Chapter 236
Chapter 236: Mama Zhao’s Endless Meddling (2)
Shen Jingbin put away her phone and plastered a warm and respectful smile on her face, causing Mama Jian and Jian Cishu, who were secretly evaluating her, to be shocked.
“Grandpa Zhao, Uncle, Aunt. Sorry about this, but something cropped up so we need to leave. We won’t be able to stay with you for the rest of the meal.”
Mama Zhao couldn’t wait for these two to disappear from her sight, but at the same time, she felt that allowing them to leave just like that would be letting them go too easily.
“Why are the two of you leaving without eating a single thing? Have a bite before you go. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good if word got out that we couldn’t even treat the two of you to a single meal.”
Sensing Old Master Zhao suppressing his rage even further, Papa Zhao finally couldn’t take it anymore and roared in anger, “Shut your mouth!”
Mama Zhao flinched in response before she promptly shut up.
Old Master Zhao tiredly shut his eyes before he turned to look at Shen Jingbin and said, “The two of you should leave if you’ve got something on.”
Seeing the state Old Master Zhao was in, Shen Jingbin thought for a bit before she said, “Grandpa Zhao, you don’t need to worry. Shen Jingchen and I are in B City because we have an internship here. We’ll be staying for a while, so we’ll definitely visit again some other time. Also, my Grandpa will probably be coming to B City a little later as well. Don’t blame us for being annoying when we come to visit you.”
“Ole Shen’s coming?” As expected, that got Old Master Zhao’s attention. “Really?”
“Mhm. I’m not too sure about my Grandpa, but my Grandma and parents will be coming.”
“Good, good! Come then, but let me know beforehand so I can prepare!” Old Master Zhao replied delightedly.
“Alright, we’ll leave first then. Sorry about this.”
“No worries, I know you youngsters are busy. I know, what about this? Ah Ning, send Little Jing and Little Chen off.”
“Okay, Grandpa.”
Zhao Chengning agreed and stood up at almost the same time Old Master Zhao spoke. He then stepped back to make way for Shen Jingbin and Shen Jingchen before following after them.
Old Master Zhao’s smile immediately disappeared after the three of them left. He swept his gaze to Mama Jian and Jian Cishu before saying blandly, “An Ning’s sending them off, so there’s no need to wait for him. Let’s eat first.”
Mama Jian and Jian Cishu felt their faces flush and silently ate their food.
Mama Zhao, on the other hand, poked at the food in her bowl in anger, feeling stifled because she couldn’t find an outlet for it.
When they exited the restaurant, the siblings heaved a long sigh of relief in unison.
Shen Jingchen said half jokingly to Zhao Chengning, “Ah Ning, your Mom’s a real piece of work; even our Empress Dowager at home doesn’t make me feel so pressured.”
Zhao Chengning gave them an apologetic look and said, “I’m really sorry about today, my Mother is…”
Shen Jingbin cut him off. “Don’t worry about it, go back to eat. You don’t need to send us off; we can get back on our own.”
Zhao Chengning shook his head. “We’ve interrupted your dinner, so allow me to make it up to you guys. Let’s go, I’ll take you guys someplace else to eat.” When it looked like Shen Jingbin was going to reject him, he added, “At this time, it won’t be easy finding another decent restaurant on your own. It’ll be better if I bring you guys to one.”
The siblings were quite picky when it came to food, so they accepted his proposal after a moment’s hesitation.
In the end, Shen Jingbin got into Zhao Chengning’s car and made their way towards the new restaurant, while Shen Jingchen followed behind them in their own car.
After passing by a traffic light, Shen Jingchen looked at Zhao Chengning’s car in front of him and suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity. Why did his little sister choose to sit in some other guy’s car when he was driving?
Furthermore, why was did this situation feel familiar? It was as though something similar had happened in the past. How strange.
In the end, Zhao Chengning brought the two to a private Sze Chuan restaurant [1. It’s a kind of restaurant that doesn’t appear in any directory and doesn’t have a signboard either. Usually looks like any regular apartment]. The food there was pretty good, and the two siblings were very happy. On their way back, Shen Jingbin chose to sit in Zhao Chengning’s car once again.
When they reached their apartment, Shen Jingchen drove straight towards the underground parking lot. Zhao Chengning, on the other hand, stopped below their unit. Shen Jingbin thanked him and was about to alight when she grabbed the handle and found that it was still locked. She turned to look at him in confusion.
“Are you angry?” Zhao Chengning looked into her eyes and asked.
It was getting late, and the sky had already turned as dark as ink. The street lights shone dimly beneath their unit, with barely any light filtering through the car’s tinted windows. The lights in the car were off as well, so Shen Jingbin was unable to see Zhao Chengning’s expression. She could only vaguely feel his scorching gaze on her.
Not bothering about whether he could see her, she gently shook her head and said, “I'm not.”
“Why aren't you angry? My Mother really did go a little overboard today.”
Shen Jingbin laughed. “Your Mother’s your Mother; she isn’t you. Her actions only represent her own thoughts. I'm not the kind of person who’ll take my anger out on someone undeserving of it.” She paused for a few moments before continued in a low voice, “Thankfully, you didn't play along with her. Otherwise, I might really have gotten angry with you… Do you think that’s bad of me?”
Zhao Chengning felt like touching her face, but couldn’t find the courage to do so. “No, I’m fine with anything as long as you’re not angry with me.”
“You really know how to butter a person up.”
“Is that so? I was worried I didn’t have it in me. Oh right, why didn't you tell me you were here in B City with Shen Jingchen for an internship?”
“Mm. It was a last minute decision, and I bumped into you before I had the chance to tell you.”
“How long are you interning for?”
“Mm, I’m going to be here for the entire holiday.”
“Then what about the New Year?”
“My Mom said they’ll come over to celebrate.”
Zhao Chengning gave a gentle laugh. “Sounds good.”
“Hm? What's so good about that?”
“Everything about it is good.”
Just then, they heard a knock on the window and saw Shen Jingchen’s face plastered on it, with him opening and closing his mouth saying something they couldn’t make sense of.
Shen Jingbin shot a glance at her stupid looking brother before she turned to Zhao Chengning and said, “I'll be going.”
“Mm, rest early. Good night.”
“You too, drive safely. Good night.”