“…”
Driving, Jian Wanji was speechless again for a moment. “Next time, don’t say such laugh-inducing things with a straight face.”
The girl humphed twice. “I wasn’t telling a joke.”
She rarely smiled, could even be said to almost never smile. A pair of eyes without ripple or wave.
That day when Jian Wanji first attended Mi Shanxin’s class, she’d drawn two round black dots and an inverted arc on the paper, and some kid said she’d drawn Teacher Mi.
The calligraphy class kids weren’t very old. Those in middle or high school were probably placed in the neighboring head teacher’s classroom. The remaining kids still spoke with a milky voice; “Teacher Mi” sounded like “Mickey Mouse.”
Jian Wanji suddenly couldn’t stop laughing. Mi Shanxin didn’t know what she was laughing at. In the gradually darkening sky, she asked: “Going to my place now?”
The woman’s smile abruptly stopped. “Now?”
The contract was already in effect. Mi Shanxin naturally would work hard. She said: “Then let’s go to the hospital. I’ll go keep Mama company.”
She was completely immersed in her role as the mother, unaware why Jian Wanji’s hands gripping the steering wheel were clenched so tightly.
“…Okay, not eating first?”
“Not very hungry. You ordered so much food for my lunch.”
“Was the Braised Pork good?”
“Not as good as yesterday’s. Today’s was a bit gamey.”
“Then we won’t order that next time.”
The dialogue seemed natural, but in reality, Jian Wanji was completely distracted, answering randomly.
Mi Shanxin didn’t notice. She opened her WeChat messages. The friend who had said their last meeting might be before winter break reminded her not to forget the weekend gathering; a few classmates from the small group would be coming.
Li Yin also cared deeply about Mi Shanxin’s self-esteem, saying: Can I send you your New Year’s gift early?
Mi Shanxin said okay.
She stared at the 99+ unread messages in the group, mostly about the weekend gathering—location, rounds, what to do, what the recent popular movies were.
“Then I’ll have someone send food up later. I don’t know if you’ll eat the meals I order for Grandmother…”
Jian Wanji said a lot, glancing out of the corner of her eye to see Mi Shanxin looking at her phone, looking very serious.
It happened to be a red light; after the turn, they’d be at the hospital. She didn’t disturb Mi Shanxin. The other seemed to be reading WeChat, only realizing after a while that Jian Wanji had spoken to her, asking: “What did you say to me?”
Jian Wanji repeated: “I was asking what you want for dinner. My Grandmother has meals delivered, you can eat that too if you want.”
Mi Shanxin’s calligraphy class training time was in the afternoon, ending just in time for dinner.
The contract fulfillment time was flexible; the additional conditions had no set time. It looked more like Jian Wanji had become Mi Shanxin’s little health assistant, reminding her to sleep and wake early, aiding sleep, taking the girl to bask in the sun, regular enrichment.
Even the Lawyer didn’t know what indecent demands lay beneath this Additional Contract.
She also didn’t think a Big Boss with assets like Jian Wanji would like a girl this young, assuming Mi Shanxin was a university student part-time actor Jian Wanji had found, and even remarked during processing that the pay was way too high.
“Oh, I’m not picky.” Mi Shanxin thought for a moment, then asked Jian Wanji: “Can I ask for Saturday night off?”
Without waiting for Jian Wanji to answer, she added: “Or I could go visit your Grandmother at the hospital in the morning.”
“No problem, whatever you want.” Jian Wanji contacted the meal delivery staff while parking and leading her up. On the surface casual, but actually expectant: “A date with friends?”
Mi Shanxin: “Sort of a classmate gathering. I’ve never dated before.”
Jian Wanji nodded and then smiled again, that teardrop mole swaying gently, under the elevator lights like a shooting star about to land. “I thought you wouldn’t participate in this kind of activity.”
Mi Shanxin’s physique looked very easy to bully, but her complexion carried an air of “strangers keep out.”
Besides her gloominess, there was also the natural eeriness of those lifeless eyes, much like a prop doll suddenly thrust at the camera in a horror game, not even qualifying as an NPC.
“A friend hopes I’ll go,” Mi Shanxin confirmed with Jian Wanji once more. “Is it really okay? If your Grandmother gets used to me coming at a certain time every day, will she be very disappointed?”
She was easily soft-hearted, which was why Jian Wanji had a chance to exploit her.
From the Additional Contract, it could also be seen as the hunter appearing in the guise of the prey.
“How could I be disappointed in Mama?” Jian Wanji had driven to the hospital. Watching Mi Shanxin very naturally start crawling to the back seat to change clothes, she always felt this scene was also very strange.
Back when she asked Zeng Baian to find an actor, there had been costume requirements.
She didn’t know how much Mi Shanxin had overheard before she arrived that day. The girl demanded Jian Wanji hold her to the standards of finding an actor, including clothing.
Actually, last time Jian Wanji had brought Mi Shanxin without any costume change and gained Wan Qingqing’s approval. There was no real need.
A vague resemblance, yet compared to the previous actors, it was like the difference between clouds and mud.
