After Becoming a Full-Time Employee, I Signed a Romance Contract with My Ice-Cold Boss - Chapter 24

Bringing Her Harvests of Joy

Xu Que held Jiang Fengyi, continuously transferring her body heat to the other woman.

Jiang Fengyi lay obediently in her arms, silently drawing strength from Xu Que. This was the first time her emotions hadn’t been completely derailed after a confrontation with her mother.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “Thank you for being here.”

Leaning against Xu Que’s chest, she felt the powerful thumping beneath the fabric; every vibration offered a wordless comfort.

Xu Que lowered her eyes, tucking a stray lock of hair behind Jiang Fengyi’s ear. She leaned in closer until their noses touched, nuzzling her affectionately.

“You are so wonderful; it’s I who want to stay by your side forever.”

She stroked the hair at the back of Jiang Fengyi’s head. “So there’s no need for thanks. Allowing me to stay by your side is the reward you give to me.”

Outside the door, the three people left behind looked at each other in dismay. Jiang Xuan, refusing to give up, stepped forward to press the doorbell again, but this time, no one opened the door for her.

Zhao Ruofei remained somewhat rational and stepped forward to advise, “Auntie Jiang, Fengyi is in the heat of anger right now. Let’s come back when she’s cooled down.”

“Truly no respect for elders! How can she treat her seniors with such an attitude!”

Zhao Ruofei pulled Jiang Xuan away. “Let’s head back first and find another opportunity to visit.” She was very skilled at placating people, and with just a few words, she persuaded Jiang Xuan to leave with her.

After coaxing her into the car, Zhao Ruofei didn’t have the driver start the engine immediately. She first asked Jiang Xuan, “Auntie Jiang, it must be lonely for you to stay in that big house all by yourself. Why don’t you come stay at our place for a few days?”

“I’ve even kept the layout of the room you stayed in before exactly the same. You can move right in.”

Jiang Xuan would indeed be facing a house full of servants alone if she went home. She feared loneliness above all else and loved a lively atmosphere, so she agreed.

“Then I’ll go to your place.”

“Is your grandmother at home? I haven’t seen her in a long time.”

“She’s dying for you to come over and chat with her.”

Inside the car, the tension from the argument at Jiang Fengyi’s door vanished completely, replaced by laughter and a harmonious atmosphere.

The world outside the door finally fell silent.

Xu Que listened for a moment and heard no more movement.

She rested her palm on the soft head of the woman in her arms and asked, “Do you want to take a nap? After you wake up, I’ll take you somewhere.”

“Where?”

“A place to harvest joy.”

With her head still nestled in Xu Que’s embrace, Jiang Fengyi squinted her eyes, unwilling to get up.

“I’m a bit sleepy, I don’t want to move.”

“I’ll carry you inside to sleep.”

At the Suburban Orphanage

When Yuanyuan heard Director Su Mei say that Sister Xu Que would be coming back to visit today, she moved a small stool to the courtyard early in the morning to wait.

Xiao Hua followed closely behind and sat down next to her.

“Yuanyuan, do you think that pretty sister will come along too?”

The little girl shook her head. “I don’t know, but I want her to come.”

“I want her to come too.”

Yuanyuan complained, “We can only stay here. The Director won’t let us out. I’m so bored mushrooms are going to grow on my head. Only when Sister Xu Que comes does someone play with us for a while.”

“And even then, it’s only in this yard. The Director stops us if we go even a little further.”

Xiao Hua, being slightly older and more sensible, said, “Yuanyuan, don’t say that. The Director keeps us from going too far for our own safety.”

“But Jingyi is even younger than me, and she’s already been to so many places.”

“That’s because Jingyi has her parents with her. Her mommy and daddy keep her safe.”

Yuanyuan fell silent.

She propped up her red cheeks with her chubby hands, gazing into the distance, waiting for the expected figures to appear.

The familiar roar of an engine reached her ears. Even before she saw anyone, Yuanyuan knew Sister Xu Que had arrived.

She could recognize the sound of Xu Que’s vehicle.

“It’s definitely Sister Xu Que.”

She grabbed Xiao Hua’s hand and ran toward the gate. “Come on, we have to be the first ones there this time.”

Despite being the first to know Xu Que had arrived, her movements were destined to be a step slower. By the time Xiao Hua pulled her to Xu Que, several faster children were already there.

“Sister Xu Que!”

“And the pretty sister!”

Yuanyuan’s eyes grew wide and round, her joy infecting Jiang Fengyi.

Seeing the innocent, smiling faces of these children, Jiang Fengyi truly felt much more healed.

Jiang Fengyi chuckled. “I remember you, Yuanyuan.”

She patted the little girl’s head. “Last time you gave me candy. To return the favor, I’m going to give you candy this time.”

As she spoke, she flipped her palm upward like a magic trick, revealing a handful of candies.

Jiang Fengyi pinched Yuanyuan’s rosy cheek and stuffed the candy into the little girl’s pocket.

Director Su Mei worried about their teeth and wouldn’t let them have too many sweets. Only at times like this could they enjoy them without restraint.

Yuanyuan swallowed her saliva and peeled back a candy wrapper, but instead of putting it in her own mouth, she stood on her tiptoes, reaching up to offer it to Jiang Fengyi.

Jiang Fengyi squatted down and took it in one bite.

“Sister, I’ll give you all my candy if you come and play with me often.”

