MAMA-17: I am Mama.
Jian Wanji had been very busy these past few days. Despite that, she still managed to steal moments to send Mi Shanxin messages.
Adolescent kids were truly unpredictable, completely ignoring Jian Wanji’s enthusiastic WeChat messages.
If she hadn’t confirmed that her messages were being delivered without the red exclamation mark, Jian Wanji would have suspected she’d been blocked.
Her partner had taken sick leave, and the important projects currently on hand had been shifted to Jian Wanji. She couldn’t get away, so she had her secretary send gifts to the institution where Shanxin worked.
Jian Wanji had personally chosen the gifts, mostly things students liked nowadays. They ranged from electronics to daily necessities, and even included bags far exceeding the cost of a one-on-one training course session.
More often, she tried to cater to Shanxin’s interests, selecting professional tools.
Jian Wanji squeezed in time to find relevant information and consulted professionals, buying very cautiously.
Because she didn’t know the other’s writing habits, blindly buying a pen that might not suit her hand, she simply followed advice and bought inksticks.
Things like National Intangible Cultural Heritage Hui Inksticks, Zhang Xiaofeng Ancient Coin Handmade Ink Blocks, Rongbaozhai Lamp-Shaped Inkstick Unique Pieces… she didn’t understand them. To her surprise, spending money was the easiest part.
Unfortunately, Mi Shanxin wouldn’t accept them. She would promptly use a local courier service to return them to Jian Wanji’s company, which was quite a headache.
At the time, Jian Wanji thought: It’s just a short distance, is a courier really necessary?
Given how Mi Shanxin wanted to earn money, shouldn’t she deliver them herself?
She almost forgot the girl looked half-dead. Perhaps walking a few extra steps left her panting. These items were actually quite heavy.
Yet her backpack was much heavier than these unique inksticks. It was hard to imagine what the girl looked like going to school.
The more Mi Shanxin refused, the more Jian Wanji felt the delay was fraught with risks. Although the institution couldn’t run away, Mi Shanxin could. What if she changed her mind again?
Finally finding a moment to breathe, Jian Wanji grabbed her coat to leave when the external line rang. The voice hesitated slightly, “…President Jian, your daughter is here.”
Jian Wanji frowned. “Daughter? Where would I get a…”
In the background, Mi Shanxin’s voice was faintly audible, seemingly correcting the secretary’s wording. “I am Mama.”
Jian Wanji’s vision went dark. She didn’t know whether to be happy Mi Shanxin had walked right into the trap, or helpless that her own reputation was probably about to be ruined.
The secretary had delivered gifts on behalf of her boss and was also curious about Mi Shanxin’s identity.
Jian Wanji used the title Teacher Mi. The few times she sent gifts, the secretary never met Mi Shanxin in person. The gifts were left at the front desk, for the receptionist to pass on.
Although she hadn’t imagined some highly respected, venerable teacher, she had asked the receptionist what this teacher taught.
Calligraphy sounded very cultured. Given that current educational institutions hired teachers mostly from prestigious universities, the secretary imagined Teacher Mi to be a mature woman nearing thirty.
It was completely the opposite.
Not a trace of maturity. Thin, small, and unripe. Even delicate features were somewhat dimmed by such a frame. After a couple more glances, one would feel pity and want to carry the girl’s backpack for her.
She couldn’t have misheard, right? Who was whose mother?
Who was whose daughter?
No, was the boss playing games this wild?
The dial tone on the internal line went dead. Soon, the door opened, and a woman with her hair neatly tied back walked out.
“What brings you here so suddenly?”
The Jian Wanji Mi Shanxin had seen before was always off-duty. The other still had the usual look of a professional in the surrounding area, like a simple layered outfit even after taking off her coat.
Perhaps it was different at the company, or maybe there was an important meeting today requiring attention.
Aside from the loose, wide-legged trousers that looked like a skirt at first glance, Mi Shanxin stared at Jian Wanji’s rather stiff, formal shirt. It was the first time she’d seen such a styling in person, something she’d only seen online, and she couldn’t help but look a couple more times.
Jian Wanji was very tall and completely carried off the heavy fabric that would be too much for Mi Shanxin.