But Jian Wanji hadn’t expected Mi Shanxin to be so serious, fully embodying “I take the money, I do the job to the best of my ability.”
So even the institution training job paying eighty per hour, she taught those kids seriously without slacking off?
Already suffering from a Sleep Disorder, yet still being this perfectionistic—no wonder she was trapped in a loop.
“I’m saying…” Jian Wanji was baffled by Mi Shanxin’s actions. “Can’t you just get out and go around to the back?”
The girl who had already crawled to the back leather seat said: “This saves energy.”
She then asked Jian Wanji: “Can you cover me a bit? I still need to take my pants off.”
That sounded even stranger. Jian Wanji suspected that a few more interactions with Mi Shanxin, and her blood pressure would break historical highs.
“I didn’t say you absolutely have to change here, Student Shanxin.”
“Call me Mama. There’s no Student Shanxin here.”
The girl in the back was opening the bag Jian Wanji had left on the seat. The clothes inside carried a stale scent—a white shirt and blue pants, a very simple School Uniform from that era.
Jian Wanji shut her mouth. Mi Shanxin asked again: “Are these clothes your mother wore before?”
The voice of the woman raising the partition screen sounded distant, seeming to hum in affirmation.
Changing clothes, Mi Shanxin slightly raised her voice: “Did the other people you found before also wear them?”
“No, it never reached that step.” Jian Wanji gripped the steering wheel. In the hospital parking lot, cars occasionally passed, people occasionally walked past her car. She didn’t know what she was nervous about. Mi Shanxin changing clothes behind the partition was also technically a commercial activity, so why did it feel like an illicit affair? Was this really necessary?
“That’s good, otherwise I’d have to take them home and wash them.”
Jian Wanji asked: “Do you need so long to change clothes?”
She even heard vague static electricity sounds, wanting to laugh. “You an onion or something?”
“It’s very cold outside, I wore a lot of layers.” Mi Shanxin’s wardrobe was very monotonous. Because she dressed too unlike a teacher, the institution’s staff had reminded her many times. Hearing Jian Wanji tease her, she said sullenly: “Don’t laugh at Mama.”
Her self-proclaimed “Mama” was incredibly childish, perfectly matching Wan Qingqing’s fantasy of her daughter still attending Girls’ School.
But how could Wan Lingling, attending Girls’ School, have a child? Time and space truly were in disarray; everything was scrambled.
After a moment, Mi Shanxin knocked on the partition. “I’m ready.”
Jian Wanji retracted the partition. Seeing Mi Shanxin preparing to crawl back over, she immediately refused: “Just sit there, I’ll personally open the door for you.”
She couldn’t help complaining: “You really are skinny enough, to be able to crawl through.”
Mi Shanxin sat in the back, watching Jian Wanji mutter as she opened the door. She extended her hand toward the woman opening the door.
The woman reacted as if facing a formidable enemy, even stepping back. “What is it?”
She was clearly a natural socializer, yet suddenly adopted a cold demeanor. Mi Shanxin didn’t find it hard to guess the problem was herself.
Perhaps the sexual harassment accusation.
But now their relationship was different. Mi Shanxin maintained her posture.
The white shirt fabric from back then wasn’t bad, but wearing it now was just too cold. The remaining warmth inside the car was eroded by the parking garage’s cold air. Mi Shanxin trembled slightly, the overly long sleeves folded back at her cuffs, revealing her thin, almost frail wrists. “Hurry and carry me out, it’s very cold.”
“My mother wasn’t some delicate lady,” Jian Wanji could see she was cold, and could also see she wasn’t in a position to put on that pilled hoodie right now. She took off her own coat and draped it over Mi Shanxin, lifting her out of the car and setting her on the ground, not forgetting to grumble: “I already said there was no need to dress up like this. You really are, making yourself suffer for nothing.”
Mi Shanxin also had her stubborn side, now shrinking her neck, as if refusing Jian Wanji’s lecturing.
Jian Wanji’s coats were mostly long styles. Today’s was relatively moderate, a black, minimalist cape-style double-breasted coat. Draped over Mi Shanxin, it already reached her calves, becoming a full-length coat.
It seemed like stealing Mi Shanxin away would also be effortless. Here and now, no one would notice.
Suddenly enveloped entirely in Jian Wanji’s Perfume scent, Mi Shanxin liked this crisp soapy fragrance, and leaned in to sniff near the collar again.
Jian Wanji smiled wryly. “Like it that much? Want me to give you a bottle?”
Mi Shanxin wrinkled her nose, evaluating seriously: “Not just the Perfume, also your scent.”
Jian Wanji laughed. “That’s just fabric softener, clothing fragrance mist, and perfume all stewed together.”
She seemed allergic to romance, mocking herself: “My real scent is probably what you young girls would most despise—old person smell.”
“I didn’t say that.” Mi Shanxin retorted.
“Yes, you didn’t, you like married ones.” The woman walked on. To get to the hospital’s underground elevator, they had to pass through the walkway. Occasionally cars drove by with headlights flashing. Jian Wanji hooked her arm around Mi Shanxin’s shoulder through her own coat. “Let’s go, perverted Mama.”
