A Warm and Cute Strike (GL) - Chapter 8

“Madam, you’re truly wronging me!”

Auntie Chen was actually dazed from Ye Feifei’s slap, but she reacted quickly. Clutching her face, she began to defend herself through a messy blur of snot and tears.

“I have truly given my heart and soul to the Young Miss; I treat her better than my own biological daughter! You have to believe me! What just happened was my fault—I was negligent because I stepped out to answer a phone call—but you can’t condemn me based on that alone and say I haven’t taken good care of her normally, can you?”

She wept as she spoke, her display of grief and pain so convincing that even Zhu Lin, Ye Feifei’s temporary assistant, felt a twinge of pity. She opened her mouth to mediate, but Ye Feifei spoke again.

“Heh. All I know is that my daughter almost died!”

Ye Feifei took a deep breath, but she couldn’t suppress the towering rage within her. Hearing Auntie Chen’s defense made her want to laugh out of sheer anger. She already had a fiery temper; though she had learned to restrain it over the years, today’s incident gave her a genuine urge to kill.

She recalled the news reports about nannies on Qin Xuening’s tablet. At the time, she hadn’t felt much beyond a sense of shock, but now that it was happening to her, she realized that this kind of visceral pain can only be understood by those who experience it.

Even now, her daughter’s cry of “Mommy, save me” echoed in her ears, a stark reminder of her own failure. She suspected she would never forget this day for as long as she lived.

She truly dared not imagine: if she hadn’t returned in time, or if she had been thirty minutes late, would she have come home to her daughter’s cold corpse?

The mere thought made her dizzy with nausea; her chest throbbed with a dull ache.

Qingnuan was so small. How did this woman dare leave her alone in the bathroom with the water running? Was she trying to kill her daughter on purpose? Ye Feifei was already spiraling into dark conspiracies.

“Madam, it was truly just a moment of carelessness. Please, for the sake of my dedicated service to the Young Miss, forgive me this once…” Seeing that Ye Feifei was unmoved, Auntie Chen gritted her teeth and fell to her knees, begging piteously.

At the end of the day, she couldn’t bear to lose this lucrative job. Between reality and dignity, she chose the former without hesitation.

She knew this mistress was usually preoccupied and somewhat indifferent toward her daughter. Now that the “little brat” had only swallowed a few gulps of water and was fine, she figured the mistress was just blowing off steam to intimidate her. If she begged enough, she could surely weather this crisis.

Auntie Chen feigned bowing her head to wipe her tears, but a flash of venomous resentment crossed her eyes.

In her mind, she was already thinking of countless ways to torment that little brat once Ye Feifei left. She would definitely settle this debt on the daughter’s head!

However, when she looked up again with a mask of remorse, she met Ye Feifei’s icy gaze. That sharp, piercing look—as if seeing through everything—made her heart tremble. For a second, she thought her act had slipped.

Ye Feifei looked down at the kneeling woman, her almond eyes narrowing. She was an actress, after all; she spent her days dealing with “drama queens.” Even if she couldn’t see through everyone perfectly, she could spot a fake seventy percent of the time.

She used to be in such a hurry that she hadn’t noticed this seemingly honest nanny was actually a two-faced actress.

Thinking of her daughter’s swollen hands, her expression darkened further. “You say you’re dedicated? Then what about the injuries on Qingnuan’s hands? All ten fingers are swollen like steamed buns—how do you explain that?”

Auntie Chen’s eyes flickered as she scrambled for an excuse. “That… the Young Miss snuck out to the yard today. Children are playful, you know? She pulled up the flowers and plants in the garden and got covered in mud. That’s why I was giving her a bath so early…”

Ordinarily, this attempt to shift blame might have worked, but Ye Feifei was hyper-sensitive today. With her guard up, she saw through the trick instantly.

A lump of rage stuck in her throat; she nearly kicked the woman away. Barely maintaining her composure, she said coldly:

“You can’t even watch a child under five? You’re so incompetent, what use do I have for you? Enough. I don’t want to see your face again. Hand the keys to Zhu Lin, pack your things, and get the hell out of my house!”

After her outburst, Ye Feifei wanted to go back upstairs to check on her daughter.

Auntie Chen hadn’t expected Feifei to be so firm. Panicking, she reached out to grab Feifei’s calf, pleading again, “Mrs. Xiang, please give me one more chance! Look, you won’t be able to find a suitable nanny on such short notice. Why not let me stay for a few more days?”

Ye Feifei didn’t want to waste another word. She turned to Zhu Lin, who was watching the scene. “What are you standing there for? Show her out!”

Zhu Lin snapped to attention and pulled Auntie Chen away. Ye Feifei didn’t give the woman another glance as she headed upstairs.

