The next morning, Shen Jianxi got dressed and went out.
As soon as she stepped out, a woman's voice called from the end of the corridor.
"Shen Jian, you're up!" Her voice preceded her appearance, and only then did Zhao Yingxin's figure come into Shen Jianxi's sight.
"Good morning, Teacher Zhao," she greeted Zhao Yingxin.
"Good morning, good morning," Zhao Yingxin walked up to her. "I've prepared some breakfast, come and try it."
Everyone says that to capture a man's heart, you must first capture his stomach. So today, she had gotten up early and bought a whole table of food.
Shen Jianxi felt helpless, but she didn't know how to explain this to Zhao Yingxin.
She nodded and, in silence, walked out with Zhao Yingxin.
As they passed Jing Luan's doorway, the door creaked open, and Jing Luan emerged.
He was wearing a Peppa Pig t-shirt, his hair was messy, and he was yawning. Seeing them, he immediately stopped talking.
"Ahem, are you guys heading out so early?"
Shen Jianxi's eyes lit up when she saw him, and she stepped forward, grabbing his wrist.
"W-what are you doing?"
Jing Luan was startled by her action. He felt like meat being eyed by a dog, her eyes shining.
Shen Jianxi smiled broadly, her tone unusually gentle, "Brother Luan, have you eaten breakfast yet?"
"Not yet, why?"
Hearing his reply, Shen Jianxi's smile widened, making Jing Luan highly vigilant.
"Nothing, I just wanted to invite you to have breakfast together."
"Why are you looking for me, look for Teacher Shen," this was said with a hint of sourness, and he pointed towards Shen Xingzhi's door with his eyes as he spoke.
Clearly, he was thinking about the ring incident from yesterday.
"I..."
"Creak—"
Before she could finish speaking, the door he had pointed at opened.
Unlike Jing Luan, who was in casual home attire and clearly just woke up, Shen Xingzhi was impeccably dressed. He didn't look like he was going on a date, but rather to discuss a business deal.
"Good morning, Teacher Shen!" The three of them, who had been somewhat lazy, instantly straightened up and greeted him.
Shen Jianxi also released her grip on Jing Luan's wrist. To avoid revealing anything, she greeted him like the other two.
Her serious demeanor made Shen Xingzhi look at her a few extra times.
With a smile in his eyes, his already gentle appearance became even more refined. "Good morning, everyone have fun today."
After speaking, Shen Xingzhi strode off, deliberately passing by Shen Jianxi.
The moment he passed, Shen Jianxi quickly hooked him with her little finger.
Shen Xingzhi paused for a moment, then left as if nothing had happened.
111: "Beep! Affection points +2, current affection for Shen Xingzhi is 58."
Zhao Yingxin watched his receding back and muttered in confusion, "Why does Teacher Shen seem so happy?"
The smile on Shen Jianxi's lips deepened, and she pulled Jing Luan over. "Alright, let's go eat quickly!"
At the dining table, Jing Luan had become much quieter since seeing Shen Xingzhi earlier.
Shen Jianxi finished the last bite of her steamed bun and got up.
Her movement drew the attention of the two people at the table.
Zhao Yingxin was about to speed up her eating, but Shen Jianxi quickly stopped her. "Teacher Zhao, there's no need to rush. I just need to get something for Brother Luan and he needs to come with me. Please eat leisurely."
Since earlier, the two of them had barely spoken, and the table was filled with the voices of Zhao Yingxin and Shen Jianxi conversing. Jing Luan didn't know what else she needed him for.
With a sense of confusion, he stood up and followed Shen Jianxi.
They returned to Shen Jianxi's room. Shen Xingzhi had already left, otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to bring someone over so openly.
Closing the door, Jing Luan looked at Shen Jianxi, who was searching for something, with a cold expression.
"What do you need me for?"
Shen Jianxi didn't answer him. Instead, she took out a delicate small box from the drawer and handed it to him.
Jing Luan eyed the box coldly and didn't take it. "What is this?"
Seeing his resistant attitude, Shen Jianxi sighed helplessly, pulled Jing Luan's hand over, opened the box, and placed it in his palm.
Inside was, in fact, another ring.
However, in terms of craftsmanship and style, it was far superior to the one from yesterday.
Jing Luan frowned, then sneered, "What? Are these rings sold in bulk? One for each person? Am I just a fish to you? Shen Jian, do you think I'm easy to bully? I'm telling you... you, why are you crying?"
The words behind his sentence died on his lips as he met Shen Jianxi's tear-filled eyes.
At the exact moment their eyes met, a tear slid down her cheek.
"You, don't cry. I might have said it a bit too harshly. Well, well, it's, it's you, you, you... my fault." He resigned himself and lowered his head to apologize, though he didn't know what he had done wrong, apologizing was never wrong.
"You should apologize."
Shen Jianxi's voice was choked with sobs.
Jing Luan looked up at her incredulously.
An apology was an apology, but Jing Luan didn't feel he had done anything wrong. He was apologizing to stop her from crying, not to admit guilt.
"Me?"
"Shut up!"
As soon as Jing Luan uttered a word, Shen Jianxi sharply told him to stop.
He pursed his lips tightly and forced a smile. "Okay, okay, I'll shut up."
He was scared, wasn't he?
Shen Jianxi had already wiped away her tears. She took a breath and said, "The ring yesterday was just part of the director's script. But this one of yours, I had already started preparing before we began filming."
"Don't misunderstand me!"
As she spoke, her voice became choked again, and the tears flowed uncontrollably, falling down one after another.
Although Jing Luan was still suspicious, he immediately stepped forward to wipe away her tears.
"You, don't cry."
After he said that, the person in front of him cried even harder.
Jing Luan was anxious. He quickly moved behind her, grabbed tissues from the table, and gently wiped her tears while explaining, "It's all my fault, I'm sorry, please don't cry, I believe you."
"Here, why don't you hit me!" He then pulled Shen Jianxi's hand and directed it to hit him hard.
After a few weak blows, Shen Jianxi pulled her hand back.
"Wh-what's wrong? Are you feeling better?" Jing Luan looked at her cautiously.
Unexpectedly, her eyes became even redder.
Shen Jianxi pouted. This time, she was genuinely hurt. She said with a sniffle, "My hand hurts."
Her hand really did hurt.
This sensitivity to pain was truly dreadful; she couldn't even act anymore.
Fortunately, it wasn't entirely without effect. Jing Luan's affection points had returned to 40.
She knew Jing Luan didn't fully believe her, but if he went to the director to verify, his affection points could still increase.
Even if he didn't, she would arrange for the director to find an opportunity to "accidentally" mention it to him privately.