Perhaps the woman’s temperament evaporated the severity brought by the clothes, or maybe the gold accessory at her collar wasn’t gaudy. For some reason, Mi Shanxin couldn’t keep watching. She lowered her head, staring at the carpet, but her gaze involuntarily fell on Jian Wanji’s pointed-toe shoes revealed as she walked.
Mi Shanxin’s act of averting her eyes looked, in the secretary’s view, like avoiding Jian Wanji’s greeting.
Even though curiosity was stuck in her throat, the secretary remained professional and shut her mouth, bid Jian Wanji farewell, and reluctantly left the outer office.
The fish that she thought had run away had actually walked right into the net. Jian Wanji smiled even more happily, lowering her head to look at Mi Shanxin’s expression. “Ignoring me?”
Her approach brought a wave of fragrance. The scent the woman described as very obedient was one Mi Shanxin liked. Thinking of this, Mi Shanxin’s heart twisted.
The girl didn’t meet Jian Wanji’s eyes. Her overly pale face had heavy dark circles, yet it didn’t affect her looks.
Her long lashes cast trembling shadows in the light. Her voice remained flat. “Then I’ll leave.”
“Don’t go!” How could Jian Wanji miss such an opportunity? Her hands naturally rested on the girl’s shoulders. She quickly took Mi Shanxin’s backpack, heavy as an explosives pack, and pushed her inside. “Since you’re here, sit for a while, have you eaten dinner?”
Mi Shanxin shook her head, recalling the secretary’s mention that President Jian had just finished a super-long meeting. She asked, “Do you still need to continue working?”
The woman’s office wasn’t as flamboyant as her temperament. Placed in such a setting, it still carried a strong sense of distance.
As if Jian Wanji would never go to that small eatery full of refrigerated display cases and sit with her eating plain Braised Pork.
Well, Jian Wanji indeed hadn’t eaten much then.
“No more work, I was just about to go find you. Seems we have a tacit understanding.” Jian Wanji realized she might have stepped on a landmine after speaking, and changed her phrasing. “Who told Teacher Shanxin to ignore me? I was worried sick.”
“Really?” Mi Shanxin was pressed onto the sofa by Jian Wanji. It was too big here, with a break room and another room inside. Many scenes flashed through Mi Shanxin’s mind. After thinking, she still opened her mouth to ask, “Do you sleep with people inside there?”
Jian Wanji froze for a few seconds. Recovering, she rubbed her brow, quite helpless. “What are you saying? Defiling the workplace gets you fired.”
Mi Shanxin’s eyes were full of naivety. Her question was also innocent. “Aren’t you the boss? Who can fire you.”
Jian Wanji leaned back. She hadn’t expected innocence to be so relaxing. She laughed. “The boss isn’t the emperor.”
She was still shocked by Mi Shanxin’s question. Combined with the other’s last claim of liking gerontophiles, Jian Wanji stared at Mi Shanxin for a good while. “You really can’t judge a book by its cover. You look so honest and well-behaved, yet your mind is full of that kind of thing.”
Mi Shanxin wasn’t ashamed. “Just think of my insides as yellow.”
She could still say questions Jian Wanji didn’t know how to answer with a straight face.
In the past, this attribute was Jian Wanji’s social style. Now she felt a bit like a wave crashing miserably against the shore.
Jian Wanji laughed awkwardly twice, glancing at the sky outside. “Alright, let’s drop this. Are you hungry or not?”
“Are you treating me to dinner?” The girl looked up at her. Her pitch-black eyes seemed to hold only Jian Wanji.
Jian Wanji had listened in on classes at the institution. She’d also heard other kids mention Mi Shanxin. They said Teacher Mi was a bit scary. The students in the Calligraphy Class said Teacher Mi was super fun. After arguing a long time, they finally said anyway, Teacher Mi doesn’t like to smile, and her eyes are very frightening.
Perhaps it was this gaze, too focused. Jian Wanji didn’t find it frightening. Instead, she felt Mi Shanxin’s sharpness lay just beneath the surface dimness, like a gemstone in an abyss, needing light to shine.
Jian Wanji nodded. Her lip corners lifted in a standard way, like the example photos a plastic surgery hospital gives. “Why else? Wasn’t that the deal?”
Mi Shanxin stared at her lip corners, imagining what this person would look like without the Smile-Lip Surgery, while asking, “You aren’t anxious anymore?”
