Chapter 28 – “Do You Still Remember That Xiuyuan?”

At Port Star Group, right before closing hours, an emergency meeting was convened.

The marketing director projected Weibo onto the big screen.

“What is this supposed to mean? Yuxin hasn’t replied to us once, yet the game studio already announced her as their signed artist—and now she’s dragged into this controversy?”

“If you ask me, Rongfeng Group’s gaming division handled PR terribly. An issue like this should’ve been addressed right away. When you screw up, admit it. If it’s your fault, apologize. Fire whoever needs to be fired. At least show a good attitude. Don’t dig in and refuse to admit fault. It wouldn’t have stayed on the hot search this long if they’d just faced it head-on…”

The marketing veteran was speaking passionately—until a pair of icy eyes from the head of the table cut straight through him.

He instantly shut his mouth and lowered his head.
“Apologies, President Qin. I was running my mouth.”

Qin Yushen retracted his gaze, his voice flat and cold:
“Replace Yuxin. Redraft the proposal.”

“President Qin,” Gina blurted, anxious, “Yuxin hasn’t responded. She hasn’t replied to us, but neither has she responded to the game studio’s official announcement. Nothing is set in stone yet.”

Nothing set in stone?

Qin Yushen’s impression of this “Yuxin” was very poor.

Even during working hours, she could go silent for an entire day. Messages read, never replied to. Efficiency unbearably slow.

Such a person was not fit to be a partner.

That was how he thought—and exactly what he said.

Gina had no comeback. Indeed, this was Yuxin’s flaw.

But still—her brilliance outweighed her faults. With Yuxin on board, the marketing campaign could be executed perfectly.

Gina pouted, tempted to argue. But under the suffocating pressure of the company’s cold-faced executioner, she bit her tongue.

She bowed her head like the corporate grunt she was:
“Understood. I’ll find another illustrator as soon as possible to replace Yuxin.”

Replace Yuxin? With who?!

Despair settled in her heart. Qin was only two years older than her, yet his mentality was like an old fossil from eight centuries ago.

What did he know about young people? About the art world?

Yuxin was one of a kind!

---

By nightfall, the autumn breeze swept cool across Harbor City.

Shuhui carried Ningning back inside, the little chubby girl flushed and sweaty from running around in nothing but a thin shirt. Housekeeper Liu wiped her brow with a handkerchief before taking her to bathe.

Tonight, Shuhui didn’t plan to work. She casually turned on a drama, while Ningning, denied TV time, sat quietly beside her playing with dolls.

The plot reached its climax, and Shuhui was absorbed, the living room echoing only with the sound of the TV.

【So what if I’ve always been clear-headed and restrained!】
【Can’t I be drunk just once…】

The front door clattered open.

“Daddy!!!”

Ningning squealed and dashed off.

Shuhui didn’t even turn her head. She assumed it was Qin Yushen home from work, paying no mind to the number of footsteps entering.

Because it wasn’t just him—it was a whole group.

Only when Yao Shanshan waddled over, hand on her pregnant belly, did Shuhui look up.

“Oh, I love this drama too,” Shanshan said brightly. “Watched it so many times. That character dies in childbirth later, the heroine cries so miserably…”

First-time viewer Shuhui: “……”

“And you don’t even know how green the emperor’s hat gets later…” Shanshan was warming up for a long gossip session.

Shuhui silenced her with a sharp shhh. Any further spoilers, and she wasn’t sure she could restrain herself from smacking a pregnant woman.

Oddly, Shanshan fell quiet. Strange—she was two years older than Shuhui, yet whenever Shuhui ordered her, she instinctively obeyed. As if she had always been under her thumb, even in a past life.

At the door, more voices. Shuhui finally noticed: behind Qin Yushen stood a group of women in matching uniforms.

Lin Minfang was introducing herself to their leader.

For a moment, Shuhui was puzzled. Then it clicked—this was the professional childcare team Qin Yushen had hired for Ningning.

They must have bumped into Minfang and the others outside, which was why such a large group had marched in together.

