My Weekend Lover Turned Out To Be My Boss - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Six Months Ago II – “Happily Ever After”

We hadn’t taken more than a few bites of breakfast when Soso arrived unannounced with He Xiaozhuang. Seeing her little brother, Qingfan immediately jumped off the stool to greet him, shoving the bread slice in her hand into his mouth, smearing jam all over Xiaozhuang’s face. I crossed my legs, lifted the bowl of fragrant oatmeal to my mouth, and raised an eyebrow in jest: “Well, what wind blew you here?”

Soso picked up a bowl, served herself some porridge, and sat down next to me, snatching the bread slice out of my hand in the process. With a mouth full of food, she mumbled, “I calculated it—you were going to look for me today, so I flew over with my baby.”

“Please, I think you flew over for the breakfast. Is Dazhuang on a business trip again?”

As soon as I asked this, Soso flared up, protesting loudly, “How dare you say that? Not only does he neglect the bar, but now he neglects the company too. My husband is working himself to death. Whose fault is that? Eating one meal of your breakfast is getting off cheap!”

Ignoring Soso’s complaints, I reached out, picked up Xiaozhuang, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Little darling, did you miss your godmother? You get to go to school with your sister tomorrow, are you happy?”

Xiaozhuang, who looked like Soso was raising him like a little piglet—chubby and with a big head—smiled with squinted eyes and nodded repeatedly: “Happy~”

“Such a good boy! Godmother is taking you and your sister to see the little animals today, okay?”

“Oh, you’ve had a change of heart?”

“I know exactly what you’re thinking. You rushed over this morning just to go out and play with the two kids together.”

Soso and I exchanged a smile. She nudged my shoulder and sighed, “Truly my best friend. We always think alike!”

“Then eat quickly. The Ocean Park will be crowded later.”

Soso couldn’t keep her mouth shut even while eating, and she casually inquired, “Why haven’t I seen Phoebe lately? Is she very busy?”

I paused, slightly distracted for a moment. She raised a hand and waved it in front of my eyes, then continued, “What are you thinking about?”

I shook my head, collecting myself, and answered, “Nothing.”

“Your eyes say two words—worry.”

I put down my chopsticks, leaned back in the chair, and said lightly, “I eat well, drink well, and am carefree with the child. What nonsense are you talking about?”

Soso scoffed, shaking her head, stirring the oatmeal non-stop with her spoon: “Others may not see through you, but I can.”

“There’s really nothing!”

Changing the subject, Soso put down her spoon, stood up, and organized things: “Alright, alright, I’m full. Hurry up and change clothes so we can leave. You must be tired from taking care of the child. I’ll drive today.”

“Looks like you finally had a change of heart after all!”

Tossing Qingfan to Soso, I quickly ran upstairs to change. Walking into the walk-in closet, I stared at the wardrobe full of clothes Phoebe had bought for me. Recalling Soso’s question just now, I didn’t know why, but my heart tightened. Perhaps it was because life was too leisurely. I just felt that she was getting busier and moving further away, making it hard for me to keep up with her rapid pace, and our communication was becoming scarce. Hopefully, this feeling was wrong. I decided to find time to talk to Phoebe.

…

Soso slipped into the driver’s seat, and I sat in the back with the two little darlings, holding one on each side. Time really flies. While these little ones are growing rapidly, we are unknowingly and slowly aging. Fortunately, the road was smooth. When we reached the Ocean Park, I grabbed both kids by the collars and ran toward the ticketing area. Soso shouted behind me, “Slow down!”

“No time! The dolphin show is about to start!”

“Dolphins oh~~~”

“Dolphins oh~~~”

The children cheered loudly. I simply held one child under each arm and rushed to buy the tickets and check-in—all in one swift motion!

After buying popcorn and ice cream, Soso shook her head upon seeing the three of us: “Are you sure Phoebe won’t kill you for spoiling the kids like this?”

“She’s busy with a million things; she doesn’t have the time to care about this. Do you want an ice cream cone too? They’re delicious!”

I said lightheartedly. Soso sighed helplessly, “Why do I feel like you’re self-sabotaging?”

I stared at her, confused, genuinely wondering: “What do you mean by self-sabotaging?”

We entered the dolphin performance hall and found good seats. Soso continued, “A lot has happened. It’s not easy for you two to be together. I just worry that you’ve forgotten the pain once the wound has healed.”

I reached up and rubbed Qingfan’s head, pondering for a moment: “I keep thinking that all those bad people are gone now, and our life now is just plain and calm. How is that not good? Does it have to be high-flying and dramatic to be good? You can’t earn endless money, and family is more important than career.”

Soso snapped her fingers and poked my head: “Perhaps Phoebe doesn’t think that way.”

“Maybe. She handles the outside, I handle the inside. Occasional disagreements are inevitable. It’s just that we hardly ever argue now. It’s even hard to have a normal conversation. We live under the same roof, but it feels like a long-distance relationship!”

“I told you there was a problem between you two, but you wouldn’t admit it.”

“There’s nothing wrong. No fighting, no drama—where’s the problem?”

Soso crossed her arms, looking like I was a lost cause: “When the problem surfaces, you’ll know what it feels like when the mountain collapses and the earth splits. Anyway, I’ve said my piece. Don’t come crying and complaining to me then, because I won’t be able to help you.”

“….”

After a day of crazy fun, Soso and I were exhausted. We went our separate ways in the evening. Qingfan wore a rabbit-ear headband on her head and even used her own pocket money to buy one for Phoebe. She clutched it tightly the whole way, keeping it beside her even during dinner, saying it was a gift for Mama. Seeing how much she anticipated Phoebe’s reaction to the gift, I could only stroke her head and share her happiness.

After dinner, the two of us—one big, one small—sat in the living room watching cartoons. Then, inadvertently glancing at the wall clock, it was almost 11 PM. I coaxed and tricked her, saying, “Little darling, it’s late. You have school tomorrow. Shall we go to sleep?”

Qingfan rubbed her eyes, yawned, and said in a small voice, “But Mama isn’t back yet!”

“I’ll give her the little gift later. She’ll be so happy. Be a good girl, let’s go to sleep, okay?”

“Okay, Da Fan, hold me!”

Qingfan reached out for cuddles. I picked up the clingy little imp and slowly walked upstairs. After placing the little one on the bed, I picked up Grimm’s Fairy Tales from the table and read a random chapter. Before long, Qingfan was asleep. It looked like she was tired from playing today; she probably would have been sleepy much earlier if she hadn’t been waiting for Phoebe.

I tucked her in, kissed her forehead, and then tiptoed out of the room. Back in the living room, I had just finished tidying up the messy sofa when the front door was knocked. I hurried to open the door in my slippers, only to see Phoebe, drunk, with loose, disheveled hair looking quite a mess. Her swaying body was leaning on the arm of a strange woman. The sight made me involuntarily gasp in surprise.

I met the stranger’s eyes. The woman smiled easily, but she was struggling to support Phoebe across the garden, leaving her breathless. Before I could even ask, she explained: “You must be Ms. You? Hello, my name is Guan Shuyun. Ms. Lan drank too much.”