Being a nanny is a profession that heavily relies on subjective initiative.
Whether a nanny does a good job or not completely depends on their personal professional conduct.
Some dutiful and kind-hearted, good nannies are so well-mannered that their words instantly make the male master feel very comfortable. They can even substitute for the female master of the house to help the male master with the whole child-bearing process. This is truly GirlsHelpGirls, female empowerment.
On the other hand, a malicious and evil bad nanny would do exactly what Lin Li described—secretly swap their own child with the master's.
Bai Bufan laughed out of sheer anger upon hearing this.
"Lin Li, isn't adding this kind of setting to the story way too animalistic of you?"
Compared to having absolutely nothing right from the start, what was even more unacceptable was having the things you yearned for right within your grasp, only to have them snatched away by someone else.
Damn it, tumbling all the way from the eldest son of a financial tycoon to a nanny's mongrel pup in an instant... And according to the experience gained from television dramas, the nanny would even treat him very, very badly. Holy crap, what was the point of living anymore? He might as well just strangle himself with the umbilical cord while still in the amniotic fluid.
"It's fine. You'll suffer for thirty-nine episodes, and by the fortieth episode, you'll feel great," Lin Li comforted him. "It's already pretty good. If this were in the past, you'd have to suffer for fifty-one episodes."
In the past, the standard for television dramas was basically fifty-two episodes, but now domestic regulations dictated that they couldn't exceed forty episodes.
"I'd rather be the villain and feel great for those thirty-nine episodes first!" Bai Bufan raised his middle finger and laughed as he cursed.
"Damn it."
"Why can't my WeChat Wallet enter a relationship with my Alipay, and then give birth to a ton of money?"
自由-flowing, heartfelt emotion colored Bai Bufan's voice as he opened his phone to look at his balance.
To casually spend four thousand yuan just for a few minutes of visuals... Bai Bufan felt that only those working brothers and sisters out in society could have such large financial scales.
"Is it possible that it's because you, their master, have never been in a relationship, so the two of them don't know how to do it yet?" Lin Li evaluated upon hearing this.
Bai Bufan: "(；☉_☉)?"
"Lin Li! I'm already in this miserable state! Why the hell are you still attacking me TAT!" Bai Bufan couldn't hold it in and began dropping little pearls.
"Oh, I'm just joking, babe," Lin Li hurriedly stepped forward to comfort him. "The fact that they haven't entered a relationship to give birth to money for you is actually a good thing."
"I heard that if they really did enter a relationship, you might get countersued for sexual assault by the other party. Then you wouldn't just have to pay back everything that was born previously, you'd even have to pay extra money—otherwise, you'd have to go to prison."
Bai Bufan instantly couldn't hold it in again—this time out of amusement:
"Damn, screw you. What kind of digital global harmony is this? Lin Li, saying that is a bit unfair."
"Then let me say something fair right now."
After saying that, Lin Li looked at Chen Yuying, his voice raising slightly:
"Monitor, I think you should reimburse me for the expenses incurred during this confession, totaling 4,702.65. The reason there is a decimal point is that this money was paid by me last week. According to the central bank's interest rate, one week's time should yield this much interest.
WeChat or Alipay? If you don't need an invoice, I can give you a five-yuan discount."
Hearing this, Bai Bufan gave a thumbs-up. To ask for money in such a mood-killing way... then these words were indeed heavily skewed toward the brothers and very fair.
Ding Sihan: "Ying-bao, how about breaking up?"
Qu Wanqiu: "+1. You really have to break up with this kind of guy. He's even trying to evade taxes."
Lin Li let out a sigh.
No wonder people said to guard against fire, theft, and your best friends. Could these two be any good? They had barely been together for half an hour, and they were already advising a breakup.
Stumbling blocks on the road of romance—eat rocks!
But the mood-killing words couldn't affect the infatuated girl. Chen Yuying merely smiled softly upon hearing this, turned to glance at Lin Li, and nodded: "Okay, I'll transfer it to you later."
"Then I'll be waiting."
"Right, Monitor, you can transfer one dime less. That way, no matter what happens in the future, even if we fight one day, neither of us can say that we don't have a dime's worth of a relationship between us anymore." Lin Li thought about it and added.
