DF Chapter 48
by VolareWhen Sheng Jia came out of the teahouse, she didn’t let Fu Minglang see her off again. She was still alone, treading the night and leaving.
She and Fu Minglang had a brief negotiation until she got up to say goodbye herself, then Ru Ping was allowed to enter from outside.
This was rare. Ru Ping had been by Fu Minglang’s side since she was fifteen, practically her closest confidante, and half of her family. Rarely was anything kept from her.
Originally, Ru Ping didn’t pay much attention, but when she exchanged friendly greetings with Sheng Jia and brushed past her, Sheng Jia looked back at her. Ru Ping’s senses were always sharp, but she didn’t respond to that look, instead heading straight into the room.
Fu Minglang was by the window, lighting a cigarette for ladies. At this moment, her expression was somewhat relaxed. The scenery outside the window had been specially arranged, just so that the honored guests could capture the beautiful scenery in every moment they looked out.
It was a gingko road, now almost entirely covered with yellowing leaves, shimmering as if with fluorescence under the moonlight. It was the most beautiful time of the year, and there wasn’t a hint of the rancid smell of gingko fruit, it was purely a visual enjoyment.
Soon, Sheng Jia walked onto this road. She wore the hood of her black hoodie and jeans, with a deep red schoolbag on her back, her hands in her pockets as she walked forward, gradually blending into the darkness, disappearing from sight.
It was really hard to tell from her ordinary and low-key attire that she was such a bold girl.
Fu Minglang, with her hand propping her cheek, dispersed the smoke and suddenly asked Ru Ping, “What do you think of her pace now?”
“Very steady, without the slightest hint of floating.”
Even from a professional point of view, Ru Ping could not see any emotional fluctuations from that distant figure.
“Yeah, that’s what makes it so scary,” Fu Minglang laughed. “She speaks to me without sincerity or fear. What I see is all she’s willing to let me see.”
“So, did your talk just now break down?” Ru Ping was a little confused. After Fu Minglang offered to help Sheng Jia ensure that Wang Jian would never get out, she was asked to leave. Moreover, this was Sheng Jia’s request. She couldn’t hear a word of the subsequent conversation.
“No, we had a good talk,” Fu Minglang said slowly, “but she rejected the original suggestion I made.”
“Rejected? Then what does she want?” Ru Ping asked.
Fu Minglang glanced at her and shook her head. “I don’t know either.”
In fact, Sheng Jia didn’t even agree to her sponsorship, nor did she agree to definitely join her company in the future.
In that short time, Sheng Jia only made one request to her.
“If there is something in the future that may require you to come forward and say a few words, without violating your conscience and morals, but I can’t say what it is now, are you willing to agree to me?”
This was a very excessive condition. In the eyes of anyone, Sheng Jia was not even qualified to make this condition to Fu Minglang, but there was not the slightest retreat or timidity in Sheng Jia’s eyes. She said it with a smile, still with that cunning and confident smile, as if certain that Fu Minglang would not refuse.
Those who hated her might think she was too scheming, while those who liked her would probably love her ease and skill.
Coincidentally, Fu Minglang was a typical example of loving her to death or hating her to death.
She liked Sheng Jia very much.
“You’ve been pursuing this and that kind of excitement all your life, even doing charity, you have to run to the most war-torn places. You appreciate me so much and are so interested in me, isn’t it a very interesting thing to leave a suspense for you?” Sheng Jia was eloquent, able to make this matter sound as if Fu Minglang was taking advantage. “I guarantee that that matter will not disappoint your future expectations. As for what you said, let me join your company, give me financial aid, why not wait until then?”
“Your understanding of me may only be superficial at this moment. Perhaps by then you will know what kind of person I am, whether I am worthy of your financial aid, whether I deserve your appreciation.”
She only said these three sentences, but she had already persuaded Fu Minglang. As she said, Fu Minglang had seen too many storms in her life. Simple things could not arouse her interest. In the situation where she already had enough interest in Sheng Jia, these words from Sheng Jia almost brought this curiosity to the extreme, like an arrow ready to be shot, waiting for the day it leaves the bow to let Fu Minglang witness her sharpness.
Sheng Jia was also very good at speaking, even when making unreasonable conditions, she could steadily place Fu Minglang in the main position. Her arrogance and confidence were not blind, and would not make people feel any antipathy towards her.
But Fu Minglang also knew that this night had changed from her top-down overlooking of Sheng Jia to Sheng Jia’s reversed equal treatment, which was not an easy thing to do.
Honestly, she was looking forward to it, so she agreed to Sheng Jia’s request.
Sheng Jia was used to being independent. After clarifying the matter, she left. Before leaving, she could still jokingly say, “I think it’s better for you and me not to contact each other. If others see it, I will have the capital to bully others with power. Perhaps it won’t be so interesting then. When I need your help, I will actively contact Ms. Ru Ping.”
She didn’t want to have any contact with Fu Minglang now. This was said bluntly enough, almost saying directly, I’m temporarily treating you as a tool.
But Fu Minglang only looked at her deeply in the end.
The arrogance Sheng Jia showed tonight was always arrogance with a sense of proportion. When both of them understood this, Sheng Jia said this only to prove that she was clearly stating one thing—I already know where my bottom line is in your heart where I can do whatever I want.
Even if this sentence was a bit rude compared to the previous one, completely treating Fu Minglang as an object, it was still within Fu Minglang’s acceptable range.
Sheng Jia’s insight into people’s hearts was very powerful.
At this moment, all of Sheng Jia’s purposes and tests tonight had been achieved.
What a smart kid.
Fu Minglang laughed. She hadn’t met such a powerful child in many years.
