After returning from the trip, Mother Chen came to pick up Fang Jingzhou and prepare to return to their hometown. September was approaching, and he was about to become an elementary school student. Luo Bei took him to the mall and bought a lot of new stationery. Fang Jingzhou was reluctant to leave. When Luo Bei handed the washed travel photos to Mother Chen, who was nearly 60 years old, her eyes turned red.
“Miss Luo, if it weren’t for you, Jingzhou might still be with his mother. I have thought about it during this period. Our Lanlan is not a good mother. I’m not afraid to tell you the truth. She gave birth to this child back then for power and wealth. She wanted money. I feel sorry for my daughter, so even though I know she’s not good to Jingzhou, I have to turn a blind eye to it. After all, there’s no way a grandson more important than a daughter, right?”
Luo Bei couldn’t refute Mother Chen’s words because this poor grandmother only knew that her grandson was not doing well, but she didn’t know how he was not doing well. She also didn’t know what kind of person this child would become if Fang Jingzhou was let to stay with Chen Lan.
“Now I understand. An adult’s character has long been determined. I can’t control my daughter anymore, and she doesn’t have me in her heart as a mother. She is too selfish and too vain. Let her do whatever she wants in the future. I’ll just pretend I don’t have this daughter. Anyway, she doesn’t want us as parents in her heart. She thinks we didn’t create good conditions for her or let her be born into a good family. From now on, I will focus on taking good care of Jingzhou. This poor child has no father or mother. If it weren’t for you and Xiao Zhou, he wouldn’t be as happy as he is now.”
Luo Bei once had selfish motives too. She subconsciously took care of Zhao Pianpian because she knew Zhao Pianpian would be the future wife of the CEO, and she couldn’t help but pay more attention to Jiang Sihan because he would become a superstar. This was the ordinary people’s little calculation, but there was none of this for Fang Jingzhou. Regardless of whether he would be poor or rich in the future, for her, he was just a child who lacked love and needed help.
Compared to many children his age, Fang Jingzhou was more sensible, and outsiders would think he was a good boy. They might even think it would be great if their own child were like him. But… who knows if his sensibility is because he lacks care, so he remembers any little kindness shown to him. In any case, Luo Bei was happier than anyone else to see him becoming more like a child every day.
A year later, Luo Bei’s newly bought house was also handed over. She was lucky enough to come across a few remaining units and paid a 30% down payment. The loan was for 20 years, and she had to pay a little over 10,000 yuan every month. If it were before, Luo Bei would have felt a lot of pressure, but now she earned more than 200,000 yuan a month, so a little over 10,000 yuan was nothing.
The house she bought is not small. It has three bedrooms, a living room, and even a small attic. The location is good and transportation is convenient. Perhaps her strong desire to buy a house also influenced Zhao Pianpian. Zhao Pianpian held five million yuan in her hand and bought a similar-sized unit on the upper floor of Luo Bei’s new house.
Luo Bei knows that after Zhao Pianpian met Lei Yuhao again, she also used this five million. This means that she really has no possibility of reconciling with Lei Yuhao. Otherwise, with Zhao Pianpian’s personality, she would not use these five million even if she was beaten to death. Luo Bei is also not sure now. Previously, she still thought that Zhao Pianpian and Lei Yuhao would definitely reconcile because the plot of the novel cannot be reversed. But now she is unsure, as some things have deviated and changed, such as the fact that baby Chen did not have a rare disease, he is healthy and lively, and besides occasional fever like ordinary children before the age of three, he has no other illnesses. Also, it has been a year and Zhao Pianpian still hasn’t budged.
Most importantly, unlike in the novel, Zhao Pianpian bought a house…
Zhao Pianpian plans to look for a job after baby Chen goes to kindergarten. Of course, she is worried that she has been out of touch with society for too long and cannot find a job for a while. Fortunately, she has taken on several accounting jobs for several companies, including the one at Luo Bei’s shop, so she is currently earning a decent income, enough to cover her and baby Chen’s daily expenses.
Luo Bei looked at Lei Yuhao, who was patiently wiping baby Chen’s sweat using a sweat towel. She is becoming more and more unable to understand this person’s style.