Jian Wanji’s tone carried a sigh. “Of course I’m anxious~ That’s why I needed to come find you.”
She didn’t forget to explain. “But these two days have been very busy, lots of meetings, other events. I really couldn’t get away. Otherwise, I would have come to calligraphy class.”
She had acted like an idle wanderer before. Now, suddenly transformed into a big boss in a high-rise building, Mi Shanxin didn’t know what she was disappointed about. “Then that promise of door-to-door chauffeur service, is it you driving me, or will you find a driver to send me?”
“Depends on the time. If I’m not busy, I’ll definitely take you myself.” The woman’s answer was very earnest. “If I can’t get away, the driver doing pick-up and drop-off will also be very safe.”
When Mi Shanxin came up earlier, she had encountered many people.
The receptionist seemed surprised by Mi Shanxin’s answer but didn’t slight her, immediately calling the CEO office. After a while, a lady in professional attire came down to receive Mi Shanxin.
The secretary had sent Mi Shanxin gifts before. Perhaps they’d all been refused, making it hard to report back to the boss.
Initially thinking the receptionist’s talk of mother-daughter relations was a prank, and hearing the girl’s surname was Mi, the secretary immediately realized something and quickly went downstairs.
She didn’t act overly attentive towards Mi Shanxin, nor did she ask many rude questions. But on the way, Mi Shanxin still felt the other’s subtle scrutiny.
At least it wasn’t malicious.
Mi Shanxin was very good at discerning that.
It seemed everyone working in this building knew Jian Wanji’s secretary. When they passed by, gazes swept over Mi Shanxin, clearly curious about her identity.
If Jian Wanji really could have a child this old, Mi Shanxin even suspected some were already thinking about a dynastic change.
If she truly were Jian Wanji’s daughter, she could eat Braised Pork every day, attend a better training class than Yueyue’s, perhaps even swap this peeling backpack for a new one.
In reality, the one who was supposed to be the daughter was Jian Wanji.
Mi Shanxin suddenly sighed. Her melancholy made Jian Wanji laugh. “What’s wrong? So unhappy today? Still upset because I said you can’t like Zeng Baian?”
“I wasn’t wrong either. You’re still young, you can find any kind of person.”
“Even if Zeng Baian is my friend, you two are simply impossible.”
Mi Shanxin ignored her and asked, “Do you remember my additional condition?”
Jian Wanji hummed in agreement. “I remember. I promised you, what I can do, I will definitely do.”
“If you wanted a star from the sky…” She sat beside Mi Shanxin, handing her a tablet. It had a picture menu, lots of items from some Private Home Cuisine place. “I could only buy the naming rights to a star, but that’s not practical. Better to give you the cash equivalent, right?”
Her perfume scent was no longer sharp. It was mild and easily attainable.
Mi Shanxin sniffed, realizing it really did smell a bit like Sulfur Soap.
Jian Wanji noticed her subtle sniffing and smiled, seeking credit again. “Am I obedient or not?”
“How is it? At least this time it won’t make you nauseous. It should be a scent you like.”
To still be this childish at thirty-nine was very rare.
Mi Shanxin didn’t answer her. Her gaze swept over Jian Wanji’s finger tapping the tablet screen. The other handed her the tablet, letting her choose the dishes.
Mi Shanxin took it. When she lowered her head, the hair whorl on top was very noticeable. Her voice was even more muffled because she was looking down. “I have a sleep disorder.”
Jian Wanji wasn’t surprised at all. “From staying up late? I could tell from your dark circles.”
“Consider it forced sleep deprivation. I can’t sleep well.” Mi Shanxin said, “Melatonin doesn’t work either.”
Jian Wanji said “Oh,” not surprised. “Common thing. Could also be an anxiety disorder.”
If it was Mi Shanxin, that was also normal. At an age where you should be in school, yet worrying about living expenses. Even the most heartless kid would feel pain.
“No problem. I’ll transfer you the one hundred thousand first. Buy whatever you want.”
As if she hadn’t heard at all, Mi Shanxin continued talking to herself. “I have to play with myself until I’m tired before I can fall asleep.”
————————!!————————
Later, Jian Wanji discovered that Little Mother has a thing for uniforms [Hug]
Mood: [Facepalm Laugh][Yellow Heart][Pants]
Keeping the word count under control, asking for a day off tomorrow first.
