“You"re not coming in?” Sheng Jiaoyang was about to get out of the car when she heard Shen Zhining bid his farewell, and she turned to look at him in surprise.

“I already greeted Grandfather Yang this morning. Go in, I"ll watch you leave.”

His gentle expression was visible in the light from the headlights.

Sheng Jiaoyang suddenly felt that he"d changed a lot lately. In the past, she always felt that his aura was cold and indifferent as if he"d lost all interest in life. Now, she realised that he also had a gentle side, but his gentleness was different from Lin Yan"s. Lin Yan"s gentleness was like water, but Shen Zhining"s was like the warmth of lava.

It might be hard to withstand the scorching warmth, but once accepted, it was only a matter of time before it melts one"s heart.

“Zhining, thank you for skating with me today,” Sheng Jiaoyang sincerely thanked him. From the moment he held her hand to protect her from being hit by others on the skating rink, she felt a sense of security. It was as if the whole world was lit up, and that feeling was still lingering in her heart.

“Go in and rest early.”

Sheng Jiaoyang took one last look at him before turning and getting out of the car. She then slowly entered the gate.

Shen Zhining sat in the back seat and watched her enter the villa before asking Man Jun to drive away.

Not long after, he received a message. The first thing that caught his eye was a picture of a pouting girl acting cute, followed by a sentence: Zhining, I take back what I said last night. I"ll tell you a secret when we meet next time.

The corners of Shen Zhining"s mouth rose into a glowing smile.

If this were to happen two years ago, he wouldn"t have received such a response from her because he certainly wouldn"t have faced yesterday"s incident with such a positive att.i.tude. He would"ve most likely become angry to the point of wanting to destroy her. Fortunately, he was more mature now, and coupled with the fact that he was given the cold shoulder a few days ago, he"d already prepared himself mentally. Hearing her say that she"d never fall in love with him had made him upset, but he didn"t give up.

When the meat was delivered to his mouth, there was no reason to not eat it. Although it took a little more effort to eat it, there was no harm in trying.

While capturing prey, beasts were extremely patient.

Meanwhile, Sheng Jiaoyang, who was completely unaware that she"d become a piece of meat in Shen Zhining"s eyes, felt relieved after sending the text message.

Her parents were so in love, yet their relations.h.i.+p didn"t end well. Why should she be at a loss about whether she loves him or not?!

As long as they"re happy together, it didn"t really matter whether they loved each other. If two people in love are unhappy together, then why torture themselves? There"s a cla.s.sic saying: "When people are alive, the most important thing is to be happy."

Having figured it out, Sheng Jiaoyang was in a good mood and everyone around her could see it.

Xu Qing was relieved to see this as she was initially worried that Jiaojiao would take Liang Dahui"s words to heart. She stared at the door and concernedly asked, “Jiaojiao, your boyfriend didn"t come back with you?”

“He went home,” Sheng Jiaoyang replied with a smile.

“That"s right. It"s Lunar New Year Eve, it makes sense for him to go home and spend time with his family.” Xu Qing hesitated for a moment before asking, “Jiaojiao, what did you guys do this afternoon? It looks like you"ve had a lot of fun.”

“He taught me how to drive, and then we went skating. Afterwards, he sent me home,” Sheng Jiaoyang answered succinctly.

“He was teaching you how to drive?”

“Mhmm, he gifted me a car,” Sheng Jiaoyang casually answered.

“A car?” Xu Qing was very surprised.

“Maserati"s new limited edition sports car.” Sheng Jiaoyang was ecstatic when she thought of the red sports car in the garage. The car"s style and colour were her favourites.

If she recalled correctly, she"d talked about cars with Shen Zhining a few months ago. At that time, she"d approached him to find an opportunity to meet her grandfather. As a result, she"d talked about a lot of trivial matters and inadvertently mentioned that the first thing she wanted to do when she came of age was to buy a car. She still enjoyed driving. Otherwise, she wouldn"t have concealed her physical condition and driven herself. Although she"d only mentioned it in pa.s.sing, she was surprised that Shen Zhining remembered her words.

In Xu Qing"s eyes, "limited edition" meant a lot of money. She knew that Jiaojiao"s boyfriend was rich, but she felt a little uneasy upon hearing that her daughter was given such a huge gift. After all, they hadn"t even gotten married yet.

“Jiaojiao, did you accept the car?”

“Yes, that was my coming of age gift, so I naturally accepted it.” If I didn"t accept the car, I would have to accept the person instead…I didn"t have a choice!

“Isn"t this gift too valuable?” Xu Qing was worried.

“Sister Qing, you don"t have to worry. A car is just a drop in the ocean in Mr Shen"s eyes. Rather, if Jiaojiao hadn"t accepted it, it wouldn"t be nice,” Xu Ping chimed in.

Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

Without the detestable Liang Dahui present, the remaining few people ate dinner joyfully, and it was more lively than at noon. The two little boys were more active without the outsiders, and the dining hall was filled with chatter and laughter.

After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room and Sheng Jiaoyang took out the birthday cake she"d received from Sheng Xun in the morning.

The two little boys were delighted when they saw the cake.

“Happy Birthday, Aunt Jiaojiao!” Xiao Hu shouted.

Not to be outdone, Xiao An hurriedly said, “Happy Birthday, Mummy!”

