Shaking Him Off

Once he had thought it through, Ding Jiali immediately felt at peace with himself. He resumed his light stride, humming as he headed home, deciding to go back and discuss it all with Ding Guisheng again.

Early the next morning, Ding Guisheng made a rare appearance at the breakfast table.

When Hesta came out, he merely lifted his eyelids slightly, pretending to meet her gaze by chance, then gave a small nod.

"Morning."

No sooner had Ding Guisheng uttered the word than his throat began to itch. Clutching at it, he took several hard breaths before breaking into a long, wet cough.

After greeting him, Hesta went to the kitchen to look for cereal and yogurt. The moment she pushed open the door, she saw Xu Ruyi already busy inside. Somewhat surprised, she stepped forward to help Xu Ruyi take down a plate from a high shelf. "Is your back better already?"

Xu Ruyi smiled. "More or less."

"You should still get plenty of rest," Hesta said. "What if you hurt something again—"

"I won't. I'm being very careful."

Before long, the two came out of the kitchen one after the other and sat down together. During breakfast, Ding Jiali pressed Xu Ruyi about finding a new housekeeper. Xu Ruyi sighed repeatedly, saying winter was nearly here and hardly any households were willing to let their help go. They would probably have to wait until after the New Year.

"What's so hard about that? There are so many housekeeping agencies," Ding Jiali said, thoroughly puzzled. "Mom, are your standards too high? Is that why you can't find anyone?"

"You can't be careless about something like this. Do you think it's that easy?" Xu Ruyi began anxiously. "Your Aunt Zheng's family hired a maternity nanny through an agency last year.