Chapter 4 Mom, what is a mistress?

Qin Yan had just finished organizing the materials needed for the opening ceremony, and it was already past nine o'clock.

Qin Yan felt a bit hungry and decided to cook a bowl of noodles. She turned on the living room light and only then noticed some noise coming from the bedroom next door.

Qin Yan frowned and pushed the door open.

On the more than one-meter-wide child's bed, Qin Yinyin, wearing a floral cartoon nightgown with a little star sticker awarded to her by her kindergarten teacher on her forehead, was turning something over with her left hand while holding a punk pen with her right, making small marks here and there.

"Yinyin, why haven't you gone to sleep yet? Do you want mommy to sleep with you?" Qin Yan had been really busy these past few days and had somewhat neglected the child.

Yinyin, three years old, was very well-behaved and understanding, never causing trouble for her mother.

Being premature, she was lighter and thinner than other children her age, and her health was worse. But Yinyin showed none of the temper tantrums of little children; when sick, she was so well-behaved it was heartbreaking.

Qin Yan was grateful that three years ago, in that dark bathroom, she had exerted all her strength to save her beloved daughter. The child took her surname, Qin, because Bo Yunshen refused to acknowledge her, and the Bo Family also refused to recognize her.

That was for the best; Qin Yan didn't want her daughter involved in the fierce infighting of a wealthy family.

"Mommy!" Qin Yinyin called out excitedly, "Have you finished your work?"

"Mmm." Qin Yan nodded and smiled with relief.

She bent down and lifted Yinyin from the bed, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a magazine on the bed.

On the magazine, the smile of Bo Yunshen and Tang Tian was particularly glaring.

Where did this magazine come from?

Why was it on Yinyin's bed?

Qin Yan's head buzzed. For three years, the waters had been clear, and at this moment, she felt that some people existed just to disrupt the peaceful life she had with her daughter.

"Mommy, what does 'mistress' mean? What does 'affair' mean?" Qin Yinyin pouted, gritted her teeth, and said angrily, "The teacher in the class next door said my daddy has a mistress and an affair, and he doesn't want mommy anymore!"

Yinyin's voice was not loud, even weak enough to be ignored, but such an insignificant question blasted a huge hole in Qin Yan's heart, engulfing all the sense of achievement she had in her career.

"The magazine is just writing nonsense. Children shouldn't read these things!"

Qin Yan took the magazine and immediately threw it into the trash can.

Her fingers trembled slightly, because at that moment, she seemed to see the marks Yinyin had made on the magazine with her punk pen. "Bo Yunshen," "Qin Yan," "Tang Tian," "mistress," "abandoned wife" — these words had all been circled, and some were marked with question marks.

Yinyin evidently didn't expect Qin Yan to become so angry; her big, watery eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Mommy, is what they said true? Does daddy not want mommy anymore? Does daddy not want Yinyin either?"

"Desk mate little fatty also said Yinyin is a bastard. Mommy, Yinyin looked it up in the dictionary—a bastard means Yinyin isn't daddy and mommy's child, right?"

"Mommy, was Yinyin not born from mommy?"

Unable to hold back any longer, Yinyin's tears fell like broken beads, continually dropping onto Qin Yan's hand and also onto her heart.

Qin Yan's eyes also blurred.

It turned out that she had marked those words with a marker pen in order to look them up in the dictionary. Had Qin Yan not discovered it tonight, Yinyin probably wouldn't have asked her about this.

The child was afraid of hurting her feelings, so she quietly did all this.

"Don't cry, Yinyin. Don't listen to others talking nonsense. Daddy loves mommy, and daddy loves Yinyin too; daddy would never abandon mommy," Qin Yan placed her back on the bed and then reached out to wipe her tears, "If you talk like this about daddy and he hears it, it'll make daddy sad."

"Really?"

Yinyin furrowed her brow, "Then why doesn't daddy come to see Yinyin? Yinyin has never seen daddy."

Qin Yan was choked up again.

Xing Yue Bay was a house Qin Yan bought herself, and she had been living there with Yinyin ever since her birth. Since Bo Yunshen didn't recognize Yinyin, he had never visited once.

