After bragging about her conception to Hualing, it was high time Xiulan boasted about it to her mysterious man. She sent him a message about it. As she had no idea whether he was free or not, she didn't make a call to him. He guilelessly sent her back, "Good luck! And be careful. Don't get hurt again."
She gazed at his words. It was such a simple message, yet she felt full of the joys of spring and grinned in happiness. Her smile was disrupted by the sudden consideration. 'Li Jianyu, who exactly are you?'
She intended to pry into the case at first. However, the truth wouldn't hide for too long. One day, she would get an answer she was inquisitive about naturally.
When Weimin got back home, he saw the box Bai Hualing left for him. He was utterly speechless upon her absolute denial and self-deprecating smile cast on his tired face.
An unexpected voice brought him back to reality, "How's your day?" It was his big brother. They hadn't met for a long time and had a lot to catch up on.
"It is the same as every day. Is Xiaodai upstairs?" His niece didn't normally leave her father's side.
"Yes. She has been sleeping the whole time since I reached home. I was about to wake her up for dinner."
Every time Li Jianyu would pick his daughter up and immediately go back to his house. It was such a rarity that he would eat with them, "You're going to dine with us?"
"I will crash here tonight." Another oddity! Grandma Tang requested him to stay here for a day and Li Jianyu complied.
"It is great. The last time you slept here was two years ago if my memory serves me right. Grandma must be missing you a lot." He was certain his grandmother persuaded his older brother to hit the hay here because Grandpa Tang wouldn't do it.
'I can also bargain with him about the footage.' Tang Weimin pondered.
After dinner, they had a friendly chat. Conventionally Li Jianyu didn't divulge anything about the trace. Instead, he nonchalantly uttered, "I will talk to Bai Hualing about it. Don't worry." Anyway, he also had to contact her about something else.
Weimin widened his eyes in astonishment and cautiously asked, "Are you acquainted with Hualing in person?"
"Mmhm, she is a volunteer teacher at one of my private schools." Li Jianyu squinted his eyes and teasingly said, "What was that? Am I sensing the jealousy now?"
"Not really. I felt guilty and sent her the gifts, but she returned." Weimin smiled embarrassingly.
"That box?" Weimin's wide eyes vividly showed how the hell his big brother knew about the box too.
Li Jianyu chuckled upon his ridiculous reaction, "I helped her carry it into the mansion." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Don't tell me you seriously like that girl."
He took a few seconds before he answered. "I don't know." Weimin was very quick at making decisions and his self-awareness was high. Jianyu had never encountered his brother's plans and fruition as vague as this. He patted his brother's back to console him and was about to advise something, their conversation was disturbed by Tang Xiaodai's voice.
"Dad, what's taking you so long?" She had been waiting for him to come back for a while now. She was dying to share the blasting experiences she had at the ice cream parlor and the amusement park.
Jianyu gave a meaningful glance at Weimin and he responded quickly, "It's alright. Accompany her."
***
The place was a private compartment in a luxurious restaurant.
As soon as Hualing entered the room, she saw two men sitting side by side and politely bowed to them and greeted, "Headmaster Wang. Mr.Li. I am sorry that I am late." Actually, she reached there on time.
"It's alright. We are just early." Li Jianyu replied, smiling lightly.
Headmaster Wang also spoke out, "Hualing, come and take a seat. We have something to offer you."She sat opposite Headmaster Wang.
"The thing is we discuss and come to a conclusion that I will hand over my position to you. I am too old now. It is high time I retire."
Bai Hualing was puzzled upon his offer. She had been working simply as a teacher. She didn't understand why he would want to give her the position. She didn't regard herself as qualified for that position. As she was about to decline the offer. Headmaster Wang interrupted, "Ah, I forgot to explicate in detail. You are not going to take over my position as a headmaster in our school. I have been working under Mr.Li for a long time and that is the job I will hand over to you."
'Working under him?' Hualing shifted her gaze towards Jianyu in search of an explanation. But he didn't even move his mouth a bit and glared back at her. She felt the man's eye contact put her under unexplainable pressure. So she quickly retracted her view to the other person in front of her.