–
In early January, when Jingjiang’s last heat had dissipated and the temperature dropped sharply, Lu Jing calculated that she should do something to make the third year of high school lively, and finally chose to hold a unique parent-teacher conference after the second mock exam.
The third-year high school students were wailing and howling. After all, in the past, according to the school calendar, it should have been a sports meet or an autumn outing for the third year of high school. Who knew that this semester would become a parent-teacher conference? The entire Jingjiang No. 1 High School hadn’t held a parent-teacher conference for six years.
In fact, the grades of the entire Jingjiang No. 1 High School were good. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to be promoted from junior high school in the first place. No. 1 High School was really strict about grades for admission, which was different from the division of primary and junior high schools by district during the nine-year compulsory education.
Lu Jing can now become the president of the Provincial Education Association because of the solid achievements she has made during her tenure, forming a virtuous circle.
No one knew why Principal Lu, who was always generous, suddenly wanted to hold a parent-teacher conference this time, but most of the students were still uneasy.
When Sheng Jia returned to the class with the first-place score and scholarship in the second mock exam and the last monthly exam of the semester, the class was discussing this matter everywhere.
Song Ji’an, who was sitting at the desk in front of her, asked enthusiastically when she came back, “The parent-teacher conference will be held on January 6th. There will be a fireworks show in the city that day. Shall we go see it together?”
Sheng Jia stuffed the red envelope into her schoolbag, thought for a moment, and when the refusal was about to blurt out, Song Ji’an quickly covered her mouth.
Sheng Jia looked at her in confusion, but she showed a complacent expression, “Now I have sharp eyes, I know what you’re going to say when you frown.”
Saying that, she lowered her voice when she saw that no one was paying attention, “After I signed the contract with Luo Ling, the first round of financing has begun. The operations manager who was interviewed by Liu Yishan took a super big order in the middle. The money was transferred the day before yesterday. As a major shareholder, I got a big share. This matter is not just my credit, you have all helped a lot. We agreed to get together again after I came back, but I haven’t had time. This time, I won’t give you a chance to refuse.”
Sheng Jia’s lips weren’t dry enough to crack in the dry winter, but they weren’t moist either. They gently touched Song Ji’an’s palm, and a pair of dark eyes stared at her, causing her to belatedly react, let go of her hand, and go behind her.
“Don’t refuse,” Song Ji’an had experience in pestering Sheng Jia in front of her, widening her eyes and looking at her, showing that she was extremely sincere.
Sheng Jia twisted open her thermos cup and took a sip of water. This time, she didn’t refuse directly, but said slowly, “Then I’ll think about it.”
“Yay!” Song Ji’an cheered a little, “Xu Lijing and Su Zhaolin must be so impressed by me that I can actually call you out.”
Sheng Jia glanced at her, reminding her, “I haven’t agreed yet.”
“Don’t I know you?” Song Ji’an smiled, “Not refusing means there’s a 90 percent chance you’ll agree.”
She now teased Sheng Jia with ease and knew Sheng Jia very well.
The other party was not a completely heartless person. Over the years, Sheng Jia’s bottom line had been lowered a lot by her unknowingly. Even Song Ji’an had become accustomed to acting coquettishly, making trouble, and teasing her, and could give responses.
She was completely different from the Sheng Jia she had known at the beginning.
Even now, when Sheng Jia heard these two affirmative words from her, she would smile amusingly, then quickly take it back, and then answer expressionlessly, “That’s not necessarily true.”
Song Ji’an saw it in her eyes and laughed secretly in her heart, but when she spoke again, she had already started the next topic, “My mom should be free to come then. I haven’t seen my mom for almost two months. This time, I finally have a chance to see her properly.”
Sheng Jia paused slightly when she heard this.
In fact, she hadn’t thought much about Song Ningqiu during this time. She had been busy since she had connected with Fu Minglang. Studying and part-time jobs had already consumed most of her energy.
But at this moment, when Song Ji’an mentioned Song Ningqiu again in such a casual manner, she reacted somewhat distractedly, and then buried all her complex feelings in her heart.
She didn’t respond to Song Ji’an’s words, and Song Ji’an was so happy about meeting her mother that she didn’t notice this.
Compared to Song Ningqiu, whom she had been entangled and hesitant about countless times, and even occasionally traced in the middle of the night, what made her feel irritable now was another thing—Sheng Huaiying always had to attend the parent-teacher conference.
Lu Jing had already asked the homeroom teachers to send this information to the parent group, and Sheng Huaiying would see it. Even just now, on the way back after receiving her scholarship, Sheng Huaiying had sent a message asking her about this matter.
Sheng Jia didn’t want Sheng Huaiying to meet Song Ji’an, and she didn’t want Sheng Huaiying to meet Song Ningqiu either.
She had been hiding her family situation from Song Ji’an, not only because she didn’t want her to find out, but also because of a more secret and more fearful feeling.
Even though she always had complex feelings towards Sheng Huaiying and had been adjusting to each other until now, it was undeniable that this was her mother, who had lived with her for seventeen years and had experienced so many ups and downs.
Song Ji’an had taken away Sheng Jia’s biological mother. Now, Sheng Jia had nothing but Sheng Huaiying. Although neither Song Ji’an nor Sheng Huaiying knew anything, she was still afraid of this.
Just fear, this emotion that rarely appeared in her body.
She was afraid that Sheng Huaiying and Song Ji’an would have a so-called mother-daughter connection, and she was even more afraid that Sheng Huaiying would feel close to Song Ji’an because of this.
Like a hyena whose territory might be invaded by a strange member of its species, she couldn’t help but examine the other party with cold eyes, and also examine whether her family could unite with her on the same front with cold eyes.
Even though she knew that neither party might have this intention, she still couldn’t control it, it was difficult to control.
After all, this was already the only treasure she possessed.