Chen Jiaxin said, “The first person was my grandmother.”
“When I was born, the three-child policy hadn’t been introduced yet. My parents already had my eldest sister, and since the second child was also a girl, they weren’t allowed to have another one—because they had to save their household-registration quota for the younger brother they planned to have later.”
“In winter, they wouldn’t put any clothes on me. They wanted to freeze me to death.”
“Luckily, my grandmother found out. She rushed over in the middle of the night and took me back to the countryside.”
“My grandmother’s back had been so bad that she couldn’t straighten up ever since she was in her forties or fifties, but she still grew sweet potatoes to raise me.”
“But Grandma didn’t know anything about household registration either. I was an unregistered child until I was eight, so I couldn’t go to school.”
“The child next door didn’t want to attend class and tried to drop out. His teacher chased him all the way home to persuade him to go back to school, and that child said, ‘Look, Chen Jiaxin doesn’t even go to school. Why should I?’”
“That was how the teacher discovered me. She took me to register for household status. It was really difficult—she had to make so many trips. In the end, I finally got registered, and she brought both me and the neighbor’s child back to school.”
“Later, when I was fourteen, my grandmother passed away. My uncle snatched our old house, and neither he nor my mother was willing to pay for my education or let me stay there, so I prepared to find a job.”
“I posted online asking where a fourteen-year-old could work. Then someone contacted me and asked why I wasn’t going to school.”
“I told him everything, and he said he was willing to sponsor my education and let me live at a boarding school.”
“That person was my boss now—Yu Zheng!”
Whenever she mentioned Yu Zheng, Chen Jiaxin’s voice filled with unmistakable pride. “At first, I thought he was some successful businessman. I never expected him to be only a year older than me!”
“He looks so fierce. When he puts on a cold expression, he looks like he’s done time in prison... But he’s actually incredibly kind!”
“So, don’t you think I’m super lucky?”
“Every time I’m at my lowest, some benefactor comes flying in from the heavens to help me move forward!”
The young woman was merely chatting casually as she crouched down and pushed her suitcase under the bed.
Mrs. Xu looked at her, her eyes growing misty.
The girl had spent her entire life suffering, yet all she remembered were the good people she had met along the way.
If only she could have had a child like this.
Some people went through their entire lives without enduring any real hardship, yet the moment something minor happened, they spread negativity everywhere. They took everyone else’s kindness for granted.
Only someone whose nature was truly kind could bring that kind of upward strength to the people around them.
If she had been blessed with a child like this, she would surely be happily enjoying her retirement at home, surrounded by grandchildren.
Soon, everything was packed. Chen Jiaxin said, “Grandma Xu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now.”
“Chen, take this.” Mrs. Xu grabbed her hand and slipped her gold ring into it.
Chen Jiaxin was startled. After weighing it in her palm, she could roughly tell how heavy it was. At the current price of gold, it had to be worth more than ten thousand yuan.
She hurriedly said, “No, no, Grandma Xu, this is too valuable. I only helped you carry your luggage a couple of times. I can’t accept it!”
Mrs. Xu smiled. “It’s all right. I had it notarized at the notary office just now.”
Chen Jiaxin said, “Even so, I can’t—”
Mrs. Xu cut her off. “I used to have plenty of other jewelry, but my in-laws secretly took it all and gave it to their daughters-in-law. If you don’t take this, in a few years it’ll end up with them too.”
Chen Jiaxin’s fists tightened, and she could no longer bring herself to refuse.
Her hatred of rotten relatives came from the helplessness she had felt when her uncle had thrown her out as a child.
That was why she now came up with so many unconventional tricks to deal with terrible relatives: she wanted to help the many younger versions of herself who were still suffering.
Today, she had seen exactly what Mrs. Xu’s in-laws were like. If they eventually found out that Mrs. Xu was staying at the senior-care center, they would certainly come back to cause trouble.
She would have to visit more often in the future, keeping Mrs. Xu company while also guarding against her terrible relatives.
