"I don't."

He remained sluggishly still, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, and the bluish-purple veins on his neck were faintly visible. The top two buttons of his collar were undone. With a cold expression, he glanced at Yu Qiao and spoke softly, but still exuded the arrogant and domineering air of a young master from a prominent family: "Yu Qiao, peel shrimp for me."

oh.

Yu Qiao's eyelashes fluttered twice. Without replying, she stepped forward from among the group of maids, put on food-grade rubber gloves, and asked with a sincere but impatient expression, "Young Master, how many would you like to eat?"

"?"

Suppressing the metallic taste of blood rising in his throat, Shen Zhao glared at her angrily with his peach blossom eyes: "Just peel it then."

Yu Qiao didn't know what she had done to offend him again. Her eyes were blank, and she blankly said "Oh" before picking up a shrimp to peel for him.

"Who is this...?" Qin Jin'er sensed something was amiss with her keen sixth sense. She looked at Yu Qiao and then at Shen Zhao.

Shen Zhao remained silent.

Yu Qiao thought for a moment, then looked up and told the truth: "Madam, I am the young master's personal maid."

"A personal maid? I see..." Qin Jin'er murmured softly, noticing that Shen Zhao's already sour face turned even colder because of this sentence, and he winked at the other three with a smile in his eyes.

Shen Yujin was a doting husband and didn't notice anything amiss. He kept piling food onto Qin Jin'er's plate, saying, "Wife, this is what you like, eat more."

With a taut jawline, Shen Hanting sipped his food with an elegant and nonchalant air, remaining silent about his mother's gossip.

The most cooperative one was none other than Shen Hanyang.

"Mom! You're so right, I think so too." Shen Hanyang clicked his tongue dramatically at Qin Jin'er and gave her a thumbs up.

Qin Jin'er rolled her eyes, keeping an eye on Shen Zhao's every move out of the corner of her eye, and casually mentioned, "Zhao Bao, Daddy, Mommy, and your brother will all be at home tomorrow."

"Your Aunt Jiang is probably going to bring her adopted daughter over for a visit."

At this point, Qin Jin'er sighed softly, her gentle voice revealing a hint of helplessness and annoyance: "That damned girl Jiang Zhujun has been acting crazy ever since she lost her child. I don't know why, but she adopted a daughter and has been raising her for fourteen years. But I just don't like that child. She has a bad face, is mean and snobbish, and has a calculating look in her eyes. When she was in school, she bullied her classmates by relying on the Jiang family. After growing up, she spends her days drinking, dancing, and messing around with male models in entertainment venues!"

“Now Zhujun’s husband has also disappeared.” Qin Jin’er frowned even more deeply: “They said they were looking for the child, but how can they search for a child for half a year without any news?”

"I really feel sorry for her. I'm afraid she'll raise a tiger that will harm her instead."

Jiang Zhujun is Qin Jin'er's best friend. After losing her daughter fourteen years ago, she has been plunged into anxiety and pain.

To ease her emotions, her husband could only adopt a well-behaved and sensible girl of the same age as their daughter from an orphanage to keep her company.

But this cannot cover up the fact that Jiang Zhujun lost her daughter.

Over the years, Jiang Zhujun and her husband have never given up searching for their biological daughter, but to no avail.

Recently, Jiang Zhujun has been anxious and distressed because she has not heard from her husband for a long time. She has fallen seriously ill.

Qin Jin'er, as Jiang Zhujun's best friend, saw this and felt deeply pained.

However, despite the immense resources and manpower spent by both families searching, they found absolutely no clues.

This only proves that the child may be gone.

Qin Jin'er's eyes gradually welled up with tears, and she choked out, "Zhu Jun's life has been so bitter."

"No matter how much you dislike her adopted daughter tomorrow, you have to make an example of yourself and not let Zhujun feel uncomfortable!"

Jiang Zhujun?

Yu Qiao's lowered eyelashes trembled slowly. Not paying attention, she pricked her finger with a shrimp shell. She lowered her eyes, and blood stained the shrimp meat, dripping onto the white plate.

She wasn't in pain.

A vague feeling crept into my mind—that name sounded so familiar.

Shen Zhao stared at her bleeding finger, then glanced at her dazed expression, and couldn't help but feel angry. He straightened up and said, "Yu Qiao, are you made of wood? You can even get hurt peeling a shrimp?"

“…Huh?” Yu Qiao lifted her eyelashes, only then noticing that her blood had stained the shrimp. Her expression was cold, but she said very sincerely, “It really is.”

?

Shen Zhao visibly grew angrier, glaring at her fiercely with his peach blossom eyes. He didn't want to pay attention to her and ate several shrimp in one go with his chopsticks.

Tasteless and bland.

Feeling uneasy, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye that she wiped her hands clean and then continued peeling.

He pushed away her hand that was peeling shrimp, his voice turning colder: "I'm not eating."

Not eating again?

Yu Qiao looked at Shen Zhao in a daze, and met his eyes, which were filled with dissatisfaction and anger. She couldn't help but think to herself, "So beautiful."

"You, you really are! Cough cough cough cough..." Shen Zhao was choked by her attitude, his fair fingers pressed against his thin chest, coughing until his lungs ached.

I glared at her fiercely, angry that she was so irresponsible and didn't take her own health seriously, and also angry that she was such a blockhead!

Qin Jin'er, with her sharp eyes and knowing her son well, darted her eyes around twice, then stood up with a beaming smile. She grabbed Yu Qiao's hand, kicked Chen Hanyang, and whispered, "You, sit over there!"

"Why?" Shen Hanyang was stunned.

"Why ask so many questions? Hurry up!" Qin Jin'er rolled her eyes and kicked him again.

Shen Hanyang pouted, looking aggrieved and pitiful, and moved to another seat.

"Come on, Yu Qiao, sit down and eat too. Sit next to Zhao Bao." Qin Jin'er raised her eyes and her face changed to a gentle and loving smile. She pressed Yu Qiao's shoulder and made her sit down.

After studying etiquette for a few days, Yu Qiao learned that servants should not sit at the same table as their masters. She nervously clenched the hem of her clothes and glanced at Shen Zhao with a look of fear and vigilance.

Realizing the other person wasn't looking at her, she could only whisper, "Madam, it's against the rules for me to dine with you."

"Sit down when I tell you to." Shen Zhao's lips twitched rapidly, then he raised his eyebrows and glared at her, his tone impatient and awkward: "I've never seen you follow the rules much before."

What kind of maid would lay hands on her master?

Now they know to follow the rules.

Did the previous rules just disappear into thin air?

Yu Qiao instantly became as quiet as a chicken, letting Qin Jin'er move her around and press her into a chair. She felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, her back straight and her expression serious, not daring to move.

I was afraid of leaving a bad impression on the Shen family.

"This child is too thin. You sit next to Zhao Bao and ask her to get you whatever you want to eat." Qin Jin'er touched her thin, bony face with pity, but couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

If Zhujun's daughter were still alive, she would be this age by now.

After returning to her seat, Qin Jin'er felt down.

Chen Yujin shook his head helplessly: "Zhu Jun and his wife are stubborn. They won't be able to rest in peace until they find that child."

“But that child… is probably long gone. China is a vast country, and it’s hard to find a living person, let alone…” He paused, his voice hardening, “It’s about finding a child who may be gone.”

Yu Qiao listened quietly, her dark eyes deep and unfathomable. For some reason, hearing Jiang Zhujun's name stirred up a strange emotion within her.

Who is Jiang Zhujun?

Shen Zhao covered his mouth and coughed lightly twice: "Why didn't you ever love listening to gossip before? Focus on your food!"