Chapter 25: The First Meeting (1)

"This is Grandfather Zhao." Shen Jiaming smiled as he introduced his old friend to the two siblings, "The one beside him is his grandson, Zhao Chengning. Chengning is a little older than the two of you, so call him Brother Chengning."

"Grandfather Zhao, Brother Chengning." The two siblings were exceedingly obedient in front of their Grandfather, and immediately greeted the Zhao family members.

Grandfather Zhao smiled, "Ole Shen, you truly are fortunate. Both brother and sister have grown up well, and they even have a sweet mouth."

Old Master Shen replied modestly, "You're too kind. Little Jing is alright, but this rascal is a handful. He's caused me a great deal of worry in the past."

After saying that, he gave Shen Jingchen a slap on the back.

Shen Jingchen, who'd been caught off guard by the blow, shot Old Master Shen an aggrieved look. Pretending not to notice, Old Master Shen turned his head and continued his long winded conversation with Grandfather Zhao.

Grandfather Zhao pretended to inadvertently sweep his gaze over the members of the younger generation, before saying, "Hahaha, Ole Shen, there's no point in reminiscing on the past, these young fellows wouldn't understand our hardships. Let's not drag them into pointless banter."

"That's true. Come over little Jing, you and little Chen should take a stroll with Chengning." Grandmother Shen piped in, "If I'm not wrong, this should be Chengning's first time in A City. In that case, these two will be your guide for the next two days. Don't stand on ceremony, enjoy yourselves. Let them know if there's anywhere you want to visit. Just remember to come back at night for dinner."

"Thank you, Grandmother Shen. Granddad, we'll be leaving now."

"Go on, go on. Be careful when you're out on the streets and remember to be safe."

"Granddad, we'll be going as well."

Shen Jingbin only stood up after she saw the other two making ready to leave, giving the three elders a slight bow as she said her farewells.

"Your granddaughter is pretty good." Old Master Zhao said as he watched her figure leave, his words containing a hidden undertone within them.

Old Master Shen cast a sidelong glance at him as he said, "Your kid is pretty good too."

Grandmother Shen leisurely took a sip of tea and said, "They seem quite compatible to me."

The elderly trio couldn't help but smile at each other, expressing satisfaction in their unspoken agreement.

The moment they stepped out, Shen Jingchen feigned grief and said, "We've obviously just arrived, yet we didn't even stay long enough to warm our butts before we were chased out. How terrible."

"You still have the option of going back to talk about life with Granddad." Shen Jingbin insipidly replied. At this moment, she suddenly remembered that there was another person beside her. She turned to Zhao Chengning and asked, "Brother Chengning, is there any place you feel like visiting?"

Zhao Chengning cast his eyes downwards and pondered, "I'm not very familiar with A City, so I think it's better for you guys to decide. Also, just call me Chengning. "Brother Chengning" sounds awkward, and I'm not that much older than you guys."

"A straightforward person, I like people like you! In that case, Chengning, I'm Shen Jingchen. It's the jing in an jing (安静) and the chen (晨) in chen guang (晨光). You can call me whatever you want, I'm a very casual person. This girl over here is my little sister, Shen Jingbin. You can call her little Jingjing. Don't worry, she doesn't mind."

The corner of Zhao Chengning's eyes twitched, and seemingly doubting what he'd heard, he asked, "Nutjob?"¹

"No, not Nutjob. It's Shen Jingbin. It's the jing in an jing (安静) and bin is comprised of wang and fen (王+分=玢)." Shen Jingbin explained in a deadpan manner.

"Shen Jingbing (Nutjob), Shen Jingbin, aren't they all the same. What's the difference?" Shen Jingchen ruthlessly ridiculed her.

"Hmph, uncultured barbarians are truly terrifying." Shen Jingbin disdainfully shot him a look, "Forget it. Speaking with you is an insult to my intelligence."

After thinking for awhile, she spoke to the person beside her once again, "Tomorrow will be the start of a week long martial arts competition. How about I bring you over to take a look?"

It had to be said that Shen Jingbin truly wasn't suited as a tour guide. Even after thinking about it, the only thing that she could come up with was this one place. Thankfully, Zhao Chengning seemed to be rather interested in said competition. He smiled and nodded in agreement.

Thus, the trio got onto a bus and made their way towards the competition venue — A City's stadium.

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1. It's been mentioned before, but her real name is very similar to how nutjob is spelt in Chinese. ↩