If he was initially the cold and domineering CEO who was eager to find his lover, then now he is a Buddhist-style1 CEO.
Lei Yuhao doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to reconcile with Zhao Pianpian and become a happy family of three. He comes here twice a week, and no matter how busy he is, he will come over if baby Chen is sick. The most magical thing is that he actually rented the room next to Zhao Pianpian’s. Sometimes, when it’s too late, he will just stay here.
However, Gu Qianyan told Luo Bei : “It is normal for them to be like this now. Whether it was when Pianpian was his secretary or when they just met again, it was not normal. Pianpian is standing up now. I’ll be honest with you, don’t mind me, but Pianpian’s previous position was Lei Yuhao’s lover2. She didn’t want his money, but it doesn’t mean she was Lei Yuha’s girlfriend. What she wanted was more than other women. Lei Yuhao has plenty of money, but only one sincere heart.”
Luo Bei didn’t know what to say.
“This is good now, let everything go with the flow. Pianpian no longer hopes for his true feelings, and he does not urgently need her to return to his side. As for baby Chen, he has both fatherly and motherly love at the same time.” Gu Qianyan even advised Luo Bei from the opposite perspective, “Just think of them as a married couple who divorced, and even after divorce, they still have a child. It is impossible for them to never interact again. They both love baby Chen and have their own lives. Isn’t that good? As for whether they will reconcile in the future, that is something for later.”
Luo Bei nodded, “I think it’s good for Pianpian to be like this, really.”
There were some things she couldn’t say too much to Gu Qianyan. In the original novel plot, Zhao Pianpian didn’t have her own job because she was devoted to taking care of the baby. Later, after reconciling with Lei Yuhao, she became Mrs. Lei directly. Life was far from simple as it was the plot of a novel. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was a mess. The happiness glossed over in passing, is it really happiness?
At least the current Zhao Pianpian is very charming. She has her own job and her own things to do. Whether this man loves her or not, she will still live a good life.
After Cinderella married the prince, she lived a happy life. The pains she had suffered before had turned into sweetness.
However, the author is not the party involved. In the world under her pen, there are 365 days in a year, and it is impossible to write in detail about every day. If it is generally sweet, then it is a good ending. Who would want to write those bitter things at the end to make the readers disgusted?
Several major events happened in this year. Under Luo Bei’s management and with guidance from Teacher Gu, the car beauty shop was ready to open its second branch. Now, the business was doing well and had a good reputation. The master became the manager of the store, the apprentice became the master, and the store hired several new employees. Almost every new employee would be separately summoned by Grandpa Gu for a talk, which was called encouragement, but Luo Bei felt it was brainwashing.
But brainwashing could also be good or bad.
Those newbies work like they’ve been injected with chicken blood every day. After all, the example of apprentice and the master are right there. These two are said to be making more than ten thousand yuan a month now.
Luo Bei is planning to let the apprentice become a supervisor after the branch opens.
The apprentice is talking with the newly arrived colleagues, “As someone like me, who comes from a family with little money and low education, I thought I would be doing physical labor for the rest of my life. But now, there is a day when I can become a supervisor. Teacher Gu encouraged me to attend an adult university and get an associate degree… It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a degree, what’s important is having a strong drive to succeed. The boss of our store values ability more than education. As long as we work hard, we won’t be treated unfairly.”
He talked about his local girlfriend. At first, her family didn’t like him because he was an outsider with no decent job or house. He didn’t blame them, as people always want their daughter to have a better life. But now, he goes out for a drive every night until eleven or twelve, and with the money he earns at the store, he makes nearly 20,000 yuan a month. His future mother-in-law and father-in-law look at him with much softer eyes now.
Brother Zhou was right. As a man, it’s fine to suffer on your own, but you can’t let the people you love suffer with you!
A year is neither too long nor too short. Luo Bei’s income is increasing every month, and she has already planned to start renovating her house after saving up some money in half a year. Of course, she is also planning to take the MBA exam. When she told Grandpa Gu about this, he encouraged her greatly.