"Understood~"
The expressions of the dog-food-stuffed trio of Bai, Ding, and Qu were as complex as if they had just witnessed Xue Jian wearing a black-silk bunny girl outfit dancing the seaweed dance in front of them.
Bai Bufan really wanted to riddle these two with bullets, and then bury one at the South Pole and one at the North Pole.
Ding Sihan and Qu Wanqiu really wanted to riddle Lin Li with bullets, and then bury half of him at the South Pole and half of him at the North Pole.
"If one day I fall in love with your wife~ If your wife also—" Bai Bufan suddenly hummed a song in a low voice.
Lin Li, on the other hand, suddenly and loudly choked Bai Bufan's neck.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing, what are you doing? I just heard a streamer singing it on the way here. I was just brainwashed and following the trend by singing a line, alright?!"
"You better be."
"Yuying, when exactly did you go blind?" Swallowing this bitter dog food, Ding Sihan continued to dig for gossip.
"Probably during the autumn school trip." Chen Yuying pursed her lips. Although she was very bashful, she actually chose to answer directly.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" But Lin Li grew anxious. "Babe, you should first deny the description of 'going blind,' and say, 'Ding Sihan! If you say that kind of stuff again, we can't even be friends anymore!' and only then follow up with 'during the autumn school trip,' right?!"
"To think you were swindled away so early," Ding Sihan couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him, shaking her head before looking at Lin Li. "Lin Li, what about you? When did you start wanting to eat swan meat?"
Lin Li felt that double-standard people were always Bai Bufan, with himself as the sole exception.
"Well, the goodwill was always there. I have goodwill toward all good-looking people... As for when it transformed into the emotion of liking, I really can't give a specific time. Maybe it was also the autumn trip, or perhaps even earlier? In short, it was a subtle process."
"But making up my mind was after the National Day holiday." However, Lin Li still gave an answer.
Back then, it was a conversation with Bai Bufan that prompted Lin Li to start thinking in this direction.
"Are there any more details? Don't just say a bit whenever I ask a bit. Can you start telling it right from the very beginning?" Ding Sihan felt it wasn't enough.
As a shipping expert, she hadn't dared to ask previously out of fear that the two of them would feel embarrassed. Now that the bubble had been popped, how could she not be curious?
"Fine, then I'll start from the beginning of the story," Lin Li nodded. "It was an afternoon eighteen years ago. Only a wail was heard inside the Nansang People's Hospital. Hoho, a demon child descended into the world..."
"Wait, what kind of starting from the beginning is this? Why don't you start from Pangu opening the..." Before Ding Sihan could finish her words, she was interrupted by Chen Yuying waving her hand with a laugh.
Regrettably, it was already too late.
True to form—
"Fine. A long, long time ago, heaven and earth had not yet separated, and the universe was a chaotic blur. There was a giant named Pangu who slept for eighteen thousand years within this chaotic universe..." Lin Li followed her suggestion smoothly.
The other four fell into silence at first, and then burst out laughing again.
Too Lin Li.
The five of them slowly walked toward Pinglu Street.
Although the trio of Ding, Bai, and Qu still had quite a few stalls they hadn't browsed through, their interest in them was no longer great. They bought a bit more food and drink, continuing to chat around the couple as they walked.
……
"How is it?"
By the riverbank, beneath the shade of the trees, Qu Wanqiu and Bai Bufan stood to the side using their phone flashlights to fill in the light, while Ding Sihan displayed the photo she had captured to the young couple in front of her.
When Lin Li had passed by the afternoon photo-taking spot just now, he had actively requested to come over and take a few more.
After all, the bubble hadn't been popped during the day, so he still had to maintain restraint, foolishly standing to the side flashing a peace sign. That wasn't interesting at all.
"Pretty good. It would be even better if you could capture me in the shot next time." Lin Li gave a thumbs-up, expressing his praise.
Ding Sihan was learning his essence more and more; she was truly done for in this lifetime.
"Then it's about time to head back?"
Lin Li and Chen Yuying had browsed alone for nearly two hours tonight, and it was already past nine o'clock in the evening now.
Compared to the time the three of them had gone home after playing at the pet park last week, it really wasn't late right now. They could even go watch another movie. However, Bai Bufan and Qu Wanqiu had to return to school; there was a curfew.
"Sure, after walking all day, I am indeed tired." Qu Wanqiu nodded.
"How are you getting back?" Lin Li rubbed Chen Yuying's head and asked.
