42. Love the House and Love the Dog

After the interview, the headhunter was particularly enthusiastic and called Vivian several times, trying to reassure her. He said that Mr. Wang had recently gone to the Middle East to raise funds and the offer would not be issued until she returned to China, so Vivian was asked to wait patiently.

In fact, the picky Mr. Wang is probably still meeting other candidates.

But Vivian wasn't in a rush. The end of the year was always a stalemate, and everyone just kind of wasted time, waiting for their bonuses to arrive before taking a vacation. She hadn't been interested in work to begin with, and besides, it wasn't her turn to join any good projects right now.

She diligently performs at work, but when bored, she pulls out her phone. This is a stereotypical behavior, just like when you're heartbroken, the first thing you do is open your address book to see if there's anyone who can temporarily fill the void.

"Do you have any photos or videos of Yaoyao? Please send them to me." The chat box with Xiao Jiang often stays at the top of the page recently.

Anyone with children probably can't resist this kind of request. Even when Vivian had a cat, she couldn't resist sharing its adorable photos everywhere. And what about a sweet, soft little one?

Vivian hates short videos, the only exception being those about cats, dogs and children.

"I have a meeting in Guangzhou next week, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to take her to Chimelong. She would be so happy."

"What a coincidence! I'm just about to go south for my annual vacation." Actually, she hadn't made up her mind yet. She just felt the need to relax.

Even if you don't have cats and dogs, having children is fine. Besides, they're other people's children, so you can play with them and not take care of them day and night.

Otherwise, she was not unfamiliar with Guangzhou at all. Many of her college friends were there, and they hadn't gotten together for a long time.

She pulled herself together and planned her itinerary. She bought a ticket from Beijing to Jieyang Airport, spent two days in Chaozhou, and then took the high-speed train to Guangzhou on Friday to spend the weekend with her friends.

Perfect.

Xiao Jiang asked her politely, "When do you plan to arrive? I'll book a hotel for you."

But Vivian declined. So far, they were just ordinary friends, so there was no need. She had simply booked the same hotel.

She had been to Chaozhou twice before and wanted to go again. She loved the place. Even though Archway Street had changed, with many tacky shops selling things like yogurt and giant squid, and the crowds of tourists made it almost impossible to walk, a slight turn into the alleyway still revealed its charming, quaint charm.

She loved strolling along the Guangji Bridge in the evenings. When it was illuminated at night, it became a popular photo spot, attracting crowds of tourists. But at dusk, the only people were locals strolling their dogs. She loved taking a few trips back and forth along the river at this time, her favorite songs blasting through her headphones, and her tangled nerves would slowly unwind.

These two days have been like a brain massage for her.

Then she quietly went to Guangzhou.

I went to the hotel to meet Xiao Jiang first. Yao Yao was very affectionate when she saw her and ran over to hug her legs. Such a small person needs tenderness and love at this time.

They had dinner together and went back to their rooms early. When traveling with children, the children's pace is of course the first consideration.

She had no complaints at all.

At breakfast the next day, Xiao Jiang told her embarrassedly that he had to trouble her to help take care of the child in the afternoon because he had to attend an important meeting at the last minute.

Vivian agreed immediately. She was good with children in the short term, but not in the long term; she'd get anxious if she kept a cat for a long time. She took Yaoyao to the children's play area at the mall. These days, the only popular shopping malls are milk tea shops, anime-themed games, and blind box stores. They played the claw machine together, but she was terrible at the delicate controls, and Yaoyao was too young. After two top-ups, she quickly used up all her credits, ultimately leaving her with only two small plush charms.

"Let's each have one and not give any to anyone else, okay?"

"Auntie, hello." The baby voice is really nice.

She had no idea what to do next, so she asked, "Yaoyao, can you go have some coffee with your aunt?"

Her friends were still at work, so they wouldn't meet until the evening. She went to a cafe in an old townhouse. After a few days, she felt more relaxed. She rarely posted a circle of friends with location information, including a photo of the cafe's exterior.

Her friend circle had been blank for a long time. The older she got, the less she felt she had anything to show anyone.

Soon, a comment appeared below:

Eric: Why didn’t you look for me when you arrived in Guangzhou?

She replied with a question mark.

Then send him a message:

"Are you my stalker? Why are you haunting me?"

"That's because you don't care enough. I've been in Guangzhou and Shenzhen recently."

"Then please have dinner."

"Yourself? I'm nearby."