Grandpa Gu’s words touched Robe deeply. He said, “Only when there is more knowledge in your mind can your spirit be fulfilled. Maybe in a few years, you will become a role model for many women. At that time, you can also contribute to the goal of achieving equality in society. Speaking of which, that was also Qianyan’s Grandma’s goal. She used to tell me that she couldn’t see equality, but she hoped that her descendants could.”
Of course, there are more significant events about to happen…
On that evening, Luo Bei called Fang Jingzhou as usual to ask how he was doing at school, if he had any difficult homework, and how he was feeling today. She found out that the boy was somewhat inexplicably excited today.
Luo Bei asked tentatively, “Did the teacher praise you?”
Fang Jingzhou was very proud and confident, “I get praised by the teacher every day.”
…Indeed, this boy was very intelligent and sensible. The teachers liked him very much, and he was the class monitor. His classmates also liked him very much.
“Why are you so happy then?”
After all, Fang Jingzhou was still a child, and he couldn’t keep his mouth shut completely. He accidentally revealed, “Beibei, you will have a star very soon. Uncle Xiao Zhou said it’s very beautiful and very expensive.”
Luo Bei didn’t understand at first, but after hanging up the phone, she thought carefully about Fang Jingzhou’s words and couldn’t help but wonder, could this star be… a diamond ring?
Could it be that Gu Qianyan was going to propose to her???
No way???
After calling Luo Bei, Fang Jingzhou called Gu Qianyan.
Actually, no one can argue with Gu Qianyan. During a phone call with Fang Jingzhou, he inadvertently revealed his intention to propose to Luo Bei, which immediately piqued the kid’s interest.
Fang Jingzhou asked, “Uncle Xiao Zhou, when are you planning to propose to Beibei?”
Gu Qianyan pondered and said, “Probably within the next two days. I have everything ready, and I want to surprise her.” He paused and added, “The main concern is you, little brat. You haven’t leaked the news, have you?”
Fang Jingzhou immediately replied, “No, I haven’t! I haven’t told Beibei anything!”
Gu Qianyan was skeptical, “Really?”
Fang Jingzhou thought for a moment, confirmed that he had indeed not revealed the proposal to Beibei, and then promised confidently, “I really haven’t said anything. Uncle Xiao Zhou, you have to believe me. I promised you, and I won’t tell anyone else. This is a secret between men!”
“I hope so. If you do tell, you know the consequences.”
Fang Jingzhou said, “If I tell, I’ll wet the bed.”
- The term “Buddhist-style” refers to a mindset or attitude of calmness, patience, and detachment, similar to the principles of Buddhism. In this context, it means that Lei Yuhao has transformed from a domineering, impulsive person to someone who is more patient, understanding, and tolerant in his actions and decisions. ↩︎
- lover as in derogatory meaning, where one give their body (for s*x) and the other give money ↩︎
Compared to [in the dream-ZPP], the current ZPP has more choices on her plate and becomes more independent. Although GYN’s realized his feeling earlier than the plotline in the ori-novel, I believe the progress of their business was still in line with the ori-plotline. While it’s said that in the ori-plotline, ZPP had spent all her time for the baby and hadn’t had time for work.
So, although LB’s original intention of befriended ZPP was to get a little bit chance of advantage from a CEO’s wife,… In the end, it’s ZPP who get the better deal through this friendship. She accepted Grandma Luo, LB, and JSH’s help in her daily life as a single (expecting) mother. It freed some of her time to flex her skill as accountant. Later, FJZ and GYN joined her circle of friends. With such good people as her friend circle, the chance of baby Chen “touched the trigger of his fated illness” had been minimized. He’s well cared of, and he didn’t contracted the illness (yet?).
With the Lou’s support, she took some part-time accountant jobs. Then LB hired her as their accountant. All of it allowed her to keep in touch with the current practical economy, one of the most important requirements for someone in her profession. Without baby Chen’s illness and with a career for herself, ZPP now has the option to be independent. She doesn’t need to enter a marriage she doesn’t want.
Thank you!😍
Already the end, I will miss this story but there are still some sweet side stories ☺️