Ren Jin is 31 years old this year. According to the customs of his hometown, his 31st birthday needs to be celebrated in a grand way. So Gu Yueji made arrangements in advance to book several tables at the hotel to invite his family and good friends to celebrate his birthday together.
However, when Gu Yueji was compiling the guest list, she hesitated because she thought of Ren Jin's parents. She was unsure whether she should invite them, since they were Ren Jin's biological parents.
Then she received a phone call, from an unknown number.
The next day, Gu Yueji arrived at the restaurant early, watching Gu Jiahui and Sun Xiaohui's live stream on her phone while waiting.
When someone sat down opposite her, she looked up and saw a middle-aged woman she didn't recognize smiling at her.
"You must be Yueji, I'm Ren Jin's mother."
Gu Yueji paused. She had never met Ren Jin's mother, not even a photo of her. When Ren Jin talked about Huang Qiuyan, he was always brief, because he couldn't remember anything before he was two years old, and Huang Qiuyan hadn't been involved in his life after that age, so he couldn't go into details. Therefore, Gu Yueji didn't feel much when she saw Huang Qiuyan. It was like meeting a middle-aged woman on the street by chance. Her appearance was quite different from Ren Jin's. If it weren't for the fact that her voice was the same as the one on the phone yesterday, Gu Yueji would have even wondered if she had mistaken her for someone else.
She nodded and gave Huang Qiuyan a polite but distant smile, "Hello, Auntie."
Huang Qiuyan's smile froze; she hadn't expected Gu Yueji to call her "Mom."
Ren Jin didn't inform her about his marriage. She only recently learned from others that her son had gotten married more than a year ago. Since their last meal together, she had called Ren Jin several times, but he would either give her a perfunctory reply and hang up or hang up directly. So she stopped calling him.
Actually, she hadn't planned to contact Ren Jin again. After all, they hadn't lived together for so many years, and there was no affection between them. But Ren Yajuan told her that Ren Jin's wife was a well-behaved and filial person, so she thought she should come and meet Gu Yueji, hoping there might be a chance.
"Auntie, is there something you need from me today?" Gu Yueji asked, noticing that Huang Qiuyan hadn't spoken.
Seeing that Gu Yueji was still calling her "Auntie," Huang Qiuyan reminded her, "You're married to Ren Jin now, you should start calling me 'Mom'."
However, Gu Yueji looked at her and shook her head neither humbly nor arrogantly, "It was Ren Jin who forbade me to call him that."
When Ren Yayong came to her house to make trouble, Ren Jin told her that she didn't need to call him "Mom and Dad".
Huang Qiuyan was stunned, and her face immediately turned awkward. She hadn't expected Ren Jin to treat her this way.
Gu Yueji was quite surprised when she received Huang Qiuyan's call yesterday. She came today for two reasons: first, to meet Ren Jin's mother, and second, because she was curious about what Huang Qiuyan wanted to see her about. "What is it that you specifically asked me to come out?"
Huang Qiuyan licked her lips, and seeing that Gu Yueji was not as easy to manipulate as she had imagined, her tone softened, "Yueji, look, you and Ren Jin are married. I am Ren Jin's mother and also the grandmother of your future child. It's good for a family to live in harmony, don't you think?"
Gu Yueji didn't want to listen to her preamble, so she took a sip of tea and said, "Auntie, just say what you want to say."
Huang Qiuyan paused again, "I know I've let Ren Jin down all these years, and I've reflected on myself. So now I really want to make it up to him and fulfill my responsibilities as a mother. You see, you're both so busy with work, how about I come over to your place and cook for you, clean the house or something, so you can have a hot meal when you get home after a long day?"
Gu Yueji was surprised, not expecting that Huang Qiuyan's purpose in inviting her was to make amends to Ren Jin.
Realizing that she had misunderstood her, she immediately softened her attitude, "No need, how could we trouble you to cook for us, Auntie?"
"It's not hard work. I've been doing this for twenty or thirty years. I'm used to it."
Her simple words stirred a pang of sadness in Gu Yueji's heart.
Huang Qiuyan has worked hard for others for two or three decades, but she has ignored Ren Jin for so many years, letting him grow alone like a weed.
But Huang Qiuyan is here to make amends to Ren Jin, so Gu Yueji can only suppress her dissatisfaction. If Ren Jin could have a mother's love, no matter how old he is, he would be happy.
Gu Yueji had already begun to think about how to repair the relationship between Ren Jin and his mother, but Huang Qiuyan's next words were, "You don't need to pay me high wages, just the same price as hiring a nanny outside will do."
Gu Yueji paused, her thoughts racing. After a long while, she asked incredulously, "So you came to see me today just to find a job?"
Huang Qiuyan frowned in distress. "My daughter-in-law is pregnant, and the family's expenses are high. My son is currently unemployed, so I was thinking of finding a nanny to supplement the family income. Ren Jin is so well-off now, hiring a nanny would be a piece of cake for you, wouldn't it? Besides, you'd feel more at ease hiring me than hiring an outside nanny, right?"
Gu Yueji listened and nodded, and finally smiled.
He laughed at his own wishful thinking, and also at Huang Qiuyan's heartlessness.
She could distinguish between her son's and Ren Jin's very clearly.
She finally understood Huang Qiuyan's true purpose in coming to see her today.
She touched her belly; she was pregnant too. But she wouldn't tell Huang Qiuyan, because in Huang Qiuyan's eyes, she wasn't her daughter-in-law, nor the mother of her grandson, but just an employer who could give her money.
Seeing that Gu Yueji remained silent, Huang Qiuyan said, "I'm very quick and efficient. Just tell me what you want to eat, and I'll make it for you. But could you pay me in advance? My son's mortgage is about to be defaulted on, and you know how troublesome it is. I don't need Ren Jin to pay more; just pay his normal salary."
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