She stood up abruptly, then staggered, her legs weak, and instinctively raised a hand to cover her chest.
Fu Yanqin was stunned for a moment by her sudden reaction and reached out to steady her,
but she hastily stepped back, neatly avoiding his hand.
Under the light, the tips of her ears were bright red. She hung her head, her eyelashes trembling violently:
“I—I think I heard the young master’s voice… I need to go check on him.”
Before she finished speaking, she turned and walked out the door.
Fu Yanqin’s hand was still suspended in midair. The bandage had just been wrapped, one end still dangling.
He looked down… glanced at it, and for a long while did not move.
Outside the door, Uncle Fu was craning his neck when he saw Tong Xi hurry out.
Her eyes were moist, her cheeks faintly flushed, her steps a little unsteady. She did not look like she had been wronged—rather, she looked like…
Uncle Fu cleared his throat and pushed down his jumbled thoughts:
“Miss Xi, the master…”
Tong Xi was startled by his question before she reacted:
“It’s already bandaged.”
When Uncle Fu heard this, his eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded repeatedly:
“Ah, thank you for your trouble, thank you. Go rest now.”
The smile on his face was impossible to hide, and at the same time he could not help but wonder—
wasn’t the time a bit short? His master looked like someone with plenty of stamina.
In any case, at this moment Uncle Fu’s head was full of all sorts of strange thoughts, and he wished he could immediately go inside and take a look at what kind of expression his master was wearing right now.
…
After Tong Xi came back and changed her clothes, she thought about Fu Yanqin’s purpose in dragging her into his room.
Could he possibly be interested in her—an “ugly”-faced widow whose husband had died?
Tong Xi shook her head. No, it couldn’t be. Fu Yanqin held a high position; what kind of women had he not seen? Plump and slender, delicate and sweet…
Forget it, she would not try to figure out his thoughts. Her only goal was to look after her son, Fu Jingxi, and then take the money home to raise her daughter.
…
Early the next morning, Fu Xianshu came to the nursery again.
She walked into the nursery like a little whirlwind, and before she even entered, her voice arrived first:
“Jingxi baby, Auntie’s come to see you!”
Sister Zhou was just handing Tong Xi a cup of warm water. Hearing the commotion, she could not help but laugh:
“Since the young lady came back from abroad, she runs over here every day—more punctual than going to work.”
Tong Xi held the just-awakened Fu Jingxi and was wiping his face with a warm towel.
The little one had been raised plump and fair by her. Even being wiped down, he did not cry or fuss,
only kicking his little legs and making cooing, grumbling sounds.
When Fu Xianshu entered and saw this scene, she did not rush to hold her nephew. Instead, she tilted her head and studied Tong Xi for a while.
Tong Xi was still wearing plain clothes, her hair still casually tied up, and the makeup on her face still so thick that her true features could not be made out.
“Hey, Sister Xi, why are you still wearing such heavy makeup?”
Fu Xianshu leaned in and reached out as if to pinch her chin. “I think your natural features are quite good. The skin on your neck and ears is fair—why is your face plastered like wall putty?”
Tong Xi instinctively shrank back, her movement a little flustered:
“Miss Fu, I… I’m not really used to showing my bare face to people.”
“What’s there to be unused to? There’s no outsider at home.”
Fu Xianshu was warmhearted and immediately took Tong Xi’s arm and shook it.
“You wait here, okay? We have a makeup artist at home. Let her fix you up—I guarantee it’ll look better than that layer of foundation.”
As she spoke, she took out her phone and made a call.
Before long, a stylishly dressed young woman walked in, carrying a professional makeup case, and greeted Tong Xi with a smile.
Tong Xi’s heart tightened.
She had disguised her face.
This makeup was made with a special formula—waterproof and sweatproof, but it couldn’t withstand makeup remover.
If the makeup artist really sat her down in a chair, removed her makeup, and reapplied it, her face would be completely exposed.
Tong Xi spoke up urgently,
“Miss, really, there’s no need. I’m just a nanny, a rough person. What’s the point of making myself look so pretty? If powder or cream accidentally gets on the young master’s face, it won’t be good for his skin.”
Her reasoning was sound, and Fu Xianshu indeed hesitated.
“That’s true. Jingxi is so little, his skin is so delicate.”
But Fu Xianshu was not someone who gave up so easily.
Her eyes darted around, and suddenly she had another idea:
“Then how about this—you don’t need makeup, but let Lily at least trim your eyebrows for you? Your eyebrows are completely covered by foundation, you look listless. After trimming, just wash your face with water. A bare face is the healthiest. I usually can’t even be bothered to wear makeup at home.”
Tong Xi’s scalp tingled.
She raised her hand to touch her eyebrows. They were indeed drawn with a thickened brow shape, completely different from her original thin brows.
If her eyebrows were trimmed and her face washed, her disguised face would be completely ruined.
