Shen Yeming withdrew his gaze.
“No.
I just didn’t expect Miss Xia to care so deeply for Shen Xi.”
Xia Star smiled faintly.
“I think if Mr.
Shen offered anyone a million, they’d care just as much.”
Yu Yan chimed in beside her.
“Exactly.
Mr.
Shen doesn’t need to pay me a million.
Even a hundred thousand, and I’d wait on Shen Xi hand and foot.”
Shen Yeming let out a soft laugh, his charming peach blossom eyes glinting even brighter.
“Very well.
I’ll have someone send over every bit of information about Shen Xi to Miss Xia shortly.”
He glanced at Shen Xi.
“Before I leave, I’d like a few private words with him.”
Xia Star tactfully said, “I’ll wait for Shen Xi downstairs.”
With that, she left the ward with Yu Yan, closing the door gently behind them.
Once Xia Star was gone,
Shen Yeming raised an eyebrow.
“You’re sure it’s her?”
Shen Xi shed his earlier listless look at once.
“Yes, it’s her.
I want her to be my mother.”
Shen Yeming stroked his chin.
“It would be simpler if it were another woman.
Even if she had a husband and children, we could settle it with money.
But this woman is Gu Huaijin’s wife… Prying her away won’t be easy.”
Shen Xi insisted stubbornly.
“I don’t care.
I want her to be my mother!”
“Fortune favors the opportunist,” Shen Yeming smiled.
“Half a year ago, asking her to be your mother would’ve been next to impossible.
But now?
There’s a real chance.”
“These past six months, what Gu Huaijin has done for his white moonlight has become common knowledge.
Father and son share eerily similar tastes—even his own son adores that white moonlight.”
“Xia Star has moved out to live alone now…”
Shen Yeming looked down at Shen Xi.
“Make the most of this window.
I’ve laid the groundwork for you.
Whether it works out depends entirely on you.”
There was none of the innocence of a child on Shen Xi’s face.
He nodded firmly.
“That’s my boy.”
Shen Yeming ruffled his hair, lips curving into a smile.
“If you want something, fight for it actively.
Even… if you have to use a few tactics.
By the way, you haven’t told me—what exactly do you like about her?”
Not long ago, Shen Xi transferred to an elite royal kindergarten.Within days, he’d declared he’d fallen for a woman and wanted her as his mother.
When Shen Yeming first heard it, he assumed some scheming woman was deliberately approaching Shen Xi.
After investigating, he was stunned to discover the woman was Gu Huaijin’s wife.
She seemed to be a full-time housewife, rarely seen in public.
There weren’t even photos of her online.
Everyone knew Gu Huaijin was secretly married, yet no one knew who his wife was.Recently, news of Gu Huaijin and another woman had blown up everywhere.
Many guessed Gu Huaijin’s secret wife was Lin Susu.
Shen Xi said, “I watched her for a few days.
The way she looked at that little boy was so gentle.
No other mother has eyes like hers… That’s what a mother ought to be like.”
…
Night had fallen deep by the time Yu Yan dropped Xia Star off at her apartment.
Shen Xi had fallen asleep in the backseat.
Once the car was parked, Yu Yan watched Xia Star carefully lift the sleeping boy out.
“Xing’er, are you really set on taking care of this child?
The pay is high, but… I get the feeling the boy’s father isn’t easy to deal with.
If anything happens to the kid… he won’t let you off the hook easily.”
Xia Star’s expression remained calm.
“I know.”
“Then why take it?”
Once the initial shock of the large sum of money faded, Yu Yan had thought through all the risks.
If nothing went wrong with the child, everything would be fine.
But if something happened, Xing’er would be in huge trouble.
Xia Star sighed softly.
“Yu Yan, truth be told, I just need something to keep me busy.”
Yu Yan frowned in confusion.
“Something to keep you busy?”
“Yeah.
Suddenly having all this free time feels strange,” Xia Star said with self-deprecation.
“I need work, and I need money.”
She paused, then added, “Gu Huaijin froze all my cards.
I still have some savings left, but Senior Brother is starting a studio and needs plenty of capital.”
“That bastard Gu Huaijin!
He froze your cards too!”
Yu Yan cursed.
“All these years you poured everything into this family, and he never even bought you a bouquet of flowers.
The fireworks he set off for Lin Susu cost more than everything he’s spent on you combined!”
Xia Star replied, “I get paid to care for someone else’s child.
But I cared for my own family, only to end up with frozen bank cards.”
Yu Yan wasn’t married yet.
Seeing what Xia Star endured in marriage made her terrified of tying the knot.Xia Star had married into a wealthy family that lacked for nothing.
If she’d married an ordinary man, she would have to earn money, handle housework, and raise children all at once.
“A woman can only stand truly firm and have solid confidence when she is financially independent.
Otherwise… even your own son will look down on you.”
It was undeniably true.Yu Yan nodded.
“I’m unemployed right now anyway.
Call me anytime you need help.”
“Thank you, Yu Yan.”
Yu Yan waved her hand casually.
“We’re close.
No need for formalities between us.”
After saying goodbye to Yu Yan, Xia Star carried Shen Xi back to her apartment.
…
The next morning, Xia Star took Shen Xi to kindergarten.
As soon as they stepped downstairs, a black luxury sedan was already waiting by the gate, drawing whispers and stares from onlookers.
Seeing them come down, the driver hurried over and greeted her respectfully.
“Miss Xia, my name is Uncle Xu.
I’m the young master’s designated driver, responsible for picking him up and dropping him off.
Please call me Uncle Xu.”
Xia Star wasn’t the least bit surprised to see the driver outside her apartment.
She smiled.
“Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Xu.”
Uncle Xu opened the car door for them.
“No trouble at all, Miss Xia.”
After roughly twenty minutes, Xia Star realized the route Uncle Xu took felt familiar.
It looked just like… the kindergarten Gu Ziting attended.
Xia Star couldn’t help asking, “Uncle Xu, which kindergarten does Shen Xi go to?”
Shen Xi had only moved to S City recently, and the documents Shen Yeming sent her yesterday hadn’t stated his school.Uncle Xu smiled.
“The First Royal Kindergarten nearby.”
Xia Star’s brows twitched slightly.
Gu Ziting went there too.
The First Royal Kindergarten was the finest kindergarten in S City.
Only children from extremely wealthy, powerful, or distinguished clans could enroll.
Mere money or influence alone wasn’t enough to get in.
Xia Star had guessed Shen Yeming was no ordinary man, but she hadn’t imagined his connections ran this deep.
Xia Star walked Shen Xi all the way to the kindergarten gate and told him gently, “Call me if anything comes up.
Get along well with the other kids.
I’ll come pick you up after school.”
Shen Xi nodded, glancing back repeatedly as he walked into the campus.
Xia Star’s mind wandered.
When Gu Ziting first started kindergarten, he had been just as reluctant to part with her.
Somewhere along the way, though, he stopped listening patiently to her reminders and grew irritable instead.Just then, a shocked exclamation came from behind her.
“Miss Xia!
Have you come to see Ziting?”
Xia Star turned around and saw Gu Ziting, Lin Susu, and…
Gu Huaijin standing not far away.