At the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
A soft-spoken little girl clung to the hem of a beautiful woman's clothes, her eyes brimming with tears as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Mommy, Mommy, don't go."
Jiang Rui'an impatiently pushed her away. "Stop following me. Your dad will find you plenty of other mommies!"
With that, she strode off in her high heels without a backward glance.
"What a nuisance!"
Yun Shaokai irritably kicked the flowerbed by the roadside.
"Here’s a hundred yuan. Take a cab home yourself."
He tossed a hundred-yuan bill at her and turned to leave.
"Daddy, Xiaoxiao is scared."
Yun Xiaoxiao ran after him, crying, and wrapped her tiny arms around Yun Shaokai’s leg.
Her tear-streaked face looked up at him, pitiful and pleading.
Yun Shaokai only frowned and muttered under his breath.
"Kids are such a hassle!"
Just then, his phone rang.
He answered immediately.
"Sure, baby, wait for me. Of course I love you the most."
With a grin, he blew a kiss into the receiver.
After hanging up, he pried Yun Xiaoxiao’s hands off his leg and said, "Xiaoxiao, Daddy has something very important to do. You’re five now—a big girl. Take the cab home by yourself, okay?"
Without another word, he peeled her off and walked away.
Watching his car speed off, Yun Xiaoxiao stood helplessly, tears welling in her eyes, looking utterly heartbroken.
Her mommy and daddy had both abandoned her...
Eventually, with the help of the police, Yun Xiaoxiao made it home.
But when they reached the doorstep, she refused to go inside.
"What’s wrong?"
A female officer crouched down and asked gently.
Yun Xiaoxiao fiddled with her tiny fingers, about to speak, when the villa’s front door swung open.
Nanny Zhang Fen stepped out.
Spotting the police, she froze for a second before plastering on a fake smile.
She hurried over, placing a seemingly affectionate but firm grip on Yun Xiaoxiao’s shoulders, pulling the girl close.
"Thank you, officers, for bringing our Xiaoxiao home. We really appreciate it."
She bowed repeatedly.
The two officers, convinced by her friendly demeanor, gave a few reminders before leaving.
They didn’t see the light in Yun Xiaoxiao’s eyes dim the moment they turned away.
As soon as the police car vanished, Nanny Zhang Fen pinched Yun Xiaoxiao’s slender arm hard.
"Why are you back so late? And why did you drag the police into this? Come on, get inside!"
She shoved the girl forward with a rough jerk.
Yun Xiaoxiao stumbled, tears the size of peas rolling down her cheeks.
It hurt...
It really, really hurt...
Once inside, Nanny Zhang Fen shut the door behind them.
Ignoring Yun Xiaoxiao, she flopped back onto the couch and resumed her mobile mahjong game.
"Growl, growl, growl..."
Yun Xiaoxiao’s stomach rumbled loudly.
She was so hungry...
With a miserable sigh, she rubbed her belly and glanced timidly at Nanny Zhang Fen.
She tiptoed closer, but before she could speak, Nanny Zhang Fen waved her off impatiently.
"Scram! Stop hovering around me."
Her eyes stayed glued to her phone, making it clear she wouldn’t lift a finger to feed the child.
Yun Xiaoxiao pressed her lips together in disappointment and shuffled to the kitchen.
Dragging a small stool to the fridge, she mustered all her strength to pull it open.
After rummaging around, she finally found a tomato she could eat raw.
Her eyes brightened as she grabbed it and took eager bites.
Once finished, she retreated to her room and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep.
Nanny Zhang Fen finally put her phone down when she noticed it was dark outside.
She headed to the kitchen and began rifling through the fridge for dinner ingredients.
Pulling out a slightly rotten cucumber, she scoffed.
"It’s not even that bad. Perfect for a cold cucumber salad."
Yun Shaokai gave her a household allowance, but how she spent it was entirely up to her.
Of course, she had to save where she could.
For instance, she bought groceries in bulk to save on travel costs.
Freshness didn’t matter to her.
In her day, having food at all was a luxury.
Who cared about such trivialities?
Besides, the fridge kept things from spoiling too much.
As long as it wasn’t deadly, it was fine.
This way, she could stash more money for her son’s future wedding.
Pleased with her clever scheme, she whipped up a cucumber salad and some plain congee before calling Yun Xiaoxiao for dinner.
Appearances had to be maintained—she couldn’t let the child starve, after all.
She barged into Yun Xiaoxiao’s room and yanked the sleeping girl upright.
"Get up. Time to eat."
Her movements were rough.
Yun Xiaoxiao jolted awake, her shoulders aching from the sudden pull.
But she bit back the pain and obediently followed downstairs.
The tomato earlier hadn’t filled her up, so the thought of a warm meal made her happy.
Yet when she saw the cucumber salad on the table, she froze.
"Quit dawdling. Eat!"
Nanny Zhang Fen snapped impatiently.
Yun Xiaoxiao whispered timidly, "I... can’t handle spicy food."
Every time she ate anything spicy, her stomach would ache, and she’d end up with diarrhea.
Nanny Zhang Fen brushed it off. "Nonsense. Spicy food makes you sweat. Quit whining and eat, or I’ll take it away."
Without waiting for a reply, she forced Yun Xiaoxiao into a chair.
Under her stern glare, Yun Xiaoxiao had no choice but to pick up a few pieces of cucumber and swallow them with the congee.