“Give me a kiss.” Sheng Jiaoyang extended her face and the two little boys kissed her on the cheek, one by one.

“Oh my, so much saliva, did you guys do it on purpose?” Sheng Jiaoyang raised her hand and gently tapped their noses.

“Hahaha…” Xiao Hu and Xiao An looked at each other and laughed. The crisp and tender laughter resounded in the living room, making the scene appear extremely joyful.

Before Sheng Jiaoyang had brought out the cake, Xu Ping had suddenly remembered to quickly turn on the live broadcast.

As soon as the long-awaited fans joined the live broadcast, they saw two stunning little boys shouting happy birthday to their beloved idol, followed by a particularly delightful interaction, which made people feel warm in their heart.

In addition to the frequent "Happy Birthday" wishes in the comments section, the words "there"s love in the air" also started appearing on the screen.

Occasionally, one or two fans would pop up and ask Jiaojiao how she"d found herself such a big son, and immediately after, another fan would come out to help clarify Xiao An"s origin. Before this, the authorities had already explained the situation when the scandal about "Xu Jiaojiao being the stepmother of an illegitimate child" broke out. At that time, Xiao An"s ident.i.ty was revealed, and many people learned that he was the survivor of the tragic car accident.

Many viewers were gratified to see that the poor child, who"d shouted until his throat was dry for his mother, was now this lively and cheery.

After dividing the cake, Sheng Jiaoyang picked up her plate and walked in front of the phone held by Xu Ping. “Would you like to eat a piece of delicious cake?”

The on-screen comment section was barraged with the words "I want". There were also some unusual comments, which caught Sheng Jiaoyang"s attention.

“You want to eat me?” She raised her eyebrow and added, “I"m afraid that you won"t be able to chew.”

[Oh my! Sis Jiao has such a pleasant voice~]

[Are you seeking death? Who"s bold enough to speak out the words stuck in my heart?]

[I have no choice but to chew, even if I can"t!!!]

[Why didn"t I think of this before? Eating Jiaojiao is much more interesting than eating a piece of cake.]

[OMG, Jiaojiao looks good in gla.s.ses!]

[I don"t even want to watch the New Year"s Gala anymore, watching Jiaojiao is more than enough.]

“Oh right, today is meant for family reunions. Is my live broadcast at the wrong time? Shall I continue another day?”

[Noooooooo, please don"t!]

[I want to look at Jiaojiao!]

[Every day is a reunion, but it"s not so easy to see Jiaojiao live.]

[Nononono!]

“Look at how excited you guys are! Alright, let"s watch the New Year"s Gala together.” Sheng Jiaoyang chuckled softly.

[G.o.ddess Xu also watches the New Year"s Gala?]

[If Jiaojiao was present at the New Year"s Gala, I"d watch it.]

[How luckyyyy~ I can watch TV with my G.o.ddess~]

[With Jiaojiao"s company, I"m finding this New Year celebration so much more special.]

While watching the New Year"s Gala show, Sheng Jiaoyang glanced at the comments and picked out some funny roasting comments, reading them out loud. She would express her own view from time to time, and more and more people started to join the live broadcast. With so many viewers roasting the show in one place, it was like a big family sitting together. It appeared especially lively, making this a special night for many.

Time flew and it was already close to midnight, so the countdown began.

At the last second, Sheng Jiaoyang exclaimed, “Happy New Year everyone!!”

It"s the start of a new year!

Although the New Year had already started when looking at the Gregorian calendar, the official New Year started today in everyone"s heart.

The number of people watching the live broadcast already exceeded 5 million. Although this number was nothing for a big shot, this was the first time Sheng Jiaoyang had done a live broadcast and it was only announced yesterday. Moreover, they hadn"t set a specific time for the live broadcast, so it was already a great feat to have so many people join.

The majority of the viewers were fans of the drama "Redeeming My IGD Boyfriend", and some were male fans who flaunted themselves as "Jiaojiao"s boyfriend".

“It"s time to bid you all farewell. A certain someone has told me to go to bed early. Although today is a special day, I also hope that you"ll have an early rest and remember to take care of your health.”

“Good night!”

At the end of the live broadcast, many viewers were begging Sheng Jiaoyang to stay, and some even jokingly suggested watching their G.o.ddess going to bed live.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Sheng Jiaoyang said to Xu Ping.

Because of the live broadcast, Xu Ping had accompanied her until now. Only when two little brats were sleepy did Xu Ping leave for a moment to walk them back to their room. Afterwards, Xu Ping stayed with Sheng Jiaoyang as she served drinks, continually adjusting the camera angle and so on.

“I"d initially thought you wouldn"t be used to live streaming, but you unexpectedly handled it so well.” Xu Ping smiled.

Sheng Jiaoyang smiled and got up. She then stretched and said, “Let"s go upstairs and rest.”

The others had already gone to bed, and they were the only two left in the living room.

When they arrived at Sheng Jiaoyang"s bedroom, Sheng Jiaoyang paused and said to Xu Ping, who was about to enter her own room, “Oh, I forgot to tell you something.”

“What?”

“Happy New Year!” Afterwards, she quickly entered her bedroom.

Xu Ping was stunned for a moment before she smiled. Ever since she"d given birth to Xiao Hu, this year had been one of the happiest years in her life because there was now another person in this world who treated her like family.