Chapter 7
The two nannies spent a few days in fear and trembling, but when they found that Hu Zhenzhen really hadn't sent anyone to cause trouble, they happily returned to the agency and prepared to find another family to work for.
“All the people looking for nannies recently are here. There are three or four that meet your criteria, and I’ve marked them with a red line.”
The manager placed several documents in front of the two men, his tone somewhat impatient.
This was their direct supervisor, and the nanny dared not offend him. Each of them took a piece of paper to select the families to apply to.
"This isn't right," the astute Li Mi noticed immediately after just one glance. "Manager, did you pick up the wrong one? Aren't there any people in the villa area hiring nannies lately?"
The other one isn't stupid either, just a bit slow to react.
"Yes, manager, we both used to serve villa areas, so we have experience."
"Experience is secondary; the main problem is that there really aren't any suitable jobs for the two of you right now."
The manager was clearly being perfunctory; he didn't even want to show them the list of people to be hired in the villa area.
Li Mi tried to plead, "Manager, we know we were wrong this time, and we will definitely not make the same mistake again. Please, could you please help us see if there are any suitable villas in the area? If not, Villa No. 7 will do."
"I told you we weren't hiring. Do you think I would lie to you two on purpose?" the manager said, his tone becoming even more unpleasant.
Li Mi wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Manager, I'm here to pick up my application materials."
A young woman walked in, and the manager immediately smiled when he saw her.
"Come on, I'm all ready. The two most urgent ones are marked with red lines."
Li Mi could see clearly that the manager had taken the document from the villa area's data and handed it to her.
The excuse that villa areas aren't hiring is clearly a way of saying they don't want them to go to villa areas anymore.
Li Mi felt a chill run down his spine.
It turns out that Miss Hu wasn't refusing to give a reply, but rather choosing to do so in a different way.
Zhou Aixin persisted, "Manager, since you've already given her the list of villas in the area, could you give us both a copy too?"
Li Mi had already picked up the ordinary recruitment record on the table and started reading it.
She couldn't just stop working, so she hoped that Ms. Hu would forget about it after a while and she could go back to work in the wealthy area.
"I've chosen this one, and the interview is tomorrow, right?"
Li Mi pointed to the area marked with a red line on the paper and asked.
She was quite sensible. The manager raised an eyebrow and said, "Yes, write down that family's phone number. You can go directly there tomorrow."
Zhou Aixing was still trying to persuade him, but Li Mi had already given up and went home with the phone number.
The rarely used mailbox in the hallway was stuffed with a brown letter today.
When Li Mi saw it, she felt inexplicably heavy-hearted. She had a feeling that this matter was not over yet.
As soon as she entered the house, her husband's cold attitude made her heart race.
"You still have the nerve to come back?"
His first words were accusatory, which made Li Mi very uneasy. She suppressed her unease and said, "What's wrong with you? This is my home. I can come back whenever I want."
"You still know this is your home? When you're with other men, do you never think about having a home?"
Li Mi's mind went blank, and he couldn't utter a word.
She kept it a secret, how did he find out?
In a daze, Li Mi recalled Miss Hu's words, "I hope your happy family can withstand the test."
Is this her test?
Her face was covered in cold sweat. Ignoring her hysterical husband, she immediately tore open the letter.
"I'm talking to you!"
The man grabbed her arm, and Li Mi lost her grip on the letter, scattering the photos inside all over the floor.
To her surprise, the person in the photo wasn't her, but her husband who was questioning her.
"Who is the woman inside? Why are you silent now? I'm asking you who you are?"
The man was silent for a few seconds, then became self-righteous again.
"So what if I have someone else? You have one too, don't you? You were the one who cheated first!"
Amidst the violent argument, Li Mi felt a bitter taste in his mouth, filled with regret.
If only she hadn't been so gossipy, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
...
Hu Zhenzhen had no energy to pay attention to the two nannies who had already been fired; she was busy choosing suitable clothes.
"How about this one? It's a classic black and white color scheme. Is it too formal to meet my teacher?"
She held up a haute couture piece to herself and asked Chen Kai, who was standing next to her.
The clothes that were originally neatly hung in the dressing room are now scattered everywhere, all of which Hu Zhenzhen has picked out.
Chen Kai's smile faltered, but he still managed to provide an answer based on his professional expertise.
"In this season, perhaps choosing brighter colors would look better."
"That makes sense!" Hu Zhenzhen listened to the advice and picked out a pale yellow dress from the closet. "How about this one?"
"It suits your complexion very well."
