Shen Jingbin received a call from Zhao Chengning just after reaching home.
Why would he think of calling her at such a time?
It couldnât be because of the Weibo matter, could it?
Answering the phone, she shifted to the side and allowed Shen Jingchen to go up first. She then picked up the phone and sat down over at the sofa.
"Hello?"
"Hello, itâs me. Have you had your meal?" The other party really knew how to beat around the bush, immediately offering up a few pleasantries after she picked up the phone.
"Itâs so late already, of course Iâve eaten."
"You canât say for sure. Take me for instance, I havenât eaten yet."
Shen Jingbin sat crossed legged on the sofa and said, "Eh, are you that busy?"
The other party chuckled and let out a deep breath before he said, "Thatâs right, Iâve been busy since this afternoon. Iâve only had time to drink a cup of coffee to keep myself awake."
"Then hurry up and eat! Whyâre you still calling me?" Shen Jingbin mumbled to herself.
"Iâll eat when Iâm back home. My nanny left something out for me back at home."
Zhao Chengning was pondering how to broach the matter of the Weibo incident, while Shen Jingbin was waiting for him to state the purpose of his call. And just like that, their conversation turned silent.
Shen Jingbin suddenly thought of something and laughed out loud, breaking the silence that permeated the call.
"Whatâre you laughing about?" Zhao Chengning curiously asked.
After calming herself down, Shen Jingbin replied, "Itâs nothing. I just suddenly felt like laughing," She paused for a moment before continuing, "You definitely didnât call me just to ask about whether Iâd eaten my dinner yet, right?"
Zhao Chengning was finally getting to the good part, "Why donât you take a guess?"
Shen Jingbin wasnât pleased by this. "Why do I have to guess? Iâm not guessing."
"Cough. Alright, no guessing, no guessing. Iâll just come out and say it: do you know that your picture is on Weibo?"
So it really was about the Weibo incident. However, she hadnât expected even him to know about it. "I know. How did you find out about it?"
"I have a friend who works for a game company, and heâs looking all over the place for your contact details. I saw your photo the moment I opened up Moments and it gave me a huge shock. I thought I was hallucinating."
"Eh, so something like that actually happened? You didnât give out my details, did you?" Shen Jingbin asked, feeling nervous.
She thought that things would just blow over if she didnât bother about it. After all, this was the age of information and people tended to forgetful. She thought that everyone would move on once things started to die down. However, things were different if there was someone stirring things up from behind the scenes.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Rest assured, I didnât say anything. How could I give your information out just like that? I was just feeling a little curious and wondering what happened."
Shen Jingbin briefly summarized the whole story for him. After she finished, Zhao Chengning didnât know whether to laugh or cry as he said, "The world of women really is too complicated."
"Is it?" Shen Jingbin asked in turn.
"Mm," Zhao Chengning gently replied.
Shen Jingbin suddenly heard a carâs horn over on his side. "Youâre driving?"
"Mm, Iâm on the way home."
"Then pay attention while youâre driving and donât talk on the phone."
"Mm, Iâll pay attention once Iâm done talking with you."
"Then itâs better if I hang up first. I donât want the police to come looking for me if you get into an accident."
Zhao Chengning choked when he heard Shen Jingbinâs comment. "Jinx."
"Iâm hanging up."
"Mm, donât sleep so late."
"You too."
After hanging up, Shen Jingbinâs gaze remained fixed on the phone in her hand as unknown thoughts raced through her mind.
Aunt Zhang stuck her head out from her room and saw Shen Jingbin sitting on the sofa. "Little Jing, are you done with your call?"
The two siblings lived on the second floor of the villa, while Aunt Zhang lived on the first. The entirety of the second floor was the siblingâs private space, and Aunt Zhang wouldnât intrude into their domain for the most part.
Aunt Zhang knew the siblings had returned home, but she remained in her room and waited because Shen Jingbin was on the phone. She waited for a great deal of time before finally sticking her head out after Shen Jingbin had hung up.
"Mm?" Breaking Shen Jingbin out of her thoughts, she turned to face Aunt Zhang and asked, "Do you need me for anything, Aunt Zhang?"
Aunt Zhang stepped out from her room and sat beside Shen Jingbin. "Itâs like this: my daughter should arrive in the city at around midday tomorrow, but she doesnât know the way. Could you and Little Chen pick her up?"
Aunt Zhang had already asked Shen Jingchen about it over dinner. Shen Jingchen was rather fond of Aunt Zhang, so he had readily agreed. Either way, Aunt Zhangâs daughter would only be here for a day or two, and their villa had plenty of guest rooms, so it wasnât much of an issue.
Aunt Zhang came from a small town at the edge of A city. Due to the change in welfare policies for farming villages over the past few years, Aunt Zhang and her husband had decided to move over to one of them so that their daughter could take advantage of some of the benefits offered. However, because of this, their daughter was forced to study in the village till she was in senior high.
"Mm... but Iâll have to see if Iâm free in the morning... ah, I should be free. Where should we pick your daughter up from?" Shen Jingbin replied after glancing at her schedule.
"Sheâll be heading to First High tomorrow to familiarize herself with the competition venue. So if youâre able to, please meet her at the entrance of First High."
"Alright. When will she be finishing? Shen Jingchen and I will head over at that time."
"Oh, I think sheâll be done at around... 11:30. Sorry for troubling the two of you."
Shen Jingbin waved her hand and flashed a smile at Aunt Zhang. "Think nothing of it, Aunt Zhang."
Having achieved her objective, Aunt Zhang didnât want to delay Shen Jingbin any longer. So she let Shen Jingbin go, and returned to her room to inform her daughter about what had happened.