Xu Qigang stayed silent throughout the entire time, only when leaving did he cast a furtive glance at Sheng Ning.
That look was hurried, but Sheng Ning understood it all. She saw the affection, reluctance, and longing in his eyes.
Yang Wenying and Qiu Bai personally saw Su Jiang off.
The number one training room erupted in chaos. Many members of the General Union Dance Troupe were ingratiating themselves with Hai Lan, a significant change from their previous attitude.
"Hai Lan, who was that leader just now?"
"Yeah! He seemed so imposing!"
"Exactly! The person standing next to him was the Living Yama, right? So cool!"
Surrounded by so many people, Hai Lan once again reveled in the vanity of being the center of attention, smiling with tender gentleness. She herself was the princess. How could Sheng Ning compare to herself?
"That was President Su from the Southern District—he’s my uncle!" Hai Lan said with a smile, casting a disdainful glance at Sheng Ning and the others outside of the circle.
"I heard the Su Family is looking for a granddaughter lost in the outside world, did President Su come for this reason just now?"
This offhand remark created a moment of silence on the scene.
The smile on Hai Lan’s face froze; once the Su Family’s granddaughter was found, she would no longer be the unique princess of the compound.
Sheng Ning looked on with an inexplicable expression as Qin Cuifen fawned over Hai Lan, the smile on her lips growing colder.
Chen Huaying snorted contemptuously, "It’s true what they say, birds of a feather flock together. Ever since Hai Lan became friends with Qin Cuifen, she’s been getting dumber. How did I never notice how stupid she was before?" Her display a moment ago was so ostentatious, it was a complete loss of face for their General Union Dance Troupe.
She’d see what kind of fruit Yang Wenying would give her to eat later.
"She’s not dumb." Having experienced so many of Hai Lan’s ruthless moves in a previous life, she knew better.
"Sheng Ning, do you think the Su Family’s granddaughter is really here with us at the General Union Song and Dance Troupe?" Liu Yilan asked quietly, having come over from the music section.
Sheng Ning’s gaze swept over Qin Cuifen and said ambiguously, "Perhaps! The world is so vast, nothing is impossible, and miracles could really happen."
Without her past life experiences, she would never have guessed that Qin Cuifen was the daughter born to Su Yun during her time in the countryside with the elder uncle of the Qin Family.
"But why do I feel like President Su came to see you?" Liu Yilan asked.
"How could that be!" Sheng Ning reacted strongly, "Don’t joke about such nonsense."
"I think so too," said Chen Huaying in a low voice. "Your eyes were practically glued to King Yan just now; how could you notice anyone else?"
Sheng Ning’s face turned red all at once. Was she that obvious in her behavior?
The two said in unison.
After the morning’s events, the entire General Union Dance Troupe was abuzz with talk that the President from the Southern District had come specially to see Hai Lan. For a time, Hai Lan’s popularity overshadowed everyone else’s, infuriating Yang Wenying to the point of almost spitting blood, smashing several cups in her office.
"We must fire her," she declared.
"Calm down! The President has just left, and now you want to fire someone, is this to make Su Yun look bad or Su Jiang look bad?" Qiu Bai tried to reason with her calmly.
"I just can’t stand her like that," Yang Wenying’s temper flared completely. "Every time I see Hai Lan, I’m reminded of Su Yun. No wonder they say ’like mother-in-law, like daughter-in-law.’ They truly are a pair. What bad luck has befallen the Meng Family? A perfectly good man married such a woman."