If Mrs. Xu ever wanted the ring back, she would return it without hesitation. In any case, she couldn’t let those people get their hands on it.
Chen Jiaxin put the ring on right in front of Mrs. Xu. “All right. Thank you, Grandma Xu.”
—
That evening.
Yu Zheng was sprawled lazily across the sofa, one long leg propped against the edge of the coffee table. One hand stroked Dian Dian’s head while the other held up his phone as he listened to a call.
Dian Dian was so comfortable under his touch that he lay beside Yu Zheng’s leg, purring contentedly.
On the other end, Chen Jiaxin had finished reporting everything that had happened that day.
“...So that’s the whole story. I didn’t do anything at all, but Grandma Xu renewed her contract anyway. She even insisted on giving me a gold ring. I feel like I’ve met every good person in the world.”
Yu Zheng sighed with some emotion. “She said the ring had already been notarized. Maybe she’s had her other assets notarized too. I’m guessing she won’t leave that house to her unfilial son either.”
Chen Jiaxin didn’t know exactly what Mrs. Xu had said at the notary office, so she didn’t respond.
Yu Zheng continued, “You’ve been running around carrying luggage all day. You must be tired. Take a few days off if you have nothing else to do.”
“No need, Boss. I’m not tired at all,” Chen Jiaxin immediately replied.
“Yu Zhining gave you a bonus, didn’t she? You can use it to sign up for boxing lessons. Next time you pull off something like this, you can add hand-to-hand combat to your bag of tricks. Then no one will be able to stand against you.”
“Oh, right! I’ll go sign up now!”
“All right. Hang up.”
After the call ended, the living room fell quiet again.
Yu Zheng continued stroking Dian Dian’s head, but his thoughts had already turned to the contract-renewal battle, and he began to worry.
He had been the first to complete his task, and that had gone to his head. He had assumed first place was practically guaranteed.
But now, his third brother had gained two trump cards: one twenty-year renewal and one ten-year renewal.
The current task would be scored according to several criteria: timeliness, renewal quality, customer satisfaction, the duration of follow-up services, and sustainable revenue.
Aside from timeliness, he was mediocre in every category.
He rubbed Dian Dian’s head and murmured, “Your third uncle pulled off a last-minute comeback and killed my advantage... I shouldn’t have helped him in the first place!”
“Your mom has it even worse. She’s practically guaranteed to come in last this time.”
The more troublesome possibility was that if he completed the current task but received a low score and came in last, it wouldn’t affect the monthly rankings.
But if he failed to complete it, points would also be deducted when the monthly rankings were calculated.
He checked on his competitors’ recent situations again.
There had been no surprises from his eldest brother’s side, but he had almost no weaknesses either.
His second brother’s situation was harder to investigate, but he was especially good at pulling unconventional moves.
His third brother had really made a killing this time.
He didn’t know how his fourth sister’s renewal task was going, but her new drama had already received the tag “smash hit.” Several entertainment accounts were flooding the internet with headlines like “Shen Zhi’s Retirement Drama,” “The Dark Horse of the Year,” and “A Low-Budget Smash Hit.”
She would be a formidable contender in the monthly rankings.
His sixth sister had made the financial news as a “model district for the younger generation’s embrace of affordable luxury.” She had only given the interview today!
The more Yu Zheng read, the more miserable he felt. He said to Dian Dian, “Your mom is still sleeping upstairs! How can she possibly sleep at a time like this? She really has nerves of steel!”
After saying that, he couldn’t help glancing toward the staircase again.
He really could sleep!
Still unable to put his mind at ease, he dug out Lu Yanzhao’s number.
The call connected soon.
Yu Zheng skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point. “There really isn’t going to be a turnaround with Qizhi?”
There was a brief silence on the other end before the reply came. “There might be a big one.”
Yu Zheng sat up a little straighter. “Oh? What do you mean?”
To explain that, we have to go back ten hours…
