifferent. “If you want to, it’s not impossible.”
“Shut up.”
Lu Xingyan became interested and rubbed her head. “Little Sister Shen, Little Sister Daiyu.”
Shen Xingruo gave him a cold look. “If you don’t shut up, I’ll bury you as a flower.”
“…,” Lu Xingyan fell silent.
Two days before the exam, they had a break from school. While studying at home, Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan put the birthday gifts they received into the trunk and dragged them back to Falling Star Lake.
After dinner, they stood in the living room, unwrapping their gifts. When Lu Xingyan opened Shen Xingruo’s gift, he saw a beautifully wrapped box with an envelope inserted in the middle, bearing the three words “He Siyue”.
He reached out to take it, but Shen Xingruo intercepted him. She looked at him coldly, clearly conveying the message, “If you lay a hand on it, you won’t make it to your birthday this year.”
“What’s this? Open it and see,” she instructed.
He shrugged indifferently. “Whatever.”
Ignoring him, Shen Xingruo took out the card from He Siyue and set it aside before unwrapping the gift. Inside was a very girly diary with a watercolor starry sky cover, which matched her name and showed a thoughtful touch.
Lu Xingyan leaned over to glance at it, then chuckled, “Not very creative.”
Shen Xingruo glanced at him, and he became even more spirited, sweeping his gaze over all of Shen Xingruo’s gifts. “None of them are creative.”
“Then, Master Lu, do you have something exceptionally original for me?” she teased, recalling that he had mentioned preparing a thank-you gift for his teacher.
Lu Xingyan raised an eyebrow casually. “You’ll find out on your birthday.”
Shen Xingruo scrutinized Lu Xingyan, feeling somewhat uneasy. She always felt that his scatterbrained nature might lead to something extraordinary or bizarre.
On her birthday, the sun was shining brightly. Shen Xingruo was awakened by a call from Shen Guangyao after nine o’clock. He said he was driving over from Huize and had already made a reservation for dinner with Pei Yue. He invited her to join them.
She responded with a cold and indifferent tone, but still muttered an “okay.”
Once she was awake, she didn’t feel like going back to sleep. After getting ready, she found Lu Xingyan’s door slightly ajar. She walked over and knocked, but got no response. Pushing the door open slightly, she peeked inside. No one was there.
Surprisingly, Lu Xingyan was up even earlier than her.
She went downstairs. Aunt Zhou and Pei Yue were already in the kitchen preparing lunch. Seeing her awake, Aunt Zhou reminded her from the kitchen doorway, “Xingruo, breakfast is on the table. Have a little to fill your stomach.”
“Okay, Aunt Zhou,” she replied, taking a piece of toast from the table and then looking around.
Where was Lu Xingyan?
Just as she was wondering, he returned.
There was a commotion outside, and she walked out, biting into her toast.
Then Lu Xingyan got out of the car and, with Uncle Liu, retrieved a box from the trunk. When he saw her, he raised the corner of his lips and said, “Shen Xingruo, come over here. Your birthday gift has arrived.”
Shen Xingruo’s gaze shifted to the cardboard box. She didn’t say anything but obediently walked closer.
The box was quite large, and Lu Xingyan went back inside to fetch scissors to open it.
Shen Xingruo watched from the side as he worked.
After a while, Lu Xingyan finally managed to open the box and waved for Shen Xingruo to come over. “Come over here and take a look!”
She approached and peered into the box.
Inside the box was a small, white, sparsely feathered… um… a bird of some sort. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was.
Lu Xingyan lifted it out, giving Shen Xingruo a clearer view. The bird was lively, flapping its wings happily.
Lu Xingyan placed it on the lawn and asked, “So, does it give you a familiar feeling?”
“Hmm…” Shen Xingruo paused, then said, “It’s quite familiar. Your… your gift is indeed fresh and unconventional.”
And indeed, it was quite extraordinary.
Lu Xingyan took her comment as praise, looking somewhat smug.
After thinking for a while, Shen Xingruo couldn’t quite wrap her head around it and couldn’t resist asking, “So why did you give me a chicken and a white one at that?”