{Shen Qi was concise: “The airport.” 2}

She muttered quietly, “Isn’t she just a seamstress?”

What she didn’t expect was for Shen Qi to hear her. “Shut up.”

The young brand designer had never heard such impolite words from a child before. Although people in her line of work often made self-deprecating jokes, but being compared to tailors of older generations, and from a child stung a bit.

It felt disrespectful.

Zhang Luoying had personally come to Shen’s home to take measurements and design clothes for the two children, all out of respect for Mr. Shen. She hadn’t expected this at all. She smiled and met the children’s gaze head-on, unfazed, though she had no interest in continuing. “Mr. Shen, I think your children might not be suited to my designs. I have other colleagues who are more experienced, and I’ll send their contact details to your assistant. How does that sound?”

The young female designer, maintaining her poise, felt that even as a service provider, she had the right to choose her clients.

Clearly, these children weren’t suitable.

“Ms. Zhang, I respect your decision,” Shen Qi said as he signaled the butler to escort the designer out.

Shen Qinian and Shen Qiyue could both sense that after seeing the guest out, their father’s mood had darkened. From the moment Shen Qiyue had made that impolite remark, his stern expression hadn’t softened.

“Dad, I didn’t mean it,” Shen Qiyue said. She disliked other women, but she hadn’t meant to drive anyone away—after all, she had other tricks up her sleeve for that. She hadn’t expected the designer to see through her little game and leave so quickly. “I didn’t think the designer would give up so easily and just quit.”

As she said this, her eyes were glistening with unshed tears, as if she had been wronged.

However, her words subtly placed the blame on the other adult.

“Shen Qiyue, I underestimated you.”

“I don’t know who you’ve been learning your behavior from lately, or who has been influencing you,” Shen Qi said, getting up from the table. “But I don’t like it.”

Almost as soon as he left the dining room, a loud wail erupted, filling the air.

But Shen Qi didn’t look back. Shen Qinian wasn’t sure whether to comfort his sister or stay silent. On the one hand, he didn’t want to hear her heartfelt sobs, but on the other, he feared that comforting her would only encourage her spoiled behavior.

After crying for a while, Shen Qiyue realized that no one was paying attention to her. She stopped sulking, but her resentment toward that pretentious designer deepened.

She disliked her even more than she disliked Qian Xu.

Even though Shen Qiyue had never openly admitted her distaste for Qian Xu before, she had to acknowledge that every day Qian Xu spent taking care of her and restricting her behavior was a day she felt miserable.

–

“Mr. Shen.”

Shen Qi’s car window slowly lowered, and his tone was polite. “I didn’t get the chance to apologize to you, Ms. Zhang.”

“It’s fine, Mr. Shen. I wouldn’t get upset over something so small,” Zhang Luoying responded with a gracious smile. “But your children are still young; they definitely need someone to guide them constantly.”

Zhang Luoying wasn’t sure if she had misread the situation or if Mr. Shen had genuinely smiled.

At that moment, the usually composed man seemed to be truly smiling, as if he had finally found a lifeline after being submerged in deep waters for so long. He promised confidently, “Don’t worry, soon enough, there will be someone to guide them.”

The young designer, not wanting to offend the powerful businessman over a child’s misbehavior, didn’t press further. Though she had no idea who this “someone” Mr. Shen referred to might be, she nodded in agreement.

Mr. Shen seemed satisfied with her response, and even though the deal wasn’t closed, the remaining payment was still promptly transferred.

…

This time, Shen Qi didn’t call for another designer to make clothes for the two children. Instead, he instructed his assistant to buy them two sets of formal outfits, tailored to their sizes.

Ever since receiving the outfits, Shen Qiyue hadn’t stopped chattering about them.

She didn’t understand her father’s deeper intentions in sending the formalwear and saw it as a sign of reconciliation between them. Proudly, she showed them off to Shen Qinian, only to discover that her father had bought her brother two suits as well.

This wasn’t enough to dampen Shen Qiyue’s spirits, though. She remained confident that she was still the more favored child.

Even her mother had said as much.

At that thought, Shen Qiyue began to associate the new clothes with a bold guess. Tugging on her brother’s arm, she asked excitedly, “Shen Qinian, do you think this means that our mom and dad are getting back together, and that’s why he bought these for us?”