Chapter 16

“Absolutely not, because I’m hungry.”

Facing the cute pleas of the two little ones, Sheng Xia appeared unusually ruthless. After leisurely refusing, when they tried to protest, she suddenly sighed sadly while lying on the wheelchair, “You guys are having so much fun playing, but I can’t join because of my injured leg… It’s really heartbreaking.”

Sheng Xia’s pale pink lips pursed slightly, and she complained in a pitiful tone, “My babies didn’t consider my feelings. Mom is really sad and needs Chen Chen and Ran Ran to comfort her, or else I won’t go to eat.”

The twins were immediately panicked, not even having time to think about how it became their fault. They shook their heads subconsciously, denying, “No, no.”

“Don’t cry, Xia Xia. It’s Chen Chen’s fault.” Feng Xuchen anxiously squeezed into Sheng Xia’s arms, imitating the way their nanny used to comfort them, earnestly soothing her by patting her back, “Chen Chen will tell Xia Xia a story, and we can go eat, okay?”

Sheng Xia pretended to not believe it, turning to look at Feng Xuhan beside her. However, the usually cool little guy couldn’t comfort people at all. So, she saw him thinking hard with his mouth open for a while before hesitantly assuring, “Next time, I’ll play with you. Don’t cry.”

Watching how Sheng Xia deceived the little ones, Feng Jingxu sighed, “…”

Catching a glimpse of Sheng Lanqiu and her son watching from the side, he took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger. He gritted his teeth and shook the wheelchair with a strained voice that sounded like it was squeezed out from between his teeth, “Don’t go too far, Sheng Xia!”

However, Sheng Xia just coughed weakly and, before Feng Jingxu could sense something was wrong, She suddenly stuffed the little one in her arms into his embrace, saying in a soft voice, “Xiao Xu, you really care about your younger siblings. Mom isn’t feeling well, so I’ll rely on you to take good care of them.”

Feng Xuchen: “??”

Caught off guard by the sudden addition of a soft little thing in his arms, the young man’s body instantly stiffened. He was at a loss, not knowing how to hold it, and ended up freezing in place.

Watching this scene, Feng Xuran swallowed nervously and instinctively moved away from Sheng Xia. It seemed like she was afraid that Sheng Xia, without paying attention, would hand her over to her big brother as well. Her black, leopard-like eyes were full of vigilance.

Sheng Xia was tempted to pinch her cheek, but thinking that these two kids had actually learned how to raise prices, she withdrew her hand.

System: [….]

Meanwhile, watching the lively scene over there, Shi Yue tilted his little head. A hint of envy and longing suddenly flashed in his calm black eyes.

After hesitating for a moment, he gathered the courage to raise his hand and wanted to tug on his mom’s clothes. However, from his angle, his mom’s expression seemed quite unpleasant.

He was startled, rubbed his eyes and looked again, only to find that Mom was still the same gentle Mom and hadn’t changed her expression.

Was it just a misunderstanding?

Shi Yue breathed a sigh of relief, but the courage he had just mustered disappeared. He obediently followed her, keeping quiet with pursed lips.

Sheng Lanqiu took a few deep breaths, suppressing the anger in her heart.

In the dream, she was supposed to be the focus, but because Sheng Xia brought Feng Jingxu, everyone surrounded her, making her seem important.

However, no matter how Sheng Xia pretended, fake was still fake and couldn’t turn into reality. The care obtained by pretending to be pitiful and making a scene would eventually disappear.

Especially after noticing Feng Xuran, who showed vigilance and deliberately stayed away from Sheng Xia, Sheng Lanqiu’s expression softened. It seemed that there were signs of this happening earlier.

Thinking of the fate of this stepsister in her dream, Sheng Lanqiu’s eyes showed a hint of pity, and she was no longer angry.

“Alright, let’s go eat.” Sheng Lanqiu held Shi Yue’s hand and kindly said to Feng Jingxu, “Sister isn’t feeling well. How about I help take care of Xuchen?”

Feng Jingxu naturally rejected her without giving face. He looked down at the two children and Sheng Xia. Suddenly, his temple throbbed. Even if Sheng Xia had a bit of sense—

Fortunately, Feng Xuchen was a very considerate little guy. He patted his brother’s shoulder, and with a soft voice, said, “Brother, let Xuchen down. Xuchen can walk by himself.”

