643. Chen Jing
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Even with the two-child policy in place, Lin Nan and Chen Yao had no plans to bring another little rascal into the world.
They lived in a provincial city—not quite first-tier, but it offered second-tier wages with first-tier housing prices and expenses. In places like Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, you’d think making ten grand a month was a piece of cake, but here? If you hit ten grand, you’d practically be rolling in cash!
By the fifth year after graduation, Chen Yao had finally managed to net a post-tax salary that edged over ten grand.
Their child had grown, eliminating the constant worry of illness or untimely departures from the planet. Diapers and formula were no longer on the grocery list; instead, it was all about kindergarten now! And though they didn’t send Chen Jing to some elite academy, those monthly fees still packed a punch.
So, once Chen Jing started kindergarten, Lin Nan decided it was high time to re-enter the workforce. After all, a girl needed her financial independence, or as she liked to put it, her “security blanket.”
Too bad that dropping Chen Jing off at kindergarten at 8 AM and picking him up at 4 PM really complicated her job search. Regular office hours didn’t lend themselves to this parenting business. Given that the commute in their provincial city could easily take half an hour to an hour, finding a job that allowed for school run flexibility was, let’s be honest, a tall order.
Long story short, Lin Nan found herself only able to snag a gig as a daytime waitress—think McDonald’s style—where she clocked in at 7 AM and clocked out around 3 PM.
So, it was only logical for her to resume her full-time role as a stay-at-home mom.
By 4:30 PM, outside their huge kindergarten, a flock of parents congregated near the entrance like moths drawn to a flame, all waiting to whisk their little darlings home.
Lin Nan and Chen Yao timed their arrival just right. Armed with egg burgers they’d bought from a roadside stall, they stood munching away, anxiously awaiting the gates to fling open.
A few minutes later, the gates creaked open!
A parade of tiny kiddos, led by their teachers, spilled out the doors. And like clockwork, parents surged forward, swooping up their little bears.
Moments later, just a handful of kids remained outside, one of whom was sporting a name-brand Detective Conan outfit and looking as lost as a kid at a candy store without candy.
“That outfit is pretty snazzy, huh?” Lin Nan remarked to Chen Yao.
“Who has the time to dress him up in cosplay?” Chen Yao chuckled, shaking his head.
With time on her hands and nothing much to do around the house, Lin Nan couldn’t resist picking up a few of those costume outfits, turning Chen Jing into her personal dress-up doll.
And honestly? They had good genes; while Chen Jing didn’t show it as a toddler, now he had the makings of a little beauty.
A beauty…
Lin Nan began to seriously consider putting him in a dress for fun.
“Mom! Dad!” Chen Jing spotted them in the crowd and raced over with his little backpack, looking more discontent than a cat caught in a rainstorm. “I saw you! Why didn’t you come get me?”
Oblivious to the dangerous thoughts swirling in Lin Nan’s head, he bounced up to his parents, eyeing their half-eaten egg burgers. “Mom? Where’s mine?”
“Yours? What are you talking about?”
Lin Nan shot him a glance that sent Chen Jing scrambling behind Chen Yao, wide-eyed.
Lin Nan was usually the one taking care of him at home. She may not have bopped him on the head, but Chen Jing had once seen her so mad she punched the glass coffee table into smithereens.
He realized he definitely wasn’t equipped to handle that kind of wrath; since that incident, he had learned to tread lightly around Lin Nan.
Distance made the heart grow fonder, and while he rarely saw Chen Yao, he was much more comfortable with him.
Chen Yao had already strategized his parenting tactic: he played the “mean dad,” while Lin Nan was the “nice mom.” So when Chen Jing looked longingly at his dad’s leftover burger, Chen Yao handed it over without a second thought.
Chen Jing didn’t bat an eye, chowing down, oblivious to the very vendor selling burgers just a few steps away. His cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, he asked Chen Yao, “Dad, what’s with the surprise today? You came to pick me up?”
“Holiday! Tomorrow’s National Day!” Chen Yao exclaimed, ruffling Chen Jing’s hair playfully. “I’m gonna hang out with you and your mom for the next three days!”
“Why doesn’t Mom have to work?”
“Because of you!” Chen Yao answered, pointing at Lin Nan with a gleeful smile. “Your mom’s busy taking care of you, the cat, the parrot, and cleaning the house—way more tired than I am at work!”
Five years had passed, and Lin Nan’s appearance hadn’t aged a bit since college. If anything, she looked a million times better than during her pregnancy. Now she still had that charming twenty-something wife vibe going on.
Having been married for so long, she’d developed that slightly sophisticated “I know better” aura.
Meanwhile, Chen Yao, after five years, sported a few tiny wrinkles, looking much more world-weary. Even though Lin Nan insisted he looked manly and reassuring, deep down, he knew he was inching into middle age.
As they strolled hand in hand with Chen Jing, Chen Jing piped up, “Mom, a girl confessed her love to me today! She said she wants to marry me!”
Chen Jing was bursting with excitement, rattling off his day’s adventures, “But then some punk who likes her, tried to beat me up after class!”
“And?” Lin Nan asked, eyebrow raised.
“I totally taught him a lesson!” Chen Jing boasted. “But tomorrow, the teacher might call you to school!”
Lin Nan’s face turned stormy. Dealing with the teachers? No, thank you.
Thank goodness tomorrow was National Day; she could postpone that conversation!
But Chen Yao was absolutely ecstatic: “Yes! If anyone messes with you, you just smack ‘em! Your mom and I will back you up!”
I mean, these kids were only five or six—they should be a little less advanced, right?
Lin Nan barely remembered having such crushes in kindergarten—at the time, she was too busy munching on sand.
“Dad! How on earth did Mom even pick you?! You’re so ugly!” Chen Jing pointed out, eyes wide.
Chen Yao’s face darkened, but he’d promised Lin Nan he’d play the easygoing dad role, so he couldn’t blow up.
Yet Chen Jing’s innocent remark made him feel a bit uneasy. Lowering his voice, he muttered an explanation, “I guess other dads aren’t that much better-looking either?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Chen Yao huffed, feeling like his self-esteem just took a hit.
“Just saying, you’re kinda… busy?!”
Chen Yao couldn’t even respond, turning to Lin Nan and asking, “Did TikTok or Douyin fill his head with nonsense?”
“I was just browsing myself! He insisted on looking too,” Lin Nan shrugged. “At least he didn’t pick up any nonsense like ‘Oli-gee’ or whatever.”
“That stuff is so last season!”
Lin Nan shot Chen Jing a skeptical glance. While she’d done her best to shield him from the online chaos, kids always find a way, don’t they?
Those trendy phrases? They were a sure thing to slip through their fingers.
And so, with all this swirling in her mind, she gave Chen Jing a gentle whack on the head.
Chen Jing yelped, tears welling up, and immediately zipped his lips, knowing better than to protest.
——–
A little busy today, so this chapter’s a tad short!