"Won't it make me look too young? I'm Xiaochen's mother. Wearing this dress would make me look too much like his older sister."
"No, you are already very young, there's no need to dress old-fashioned."
An hour later, Hu Zhenzhen finally came out of the dressing room.
She finally chose a modern cheongsam made of moon-white satin, put on light makeup, and prepared to go out.
"Xiao Chen, are you ready?"
Jiang Chen was already waiting on the sofa in the lobby with his little schoolbag on his back. He had taken ten days off, but he had used them all today and was going to school.
I'm all better!
This was also the first time Hu Zhenzhen had taken him to school.
After all, it's time for children to go to school, so it's best not to be too flashy. With that in mind, Hu Zhenzhen simply gave Jiang Chen a new dark-colored schoolbag.
Jiang Chen's school is the most famous primary school among parents in S City.
Many wealthy people like to send their children to school here. Half of the students here are from wealthy families, and the other half are high-achieving students who study hard.
The learning environment and teaching staff are top-notch.
Jiang Chen got in thanks to Jiang Hua's previous girlfriend, but his unreliable father obviously hadn't considered the consequences.
They feel they've done their best by simply dropping their child off at school.
When Hu Zhenzhen brought Jiang Chen there, it was peak time for dropping off students. Cars were parked all the way to the end of the street in front of the school, including many luxury cars. Just looking at this was enough to confirm the rumors that the children who went to school here were all from wealthy families.
She took Jiang Chen's hand and got out of the car, and immediately saw the shocked expressions on the faces of the children on the street.
"Jiang Chen?"
He exclaimed in surprise.
Hu Zhenzhen glanced at the name tag on the child's chest. "Is he a classmate that Xiao Chen knows? Hello, I'm his mother."
The little boy's mouth was wide open; you could almost fit an egg inside.
Hearing Hu Zhenzhen greet him, he closed his mouth shyly, "Hello, Auntie, I'm Jiang Chen's classmate, my name is Xu Jiayi."
Jiang Chen didn't say a word, but nodded in agreement when Hu Zhenzhen looked down at him.
"Xiao Chen, go to the classroom with your classmates. Mom is going to find your homeroom teacher to let you know if you've been excused from school."
Jiang Chen obediently let go of her hand. "Okay."
He followed Xu Jiayi into the teaching building.
"Jiang Chen, I've never heard you mention that your family is so rich before. That's a Ferrari, right? And a bright yellow one at that!"
Xu Jiayi was extremely curious about him and wished he could ask all his questions in one go.
"It's just that my mother is rich."
"Your mom is so beautiful!" Xu Jiayi excitedly moved closer to him and walked alongside him. "Why didn't I see her come to see you off before? Where's your dad? Is he super handsome too?"
Jiang Chen's expression remained calm. "My father died. That's why I took leave. My stepmother came to see me off; they just got married."
This is the longest sentence Xu Jiayi has ever heard Jiang Chen say.
Even for an eight-year-old, the amount of information conveyed in these words is overwhelming.
"I'm sorry, I really didn't know your family... had gone through so many things recently."
Hsu Chia-yi felt so guilty he was about to explode.
Jiang Chen didn't feel there was anything wrong with it; Jiang Hua was a familiar stranger to him.
The two entered the classroom one after the other, and Xu Jiayi was quickly pulled back by his deskmate.
"Why are you with Jiang Chen today...? Were you crying? Did he bully you?"
"No, no," Xu Jiayi quickly stopped his classmate who wanted to stand up for him, "I just think he's really too pitiful."
"ah?"
Hsu Chia-yi usually watches a lot of melodramatic dramas with his mother, so he has a sensitive and rich emotional life. He was wiping away tears as he explained to his classmate.
"You don't understand. His stepmother came to see him off today in a Ferrari, but Jiang Chen isn't happy at all."
Xu Jiayi glanced at Jiang Chen with teary eyes, and couldn't hold back, she shed a few more tears.
"So pitiful, so pitiful."
His deskmate was completely stunned. "...Xu Jiayi, are you alright?"
Why did he cry because Jiang Chen was sitting in a Ferrari?
His deskmate was extremely puzzled and looked over at Jiang Chen, only to find that Jiang Chen, who was looking over, also looked completely bewildered.
Only Xu Jiayi, under the bewildered gazes of the two, cried his heart out.
*
"Are you Jiang Chen's parent?"
Jiang Xin looked at the young woman who had just walked into the office with surprise and asked her again.
