abcnovels
Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Shen Yin had a look of understanding on her face.
"Ma'am, would you like to take a look?" the furniture salesperson asked again.
Shen Yin shook her head. She had already bought all the furniture she needed. She was just curious why such ordinary furniture was so expensive. If she wanted Chinese-style furniture, she could simply draw up plans and have a carpenter custom make it, instead of spending so much money on something that wasn't even her preferred style.
Suddenly, Shen Yin had a flash of inspiration. She could become a Chinese furniture designer herself later on, partner with factories or even set up her own factory. That way, all the profits would be hers.
But for now, her clothing studio had just gotten up and running, and her energy was limited, so the furniture factory could wait.
With everything purchased, Shen Yin had the furniture and supplies delivered to Number 5, Qingshui Street, where she still had one very important thing to take care of.
She had noticed the sign above the small building on Qingshui Street at first glance when she arrived. It was called "Yinman Clothing Studio." The mention of Zhou Man gave Shen Yin a headache. She now had to deal with the mess the original host had made. There was no way she was using that name, not just because she found it distasteful herself, but if Shen Li ever found out about it, he would give her hell.
Returning to Qingshui Street, Shen Yin immediately took down the little wooden sign for "Yinman Clothing Studio" and had Zhengzheng toss it in the trash can nearby.
"Young lady, it's been years since I've seen you around here," she heard a voice say. Shen Yin turned to see an old woman with silver hair. The original host didn't seem to remember this person.
"Hello Granny. I've had some things come up these past few years and haven't been around this area," Shen Yin replied politely.
The silver-haired granny had an elegant and refined air about her. Shen Yin guessed she was retired and now living in this neighborhood.
"I see. Young lady, what happened to that other girl who used to come here with you?"
"Hm?" Shen Yin was puzzled. She thought back and remembered the original host had come here twice before with Zhou Man, but they hadn't run into this granny then.
"You probably all got married. That handsome little boy there is your child, right?" The silver-haired granny looked at Yun Zheng and asked.
"Yes, he is."
"I could tell with one look he resembles you. So handsome." The granny was very free with her compliments.
"Thank you, Granny," Shen Yin gently taught Zhengzheng the proper response.
"Thank you, Granny," he echoed in his little milk voice without any shyness.
"Oh, so well-behaved. Just call me Grandma Su," the silver-haired granny said with a smile as she stroked Zhengzheng's face.
"So Granny's surname is Su?"
"That's right, young lady. I may not have met you before, but I've seen you. I'm so happy to see you've come on your own this time. That other girl didn't seem to have the best character."
Shen Yin was puzzled. "How did you know we haven't had contact for years? You're right, she's not the best person."
"It's good you're not in contact. Otherwise you would have suffered losses," Grandma Su replied enigmatically.
Just as Shen Yin was about to ask more, the silver-haired granny turned and left, saying, "I'm heading home for dinner now."
Shen Yin watched her go into the building next door at Number 4. Speaking of dinner, Shen Yin checked her phone and saw it was almost 6pm. Time to head back.
The furniture and other items had all been delivered. Shen Yin locked up and picked up Zhengzheng, intending to head back to Ziyue Manor. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.
When she reached the villa entrance, she saw Xu Xiuhe's car. With Xu Xiuhe busy at work lately, he had still made sure to come home for dinner every evening. Shen Yin knew the reason—she had thoroughly spoiled his stomach by now.
Sometimes when Shen Yin was free at midday, she would also go over and bring Xu Xiuhe lunch. By now everyone at Far Group knew Shen Yin and Zhengzheng. When they saw Shen Yin, they would greet her warmly, to which she would politely respond.
Lately Shen Yin and Xu Xiuhe's relationship was quite stable. They were courteous with each other. Shen Yin would wait for Xu Xiuhe to come home for dinner in the evenings. They had no conflicts. On the contrary, she was rather appreciative of Xu Xiuhe.
"Sorry I'm a bit late getting back. I had some things to take care of this afternoon and haven't started on dinner yet," Shen Yin said as she got out of the car.
Xu Xiuhe was just curious what Shen Yin had been up to and said, "No problem, come get in my car and we'll eat out."
Xu Xiuhe started the car while Shen Yin got in the backseat holding Zhengzheng. "Daddy, Zhengzheng wants to drive the car," the little boy said, full of curiosity about everything as children were.
The corners of Xu Xiuhe's mouth curved up slightly, an expression Shen Yin seldom saw from him. Other than dinner in the evenings and occasionally lunch, they didn't interact much the rest of the time.
"I took Zhengzheng with me to Qingshui Street today," Shen Yin felt she should offer an explanation.
"Oh?"
"I have a studio there. Now that Zhengzheng is a little bigger, and I have nothing else to do, I thought I'd reopen the studio."
"Mm, sounds good. Let me know if you need any help with it." Xu Xiuhe was quite supportive of Shen Yin running her own studio. It was good to have something you enjoyed doing that gave life more meaning.
With all the coming and going, it was no surprise their little family of three attracted lots of attention as they walked through Qingyue Shopping Mall near Ziyue Manor. Their combined attractiveness made them unforgettable to passersby.
That night after getting home, Xu Xiuhe and Shen Yin discovered they had made the hot search topics again: "Far Group CEO Seen Out with Wife and Child at Qingyue Mall."
Everyone knew the rumors that Xu Xiuhe was in a marriage of convenience and had a bad relationship with his wife. He had never appeared together with her in public before. Now there were photos of them together that even made the hot searches.
Xu Xiuhe was relatively unruffled, but the photos this time showed them face on, with Zhengzheng held in their arms, so his face wasn't visible. The previous stills of Zhengzheng released by the crew only showed his back, while Shen Yin was clearly recognizable.
There were online comments questioning whether the woman in the photo was really Xu Xiuhe's wife, and even speculation she was a mistress and he was cheating.
Xu Xiuhe's phone lit up with an incoming call from Liu Bo: "CEO, how do you want to handle this?"
"Issue a clarification on the company's official account."
"Clarifying what exactly?" Liu Bo didn't understand.
"Clarify that the woman and child in the photo are my wife and son. And clarify that I'm not cheating."
He had just gotten off the phone when Chang Zhiyuan and Xue Jingrui were tagging him frantically in the group chat.
[Dude, I thought you were always real careful. How'd you get caught this time?]
[I assumed Qingyue Mall would be safe.]
[It's your mall, you can't just assume it's secure!]
Shu Yi also called Shen Yin.
After Far Group's official clarification, Shen Group also issued a post: "Since when did my daughter Shen Yin become a mistress? And when did my son-in-law cheat on her without my knowing?"
With this post, the business community and netizens alike were stunned. When did Shen Tianzheng have a daughter? They only knew Xu Xiuhe was in an arranged marriage but didn't know which family it was to. The wedding at the time was small and rushed, with only closest relatives and friends attending. They had no idea at all who Xu Xiuhe's bride was.
Shen Group was quite famous in Rong City, especially in recent years as it was growing rapidly. If people had known there was a daughter in the Shen family, their doorstep probably would have been trampled flat.
When Shen Yin was born, Shen Group was going through financial difficulties, and the family planning policy happened to be rolling out. So Fang Yue secretly gave birth to Shen Yin and registered her under Fang Yue's maiden name. As a result, very few were aware there was a daughter in the Shen family, even with Yang Cui's incomplete investigation.