"Yilan, what are you doing?"
In a two-bedroom suite, a slender girl named Yuanyuan emerged from the bathroom.
She was drying her hair and saw Jiang Yilan in the bedroom, writing something with a pen.
When Yuanyuan entered the room, Jiang Yilan was startled.
She quickly closed her notebook and exclaimed, "Yuanyuan, you scared me to death."
"Oh, writing a diary, huh?" Yuanyuan teased, "Who keeps a diary seriously?"
"I do." Jiang Yilan noticed that she was only wearing a loose robe, with nothing underneath, and frowned as she reminded, "You should care about your image at home, at least wear your underwear."
"My dear sister, this is our home. If I even have to wear underwear at home, you might as well kill me now." Yuanyuan retorted, "Besides, it makes no difference whether I wear it or not, you can't tell at all, but you on the other hand..."
As she spoke, Yuanyuan reached out and cupped Jiang Yilan's chest with her fair hands.
Jiang Yilan immediately covered herself, glaring with wide eyes and laughing scornfully, "What are you doing?!"
"Oh, I'm really envious of you, a top graduate from Capital Normal University, great figure, excellent image, and most importantly, a D cup, yet you went on to become a preschool teacher."
Yuanyuan then lay on her bed and said, "Seriously, if I had half your body and looks, I'd have become an internet celebrity by now."
"I don't like appearing in public, being on the internet. I think there's nothing wrong with being a preschool teacher," Jiang Yilan explained.
Half a year ago, she was facing graduation and chose to return to her hometown. During this period, her parents arranged many blind dates for her.
There were civil servants, university counselors, and proprietors of large businesses.
After seeing Jiang Yilan's photos, they all expressed a desire to date her.
Although Jiang Yilan appeared to be gentle, she was incredibly firm when it came to relationships.
If it wasn't someone she liked, she would decidedly not get involved.
To avoid her parents' arranged dates, she turned down a high-paying teacher position and moved to the city she once studied in during her childhood to become a kindergarten teacher.
At that moment, Yuanyuan spotted a jar of lucky stars on Jiang Yilan's desk and asked curiously, "When did you get that jar of lucky stars?"
"I've been folding them since last week, planning to give them to my students tomorrow," Jiang Yilan explained.
Seeing her seemingly preoccupied, Yuanyuan asked curiously, "Hey, has there been any gossip in your class lately? Tell me about it."
Jiang Yilan thought for a moment and then explained to her best friend, "There's a girl in my class, very lively, pretty, and smart, particularly favored by the teachers, but... her parents divorced a few days ago. I'm folding these lucky stars to cheer her up and keep her from falling into the shadows of a single-parent family."
"What?" Yuanyuan responded in surprise, "Really? I've heard that children from single-parent families tend to develop extreme personalities. They become introverted, shy, and stop talking."
"That's what I'm worried about," Jiang Yilan sighed, "But luckily, her father adores her. I think she should be able to grow up healthy."
Observing Jiang Yilan's expression, Yuanyuan ventured, "You wouldn't have fallen for her father, would you?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Jiang Yilan frowned. "I'm her teacher, how could that be possible?"
"Why couldn't it be? He's divorced and single; it's legal and proper, but..." Yuanyuan hugged Jiang Yilan's neck, "Our Yilan is still a pure girl, how could she possibly fall for a divorced middle-aged man? Our Yilan has high standards."
"I don't choose partners based on looks... but on the feeling," Jiang Yilan whispered softly.
"Is he handsome?" Yuanyuan asked.
"Well... he's alright," Jiang Yilan pondered, "Yingying mentioned before to a classmate that their family is in business. Then they lost money, which, along with the divorce, probably affected him. These days when he comes to pick up his child, he doesn't seem to be in the best mental state."
Yuanyuan nodded, "Then you should put more effort into his child. Ah... the economy is bad nowadays, and once there's a change, marriages often suffer. Sometimes money is an essential element in maintaining a family."
Hearing this, Jiang Yilan also looked towards the jar of lucky stars, feeling the scales in her heart tipping slightly.
Jinmei Community.
Lin Chen returned home, unlocking the door.
"I'm back."
Normally, as soon as he said this, Yaqi would emerge from the kitchen the next second, saying, "Husband is back, are you tired?"
But even after he had removed his shoes, there was still no sound from the kitchen.
"Yaqi?" Lin Chen called out tentatively.
He went to check the kitchen only to find no one there.
The living room and bedroom were also empty.
Baffled, he sent a message to Yaqi.
Lin Chen: "Where have you gone?"
Soon, Liang Yaqi sent a message: "Went to the movies with my best friend, I'm staying over at her place tonight, you order takeout."
Upon seeing this, Lin Chen glanced around the house.
In the end, he dialed Gu Feier's number: "You finished cooking, I'm coming over to eat."
Originally, Gu Feier was somewhat angry because of Lin Chen's departure, but she hadn't expected him to come back.
So she hurriedly said, "Alright, but I'm not great at cooking. How about we go out to eat instead?"
"How can you not know how to cook? Fine, let's eat out."
Listening to Lin Chen's complaint, Gu Feier obviously felt a bit down.
Cooking had always been Gao Jun's responsibility when they lived together.
...
Midnight.
The city lights went out one by one.
Gao Jun watched his sleeping daughter, then he too closed his eyes and fell asleep.
However, he had not been asleep for long when his phone began to vibrate.
Gao Jun quickly picked it up.
Looking at the screen, his brow furrowed instantly.
The call was from Liang Yaqi.
Calling this late.
She surely wasn't asking him to catch cheaters again?
Now, he and Gu Feier had divorced.
Whether the other person was dead or alive, or whoever she spent the night with didn't concern him anymore.
Now, Gao Jun just wanted to raise his daughter well, to be healthy and happy.
So he directly hung up Liang Yaqi's call and lay back down.
Just two seconds later, the phone vibrated again.
Gao Jun worried that it might wake Yingying.
With no other choice, he stepped out of the bedroom to answer the call.
"Calling at this hour, what is it now?" Gao Jun said, displeased.
However, the voice on the other end was a man's: "Sorry, sir, I am Manager Chen from Zhongying International Cinema. Ms. Liang Yaqi came here to watch a movie and was drinking during it. Now the movie is over, and she is drunk..."
Gao Jun felt bemused and retorted, "Then shouldn't you be calling her husband? I'm not her husband."
"We indeed intended to do that, but, uh... Ms. Liang Yaqi refused to let her husband pick her up. After thinking it over for a while, she mentioned your name and asked us to find your number in the contacts," Manager Chen said awkwardly.
Hearing this, Gao Jun was at a loss for words.
"I'm not available. Who goes to the cinema this late? You should ask her husband to come," he said, ready to hang up.
However, Liang Yaqi's voice came through the phone: "Gao Jun, come pick me up..."
Listening to her voice, which was urgent and her speech speeding up and slowing down,
it was clear she had drunk quite a bit.
"Sir, if you can't come to pick her up, then we'll have to call the police," the cinema staff explained.
Gao Jun glanced in the direction of the bedroom and then at the clock on the wall. After some consideration, he finally asked, "Which Zhongying Cinema?"
"The one at Baihua Times Square."
"Alright, I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
Gao Jun hung up the phone, opened the bedroom door to make sure Yingying was still asleep, and then quickly got dressed.
"If it weren't for the fact that we both were cheated on, I really wouldn't bother with you," Gao Jun muttered as he left the house.