Wen Man brought up the shares again, and Yu Keqing’s nerves tightened instantly.
She heard Lin Sheng ask, “What shares?”
Wen Man explained it to Lin Sheng, then said, “This is what Keqing rightfully deserves. Now that she’s back, I also want to hire her as a baking instructor at my place. The bakers in the shop are always lacking, not quite up to par like Keqing. Keqing has the talent, and she enjoys it too, it would be a pity to waste it.”
It was originally a good thing, but it was immediately rejected by Lin Sheng.
“She doesn’t need these.”
Held in her embrace, the light in Yu Keqing’s eyes gradually shattered, extinguishing until they turned into deathly silence, as if she were a silent statue.
“I’m asking Keqing, not you.”
(Xiaobao and Wen Ning had already taken Tuan Tuan to play in the garden, otherwise, Wen Man wouldn’t have confronted Lin Sheng directly. Some things couldn’t be said in front of the two children; that wouldn’t be appropriate.)
Lin Sheng’s hand on Yu Keqing’s waist tightened. “No need. She should just rest at home.”
Wen Man spoke up for Yu Keqing. “Whether she works or stays home, you should respect Keqing’s own wishes. Move aside, let me ask Keqing.”
She bypassed Lin Sheng to ask if Yu Keqing wanted to go.
Yu Keqing’s eyelashes trembled twice, and the courage that had scattered slowly gathered again, giving her the strength to speak.
“I…”
She dared not look up, afraid of seeing Lin Sheng’s angry expression, which would cause the courage she had painstakingly built up to immediately crumble. She nervously rubbed her knees, her palms and back were covered in cold sweat.
“I… I want to try.”
Only with a job and income would she have confidence. Lin Sheng’s attitude toward her now left her unable to figure her out, but regardless of what Lin Sheng wanted, Yu Keqing didn’t want to rely on her to live. She had a job in Mang City and had enough income to support herself and Xiaobao. If it weren’t for the money she owed the landlord and neighbors for the surgery, she would have saved up money over these years.
Lin Sheng’s hand on her waist tightened again.
Wen Man clapped her hands, delighted. “Great! Then it’s settled. Just tell me when you want to come over, and I’ll arrange everything.”
Lin Sheng’s expression was ugly as she spoke coldly to Yu Keqing, “Do you not want your body anymore? Have you forgotten what the doctor said today? What kind of work? Honestly rest at home, you aren’t allowed to go anywhere. This family doesn’t need you to earn money.”
Wen Man was angry at her behavior, but hearing that Yu Keqing was unwell, she worried, “Keqing, what’s wrong with your body? Are you sick? Is it serious?”
“She…” Lin Sheng was about to speak.
Yu Keqing interrupted, “It’s nothing, just a bit of a cough recently. Maybe I’m not used to the weather in A City. Didn’t it rain a lot a few days ago? Caught a cold.”
She didn’t want Wen Man to worry about her.
Wen Man glared at Lin Sheng, blaming her for not taking good care of Yu Keqing. Lin Sheng looked at Yu Keqing with deep, dark eyes, and Yu Keqing just kept her head down. The topic of working outside stopped right there, and no one brought it up again. After dinner, Wen Man stayed for about half an hour before leaving with her daughter.
Lin Sheng told Xiaobao to go back to her room first. Xiaobao couldn’t bear to part from her mother and sat beside her, refusing to leave.
“I want to be with Mommy.” She wasn’t very afraid of Lin Sheng and bravely expressed her demand, “I want to sleep with Mommy tonight.”
Lin Sheng wasn’t angry, just saying, “You’re already thirteen; you’re a big kid. You need to get used to sleeping alone.”
“No.” Xiaobao pouted in anger.
“Do you want to sleep with Mommy forever?”
“Why not?”
“Mommy needs to share a bed with Mammy. When you grow up a bit more and have someone you like, you’ll have to sleep with the person you like.”
“I like Mommy.” Xiaobao said righteously.
“Of course you can like Mommy, but you can’t sleep with Mommy forever.”
“You said you have to sleep with the person you like. I like Mommy, so I have to sleep with Mommy.”
Xiaobao’s personality was like Yu Keqing’s, but only like her. She had a slightly stubborn temper and her own ideas and opinions. She hadn’t grown up by Lin Sheng’s side, so naturally, Lin Sheng didn’t understand her daughter’s temper and nature. However, the time they had spent together recently allowed her to figure out a pattern, no matter how stubborn Xiaobao was, she was still a child and easy to handle.
As soon as Yu Keqing saw the subtle change in Lin Sheng’s expression, she knew what she wanted to do, and immediately became nervous, her face changing color. She was terrified that Lin Sheng would make things difficult for Xiaobao.
Sensing her emotions, what Lin Sheng wanted to say turned into. “You want to sleep with Mommy tonight? You can, but you need to go back to your room now. I have something to discuss with Mommy. Once we’re done, I’ll let Mommy come upstairs to accompany you.”
“Really?” Xiaobao was skeptical.
“You don’t have to believe it.” Lin Sheng stated calmly.
Xiaobao was conflicted.
Yu Keqing, however, was not surprised at all. She knew that her desire to work at Wen Man’s place had touched Lin Sheng’s inverse scale. Lin Sheng hadn’t dared to lash out too violently in front of Wen Man, so she was only settling the score with her now. She couldn’t escape it. She whispered to Xiaobao, “Be a good girl, go upstairs. Mommy will come up to accompany you in a while.”
Xiaobao listened to her and went upstairs with Tuan Tuan.
Only she and Lin Sheng were left in the living room. Fangyi had long since entered the nanny room. Now, no matter what Lin Sheng wanted to do to her, she had no one to turn to for help, unless she wanted Xiaobao to see her disheveled and humiliated appearance, which was impossible. She would rather die.
The scent of roses fell to her side, and her nerves tightened again, like a prisoner awaiting a death sentence. Perhaps because she knew she was going to die, she gained a bit of reckless courage.
“I want to take the job Man’er mentioned.”
Lin Sheng wanted to get angry but restrained herself. Her tone had been bad during the day, scaring Yu Keqing. Seeing Yu Keqing’s face pale, she regretted it. Now, she tried to be as gentle as possible, also attempting to reason with Yu Keqing. “The doctor said you cannot be overworked. Let’s follow the doctor’s orders, shall we? This family doesn’t need you to go out and earn that ten thousand yuan salary. With my massive company and hundreds of billions in assets, can I not afford to support you and Xiaobao?”
“That’s yours, not mine. I can earn money to support myself and Xiaobao,” Yu Keqing said gloomily.
“Mine is yours. This is a right granted to you by law. Keke, our marriage is still in existence. I don’t want us to be so separated.”
Yu Keqing didn’t want to argue about this issue with her. In Yu Keqing’s heart, she had already divorced Lin Sheng ten years ago.
“I… I want to work.” She still insisted on what she wanted. After speaking, she tightly closed her eyes, waiting for Lin Sheng’s overwhelming fury.
Lin Sheng clenched her fingers, forcing herself to stay calm.
“Reason.”
“A reason that can convince me to let you go work.”
If Yu Keqing were healthy right now, she wouldn’t object to Yu Keqing doing what she loved. The problem was that Yu Keqing couldn’t handle overwork right now.
“If you must work, then come to my company.”