“Miss Fu…”
She was about to find another excuse to decline when Fu Jingxi in her arms suddenly started fussing, nuzzling his little face against her chest, looking like he wanted to nurse.
Tong Xi felt as if she had been granted amnesty, and quickly said:
“The young master is hungry. Let me feed him first.”
Fu Xianshu’s attention was indeed diverted. She leaned over and poked her nephew’s cheek:
“Alright, alright, feed him first. We’ll talk about the makeup after you’re done.”
Tong Xi carried the baby to the nursing chair in the inner room, her back to the door, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But she also knew that Fu Xianshu was lively and clingy by nature. This “makeup” hurdle—she could probably dodge it for now, but not forever.
Sure enough, after Fu Jingxi ate his fill and let out a little milk burp, Fu Xianshu came over again.
Only this time, she had forgotten about the makeup, because she had a new idea in her head.
Fu Xianshu held Fu Jingxi, who had just had his diaper changed, her eyes sparkling,
“Sister Xi, my second brother and the others went to a club in the suburbs today. They said there’s some shooting activity. A bunch of grown men, and they didn’t even invite me! I used to do shooting abroad too. They just think I’m in the way.”
She pouted, then looked down at her nephew in her arms and suddenly smiled:
“Let’s go too! Anyway, staying at home is just staying at home. Take Jingxi out for some fresh air and sunshine—it’s good for a little one’s health.”
Tong Xi was startled: “But the young master just turned one month old…”
“It’s fine! Just going out for a bit, not going far. The club is only a forty-minute drive from here. The environment is great—big lawns, a lake, the air is so fresh.”
Fu Xianshu spoke with great enthusiasm. “I’ll have my driver take the bigger nanny van. It’s very steady. You come along too. If Jingxi gets hungry or sleepy, you’ll be there to take care of him. What’s there to worry about?”
Sister Zhou, listening nearby, was a bit uneasy:
“Miss, the young master is still so little. If he goes out and catches a chill…”
“Sister Zhou, you’re being too cautious. Jingxi is already a full month old! I looked it up—once they’re a month old, they can go out. The weather is nice now, and it’s not even cold.”
Fu Xianshu argued with conviction, “And look at Jingxi—he’s cooped up in the house all day, practically bored to death. Going out to see the flowers and plants would do him so much good.”
Tong Xi looked at Fu Xianshu’s eager face, then at her son in her arms, who was smacking his lips after a full feeding, and her heart suddenly softened.
As a mother, she had never even taken her son out before.
She hesitated before speaking, “Then… I’ll go with the young master.”
“Perfect!”
Fu Xianshu cheered, shoving the child into Tong Xi’s arms,
“I’ll go change and grab my bag. You get Jingxi ready—bring plenty of diapers and formula, oh right, and his little blanket! See you downstairs in twenty minutes!”
With that, she dashed off in a whirlwind.
Sister Zhou shook her head helplessly and helped Tong Xi pack the outing supplies, muttering as she packed:
“Miss is just like that—one moment wind, one moment rain. But it’s for the best. The young master’s been cooped up in the house all day, and getting some fresh air is a good thing.”
Tong Xi hummed in acknowledgment, bent down to change Fu Jingxi into his going-out clothes, and carefully checked the edges of his hat, bib, and swaddle.
The goose-yellow newborn cap embroidered with lily of the valley—she put it on her son with her own hands.
Twenty minutes later, Fu Xianshu appeared downstairs right on time.
She had changed into a crisp white athletic outfit, tied her hair up in a high ponytail, and looked positively radiant with youth. Clutching a small shoulder bag, she waved at Tong Xi:
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
The nanny van drove smoothly out of the Fu estate gates.
Fu Jingxi lay in Tong Xi’s arms, wrapped in a soft thin blanket, with only his delicate pink face and that little flowered cap peeking out.
It was his first time going out. His eyes were wide and round, watching the shadows of trees and the sky flash past the car window.
His little mouth hung slightly open, as if he were curious about this new world.
Fu Xianshu leaned over the seat to look at him, liking him more with every glance:
“Look at that little expression of his—doesn’t he look like a puppy on its first car ride?”
Tong Xi couldn’t help but laugh: “He does.”
“Hey, Sister Xi, do you think Jingxi will look more like Big Brother or more like his mother when he grows up?”
Fu Xianshu suddenly asked.
Tong Xi’s movements paused for a moment, then she said softly:
“Probably a bit of both. His eyes are like Mr. Fu’s, and his mouth…”
“Right! That adorable mouth of his must be from his mother.”
Fu Xianshu propped her chin on her hand and sighed, “The more I think about it, the more curious I get. What did that sister look like, to make Big Brother… never mind, forget about him. Just thinking about him makes me angry.”
Tong Xi looked down at her son, the corners of her lips curving slightly, but she said nothing.
Sunlight streamed through the car window, falling onto her thick foundation, and she suddenly felt a little dazed.
She was taking her son, riding in the Fu family’s car, heading to a place where Fu Yanqin—his biological father—would be.