Fang Anqian grew agitated. She turned to Zhou Yushen, who was drinking water nearby, and spoke up for him: “Brother Shen, how could a woman with deadweight children be worthy of a blind date with you? She might even bring bad luck to you.”
Lu Wanwan nearly choked. A blind date? She didn’t want to risk losing her job at the Zhou residence, so she quickly explained,
“Comrade Fang, you’ve misunderstood. I came to the Zhou family to—”
“Don’t bother explaining! No matter what excuse you use to get close to Brother Shen, it can’t erase the fact that your husband is dead and you’re bringing two deadweight kids. You’re just trying to have him raise your children and enjoy the good conditions of the Zhou family. I’ve seen too many shameless women like you.”
Slap. Zhou Yushen set down his glass heavily on the table, his gaze sharp as he looked at Fang Anqian. He didn’t want Lu Wanwan to be bothered by her on his account.
“Comrade Fang, you’ve misunderstood. Comrade Lu was invited by my sister-in-law to take care of Xiaobao. It has nothing to do with me.”
Taking care of Xiaobao—that meant a wet nurse. Fang Anqian realized that Lu Wanwan had been asked to feed Xiaobao since Lu Shu didn’t have enough milk recently.
Her eyes instinctively flicked toward Lu Wanwan’s chest—it was indeed ample, naturally so.
Fang Anqian’s jealousy made her teeth ache; even with padding, she could never be that full.
“Ah… I’m sorry. I was just overthinking. Comrade Lu, just pretend I didn’t say anything, alright?”
Fang Anqian smiled as if negotiating with Lu Wanwan, while inwardly despising her. A woman like this? Brother Shen would definitely not be interested.
Lu Wanwan, of course, could see through Fang Anqian’s pretenses. She finished her last sip of brown sugar water and stood to leave. Just then, Chen Shu came down from upstairs.
Seeing Fang Anqian had arrived, Chen Shu happily walked over.
“Anqian, you’re here! Let me introduce you—this is Comrade Lu Wanwan. I invited her to feed Xiaobao. Comrade Lu, this is Anqian, my friend.”
In front of Chen Shu, Fang Anqian greeted Lu Wanwan enthusiastically and even invited her to eat the cake together.
Now that her son could finally eat his fill, Chen Shu was in a good mood and said to Fang Anqian, “Anqian, you can eat here later. I’ll ask Aunt Zhang to cook your favorite dishes.”
“Well, I’ll happily accept. Looks like I’m in for a treat today. I just learned a couple of new recipes, Brother Shen—what would you like me to cook?”
Her familiarity made it seem as if she were the mistress of the house.
Zhou Yushen picked up his coat, ignoring Fang Anqian’s eager gaze, and left with a calm remark:
“Sister-in-law, I have matters at the unit. I won’t be staying for dinner.”
Chen Shu didn’t dare detain her younger brother either. She nodded repeatedly, “Alright, okay.”
Fang Anqian wasn’t willing to miss the opportunity so easily. She hurried a few steps to plead, pouting: “Brother Shen, can’t you eat first before you leave?”
“No.”
Zhou Yushen didn’t even turn his head—just two words, and his long legs carried him faster. When the door closed, if Fang Anqian hadn’t moved quickly, the door would have hit her nose.
Lu Wanwan and Chen Shu witnessed this scene. Lu Wanwan wasn’t interested in other people’s affairs; she was more concerned about Tuantuan and Yuanyuan.
“Sister Chen, I’ll go check on the children first.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
Chen Shu nodded and reminded Aunt Zhang to bring some fruit for Lu Wanwan to give to the children.
When Lu Wanwan returned to the room with two apples, she found Tuantuan and Yuanyuan asleep, with crumbs from biscuits around their mouths.
Their little hands still held milk candies, and a half-eaten biscuit box was on the bedside cabinet.
Lu Wanwan placed the milk candies on the cabinet, tucked the children in, wiped their mouths, and gently began tidying their things.
This time, she hadn’t brought much—mostly clothes, shoes, and some daily necessities. The bedding was provided by the Zhou family.
Just as she was finishing up, someone knocked on the door. Lu Wanwan, worried about waking the children, quickly got up and opened it—surprised to see Fang Anqian.
“Comrade Fang? Is something the matter?”
“I came to see you and the two children. Where are they?”
Fang Anqian’s gaze swept past Lu Wanwan and landed on the two little figures sleeping in the bed. She pursed her lips and lowered her voice to warn Lu Wanwan:
“Don’t think that having two children will make Sister Shu and Brother Shen pity you and give you a chance to get close to him. If you have any shame, don’t…”
“Comrade Fang, are you projecting your own dirty thoughts onto everyone else?”
Lu Wanwan cut her off sharply, anger flashing in her eyes as she reminded her again:
“I came to the Zhou family to take care of Xiaobao, not to seduce a man. Zhou Yushen has nothing to do with me. What you try to do is your own business.”
“You—”
Fang Anqian was furious and humiliated, raising her hand to slap Lu Wanwan.
At that moment, Aunt Zhang’s voice called from behind: “Wanwan, Sister Shu asked me to call you to eat together.”
Hearing Aunt Zhang, Fang Anqian immediately lowered her hand and whispered to Lu Wanwan: “You better be sensible, or not only will you lose your job at the Zhou family, you won’t even be able to stay in the capital.”
Aunt Zhang, seeing Fang Anqian standing at the door of the east wing, glanced calmly at her and Lu Wanwan, and said with a smile: “Comrade Fang, you’re here too? The food is ready and waiting for you.”
“Alright, then I’ll go eat first.”
Before leaving, Fang Anqian shot Lu Wanwan a warning look.
Aunt Zhang purposely fell a few steps behind. After Fang Anqian left, she came back and quietly reminded Lu Wanwan:
“Wanwan, in the future when Comrade Fang comes, don’t let the children go near her, and you should keep your distance too.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Aunt Zhang. I wasn’t very hungry after the eggs, so I won’t go down. Tuantuan and Yuanyuan are still asleep—let them rest.”
“Alright, I’ll bring the food up later.”
Aunt Zhang thought it was better that Lu Wanwan didn’t eat with her—Fang Anqian was difficult to deal with. She hurried back to work.
Twenty minutes later, Aunt Zhang brought food to Lu Wanwan.
Lu Wanwan thanked her, woke the two children, and they ate together. After tidying up, she waited until Fang Anqian had left before taking the dishes to the kitchen, washing them, and helping Aunt Zhang with some chores.
When Xiaobao woke up, she fed him again.
Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were well-behaved, staying in the room to play.
By dinner, Zhou Yushen drove home. He saw Fang Anqian still at the table but didn’t see Lu Wanwan or the twins, so he turned and left the dining room.
Fang Anqian had intended to serve him some soup, but when she turned, she only saw his back. She hurriedly called out:
“Brother Shen, dinner is ready—where are you going?”
Zhou Yushen didn’t turn back or respond, as if he hadn’t heard.
Chen Shu, hearing the voice, peeked out. When she saw the direction Zhou Yushen had gone, she slapped her forehead: “I was so busy, I forgot to call Wanwan and the two children down for dinner.”
Fang Anqian looked down at the bowl of soup in her hands, her expression dark. A widow with two children—she simply wasn’t worthy to sit and eat with them.