After meeting someone like Lin Yu, Jin Qiao no longer felt comfortable leaving things as they were.
She wanted to immediately say that a tutor wasn’t necessary anymore, but with Yu Siyi beside her, it wasn’t the right time.
“Let’s leave it for now. I’ll call you later tonight and explain.”
After hearing a brief “Okay” from the other end, Jin Qiao decisively hung up.
Yu An stared at the disconnected call for a moment.
This woman said she’d call him tonight to explain.
Hmph.
They were having dinner at the family estate tonight anyway.
He’d like to see what kind of explanation she could come up with.
..
With that matter settled, mother and son curled up comfortably together on the couch watching television.
Everything was peaceful until a commercial for spicy braised pig trotters appeared on screen.
Jin Qiao immediately started swallowing her saliva.
She stretched lazily, stood up, and said to Auntie Wu,
“Let’s have the kitchen make spicy pig trotters tonight.”
Auntie Wu was about to agree before suddenly remembering something.
“Madam, you and the young master are supposed to have dinner at the old residence tonight. The old master called a few days ago, and you already agreed.”
Jin Qiao covered her forehead and laughed awkwardly.
“Oh, right. Then could you tell the chef at the old residence? I really, really want spicy pig trotters.”
Auntie Wu found it amusing but nodded and went off to contact the estate’s kitchen.
“Are you bored staying with Mommy? Is there anything you’d like to do? Mommy can play with you.”
Jin Qiao smiled warmly at Yu Siyi.
Yu Siyi thought carefully.
There were actually many, many things he wanted to do with his mother.
But he was afraid of asking for too much and making her impatient.
In the end, he tugged on her hand and pointed toward his room.
“You want to go to your room? Sure!”
Taking his hand, she followed him upstairs.
Yu Siyi led her to a small corner of his room.
There were shelves filled with books.
Judging from the small armchair nearby, it was clearly where he spent most of his time.
He guided Jin Qiao to sit in his little chair while he settled on the carpet beside her.
Then he pulled a book from a cabinet and handed it to her.
Afterward, he selected one for himself and quietly sat at her feet, flipping through a picture book.
Jin Qiao was surprised.
Then her heart began to ache.
She gently stroked his soft hair and quietly accompanied him.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t focus on reading at all.
Not long afterward, she started nodding off.
When Yu Siyi noticed, he quietly got up, fetched a small blanket, and draped it over her.
When Jin Qiao woke up, it was already time to leave for the family estate.
The first thing she saw was Yu Siyi still sitting obediently nearby, reading.
Immediately, she felt guilty.
“Sorry, sweetheart. I promised I’d read with you, but Mommy ended up falling asleep.”
Yu Siyi was already perfectly satisfied.
He simply shook his head and took her hand.
After Auntie Wu came upstairs to remind them, Jin Qiao changed clothes and headed downstairs.
Yu Siyi also changed outfits before they left together.
When they arrived at the family estate, the butler was already waiting outside after hearing the car.
Jin Qiao curiously examined the surroundings.
As expected of the richest family in the country.
Magnificent.
The very air seemed to smell of money.
Entering the main building, she saw two people already seated on the sofa.
One of them was Yu Zhen, the family patriarch.
The story described him as ruthless and merciless.
Yet he was also the person who loved Yu Siyi the most.
He had raised the boy well.
Unfortunately, he passed away before Yu Siyi reached adulthood.
Several other members of the Yu family were gathered in the living room as well.
Jin Qiao immediately felt a headache coming on.
I don’t know any of these people.
What if they expect me to address them properly?
While she was still worrying about it, Yu Siyi had already led her straight to Yu Zhen.
“SiSi’s here! Come let Grandpa hold you!”
Yu Siyi hesitated.
He didn’t want to let go of Mommy’s hand.
But he also didn’t want Grandpa to be disappointed.
He looked thoroughly conflicted.
Jin Qiao immediately understood.
Picking him up, she placed him into Yu Zhen’s arms and smiled.
“He’s been missing you so much. Make sure you give him lots of hugs.”
Jin Qiao had no intention of damaging the relationship between grandfather and grandson.
After handing the child over, she obediently stepped aside.
Her words completely caught Yu Zhen off guard.
Originally, he’d planned to warn Jin Qiao again after dinner.
His precious grandson was the most important person in the world to him.
After all, this woman was the reason SiSi still refused to speak.
The more he thought about it, the worse his mood became.
As a result, he didn’t give her a friendly look and simply carried Yu Siyi elsewhere.
Since she wasn’t familiar with anyone present, Jin Qiao sat alone in a corner and daydreamed.
Yu Siyi, however, felt sorry for his mother.
From his grandfather’s lap, he pointed toward Jin Qiao, asking to be put down so he could go find her.
Yu Zhen let out a cold snort.
He wasn’t blind.
He had noticed the changes in Jin Qiao over the past few days.
But he still felt unhappy.
“Has your mother been treating you well lately?”
Thinking about the past couple of days, Yu Siyi immediately smiled and nodded.
Hmph.
That woman had only been nice to him for a few days, and now he was already choosing Mommy over Grandpa.
What an ungrateful little brat.
Even so, Yu Zhen still put him down.
Jin Qiao was lost in thought and didn’t notice Yu Siyi running toward her.
It wasn’t until he reached her that she snapped back to reality.
“Hey! Why are you running so fast? What if you fell?”
Yu Siyi threw himself into her arms and shook his head.
At that moment, a man entered through the front door.
Seeing him arrive, Yu Zhen informed the kitchen that dinner could be served.
When Jin Qiao looked up, Yu An happened to glance her way as well.
Their eyes met.
Curiously, Jin Qiao examined him.
Looking at the face that so closely resembled her son’s, she immediately identified him.
The man who shared her household registration.
Her husband.
Was the plot different from what she’d remembered?
She was pretty sure this major villain hadn’t been married in the original story.
Earlier she’d planned to call him about their son’s situation.
Now it seemed they could discuss it face-to-face.
Perfect.
..
At dinner, Jin Qiao ate as though she were completely detached from worldly affairs.
Auntie Wu had actually remembered her request.
A plate of spicy pig trotters sat directly in front of her.
She was having the time of her life.
“Big Brother, Shi Xiu is about to start his senior year. Let him intern at the company.”
Yu Zhen glanced at Yu Xu.
“Doesn’t Shi Xiu study game design? Our company isn’t in that industry, is it?”
Yu Xu nearly choked.
Still, shameless as ever, he continued.
“It’s our family’s company. I’d feel more at ease. We’re all family, after all.”
Across the table, Yu Shi Xiu looked completely accustomed to his father’s shameless behavior.
He immediately refused.
“Uncle, I’m not joining the company. I have my own plans.”
Yu Xu became anxious.
This ungrateful brat!
Did he think I was doing this for myself?
“Big Brother!”
“Shi Xiu is already an adult,” Yu Zhen said calmly. “You should learn to respect your child’s opinions.”
Yu Shi Xiu knew exactly what his father was plotting.
He glanced across the table at Yu An.
The man remained quietly eating, as though none of this had anything to do with him.
Yu Shi Xiu lowered his head and continued eating.
After dinner, Jin Qiao was invited into Yu Zhen’s study.
“About that variety show we discussed before,” Yu Zhen said.
“Filming will begin soon.”