Seeing Xuchen jumping down and going to hold his sister’s hand, Feng Jingxu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Sheng Lanqiu deliberately paused and noticed that the person she had invited had already left according to the plan. She couldn’t help but smile and then took Shi Yue with her.

The restaurant Sheng Lanqiu booked had a great environment and dishes. Although there were no private rooms, each table was separated by partitions.

After finding a quiet corner to sit down, Sheng Lanqiu specifically ordered three children’s meals. She smiled and said, “I heard that the children’s meals here are very popular, and the ingredients are trustworthy. I’ve been wanting to bring Yue Yue here to try it out. This time, my wish has come true.”

Sheng Xia casually responded and then began to enjoy the food. Feng Jingxu wasn’t very hungry, and with the shade’s on and face mask, he simply watched his younger siblings.

The children’s meals here were designed with Ultraman themes, and they were specially brought to the table by waiters dressed as Ultraman. It was no wonder they were popular. As soon as Ultraman appeared, the children’s attention was immediately captured, and their eyes sparkled.

Just as the twins were about to cry out in excitement and were eager to eat, they suddenly felt a burning gaze.

They turned their heads in confusion and saw Sheng Xia innocently looking at them.

Seemingly nothing wrong, the twins exchanged glances, lowered their heads to pick up a piece of Ultraman shrimp cake to eat, and that burning gaze came again.

Hesitatingly, they turned their heads again, and Sheng Xia was still looking at them with a hint of a smile.

Realizing something, Feng Xuchen said, “…”

Feng Xichen suddenly showed a look of understanding. He offered the shrimp cake to her, saying courteously, “Xia Xia, try it.”

Without any hesitation, Sheng Xia ate the Ultraman-themed shrimp cake that he handed to her.

“How is it? Is it delicious?” Chen Chen’s black eyes were sparkling, and he asked with an expectant face.

Sheng Xia nodded with a smile and then set her sights on the tempting meatball on Feng Xuchen’s plate. The little guy fell silent for a moment, pushed the plate towards her, and then turned his head, pretending not to know anything.

Sheng Xia, without any reservations, ate the meatball.

Feng Jingxu: “…”

Remembering how she confidently snatched his lunch back in the hospital, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He wasn’t surprised at all.

So, she was just pretending to have an eating disorder before. Well.

Across the table, Shi Yue seemed to understand something and also picked up a piece of shrimp cake, hesitated, and handed it to his mom with anticipation. “Mom, do you want to eat?”

Sheng Lanqiu: “…”

Her face stiffened, and her voice sounded somewhat unnatural. “This is Yue Yue’s favorite. How can Mom snatch away Yue Yue’s favorite Ultraman? You eat it yourself, be good.”

Shi Yue shook his head, and his clear black eyes were full of affection. “It’s okay. Yue Yue can eat less, Mom, you eat.”

“… I know Yue Yue is very thoughtful, but Yue Yue should understand that not all moms would compete with their children for food, especially the Ultraman-themed ones,” Sheng Lanqiu said with a wry smile.

Sheng Lanqiu glanced at Sheng Xia, who was already feeding half of the children’s meal to the twin siblings across from her. After taking a deep breath, Sheng Lanqiu smiled gently at her stepson, Yue, and said, “So, just focus on eating by yourself, be good.”

Sheng Xia making a fool of herself was one thing, but why did she have to influence Yue as well? Sheng Lanqiu felt a strong sense of disdain, thinking that sitting with her was damaging to her image.

However, realizing that the cameras were currently following them and must have captured this embarrassing moment, she forced herself to ease up. She whispered to her stepson to sit properly and pay attention to dining etiquette.

Yue glanced at Sheng Xia on the opposite side. Seeing his younger siblings happily surrounding Sheng Xia, he inexplicably felt a bit lost. But observing his mother’s gentle and gracefully irresistible demeanor, he could only let out a low “oh,” withdrew his hand silently, and straightened his posture.

Seeing him no longer insisting, Sheng Lanqiu breathed a sigh of relief and quietly praised, “Yue Yue is so well-behaved. It would be even better if you could pay more attention to etiquette in the future.”

Yue nodded obediently.

Satisfied with her stepson’s proper posture, Sheng Lanqiu withdrew her gaze and couldn’t help but glance at the opposite side again. Seeing the twin siblings still frolicking with Sheng Xia, and thinking that the contrast between the two groups would soon trend, her mood improved.

She even felt a bit impatient for it to happen.