“From a business perspective, do you advise me to participate?”
The moment Jin Fuxiao asked this question, Ju Cixin already knew her answer.
“This is a divorce reality show,” Ju Cixin said, looking at Jin Fuxiao with a look of disappointment that she just wouldn’t learn. “You are just being lustful.”
Standing to the side, Yu Yan had a hard time holding back her laughter.
Ju Cixin said, “You don’t need to hold it in. Laugh louder so she can gain some sense.”
They were all roughly the same age and had weathered the company’s turbulent times together. In private, the boundary between superior and subordinate wasn’t very prominent; they were more like friends.
“You speak as if you aren’t lustful yourself.”
After reading through the email several times, Jin Fuxiao searched online for information about Director Wu Tou. “This director is quite good-looking. Is she your type?”
Ju Cixin’s image as a workaholic was deeply ingrained in everyone’s minds. Everyone at Chenhun Group understood that the vice president simply had no time or qualification to date.
Who could tolerate someone whose every sentence revolved around work day and night? Someone even blurted out at a team-building event that the vice president was only suitable for a one-night stand, not for settled domestic life.
Jin Fuxiao had known her for many years and had witnessed far too many of her failed romances, some ending before they even began.
She also felt guilty and had tried to give Ju Cixin a long vacation.
In the end, that woman managed to pull in a massive contract just by chatting with someone while on holiday. She was simply a born sales prodigy.
Perhaps Heaven was just fair like that: having such exceptional competence at work had weakened her romantic prospects.
Even though Jin Fuxiao returned the blind-date booklet that Ju Cixin had prepared for her, Ju Cixin failed to make proper use of it herself.
Instead, other colleagues in the company benefited greatly; the number of wedding banquets they attended over the years had increased significantly.
The photo in the profile Jin Fuxiao handed over showed a woman who looked to be in her thirties.
Her cheeks were sunken and her eyes looked lifeless. Her glasses softened her somewhat unusual eye shape. To say she wasn’t pretty wouldn’t be quite right, as she actually possessed a rather distinct charm.
Not knowing how to describe her, Jin Fuxiao couldn’t help but mutter, “Why does she look so much like a character from a movie?”
Because of her ex, Ju Cixin had met Wu Tou a few times. “Don’t let her half-dead appearance fool you. She is actually very popular. Many celebrities have pursued her without success.”
She huffed, sounding quite bitter. “She looks like she belongs to the same breed as Peng Hu. I suspect she might be a distant relative in Peng Hu’s connection network.”
“Jin Fuxiao, this is a trap.”
“I wouldn’t sell you out just for the company’s growth.”
“The company isn’t short of this bit of publicity either.”
She still hoped Jin Fuxiao would reconsider, but Jin Fuxiao countered, “How do you expect me to handle the relationship between Peng Hu and her daughter?”
Jin Fuxiao had severed ties with her biological parents long ago; her godmother was the driving force behind her career.
No one could achieve smooth sailing without relying on something. Ju Cixin also visited Madame every year. Reminded of this layer of connection, she said, “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Aunt Zi definitely knows about this by now.”
In the next second, Jin Fuxiao’s phone and Ju Cixin’s phone rang simultaneously.
One call was from the mentioned Aunt Zi, and the other was from her daughter.
“Aunt Zi.”
“Sister Xuan.”
Considering this was family business, Yu Yan went outside to catch her breath while browsing Weibo for news about the reality show.
The official account was already live.
Netizens were eagerly asking about the cast lineup, while troublemakers who loved drama were already submitting their dream casts.
Among them were idol groups rumored to be at odds with each other, as well as rising TV stars with past disputes.
However, this show required genuine divorcees, so none of those suggestions were valid.
Just as she was enjoying reading the comments, something suddenly bumped into her leg. She looked down and saw a child with jaggedly cut bangs.
They had met not long ago; she was the product of one of her bosses running away while pregnant.
Yu Yan suddenly felt that, rather than an executive office staff member, she resembled a housekeeper.
At this moment, she felt she should be wearing a tailcoat, bending slightly at the waist, and calling out “Young Miss,” ideally paired with silk gloves.
“Hello!”
Zhou Qi looked at the woman dressed in professional attire. “Auntie, I am looking for Mama-chan.”
The resting room door in the hotel was very heavy; even an adult needed effort to push it open, let alone a child this small.
The boss inside was on the phone. Yu Yan squatted halfway down and said, “Chairman Jin is still busy. Can you wait a little bit?”
The little girl was wearing a dress printed with jellyfishes. Her hairstyle could be considered a semi-finished jellyfish cut; it only had the top part without the bottom layer, resembling a plump mushroom at first glance.
A pair of eyes bearing the exact same iris color as Peng Hu looked toward Yu Yan. Her voice was soft and sweet. “How long do I have to wait? Mommy said her heart hurts and she needs a kiss from Mama-chan.”
