Pampered and Kept by a Gloomy Younger Lover - Chapter 3

Zheng Miaoning’s smile deepened, her glamorous lips parting slightly, her posture resembling a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

“Sister Zhao is indeed very good at coaxing people. But no matter what, if someone is going to be coaxed by her, they should at least be a living person, right?”

Zheng Miaoning kept her eyes fixed on Qin Zhuyu as she spoke.

Qin Zhuyu felt her skin crawl under that gaze.

She suddenly remembered Wen Zhao’s advice before going home yesterday: “Under unnecessary circumstances, I don’t suggest you try to provoke Miss Zheng.”

But Wen Zhao’s next sentence had been, “See you the day after tomorrow.”

That meant seeing her tomorrow.

There was no more beautiful promise in the world than that.

Qin Zhuyu stood up, her gaze sweeping over Zheng Miaoning’s hemline, and said in a low voice, “I don’t know what Miss Zheng means by those words. All I know is that Wen Zhao told me, ‘See you tomorrow.'”

Having just received a “death threat,” Qin Zhuyu didn’t dare stay any longer. After throwing out that provocation, she slipped away quickly.

Zheng Miaoning did not wait for the banquet to begin.

A text message appeared on Zheng Miaoning’s phone, and she did not hesitate to leave early, even at the risk of causing a scandal.

Obtaining Wen Zhao’s home address was an easy task for her.

Zheng Miaoning didn’t want to waste time in a place where Wen Zhao wasn’t present.

However, she was indeed more thorough in her actions than Qin Zhuyu; before leaving, she still sent someone to inform the host.

The traffic in the center of B City was as terrible as ever.

Only with the car windows as a shield did Zheng Miaoning allow herself to drop her mask and show a cold face, disregarding social graces.

The driver in front of her was driving poorly, and forced to a halt halfway, Zheng Miaoning slammed the steering wheel several times to vent her frustration, though she was careful to avoid the horn.

After driving for over an hour, Zheng Miaoning finally arrived at the address mentioned in the text.

She hesitated at the door for a long time before raising her hand to knock.

If Wen Zhao is willing to admit later that she was coerced by Qin Zhuyu, perhaps I will give her another chance, Zheng Miaoning thought.

“Sister Wen Zhao, I’m going to the office to deliver a document; it’ll be hard work for you here,” Yu Xin said using mouth shapes.

Wen Zhao gave an “OK” gesture while patting a child’s back.

Qin Zhuyu had rarely suggested that she rest at home instead of going to the Qin family home to take care of her.

But for some reason, Wen Zhao had a faint premonition after waking up early. She felt restless sitting at home, so she simply went to this orphanage where she frequently volunteered.

Yu Xin was the teacher responsible for looking after the preschool-aged children at the orphanage. She was very young and often became flustered when caring for them.

Wen Zhao had seen her in a state of distress once while volunteering.

Meeting Wen Zhao’s kind smile, Yu Xin wrinkled her doll-like face and cried along with the children who were wailing in succession: “Sister, could you please watch them for a few minutes?”

“Of course,” Wen Zhao replied.

The rookie teacher had probably found a bathroom to sneak in a few minutes of crying, returning only after washing her face.

Wen Zhao pulled out a tissue to wipe the remaining water droplets from her cheeks and, in passing, corrected the position of her arms. “Look, if you hold her like this, she’ll be more comfortable and won’t cry, right?”

“Wow, Good Sister, you’re so amazing.”

From then on, whenever Wen Zhao came to the orphanage, she would first check if Yu Xin’s workload was heavy and prioritize helping her share the burden.

Today was no exception.

Yu Xin, who had been on the job for over a year, had endured many trials but was still not experienced enough. She was currently surrounded by more than ten children demanding she feed them.

Wen Zhao saw at a glance that the soft-hearted Yu Xin couldn’t bear to refuse anyone.

She clapped her hands. “Oh my, surely no child wants to eat cold rice?”

The group of children had long since memorized Wen Zhao.

Hearing Wen Zhao’s voice, the whole group swarmed over, excitedly asking questions.

“Sister Wen Zhao, do you like eating cold rice?”

“Sister, I want you to feed me!”

“I want Sister Wen Zhao to coax me to sleep!”

“Sister…”

“Sister Wen Zhao…”

Wen Zhao had already crouched down, opening her arms to offer her soft and fragrant embrace.

The few “little radishes” who ran the fastest were the quietest now. They squeezed into Wen Zhao’s arms, looking up with wide eyes to observe the tips of her hair falling over her shoulders, or focused intently on the patterns of the buttons on Wen Zhao’s coat.

Wen Zhao made a “shh” gesture, and her intentionally exaggerated expression suppressed the group of little ones.

“I’m hungry. Are you guys hungry?”

“Hungry!” they answered in unison.

“Is that so,” Wen Zhao slowly stood up, stroking the tops of the heads of the children who had managed to snag a spot in her arms. “Then shall we go eat together?”

“Okay!”

They all loved this gentle and patient “fragrant sister” and didn’t want to make her angry, fearing she would never come to see them again. Thus, no matter what Wen Zhao said, they were very cooperative.

