{“Qian Xu’s second slap had already fallen mercilessly.” 1}

“Mom, is there a problem?”

Shen Qinian couldn’t understand why his mother’s expression suddenly changed. Now that Qian Xu wasn’t participating, there was no longer any potential conflict between them. Wouldn’t it be perfect for them to join the variety show with their mom directly?

This was something they had longed for but couldn’t achieve before.

Shen Qinian had been hesitant about his sister’s proposed arrangement. After all, letting Qian Xu participate only to have her drop out midway seemed a bit unethical.

But now, everything had resolved itself.

However, from the moment their mom found out there was no competition, the deep affection in her eyes seemed to fade.

His sister, Shen Qinyue, glared at him like she was ready to stab him, having noticed their mother’s displeasure earlier than he did. She quickly explained, “It’s not that Qian Xu didn’t want to participate… we never actually reached out to her.”

She effortlessly dismissed everything they had done before.

But evidence of their prior attempts to contact Qian Xu wasn’t so easy to erase.

Shen Qinian also realized something else: though their mom often seemed indifferent to everything, when she decided to focus, nothing escaped her attention.

At that moment, with just a slight lift of her cool gaze, she asked, “Really?”

His sister’s face betrayed her instantly.

“Mom, I didn’t intentionally seek her out. She and you are from completely different worlds. Now that we have you, how could we possibly care about her?” Shen Qinyue spoke smoothly, without a hint of guilt. “I was just afraid you wouldn’t agree to our plan, so I thought of bringing her into it. I figured that if you saw us with someone irrelevant and far inferior to you, you’d be unwilling to let us stay with her.”

In an instant, her pitiful demeanor was vividly on display.

“Aren’t you clever,”

Cheng Shuangyi tapped Shen Qinyue on the nose, though her movements were no longer as gentle as before. This time, her touch was a bit rough, leaving a noticeable red mark on Xiyue’s nose.

Shen Qinyue didn’t seem to mind at all. She had forgotten how much she fussed before when she’d merely bumped her head against the nightstand and complained to Qian Xu about it all day. Now, fully immersed in her mother’s embrace, she found her mom’s perfume overly strong but still luxurious and not the least bit unpleasant.

It wasn’t until much later that she realized this sophisticated, effortless scent was something money could easily buy. But some of the smells of her childhood, no matter how much she spent, would be forever out of reach.

“I don’t mind if you two reached out to her, but what I don’t understand is—how dare she refuse you?”

Clearly, Cheng Shuangyi wasn’t focused on why her children had approached Qian Xu. Using someone as insignificant as Qian Xu was trivial and didn’t cause her any guilt.

Her concern was more specific: even though her children weren’t particularly close to her, they still bore her name and represented part of her reputation.

No one had the right to refuse them so easily.

Nor did anyone have the right to decline the role of a stepping stone meant to accentuate her status. If the kids’ plan were carried out, Cheng Shuangyi found she didn’t entirely object to this whimsical idea. After all, her natural charisma would overshadow everything, and Qian Xu’s withdrawal would seem inevitable and reasonable—a privilege for Qian Xu, even.

None of the kids could decipher the anger on Cheng Shuangyi’s face at that moment.

All they saw was their mom standing up for them, but they had no idea where her anger truly stemmed from.

Cheng Shuangyi could accept taking what Qian Xu once had, but she couldn’t fathom the idea that what she now held was something Qian Xu had willingly discarded.

“Why did she refuse you?”

Was she out of her mind?

Did she really think she could win over Shen Qi’s heart without relying on the daily sacrifices, humble gestures, and child-rearing efforts she had been making?

Cheng Shuangyi couldn’t understand and listened to her children’s uneasy explanations.

“Mom, Qian Xu said that in the future, she’ll have her own children. If she were to join a program, it should be with her own kids, not with us!”

Shen Qinian stayed silent, while Shen Qinyue began another round of complaints to gain their mother’s favor.

She finally voiced the heaviest thought weighing on her heart over the past few days. But after saying it out loud, she felt no relief. Instead, she sensed that Qian Xu wasn’t just speaking idly—there was a real chance she would follow through.

Shen Qinyue instinctively thought it was a waste for Qian Xu to devote all her time and love to a child who, unlike them, shared only a blood relationship and was far less clever.