On Saturday morning, after breakfast, Nian Suian took the items she bought yesterday and went to find Jiang Yun.
"Look, that man is here again, standing at the bottom of the building like a telephone pole all day."
"Oh, let him stand if he wants to. We've seen it all here, even people kneeling in the pouring rain."
"You know, this guy sure knows how to pick his times. He comes to stand around when the weather's nice, but doesn't show up when it's cloudy."
When Nian Suian arrived at the entrance of Jiang Yun's apartment building, she had just gotten out of her car when she saw a few old ladies sitting by the flower bed, watching children play while chatting.
Recalling what Jiang Yun had said before, Nian Suian guessed that the "telephone pole" not far away must be that scumbag surnamed Wei.
Listening to all this neighborhood gossip, no wonder Jiang Yun was reluctant to move away.
As Nian Suian went upstairs, she glanced at the man. He looked decent enough, but his actions were far from it.
It wasn't even December yet, but he was already wearing a padded jacket and gloves. He certainly wasn't skimping on his pitiful act. What a piece of work.
"Ding dong—"
"Coming, coming! Have you had breakfast?"
"Qu Zizhou, hurry up and make tea for Aunt Nian and bring some fruit!"
"Quickly, have a seat."
"Qu Zizhou! Hurry up!"
As soon as Nian Suian entered, she couldn't even get a word in before being ushered to sit on the sofa.
Qu Zizhou was also running around at his mother's commands.
"Thank you, Zizhou," Nian Suian took the tea Qu Zizhou had prepared for her and thanked him. "I heard from Zhijing that you're going to hang out with him today?"
"Yes, Aunt Nian. I just finished breakfast and was about to head over."
"Then you should get going. Mom needs to talk with your Aunt Nian," Jiang Yun waved her hand at her son, signaling him to scram.
Qu Zizhou didn't mind his mother shooing him away. To be honest, he'd rather be living at Gu Zhijing's place these days. After saying goodbye to the two women, Qu Zizhou left happily.
When he reached the building entrance, Qu Zizhou passed by the scumbag his mother had mentioned – Jiaojiao's deadbeat dad – and didn't forget to step on his foot.
"Oh! I'm sorry, uncle. I stepped on you."
Wei Zongqi gritted his teeth and said it was fine, but he was actually furious inside. This brat had stepped on him countless times these past few days.
But now wasn't the time to fuss over this. If it weren't for his mother insisting on getting Jiaojiao back, he wouldn't even be here.
"Grandma Liu, your clothes look so nice. Did my uncle buy them for you again? He really has good taste."
"Grandma Zhao, I heard from my mom that Sister Linlin passed the civil service exam. She's really amazing, I should learn from her."
"Aunt Hu, did Qinqin get first place in her exams again?"
As soon as Qu Zizhou saw people, he started chattering away, making the grandmas and aunties beam with joy.
"Zhou Zhou, grandma just saw you talking to that telephone pole guy. He's not a good person, don't get involved with him."
"Don't worry, Grandma Zhao. I'm not getting involved with him. I just accidentally stepped on his foot and was apologizing," Qu Zizhou said, recalling a scene from a TV show he watched with his mom. What did his mom call it again? Oh right – a white lotus. He put on an apologetic face, mimicking the act.
"Tsk! Zhou Zhou, don't feel bad about it. That man deserves to be stepped on. It's his fault for standing there blocking the way, not yours."
"That's right, I'm going to the property management office later to have him kicked out. He's such a nuisance standing there every day!"
"Exactly, let's go together later."
Hearing the grandmas and aunties discussing behind him, Qu Zizhou left contentedly. Another day of doing good deeds!
When Xiaxia first moved in with her child, the neighborhood gossip team had noticed, but since they had just arrived, the ladies didn't feel comfortable prying right away.
Jiaojiao was still young, and when she saw other children playing downstairs, she wanted to join them. When Xiaxia accompanied her, they encountered some grandmas and aunties who asked questions, and she didn't hide anything, just casually mentioned a few things.
Living here meant inevitably being the subject of curiosity. She had already prepared herself to be looked at strangely. Back in her hometown, she had given birth to a child without being married, and there were all sorts of rumors behind her back. This was also why she had decided to move away.
But to her surprise, these aunties in the neighborhood had no intention of gossiping. Instead, they comforted her.
"Oh, what's wrong with not being married? You have Jiaojiao, your daughter, and no man to deal with. Isn't life more comfortable this way?"
"That's right. My Linlin was saying that nowadays, many rich people who want children don't even bother with men. They go abroad for something called artificial insemination. They can choose whatever type they want."
"Exactly. You just settle in here comfortably. If that old witch dares to come again, I'll help you tear her mouth apart."
There was even a grandpa who dragged over his college-going grandson:
"Xiaxia, my grandson is studying law. If you need to file a lawsuit, I'll have him help!"
The young man's face turned red. He was only a freshman and hadn't really learned much yet. His grandfather was really overestimating him.
Because of all this, Xiaxia truly didn't want to move away. Her daughter Jiaojiao had also become more lively since finding playmates.
"Sister Yun, I brought this for you. This face mask is really good, you must try it," Nian Suian said, taking out the face mask she had brought for Jiang Yun. This was her first time visiting Jiang Yun's home, and she didn't want to come empty-handed.
"Look at you, bringing gifts when you come. Next time you do this, I won't let you in."
"It's not a gift, I just wanted to share something good with you!"
The two didn't stay there for long. After sitting for a while, they went across to Xiaxia's place.
Yesterday, when Jiang Yun told Xiaxia that Nian Suian was coming over today, she got up early to tidy up the house. With a child around, it was inevitably a bit messy.
After cleaning up, she went to wake up Jiaojiao for breakfast. Just as the mother and daughter finished eating and tidying up, there was a knock at the door.
"Xiaxia, I've brought Suian over."
"Hello, I'm Sheng Xia. You can call me Xiaxia like Sister Yun does."
Nian Suian also smiled and greeted Sheng Xia: "I'm Nian Suian." As she spoke, she noticed the little girl peeking out from behind Sheng Xia. She couldn't take her eyes off her.
"Are you Jiaojiao?" Nian Suian crouched down to play with her.
"I am Jiaojiao. How does auntie know me?" Jiaojiao replied in her sweet, childish voice.
Because they were indoors, the little girl was wearing a red sweater and skirt, with her hair tied up in two little buns. Her chubby face and big round eyes curiously stared at Nian Suian.
She was just...
Adorably cute!
Nian Suian barely resisted the urge to grab the child and squeeze her cheeks. Instead, she took out the little bear she had bought yesterday from her bag.
"Auntie came to bring a gift for Jiaojiao. Do you like it?"
The little girl looked at the bear wearing a dress, clearly liking it, but she remembered her mother saying not to take things from strangers.
"Go ahead and take it. Say thank you to auntie."
Only then did Jiaojiao hug the little bear with both hands and say in her sweet voice:
"Thank you, auntie."
"Come, have a seat," Sheng Xia thanked Nian Suian and invited the two to sit down for tea.