She leaned into Jiang Fengyi’s ear, covering her mouth with her hand, and whispered, “I have a lot of candy hidden in my room drawer. I can give it all to you.”

Having said that, she blinked her eyes expectantly.

Xu Que, having finished handing out toys and books to the other children, walked over.

“Yuanyuan, what are you begging people for this time?”

She then turned to Jiang Fengyi. “Don’t mind her. Last time she even asked to borrow my car keys; she wanted to drive the car out to play.”

Yuanyuan put her hands on her hips. “Sister Xu Que, don’t interrupt the deal between me and the pretty sister.”

“Pffft… hahaha…”

“You know what a ‘deal’ is at such a young age?”

“I do!” Yuanyuan said with the air of a little adult. “A deal is when I give you what you want, and you give me what I want.”

Yuanyuan pushed away Xu Que, who was interfering with her business.

“Sister Xu Que, I’m very busy right now. I’ll play with you later.”

Before she could push her away, Jiang Fengyi took Yuanyuan’s hand.

“Sister promises you, I’ll come to play whenever I have time.”

“Yay!”

Yuanyuan’s large eyes immediately curved into crescents. When she smiled, a small tiger tooth peeked out as she greeted them.

“I’m going to go tell Xiao Hua the good news!”

She hurried off to find her friend, but she had overestimated her own feet. A stone on the ground tripped her up.

She was about to fall.

“Careful!”

Xu Que was quick, reaching out to protect the girl’s head. Fortunately, she didn’t hit her head and only landed on her bottom.

“Ouch!”

Yuanyuan grimaced in pain.

“My butt hurts so much.”

Jiang Fengyi rushed forward. “Does it hurt anywhere else? Let me see.” She lifted Yuanyuan’s knee-length skirt, intending to check her legs for injuries.

Unexpectedly, the usually obedient Yuanyuan reacted sharply, clutching her skirt to prevent her from looking.

Beside them, Xu Que also spoke up: “Don’t…”

Before Jiang Fengyi could understand what they meant, her fingertips brushed against a cold, hard object. Before she could process the sensation, her eyes saw the answer.

Beneath the empty hem of the skirt was an ugly prosthetic limb.

Yuanyuan’s artificial leg had no expensive skin-like covering; it was just cold aluminum alloy parts joined together.

“It’s not pretty, don’t look!”

Yuanyuan quickly pulled her skirt back down to cover it, hiding her scar.

Standing up with Xu Que’s help, she looked at Jiang Fengyi with a hint of fear in her eyes. She plucked up her courage and asked, “Sister, will you still come to play with me in the future?”

Jiang Fengyi straightened the girl’s skirt and patted away the dust.

“Of course I will. I won’t break my promise to you.”

Yuanyuan’s eyes lit up again. “That’s great!” She happily extended her pinky finger toward Jiang Fengyi. “Sister, pinky swear!”

After Yuanyuan hummed a song and walked away, Xu Que looked at Jiang Fengyi’s reddened eyes and comforted her.

“Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault.”

She pointed to Yuanyuan’s receding figure and continued, “Look, she hasn’t taken it to heart. She’s already playing with the other children again.”

“Yuanyuan just thinks the prosthetic is ugly and didn’t want you to see it. I’ve already promised her that when I get my paycheck next month, I’ll replace it with a beautiful bionic one.”

“It’s okay. She’s stronger than you think.”

Jiang Fengyi suddenly asked, “Are there many… children like this?”

“What?” Xu Que didn’t understand.

“I mean, are there many other disabled children in the orphanage like her?”

Xu Que was silent for a moment.

“I should say that most of the children here were abandoned by their families because of disabilities or illnesses. The lucky ones can be cured with money; the unlucky ones live with it for the rest of their lives.”

Hearing this answer, Jiang Fengyi’s heart sank.

“Then you…”

Xu Que replied with a smile, “I was very lucky. I had no incurable diseases or physical disabilities.”

“Perhaps it was because I was a baby girl. That single condition was enough for my parents to discard me.”

Jiang Fengyi’s eyes grew even redder, and she struggled to keep her tears from falling.

Seeing that she was making the other woman even more upset while trying to comfort her, Xu Que felt a wave of regret. She quickly took Jiang Fengyi’s hand and led her outside, away from this place of sorrow.

“Anyway, we’ve finished handing out the things. Come on, now it’s our turn to go find some happiness.”

Jiang Fengyi was still immersed in her emotions. “Weren’t you bringing me here to see their smiles?”

Xu Que scratched her head. “No!”

“The place I want to take you is a place I used to sneak off to whenever I was unhappy as a child. Every time I came back from there, my sadness would be gone.”

“Sneak off?”

“Director Su Mei thought it was dangerous and wouldn’t let me go play there, so I usually went in secret.”

Xu Que led Jiang Fengyi deep into her memories.

Xu Que held Jiang Fengyi’s hand as they walked carefully. The mountain path was rugged, filled with weeds and stones, and it was easy to twist an ankle if one wasn’t careful.

The two soon reached a stream. The banks were lush and green, and the winding spring water flowed past them, making a “splashing” sound of welcome.

“Found it!”

Xu Que’s eyes lit up.

“Where!”

Jiang Fengyi followed the direction of Xu Que’s finger toward a cliff on the hillside. The cascading stream water splashed under the bright sun, creating a misty haze.

And beside the mist, thanks to the sun’s contribution, a brilliant rainbow was arched right before their eyes.