“Auntie Chen, right? Sister Feifei is in a fit of rage. I think it’s best if you leave for now…” Zhu Lin smiled awkwardly, handing her a tissue while carrying out Feifei’s orders.

Knowing she had lost her job, Auntie Chen’s mood hit rock bottom. She grabbed Zhu Lin, hoping she would put in a good word for her.

“I’ll try my best. You should head home today,” Zhu Lin said with a forced smile, having zero intention of getting involved in this mess.

Auntie Chen went to her room to pack. She was clever enough to leave a few things behind, thinking she could use them as an excuse to return later.

Upstairs, Ye Feifei checked her daughter’s room. Seeing her sleeping peacefully, she went to the master bedroom to shower. When she emerged, she received a call from Xiang Nan.

“How is it? Are you home?” The man’s voice was weary but grounding.

“…Mhm.” Ye Feifei suddenly felt a lump in her throat.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Xiang Nan sensed the change in her tone.

“Xiang Nan… our daughter almost died…” Ye Feifei finally broke into sobs.

“What do you mean? Explain!” Startled, Xiang Nan pressed for details.

At that moment, he was pushing Qin Xuening’s wheelchair across the hospital lawn. Thinking of his own family, he had called his wife, only to hear news that left him horrified.

“Mhm… and then? How is she now…?”

Xiang Nan was listening so intently that he didn’t notice the girl in the wheelchair was also listening carefully.

Qin Xuening hadn’t expected things to be so coincidental. This time, Auntie Ye had rushed home just in time to save Xiang Qingnuan, allowing that poor girl to escape her fate and change the destiny of becoming a vegetable.

She curled her lips slightly and looked up at the white clouds, a faint smile appearing on her face.

In both her past and present lives, she remembered the kindness of the Xiang family. This could be considered her way of paying them back, right?

After finishing the call and finally calming down, Ye Feifei checked on Qingnuan again. Finding her still asleep, she tiptoed downstairs.

Zhu Lin, having sent Auntie Chen away, was sitting on the sofa handling work. She looked up as Ye Feifei descended and was momentarily dazed.

Like a lotus emerging from clear water, beautiful in her natural state.

Fresh from the shower, Ye Feifei was breathtakingly beautiful. It was no wonder she was so famous; a woman this stunning was a fatal attraction for anyone who appreciated beauty.

Accustomed to the attention, Ye Feifei checked the classical wall clock—it was dinner time. She pinned up her hair and headed to the kitchen.

“Sister Feifei, I ordered takeout,” Zhu Lin said quickly.

“Mhm, you eat it,” Feifei nodded and opened the fridge.

With her maternal instincts in overdrive, there was no way she was letting her daughter eat takeout. She had to cook a meal with her own hands.

The fridge was well-stocked; Auntie Chen had at least done that right. However, Ye Feifei only knew how to make one dish—the one Su Yuyan had taught her.

She picked out the ingredients and tied on an apron. Zhu Lin tried to help, but Feifei shooed her out; she didn’t like being watched while she cooked.

Soon, a bowl of fragrant egg noodles was finished!

Overall, Feifei was satisfied with her performance. After all, she had won over Xiang Nan with these very noodles; surely the daughter’s tastes would be similar.

Refusing Zhu Lin’s help again, Feifei carried the tray upstairs. She tiptoed into the room, ready to wake her, but found the covers tossed aside. Qingnuan was nowhere to be seen.

Xiang Qingnuan had been woken by hunger. She blinked her eyes groarily, finding herself in bed and unable to remember exactly what had happened before she fell asleep.

Rubbing her eyes, she climbed down. Following her habit, she ran to her toy pile, reaching into a doll’s pocket to retrieve the handkerchief full of food.

Grrr—

Her stomach’s protest made her move faster. She unwrapped the handkerchief and took out a dry piece of mantou (steamed bun), nibbling on it bit by bit.

She ate while dozing off, clearly still sleepy. Consequently, she didn’t notice Ye Feifei standing right behind her.

“What are you doing?”

The little girl jumped. She tried to hide the food, but the person behind her was faster, snatching the “meal” from her hands.

“Mommy…”

Qingnuan had started to smile happily upon seeing her mother, but Feifei’s dark, terrifying expression made her freeze. She called out in a tiny, trembling voice.

When Ye Feifei saw her daughter sitting in a pile of toys, gnawing on what looked like a piece of a leftover bun, she couldn’t describe the shock she felt.

She looked at the “food” in her daughter’s hands: on the small square handkerchief lay a soggy sugar cake, a yellowed, dry bun, a few candies, and that half-eaten piece of mantou!

“Why are you eating this?” Ye Feifei’s hand trembled; her features were contorted with rage.

“I… I’m hungry…” Qingnuan burst into tears, sobbing, “I’m… I’m sorry…”