Shuhui walked over. The leader immediately bowed and introduced herself.

“Good evening, madam. My surname is Jin. I serve as the head assistant of the team. I’ll help support you in raising the young miss. You may entrust anything to me.”

In her past life, Qin Yushen had brought in this professional team when Ningning turned four. This time, it was two years earlier. The faces were mostly the same, though a few were unfamiliar.

It made sense. With the butterfly effect of time shifting, some personnel had changed.

This “Sister Jin” was familiar. She had been head assistant in the previous life too, now in her thirties—very professional in childcare.

“Hello.” Shuhui shook her hand.

Jin introduced the rest one by one:
“This is the nutritionist—skilled in nearly two hundred types of healthy children’s meals. This one is fluent in Chinese, English, and French, with dual degrees in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania…”

Even Minfang and her companions were listening intently, more interested than Shuhui herself.

Then Jin gestured to a round-faced young woman. But before she could introduce her, the girl stepped forward with a sweet smile.

“Good evening, madam. My name is Xiuyuan. I majored in child psychology, certified, and children usually adore me. It’s an honor to accompany the young miss as she grows.”

True to her name, Xiuyuan’s face was fresh and pretty, her big round eyes full of innocent charm. No wonder kids would take to her.

But in the last life, such a person had never appeared. Perhaps another ripple caused by time’s change.

Shuhui’s eyes flickered, but outwardly she only gave her a nod and a few encouraging words.

Off to the side, Yao Shanshan’s eyes narrowed, her gaze lingering on Xiuyuan far longer than polite, before finally looking away.

The team soon divided tasks—several members coaxed Ningning off to the playroom upstairs.

As the crowd dispersed, Shuhui returned to the sofa. Qin Yushen sat down right beside her.

On the other side, Minfang and her two daughters-in-law perched together. They claimed they had just been out for an evening stroll and happened to drop by the bamboo house.

Shuhui inclined her head slightly, accepting the excuse. She had no desire for small talk, focusing instead on her drama.

In her previous life, she had suffered enough “Madam diplomacy”—maintaining a flawless smile at endless banquets.

This time, she had decided: unless necessary, no socializing. If there was nothing to say, she wouldn’t force it.

“Shuhui…” Minfang began carefully. “About that matter…”

She wanted to ask when Shuhui planned to pass on those two sentences—whether there was a fixed time.

Originally, she had come alone to quietly raise the question. But on the way, more and more people had joined her.

The usually quiet bamboo house was suddenly as bustling as a marketplace.

Shuhui saw through her instantly, answering with quiet assurance:
“Madam, handle it however you see fit. Anytime.”

“Oh? Oh—alright.” Minfang blinked, almost touched. To be entrusted with such freedom gave her a rare sense of being trusted.

For once, she looked at Shuhui with some fondness—though her aloof temperament was still striking.

For example, right now: the couple sat close, shoulders brushing, yet both faces were cold as ice.

Thankfully, Ningning’s lively personality hadn’t taken after either of them.

---

After leaving the bamboo house, Minfang walked ahead briskly.

At the fork, she turned off, leaving only Shanshan and Wanqing together.

Wanqing glanced several times at Shanshan, tightening her supportive hold on her arm.

“What’s with you? You were out of it the whole time at sister-in-law’s place. Even if you were too scared of big brother to talk, we’re out now. Why are you still so distracted?”

She had only dragged Shanshan along tonight to ease her own nerves—visiting her sister-in-law alone would’ve felt too abrupt. With Shanshan’s blunt mouth, Wanqing thought she’d look sweeter by comparison.

But who’d have thought they’d bump into mother-in-law—and even their rarely-visiting eldest brother.

Once that cold-faced Buddha sat down beside his wife, Wanqing hadn’t dared utter a word. She’d made their excuses quickly and left, pulling along the dazed Shanshan.

“Second sister! What’s going on with you?”

“Ugh!”

Shanshan finally shook off her daze. She scanned the bright path around them, ensuring no one else was nearby, before tugging Wanqing down to whisper gossip.

“Do you remember… that Xiuyuan?”