You Won't Ignore Me, Right?

Chu Tianqing thought it over carefully. She did want to go back to work, mainly because of Jiang Lean. Now that she had made a start, she wanted to handle that relationship as well as she could rather than give up halfway.

Her concern was that, out of respect and gratitude, she needed her good big brother's approval.

But her good big brother had just warned her to behave herself. How was she supposed to bring it up?

Frustrated and miserable, Chu Tianqing knelt on the sofa, tugging at her hair and howling.

Once she had vented, she pulled herself together and thought it through. She decided to send Shen Heng a message: Brother, I don't know when you'll have time, but I'd like to have a proper talk with you. Looking forward to your reply. Thanks, and finger heart.

Chu Tianqing had thought it through. Once the truth was exposed, it would be like an arrow loosed from a bow: there was no calling it back.

No matter how difficult it was, she had to take that step with determination.

If she didn't move forward, she would end up like the original fake heiress, struggling in the Shen family's whirlpool until it swallowed her whole.

Five minutes after she sent the message, Shen Heng still hadn't replied.

Chu Tianqing guessed he was probably busy, so she put down her phone for the time being and fixed herself something to eat.

She boiled herself a bowl of wontons. Just as she finished eating, the doorbell rang. The cleaning lady had arrived.

Chu Tianqing was a little excited. After all, she had worked as a cleaner herself, so she and the lady were in the same line of work. This was the perfect chance to ask her for some tips.

She flung the door open, startling the lady with her enthusiasm.

The lady was usually quiet and composed, but under Chu Tianqing's enthusiastic onslaught, she actually began teaching her cleaning tricks.

Chu Tianqing learned a great deal. She hadn't expected there to be so many tricks to cleaning.

In her previous life, she had graduated with a notoriously useless major and worn herself out searching for a job. Her best friend had joked that she might as well go straight for the Three Auspicious Treasures and save herself decades of detours.

She had asked what the Three Auspicious Treasures were, and her best friend had told her: security guard, nanny, and cleaner.

At the time, she had burst out laughing. Now, looking back, she had laughed too soon: she really had become a cleaner.

She had such a good time chatting with the lady that she lost track of everything. By the time she remembered to check her phone, two hours had passed.

Shen Heng had replied an hour earlier: I'm free tonight. Meet at seven? I'll come over to you.

Chu Tianqing hurriedly replied: All right, no problem. I look forward to the honor of your visit.

After putting down her phone, Chu Tianqing realized that seven was right around dinnertime. She should treat Shen Heng properly and try to leave a good impression before saying anything unpleasant.

As for what food to prepare, Chu Tianqing had originally planned to order in, but then she thought, what delicacies hadn't Shen Heng eaten before? She might as well cook a meal herself.

It didn't matter whether it tasted good; the important thing was that it showed sincerity. That would earn her points.

Chu Tianqing checked the time. It was just past four thirty, leaving her over two hours—plenty of time to make a few simple, quick dishes.

There weren't many ingredients in the refrigerator. Fang Ke had stocked it earlier, mostly with drinks and frozen foods.

Chu Tianqing made a snap decision. She grabbed her phone, went out, and took a taxi straight to the nearest supermarket. After picking out the ingredients, she hurried back as fast as she could.

In her previous life, Chu Tianqing's family had been of ordinary means. Her parents were busy with their business all day, leaving her and her sister, who was four years older, to depend on each other.

Her sister had looked after her when she was little. By the time she reached her second year of middle school, her sister was boarding at high school, so she had to stand on her own two feet. That was when she learned to cook.

She was no master chef, but her food was definitely edible. She wasn't a kitchen killer.

Chu Tianqing came in carrying the ingredients and checked the time: five thirty. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

After a flurry of activity, she brought out four dishes and a soup at six fifty: stir-fried water spinach, chicken and potato curry, salt-and-pepper shrimp, beef with green peppers, and cabbage, tofu, and egg soup.

She had just set the dishes out and hadn't yet had time to clean up when the doorbell rang.

Chu Tianqing tossed aside her apron and trotted over to open the door for her good big brother. Putting on a fawning smile, she said, "Brother, please come in. Thanks for all your hard work today. Are you hungry? Dinner's ready."

Shen Heng walked in and smelled the food. "You made dinner?" he said in surprise. "But I don't have time to eat. I have a dinner engagement at eight, so I can only give you half an hour to talk."

"Huh?" She would have been lying if she said she wasn't disappointed, but Chu Tianqing quickly adjusted her mindset. "It's all right, I'll eat by myself. Let's get started, then. Brother, would you like something to drink?"

"Purified water is fine." Shen Heng changed his shoes and came inside. When he reached the kitchen and saw the food on the table, he asked, somewhat puzzled, "Did you... make these yourself?"

He was puzzled because, as far as Shen Heng knew, his spoiled, willful fake little sister could never have known how to cook.

But the food on the table really didn't look like it had come from a restaurant. It was full of... home-cooked warmth.

Chu Tianqing took out a bottle of water. A host of thoughts flashed through her mind, and in the end, she chose to deny it. "No, the cleaning lady made them. Her cooking looks pretty good, doesn't it?"

There was no need to admit it. Since Shen Heng didn't have time to eat, there was no need to put pressure on him.

Shen Heng murmured an acknowledgment and said nothing more. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the dining table, starting a new topic. "What did you want to talk about? Just say it."

Chu Tianqing brought him the water and sat down opposite him. With a perfectly serious expression, she began, "All right, I'll say it. Brother, have you heard this saying? The most important thing in life is finding your place. How do you find it? First, you have to know yourself. It's the same principle as when you told me to behave myself."

"So?" Shen Heng looked helpless. "Stop beating around the bush. If you have something to say, say it. What exactly do you want to do?"

"I still want to go back to work at the bar, earn enough money, and then stand on my own two feet!" Chu Tianqing said it all in one breath, then smiled. "Brother, you have to believe me. I'm not doing this to make anyone angry, and I'm not trying to win sympathy. I genuinely want to do it."

Shen Heng gazed at her silently for a long time. Suddenly, he let out a long sigh, reached out, and unscrewed the water bottle. After taking a couple of sips, he said, "Shen Xixi, you're an adult. I can't control you. If you want to go, go."

"Then don't be angry." Chu Tianqing pressed her hands together and pleaded pitifully, "Brother, if I run into trouble again and call you, you won't ignore me, right?"

"Does it matter to you whether I'm angry?" Shen Heng asked coolly.

"It does. Leaving aside the bond we've shared for over twenty years, even if we were strangers now, you just did me a huge favor. I'm full of gratitude toward you, so of course I want you to be in a good mood," Chu Tianqing said firmly.

The corners of Shen Heng's lips curved upward in a faint smile. He stood and said, "A load of nonsense. Do as you please. If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."

Chu Tianqing checked once more. "So, will you answer my calls?"

Shen Heng looked at her for two seconds, then uttered a single word. "Yes."

Chu Tianqing beamed. She stood, bent at the waist, and gestured for him to proceed. "All right! Now that you've said that, I can rest easy. Come, I'll see you out!"

Shen Heng got into the car. The driver pulled away, and the streetlights streamed past.

He thought back to what had just happened, and the more he considered it, the more he felt something wasn't quite right. He took out his phone and called Fang Ke. "You hired the cleaning lady at Jinlan Apartments, right? Ask her for me whether she cooked for Shen Xixi this afternoon."