“Alright. Commencing the first round of lynching,” Huanhuan, who was acting the role of G.o.d, announced.

“Her!” Han Yaying pointed at Sheng Jiaoyang.

“Second round of lynching begins.”

“Her!” Han Yaying pointed at Sheng Jiaoyang once again.

“Jiaojiao receives three votes and is out of the game. Please leave your last words.”

Sheng Jiaoyang shrugged and put on an innocent look. “I"m really a commoner. I understand why Sister Yaying lynched me. After all, her love for me runs deep. The other two votes are suspicious though, one of them must be the killer.”

Han Yaying"s lips twitched. How shameless, what is this nonsense about my love for her running deep?!

At the end of the game, all the killers had been successfully lynched and the commoners clenched the victory.

The killers who lost had to sing, one after another.

The second game commenced and Sheng Jiaoyang got the role of the killer. She killed off Han Yaying instantly.

During the discussion segment, upon hearing the others guessing that she was the one who most likely killed off Han Yaying, Sheng Jiaoyang defended herself calmly. “The killer must"ve felt the same way and killed off Sister Yaying to frame me. I, a commoner, would then be lynched and become a scapegoat, and the killer would"ve gotten rid of two good guys. I think the killer is hiding amongst those who are accusing me and adding oil to fire.”

The others felt that Sheng Jiaoyang"s statement was logical and didn"t vote for her during the lynching segment. Sheng Jiaoyang successfully proceeded to the next round.

During the second round, she, partnered with another killer, killed off a person who seemed to be the police.

Since she calmly gave everyone the impression that she was a commoner in the first round, she wasn"t voted for during the second round of lynching either.

One round after another, the killers eventually claimed victory.

When Sheng Jiaoyang revealed her ident.i.ty as a killer, everyone showed signs of disbelief.

“Ha! You really were the one who killed me!” Han Yaying glared at Sheng Jiaoyang.

Sheng Jiaoyang chuckled. “Sister Yaying loves me so much that I must, of course, invite Sister Yaying out of the game first. Otherwise, another two votes would come along and I"d be outed during the first round.”

“Jiaojiao, your speech during the first round was exceptional. Everyone concurred with your statement and wasn"t suspicious of you at all,” Huanhuan said with a smile.

“Thanks for the compliment.” Sheng Jiaoyang accepted readily.

The third game commenced, and Sheng Jiaoyang got the role of the police. She first checked on Han Yaying"s ident.i.ty – a commoner.

The killer killed off a commoner in the first round. During the lynching segment, Han Yaying decisively pointed out Sheng Jiaoyang.

“Sister Yaying, your love for me sure runs deep, but I"m not the killer.” Sheng Jiaoyang shrugged.

“It"s you, it"s you, it"s you! You have the face of a killer,” Han Yaying said petulantly.

“Alright, the discussion segment is over, no more talking.” Lele presided over the game.

With Han Yaying"s vote, coupled with the vote of the killers, Sheng Jiaoyang was lynched, to no one"s surprise.

She revealed her ident.i.ty when she left her last words. “Firstly, I"m the police. I checked Sister Yaying"s ident.i.ty; she"s a commoner. Two of the other three who voted for me must be killers. My allies can verify their ident.i.ties later.”

Her words pointed the direction well, and another police identified a killer. When the killer killed another commoner, the police revealed himself to instigate the others to vote for the killer and get him out of the game. During the second round, where everyone had to close their eyes, the remaining killers killed off the police and pointed fingers at the commoner who"d voted for Sheng Jiaoyang to be lynched previously. The framed commoner voted for the killer, but the commoner got the most votes and was out of the game. When the game continued, everyone already knew who the killer was.

In the end, the good guys claimed the victory.

It was getting late after three games, so everyone had their last drink and was ready to call it a day.

“Jiaojiao, you and Yaying showed us what"s meant by a dangerous love tonight! If there was another round and you were the killer again, will you still eliminate Yaying first?” Huanhuan asked smilingly.

“Maybe,” Sheng Jiaoyang replied equivocally.

Han Yaying"s lips twitched. “Jiaojiao, are you blaming me for the mustard dumplings that you ate? It really wasn"t intentional.”

“Sister Yaying, what are you saying? You were the one who targeted me from the start of the game up till the end, I didn"t do anything!” Sheng Jiaoyang stared at her in silence.

“I…” Han Yaying wanted to say a few words to defend herself when her handphone rang. Seeing the caller ID, she stood up and said, “My man"s here to pick me, so I"ll make my move first.”

Once Han Yaying had left, Zhang Yue winked and made signs at Sheng Jiaoyang. “When did you offend her?”

“Who knows?” Sheng Jiaoyang shrugged.

“Where are you guys going? I"ll give you a lift,” Lele offered.

“Someone is coming to fetch me, so I won"t need to trouble Brother Le,” Sheng Jiaoyang replied.

“Alright then. Those who are returning to the hotel, follow me.”

While other people were still busying themselves with other things outside, Sheng Jiaoyang started enjoying a leisurely and carefree life at home.

Initially, she"d wanted to take Xiao An to the amus.e.m.e.nt park or a mall, but whenever she was outside, she"d be bombarded with requests for photographs and autographs. Deprived of the excitement surrounding the outings, Sheng Jiaoyang completely closed herself off in her house.

Xu Ping"s son, Xiao Hu, was around the same age as Xiao An. Though he looked cool, he was very mischievous. Xiao An also became much more cheerful after having him as a playmate. Xiao An had spoken very few words previously, but ever since Xiao Hu came along, he started to occasionally speak on his own initiative.