"A car from home is coming to pick me up." Chen Yuying raised her head.
"Then forget it," Lin Li smiled and waved his hand upon hearing this. "Then I won't see you back."
Although his bicycle was still at school, that didn't matter.
It wasn't like he had never walked home from school before. Walking from home to school again would perfectly make up for this part.
So if Chen Yuying were planning to take a taxi back, Lin Li would definitely accompany her.
But if it was a car from home, then forget it. Whether it was Chen Zhongping or the driver, the act of seeing her back would be no different from casting a grand ultimate ability right in his face.
"I'll find another opportunity to let you see me back next time." Chen Yuying also understood the stakes involved, so she nodded with a smile.
The five of them walked toward the entrance of Pinglu Street.
"Lin Li, where's my Stride gum? Is there any left?"
Bai Bufan tossed the empty bag of fried chicken chunks into a roadside trash can, asking Lin Li as he caught up with the group.
Having eaten and drunk his fill, he just wanted to chew, chew, chew, and incidentally sing a rendition of "Orchid Grass."
"I almost forgot."
Lin Li took out the Stride gum that Bai Bufan had left with him, then stepped forward and patted Chen Yuying's shoulder:
"Babe, during the midterm exam, I picked up the chewing gum you had chewed, soaked it in water, and drank it for ten days. It has no flavor left now. Can you chew some more?"
Chen Yuying's extended hand froze in midair.
She let out a helpless sigh.
Lin Li's hand actively reached up, scratching the palm of her hand.
"Can you be any more mood-killing, Lin Li?" Ding Sihan laughed as she chided.
"I can, Ding-zi, I can." When Lin Li heard this kind of request, he boundlessly had to satisfy it. He nodded:
"Back then, the mud snails that the monitor sucked on... I keep them at home now to use as headphones. When I wear them to sleep, it feels like the monitor is whispering that she loves me by my ear."
Ding Sihan: "……"
She chose to give a thumbs-up.
Recognition. Respect.
"Holy crap, even Chen Tianming would have to hand you a cigarette if he were here," Bai Bufan laughed, then grew a bit curious. "But I wonder if he succeeded or not. Damn, it couldn't be that three of my bros are leaving the single life on the same day, right? How am I supposed to live?"
"Hope he makes it too." Lin Li laughed.
They arrived at the road sign reading "I Miss You So Much in Pinglu."
The Chen family only regularly drove a few specific cars, and Lin Li spotted one at a single glance.
In the driver's seat was the driver, rather than Chen Zhongdeng himself.
"Then I'll get in the car first." Chen Yuying also noticed her family's car. Clutching the bouquet, she turned around and said.
"Okay," Lin Li nodded, then opened his arms: "A hug?"
The girl gave her answer through action.
The moment Chen Yuying turned around, the driver inside the car abruptly lowered his head, beginning to intensely study the car logo on his steering wheel. He didn't spare a single glance at the interior or exterior rearview mirrors.
The car logo is good; the car logo looks nice.
"Did you call our car?" Lin Li, who had just gone forward to help Chen Yuying put the plushies and other items into the car and had now returned to the side of the trio, asked.
"I called it. It'll be here in three minutes." Ding Sihan answered.
"Alright. Ding-zi, tally up how much it cost later and send a collection request in the group."
"Alright."
Lin Li and Chen Yuying unquestionably surpassed the other three in the five-person group when it came to finances. However, when going out to play normally, these small expenses were always split regularly.
It helped establish a more harmonious friendship.
If he treated them to absolutely everything, Ding Sihan and Qu Wanqiu would feel embarrassed, and Bai Bufan would push his luck. Neither was appropriate.
"Wait a minute! What kind of group is this 'One Person and Three Dogs'!" Ding Sihan suddenly gritted her teeth and said.
"'One,' 'Person,'" Lin Li first pointed to himself and then pointed in the direction where Chen Yuying's car had driven away. He then drew a circle toward the remaining three people: "'Three Dogs.' Is there a problem?"
"No problem." Bai Bufan nodded.
Anyway, his status had risen.
—According to the theory of relativity, when other people's status dropped, his own status rose.
Ding Sihan and Qu Wanqiu's smiles appeared to be formed through gritted teeth.