"I have a dinner appointment. Now is the time."

He was indeed nearby, and he arrived in a moment, dressed in a suit and tie, looking respectable.

Vivian had never seen him in formal attire before, and she couldn't help but laugh.

He looked down and said, "Is it that funny?"

Vivian gave a thumbs up: "No, no, it suits my aesthetic taste very well."

"What?"

"A scoundrel of gentlemanly virtue."

He shook his head and couldn't help laughing.

Yaoyao was playing nearby. She ran over, sweating all over, and threw herself into her arms.

She introduced nonchalantly: "My daughter."

He was stunned and looked at her doubtfully: "Is this true?"

"What's so good about this? Wait a minute," she took Yaoyao's hand, went to the counter and ordered another ice cream, then returned to the table, "Don't tell Dad that I gave you two ice creams, or he will criticize me."

Yaoyao sat aside obediently and ate the ice cream.

"Really? Why have I never heard you mention it?" He hesitated to speak.

Vivian found it amusing. His subtext was, why don't you ever act like a married person, or someone with children?

But aren't there men who secretly marry and have children, and who go undetected for a long time? If a man wants to, he can easily erase his wife or children from his social life.

How many girls have become mistresses passively like this.

She had originally just been joking, but seeing his reaction, she found it amusing, so she continued, "She gave birth secretly abroad, so not many people knew about it. It was just a coincidence that I ran into you today. She's lived with her father in the United States since she was born, and she just recently returned to Beijing."

The second half of the sentence is indeed true. To lie, you have to tell half the truth, so that you can pretend to believe it.

"Then..." He glanced at her hand.

She showed him all ten fingers. "Wedding rings? Things between her father and me are... complicated. But anyway, she's back now. My vacation is over."

This statement is of course false, but there is also some real emotion in it.

This year seems like a long and chaotic vacation. But it will end someday and people will have to get back on track.

He saw that Vivian spoke seriously and flawlessly, and seemed to believe it.

"Yaoyao, come here and call me uncle." Vivian was in a playful mood.

The little girl was very well behaved. She immediately ran over and called him sweetly, "Hello, uncle."

He was at a loss, as if he had no idea how to socialize with this little guy. His usual eloquence was gone, and he just asked, "Yaoyao, what do you want to eat? Uncle will buy it for you."

The little girl looked at her and said, "Auntie Fang, Dad won't let me eat food from people I don't know."

"It's okay, uncle is not a bad person."

"You lied to me. Why do the kids call you auntie?" He turned to her.

"I told you, it's complicated. I haven't taken care of her since I gave birth, and we're only now starting to develop a bond. Isn't it a bit cruel to ask a child to call someone she doesn't even remember 'Mom'?"

He obviously didn't believe it, but seeing her serious expression, it seemed as if he felt that such a thing was unlikely to be a joke.

So his expression was always weird.

Vivian saw that it was almost time and her friends had already rushed to the restaurant. Xiao Jiang had told her half an hour ago that he would be here soon to pick up Yaoyao, and after the handover, she would go to meet her friends.

Of course she didn't invite Xiao Jiang to go with her, as that would be too strange. Her friends would definitely be surprised and then gossip about it.

She likes gossip, but doesn't want to be the protagonist of gossip.

As soon as Yaoyao saw Xiao Jiang's figure turning the corner and walking towards the coffee shop, she ran over shouting "Dad".

Vivian remained seated, watching Eric frozen.

Why is it a little pitiful? Her heart softened, and she felt a little funny.

Xiao Jiang came over with her daughter on her shoulders. She introduced her, "This is my good friend Eric. He happened to be here on business and came to see me."

Then he stood up and said to Eric, "I'm sorry, I have to go now. My friends are waiting. Do you want to leave together or stay a little longer?"

She intentionally omitted the subject. In fact, she and Xiao Jiang would call for a separate taxi after turning a corner.

"Then I'll sit for a while. You...you guys be careful on the road."

She held Yaoyao's hand and waved goodbye to Eric, only to see him sitting there with a deathly pale face.

He hadn't expected this. He had been planning to tell her that he had finally decided to break up with her.

It wasn't for her—there was nothing innocent between them. At most, they were just old acquaintances, barely good friends, and they had never held hands. Besides, the fragile relationship between him and Yang Ziqi didn't need outsiders to destroy it.

But he thought she would be happy anyway.

But he could never have imagined that she would become a mysterious mother in the blink of an eye.

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