Wen Zhao saw this and felt a pang of pity in her heart, yet she had no way to solve their fear of gain and loss.

She smiled gently, taking the hands of the two nearest children. “To reward you for running fast, I’ve decided to feed you.”

After just two steps, those two children obediently let go, and two other children waiting behind took their places.

Yu Xin, holding a rice bowl, didn’t know whether she should cry or laugh.

“Ah, you’ve all learned to line up. Very impressive.” Wen Zhao and Yu Xin smiled at each other, leading the dozen or so children back onto the right track of the great dining mission.

Wen Zhao found various strange reasons to reward every child, successfully feeding them all.

When the meal ended, a more difficult problem arrived.

Nap time!

Yu Xin whispered to Wen Zhao: “Sister Wen Zhao, it’s lucky you’re here. They just learned the collection of Sisyphus’s adventure stories recently, and they’re all thinking about escaping nap time to go on an adventure.”

“Adventure?” Wen Zhao found it surprising.

Without a teacher leading them, the only place these children could explore was this orphanage.

But on second thought, for children their age, any small matter was interesting.

The children in front of Wen Zhao lined up, hopping toward the nap room. Watching their little heads bobbing up and down with their steps, Wen Zhao couldn’t help but tease: “I wonder if I’m lucky enough to become a member of their adventure team?”

“Sister Wen Zhao! Don’t encourage them!” Yu Xin got anxious as soon as she heard it.

“Teacher Xinxin, don’t be mean to Sister Wen Zhao.”

The little girl closest to them turned around and said with a serious, bun-like face.

Yu Xin immediately straightened her back. “I wasn’t!”

“Teacher Xinxin is being naughty. You taught us that children who admit their mistakes and change are good children,” the little girl said with her own clear logic.

Seeing that Yu Xin was about to lose the argument, Wen Zhao took over.

She stepped forward, taking the initiative to hold Little Mushroom’s soft hand, and said to her: “Teacher Xinxin was joking with me. I didn’t feel offended; Teacher Xinxin didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But I’m so touched. Was Little Mushroom trying to protect me?”

The ears of the hand-held Little Mushroom had already turned red. She nodded honestly, and Wen Zhao continued: “Thank you, Little Mushroom. You just acted as my little knight. So, for the rest of today, let me be Little Mushroom’s knight, okay?”

“Okay.” The short, round-faced little girl’s face was also completely red, and the scale of her nodding subconsciously became smaller.

The children all took off their shoes voluntarily and lay down in their small beds.

At their request, Wen Zhao became the person reading the storybook, while Yu Xin became the person patrolling around, responsible for catching those little ones who refused to close their eyes.

When they were mostly coaxed to sleep, Yu Xin suggested she leave for a while.

Wen Zhao put down the storybook and took over Yu Xin’s job.

Her footsteps were very light, so light they were almost silent.

Wen Zhao’s current task was to see if any brave adventurers were still awake.

“Sister Wen Zhao…”

As she passed a small bed, Wen Zhao heard a child calling her name.

Looking closely, Little Mushroom had poked her head out from under the quilt, her round face flushed warm.

Wen Zhao looked around; the other children were indeed giving her face and had fallen asleep, including the few “little warriors” Yu Xin had specifically mentioned.

Little Mushroom was the only child not yet asleep.

Seeing that she had something to say, Wen Zhao gestured for her to be quiet, draped a coat over her, and carried Little Mushroom outside the door.

“Does Little Mushroom have something to tell me?” Wen Zhao asked softly.

Imitating Wen Zhao’s way of speaking, Little Mushroom squeezed out airy sounds with her tender vocal cords. “Yes, Little Mushroom has something to tell you.”

Wen Zhao placed her palm behind her ear to make it more prominent, while tilting her head, issuing a more child-like invitation to Little Mushroom: “Then Little Mushroom, tell me now.”

Little Mushroom circled her hands together to make a small megaphone.

“Sister Wen Zhao, what is a knight?”

Wen Zhao burst into laughter.

But she didn’t let the little girl discover she was laughing, fearing that a child of this age could not distinguish the meaning behind an adult’s laughter.

So Wen Zhao quickly answered her: “A knight is someone who is brave and fearless, who can protect themselves and others.”

“Oh~~” Little Mushroom soon forgot to maintain the megaphone because the new knowledge made her feel excited.

“Then I want to continue being Sister Wen Zhao’s knight in the future!”

Wen Zhao tucked her collar for her and said warmly: “Okay, I’ll wait for you to become an adult and come be my knight.”

“But, before Little Mushroom becomes a real knight, I, Teacher Xinxin, and the cafeteria uncle and cleaning aunties will all be your knights.”

“Only by first becoming your own knight can you protect others.” Little Mushroom was just at the age to start school; Wen Zhao was happy for her, yet worried she would be bound by the word “knight” and fail to protect herself.

“Then, Sister Wen Zhao, you protect so many people—did you become your own knight first?”

The innocent girl asked, looking at Wen Zhao with her round eyes.

Wen Zhao froze on the spot, momentarily speechless.