Jian An'an recalled nervously, "You said... that the soup I made was good..."
"And what else?"
"You told me to... become your private chef..." Jian An'an finished, and seeing that Li Shaoting didn't object, she felt a sudden jolt of surprise. "Mr. Li, do you really want me to be your chef?"
"Yes," Li Shaoting replied indifferently.
"But..." Jian An'an waved her hands in a panic. "My cooking skills are only average; I can only work as a kitchen assistant in a restaurant..."
Li Shaoting interrupted her coldly, "Either pay back the money or be my chef."
"I..."
"Work as my private chef for three months, and the debt between us will be wiped clean. Furthermore, I will pay you an extra salary, with benefits better than those of a restaurant head chef," Li Shaoting continued.
Jian An'an felt a stir at his words. Better benefits than a head chef? She needed a lot of money; it seemed there was no reason to refuse.
"All right, I agree." Jian An'an nodded.
The expression on Li Shaoting's face softened slightly. "Then it’s decided."
As they spoke, they reached a Maybach. Li Shaoting took out his car keys and said, "Get in."
Jian An'an was taken aback. "Huh?"
"Come back and make me a midnight snack." Li Shaoting opened the car door. "I only had the soup earlier; I’m not full."
"Okay..." Just as Jian An'an was about to agree, her phone suddenly rang. She pulled it out and saw it was a call from Xiaoxin.
"Mr. Li, let me take this call." She looked over at Li Shaoting, and after he nodded, she walked aside to answer.
Once the call connected, she asked softly, "Hello, Xiaoxin, what’s wrong?"
Xiaoxin’s soft, sweet voice came through the phone: "Mommy, I missed you."
Hearing that Xiaoxin missed her, Jian An'an’s heart melted. She held the phone and coaxed him in a gentle, whispered tone: "Be a good boy, Xiaoxin. I’ll come to see you in a little while, okay?"
"Mommy, can you sing the 'Little Rabbit Be Good' opening song for me?"
"Okay, I'll sing it, and then you can open the door for me, alright?"
"Mhm."
Li Shaoting waited patiently for her to finish the call. Seeing that she was finally done, he asked, "Can we go now?"
Thinking of Xiaoxin, Jian An'an said with a look of guilt, "Mr. Li, I’m sorry. I have something I need to take care of at the hospital, so I won't be able to make you a midnight snack today."
"Hmm..." Upon hearing that she needed to go to the hospital, Li Shaoting didn't give her a hard time. He acknowledged her request, then said, "Get in the car."
Jian An'an looked at him, confused. Hadn't he just agreed?
"I'll take you to the hospital," Li Shaoting said with a touch of impatience. "I don't like being turned down."
Seeing that Li Shaoting would take no for an answer, Jian An'an climbed inside and said gratefully, "Mr. Li, thank you. You've helped me so many times; you really are a good person."
"Hmph..." Li Shaoting scoffed at the term "good person."
The Maybach performed perfectly, and in no time, it had carried them to the hospital.
After getting out of the car, Jian An'an bowed and thanked him again.
Li Shaoting gave a distracted "Mhm" and was about to turn the car around to leave when he glanced over and caught a glimpse of Jian An'an’s retreating figure.
That silhouette was cursedly familiar!
His heart skipped a beat. He immediately pushed open the car door and called out to her, "Stop!"
Jian An'an was startled. She turned back, clutching her bag, and looked at him in confusion. "What is it?"
Li Shaoting walked over quickly and gripped her shoulders, his strength surprisingly firm, his eyes becoming deeply profound.
Jian An'an winced in pain and let out a soft cry. "Mr. Li?"
Why had his expression changed so strangely?
Hearing her voice, Li Shaoting snapped back to reality. Looking at the innocent, harmless face before him, he released her and resumed his boss-like posture. "Come to Dijing Shangdu tomorrow morning to cook for me."
Jian An'an couldn't help but smile upon hearing this. "I'm glad you reminded me."
She pulled out her phone and handed it to him. "Mr. Li, could you give me your number so I can contact you?"
Li Shaoting had originally intended to refuse, but seeing her bright, warm eyes, he felt compelled to take her old-model phone. His slender fingers tapped in his private number.
When he finished, he handed the phone back to Jian An'an. Watching her lower her head and carefully save the contact as "Mr. Li," he suddenly felt a strange sensation in his heart.
Suppressing his emotions, Li Shaoting turned and drove away. Jian An'an also turned and headed into the hospital to see Xiaoxin in his room.
After singing a few lines of "Little Rabbit Be Good" outside the door, Xiaoxin’s weak, faint voice came from inside: "Mommy, come in."
Jian An'an pushed open the door and saw Xiaoxin sitting on the bed, his face pale. Her heart ached instantly. She rushed over, pulled her son into her arms, and said tenderly, "Xiaoxin, I’m sorry. Mommy has been too busy to spend enough time with you."
"But you're here now, aren't you, Mommy?" Xiaoxin was happy to see her, and as he leaned into her arms, he quickly drifted off to sleep.
Looking at her son’s thin little face, Jian An'an felt another pang of heartache.
Xiaoxin was a premature baby born from her own malnutrition; his immune system had always been very weak. Born with a congenital illness, the constant pain had kept him much thinner and frailer than his peers—he had no "baby fat" to speak of.
He couldn't go outside, couldn't engage in strenuous activity, couldn't get hurt...
His entire childhood had been spent in hospital beds.
Thinking of this, Jian An'an clenched her fists, silently resolving that no matter what it took, she would find that man—that man might be Xiaoxin’s only hope for recovery.
Jian An'an sat in the corridor, deep in thought and lost in a daze. Just then, the nurse who looked after Xiaoxin approached her with a look of concern. "Ms. Jian, why are you still sitting here so late?"
Jian An'an looked up and offered a weary smile. "It's nothing, I was just thinking about Xiaoxin."
The nurse asked in surprise, "Thinking about Xiaoxin? Wasn't Xiaoxin’s father already found? When I came in for my shift change, I saw him drop you off at the hospital. Is he unwilling to donate bone marrow for Xiaoxin?"
Jian An'an was confused for a moment before realizing the nurse had misunderstood.
She quickly explained, "That man isn't Xiaoxin’s father; he's just my new boss, and he was heading this way, so he gave me a ride."
The nurse patted her shoulder consolingly, though she still looked puzzled. "Is that so? He's really not Xiaoxin’s father? But when I saw him earlier, I felt that Xiaoxin looked very much like him. At first glance, I honestly thought he was the boy's father!"