Time trickled by, and King checked his watch. "If we don't leave now, we'll miss our flight."
Shen Jinxi and Chenchen also looked at Shen Qingqing.
She stared at the door, silent. Just then, her phone rang. Upon seeing the content, her heart sank to the bottom.
A liar!
At the same time, the boarding time had passed. It was too late to get on the plane now. King sighed, "It seems we can't leave."
Shen Qingqing put away her phone, her small face turning cold. "Let's find a hotel nearby to stay. We'll rebook our tickets. I need to leave here as soon as possible."
This sudden shift in attitude made Shen Jinxi and Chenchen feel that something was amiss.
King, without complaint, helped them book a room nearby, canceled their tickets, ordered them supper, and then excused himself, saying he had something to attend to.
Only Shen Qingqing and the children remained in the room.
Shen Jinxi tilted his head and asked, "Mommy, who texted you just now?"
Shen Qingqing was pouring juice. "Spam."
"Oh."
Shen Jinxi turned back to the living room and sat beside Chenchen, whispering in his ear, "Mommy just said she was reading spam texts. Do you believe her?"
Chenchen shook his head decisively.
He didn't believe it.
"I don't believe it either," Shen Jinxi thought Mommy's attitude change must be related to that text message. However, Mommy always kept her phone with her, so they didn't have a chance to see it.
During dinner, Shen Jinxi deliberately knocked over his cup. Juice spilled on him, wetting his clothes. "Oh no, Mommy, my clothes are dirty!"
"Take them off and go take a bath."
Shen Qingqing put down her chopsticks and reached out to help him, but Shen Jinxi dodged her. He said he would do it himself, adding righteously, "I'm a big boy now, I can change my own clothes."
Shen Qingqing smiled. "Alright, then you change yourself."
She had little appetite and put down her chopsticks after a few bites, watching Chenchen and Xingyao eat. Xingyao couldn't see, so to accommodate her, Shen Qingqing placed the dishes she liked on top of her rice, allowing her to scoop them up slowly with her spoon.
"You guys eat first. I'm going out to buy some new clothes for your brother."
It wasn't even 9 PM yet, and there was a clothing store next to the hotel that was still open.
She planned to go take a look. Coincidentally, she was feeling troubled and didn't want to stay in the hotel.
As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she saw a woman.
It was Lin Minglan.
What was she doing here?
Shen Qingqing pretended not to see her, but a woman's voice sounded from behind.
"You're Miss Shen, aren't you?"
Shen Qingqing had no intention of engaging and continued walking forward.
Unexpectedly, the woman caught up and blocked her path. "Miss Shen, do you really not recognize me?"
"Who are you?"
Shen Qingqing's expression was flawless. Lin Minglan didn't press the issue. It didn't matter if she didn't recognize her; Lin Minglan recognized Shen Qingqing. "I'm Lin Minglan."
She seemed confident that Shen Qingqing would know the name.
Shen Qingqing crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow slightly. "And who is Lin Minglan?"
"You really don't recognize me?"
Lin Minglan initially thought she was faking it. Fu Jingshu wouldn't have failed to mention her.
Shen Qingqing glanced at her watch, impatient. "If you have nothing important to say, then I'm leaving. I have to go out on an errand, and it will be too late if I delay."
Lin Minglan didn't get angry. She even smiled. "Since you don't recognize the name, you must recognize me."
She extended an arm. On her fair wrist was a pale purple bracelet that made her skin appear even whiter than snow.
Shen Qingqing's eyes flickered. She suddenly remembered.
This was precisely the hand in the photograph.
"So, you're with Fu Jingshu. You sent me the photo too, didn't you?"
Lin Minglan feigned surprise. "What photo? Miss Shen, I don't understand what you're saying."
Shen Qingqing sneered. "You dare to do it but not admit it?"
Lin Minglan smiled slightly, a hint of triumph in her eyes. "It seems Miss Shen recognized me at a glance. This only proves I have a distinctive presence, doesn't it?"
Shen Qingqing said coolly, "What do you want? If you don't say, I'm leaving."
Lin Minglan smiled a little strangely. "It's nothing. I just came over to say hello. Jing Shu and I are old friends. I heard he has a fiancée now, so I was naturally curious."
"Then you've seen me now." The implication was that she could leave.
Shen Qingqing's impoliteness didn't anger Lin Minglan. Instead, she exuded a sense of superiority of a victor. "By the way, I haven't asked yet, why are you here? Jing Shu said you're already a mother of two. Shouldn't you be with your children at this time?"
"Does that concern you?"
"It doesn't concern me, but it concerns Jing Shu." Lin Minglan's face was wreathed in smiles. "When I get back to the room later, I'm certainly going to tell him I saw you. If he asks me why you're here, I'll have to give him an answer."
"Back to the room?"
These three words carried a lot of information.
Lin Minglan seemed to have said the wrong thing and covered her mouth. "I misspoke just now. Please pretend you didn't hear me. I didn't mean anything else, so please don't misunderstand."
This affected pretense and affectation reminded Shen Qingqing of Shen Yaoyao. However, this woman was clearly more skilled than Shen Yaoyao, her performance at least appearing flawless.
She said lightly, "Are you trying to show off to me?"
Lin Minglan quickly shook her head, looking sincere. "I truly don't want you to misunderstand. If you two end up having a conflict because of me, wouldn't that make me a sinner?"
"If you truly don't want to be a sinner, you shouldn't be in the same hotel room with him."
Lin Minglan put on a pitiable expression. "You're wronging me. I really didn't mean to. There are reasons for our situation, but this isn't something I should tell you. You should wait for Jing Shu to explain it to you himself."
*Slap!*
Shen Qingqing directly slapped Lin Minglan across the face, shaking her slightly numb palm. "Don't play coy in front of me. Don't think I can't understand; you've been hinting from the beginning. What are you trying to say?"
This was Lin Minglan's first time encountering someone who would hit her without a word. Her breathing became a little rapid. "How can you be so ill-mannered?!"
"I don't need good manners with you," Shen Qingqing raised her eyebrows, her gaze growing colder. "You like Fu Jingshu, don't you."
Her directness left Lin Minglan at a loss for words.
Admitting it would feel like she was being forced to confess.
"If you want him, take him," Shen Qingqing didn't need an answer from her. "He's just garbage that I don't want."
Lin Minglan was stunned. For a moment, she even forgot the pain on her face.
She called Fu Jingshu garbage?!
Behind them, the elevator door creaked open, and Fu Jingshu walked out just in time to hear this sentence. His expression turned as dark as ink.