“Yes, I am his mother.” Knowing what the homeroom teacher was wondering about, Hu Zhenzhen thought for a moment and then added the second half of the sentence, “stepmother.”
Besides her, there was another parent in the office.
Upon hearing that it was her stepmother, the mother immediately looked up and glanced at Hu Zhenzhen, her eyes instantly turning disdainful.
"It's better to let the child's biological mother handle matters like this."
She spoke before the teacher could, her tone harsh.
Hu Zhenzhen glanced at her and knew exactly what she was thinking. She simply assumed that such a young stepmother must have gotten her position through improper means.
This matter is too complicated to explain, but it's not Hu Zhenzhen's temperament to let people be so sarcastic.
Her eyes darted around, she pinched her thigh, and a hint of moisture welled up in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. Jiang Chen's mother left when he was born, and his father recently passed away as well. So, I, his stepmother, have to take care of things at school."
“The child is still young, but I plan to raise him as my own. Today I just wanted to check on how he is doing at school.”
After Hu Zhenzhen finished speaking, she watched helplessly as the mother's face went from mockery to helplessness, and finally settled on regret, thinking, "How could I have said that? Am I even human?"
"I'm sorry, Jiang Chen's mother, right? I just have a loose tongue, this..."
“It’s okay,” Hu Zhenzhen said understandingly, “but not all stepmothers are bad to their children.”
The mother became even more embarrassed, saying, "You will definitely become a good mother."
She couldn't stay there any longer, so she stood up and said, "Teacher Jiang, then I won't bother you any longer today. Let's discuss the supervisory committee matter at the parent-teacher meeting."
Supervisory committee?
Hu Zhenzhen politely nodded goodbye to her, silently memorizing the word.
"Please have a seat."
Jiang Xin checked the time and canceled Jiang Chen's leave slip.
"How is Jiang Chen doing lately?" Jiang Xin paused, realizing that the person in front of her had also just lost her husband, and her tone became more tactful. "I know you recently lost your husband and may still be grieving. The child may be just as sad as you are, and he needs extra care right now."
After hearing these words from her, Hu Zhenzhen felt that she was a good teacher.
Although she wasn't saddened at all by Jiang Hua's death.
But we still have to maintain a facade.
Hu Zhenzhen showed a hint of sadness, "You're right. We should pay more attention to the child at this time. I will pay more attention to Xiao Chen's mental health recently, and I will also ask the housekeeper to prepare more of his favorite toys to distract him."
"ah?"
Jiang Xin held back all the words of comfort he wanted to give.
A housekeeper? Is Jiang Chen's stepmother that rich?
Jiang Xin remembered his father's visit before, and that his father had been in arrears on tuition fees for a while. He also knew about the man's reputation for being a womanizer.
Even the female teachers at the school were fooled; they only found out that Jiang Chen's father was a "phoenix man" (a man from a poor background who achieves success) after they started dating him.
Why do rich women these days all like this kind of man?
Jiang Xin looked at Hu Zhenzhen curiously, "Is it usually the housekeeper who takes care of the children?"
She asked tentatively, actually wanting to know if Hu Zhenzhen's family really had a housekeeper.
"Actually, Jiang Chen has only just started living with me. The housekeeper is also helping me take care of him. It's not like I'm just leaving the child with him. Please don't misunderstand, teacher."
Hu Zhenzhen offered an explanation, and Chen Kai knocked on the office door at the opportune moment.
When Hu Zhenzhen saw him, she turned to Jiang Xin and smiled, "This is also my first time being a parent, and I don't know what to do. Today, I took the liberty of buying a few cups of milk tea for everyone. I hope you don't mind."
Some parents had wanted to give gifts before, but Jiang Xin wasn't too surprised and politely declined.
“We don’t accept gifts, Jiang Chen’s mother.”
"It's not really a gift, just a few cups of milk tea, nothing expensive, just something to quench everyone's thirst."
Milk tea is indeed inexpensive, especially for wealthy people, and it's generally acceptable under regulations.
Jiang Xingang hesitated for a moment, then Hu Zhenzhen immediately chimed in, "Chen Kai, could you please help the teachers divide this?"
"Yes, boss," the butler replied immediately. Two people came in from behind him, pushing a special cargo cart.
The carts were piled high with drinks and cake boxes, as tall as a person, filling both carts to the brim, which was quite impressive.
Jiang Xin's smile froze instantly. "Jiang Chen's mother, is this what you meant by 'a few cups of milk tea'?"
Hu Zhenzhen's smile remained unchanged, and she didn't even turn her head.
"Ah, I might have bought a little too much."
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