Sheng Jiaoyang"s days became even more carefree.

During the day, she was either reading a book, painting, or stacking toy blocks and playing games with the two kids. At night, she"d be ma.s.saging Grandfather Yang"s legs while they watched TV shows together.

In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, Jiao fans felt elated as their idol updated her Weibo status everyday and uploaded photos of herself doing various activities.

There was a photo of her sitting quietly as she leisurely read a book.

There was a photo of her smiling as she curled her legs under her and sat with the little kids, playing with toys.

There was also a photo of her nibbling on a paintbrush and grinding paint.

Seeing these photos would make one feel particularly peaceful.

These photos of her daily life swiftly caught the hearts of those who followed her due to the drama. Many expressed that they"d become her fan as they were completely attracted to her.

But, there were all sorts of strange comments mixed in.

TooTiredToThinkOfAName: [Is it really okay for Sis Jiao to be like this everyday? Zhang Yue is already dog-tired next door, go and comfort him!]

LoveLifeButLoveMyselfMore: [With Sis Jiao"s high popularity, she should have many events to attend. Why does she have so much time to have fun? Isn"t that ignoring one"s duties?]

G.o.dKnowsWhyAmIStillAlive: [How awesome, my Jiao! So hot and pretty even without makeup!]

GuZhouIsMyDreamG.o.d: [Refusing to work! She"s just full of hype!]

In actual fact, Sheng Jiaoyang"s weibo account was managed by Xu Ping, and the photos were all uploaded by her too.

Without work, without school, and without Shen Zhining beside her, life was really going well for Sheng Jiaoyang lately. Every day, she could do whatever she wanted. When she had nothing to do, she could even do online shopping for the two kids and buy clothes, toys, and all sorts of purchases. All kinds of toys already filled the room in the house specially used to store toys for the kids.

“Jiaojiao, it"s your birthday tomorrow. Do you really not want to hold a birthday party? An 18th birthday is very special!” Xu Pu found Sheng Jiaoyang reading a book.

“It"s okay, it"s awkward to have your birthday on a day like tomorrow. Who"d appear if I held one? Other than family members, since they"re family, there"d be no one else.” Most importantly, deep down, her 18th birthday had long pa.s.sed and there was nothing to celebrate.

Xu Ping didn"t know how to respond. It is Lunar New Year"s Eve tomorrow, so it"s indeed awkward to have your birthday fall on such a special occasion. Jiaojiao sure knows how to choose her birthday.

“It"s fine, isn"t it just a birthday? Having you is enough. We can celebrate tomorrow,” Sheng Jiaoyang comforted Xu Ping.

“I guess that"ll do,” Xu Ping sighed.

Suddenly, a thought came to Xu Ping and her eyes brightened. “Jiaojiao, the fans have been asking for you to hold a live stream. Why don"t you find some time tomorrow and hold a one-hour live stream? It"s a great way to repay the fans for their love and support.”

“Sure, go ahead and arrange it.”

Xu Ping then excitedly left.

Sheng Jiaoyang couldn"t continue reading her book as she was invited out by Lina.

In order for others to not recognise her, she disguised herself well before leaving the house. She put on a pair of large spectacles with a black rim, a hat, and a fuzzy scarf. She then wrapped herself in a solid coloured down jacket which reached just beyond her knees. Only when she didn"t look a single bit like a celebrity did she leave the house.

When Sheng Jiaoyang saw Lina, the latter was holding a hot drink and leisurely watching a drama series.

“What did you call me out for? Don"t you have to accompany your George?”

“He has to attend a conference. Furthermore, it"s Lunar New Year. I have to be at my grandfather"s house and won"t be able to accompany him.”

“I thought that the two of you got into an argument again!”

“It"s your birthday tomorrow, isn"t it? I specially came out today to party with you till the sun goes up!”

Sheng Jiaoyang leaned against Lina and asked lazily, “How can we have a party with just two people?”

“So what if there are only two people? Wasn"t it just the two of us when we celebrated our birthdays in school? Didn"t we party till the sun went up as well?” Lina glanced at her.

“That was eight or nine years ago!”

“So what if it"s been eight or nine years? We can"t do it anymore now? Or, are you going back to accompany your Demon King Shen?”

“What"s there to accompany? He"s not back yet.”

“Eh?” Lina was surprised. “You didn"t tell him your ident.i.ty, so to him, it"s your 18th birthday tomorrow. Plus, this birthday is special, so it"s impossible for him to not know. He actually didn"t come back?”

“It"s Lunar New Year"s Eve tomorrow, and the first day of the Lunar New Year the day after. He"d definitely have to stay home and accompany the two elders. If it were me, even if his birthday was tomorrow, I wouldn"t go to him. I"d stay at home and accompany my grandfather.”

“Then, when are you planning on telling him your real ident.i.ty?”

Sheng Jiaoyang was stunned by Lina"s words. She hadn"t thought about it at all lately.

Logically, it didn"t matter even if she were to continue hiding the truth from Shen Zhining, but she still felt hesitant.

“Hmph, I"m not going to tell him. Wouldn"t it please him? He"s bullied me since young, and now he can continue to bully me. He"d feel a sense of achievement from that.” Most importantly, I always b.u.t.tered him up when I was younger. If we were to acknowledge each other, he"s definitely going to bring up what I did as a child…no way!