Yu Yan was speechless.
Are those her exact words?
Definitely not. How could a five-year-old child say something like that?
More than that, it was impossible to imagine Chairman Peng’s face saying sweet reduplicated words; it was utterly revolting.
“Auntie, talk to me.”
Zhou Qi grabbed Yu Yan’s fingers. The child’s hand was soft and warm, and her eyes sparkled; she was far cuter than the child models the company hired for advertisements.
Yu Yan, who had always believed she disliked children, suddenly realized that she simply disliked ugly ones. That is so wicked of me.
“Alright, I will go in and ask.”
Yu Yan pushed open the door, and the child at her feet took advantage of the crack in the door to quickly slip inside.
She seemed to get stuck for a brief moment, but Zhou Qi wriggled through quickly, just like a slippery little fish. Before long, the room was filled with her repeated calls of “Mama-chan.”
“Mama-mama-chan!”
“Mama-ma-chan!”
“Mama-chan!”
Jin Fuxiao, who was on the phone with her family, froze completely. The woman on the other end, who was sending her regards alongside their foster mother, also heard it.
Zhou Qi’s voice was too amusing, and the woman chuckled, “What Mahjong? Or is she calling for Mama?”
“Is this the child Peng Hu brought along?”
“Turn on the video call and let me see.”
It was true that Jin Fuxiao and Peng Hu had built their business from scratch, but no success was achieved completely alone.
Their initial funding was sponsored by the woman who later became her godmother.
In the past, no matter how busy Jin Fuxiao and Peng Hu were, they would visit her godmother together every year.
The godmother lived alone on a vacation island, and her eldest foster daughter, Ning Xuan, spent half of the year by her side.
Ning Xuan was about the same age as Peng Hu. She had remained unmarried with no romantic ties, living off the management of the inheritance left by her foster father.
Zhou Qi circled around Jin Fuxiao, calling out “Mama-chan,” giving Jin Fuxiao the bizarre illusion that she was about to be mixed into a bowl of rice.
What kind of address is this? Did Peng Hu hide away on some foreign island during all those years she was missing?
She completely betrayed her own name.
“Alright, alright, stop calling out.”
Facing a pair of eyes identical to those of her ex-wife, Jin Fuxiao was a total softie. Nearby, Ju Cixin hung up the phone and stared in astonishment at the child sitting in Jin Fuxiao’s lap.
From afar, she looked very similar; up close, she looked even more so.
How on earth did they pull this off? She looked completely like a child belonging to both of them.
It couldn’t possibly be 3D printed, right?
“Can we start a video call? My godmother wants to see you.”
Half of Jin Fuxiao’s short hair was tucked behind her ear. Her perfume wasn’t overpowering; unlike her rather sharp appearance, it smelled like tropical fruit.
“What is a godmother?” The child thought for a moment. “Is it a sauce for mixing rice?”
Jin Fuxiao was at a loss for words. The child added, “Mommy said Mama-chan is even crazier than Godmama-chan.”
She was a new life separated from the Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish. Unlike her immortal host, she was a new species within the population.
Every creature in the deep sea was delighted by her birth and showered her with countless blessings, making her appear all the more endearing.
“She is my mother, but not my biological mother.”
Jin Fuxiao had relatives back home with children around this age, and Ju Cixin’s younger sister had also brought a child over for her to see.
To be honest, Jin Fuxiao had never found children cute. What “milky scent”? It was clearly the smell of sour milk.
However, the child Peng Hu brought back was neither sweet-smelling nor foul; she carried a scent of the sea, yet without any salty fishiness. Approaching her felt like stepping closer to the ocean.
“Oh, then she is my grandmother.”
The immortality of the Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish was a process of repetitive separation and regeneration, which couldn’t be described by human generational inheritance.
Before this year, Peng Hu’s memories had been stored inside Zhou Qi’s jellyfish heart, allowing her to read portions of her mothers’ memories.
It was like the core of a television drama; those were the memories Peng Hu could least afford to lose, every single frame interconnected with Jin Fuxiao.
By now, Jin Fuxiao had connected the video call.
On the screen, the woman in the island villa sat together with her foster daughter.
The woman wearing a purple cheongsam looked very young, appearing more like an older sister to the foster daughter beside her.
“Is she calling for me?”
Sitting in Jin Fuxiao’s lap, Zhou Qi wasn’t shy at all as she repeated, “Hello, Grandma! My name is Zhou Qi. You can call me Xiao Qi or Sanwen. Auntie Beltfish said that is my English name.”
What kind of nonsense is that?
Jin Fuxiao let out a short laugh.
“She looks very much like them, doesn’t she?”
The woman asked her eldest daughter beside her, and the two whispered together for a few moments.
