It was less than two minutes after Xu Zixi replied to the message when a new group chat suddenly popped up on the communication app. The group members were none other than herself, Zhou Yaru, Dai Sha, and Huang Zhenzhen.
Finally back in touch with her, the three of them flooded the group with messages expressing their longing for her, making the phone ding non - stop.
The two little ones were attracted by the sound and scurried over to Xu Zixi. Yuan Xiaoxuan tugged at her hand and asked curiously:
"Mummy, why does this thing keep making noise?"
Yuan Xiaoxu's eyes sparkled: "Mummy's smiling. There must be treasures in here! Are there any yummy treats?!"
Xu Zixi pinched the two little ones' cheeks and said with a smile, "There are no treasures or yummy treats in here, but there are Mummy's new good friends!"
Hearing this, Yuan Xiaoxu pouted and said aggrievedly, "Xuxu wants a good friend too..." He used to have a good friend, a friend who didn't mind him wetting the bed, helped him assemble the big fish model, and helped him and his brother with their homework. But Mummy said this friend was a bad guy...
Alas, when would he be able to make a new friend?
The little one's dejected look caught Xu Zixi's eye. After thinking for a while, she said, "Mummy will invite her friends to our home for a visit tomorrow and cook a big table of delicious dishes to treat them. How about that?"
Yuan Xiaoxu's eyes lit up. He pounced into Xu Zixi's arms and rubbed against her happily, "Okay, okay!"
Xu Zixi stroked the little one's head, feeling even more heartache for the two of them. She knew that the two little ones couldn't stay cooped up at home all the time. They needed to go out and socialize, make friends, and live like normal kids. But for now, she could only subject them to such an arrangement.
Previously, it was because of the household registration issue. Now, she was afraid that someone would come to snatch the kids from her.
She couldn't be sure, nor did she dare to guarantee that if the man surnamed Yan failed in his plan of the fake marriage, he wouldn't take the opportunity to snatch the kids while she was away.
If he really succeeded, since the two little ones were still unregistered, she wouldn't stand much of a chance even if she took him to court.
There was nothing she desired more urgently than to obtain her household registration and make the two little ones her legal children. She should have taken the kids back to Fengcheng earlier. Even if it meant stealing, she should have retrieved the household registration from the Yuan family.
But there was no "what - if" in life. If there were, she would rather she had never met that man.
She lowered her eyelids to hide the emotions in her eyes. However, the momentary look of absent - mindedness on her face was still caught by the sensitive Yuan Xiaoxuan. The soft little hand grasped Xu Zixi's thumb, and Yuan Xiaoxuan asked:
"What are Mummy's friends like?"
A smile reappeared on Xu Zixi's face as she described Zhou Yaru, Dai Sha, and Huang Zhenzhen to Yuan Xiaoxuan. Just as she was speaking, her phone suddenly rang.
She was stunned for a moment, then looked at the screen. The caller ID showed "Pei Mingyuan". After a moment of silence, she answered the call and said:
"President Pei."
Just this one address made Pei Mingyuan on the other end of the line feel her attitude. After a pause, Pei Mingyuan said in a deliberately relaxed tone, "I finally got through to you. If I couldn't reach you, I would have called the police and asked them to help me find you. I would say that my assistant was kidnapped by aliens and they should find her quickly!"
He was being extremely exaggerated, which made Xu Zixi laugh, "With my skills, even if aliens came, they probably wouldn't be able to defeat me."
"Ahem." Pei Mingyuan coughed lightly and got to the point, "How have you been these past few days?"
"I've been eating well, sleeping well, and having a really wonderful and happy vacation with my kids."
"That's good." Pei Mingyuan said, "So... will you come to work tomorrow?"
Xu Zixi replied, "Of course. Why, does President Pei not want me to go? Are you reluctant to part with the 2% dry - share dividend?"
"Of course not. Then... see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
In the kitchen, Aunt Zhang was cleaning up while Aunt Li was preparing the ingredients for tomorrow's breakfast. Soon, the two of them got together. Hearing the laughter from outside, they exchanged a worried look.
"The young miss hasn't been out for five days. It seems that she's really heart - broken this time." Aunt Zhang sighed.
"Actually, I think Mr. Yan is quite nice." Aunt Li hesitated for a moment and said, "Although he seems cold on the surface, he's actually a very considerate person."
She had only mentioned once that she wanted to record the piano pieces the young miss played, and he had arranged for someone to buy the recording equipment. He was very attentive to things related to the young miss, even more so than to the two young masters.
It was really puzzling that such a person could do such a thing.
Aunt Zhang gave Aunt Li a sidelong glance and said, "Don't tell me you're speaking up for him just because Mr. Yan gave you the matchmaker's bonus?"
Aunt Li quickly said, "No, I'm telling the truth."
Aunt Zhang sighed, "Don't you think I don't understand? I've lived most of my life, and I have some ability to judge people. His heart isn't bad, but it's a pity that he lied to our young miss. In a relationship, if there's only deception, it won't last long. A husband and wife should be honest with each other and support each other to go further."
"Moreover, men shouldn't be spoiled. They should be made to feel nervous and realize their mistakes. They should lower their noble heads and come on their knees to invite the young miss back. Only then can we say that they're sincere! Men need to be disciplined!"
Aunt Zhang snorted softly, "Back then, when I was pregnant, my husband wouldn't let me eat wax apples. He insisted that they were cooling and not good for the baby. I was so angry that I went back to my parents' home for a month. He came to my door every day to apologize. He tried every method before I reluctantly forgave him. Ever since then, he never dared to go west when I said east. He gave me all his earnings and told me to eat and buy whatever I wanted!"
"So, don't feel sorry for him. Let's see what he can do for our young miss. If he does nothing and still wants to marry our young miss, I'll be the first one to oppose it. I'll definitely beat him out of Haicheng!"
As people with experience, Aunt Li nodded in agreement, "You're right. We can't let him off so easily."
With so many things on her mind and thinking about going back to work at Pei's tomorrow, Xu Zixi inevitably suffered from insomnia again.
She put on a cardigan, got out of bed bare - footed, and walked over to the big floor - to - ceiling window in the living room again. She sat on the soft carpet, curled her legs, rested her face on her knees, and stared blankly at the night outside.
Suddenly, her phone beside her beeped twice. She opened it and took a look. It was still an advertisement text message.
She stared at the text message for a long time before shifting her gaze and looking out of the window again.
I don't know how much time had passed. When she felt that she seemed to be a bit sleepy, she got up and returned to her room. But when she got back to the room, she found that Yuan Xiaoxuan quickly stuffed something under his pillow and then lay down pretending to be asleep. Xu Zixi was amused. She tiptoed over, hugged him, and reached under the pillow, saying with a smile:
"Let me see what Xuanxuan baby was hiding under the pillow so late at night without sleeping?"