It seemed that the fox woman couldn't avoid meeting the Shen family altogether. The moment she stepped out of the city hospital, a butler from the Shen estate came to pick her up. historical

"Miss, your grandfather wants a word with you," the butler informed her, and Shen Minyao only heaved a sigh. She was hoping to have the rest of her day for herself, to study for the upcoming midterms exams. There was no way she would allow Xu Shenshen and Shen Qing to beat her on the bet they started.

"Alright, take me home," she replied and thanked the man as he opened the door of the backseat for her.

Shen Minyao cupped her chin and looked outside. She needed to plan for her future. If the day came that Li Fei'er and the others found out the truth about her identity, she would need to leave Jiang City for her own good.

There was no doubt that more people would come to hunt her down, either to exorcise her for good or to kill her. She needed to keep her presence from being exposed until she was strong enough to protect herself and her human contractor.

When she arrived at the Shen estate, she found the rest of the family waiting for her in the dining area. Cheng Lifan and Shen Qingyuan smiled at her, but her father only scoffed and ignored her presence—not that it bothered the fox woman anyway.

His real daughter had long been dead. There was no point in him trying to mend his relationship with Shen Minyao because it was already too late to make up for the lost time with her.

The fox woman took a seat next to Cheng Lifan and greeted her elders, purposely ignoring Shen Xin who scowled upon realizing that his daughter had once again treated him with indifference.

Not that this was the first time it happened, but he couldn't help but notice that his aloof daughter had changed dramatically ever since he met her at the hospital again.

"Xiao Yao, you haven't come home recently. Is something the matter?" Grandpa Shen asked. Since he was practically the one who raised Shen Minyao when her father cast her aside when she was younger, the old man had a special spot for his granddaughter.

As for Shen Qing, the old man could only scowl at how spoiled that girl had become over the years. It was because his second son and his daughter-in-law had no time to spare for their children that both Shen Qiu and Shen Qing developed bad habits and attitudes.

Thankfully, Shen Minyao had matured exceptionally well and didn't give them problems growing up. He knew well how upset she was when her birth mother disappeared without a word, and he thought that she would be the problem child in the future if left unsupervised.

"No, Grandpa. I'm just busy lately since the midterm exams are approaching. I'm preparing for it, so I won't fall behind in my class," the fox woman said as she picked up a dumpling and chewed it slowly.

This was one of the reasons why she was hesitant to come here. Cheng Lifan and the old man always found a way to force her to eat human food. At least by staying at the dormitory, whatever Fu Xiyan brought for her could be given to someone else.

"I see, then you should take care of yourself more, Xiao Yao. I heard from Xiyan that you missed your meals whenever she wasn't around to look after you. Look at how skinny you've become," the old man commented, his brows furrowing together.

"That's from our training, Grandpa." Shen Qingyuan decided to pounce and brag to protect his elder sister. "Jiejie is always on time during our training, and I never heard her complain even once no matter how hard the training was."

"Then, that's good to hear." The old man laughed and looked at his children proudly. "The Shens aren't weaklings in the first place. We are known for our tenacity not to succumb to weaknesses."

The fox woman tried her best not to roll her eyes. Apparently, the real Shen Minyao didn't share the same values. She allowed her own cousin to trample her over and over again, which led to her untimely death.

"I heard that you went to see Young Master Zhao again. How is he?" This time, it was Cheng Lifan who questioned her.

Shen Minyao hummed and then remembered the agreement she and Zhao Yichen had earlier. It's important that the Shen family would know that she was getting acquainted well with the fourth young master of the Zhao family.

"He's recovering well, Mama. In fact, Brother Yichen promised to take me out for dinner once he fully recovered."

Cheng Lifan was momentarily stunned by her stepdaughter's words, but she easily snapped out of it. It seemed that their Xiao Yao had finally moved on from Su Yin and was now willing to divert her attention to another man.

She hadn't met Zhao Yichen yet, but according to Fu Xiyan, the young man treated her stepdaughter well during their last visit. As long as Zhao Yichen treated their Xiao Yao well, Cheng Lifan didn't mind them seeing each other.

"Xiao Yao,"—Cheng Lifan placed her hand gently on top of Shen Minyao's hand—"you are at the right age to see and meet someone, but please don't forget to focus on your studies, alright? It's important that you finish your studies, so Mama and all of us wouldn't be worried about your future."

Shen Minyao's right eye twitched. Why was this woman speaking as if she intended to marry Zhao Yichen when they were just pretending to date?

"En, I understand, Mama. I will listen to you," she said in response. At least now, the Shen family was now aware of her growing relationship with Zhao Yichen.. It wouldn't be weird and suspicious if people see them together in the future.