As a particularly picky eater, good food in Shen Jiaoyang"s eyes didn"t necessarily equal a so-called high-cla.s.s fancy dinner. It would be excellent as long as the food was well-prepared, delicious, and exquisite.

In an alley on College Road, there was a private restaurant. The owner was an eccentric man who wholeheartedly pursued a variety of delicious dishes. His store had been open for 30 years.

The first time Sheng Jiaoyang had been to this place was when her Mother had brought her here. Later, after living abroad for nearly a decade, the first thing she"d done after returning was to come to this place and order a table full of dishes. The taste was still as good as the one in her memory.

Sheng Jiaoyang led Xu Qing through a maze of roads before turning into an alleyway.

Old buildings still remained in the area. Under the quintessential gable-and-hip roof with p.r.o.nounced dragon-spine ridges and upturned flying eaves, there was a greenish-black brick wall with compelling cloud patterns. Even the alleyway was paved with bluestones.

"Jiaojiao, are you sure you"re going the right way? It"s all residential housing here," Xu Qing asked with uncertainty.

"Don"t worry, I"ve eaten here before. I know where I"m going."

After saying that, Sheng Jiaoyang stopped outside a carved, red lacquered wooden door.

When she opened the door, the first thing they saw was a lush vegetable field. In the middle of the vegetable field, there was a half meter wide gravel road. On both sides of the door there was a greenstone road that led around the vegetable field and extended to the entrance of the lobby.

There were several portraits of deceased ancestors on the wall in the lobby, and a screen with a landscape painting on the side.

Where did this place look like a restaurant?!

Just as Xu Qing wanted to turn around, Sheng Jiaoyang pulled her in and walked past the screen, into the house.

By the door, there was a cash register. A young woman was sitting behind it while looking through an account book.

Seeing the approaching people, the woman wasn"t surprised. She only asked, "A table for how many?"

"Just the two of us," Sheng Jiaoyang answered.

"There are many guests today, so the private room is fully booked. Only the loft is available at the moment. Do you mind?" said the woman.

"No problem. It just so happens that from the loft we can see your family"s fish pond."

There was a hint of surprise in the woman"s eyes. She guessed that the other person must"ve eaten here while she was away.

"Then, what do you want to eat today?"

"I would like to have a two-person fish feast, and two bowls of treasure rice." Sheng Jiaoyang looked at the woman"s growing belly, and said, "Please, just sit down. I know the way to the loft."

"Alright, take a seat first, and I"ll have someone send you up some light refreshments and tea," the woman said with a smile.

"Mm."

Sheng Jiaoyang lead Xu Qing further inside, turned a few corners, and went up to the loft.

The windows in the attic were the kind of old-style windows that opened outwards, and since they were all open, a warm breeze blew inside.

There was air conditioning inside the private room, but there wasn"t any in the loft. So, most people would book the private room.

In each corner of the attic, there was a table with multiple chairs. However, the last corner was rather interesting, as there were two bookcases set up instead. Through the gla.s.s door, one could see that it was full of books. In front of the bookcase, there was a piano that looked quite old.

"Don"t tell me that this part used to be a study?" Xu Qing commented after looking around.

"In the past, this room was a playroom. It belonged to the owner"s granddaughter; the woman who was at the entrance." When Sheng Jiaoyang was a child, she used to play here. At that time, she"d put various toys around the room.

The owner doted on his granddaughter the most. None of his other grandchildren had received this kind of treatment; they didn"t have their own entertainment rooms.

In just a flash, so many years had pa.s.sed.

Unconsciously, Sheng Jiaoyang had approached the piano. She turned her head and looked at Xu Qing before sitting down.

Since she"d already become Xu Jiaojiao, she should just introduce Xu Qing to her new daughter.

The crisp notes blended together and turned into a beautiful, melodious tune.

This was her favourite piece of music, and it was the one she most often played. Additionally, since it was so easy to play, she didn"t need to look at the score.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing was stunned.

Her daughter was unexpectedly a genius!

Under the veranda that separated the attic from the fish pond, there were a few people pa.s.sing by. A young man walking amongst them stopped abruptly.

"President Shen? What"s wrong?" a middle-aged man who was leading the group asked, halting quickly.

"Nothing." The man remained calm and collected as he glanced at the loft, then continued to move forward.