Chapter 21: Maintaining the "Good Godmother" Persona

Seeing Yu Yan's pale face, Gan Xiaoxing felt extremely satisfied.

She brought Xiang Chu in after seeing Yu Yan choosing clothes in the store, and she had just seen the camouflage tracksuit in the bag.

Gan Xiaoxing did it on purpose, of course. She wanted Yu Yan to know that even though she was now Dr. Yu and a respected scientist, in her son's eyes, she was still a failed mother and a failed woman.

Xiang Chu is closer to me than she is to her!

“I’ve been buying all of Xiao Chu’s clothes all these years.”

Gan Xiaoxing spoke casually, laughing with great interest, "Xiao Chu and I get along very well, and he really appreciates my taste. He won't wear any clothes that other people buy for him; he only likes the ones I buy for him."

Then, feigning ignorance, she asked, "Oh, are you here to buy clothes for your child too? Are you buying them for a relative's child?"

Seeing that Yu Yan didn't speak, Gan Xiaoxing continued, "If it's for Xiang Chu, there's no need. He won't wear it anyway, it's a waste of money. You just returned to China and haven't settled down in your job yet, so you should be more frugal. Earning money isn't easy, unlike when you were a full-time housewife and Jing Heng supported you."

She talked to herself for a while, then praised Gan Xiaoxing after he came out, saying that he looked really good, and picked out a few more clothes for him to try on.

Yu Yan could tell that Xiang Chu didn't really want to try it on; she only went to the fitting room with a stiff face out of politeness, and because Gan Xiaoxing kept nagging her.

The shop's staff had all overheard what Gan Xiaoxing said, and their faces showed a hint of gossip as they glanced back and forth between Yu Yan and Gan Xiaoxing, speculating about the relationship between the two.

These two are clearly incompatible and rivals, but the woman with short hair obviously has the advantage.

Looking at the beautiful woman with long hair, his eyes were full of contempt and disdain.

If the long-haired woman is the child's biological mother and the short-haired woman is the child's stepmother, but the child is closer to the stepmother than to the biological mother, from the biological mother's perspective, they can't help but feel—this is too tragic!

—

Yu Yan stopped picking out clothes and sat on the sofa, silently watching Xiang Chu try on one outfit after another under Gan Xiaoxing's guidance.

When Xiang Chu was truly exhausted and showed signs of impatience, Gan Xiaoxing finally called it quits.

"Alright, that's all for now. Wrap them all up for me," Gan Xiaoxing said generously.

"Okay." The waiter packed them up one by one.

Gan Xiaoxing led Xiang Chu to the cashier, took out her phone, and was about to pay when the clerk swiped a bank card and handed it to Yu Yan: "Okay, ma'am, here's your card back."

Yu Yan took the bank card and said thank you.

"?" Gan Xiaoxing's face immediately turned ugly, and she and Xiang Chu looked up at Yu Yan at the same time.

Gan Xiaoxing, her previous composure gone, asked, "What do you mean?"

"You take my son to try on clothes, and I'll buy clothes for my son. Is there a problem?"

Yu Yan looked at Gan Xiaoxing indifferently, her usual dignified demeanor gone: "Not bad performance. I hope you can keep up the act for a while and maintain your image as a good godmother."

"I am naturally grateful to you for being so kind to Xiang Chu."

In front of everyone, Yu Yan made no attempt to hide anything, speaking decisively and clearly, "But if I find out you've bullied my son... Gan Xiaoxing, I'll take him back the way you took him back."

After saying that, ignoring Gan Xiaoxing's ashen face, Yu Yan handed the bag of clothes in her hand to Xiang Chu.

"Eat well and grow tall."

Yu Yan patted Xiang Chu's head, "Mom has money now, she can afford it."

"..."

Even after Yu Yan left the clothing store, Gan Xiaoxing's expression did not return to normal, and the store clerks looked at her with strange eyes.

No normal person would look down on a mistress who breaks up another woman's family, no matter how beautiful she is, how well-dressed she is, or how respectable she seems. Her current happy life is built on the suffering of another woman.

Such a person is neither worthy of respect nor sympathy.

Xiang Chu watched Yu Yan's departing figure quietly.

She seemed to have changed a lot, and was no longer the quiet, taciturn, and submissive woman he remembered.

Confident, bright, and generous.

Xiang Chu thought of these newly learned words, then looked down at the clothes in her hand—also a green camouflage uniform…

Did your godmother give you an identical outfit to try on because she saw that she had bought this one for him?

Xiang Chu frowned, unsure why such a thought had popped into his head, but he had a feeling that this was the case.

As I was pondering this, the bag of clothes in my hand was snatched away.

Gan Xiaoxing, carrying clothes in one hand and holding Xiang Chu's hand in the other, gave a brief command: "Let's go!"

His voice was filled with exasperation.

As soon as Yu Yan entered the elevator, she smelled something was off and was about to leave when Gan Xiaoxing pulled Xiang Chu along and squeezed into the elevator.

"Yu Yan, what do you mean?" Gan Xiaoxing asked coldly.

Just as Yu Yan was about to speak, the elevator suddenly malfunctioned. A thick plume of smoke appeared out of nowhere, choking people and making their noses sting and their brains throb. The lights flickered violently a few times before plunging them into complete darkness.

As Xiang Chu fainted, everything went black before her eyes. She heard her godmother scream.

At the same time, he also felt an exceptionally warm and solid embrace.

The woman's voice was urgent, "Xiao Chu!"