The next day, You Huan came to the house for dinner.
Li Mai quietly told her about Chengcheng not wanting to go to kindergarten.
You Huan thought it didn’t matter whether he went to kindergarten or not—the child’s happiness was most important.
“Not going to kindergarten is fine, but can he stay home alone?”
“Why don’t you send him to my place? I’m free right now.”
Li Mai waved her hand: “No need.”
She always felt bad troubling You Huan.
Besides, You Huan would have to work eventually and couldn’t stay home forever.
You Huan thought for a moment and suggested: “Why don’t you ask your mom to come over and look after Chengcheng?”
Li Mai thought of her mother’s cold gaze and shook her head: “Forget it. She doesn’t like Chengcheng, and Chengcheng doesn’t like being around her either.”
“Then what will you do?”
“Chengcheng says he can stay home alone. I’m considering it, but I’m still worried.”
You Huan: “Chengcheng is very independent. Why don’t you let him try? Install some security cameras at home so you can check on him anytime.”
Li Mai thought for a moment: “Okay, I’ll try it.”
That evening, Li Mai had a face-to-face talk with Chengcheng.
“Chengcheng, Mommy agrees you don’t have to go to kindergarten, but you can only take off two days per week. The other three days you have to go.”
Chengcheng thought about it and nodded in agreement.
Getting two days off wasn’t bad.
“Mommy, can I skip kindergarten tomorrow?”
Li Mai: “…”
Li Mai requested two days off for Chengcheng.
The security cameras she ordered online arrived, and she installed them that night.
Monday morning.
Before Li Mai left for work, she held Chengcheng and gave him a thousand reminders.
“Chengcheng, if someone knocks on the door, you can’t open it, okay? No matter who it is, don’t open it.”
Chengcheng nodded: “I know, Mommy.”
“Don’t touch the gas stove. I’ve put your lunch in the microwave—you just need to heat it up. I’ve taught you how to use the microwave.”
“I know, Mommy. I know how to use it.”
“Don’t climb on the windowsill.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t touch any electrical outlets.”
“Okay.”
“If anything happens, call Mommy.”
“I know, Mommy. You’re going to be late for work.”
Li Mai glanced at the time. It really was getting late.
She looked at Chengcheng one more time, still worried, before leaving.
Chengcheng stood in the middle of the room.
He really wanted to grow up quickly so Mommy wouldn’t always worry about him.
Li Mai ran into her supervisor when she was parking.
“Manager Ji.”
Ji Wangyu glanced behind her: “You bought a car?”
“Yes, a used car.”
“Looks good. How much was it?”
“Twenty thousand yuan.”
“How much?”
Ji Wangyu thought he had heard wrong.
Li Mai repeated: “Twenty thousand yuan.”
Ji Wangyu: “…”
He was stunned for a moment and muttered: “Are used cars really that cheap now?”
Li Mai: “I was lucky. I happened to catch a used car dealership having a sale, and this car was heavily discounted.”
Ji Wangyu joked: “Next time I should go to a used car dealership and try my luck too.”
Li Mai knew he was joking.
Ji Wangyu drove luxury cars—why would he buy a used car?
The two took the elevator upstairs together.
Li Mai took out her phone to check the home security camera.
On the screen, Chengcheng was doing push-ups.
Ji Wangyu leaned over: “Wow, your son is pretty impressive!”
Li Mai smiled proudly: “Yes, I think so too.”
Ji Wangyu: “…”
This woman wasn’t modest at all.
Li Mai happily watched the security feed for a while.
The following week went very smoothly.
Chengcheng was very well-behaved at home.
He exercised, read and studied, and did housework.
He tried to stay within view of the cameras so Li Mai could see him whenever she checked.
After staying home for two days, he had to go to kindergarten for the next three days.
Since he had promised his mother, he went willingly.
In a good mood, he was willing to interact with the other children and cooperated with the teacher somewhat.
The teacher reported Chengcheng’s situation to Li Mai and praised him.
Li Mai was very happy.
Zhou Songyan, however, was not so happy.
His family was pressuring him to get married.
Old Mrs. Zhou (Grandmother) came to his office every day, had the secretary bring her a chair, and placed it right next to his desk.
She nagged at him: “My dear grandson, you’re not young anymore…”
“…you should consider getting married.”
“Grandma has found some excellent girls for you. Will you meet them?”
Zhou Songyan let it go in one ear and out the other, only focusing on signing documents.
His main strategy was to stay silent.
Old Mrs. Zhou pulled out a stack of photos from her bag and pushed them in front of him: “Stop looking at documents. Look at these beautiful young ladies.”
Zhou Songyan: “…”
He glanced at the photos.
Every single one was heavily photoshopped.
What beautiful young ladies! He’d rather look at documents!
“Not attractive.”
Old Mrs. Zhou became anxious and spread out the photos one by one.
“Look carefully! How are they not attractive? They’re so beautiful!”
“This one—fair skin and beautiful face.”
“This one—tall with long legs.”
“This one—curvy figure.”
“And this one—look how big her eyes are!”
Zhou Songyan remained unmoved: “Grandma, that’s your taste. By my standards, not one of them is attractive. I don’t like any of them.”
Old Mrs. Zhou’s face darkened with displeasure: “Tell me what type you like, and I’ll find them for you.”
Zhou Songyan paused.
Someone’s face appeared in his mind.
That restless feeling came back again.
Old Mrs. Zhou: “Come on, describe it to me—what kind are you looking for?”
Old Mrs. Zhou was anxious.
Zhou Songyan had been single for many years.
She had only heard of him having one girlfriend, and that was several years ago.
At the time, he had called her happily: “Grandma, I have a girlfriend.”
She was so delighted.
“Is she pretty?”
“Yes.”
“When will you bring her home for me to see?”
“I’ll bring her back after I finish my current work.”
She waited and waited, only to hear that her grandson had broken up.
And the girl had dumped him.
He had hidden his identity from her, and the girl rejected him for not being well-off enough.
She thought, well, if they broke up, they broke up. That kind of girl wasn’t reliable anyway.
Who would have thought that her grandson never dated anyone after that?
In the past two years, she had gradually introduced him to several blind date prospects, but he absolutely refused to meet them.
It made her so anxious that several more strands of her hair turned white.
Zhou Songyan gave the Old Mrs Zhou three words: “Don’t know.”
Old Mrs. Zhou’s face turned dark.
“The Zhou family has such a large estate and business—all of this needs an heir in the future. If you don’t find a girlfriend or get married, what will happen later?”
“I’m telling you, men also have a fertility period. When you get old, you won’t be able to have children. The internet says it’s something called—oh, inactive sperm. When they get old, they can’t swim fast anymore.”
Zhou Songyan: “…”
His face was full of dark lines.
The old lady dared to say anything.
“Grandma, stop nagging. I know what I’m doing. Let me work properly. If you keep chattering in my ear, it affects my work efficiency.”
Old Mrs. Zhou acted stubborn: “I’m not leaving unless you agree to a blind date.”
Zhou Songyan called out: “Secretary Sun, please escort my grandmother home.”
Old Mrs. Zhou grabbed the desk: “I’m not leaving!”
Sun Yuanjie: “…”
Zhou Songyan had a headache and was speechless.
In the end, he couldn’t beat the old lady and agreed to go on a blind date on Saturday.