Chapter 32

“Xiao Gu, are you worried that I can’t take care of the children properly? Is that why you brought in another person?”

“Aunt Sun, I just think taking care of four children is too exhausting for one person, so I found someone to help you out. Don’t worry, your salary will remain the same. You two don’t have to do any extra work—just take care of the kids properly.”

“Xiao Gu, but I’ve gotten used to doing this alone. Having someone new suddenly come in is a bit hard for me to adjust to.”

“It’s okay, you’ll get used to it.”

Gu Nian figured that if Aunt Sun wasn’t used to it now, she would be soon. Everyone adapts over time. But Aunt Sun didn’t quite see it that way.

“Gu, my concern is that this is about taking care of children. Can a young girl like her really handle it? If you needed extra help, you could have told me earlier—I could have asked my daughter to come and assist me instead.”

“Aunt Sun, she’s very experienced. Let’s just go with this arrangement.”

From just this brief exchange, Gu Nian sensed that Aunt Sun didn’t actually seem overwhelmed with work. She decided to keep an eye on her. Meanwhile, Aunt Sun wasn’t happy at all—having another person around was just inconvenient for her.

That night, when making milk formula for the children, Xiuzhi noticed that Aunt Sun only gave each child one spoonful. Having taken care of children before, Xiuzhi knew that kids at this age needed at least three spoonfuls per feeding, or else they’d wake up hungry in the middle of the night.

“Aunt Sun, do you think just one spoon is enough for them?”

Aunt Sun shot her a glare, seemingly annoyed by her meddling, before answering impatiently.

“It’s enough! You’re young—you probably don’t have much experience raising kids. I know better than you.”

Xiuzhi felt something was off, but Aunt Sun insisted it was fine. Sure enough, in the middle of the night, the children woke up crying from hunger. What Aunt Sun did next shocked Xiuzhi.

She got out of bed, fetched half a bowl of cold water, and started feeding it to the children one by one. Xiuzhi knew that giving cold water to babies would cause diarrhea.

“Aunt Sun, stop! How can you give such young children cold water? There’s milk powder right there—why not feed them properly?”

“Shut up! Don’t make a fuss. Listen, if you keep quiet about this, I’ll share two cans of the milk powder I’ve been saving with you.”

“Give the kids their milk first—then I’ll think about it.”

Xiuzhi prioritized the children’s well-being. Now she finally understood why Aunt Sun was so against her coming—Aunt Sun had her own selfish plans.

Thinking she had found a partner in crime, Aunt Sun reluctantly gave each child another spoonful of formula. She thought having a helper would make it easier for her, never suspecting that Xiuzhi had no intention of covering up her abuse.

Before dawn, Xiuzhi went straight to Gu Nian and told her everything that had happened the previous night. Gu Nian was furious. She had initially kept Aunt Sun on because she seemed like a decent person, but now she regretted it deeply.

With Jiang Huaijing busy at the military base, she had to handle this herself. She called Aunt Sun over and confronted her directly.

“Aunt Sun, have you been mistreating my children?”

Aunt Sun immediately knew that Xiuzhi had reported her. She quickly denied it.

“No, no, I haven’t!”

Seeing her reaction, Gu Nian decided she wouldn’t get the truth without outside help. She called in the local police. Under police questioning, Aunt Sun finally admitted to everything.

The real reason she was skimping on milk was that she was hoarding it. The formula Gu Nian provided for the children was top-quality and could be sold for a high price—one can alone could fetch dozens of yuan.

At night, when the children got hungry, Aunt Sun gave them plain water instead. Over time, she had stockpiled several cans of formula. Encouraged by the easy profit, she started taking not just the milk powder, but also the children’s clothes and other items, under the pretense of “keeping them safe.”

Gu Nian knew she couldn’t keep someone like this around. She fired Aunt Sun without pay and reported her for child abuse. The police took her away. Meanwhile, Gu Nian decided to keep Xiuzhi on.

She immediately took the children to the hospital for a check-up. The results showed that their development was lagging—all because they hadn’t been properly cared for.

Fortunately, the neglect hadn’t gone on for too long, so they could still recover with proper care. Gu Nian blamed herself—how could she, as their mother, have failed to protect them?

Xiuzhi comforted her.

“You’re a first-time mom. It’s understandable. But don’t worry, with me here, I’ll make sure they’re taken care of properly.”

Gu Nian resolved to be more attentive to her children’s well-being from now on.

After Aunt Sun’s departure, Xiuzhi devoted herself even more to the children. Within just a few days, they had grown noticeably healthier and chubbier. Seeing this, Gu Nian finally felt at ease and was able to focus on her studies.

One day after class, Zhou Meimei and Liu Peiran approached her excitedly.

“Gu Nian, since you’ve been away from the dorm these past few days, you missed quite a lot!”

“Oh? What happened?”

“It’s about Hu Liping and Xu Qiuyun.”

Gu Nian had also noticed something strange. Xu Qiuyun had come to class today looking very different—her hair was permed, she was wearing a dress, and her whole appearance had become much more stylish.

Two days ago, Hu Liping and Xu Qiuyun had a fight over a dress. Xu Qiuyun had shown up wearing a dress identical to Hu Liping’s. Coincidentally, Hu Liping had lost her dress, so she assumed Xu Qiuyun had stolen it, leading to a full-blown fight. Later, when Hu Liping found her missing dress, she realized she had wrongly accused Xu Qiuyun and tried to apologize.

However, Xu Qiuyun refused to accept the apology and even mocked her in return, worsening their relationship further.

Xu Qiuyun had never been particularly close to anyone in the dorm. She barely spoke to anyone. But recently, she had started dressing up and behaving differently. Rumors spread that she had a boyfriend, which explained the sudden change.

“Gu Nian, what do you think? Does Xu Qiuyun have a boyfriend?”

“I don’t know. If you want to find out, you should ask her.”

Gu Nian had no interest in gossip and started packing up her things. The three of them headed to the cafeteria.

Just as they stepped out of the classroom, they saw something interesting—under a tree not far away, Xu Qiuyun was hugging a man.

Well, that confirmed the rumors. Xu Qiuyun did have a boyfriend. However, because the tree partially blocked their view, they couldn’t see his face clearly.

When Xu Qiuyun returned to the dormitory, Zhou Meimei and Liu Peiran confronted her.

“Xu Qiuyun, we’re all dormmates! How come you never introduced us to your boyfriend?”

“Yeah! Is he from our school?”

“Let’s meet him sometime—we need to make sure he’s good enough for you!”

Seeing how eager they were, Xu Qiuyun smiled and looked toward Hu Liping, who seemed completely clueless. Xu Qiuyun found this amusing.

“Alright then, let’s meet up this Sunday at noon, at the state-owned restaurant.”

When the day arrived and Hu Liping finally saw who Xu Qiuyun’s boyfriend was, she was furious. A wave of anger surged in her chest, making her feel like Xu Qiuyun was absolutely shameless.