The two of them actually understood clearly why they had also become Bai Bufan in Lin Li's eyes—unlike Bai Bufan's purebred nature, the two of them belonged to the category of single dogs.
The fact that any random group member could change the group name on WeChat was just too detestable. It gave a peasant like Lin Li an opportunity to act high and mighty.
"How detestable," Ding Sihan grumbled as she changed the group name back. "How detestable, how detestable! Clearly I'm a beautiful girl too, so why isn't there any handsome guy pursuing me?"
"Ding-zi, if Binbin heard you talking like that, he would be very angry." Lin Li frowned.
"What does this have to do with the Chinese teacher?" Ding Sihan also frowned.
Binbin referred to the Chinese teacher of Class 4, Li Binbin.
"You pronounced the tones completely wrong, though," Lin Li explained gently. "It's clearly the third tone; why did you pronounce it as the fourth tone?
I, the number one in the grade, still have to teach you. Come, read it after me: Mei shǎo nǚ (Beautiful Little Girl), not Mei shào nǚ (Beautiful Young Woman)."
When Lin Li doesn't bark like a dog, he is bound to be stirring up trouble.
"Holy crap," Bai Bufan gasped in admiration. "So after all that talk, 'Mei Shao Nü' actually means an ugly girl."
Ding Sihan laughed, laughing heartily and serenely.
Lin Li jutted out his butt.
"Lin Li, you're looking for death!!!"
Lin Li patted the dust off his pants. Having to get kicked just for popularizing knowledge... perhaps this was the helplessness of a fire-bringer.
Seeing someone beautifully making herself invisible and secretly laughing in the darkness, Lin Li decided to distribute the favor equally: "Chiu-chiu, what are you laughing at? You're a 'Mei Shao Nü' too."
"You're just asking to get kicked, aren't you! Die!"
OK, now the shoe prints were symmetrical.
"Hey, Lin Li, does this mean the two of you can't even change into matching profile pictures?"
The ride-hailing car arrived, and the four of them boarded one after another. Looking back at the turtle in Ding Sihan's hands, Bai Bufan suddenly thought of this and asked.
Whether it was QQ or WeChat, there were class groups, and both of them were inside. Switching to matching couple profile pictures would be quite obvious if someone scrolled through the group members.
"I don't mind. I'll see what she thinks when the time comes."
Lin Li didn't care much about this. Matching profile pictures or bestie profile pictures were all trivial details.
The most important person was already his, and that was enough.
……
"In the future, you two won't just play by yourselves and stop hanging out with us, right?"
The first to arrive was Ding Sihan's home. As she got out of the car, Ding-zi suddenly spoke with a bit of a sour tone.
One was her best female friend, and the one was her best male friend.
If they really stopped hanging out with her, Ding Sihan would genuinely feel sad.
"You're overthinking it," Lin Li put down his phone and raised his head with a smile. "When your dad and your mom fell in love, did they stop caring about you? Dingding, Daddy will always love you."
"Tsk! An absolute dumb dog. I'm going home, bye!"
"See you tomorrow."
To prevent Bai Bufan and Qu Wanqiu from sitting on pins and needles while being left alone together, Lin Li still accompanied the two to the bottom of the boys' dormitory building after arriving at the Nansang school gate.
"Bye, bye, bye, bye."
Bidding farewell to Lin Li, Bai Bufan hummed a song as he went upstairs:
"I came from the mountains~ bringing orchid grass~ chew, chew, chew, chew, chew~ chew, chew, chew, chew, chew~"
He didn't have any tragic sentiments at all. A brother getting a girlfriend was still a brother.
Relying on the compatibility between himself and Lin Li, heh, Monitor, you are the challenger!
The newcomer does not come with good intentions, but I am the newcomer!
At the dormitory door, Bai Bufan used his key to open the door.
The interior was completely dark. It seemed Chen Tianming hadn't returned yet, and he wasn't replying to messages either. He was probably in a sweet, lovey-dovey state right now.
All three of these bastards were having a great time today.
"Bufan……"
"Holy crap!"
Before the light was even turned on, Chen Tianming's voice suddenly ringing out gave Bai Bufan a massive fright.
"Why the hell didn't you turn on the light if you were inside!" Bai Bufan patted his chest.
"Whether there's light or not isn't important. Hahaha, hahaha... Bufan, tell me, what does a person live for in this lifetime?" Chen Tianming's voice, interspersed with an ethereal laugh, drifted over eerily.
