After cleaning up the apartment, Xu Xiu collapsed onto the sofa in exhaustion.
Although they wouldn’t be staying here for long, the place was simply too messy for her to tolerate for even a moment.
By now it was almost noon. She was considering whether to take the little dumpling out to eat when someone knocked on the door again.
It was the apartment manager along with several neighbors, all looking unusually excited.
From their overlapping explanations, Xu Xiu quickly pieced together what had happened.
After the Jones couple were taken away yesterday, the police investigation uncovered much more.
It turned out that the couple had long targeted newly arrived foreigners who didn’t speak the language, using various methods of coercion and manipulation to extract money and valuables.
People like the original owner—who believed they had only obtained welfare benefits through the couple’s “false statements”—were actually not rare.
In truth, they had all been eligible for the benefits in the first place. The couple had simply exploited their lack of language skills and understanding of local policy, deliberately misleading them.
Now, in order to reduce their prison sentence, the Jones couple had agreed to compensate the victims in exchange for leniency.
The other tenants who had been scammed finally came to find Xu Xiu, and they all decided to go together.
Understanding the situation, Xu Xiu was secretly delighted—she had been worrying about how to earn more money to improve their life.
So she left Xu Zhirang at home and went with the group to the police station to sign documents and collect compensation.
At the police station, the Jones couple were crying loudly, looking deeply remorseful.
Beside them sat a young black-haired girl, quietly wiping her tears and comforting them.
She seemed to be their adopted daughter, also from China.
Xu Xiu only glanced at them indifferently before lowering her head to sign.
These two would never truly repent—but that didn’t matter. As long as the compensation was real, she would take every cent she was owed.
After receiving the money, she immediately headed to the supermarket.
When she came out carrying bags full of groceries, she brushed past a group of people.
She only glanced at them casually before looking away and leaving.
They were all dressed in suits, clearly elite professionals.
The man leading them was strikingly handsome and cold, exuding an untouchable, intimidating aura.
His presence alone was oppressive.
Dressed entirely in black, his tall, well-proportioned figure was accentuated by a tailored suit, making his already distant temperament even more pronounced.
He walked forward without looking at anyone, but as he passed by Xu Xiu, his gaze instinctively shifted toward her.
His steps paused slightly.
A white man walking beside him quickly bent forward.
“President Shen, is there a problem here?”
The man addressed as “President Shen” adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. His eyes lingered briefly on the disappearing figure.
The lenses obscured his phoenix eyes, hiding the faint trace of confusion beneath them.
He felt like he had seen that person somewhere before.
But he quickly withdrew his gaze and continued walking.
“No.”
The white man immediately wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
President Shen was here to inspect an investment project—someone who could determine whether their mall would survive or collapse. He couldn’t afford the slightest mistake.
On the other side, the assistant following Shen Xingyi also glanced back at the woman’s retreating figure.
Was President Shen just looking at her?
As Shen Xingyi’s assistant for many years, Zhang Zhou had never seen him lose focus over a woman.
Still, even from just a side profile, he had to admit she was striking.
Messily tied hair, cheap shirt and jeans—yet even such a simple, lazy outfit couldn’t hide her beauty.
Zhang Zhou looked away, silently gossiping to himself.
So this was the type President Shen liked.
When Xu Xiu returned to the apartment, Xu Zhirang had already woken from his nap.
He was sitting obediently on the sofa, flipping through a worn picture book.
His well-behaved demeanor made her heart ache slightly.
Before leaving, she had turned on the TV and switched it to a children’s channel, just so he wouldn’t get bored.
And yet he wasn’t watching cartoons—he was reading instead.
A child who didn’t like cartoons at all?
As expected of a genius protagonist and the son of a CEO—he really wasn’t like ordinary kids.
As she sighed inwardly, she went into the kitchen.
Xu Zhirang followed behind her, carrying his small stool, determined to supervise her cooking duties.
Xu Xiu glanced at him with amusement.
The little dumpling sat properly with both hands on his knees, back straight as a board.
Noticing her gaze, he explained seriously:
“Brother Nuo La said that good kids in kindergarten sit like this. If you sit properly, you get little red flower stickers.”
Nuo La was their neighbor, one year older and already attending kindergarten.
Even though he couldn’t go to kindergarten, he still wanted to be a good child at home.
The earnest look on his face made Xu Xiu pause.
Children couldn’t fake their emotions—his longing was obvious even if he didn’t say it.
Her gaze landed on a red dragon fruit on the counter. A thought flashed through her mind.
She went to the living room and rummaged through a drawer.
Soon she came back holding a brush.
She crouched down, dipped the brush into crushed dragon fruit juice, and said:
“We’ll be going back to our country soon. Then you can go to kindergarten.”
“For now, let Mom give you a little red flower.”
Xu Zhirang looked nervous, his small hands unconsciously clenching, but he obediently stayed still.
Soon, the drawing was done. She placed a mirror in front of him.
“How is it? Mom’s skills are pretty good, right?”
As a top makeup artist in her original world, she was skilled not only in cosmetics but also in artistic face painting.
A simple little flower was nothing to her.
Xu Zhirang studied his reflection carefully.
A bright red flower bloomed between his eyebrows—more beautiful than Brother Nuo La’s sticker.
His lips curved slightly. After glancing at her shyly, he looked back at the mirror again, unable to stop admiring it.
Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly looked up.
“Mom?”
He hesitated, then asked softly:
“Can I… call you Mom now?”
For a moment, Xu Xiu froze.
Then memories surfaced in her mind.
Half a year ago, the original owner had grown irritated with the child’s frequent fevers and illnesses.
During one of those sick episodes, the little boy had cried and called out for “Mom” in distress.
The original owner, overwhelmed with frustration, had snapped at him and forbidden him from calling her that again.
Since then, he had stopped using the word and only called her by name.
Looking at his cautious, hopeful eyes, something twisted painfully in her chest.
She pulled him into her arms, gently rubbing her cheek against his head.
“Of course you can. You’re my baby—you can always call me Mom.”
After a pause, she added softly:
“About what happened before… it was Mom’s fault. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”
Even though those words hadn’t truly come from her, they had hurt a child far too deeply.
She was afraid they might have left scars.
Xu Zhirang froze when he was hugged, then his lips trembled as if he might cry.
Mom wasn’t angry with him anymore.
He cautiously wrapped his small arms around her neck, leaning into her embrace.
“I forgive you, Mom,” he whispered.
His young voice carried both uncertainty and happiness.