Wen Ying was buzzing with excitement as she climbed the stairs. If her figure were a bit more nimble, she’d have been hopping and skipping.
With money in her pocket and a tune on her lips, she was followed by a dazed Deng Shangwei.
“What did Wen Ying talk to you about, all secretive like?” Chen Li called out to him.
Deng Shangwei looked a bit aggrieved. “She said she wants to work a summer job—at my company.”
Chen Li was utterly baffled.
Since recovering from her illness, this kid hadn’t just grown bolder—her ideas were downright wild now.
“You didn’t actually agree, did you?” Chen Li asked, arms crossed, eyeing her husband.
Deng Shangwei’s grievance deepened. “…Yeah, I did!”
The conversation had snowballed to a point where he couldn’t back out without losing face.
His once docile, introverted niece had first “robbed” the cash from his wallet, then step-by-step lured him into a trap he couldn’t escape.
And in the process, Deng Shangwei caught a whiff of something familiar.
A sixteen-year-old Wen Ying using business negotiation tactics?
Of course, the main reason he’d been cornered was his soft spot for her. Wen Ying knew that affection and wielded it like a weapon.
He’d retreat a step, she’d advance one—perfectly gauging the limits of what he’d tolerate.
Deng Shangwei wasn’t sure yet if it was sheer coincidence or genuine skill.
If it was skill, then everyone had underestimated Wen Ying all along. This girl had hidden depths!
The loser of this “negotiation” couldn’t help but smile at the thought.
Chen Li, annoyed and itching to twist his ear, held back. The kids were getting older—she had to let Deng Shangwei save face. Her tone, though, was sharp. “Didn’t you say you didn’t drink last night? Yet here you are, doing daft things first thing in the morning. Wen Ying’s messing about, and you’re joining in? You agreed to let her work at your company—who do you think you are?”
Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong had sent Wen Ying to Rongcheng for tutoring classes. If they found out Deng Shangwei was indulging her nonsense, they’d probably storm over and raise hell.
Chen Li wasn’t afraid of a scolding. What she feared was losing her sister and brother-in-law’s trust, leaving her unable to meddle in Wen Ying’s affairs anymore.
With her around, Wen Ying could catch a break now and then. Without her, Wen Ying wouldn’t even have someone to cover for her!
Chen Li’s brows shot up, and Deng Shangwei scrambled to explain.
“Wen Ying said she’d stagger her tutoring and work hours. She even promised that if she can’t finish the tasks her tutor sets, she’ll quit the job immediately. I think she’s got her head screwed on right. Shouldn’t we support her a bit?”
Chen Li hesitated.
“Why’s she suddenly want to work? Is she short on pocket money?”
Deng Shangwei didn’t dare mention that Wen Ying had already nicked a few thousand from him. He fudged, “Kids these days aren’t like us back then—they’ve got all sorts of ideas. As long as it doesn’t mess with her studies, letting her learn how to deal with people at the company isn’t a bad shout. Wife, don’t you think Wen Ying’s more outgoing than before? Isn’t that a good thing?”
Chen Li didn’t need him to point it out—she’d already noticed Wen Ying’s changes.
Her courage had grown; she dared to push back against Chen Ru’s plans and had developed her own mind.
Realising Wen Ying was already sixteen and would start high school in Rongcheng after the summer, Chen Li relented to the idea of her working at their company. Deng Shangwei was right—Wen Ying needed to learn how to handle people. The high school she’d be attending was full of standout students: top grades, wealthy families, frequent competition winners, some even brimming with talent. If Wen Ying stayed as timid as before, she’d struggle to fit in!
Wen Ying had deliberately given Chen Li and Deng Shangwei space to talk.
Once the couple had muttered to each other for a while and likely reached an agreement, she sauntered over, grabbing Chen Li’s arm and swaying it gently. “Auntie, I forced Uncle to agree—don’t blame him.”
Chen Li shot her a glare. “He let you run wild—shouldn’t he get a telling-off? Anyway, it’s up to you now. If you slack off on your studies just to ‘experience life’ at work, your uncle will have to apologise to your parents with his life!”
“Apologise with his life” was an exaggeration, but Wen Ying knew her parents had long looked down on Uncle Deng Shangwei, only softening their stance in recent years.
Wen Dongrong and Deng Shangwei both came from poor families. Wen Dongrong had single-handedly lifted the Wen family out of the countryside, securing jobs for his siblings. In their hometown, his name earned thumbs-ups, and his job was undeniably respectable.
Deng Shangwei, though, had no proper career. Unable to support a wife back home, he’d come to Rongcheng as a fishmonger. The nature of their work created a gaping social divide, so naturally, Wen Dongrong looked down on his brother-in-law.
Who’d have thought Deng Shangwei would strike it rich selling fish? Wen Dongrong couldn’t keep lording it over him anymore. He tucked away that lofty disdain and treated Deng Shangwei with decent courtesy.
In her past life, when Chen Li and Deng Shangwei were on the brink of divorce, Wen Dongrong couldn’t hold back his true feelings. He’d said businessmen were full of tricks and lacked social standing, that he’d warned Chen Li against Deng Shangwei from the start. She hadn’t listened. Back then, Wen Dongrong had even tried matchmaking, introducing Chen Li to a bureau chief’s son. Chen Li refused to ditch Deng Shangwei and wouldn’t even meet the guy.
Now that bureau chief had climbed to a provincial post. If Chen Li had become his daughter-in-law, oh, how things might’ve turned out… Wen Ying had to hand it to her dad’s obsession with status. Arranging his daughter’s life was one thing, but meddling in his sister-in-law’s marriage for leverage?
Thinking of this, Wen Ying nodded firmly. “Auntie, I get it. If I slack on my studies, my parents will be disappointed, and you and Uncle won’t have an excuse to give them.”
A loud drum needs no heavy strike—Chen Li didn’t nag further. Since they’d agreed, they might as well let Wen Ying give it a go.
Maybe after a few days of work, she’d lose interest anyway!
But Deng Shangwei had to sort out the tutoring pronto.
He already had a plan. “I was thinking you could take Wen Ying to Teacher Lin’s place tonight.”
This Teacher Lin lived in the same complex as the Dengs, though while the Dengs had a multi-storey flat, Lin lived in the villa section. Chen Li had said she’d spend whatever it took to get Wen Ying into a top high school, banking on Teacher Lin’s connections.
Teacher Lin taught at a provincial key high school, and her mother-in-law was even more impressive—the vice-principal of the same school, with admission quotas in her pocket!
Chen Li had met Teacher Lin at a beauty salon. Chatting revealed they were neighbours, which naturally fostered a bit of closeness.
At first, Teacher Lin was wary of Chen Li. But once she learned Chen Li’s sons were only a few years old—too young to need school connections—she warmed up and treated Chen Li as a regular friend.
Chen Li assumed Deng Shangwei meant for her to lay some groundwork with Teacher Lin, which wasn’t a big deal. Even without his nudge, she’d have done it.
But wasn’t it a bit early?
The middle school exam results weren’t even out yet!
And surely you didn’t bring Wen Ying along to pull strings?
Chen Li glanced at Wen Ying. “Shouldn’t we wait a bit? Little Ying says her English was decent—she’s confident she’ll hit the admission line.”
