Strike Back, Proud Goddess!

Chapter 145: Inspection

Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee

Xiao Jing took a sympathetic look at his brother and said with a heavy sigh, “Just stop it. I’m so sad...”

“Why?” Xiao Sa asked.

Qiao Liang had finished eating his bread and drinking his milk, and Tang Xi handed him a tissue. Qiao Liang casually took it over and wiped his mouth, following which he leaned on Tang Xi’s shoulder and closed his eyes to rest. In a tone of irony, he said, “I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”

Xiao Sa frowned and tried to ask him why, but Tang Xi quickly changed the topic. “By the way, are you familiar with Hongshi Mountain? Is there anything delicious in Hongshi Mountain? Is there any seafood restaurant?”

Her voice was so light that Qiao Liang didn’t find her voice jarring even though he was leaning on her shoulder.

Although Xiao Jing knew of Tang Xi’s real identity, he couldn’t understand why she was so crazy about seafood, so he couldn’t help sneering, “Rourou, did you never eat seafood before? Or is it that your Grandpa didn’t allow you to eat seafood?”

How could she love seafood so much?!

Qiao Liang seemed to have fallen asleep, leaning on Tang Xi’s shoulder while wearing a peaceful and satisfied look that was not as cold as usual. Tang Xi looked at him with a sigh and whispered, “I just like it. Grandpa once asked people to wait at the wharf every morning to buy newly fished seafood and send it to our house so that I could eat fresh catch every day.”

Her eyes turned red as she spoke of her grandpa; clearly, she was missing him. Xiao Jing pursed his lips and said, “I still can’t believe the things that happened to you. It turns out that there really is something like reincarnation in the world. That’s really... amazing.”

Tang Xi smiled, but looked greatly sad. “Maybe it’s due to God’s mercy that I can live again, but...” Tang Xi looked at Qiao Liang, put his finger onto her palm and continued softly, “This experience let me know that someone has been loving me very deeply, so I can’t let him down.”

Qiao Liang turned his hand to hold hers in his palm. Xiao Jing and Xiao Sa immediately felt like they were shot in the heart again! Why couldn’t they just stop?

It was said that Her Royal Highness of Empire Group was a heartless person. Why was the little princess they knew so nice and warm?

When the four of them arrived at Hongshi Mountain, it was just 9:10 am. The deep-pocketed company, OLS, had booked the entirety of Hongshi Mountain for one day to shoot the TV commercial, so when they reached the mountain, there weren’t many people around and it was not as busy as usual.

Qiao Liang woke up when they were about to arrive. Perhaps he had a nightmare, or perhaps he didn’t feel comfortable because he had been sleeping with his head tilted, but he looked displeased after waking up. He simply held onto Tang Xi’s hand and remained silent with a straight face.

It was Tang Xi’s first time coming to Hongshi Mountain. As soon as she got off the car, she was fascinated by the red maple leaves all over the mountain. She looked up at the leaves falling from the sky and exclaimed, “Oh, it’s so beautiful! When a breeze blows, it looks like it’s raining red.”

Qiao Liang stood beside her and slightly raised his head to look at the sky with a grim face as if thinking of something.

Tang Xi turned her head to ask Qiao Liang how he felt about the beautiful scene only to see his grim look. She frowned and asked in a low voice, “What’s up?”

Qiao Liang looked at her as he held her hand and whispered, “Nothing. Let’s go up.”

Tang Xi nodded and didn’t ask anymore. She beckoned at Xiao Sa and Xiao Jing, who were taking photos with an SLR camera, to follow them. They went up the hill to the salon to join He Wanning and the others.

As they walked, they came across a bamboo forest. It was also beautiful; a crystal-clear stream ran through the ditch beside the bamboo forest. Tang Xi was immediately attracted by the beautiful scenery as soon it came into her sight.

Whether it be in the capital or in City A, she had lived in a concrete jungle so she was apt to be attracted by natural scenery. Even the most common scenery would be beautiful in her eyes. She still remembered the first time she saw the beautiful scenery of prairie, she had jumped and exclaimed so excitedly that she was sent to the hospital for infusions and oxygen inhalation due to altitude sickness...

Tang Xi crouched down to scoop up the water in the ditch with her hands and marveled, “How clear it is. Oh, I didn’t know there was such a beautiful place in City A.”

Seeing the joy in her eyes, Xiao Jing said, “If you natural scenery, I’ll take you to the forest park in City A next Saturday.”

The forest park of City A was a protected area that was ten times larger than Hongshi Mountain. The trees and animals in the park were protected by the government, so the natural scenery over there was better preserved.

However, Tang Xi shook her head. “I’ve been to that forest. It was more like exploration instead of recreation. I didn’t feel relaxed.”

“Let’s go up. We can enjoy the scenery after the shoot,” said Qiao Liang.

Tang Xi nodded with a smile and Qiao Liang stretched out his hand towards her. She smiled and put her hand on his and walked to him. Xiao Jing shouted from behind him, “Hey, you, behave yourselves. It’s a public place. If anyone takes a photo of you, it will be very troublesome! Xiao Rou is a high school student right now and shouldn’t be in love.”

Qiao Liang took a look at Tang Xi as if complaining to her. Tang Xi shrugged and said, “I don’t want to buy a diploma. That’s wrong.”

Amused by her words, Qiao Liang released her hand and let her walk in front of him. It was already half past nine when they reached the hot spring salon. Seeing them arrive, He Wanning ignored the other people around as he happily came over to greet Tang Xi. “Rourou, there you are. The clothing and stylist are prepared. You can change clothes now. The staff will help you. Let’s shoot a test take. If there’s no problem, we’ll go to the hot spring and shoot the TV commercial.”

The hot spring he was talking about was the natural hot spring in Hongshi Mountain. It was located in the valley of the mountain and was surrounded by red maple trees. With the rugged stones around, it looked very beautiful and was a scenic highlight of Hongshi Mountain. The hot spring only received five visitors a day and its ticket was sold separately. Cleaned by special personnel, it was well maintained.

At that moment, the stylist He Wanning had brought came over to him. He Wanning introduced the woman to Tang Xi. When the stylist saw Tang Xi, her eyes lit up and she couldn’t help saying, “President He, you really have sharp eyes. This young lady...” But then she stopped speaking midway, eyes sparkling upon spotting Qiao Liang. She hurriedly came forward to greet the latter. “President Qiao, did you come here to watch the shooting?”

Qiao Liang took a look at the stylist and frowned because Tang Xi was ignored, while Xiao Jing hurriedly answered for him. “We’re here for an inspection.”