Residing permanently on the island, she rarely saw young children and naturally adored her. She said to Jin Fuxiao, “Then come over for a visit once you finish participating in the reality show. I want to give Xiao Qi the best gift.”
She accepted the situation much faster than Jin Fuxiao. Ju Cixin, standing off to the side, couldn’t help chiming in, “Aunt Zi, did you already know about this reality show?”
Beside her, Ning Xuan said, “We are the sponsors. I saw the proposal a long time ago, but initially, Fuxiao and Peng Hu weren’t on the guest list.”
“That divorced couple suddenly remarried, and the director mentioned having a friend who had been divorced from her wife for many years. When I checked the new email, it turned out to be you guys.”
Ju Cixin ruffled her hair in frustration. “I knew it! Why does Peng Hu get to come and go as she pleases and do whatever she wants?”
Ning Xuan had watched them grow up and maintained a steady composure in front of her younger sisters. “Do you like Fuxiao? You seem so furious.”
Jin Fuxiao curled her lip. “Don’t talk nonsense, the child is right here.”
Ju Cixin’s mouth twitched. “My taste isn’t that heavy. Only someone as lustful as Fuxiao could be endured by Peng Hu.”
She had a sharp tongue, but although Jin Fuxiao was equally good at arguing, she never denied being lustful.
At this moment, thinking back to her ex-wife who had lost her memory, she suddenly felt she seemed even more appetizing.
Peng Hu clearly carried secrets, years ago, and now as well.
Jin Fuxiao wanted to know everything, including the origin of the child in her arms.
After the video call ended, Zhou Qi still clung to Jin Fuxiao’s lap, unwilling to leave.
She buried her face in Mama-chan’s chest, sniffing around like a little puppy.
Jin Fuxiao was amused by her, while Yu Yan couldn’t help clearing her throat. “Little Zhou Qi, have you forgotten what you came here for?”
Unable to bear watching this scene any longer, Ju Cixin slammed the door on her way out to prepare the work the company needed to complete during Jin Fuxiao’s filming window.
“I almost forgot!”
The little jellyfish suddenly sat bolt upright. Overexerting herself, she nearly tumbled out of Jin Fuxiao’s arms, prompting the woman to catch her in amusement.
The child’s hair color resembled hers, but the texture was identical to Peng Hu’s, very nice to touch.
“Mama-chan.”
Having grown up in the deep sea in her jellyfish form, Zhou Qi was accustomed to playing with her tentacles. Now transformed into a human with only two hands, she felt quite unaccustomed.
As she spoke, she tentatively reached out to play with Jin Fuxiao’s necklace. Seeing that the woman wasn’t angry, she grew even bolder.
Yu Yan thought to herself, That pendant costs millions!
Jin Fuxiao gave an affirmative sound.
“Mama-chan,” Zhou Qi called out to her again.
Jin Fuxiao asked, “Why don’t you just call me Mama?”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “What is that weird word at the end? Nobody around here calls anyone that.”
“Because Peng Hu is Mommy,” Zhou Qi thought for a moment. “She told me that Fufu is soy sauce mixed with water.”
Jin Fuxiao was speechless.
Yu Yan was speechless.
Although I have seen the boss’s old photos, I have to admit she really was a bit dark back then. That description is remarkably accurate.
Except…
Jin Fuxiao’s brow twitched. If this were a dozen years ago, she might have already given the child a spanking, and perhaps given Peng Hu one, too.
Now, she managed her emotions quite well. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Alright, so do you have something you need from me?”
“Mommy is sick. Her head hurts so much she can’t sleep. She can only get better if Mama-chan gives her a kiss.”
No adult would believe such nonsense. If your head hurts, take medicine; what good is a kiss?
However, the little jellyfish was a mere messenger, her beautiful eyes resembling colored, transparent glass, reflecting Jin Fuxiao’s figure.
She was simply too cute.
Jin Fuxiao exerted great effort to resist automatically agreeing. After a moment, she turned her head and said coldly, “The hotel has doctors, too.”
Zhou Qi let out an “Ah,” and used her smartwatch to dial Peng Hu’s number.
After a series of ringing sounds, Peng Hu’s weak voice resonated from the other end, “Xiao Qi.”
“Mommy, Mama-chan says if you are sick, take medicine.”
Jin Fuxiao hadn’t expected the messenger’s translation to be so wildly unfiltered.
Peng Hu let out a long “Oh,” sounding genuinely like an invalid. Jin Fuxiao had lost her once and had even envisioned her death; not seeing her body had been her final piece of wishful thinking.
She would never allow Peng Hu to die before her eyes.
She still couldn’t help leaning closer to the smartwatch and asking coldly, “Peng Hu, what is wrong with you?”
Peng Hu’s voice grew fainter and fainter, as if she were at death’s door.
“Fufu, I want Fufu to kiss me.”