She occasionally showed Yinyin photos of Bo Yunshen, telling her that she, like other children, had a father too. It's just that her father was different from other fathers—he had to manage a big company and earn money for Mom and Yinyin to spend.

Those words could fool a child, but now, Yinyin was growing bigger and becoming more sensible.

"Who says Dad has never visited Yinyin? Dad comes home from work very late every day, and when it's very, very late, Dad would come to see Yinyin, but Yinyin would be asleep and wouldn't know," Qin Yan explained hesitantly.

Qin Yinyin frowned, "Mom, is what you're saying true?"

"Of course it's true," Qin Yan's throat tightened, "Dad is working hard to buy Mom a big house, and to buy Yinyin many beautiful clothes. Yinyin and Mom are very happy, and others are just too jealous of us, that's why they slander Dad."

"Okay," Qin Yinyin blinked at Qin Yan, "I believe Mom. Then, can Mom ask Dad to find some time to take Yinyin to school? Yinyin wants her classmates to see that she has a Dad, and that Dad hasn't abandoned Yinyin. Yinyin's dad is the handsomest dad in the world."

Qin Yan choked up.

"Mom, can you do it?" Qin Yinyin tugged at her sleeve, her face full of pleading.

"Okay," Qin Yan couldn't refuse, "When Dad has time, Mom will ask him to take Yinyin to school. It's very late now, can Yinyin go to sleep first?"

"Awesome! Thank you, Mom!"

Qin Yinyin jumped up excitedly and the next second, she slid into her bed and lay down obediently.

Qin Yan's heart couldn't settle, she didn't stay to accompany her, but instead said "goodnight," raised her hand to turn off the light in the room, and left the baby room.

Sitting in the living room, Qin Yan stared at the name on her phone's contact list for a long time, but in the end, she didn't make the call.

Forget it!

Let Bo Yunshen take Yinyin to school?

What was she thinking?

It was just wishful thinking!

Rather than this, it might be better to transfer Yinyin to another school.

Qin Yan returned to the bedroom and tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, and eventually called her best friend, Lu Xiangxiang.

"Xiangxiang, Luo Shen Bay is launching tomorrow, and I might be busy until very late. Could you pick up Yinyin from the kindergarten for me, please?"

Lu Xiangxiang immediately agreed, "No problem!"

"Xiangxiang."

"Ah Yan, is there anything else?" There was a pause on the other end of the phone before Lu Xiangxiang continued, "I saw the magazine this morning, are you okay? If you ask me, that jerk Bo Yunshen went too far! That little starlet is younger than you, but in other ways, she's nothing compared to you, no face, no grace! Rather than cherishing the beauty he has at home, he goes picking up trash outside. Bo Yunshen's taste is really lacking."

"Xiangxiang, what I wanted to talk to you about is exactly this," Qin Yan frowned, "Whatever happens between Bo Yunshen and Tang Tian, I don't care, but Yinyin found out about it this time. When you pick her up from school tomorrow, could you probe the teacher to see if we could transfer Yinyin to another school?"

"Is transferring schools going to solve anything?" Lu Xiangxiang complained, "If you ask me, why don't you just clear up the misunderstanding with Bo Yunshen about what happened eleven years ago? You dragging it out like this isn't a solution!"

"..."

Qin Yan fell silent for a long time.

Knowing she had been too harsh, Lu Xiangxiang hurriedly said, "Alright, alright! I'll do as you say! I'll go inquire after work tomorrow, but Ah Yan, I don't hope for what happened three years ago to happen again. If Bo Yunshen is still unreasonable, I'd rather you stayed as far away from him as possible, even if that means divorce!"

"Hmm."

"With your looks and abilities, even if you are alone with Yinyin, there are still people who would love you." Lu Xiangxiang scoffed, "If you ask me, that PR Director Lu from your company isn't bad!"

Qin Yan frowned and her voice grew heavier, "What are you talking about? Lu Yi is Yunshen's cousin."

"So what if he's a cousin? That's good!" Lu Xiangxiang said indignantly, "It just shows Bo Yunshen that the wife he deems worthless is actually the treasure in the hands of another!"

"Enough, Xiangxiang! Lu Yi and I aren't what you think."

Qin Yan didn't give Lu Xiangxiang a chance to continue and hung up the phone.