"I am mortified. I don't get it." She honestly replied.
Headmaster Wang tilted his head to take a glance at the man beside him. Bai Hualing had no idea why the headmaster was so conscious of Jianyu's existence.
"I have a few schools under my supervision. Headmaster Wang handled them up until now for me. If you accept our offer, then that will be you starting from today." As soon as he finished speaking, he extended his arm to hand her a contract.
"These are the rules and regulations you need to follow. Read it. If there is something you don't understand, let us know."
She carefully inspected the papers. There was one sentence that made her bewilder. It said, 'You can't disclose anyone about who you are working for.' She frowned lightly and contemplated, 'Is that even legal?'
Both of the men had a good impression on her and she doubted their moral values wouldn't be on the wrong track. 'But, I can't rule out a possibility.'
Jianyu noticed Hualing was staring at it and casually responded, "Don't worry. It's legit. I am just uncomfortable revealing my identity and attracting attention wherever I go."
His mention of the identity directed her thoughts towards Tang Weimin. Li Jianyu was his big brother. She wondered if Tang Weimin asked him a favor. She wasn't expecting to get it through him, but she had to make sure that it was her qualifications that enticed the job. If not, then she would reject it without thinking twice.
As she lifted her head to look at Jianyu when she encountered his unwavering gaze. He wore a stern look on his face and his eyes seemed like he was reading her through her eyes. Feeling uneasy, her eyes blinked vigorously. Jianyu let out a short chuckle and said, "I reckon you are suitable for this. Don't doubt your capabilities." He overheard her conversation with his grandfather, her persistence without giving up on things was something he noticed.
Hualing gulped nervously. 'Is he really able to read people's minds?' "I have only taught the students at schools. I…"
Jianyu cut her words, "You can learn bit by bit. If you still want to work as a teacher, you can do as you wish. Mr.Wang also did the two jobs at the same time."
"Yes, but it was a bit tough. I was too greedy to support my family." He embarrassingly chortled.
Hualing wanted to give it a try. She was eager to earn more and buy herself an apartment or a place of her own to live. However, she dared not take a risk since the only information she got about the job was to manage his schools.
Furrowing her brow unconsciously, she contemplated deeply. The two men waited patiently for her answer.
Jianyu added, "Last but not least, we will handsomely pay you. Sometimes you've got to take risks. This is an opportunity that you should grasp. But no pressure. If you are not willing, you can just reject it. We will find another one to fill the space. Don't worry."
Hualing had no clue about Jianyu and his biography. But strangely he seemed like a man of virtue and someone that she could put her trust in him. "Fine. I will sign the contract." She responded decisively and she believed it was the right decision.
"As a reminder, I will be grateful if you don't divulge to anyone about me. There will be a welcoming party for you next week." Jianyu wore a warm smile.
***
It was the night Xiulan would cook dinner for her family members. She kicked off quite well. She prepared the necessary ingredients before she started cooking.
'I didn't realize I am talented in culinary skills.' She pondered while throwing the chopped garlic in the heated oil. After she had done putting all things in, she made sure the taste was delicious with the perfect amount of seasoning. She was quite satisfied with herself.
She was heating the meat to become soft and tender enough to be edible when she felt bored. She took out her phone to surf the net to kill some time before she saw Quan send her a game that he recommended before. Xiulan was not a fan of playing games. But since it was just one click away, she gave it a shot.
She was carried away, unnoticed, and lost track of time. She was so immersed in it that she even swayed her head to the sides together with the in-game character while playing.
Zhang Shaiming encountered an unexpected sight, his big sister playing games. He sneaked behind her and held her head between his palms before he deliberately moved her head from side to side, in different directions.
"Zhang Shaiming, do you have eyes? Can't you see I am in a serious battle? Don't disturb me." She shouted in annoyance.
Shaiming was satisfied with her response and proceeded to interrupt her more before he smelled something burning.
"What's that?" He sniffed forcefully.
Xiulan didn't even bother to reply to him.
He rushed towards the pot on the stove before he yelled loudly, "Jie, your curry! It's burned!"