It had been over two weeks since Shen Lingqing and Qiao Lian accompanied Liu Jinfei for a check-up at the hospital, and Liu Jinfei felt that his tongue was truly losing its ability to taste properly. He knew very well that there would be a day when he would wake up and finally find that he totally lost his sense of taste.

He continued to work at Savory Alley with the rest and pretended not to think about his serious condition. Neither did Shen Lingqing and Qiao Lian mention anything about it, which Liu Jinfei was grateful for.

There were a few changes at the restaurant, but everything went well according to Shen Lingqing’s instructions. The steady flow of customers every day was enough to keep everyone at the restaurant busy. Shen Lingqing resumed her work and oversaw the kitchen and the services.

As Sun Feiyan promised, she visited Savory Alley alone today and had dinner with her niece.

“It looks good. I haven’t visited other restaurants run by your mother, but I can tell that you exerted great effort to make this place better,” Sun Feiyan commented, her eyes sweeping at the place as they waited for her order to be served.

“It’s not just me, Aunt Feiyan. My people here also did their best to help me.” Shen Lingqing then paused, “But why did you decide to come alone today?”

Usually, her Aunt Feiyan was accompanied by either Ye Xingchen or Ye Jiewen, but today, she came to visit Savory Alley on her own.

“Xingchen is on a business trip with his father, while Jiewen has a prior meeting with her friends tonight. She wanted to come with me today, but I told her we can drop by and see you together some other time,” Sun Feiyan explained. “Your mother hasn’t come to see you here?”

“She did.” The Shen Princess turned her head in the direction of the kitchen and spotted Lin Xiaoyu and Qiao Lian bringing out the dishes her aunt ordered. “She came to pick me up for the banquet we attended before.”

“Xinxin didn’t come to eat?” Her niece’s answer somewhat surprised Sun Feiyan as if she couldn’t believe that Lu Xinyi was able to resist the temptation to eat here.

“Mom didn’t have time.” Shen Lingqing shook her head. “I’m sure she also didn’t want my staff to be pressured by her presence.”

“I heard that your tongue is more sensitive than your mother’s. Xinxin probably trusts your judgment, and it’s not like she can openly help you when she knows that your father has given you an order.”

“I’m fully aware of that, Aunt Feiyan.” Shen Lingqing nodded in agreement. She was aware of her parents’ intention. She also knew that they were trying their best to teach her while stopping themselves from spoiling her by making her tasks easier, especially her father. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​

Once the dishes were served, the two ate in silence, occasionally talking to each other as Shen Lingqing tried to catch up with the things that happened while she was studying overseas.

“I heard from Xingchen that you’ve invested in his project.” Sun Feiyan raised a topic she had discussed with her son, prior to her meeting with Shen Lingqing. “Are you sure about it?”

“I think Xingchen’s project is promising,” Shen Lingqing replied. “Dad also says so, but he only told me about it. He allowed me to make an investment and support Xingchen’s project because we both think that it’s innovative. The stakes are high, though.”

Her aunt sighed at that and stared at her drink with worried eyes.

“That’s what I told Xingchen, too. This project is important to him, and while his father thought that it was time for him to face reality and experience failure, Xingchen insisted that he would work on it on his own and that we are not to be involved in it.”

Shen Lingqing paid attention to her aunt and realized that she and Ye Xingchen were the same. There was no doubt that their parents loved them, but they couldn’t be sheltered for too long. They needed to leave the nest and face the real world on their own.

“I’m sure Xingchen will be fine, so long as he knows that you are there to support him. I think I came back just fine because Mom and Dad trusted and supported me in my endeavors. I know they were worried about me living on my own in a foreign place, but they never made me doubt myself.”

“That’s true. I remember those times when Xinxin would pester me over the phone to ask me what she should do.” Sun Feiyan chuckled. “Xinxin didn’t know whether she should allow you to leave alone or she should come with you abroad, but I stopped her.”

“I didn’t know my departure had caused such a scene in the past,” Shen Lingqing confessed. Even her Aunt Feiyan now had something to say about it after she heard her grandmother admitted to being the one who convinced her father to let her go.

“You have to understand that your case is different, Qingqing. Your elder siblings are still living in the same city when they have decided to move out, so they aren’t like this.”

“Because I’m their real daughter?”

“No.” Sun Feiyan shook her head and let a small smile spread on her lips.

“Xinxin and your father treat you all the same. Zichen and Yuyan might not come from them, but those two are also their children. Your case is different because you have depended on them your whole life. You are the precious treasure that they couldn’t let go of easily. You should have known by now what kind of joy your birth brought to your parents.”

Shen Lingqing remained silent. When she was younger, some people say that she was all sunshine and smiles, but as she grew up, she became colder, her tone turning frigid just like that of her father.

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