Shen Yi raised his camera and took a picture of the two of them embracing.

Qin Jiao was still reeling from the shocking news. She hadn’t known about this in her past life, but if Chen Feng was Shen Zhengfeng’s son, then it would explain her biggest question: why Chen Feng had been able to inherit the Shen family fortune in her past life.

She had always wondered about it. Even if Chen Feng had changed his name to Shen Feng, he was still an outsider. ’How could he possibly have inherited the Shen family’s fortune?’

’So that’s why! He was a Shen all along!’

’It didn’t matter if Li Xiaomei’s feelings for Shen Zhengfeng were genuine, or if Shen Zhengfeng had married Du Liya for his career, or even if Du Liya had stubbornly torn them apart.’

’Shen Yi was the innocent one in all of this!’

’Maybe his personality was so twisted in my past life because he eventually found out about this...’

After Shen Zhengfeng and Li Xiaomei had left, Qin Jiao and Shen Yi emerged from behind the tree and started walking toward the hair salon.

Just as they were about to reach the hair salon, Qin Jiao said, "I’m sorry."

Shen Yi had been about to say she didn’t need to apologize, that he’d known for a long time. But seeing the worry and heartache in Qin Jiao’s eyes, he stopped. He touched the tip of his tongue to his front teeth, lowered his gaze, and stared miserably at the ground.

Qin Jiao knew Shen Yi had a bad temper, and she worried about how he would handle the news of his father’s affair. Still, she was ultimately an outsider and had no right to say anything.

Afraid of upsetting him further, she decided to change the subject. "We should hurry back to the hair salon, or Grandpa Du will start to worry."

"Come with me to the photo studio first."

Shen Yi took Qin Jiao by the hand and led her into a nearby photo studio.

Digital cameras didn’t exist yet, to say nothing of the powerful smartphone cameras that would come later. In fact, very few families even owned a point-and-shoot.

Shen Yi asked the owner to develop the film. The owner asked, "Did you finish the whole roll?"

"There are a few shots left."

"Well, you should finish it up, then. Otherwise, it’s a waste. The rest of the film will be exposed during development."

Qin Jiao waited to the side, assuming Shen Yi was in no mood to take pictures right now. But to her surprise, he picked up the camera and walked toward her.

"There are a few shots left. Let me take your picture."

"What? No, it’s fine, Shen Yi. Why would I take a picture by myself?"

Qin Jiao had never liked having her picture taken, and it felt especially weird to pose for one alone. Group photos with friends or family during a trip were fine as a memento, but that was about it.

But Shen Yi was surprisingly insistent.

He turned and spoke with the owner for a moment, then asked the owner to take a picture of the two of them.

Qin Jiao was speechless.

The photo studio owner was quite enthusiastic, mainly because he saw what a good-looking pair the two of them were. He proactively offered them the use of the shop’s various props and backdrops.

The props and backdrops of that time consisted of little more than plastic flowers, a chair, and some very crudely made outfits.

The owner even asked enthusiastically, "Do you two want to put on some makeup?"

Qin Jiao was utterly speechless. ’It’s like we’re taking wedding photos!’

She was about to refuse, but when she looked up, she saw Shen Yi gazing at the camera with a sorrowful expression. ’He must be thinking about his father’s affair, and about the older half-brother who just appeared out of nowhere.’

The words of refusal died on her lips. In the end, Qin Jiao couldn’t bring herself to say no and agreed to take the pictures with him.

Half an hour later, they were finally done. Shen Yi paid a deposit and arranged a time to pick up the developed photos. Only then did he and Qin Jiao leave the studio and head for the hair salon.