Bai Bufan: "?"
……
Beneath the dormitory building.
Coaxing a girl is truly a strenuous task.
Wang Ze felt that it would be great if he were a programmer.
Because he had heard that programmers generally mastered many object-oriented advanced languages.
Speaking of which, it felt like programmers ought to have very good luck with women, and each of them must have built a harem by now.
Envious of programmers.
However, although he wasn't a programmer and the coaxing was strenuous, Wang Ze was completely enjoying it—whether it would become annoying in the future could be discussed in the future. Anyway, with the coaxing today, both of them only felt sweetness and amusement.
He was truly cheap.
Walking into the dormitory building, Wang Ze carried a smile at the corner of his mouth.
At the stairwell on the second floor of the dormitory, after arranging his clothing and hairstyle against the mirror on the wall, Wang Ze walked into the second floor with an air of absolute grandeur.
He wasn't walking toward his own dormitory, but rather toward Bai Bufan and the others' next door.
Seeing that the dormitory door was actually left slightly ajar, Wang Ze smiled smugly. As he stepped forward to push the door open, his mouth launched a grumbling opening line:
"Bai Bufan, why the hell didn't you tonight—"
Wang Ze's words ground to an abrupt halt. As the visual gradually cleared up, his smile also froze completely.
Only a single desk lamp was turned on inside the dormitory, so it appeared extremely dim.
And within the dimness, Chen Tianming sat on a chair, his body curled up, his hands cradling the back of his own head, his forehead pressed against the desk surface, maintaining absolute silence.
Meanwhile, Bai Bufan was currently sitting next to Chen Tianming, one hand patting Chen Tianming's arm and the other hand stroking Chen Tianming's back, letting out human speech from a dog's mouth:
"It's fine, Tianming. There's still a chance, Tianming. Don't be sad anymore……"
At least don't try to die while you're my high school roommate……
Die in college instead. You can still help your roommates secure a postgraduate recommendation……
When the room door was pushed open by Wang Ze and the barking sound drifted in, Bai Bufan looked toward the doorway.
Subsequently, Wang Ze witnessed Bai Bufan's eyes widening in fury. Under the dim lamplight, that expression was distorted and terrifying—
「You animal! You absolute moron! Who told you to appear! Who instructed you to come here!」
「I beg you, no! Hurry up and roll back outside!」
「Hurry up and beat it! Wang Ze! Go die! Go die! Go die!!」
Bai Bufan didn't make a sound, but he passionately conveyed a similar message using mouth shapes.
Wang Ze, whose ancestors of eighteen generations were being intensely cursed out by the mouth shapes, didn't display the slightest dissatisfaction. He nodded heavily, not even daring to breathe, reaching out his hand to pull the doorknob, moving stealthily as he attempted to close the door again without making a sound.
However, it was already too late.
Chen Tianming slowly turned his head at this moment, revealing a concealed face that was haggard and despondent. Beneath the darkness, his eye sockets seemed to shimmer slightly; it was unknown whether he was dropping little pearls.
"Wang Ze," Chen Tianming's voice actually didn't carry a crying tone, it merely appeared somewhat raspy and weak, "how did your…… confession go tonight……"
Wang Ze: "……"
The November night was incomparably cool, yet Wang Ze was sweating profusely.
Screw your mom, Chen Tianming. Don't ask such a sharp question at a time like this, I beg you.
He absolutely couldn't utter words that were detrimental to unity!
"Uh……" Wang Ze also noticed Bai Bufan's even more distorted face and mouth shapes behind Chen Tianming. His eyeballs rolled constantly left and right as he reached out his hand to scratch the back of his head, momentarily at a loss for words.
At this very moment, even if someone were to plunge a sword into each side of Wang Ze's chest, Wang Ze wouldn't die instantly!
Because his heart had already leapt right into his throat!!
"I……"
"I……"
The brain of a sports student operated at lightning speed at this moment. The CPU had obviously overheated and overloaded, triggering a red-temperature warning.
Finally, Wang Ze's eyes lit up. He lowered his head, his voice complex and downcast:
"If it hadn't been for the fact that I almost didn't fail to not succeed back then, it would be impossible for me not to be the way I am now without failing……"
Chen Tianming: "(；☉_☉)?"
(End of Chapter)